Easter Celebration - "You Go Ahead"

A sermon preached at Journey United Church of Christ on Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012.

READING FOR THE DAY:  Mark 16:1-8 (CEV)

¹ After the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James bought some spices to put on Jesus' body.
² Very early on Sunday morning, just as the sun was coming up, they went to the tomb.
³ On their way, they were asking one another, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance for us?"
⁴ But when they looked, they saw that the stone had already been rolled away. And it was a huge stone!
⁵ The women went into the tomb, and on the right side they saw a young man in a white robe sitting there. They were alarmed.
⁶ The man said, "Don't be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who was nailed to a cross. God has raised him to life, and he isn't here. You can see the place where they put his body.
⁷ Now go and tell his disciples, and especially Peter, that he will go ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you."
⁸ When the women ran from the tomb, they were confused and shaking all over. They were too afraid to tell anyone what had happened.

As kids, growing up in the Boone family, we discovered there were types of situations that made up life:  There were the "me-first!" situations. “Me first” was sometimes based on birth order or reverse birth order; being the middle child, I lost in both categories.  But most of the time, “me first” boiled down to brute strength and the ability to push, claw or power your way to the front. "Me first" was what we screamed, hollered or yelled when ice cream was served, or when someone was being chosen to sit in the front seat of the car or when it was time to get a ride on my dad’s motorcycle and for all those occasions that rank high on the “kids scale of joy.”  We screamed "me first" because we wanted the best and the biggest, we wanted to be the focus of attention, center state, the envy of our siblings.  Winning the "me-first" competition made us feel special, made us feel, just for a moment, like the most important person in the world.

But as kids we also quickly learn that there are some situations where you definitely don't want to be first. These are known as "you-go-ahead" situations. 
"You go ahead" was the address you used when you wanted to avoid taste-testing my mother’s latest recipe or when you wanted to let someone else determine the temperature of the lake before you went swimming early in the season or when we were all hauled off the dentist for our annual check ups.  We said, "you go ahead" because we didn't want to take a risk, look foolish, suffer pain, show our fear, or experience the unknown. When we succeeded in getting someone else to "go ahead," we could buy ourselves a little more time.  

On Easter morning, we are supposed to feel the “me first” type of joy, wonder, triumph, excitement and hope; and it’s there in three out of the four gospels – Matthew, Luke and John.  But Mark’s account of the resurrection makes it feel more like a “you-go-first” kind of moment.  There’s concern about who will roll away the stone.  There’s alarm at finding angels in the tomb instead of Jesus and then there’s fear - fear that means they don’t run from the tomb eager to tell the good news, but fear that keeps them from mentioning anything to anyone. 

Now on one hand… Who can blame them for running away? If any qualifies for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, it’s the women.  Their world had dramatically and suddenly been turned upside down in the last few days. They Watched as their rabbi, their leader and their friend has been taken from them, arrested, tortured and crucified.  On Friday they had watched as his body was placed in the tomb.  The process of coping with their grief began. The grief must have been horrible, but at least it fit into their understanding of how things work – certainly they had experienced the death of a loved one before, and as dreadful as it was, it was grief – grief they could understand.  

But what happened next was beyond their understanding … outside of the realm of what they expected…Even after they heard the young man in white tell them that Jesus had been raised, they didn’t shout “Christ is risen!”  That’s what we want them to say, but they didn’t behave as we would like. Instead we read: “the women ran from the tomb, they were confused and shaking all over…They were too afraid to tell anyone what had happened” 

So what’s with the fear in Mark? 

Well, we all know a bit about fear don’t we?  Fear CAN be a good thing. Constructive fear keeps us alert and helps us deal with the realities of life.  It’s the kind of fear that makes us run from danger and harm. It’s the kind of fear that keeps us alert and on our toes.  I've been ordained for over 20 years and was preaching a bit before that … over the course of the years, I've preached over 1000 sermons … yet, before every worship, I feel a twinge of fear … it's good it keeps me on my toes … reminded of the "awesome task" … when I get to point of "whatever", I'm in trouble.  That’s CONSTRUCTIVE FEAR and it’s a good thing … but, not all fear is like that.

There’s this other kind of fear - the kind I think the women experienced that first Easter morning.  It’s DESTRUCTIVE FEAR.  It’s the kind that gets in the way. It’s the kind that adversely affects our lives.  It’s the kind that can cause problems in relationships.  It’s the kind that caused us to freeze up and shut down. Some of us have been there.  Something has happened along the way, the path of our lives,  when we were just overwhelmed by fear, when we were immobilized, paralyzed. 

