Finding Home

June 18, 2023June 18, 2023 PastorPartridge Sermon Abraham, Abram, Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, faith, God, grace, home, hope, hospitality, impossible, improbable, Jesus, Matthew, Methodist, Ohio, Partridge, peace, resurrection, Street, Sunday, United, unlikely, welcome

Finding Home

June 18, 2023*

By Pastor John Partridge

Genesis 18:1-15 Matthew 9:35 – 10:8-23 Romans 5:1-8

As early as 3000 BCE Phoenician explorers were navigating the high seas and Pacific islanders were doing the same using star charts made of sticks and songs to remember important details. Much later, Arab navigators would use a “kamal,” a marked piece of wood or metal with a beaded string for measuring their location and by the 13th century European mariners used the astrolabe to determine their location. The astrolabe evolved into the marine quadrant, and then the Davis quadrant with backstaff, and that technology progressed and became the Octant, and finally, in 1731, John Hadley developed the Sextant. The precision of the sextant allowed a competent navigator to determine their location within about one-half a nautical mile, day or night, even in the rain and pitching seas. A sextant and compass remained the best way to determine your location at sea for over 250 years and remains a useful method for mariners if GPS or radio navigation becomes unavailable.

Why is that important? Simply because it’s always good to be able to navigate around sea mounts, shoals, and shallow rocks, to find your way to islands where you can replenish stores of fresh water, and most importantly, so that, at the end of your voyage, you can find your way home.

Isn’t that always the most important thing? No matter where we go, finding our way home is always a part of the plan. But sometimes the home that we find isn’t the home that we left. After World War I, my grandfather left his family home in Germany and made a new home here in the United States outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The same has been true throughout the history of our nation for millions of other immigrants from around the world. But that story of immigration is also an important part of the story of scripture and an important part of our story as well. As we mentioned last week, when God commanded Abram to “go,” Abram went. But as he went, Abram took with him the values of hospitality that were held by his culture, and we see that in the story of Genesis 18:1-15.

^18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. ²Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

³He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. ⁴Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. ⁵Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”

“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”

The culture in which Abraham lived placed great value on hospitality. Not just in speaking words of welcome to a stranger, but in offering them food, inviting them into your home, giving them a place to stay, sleep, rest, and providing them with necessities that they might need to continue their journey. Essentially, offering hospitality, and not just welcome, to strangers was almost the same as treating them like family.

Why is that important?

It’s important because that culture of hospitality never went out of style. It was passed on by Abraham to the people who would become the Jews and the people of Israel, and it would continue to be found in cultures around the Near East, and it has been, in many ways, passed down to us. If we pay attention, we will see that same culture of hospitality at work in Matthew 9:35 – 10:8, (9-23), when Jesus sends his disciples out into the world to share the message of Good News.

³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. ³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

^10:1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

²These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. ⁶Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. ⁷As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

⁹“Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— ¹⁰no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. ¹¹Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. ¹²As you enter the home, give it your greeting. ¹³If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town, and shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

¹⁶“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. ¹⁸On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you will be given what to say, ²⁰for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

²¹“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. ²²You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ²³When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

As Jesus sends his disciples out into the surrounding towns and villages to share the good news of the kingdom of God, a pivotal part of the plan depends upon the historic and continuing culture of hospitality. In every town where they were to preach, it was expected that they would be able to find at least one person, or one family, that was willing to take them in, house them, and feed them for however long that they remained to preach in that town. They had no money, they paid no rent, and could offer no compensation other than to offer greetings and give the gift of peace to those who invited them in. Although the disciples were away from their birthplaces and away from what was familiar, in the places where they went to share the good news of the kingdom, through the gift of hospitality, they found a place, even for a short while, that they could call “home.”

But scripture tells us of an even more important act of hospitality that has mattered to every follower of Jesus Christ in all of history and that still matters to us today. In Romans 5:1-8, Paul talks about our justification before God, and before we begin, I want to define that. “Justified” is the opposite of “guilty.” It doesn’t necessarily mean that we are innocent, but the implication of being justified is that we have been acquitted and declared, by God’s power and authority, to be righteous. We aren’t righteous because we’re flawless, perfect, and sinless, we are righteous because God says that we are. Paul explains it this way:

^5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, wehave peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And weboast in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but wealso glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

While at first it may not seem like it, the story of our redemption and justification is a story about God’s hospitality. God wanted us to live with him. In fact, God wanted us to live with him so much, that he acquitted us of our sin (the theological word is justification) through our faith in Jesus Christ. And Paul expands on that by pointing out that not only did God acquit us, but doing so was expensive. God loved us so much, that he offers us hospitality, and invites us to live with him in his home, but that hospitality came at the expense of the life of God’s own son. Moreover, Paul explains, Jesus didn’t die for us because we were good, but because of God’s great love for us. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, God opened a path for hospitality. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we open the door to peace, hope, grace, and… home.

