Author: Scott McAndless

https://youtu.be/BEN33rUDleU

Hespeler, April 27, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 5:27-32, Psalm 150, Revelation 1:4-8, John 20:19-31

At the end of the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John, there are a couple of verses that are easy to skip over. “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book,” it says. “But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”

It sounds like a conclusion, but it isn’t. The book is not over yet and the next chapter will also end with what sounds like a conclusion. It seems to just be an explanation for why this Gospel doesn’t include some of the well-loved stories in the other Gospels, but it is so much more than that.

The Purpose of the Book

For, in these verses, the writer lays out the whole purpose behind the book. He has written “so that you may continue to believe.” Or other ancient manuscripts have it, “so that you may come to believe.”

Both ultimately mean the same thing. He is writing so that you, the reader, might believe in the messiahship of Jesus and that your life might be transformed – that by trusting in him, you might have life.

And you might say, sure, that makes sense. Isn’t that why anybody wrote any gospel? But wait a minute. When John says that, he is not referring to the whole gospel. He is saying something very specific. He is saying that Jesus performed many signs. He is referring to the miracles and wonders that Jesus performed, of course, but he uses the word signs. A sign is something (anything) that conveys meaning.

The Seven Signs

And what the author is saying is that he has carefully chosen not to tell the stories about all the signs, that he has specifically chosen only certain signs because they are the ones that will make you believe. So, he is not talking about the whole gospel, but rather his collection of sign stories.

And once you look back through the whole gospel, you realize exactly what he is talking about. John, in the course of his Gospel, has told us exactly seven stories of seven signs that Jesus performed, carefully labelling each one as they come as a sign.

The seven signs in the Gospel of John are:

• Turning Water into Wine (John 2:1-11)
• Healing the Official’s Son (John 4:46-54)
• Healing the Lame Man (John 5:1-15)
• Feeding the Five Thousand (John 6:1-14)
• Walking on Water (John 6:15-21)
• Healing the Blind Man (John 9:1-41)
• Raising Lazarus from the Dead (John 11:1-44)

So, what John is saying is that, if you will just reflect on these seven stories, you will believe.

Why the Disciples Believed

In our reading today, we have just gone through the whole problem with making people believe. Jesus has appeared to the disciples on Easter Sunday, convincing them that he is truly risen. They believe because they have seen it.

But then Thomas comes into the story. He wasn’t there that first Sunday. He didn’t see, so he doesn’t believe and he insists that he cannot take anyone else’s word for it. He has to see and touch and feel for himself.

This all gets resolved for Thomas, of course, when Jesus puts in a second appearance. But the question still remains. That’s great for Thomas, but what about the rest of us? The story ends with Jesus saying, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” But that doesn’t address the real problem. How do you come to believe without seeing? Do you just have to take those who did see at their word? Because I know that doesn’t seem good enough for many people.

How to Believe Without Seeing

Well, John answers that question in the verses that follow immediately after this story. He tells you how you may come to believe without seeing. And the answer, interestingly enough, is not that we have to take anybody else’s word for it. I mean, sure, the testimony of the disciples is important, but that is not the answer he points to.

No, he says that what you particularly need is to hear the stories of the seven signs. If that doesn’t do it for you, nothing will.

If you are feeling a little bit puzzled by that, I’ll admit that so am I. Let me suggest what I think we should do. Let us decide to look at those stories, not simply as stories of miracles and wonders, but as stories that are signs. Read them as stories that are intended to convey meaning directly to you, the reader.

Of course, doing that with all of the stories is a bit much for us to do right now. Perhaps you could consider it your homework to spend the time living with those seven stories. Maybe it’ll make a great seven-part sermon series some day.

But what we can do in this time we have today is give us a sense of what we need to look for in those stories – how to read the signs.

The Marriage in Cana

Let’s look at the first sign. This is set in the town of Cana in Galilee where Jesus is at a wedding with his disciples and his mother. During the festivities, the wine runs out – a social disaster. Jesus’ mother comes to him with the problem and he says, “Woman, what concern is that to me and to you? My hour has not yet come.” (2:4)

So, Jesus is clearly reluctant to do anything, not because he doesn’t care about the problem, but just because he’s concerned about the timing. Nevertheless, his mother seems to know him better than he knows himself. She knows that he cares and so she says, “Do whatever he tells you,” to the servants. (2:5)

And so Jesus goes ahead and famously turns the water into wine. In fact, he creates wine that is so excellent and potent that the man in charge of the wedding (who doesn’t know where it came from) marvels at it.