Fortunately, the story of that first Easter doesn’t end there.  We know that eventually woke out of their frozen terror and told someone.  If they hadn’t we would not be celebrating today.  We would be celebrating any Sunday. 

What made the difference?  What was the formula the women used for facing for their fear?

The formula is found in the message of the angel …

⁶ The man said, "Don't be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who was nailed to a cross. God has raised him to life, and he isn't here. You can see the place where they put his body.
⁷ Now go and tell his disciples, and especially Peter, that he will go ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you."

Don’t be alarmed.

… He will go ahead of you to Galilee …

… You can see him there …

The messenger at the tomb tells the women that Jesus is going ahead of them. In reality, it’s been what Jesus has been about all long.  He has gone before them to show them a new way of living.  He has gone before them to show them the way of peace and justice, the way of peace and shalom.  He has gone before them to show them out to treat the poor, the widow, the orphans, the outcasts.  He has gone before them to share the way of sharing, caring, healing and sharing hope.  He went ahead to show them how to speak truth to power, how to live out radical hospitality, how to confront injustice, how to give voice to those who don’t have a voice.  And yes, he went ahead of them to show them the way to deal with the results of living out these beliefs.  He went ahead of them down the path of arrest and torture and he even went ahead of them to death.  And then on Sunday, he went ahead of them in living once again. 

This is our hope as well – that Jesus has gone before us and lived in the midst of all the circumstances and situations we face each and every day – both good and bad, joyful or painful, inspiring or stressful.  Jesus is present in whatever future we face.  Jesus meets us in the midst of our living.   

So, what are you afraid of? What's kind of fear is keeping you on the sidelines of life?  What kind of terror is robbing your joy?  Can we remember in those situations that Jesus has gone before us, showing us the way?  Can we remember to open our eyes, our hearts and our minds in such a way that we can see the living Jesus in our midst.  In the midst of the people around us?  In the midst of this faith community?  In the midst of our living? 

Perhaps, it's time to go places we always wanted to go, but never did because we were afraid. Perhaps it's time to start doing what we've longed to do, but never had the courage to do.  Perhaps it's time to face what we’ve always wanted to face but we lacked courage.  It's time, it’s time, it’s time …to remember that Jesus goes ahead and Jesus is in our midst.  Will you pray with me?

PRAYER:  He's Still Moving Stones 

They came to the tomb on Easter morn
Who will roll the stone away they cried
But when they got there
They were surprised to see an angel inside
Where is He gone
Where have they taken Him
Has a thief come and stolen Him away
The angel said the stone was moved
So that you could see He's not dead
He is alive

The stones in my life cause me to fear
Blinding me with life's uncertainty
And I can't see then that You're alive
And standing so close to me
Lord move the stone so I can clearly see
That You've already won the victory
Lord move the stone so I can stand
On the fact You are not dead
You are alive

So Lord please roll the stone away for me
And Lord please help my eyes to clearly see
At Your word stones of fear and doubt
Will be gone
For You are not dead You are alive
And You're still moving stones

CCLI Song #1955929  © 1996 Tennessee Music & Printing Company; Dolores Prescott
For use solely with the SongSelect Terms of Use. All rights Reserved.  www.ccli.com   CCLI License #2968412

Palm Sunday - "We Love a Parade! But Which One?"

A sermon preached at Journey United Church of Christ on Palm Sunday, April 1, 2012.

Based on “The Last Week” by John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg

Welcome to the beginning of our Journey through Holy Week.  It begins with a impromptu but celebratory parade as Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem as his followers line the streets and welcome him by throwing their coats on the ground and waving palm branches they have cut from nearby trees. On Monday enters the temple and throws out the merchants.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, he does what he does best – spends the days teaching and preaching in Jerusalem – and getting all confrontational with some of the “religious folks” of his day. On Thursday he observes that Passover with his disciples – an event that we’ll re-enact this week as well; After supper while in the garden praying, he is arrested and throughout the night and early morning he is tried and convicted. On Friday the final events of his life unfold as he died on the cross and his body is placed in the tomb. Saturday is a down day.  And on Sunday, the miracle of the Easter resurrection occurs. 