Our search for a place to belong ends. Because of the hospitality of God, because of Jesus’ obedience and sacrifice, and because of our faith, we have found, for all eternity, a place to call home.

But the message of Jesus, as we saw in Matthew, is that because we have found our home, it is now our calling is to show hospitality to others. We can’t just be welcoming, say “hello” and show them where to sit. Real hospitality can be expensive. It means more than inviting people into our churches, it means inviting them into our lives, caring for them as if they were family, making sure that they have food to eat, clothes to wear, and then telling them about Jesus, so that they can find… home.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org. These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com . All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Unlikely, Improbable, and Impossible

June 11, 2023 PastorPartridge Sermon Abraham, Abram, Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, David, faith, God, healing, impossible, improbable, Jesus, Matthew, Methodist, Ohio, Partridge, resurrection, risk, Street, Sunday, United, unlikely

Unlikely, Improbable, and Impossible

June 11, 2023*

By Pastor John Partridge

Genesis 12:1-9 Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 Romans 4:13-25

Arthur Conan Doyle, through the voice of his detective Sherlock Holmes, often said when describing his method of observation and deduction, that, “when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truth.” Let me say that again, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truth.” This is good advice and often worth remembering as a part of the scientific process of testing, evaluation, and exploration. But in the church, despite our recognition of the importance of science, we also recognize the limitations of science. Many of the things that we hold to be true, are unlikely and improbable, and some of them are, outside of the work of an all-powerful God, would normally be assumed to be impossible.

For example, it is unlikely that the youngest son of family of sheep herders, from a small, little known, and often disrespected clan, would not only become the king of his clan, but would unite twelve clans into a unified nation that rivaled the strength and power of the largest superpowers of the world.

But David did.

It is improbable, that a man who was born into the right family, with all the right breeding, and all the right education, who had dedicated his life to persecuting the representatives of the schismatic movement whom he felt were polluting, desecrating, poisoning and destroying his church, would himself be converted to that sect and become the most prolific and well-known preacher, writer, and evangelist that the world has ever known.

But Paul did.

It is impossible for women of advanced age, well past the age of menopause, and especially past the age of 80, 90, or even 100 to become pregnant and bear children.

But Sarah did. And so did Rebekah and Rachael.

It is impossible for the dead to return to life, especially after the dead have been dead for many hours, or even days,

But Lazarus did. The widow’s son did. And, of course, Jesus did.

But sometimes the only difference between possible, unlikely, improbable, and impossible is trust.

We’ll explore that a little further in a few moments, but for now let’s begin with the story of God’s call to Abram in Genesis 12:1-9.

^12:1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

²“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
³I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

⁴So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. ⁵He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

⁶Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So, he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

⁸From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.

⁹Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

You will notice that, at no time, was there a negotiation. God did not bribe Abram. Abram did not demand terms, nor did he place limits on his obedience. Abram did not say that he was willing to follow God for 100 miles, or for two months, nor did he insist on periodic employee reviews or reassurances that he was going in the right direction, doing the right things, or just to make sure that the lines of communication between them remained open.

Abram’s obedience was so unlikely and improbable that it bordered on the impossible.

God said “go” and Abram went.

God said go to the place that I will show you, and Abram went… straight into the desert.

And then, in just a few verses of the ninth chapter of Matthew, we find the unlikely, the improbable, and the impossible, all jumbled together. (Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26)

⁹As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹²On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

¹⁸While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” ¹⁹Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

²⁰Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. ²¹She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”

²²Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

²³When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, ²⁴he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. ²⁵After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. ²⁶News of this spread through all that region.

For a well-paid tax collector, on the Roman payroll, who is often accused by his countrymen as a thief, or as a traitor, to stand up, quit his job, and become the disciple of a poor, itinerant, homeless rabbi is both unlikely and improbable.

For a woman with an incurable disease, who had already been seen by every expert that could affordably be seen, to be completely healed simply by touching the hanging fringe of a rabbi’s jacket is utterly improbable.

For a synagogue leader to seek help from an itinerant rabbi that has been widely criticized by the leaders of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and a range of national church leaders is unlikely.

But a dead girl returning to life is completely impossible.

But, how do these things happen? Sure, a part of the answer is that Jesus was there, and that Jesus could do the impossible.

But is there more to it than that?

In Romans 4:13-25 Paul explains some of the things that happened to Abraham, why those things happened, how they happened, and why they matter to us.

¹³It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. ¹⁴For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, ¹⁵because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

¹⁶Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

¹⁸Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. ²⁰Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. ²²This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” ²³The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, ²⁴but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Paul says that God did unlikely, improbable, and even impossible things in the life of Abraham, through the lives of his descendants, and through our lives in the twenty first century, because of the faith that Abraham had, and because of the faith of those who follow in his footsteps.

God blessed Abraham because he had the faith to do the unlikely, to walk away from his family, his friends, and his nation, and follow God into the desert, just because God said… “Go.”

An unlikely and improbable tax collector becomes an honored and revered member of the eleven disciples of Jesus because he had the faith to walk away from the comfortable life that he had.