And then the whole story gets summed up like this. “Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.” (2:11)

How Does this Help You Believe?

So, apparently, this story has been included in this gospel “so that you may come to believe.” But how does this story make you believe? You weren’t there at the wedding in Cana. You didn’t get to taste the wine. So how are you supposed to be convinced just by hearing this and stories like it?

Well, the odd thing about the story is that, even though Jesus does something miraculous, he doesn’t actually seem to be doing it to impress people with his miraculous powers. He doesn’t really want to attract attention by doing something splashy, and so he hesitates.

Even more important, he does it in a way that means that most people don’t know what he has done. The wine steward doesn’t know where the wine came from. The important guests don’t know either. All they know is that excellent wine is suddenly flowing.

It is only a select group that knows that Jesus has performed a wonder. The only people who it says know about it are the servants, the very people that everyone else would dismiss and look down upon. So, this is clearly not all about performing a wonder so that every notices and believes. It is much more subtle than that.

How Jesus Acts in These Stories

And, once you realize that, the observation applies to many of the other sign stories as well. Jesus never seems to seek the limelight. He is no publicity hound. Most of all, he usually acts in response to the suffering that he sees – the hunger of the crowds, the sorrow of the sisters, the unfair blaming of the blind man for his illness. These stories emphasize the sympathy and compassion of Jesus, not his showmanship.

All of that leads me to think that John is not pointing us to these sign stories in order that we might be convinced by them because there is something miraculous. If you struggle to believe because you did not see the risen body of Jesus, why would you be convinced by a story about wine that you didn’t get to taste? There has to be something else going on in these stories that is meant to break through your fog of hesitation and doubt.

About Jesus’ Identity

That is why I would insist that these stories are not about what Jesus does. They are about who Jesus is. They are signs that point to his identity, not his ability. And this is something that is made clear in a number of stories in which Jesus declares the meaning of what he is doing with an “I am…” statement. When we heals the blind man, he declares “I am the light of the world.” When he raises Lazarus, he says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” And he follows up the feeding of the five thousand by saying, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” (6:41)

So, what does John mean when he says, “But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God”? He is challenging you to reflect upon these stories so that you may discover the character of Jesus. He wants you to meditate upon them until you have a picture of a Jesus who is reaching out in love and compassion and care, who understands the suffering of the people and who can dissolve into tears when he sees Mary, the sister of Lazarus, weeping before him. John is convinced that, once you have found that picture, you will inevitably take the next step.

The Next Step

 The next step is “to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.” Once you know what Jesus is like, you will recognize that there is something in that character that goes beyond the ordinary. There is something in Jesus that allows you to encounter the divine.

I do believe that the foundation of faith is experience. That much is clear in the Easter stories – especially the story of Thomas. After Jesus had been taken from them and crucified and buried, the early Christians experienced his living presence with them. All of the stories of his appearances are a reflection of those amazing experiences.

None of it constitutes scientific proof that Jesus really did rise from the dead. It could not be reproduced in a laboratory. None of the documentation can be independently verified especially because the texts that we have received contain inconsistencies, which is not unusual when you are talking about intensely personal experiences.

Experiencing God in Christ

But it had happened. They knew that it had happened because they had experienced it. These closing words of this chapter in the Gospel of John raise the issue of how we, who did not have those intense initial experiences, can come to know that truth as well as they did.

And so John points us to the signs stories in his Gospel. He says, “Reflect on these stories and you will discover the true nature of this Jesus. You will understand that he came to show us the face and the love of God.

But I think that there is one more step that is implied in this. For surely it is not enough to accept on an intellectual level that Jesus must have been the Messiah and the Son of God. In order to know the truth of that deep down in your soul, you have to experience it for yourself, just as the disciples experienced it in their own way.