Along that Journey through the final days there are countless moments filled with intrigue and suspense.  Will Judas betray Jesus; will Peter deny him; will the religious and political leaders of the day go along follow their hearts or follow the crowds … decisions, decisions, decisions.  The week is filled with decisions … not little decisions like, what to have for breakfast …but life altering decisions with huge implications.

We’re going to look at the decisions that set the stage a the beginning of the week – decisions surrounding that initial parade of palms … the event that brings us to this day .. Palm Sunday. 

READING FOR THE DAY:  Matthew 21:1-11 (NRSV)

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately."

This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

"Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

Decisions, Decisions – How do YOU Decide

This has been one of “those” weeks, not because it’s been wicked crazy busy … but because it’s been quite the opposite.  We actually had two – count them – two nights home this week … virtually unheard of in the Damhof household. 

Usually, we not only find ourselves committed to something every evening, but we often find ourselves juggling multiple options.  Is your life ever like that?  You can go with a light load for three weekends in a row with virtually “no life” and then all of the sudden, you not only have one option, but multiple options for the same day.  When faced with the dilemma of having your calendar full of options, how do YOU decide? Flip a coin, make a list of “pros” and “cons”, take a vote? -  what’s a person to do?

HOW we make decisions has implications … perhaps even as much as the decisions themselves. 

Take that very first Palm Sunday so many, many years ago. 

The scripture doesn’t let us in on the whole story … but the folks who would have originally heard or read these gospels would have known that there was not just one parade that first Palm Sunday … there were two parades. 

One Parade … No Two

Remember last year during Lent?  We did a worship series on “The Lord’s Prayer”  - based on a book by John Dominic Crossan.  It helped us understand the background and the stories and situations that formed the background for the familiar words we know so well.  John Dominic Crossan also wrote another book with theologian, Marcus Borg, entitled “The Last Week”.  The book walks us through the events of that first Holy Week and does a great job of exploring what Jesus was actually passionate about and why he was executed. 

I was introduced to the book this week by Cathy Parker, a member of my campus ministry board who shared a portion with us as our devotions at the beginning of our meeting.  Thanks Cathy for helping me write my sermon. 

Here’s what Crossan and Borg have to say about the story we read from Mark 11 earlier. 

“Two processions entered Jerusalem on a spring day in the year 30.  It was the beginning of the week of Passover, the most sacred week of the Jewish year.  In the centuries since, Christians have celebrated this day as Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week.  With its climax of Good Friday and Easter, it is the most sacred week of the Christian year.”  (p. 10)

“One was a peasant procession, the other an imperial procession.  From the east, Jesus rode a donkey down the Mount of Olives, cheered by his followers.  Jesus was from a peasant village of Nazareth, his message was about the kingdom of God, and his followers came from the peasant class.  They had journeyed to Jerusalem from Galilee, about a hundred miles to the north, a journey that is the central section and the central dynamic of Mark’s gospel.  Marks story of Jesus and the kingdom of God has been aiming for Jerusalem, pointing toward Jerusalem.  It has now arrived.” (p. 10)

“One the opposite side of the city, from the west, Pontius Pilate, the Roman Govern …entered Jerusalem at the head of a column of imperial cavalry and soldiers.” (p.10)

“Jesus’s procession proclaimed the kingdom of God

Pilate’s proclaimed the power of the empire.

The two processions embody the central conflict of the week….” (p. 10)

“Pilate’s military procession was a demonstration of both Roman imperial power and Roman imperial theology.  It was standard practice of the Roman governors of Judea to be in Jerusalem of the major Jewish festivals.  The did so not out of empathetic reverence for the religious devotion of their Jewish subjects, but to be in the city in case their was trouble.  There often was, especially at Passover, a festival that celebrated the Jewish people’s liberation from an earlier empire.” 

“Imagine the imperial procession’s arrival in the city.  A visual panoply of imperial power:  calvary on horses, foot soldiers, leather armor, helmets weapons, banners, golden eagles mounted on poles, sun glinting on metal and gold.  Sounds:  the marching of feet, the creaking of leather, the clinking of bridles, the beating of drums.” 

…the sights and sounds that would surely put even our modern day parades to shame …

“…we return to the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem.  Although it is familiar, it has surprises.  As Mark tells the story … it is a prearranged “counter-procession”.  Jesus planned it in advance.  As Jesus approaches the city from the east at the end of the journey from Galilee, he tells two of his disciples to go to the next village and get him a colt they will find there, one that has never been ridden, that is a young one.  They do so, and Jesus rides the colt down the Mount of Olives to the city surrounded by a crowd of enthusiastic followers and sympathizers, who spread their cloaks, strewn leafy branches on the road, and shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”  (p. 11)

“Jesus’s procession deliberately countered what was happening on the other side of the city.  Pilate’s procession embodied the power, the glory and the violence of the empire that ruled the world.  Jesus’s procession embodied an alternative vision, the kingdom of God.”  (p. 12)

Which Parade Would WE Choose?