A woman with an incurable disease was healed because she had the faith to seek out Jesus, fight through the crowd that surrounded him, crawl on the ground, reach out, and touch the fringe of his jacket.

The daughter of a respected synagogue leader was raised from the dead because that leader had the courage, and the faith, to rebel against the conventional wisdom of his peers, ignore the prevailing opinion of the movers and shakers and VIPs of his church, and ask Jesus for help.

Throughout scripture, we witness events that are unlikely, improbable, and utterly impossible.

And yet, with faith, through faith, and by the power of God, these things happened.

For God to do unlikely, improbable, and impossible things in our lives, and in the life of our church, we must be willing to demonstrate our faith by doing unlikely and improbable things.

Are we willing to walk away from our comfortable lives and follow him into the desert or into the unknown as Abraham and Matthew did?

Are we willing to fight the crowd to seek him the way that the bleeding woman did?

Are we willing to defy our peers, resist the status quo, and risk our occupation and our reputation so that we can seek Jesus as the synagogue leader did?

We often pray for Jesus to do the unlikely, the improbable, and the impossible in our lives and in the life of our church.

But are we willing to do what God asks of us, are we willing to risk what we have, in order to receive the gift that God has for us?

Do we have… and improbable faith?

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Past History, Future Vision

June 4, 2023 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, Father, God, great commission, holy, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Methodist, Ohio, Partridge, son, spirit, Street, Sunday, Trinity, United

Past History, Future Vision

(Trinity Sunday)

June 04, 2023*

By Pastor John Partridge

Genesis 1:1 – 2:4a Matthew 28:16-20 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

There’s a phrase that often appears in our conversations, especially when we meet new people, friends that we haven’t seen for a long time, or find ourselves in new situations. This week I was asked, “Why did you go to the Holy Land?” But we’re also asked questions like, “How did you meet your significant other?” or, “How did you choose your career?” Or even as simple a question as, “How did you come to live in this place?” All these sorts of questions boil down to, “How did this start?” or “Tell me about the beginning of the story.” Whenever we struggle to understand, especially when we consider difficult or complex subjects, it almost invariably helps to begin at the beginning. This approach of “begin at the beginning,” is why Vince Lombardi, when addressing several dozen men, who were already professional football players, famously said, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” And so, as we celebrate Trinity Sunday, and consider the difficult meaning of trinity, it might well be helpful to begin at the beginning as we read from Genesis 1:1 – 2:4a.

^1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ²Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

⁶And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” ⁷So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

⁹And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

¹¹Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. ¹²The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

¹⁴And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, ¹⁵and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

²⁰And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” ²¹So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²²God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” ²³And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

²⁴And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. ²⁵God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

²⁸God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

²⁹Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

³¹God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

^2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

²By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so, on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

⁴This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

In the beginning… God.

In the beginning… God created.

In the beginning… God created the heavens and the earth.

In the beginning the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.

From the beginning, and even before the beginning, there was God. And with God, as co-creator of the universe, resided the Spirit of God. We understand that these foundational documents of the people of Israel have always been understood to be describing a single God and not two. From the time of antiquity until this very day, the people known as the Jews regularly recite the Shema, which is from Deuteronomy 6:4, which says, “⁴Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” But even so, even in holding to a firm belief in monotheism, in the belief that there is only one God, Genesis still says that God created… and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.

Let us consider these things, while we move forward to Matthew 28:16-20, as Jesus commissions his disciples into their life’s work, and offers instruction on the way in which baptism should be done.

¹⁶Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I honestly don’t know if there was any part of this that was provocative. Jesus had already died on the cross, been buried, rose from the dead on the third day, and was now making his final preparations to leave the earth. These were his final instructions, his last words, to his followers and as such, Christianity has always regarded them with special meaning, emphasis, and significance. And in these final moments on earth, Jesus says that his followers should “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” At that moment, Jesus, and all his disciples, were still profoundly, unmistakably, and devotedly… Jewish. Jesus was not saying that there was more than one god any more than the writers of Genesis were. It is likely that Jesus still regularly recited the Shema, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one…” Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Although the word that we use to describe it, “trinity” did not appear for another two hundred years when Tertullian began to use it to describe anything that came in sets of three, this understanding of God as three persons is fully formed well before the end of the New Testament. As we saw in Matthew, Jesus used the phrasing of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in his last instructions to the disciples, and it wasn’t an isolated incident. As Paul concludes his second letter to the church in Corinth, in 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, he expresses the same sentiment using the same sort of phrasing, but the way that he uses it seems to indicate that this idea had become normal, accepted, and common among the followers of Jesus Christ.

¹¹Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss. ¹³All God’s people here send their greetings.

¹⁴May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

We have always been to followers of God. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have always been believers in the trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But as much as we use these words to define us, and as much as we struggle to explain the roles and the personalities of the three persons of the trinity, we continue to believe, as Jesus did, as the disciples did, and as the people of Israel always have, that we are monotheists, that we worship only one God and not three. Although we may not recite it with the regularity of our Jewish friends, we still hold tightly to the ancient phrasing of Deuteronomy and the Shema… “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

But let us never lose sight of our mission and the words that were so important, that Jesus used them in his last instructions to his disciples during his last moments on earth:

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

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Where in the World is Pastor John?

May 10, 2023 PastorPartridge Blogs Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, death, Israel, Jamboree, John, Methodist, Ohio, Partridge, Scout, Scouting, Street, Sunday, travel, United

If you haven’t already, some of you will certainly be wondering what’s going on by the end of May. I didn’t preach for two Sundays in April and missed (or will miss) three more in May.

I’m fine… Really.

In April, I was in church for United Women in Faith Sunday, as well as the following week when I asked Pastor Christ to preach so that I could finish my research paper and other work that was due at the end of spring semester. Then, in May, I participated in the Great Day of Music Sunday (but didn’t preach) followed by two more Sundays in which Pastor Chris preached again. On the first of these, I was on a summer semester study trip as our entire class was in Israel to see all the places that we’ve been studying and writing about for the last 30 plus weeks. I returned on a Friday (if I was on schedule) but, again, Pastor Chris was kind enough to preach so that I didn’t have to worry about writing a sermon while I was traveling.

Of course, I’m writing this before I leave for Israel so that Dolores can put it in the newsletter, but by the time you read this, I should be back. I plan to be here through June, but I’ll miss a week or two in July when I will once again be serving as chaplain for the 2023 National Scout Jamboree. After that, I think I will be around for a while. There is a chance that I’ll be out again later in the year to perform a church wedding for our son Jonah and his wife Kylie after their private back yard service this past January.

Other than that, I don’t have any definite plans, but at some point, Patti and I might like to go somewhere… together.

I want to say thank you to all of you for allowing me the flexibility to go to school and serve in ministry in other capacities such as scouting and missions. I also want to say thank you to Pastor Chris and Susan Haddox who almost always say ‘yes” when I need to be somewhere else. And of course, I want to say thank you to my wife, Patti, for putting up with all my travel (and other shenanigans).

Blessings,

Pastor John

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Do I Lie?

May 7, 2023 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, believe, Broadway, build, chosen, chosen people, Christ, church, Did I stutter?, God, grow, grow up, holy, holy nation, Jesus, lie, Methodist, Ohio, Partridge, royal, royal priesthood, Stephen, stone, stoning, Street, stutter, Sunday, testify, The Office, trust, United

Do I Lie?

May 07, 2023*

By Pastor John Partridge

John 14:1-14 Acts 7:55-60 1 Peter 2:2-10

During the fourth season of the television situation comedy, The Office, one member of the team refused to participate during a staff brainstorming session and clearly said “No” when asked to do so. When the office manager pressed him further for his participation, he angrily shouted “Did I stutter?” That line has since become an often-repeated internet meme applied to all sorts of other situations. We can relate to his frustration.

We are sometimes dumbfounded by the way that the people around us aren’t listening, or left speechless because, despite spending time with us, act as if they don’t know us at all. In those moments our brain is churning and our reaction is much like “Did I stutter?” We wonder how we could have spent so many hours, or years, with that friend, that coworker, or that family member, and somehow, they missed understanding something about us that we thought should have been pretty obvious.

These can be those moments when we just stop, stare, and think, “Are you serious right now?”

Just before the words of today’s reading from the gospel of John, Jesus had told his disciples that he was leaving, and where he was going they could not follow but would follow later. The disciples are distressed. Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

We usually read past that quickly and barely notice it. It doesn’t seem like much. But Jesus responds to the distress of Peter and the other disciples as if they have completely missed something important that he’s been trying to tell them for three years, which, if we’re honest, seemed to happen with some regularity.

But with that in mind, we join the story in John 14:1-14, where we hear Jesus say…

^14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ²My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴You know the way to the place where I am going.”

⁵Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you really know me, you will knowmy Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

⁸Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

⁹Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ¹²Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Jesus says, “…if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” And it is as if he is saying, ‘Did I stutter?’ ‘Do I lie?’ Haven’t you been with me for the last three years? Don’t you know you I am and what I represent? Would I ever be the kind of person that tells you that I am going to do something, that I wasn’t going to do? By now, after three years of ministry together, Jesus seems to have expected that the disciples would… trust.

This entire conversation is like that. Philip wants Jesus to show them the Father, but Jesus insists that showing them the Father is exactly what he’s been doing for the last three years. “Don’t you know me, Philip? Even after I have been among you for such a long time?” By now you know me. And because you know me, you know my father.

Most of us can weigh in on that from our own experience. Of the people in this room, there is Pastor Chris, my wife Patti, and maybe one or two others who met my father. But I would be willing to bet, that on the day that you meet him on the other side of glory, you will not be surprised. If you know me, you already know a lot about my father.

What Jesus is saying is, ‘You already know me. What you need to do now is to trust me and to believe in me.”