I wonder which parade I would have gone to? 

Would I go to the big parade with the amazing display of power and prestige? a showcase for the strong and wealthy? the one with the glitzy uniforms? the one where I could catch a glimpse of the “rich and famous”…

or

Would I have been among those who made up the simple processions that welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem?  Would I have laid my coat in the road?  Would I have waved a branch?  Would I have shouted “Hosanna”?

What would I have done?

What would I have decided? 

I’d like to think that I would have been among the faithful followers of Jesus.

I’d like to think that not only would I have participated in the parade, I also would have stayed with Jesus through the entire week.  I would have encouraged him as he cleared the temple.  I would listen attentively to his final sermons.  I would not be among those who betrayed him or doubted him or denied him.  I would have made the right choices.

But, it’s not that easy is it? Choosing ‘less’ over ‘more’ isn’t that easy.  Choosing ‘weak’ over ‘strong’ isn’t our way. Choosing to hang with ‘those who have less’ over the ‘rich and famous’ doesn’t happen

Throughout the season of Lent, many of us have been reflecting on “The Economy of Love” with Shane Claiborne.  Shane has spent years developing an intentional community that goes by the name “The Simple Way”.   Shane is clear that not everyone is called to live exactly as he does, but he does encourage all of us to move towards what he calls a “relational tithe” – not simply giving financial to those who have less (which IS important), but also actually spending time with the people who have less.  It’s why we do things like the Blessing Party at Koinonia.  It’s why we actually go to Schoharie and work with homeowners who have been devastated by floodwaters. 

Every time we do so, we make a decision… we make a choice

To be in relationship.

To make a difference.

To turn towards those who not only need things, but need us.

Join me in a time of reflection as we contemplate what it means for us..

LENTEN CANDLE REFLECTION

We have gathered here, week after week, sharing a common quest for a deeper faith and a deeper experience of the divine. I invite you now to close your eyes and let go of the things that distract and concern you. Listen! The time is drawing near. Jesus is preparing to enter Jerusalem. How will we greet him? Will we follow him all the way to the Cross? The power of Jesus is that he lived what he taught, even when it led to his death. He lived with an abiding awareness of God, radiating the light of God in all he said and did. But that light was too much for the world. There are forces today, as there were in ancient Judea, that conspire to put it out. Where are we in this drama? What are we willing to risk to follow Jesus?

(Silent time.)

Loving God, there are so many choices before us every day. Choices offered by our friends, our families, our culture, our own past. Some of them encourage the well-being of the earth, ourselves and our neighbors; others are destructive. Help us to distinguish between them. May we learn from the choices of Jesus and embody compassion, justice, and inclusion in all we say and do. Amen

Lent 5: "Love Wins" - What's Good About the Good News

A sermon preached at Journey United Church of Christ on Sunday, March 25, 2012.

Based on “Love Wins:  A Book About Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived” (Harper Collins 2011)

READING FOR THE DAY: 

Luke 15:1-32 (The Message, By Eugene Peterson)

1 By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently.

2 The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, "He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends."

3 Their grumbling triggered this story.

4 "Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it?

5 When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing,

6 and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, 'Celebrate with me! I've found my lost sheep!'

7 Count on it—there's more joy in heaven over one sinner's rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.

8 "Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it?

9 And when she finds it you can be sure she'll call her friends and neighbors: 'Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!'

10 Count on it—that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God."

11 Then he said, "There was once a man who had two sons.

12 The younger said to his father, 'Father, I want right now what's coming to me.' "So the father divided the property between them.

13 It wasn't long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had.

14 After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt.

15 He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs.

16 He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.

17 "That brought him to his senses. He said, 'All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death.

18 I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you;

19 I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.'

20 He got right up and went home to his father. "When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.

21 The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.'

22 "But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

23 Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time!

24 My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!' And they began to have a wonderful time.

25 "All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day's work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing.

26 Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on.

27 He told him, 'Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.'

28 "The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen.

29 The son said, 'Look how many years I've stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends?

30 Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!'