Not long afterwards, perhaps three to six months later, that is exactly what Stephen is doing. Stephen is not a disciple, at least, not one of the twelve disciples, but he has heard the good news of Jesus Christ, he has trusted Jesus, put his faith in Jesus, and Acts 6:8 says, “Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.” But for doing good, for performing signs and wonders, probably healing the sick and casting out demons, and other things that the religious leaders couldn’t do, he gets arrested, put on trial, and condemned to death. And at his trial the Sanhedrin ask him if there is truth to the accusations against him, and rather than defend himself, he preaches the truth and confronts them with the reality that they are responsible for the murder of Jesus but also for enabling his resurrection. They’re so furious that they rush outside to execute Stephen by stoning, in Acts 7:55-60.

⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen trusted, then he believed, and then he testified to the truth regardless of the cost.

But what should we do?

We have not been in the presence of Jesus, or his disciples. We do not yet have the faith to heal the sick and rarely have the opportunity to cast out demons. What should we do? That is exactly the question that Peter seems to be answering in his letter to the followers of Jesus Christ in Asia minor in 1 Peter 2:2-10 when he says…

²Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual houseto be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”

⁷Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

⁸and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

⁹But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Peter says, “crave pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”

“Crave pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”

Crave pure spiritual milk.

Think about that.

Peter says, start small. You don’t start working in your profession and expect to start as the CEO. You start at the bottom and work your way up. You don’t start life by collecting your pension. You begin at the beginning. You start small, but you are expected to grow and to mature. You are being built into a spiritual house. You aren’t there yet, but you are under construction and sometimes construction is messy. You are being built into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood so that you can offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the cornerstone of our church and everything that we do. But while some people will build on that cornerstone, others will only be able to trip over it. It’s the same stone but they stumble because they refuse to obey the instructions that came with it.

You are under construction but even in the messiness of the building process, you are already a chosen people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation.

First you trust.

After you trust, then you believe.

After you believe, then you testify.

And after you testify, then you build.

You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation.

Jesus said so. And if you doubt him, you might just hear him ask…

… Did I stutter?

… “Do I lie?”

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Who is “They”?

April 30, 2023April 30, 2023 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, Broadway, call, Christ, church, follow, God, Jesus, Methodist, Ohio, Partridge, rescuer, sheep, stray, Street, Sunday, they, United, voice, who

Who is “They”?

April 30, 2023*

By Pastor John Partridge

John 10:1-10 Acts 2:42-47 1 Peter 2:19-25

Who are “they?”

In conversations with political topics of all kinds, speakers and writers refer to “they” as the people on the other side of their argument, or as generalized groups of immigrants, or people of color, or persons in poverty, or wealthy persons, or any other group that the speaker wishes to communicate as outsiders, outcasts, or “the other” and to linguistically paint their existence with disfavor.

The rock and roll band, The Who, famously asked, “Who are you?” If you attend a home game of the Cincinnati Bengals, you will likely her a stadium chant that asks, “Who dey?” And, of course, in our modern discussion of gendered pronouns, those who choose to use neutral pronouns wish to be described as “They/Them” rather than he, she, him, or her.

But you may be relieved to hear, none of those things are what I mean by “Who is They?” Instead, several of today’s scriptures refer to “they.” And, while each case is a little different, I think that we’ll learn something from looking a little deeper. We begin in John 10:1-10 where we find Jesus use an illustration, and then patiently explaining the meaning of that illustration and, at the end, we will find Jesus refer to this group of “they” several times. Jesus said…

^10:1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, …

And you can almost hear him begin to speak very slowly…

… I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved [“kept safe” is an alternate translation]. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

In this case, Jesus says that “whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” In this case, those who follow Jesus are the people who are “they” and, if we have accepted Jesus Christ and have chosen to follow him, them “we” are “they.”

But in Acts 2:42-47, the situation is just a little different. In this case, “they” isn’t us… but it could be. Luke says…

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

“They” devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, “they” sold property and possessions to give to those in need, “they” continued to meet together in the temple courts, “they” broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. In this case, “they” isn’t just the disciples of Jesus. If we back up two verses, the subject of the sentence appears, and we learn just who “they” is. Verse 40 says, “⁴⁰With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” So, in this case, “they” is everyone who accepted Peter’s message, which was the good news of Jesus Christ. “They” were everyone who was baptized and who were added to the number of believers. So, while none of us were there, and technically, that isn’t us, it could be. If we accept Jesus Christ, are baptized, devote ourselves to the teaching of the apostles, to fellowship and breaking bread, to giving generous gifts to those in need, and to regularly meeting together, then once again, “they” is “us.”

But we won’t find this elusive “they” in 1 Peter 2:19-25 because Peter is much more personal. Here, Peter pointedly addresses “you” and “we” rather than “they,” saying…

¹⁹For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. ²⁰But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. ²¹To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²²“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

²³When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” ²⁵For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Peter says that you were called to follow Jesus Christ, to live the kind of life that he modeled for us, and to do his work, even if that means that others don’t like it. If we suffer because of the good that we are doing, then our suffering is commendable before God. We have entrusted our lives to Jesus Christ. It was by his wounds that we are healed. We were once lost and astray, but now we have returned to him and trust him to guide us.

Jesus said “whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.”

Luke said, “They” devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, “they” sold property and possessions to give to those in need, “they” continued to meet together in the temple courts, “they” broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.

“We” are “they.”

But sometimes we go astray and drift off course. As Pogo famously said in 1970, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” But the sheep that have gone astray, can return to the guidance of the good shepherd.

Let us answer his call, follow him, and do his will, even if we must suffer for doing good.

Let us, once again, entrust ourselves to him who judges justly, for “by his wounds you have been healed.”

For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Let us repay our rescuer for his indescribable gift by living lives that point to him and give him glory.

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Few. Many. You.

April 9, 2023June 1, 2023 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, Broadway, carriers, Christ, church, death, Easter, friends, God, Heather Locklear, Jesus, John, Mary, Methodist, Ohio, Partridge, Peter, resurrection, rise, running, Street, Sunday, tell, United

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Few. Many. You.

April 09, 2023*

(Easter Sunday)

By Pastor John Partridge

John 20:1-18 Acts 10:34-43 Colossians 3:1-4

In 1984, the Faberge company hired popular actress and model, Heather Locklear to star in a commercial for their new line of Faberge Organics shampoo. In that commercial, Heather Locklear says that she was so impressed by the results of using this new shampoo, that she told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on. And with each repletion of those words, the image of Heather Locklear doubles, and continues to multiply. Many of us remember that commercial.

But whether we remember seeing it or not, it is a good representation of what happens when we learn of new products that excite us, or hear juicy gossip, or any other kind of news that gets us excited. And this is the way that the news of the resurrection happened. There wasn’t a mobile television news crew from channel eight broadcasting live from Jesus’ tomb, nor were there any newspaper reporters or internet bloggers skulking around looking for a scoop that would sell newspapers or make their blog go viral. News, even incredibly exciting news, traveled the old fashioned way, one person told their friends, and they told their friends, and so on, and so on, and so on. And that’s exactly what we see in the story of the resurrection recorded for us by the Apostle John in John 20:1-18.

^20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ²So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

³So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

¹¹Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹²and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

¹³They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

¹⁷Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

First, I want to notice that everyone is running. This isn’t the kind of news that is merely interesting and you think to yourself that you’ll need to tell someone the next time you see them. This is earth-shaking, life or death, call 911 and start CPR, kind of news. First, Mary Magdalene finds the empty tomb, then Simon Peter and John run to join her and see for themselves. Then the disciples leave and Mary is left alone, only to be joined buy two angels, and then by Jesus. But, after Jesus leaves, Mary runs to the place where the disciples are staying so that she can tell as many people as possible.

The message of the resurrection began with only one, and then to only a few, but it didn’t end there or none of us would be here this morning. Not too long after the resurrection of Jesus, on the day of Pentecost, Peter and the disciples were still in Jerusalem. But now, instead of hiding, they shared the good news of Jesus’ resurrection with a crowd of many people as we hear in the story of Acts 10:34-43.

³⁴Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. ³⁶You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. ³⁷You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— ³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

³⁹“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, ⁴⁰but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. ⁴¹He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Rather than sharing the news with two friends, who can share with two more friends, Peter speaks to a crowd of people from every nation to which Jews had migrated. Being one of the required feasts, pilgrims from everywhere had come to Jerusalem and there, Peter and the disciples shared with them the story of Jesus and the news of his crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection. The reason that this story is good news is that it is not limited to one group of friends, to one group of people, or to one nation. Peter preaches that he now knows that “God does not show favoritism” so the people who had come there from Africa, and Asia, and everywhere, are just as known, and just as loved, by God as the people who live in Jerusalem. God’s love, grace, and forgiveness are not limited by ethnicity or geography, but are now available to everyone who believes.

But that wasn’t the end of the story either. Decades later, when Paul wrote his letter to the church that he had founded in the city of Colossae, in what is now the nation of Turkey, he says this in Colossians 3:1-4:

^3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

On Easter morning, Mary Magdalene discovered that she was the only one who knew the truth, but then she told two friends, and those friends told more friends, and eventually announced the good news to many, and soon that news was traveling all over the known world. And here, in the worlds of Paul, we find God’s call to us. “Since you” (that’s us) “have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above. Set your minds on things above and not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden in Christ with God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Like Mary Magdalene on Easter morning, and like the disciples at Pentecost, we are witnesses. We have received, and we are the carriers of the greatest pieces of good news ever shared from one human to another. Like Mary, and the disciples, and legions of people since then, we are still called to share the good news that we have received. Although millennia have passed, this news is so good, far better than the discovery of a new organic shampoo, that we are still called to tell our friends and our neighbors what we have seen, and what we have heard. And, like always, when we tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on, then our good news will find its way… to everyone.