31 "His father said, 'Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—

32 but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!' "

So Many Stories… Which to Believe?

So, we’ve heard the story a zillion times before … Rob Bell describes it like this:  “A man has two sons.  The young one demands his share of the father’s inheritance early, and the father unexpectedly gives it to him.  He takes the money, leaves home, spends it all, and returns home hoping to be hired as a worker in his dad’s business.  His father, again unexpectedly, welcomes him home, embraces him, and throws him a homecoming party, fattened calf and all.”

His holder brother refuses to join.  It’s unfair, he tells he father, because he’s never even been given a goat, so that he and his friends could have a party.  The gather then says to him. ‘You are always with me, and everything I have is yours.  But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”  (p. 82)

It’s a familiar story … right?!

In the final chapters of his book, “Love Wins”, Rob Bells retells the story because, in his view, there are a number of stories being told in the familiar words of this one narrative. 

Consider this musings … “The younger brother tells a story.  It is his version of the story, and as he heads home in shame after squandering his father’s money, he rehearses the speech he’ll give his father.  He is convinced he’s “no longer worthy” to be called his father’s son.  That’s the story he’s telling; that’s the one he’s believing.”

“It’s stunning, then, when he gets home and his father demands that the best robe be put on him and a ring be placed on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Robes and rings and sandals are signs of being a son.  Although he’s decided he can’t be a son anymore, his father tells a different story. One about return and reconciliation and redemption.  One about his being a son again.”  (p. 82)

 “The younger son has to decide whose version of his story he’s going to trust:  his or his son’s.  One in which he is no longer worthy to be called a son or one in which he is no longer worthy to be called a son or one in which he’s a robe-, ring-, and sandal-wearing son who was dead but is alive again, who was lost but has now been found.”  (p.82)

There are two version of the story.

His.

And his father’s.

He has to choose which one he will live in

Which one he will believe.

Which one he will trust. (p. 82)

“Same, as it turns out, for the older brother.

He too has his version of the story.

He tells his father, ‘All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.  Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.”  But when this son of yours (he can’t even say his brother’s name) who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!” (p. 82)

“So much is so few words.  One senses he’s been saving up it up for years, and now out it comes, with venom.”

“First, in his version of events, he’s been slaving for his father for years.  That’s how he describes life in his father’s house: slaving.  That directly contradicts the few details we’ve been given about the father, who appears to be anything but a slave driver.  (p. 83)

“Second, he says his father has never given him a goat.  A goat doesn’t have much meat on it, so even in conjuring up an image of celebration, it’s meager. Lean. Lame.  The kind of party he envisions just isn’t that impressive.  What he reveals here is what he really thinks about his father:  he thinks he’s cheap.”  (p. 83)

“Third, he claims that his father has dealt with his brother according to a totally different set of standards.  He thinks his father is unfair.  He thinks he’s been wronged, shorted, shafted.  And he’s furious about it.”  (p. 83)

“The father isn’t rattled or provoked.  He simply responds, ‘My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.’  And then he tells him that hey have to celebrate. 

“You are always with me and everything I have is yours.” 

“In one sentence the father manages to tell an entirely different story about the older brother”

“First, the older son hasn’t been a slave.  He’s had it all the whole time.  There’s been no need to work, obey orders, or slave away to earn what he’s had the whole time.” (p. 83)

“Second, the father hasn’t been cheap with him.  He could have had whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it.  Everything the father owns has always been his, which includes, of course, the fattened calves.  All he had to do was receive.” (p. 83)

“Third, the father redefines fairness.  It’s not that his father hasn’t been fair with him; it’s that his father never set out to be fair in the first place.  Grace and generosity aren’t fair; that’s their very essence.  The father sees the younger brother’s return as one more occasions to practice unfairness.  The younger son doesn’t deserve a party – that’s the point of the party.  That’s how things work in the father’s world.  Profound unfairness.”  (p. 83)

“People get what they don’t deserve.

Parties are thrown for younger brothers who squander their inheritance.”

After all,

You are always with me

And everything I have is yours”

“What the father does is retell the older brother’s story.  Just as he did with the younger brother.  The question, then, is the same question that confronts the younger brother – will he trust his version of his story or his father’s version of his story?”  (p. 84)

….so what does this have to do with heaven and hell? 

What’s Your Story – Heaven or Hell?