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Storm Clouds

April 2, 2023April 6, 2023 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, clouds, death, donkey, entry, God, Jesus, Lazarus, lining, Methodist, Ohio, Palm, Partridge, pharisee, resurrection, Sadducee, Sanhedrin, silver, storm, Street, Sunday, triumphal, United

Storm Clouds

April 02, 2023*

(Palm Sunday)

By Pastor John Partridge

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Matthew 21:1-11 John 11:45-57

Last week we read the story of Lazarus together. It is an amazing story. Jesus returns to the house of his friends, Mary and Martha, four days after their brother, and Jesus’s friend, had died and was sealed inside of his burial tomb. At Jesus’ request, despite warnings that, after four days, the smell is going to be bad, they roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb and Jesus calls out to his friend and commands him to come out. At Jesus’ command, Lazarus climbs out of the tomb still wrapped from head to toe in his grave clothes.

As I said, it is an amazing story.

But as we follow the recommended readings for Lent, these readings often seem to tell a happier story than the scriptures do. Following the recommended lectionary readings would have us jump directly from Lazarus’ resurrection to Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday. The alternative reading would have us jump from Lazarus’ story directly to the story of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. But, as I mentioned at the end of last week’s service, there is an important part of the story that gets skipped over. And so, today we’re going to begin right where we left off last week, with the story of Lazarus, and then follow Jesus into Jerusalem because both of these pieces are important to our understanding of how things were set in motion for the events that lead up to Good Friday and Easter.

So, let us rejoin Lazarus’ story right where we stopped last week. Lazarus rises from the dead, climbs out of his tomb, Jesus asks folks to help Lazarus’ take off his grave clothes, everybody is amazed, and our scripture said, “⁴⁵Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.”

That’s nice, but that isn’t the end of the story because if we continue reading, this is what we hear in John 11:45-57.

⁴⁵Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. ⁴⁶But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. ⁴⁸If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

⁴⁹Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! ⁵⁰You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

⁵¹He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, ⁵²and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. ⁵³So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

⁵⁴Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

⁵⁵When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. ⁵⁶They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” ⁵⁷But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.

Sometimes, when we read the story of Jesus entry into Jerusalem, we wonder if anyone really noticed all the cheering, and shouting, and waving palm branches and this is especially true when we skip over the end of Lazarus’ story. But when we read the second half of the Lazarus story, we see that the chief priests and the Pharisees were waiting and watching for Jesus’ arrival. They had already decided that Jesus needed to die, and all the waving palm branches, and the shouts of Hosanna, only confirmed their decision and cemented their determination.

But, from the point of view of the disciples and other followers, Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem was a joyous occasion. They had a completely different perspective. So different in fact, that it almost seems like different story. The people saw Jesus as a prophet, and they hoped that he would be the military messiah that would overthrow the Roman occupation and lead Israel to a renewed greatness, prominence, and notoriety. We hear this story in Matthew 21:1-11.

^21:1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosannato the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosannain the highest heaven!”

¹⁰When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

These acclamations tell us two things, first, they tell us about the expectations of the people and who they thought Jesus was, and second, they explain to us why the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other members of the ruling council saw Jesus as both a problem and a threat.

“Hosanna,” means “Save” or perhaps “Save us.” It is the kind of thing that you would shout to a military or political leader in order to praise them, but also to express your hope in their leadership. “Son of David” was often used as the title for the kings of Israel, and was used both figuratively for leaders that were not related to David, and literally for Kings that were genetically descended from David. Waving palm branches may have also made a political statement. Again, this was something that you did to welcome kings, royalty, conquering heroes, or other important persons. Palm branches, in particular, may have been seen as a nationalistic symbol of Israel. These sorts of demonstrations were sometimes specifically organized by local leaders to welcome Roman generals, Senators, or Caesars so that they were appropriately welcomed and would see that subjugated nations loved Rome and were obedient to Caesar.

Taken together, this probably looked like the sort of thing that could start a popular uprising against Roman authority, and the potential for that sort of uprising was exactly why a Roman fortress, the Fortress Antonia, was physically attached to the Temple courts. Worse, the Romans stored the vestments of the high priest in that fortress, and if they were sufficiently perturbed, they would withhold access to the high priest, and there would be no holy day sacrifice.

And just in case you needed confirmation that the Sanhedrin knew about all of the shouting and the palm branches, Luke’s description of this event in Luke 19:39-40 includes this conversation:

³⁹Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

⁴⁰“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

It’s a little odd that the selected scriptures that we read during each season of Lent always include the story of Lazarus, but skip the part where we hear the angry voices of Jerusalem’s leaders. It is precisely because the resurrection of Lazarus, and the way in which that causes even more people to follow Jesus… it is precisely because this angers the Sanhedrin, and spurs them into action, that the story of Lazarus become a vital element of the Easter story. In the minds of Jerusalem’s leaders, Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, and what is often described as his “triumphal entry,” only confirmed and solidified the decision that they had already made.