Consider Rob Bell’s theory: 

“Hell is our refusal to trust God’s retelling of our story.” (p. 84)

“We all have our version of events.  Who we are, who we aren’t, what we’ve done , what that means for our future.  Our worth, value, significance.  The things we believe about ourselves that we cling to despite the pain an agony they’re causing us.”  (p. 84)

“Some people are haunted by the sins of the past.  Abuse, betrayal, addiction, infidelity – secrets that have been buried for years.  I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met over the years who said they couldn’t go to church because the “roof would cave in” or “there would be a lightning bolt.”   Flaws, failures, shame like a stain that won’t wash out.  A deep-seated profound believe that they are, at some primal level of the soul, not good enough.”  (p. 84). 

For others, it isn’t their acute sense of their lack or inadequacy or sins; it’s their pride.  Their ego.  They’re convinced of their own greatness and autonomy – they don’t need anybody.  Often the belief is that God, Jesus, church, and all that is for the “weak ones”, the ones who can’t make it in the world, so they cling to their religious superstitions and myths like a drug, a crutch, a way to avoid taking responsibility for their pathetic lives.  (p. 84)

We believe all sorts of things about ourselves.  And each of us, in our own, needs to hear another version of our story.  The version that Jesus tells.

“It begins with the sure and certain truth that we are loved.

That in spite of whatever has gone horribly wrong in our hearts

has spread to every corner of the world,

in spite of our sins,

failures,

rebellion,

and hard hearts,

in spite of what’s been done to us what we’ve done,

God loves us!  (p. 85)

“We are now invited to live a whole new live without guilt or shame or blame or anxiety”

We are going to be fine.

Of all the conceptions of the divine, of all the language Jesus could put on the lips of the God character in this story he tells, that’s what he has the father say. (p. 85)

“You are always with me, and everything I have is yours.”

The older brother has been clinging to his version of events for so long, it’s hard for him to conceive of any other way of seeing things.  Perhaps, his inability to trust the re-telling reminds us of our own inability to trust a new story about God, heaven, hell, our fate and the fate of others. 

“This story, the one Jesus tells about the man with two sons, has everything to do with our story …. Can we trust the retelling?”

“Millions of people in our world were told that God so loved the world, that God sent his son to save the world, and that is they accept and believe in Jesus, they’ll be able to have a relationship with God.”  (p. 85) … beautiful

“But there’s more.  Millions have been taught that if they don’t believe, if they don’t accept in the right way, that is, the way the person telling them the gospel does, and they were hit by a car and died later that same day, God would have no choice but to punish them forever in conscious torment in hell.  God would, in essence, become a fundamentally different being to them in that moment of death, a different being to them forever.  A loving heavenly father who will got extraordinary lengths to have a relationship with them would, in the blink of an eye, become a cruel, mean, vicious tormentor who would ensure that they had no escape from an endless future of agony. “  (p. 86)

…God is a slave driver …

Which story do you believe?

The story of a God who can switch gears like that, switch entire modes of being that quickly.  Loving one moment, vicious the next.  Kind and compassionate, only to become cruel and relentless in the blink of an eye.  (p. 86)

…or the story of consistency …

Story Time Today

It has implications for how we live our own lives …

… and it has implications for how we tell the story.

Sometimes the reason people have a problem accepting “the gospel” is that they sense that the God lurking behind Jesus isn’t safe, loving or good.  It doesn’t make any sense, it can’t be reconciled, and so they say no.  They don’t want anything to do with Jesus, because they don’t want anything to do with that God. 

“When the gospel is diminished to a question of whether or not a person will “get into heaven” that reduces the good news to a ticket, a way to get past the bouncer and into the club.” (p.88)

The good news is better than that. 

It’s about joyous participation…

Life has never been about just “getting in”.  It’s about thriving in God’s good world.  It’s stillness, peace, and that feeling of your soul being at rest, while at the same time it’s about asking things, learning things, creating things, and sharing it all with others who are finding the same kind of joy in the same good world. 

“Witnessing, evangelizing, sharing your faith – when you realize that God has retold your story, you are free to passionately, urgently, compellingly tell the story because you’ve stepped into a whole new life and you’re moved and inspired to share it.  When your God is love, and you have experienced this live in flesh and blood, here and now, then you are free from guilt and fear and the terrifying, haunting, ominous voice that whispers over your shoulder ‘You’re not doing enough’.  The voice that insists God is, in the end, a slave driver.”  ((p. 90)

You’re invited to the trust the retelling now, so that we’re already taking part in the kind of love that can overtake the whole world.  (p.  90)