If they were going to keep the peace…

If they were going to keep the Romans from using violence to insure peace…

If they were going to maintain the status quo…

If they were going to keep their jobs, their positions, their influence, and their power…

If they were going to retain control of their temple and their nation…

Jesus must die.

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Disappointing Expectations

March 27, 2021 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, disappoint, disappointing, disappointment, entry, expectation, expectations, Jesus, Messiah, Methodist, misguided, Ohio, Palm, Street, Sunday, triumphal, United, worship

Disappointing Expectations

March 28, 2021*

(Palm Sunday)

By Pastor John Partridge

Mark 11:1-11

Have you ever been angry?

I’m certain that you have.

But have you ever been angry at another person, and later discovered that you were the one who was really at fault? That sounds confusing. But maybe this will help, there was a time when I received some good counseling for some anger issues with which I had been struggling. And one of the sources of my anger was the disappointment that I felt in the attitude and behavior of another person. But during that conversation, my counselor said something that has stuck with me for a long time. And that was basically that there are many things that we cannot control. We can’t control the attitude and the behavior of other people, and there are many other things in our lives that are similarly out of our control. But while we can’t control the actions of other people, or the actions of government officials, or which team is going to win the football game, or your bracket for the final-four in the March Madness basketball game, the things that we can control are our expectations.

When we expect a particular team to win, and they don’t, any anger that we feel is largely our own fault for the expectation that we set. When our children don’t behave the way that we expected them to, it’s okay to be disappointed, but our anger if often our fault for expecting more from them than was reasonable. We are guaranteed to be disappointed if we expect the impossible or expect someone to do what they never intended to do. You shouldn’t expect the basketball team to win a football game, or expect a pharmacist to solve your engineering problem, or expect your doctor to solve your accounting problem. When you expect the wrong things, you are certain to be disappointed.

And, in large measure, that is exactly what we are watching in the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in Mark 11:1-11.

^11:1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, ²saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

⁴They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, ⁵some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ⁶They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. ⁷When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. ⁸Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. ⁹Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna!” [which means “Save us”]

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

¹⁰“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹¹Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

This is a wonderful story, and it is one of the most well-known stories in the New Testament as well as one of those that we read and repeat every year. But it is not just a story about Jesus being recognized as Israel’s Messiah and king, it is a story about misplaced expectations. The people shouting for Jesus to save them (remember that “Hosanna” means, “save us”) were expecting that the messiah would come as a conquering king. But scripture says that the messiah would be both a suffering servant and a conquering king. When Jesus did not immediately begin raising an army to oppose and overthrow the Roman garrison, he failed to meet the expectations of the people. And, as we mentioned earlier, when our expectations are too high, and people fail to meet them, we humans often direct our anger toward the other person rather than remembering our own failure to set reasonable expectations.

In this story, Jesus clearly demonstrates his power and authority as the messiah and redeemer of Israel, and he fulfills many of the Old Testament prophecies regarding God’s coming rescuer and king, but because he did not meet their expectations, the people were angry and easily persuaded by the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees to cast their vote to release Barabbas and crucify Jesus.

But this also serves as a cautionary tale for us in the twenty-first century because the people of Jerusalem in the first century were not the only ones who have placed unreasonable, impossible, or just plain wrong expectations on the person, purpose, mission and ministry of Jesus Christ. Many of the people who reject religion, or who have left the church, have done so because their understanding of Christianity, and the person, purpose, mission, and ministry of Jesus Christ is filled with unreasonable, impossible, misguided, and wrong expectations. Yes, Jesus came to save the world, and yes, Jesus offers everyone the opportunity to follow him, be forgiven, and receive eternal life. But the first coming of Jesus did not make suffering, pain, and death go away. Christians do not live perfect lives free from pain, suffering, inconvenience, sickness, mental illness, and death. Violence, war, crime, and all sorts of evil did not end with the resurrection and neither did poverty and injustice. When we expect Jesus to do all these things, and expect Jesus to make our lives perfect, in this present age, then our expectations are not in alignment with the teachings of scripture, and we are certain to experience profound disappointment.

The people of Jerusalem failed to accept Jesus because they expected him to do things that he had not yet come to do, and the fault was not with Jesus but with their misplaced and misguided expectations. Today, we fail in the same way when we expect Jesus to heal the sick, clothe the naked, make our lives painless and perfect, and to eliminate evil and injustice from the world. Scripture says that Jesus will do those things, after the second coming and the judgement of the world. But until then, the mission to do all those things been given to us, the church.

Let us not allow the people around us to be disappointed in Jesus.

Whenever we witness injustice and evil, or find the sick, the naked, and the hungry among us, let us not be disappointed in Jesus, but instead put on our work gloves… and get to work.

You can find the video of this worship service here: https://youtu.be/xs-faxbmLWg

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org. If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online). These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

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