Taking These Stories Seriously

John teaches you to experience that by challenging you to take these sign stories seriously in your life. You need to be willing to live in such a way that you expect to encounter the Jesus you meet in these stories.

When you have run out of wine – which I take as meaning when you come to a place where your life seems to have lost its meaning and purpose – take that to Jesus with the expectation that he will take your water and turn it into wine. You might be amazed by what you experience if you trust him.

And when you struggle with fear and anxiety in the midst of the storm, when you find that your basic needs are not being met like when the 5000 were starving, when you struggle with weakness or blindness or grief in the face of death, and all of the other things that people were struggling with in those seven stories, the promise is there that if you turn to Jesus in trust and expectation, you will encounter the same Jesus that they met. And you will know, as they knew, that he is the Messiah and the Son of God.

Watch Sermon Video Here:

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Hespeler, April 20, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Easter Day
Acts 10:34-43, Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24, 1 Corinthians 15:19-26, Luke 24:1-12

When Mary, Mary, Joanna and the others returned from the tomb on Sunday morning, the male disciples were already upset with them. They hadn’t wanted them to go out in the first place. The men thought that what they were doing by laying low in response to the terrible things that had occurred was the only wise course.

But the women had gone anyway and when they came back with their tales of an open and empty tomb, of men dressed in shiny disco clothes and reminders of what Jesus had promised them back in Galilee, the men kind of lost it on them.

Idle Tales

“Those are idle tales,” they cried. At least that is how the New Revised Standard Version translates it in rather understated fashion. Other translations are not so kind. “Nonsense!” is how some of the others have it. And that is what the word means. “Balderdash! Claptrap! Malarkey and something that a bull might produce!” That’s what they were saying.

And I know that it is tempting (especially as we read this story with the hindsight of 2000 years of Christian tradition) to be hard on the disciples for this response. I mean, we know that the women’s tale is anything but nonsense. But I do not want to move on from what they say too quickly. I think we should take a little time to at least understand where they are coming from at this point.

Misogyny

What are these men really saying? Are they simply dismissing the women’s story because they are women? Is this just pure misogyny and a group of men who are refusing to learn anything from them simply because they are women?

Well, let’s be honest here. Maybe that is a part of what is going on. How many times has it happen throughout history that men have failed to learn important things simply because they wouldn’t listen to women?

But, putting their thoughtless misogyny aside for a moment, I think that we can understand where they are coming from because let’s look at it all very practically. It was nonsense.

Clash of the Kingdoms

Jesus had shown up on the scene announcing the arrival of this thing that he called the kingdom of God. And, while he never quite said exactly what this kingdom was, one thing was quite clear.

It was not the kingdom of Herod Antipas, which was built upon the exploitation of the farmers and the fishers of Galilee. Nor was it the kingdom (or we should call it the Empire) of Rome which had managed to enslave around 15 million people and was systematically transferring the wealth of the entire Mediterranean Basin to 1% of the population in the city of Rome.

An Alternate Kingdom

No, the kingdom that Jesus imagined was nothing like that. He told stories of a kingdom that ended with the entire order of society getting turned upside down so that the first would be last and the last would be first. He said his kingdom would belong to the poor and the hungry and the sorrowful while the rich and well-fed and laughing would all be excluded.

I mean, if that’s not nonsense I don’t know what is. There are certain structures of power in this world and none of them are about to give up their position and privilege just because some preacher comes along announcing that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

And, sure, maybe for a little while the disciples had been taken in by the dream of the kingdom that Jesus had spun. They had hoped that maybe things could actually be different and work differently. But hadn’t recent events made it clear to them that the dream was not going to work out? Society was not going to be turned upside down. No one was giving any kingdom to the poor. It was just nonsense.

Place for the Outsider

What’s more, Jesus told of a kingdom where there was a place for everyone. His parables ended with the poor, the blind and the lame sitting at tables and feasting – the kind of thing that was never permitted to happen because everyone accepted that there were just certain people who had to be excluded.

But Jesus never lived that way. He was always a friend to the outsider – especially to those whom everyone else dismissed as sinners. The prostitutes and the tax collectors always had a place at his table. He even reached out with compassion towards the sick and infected, whom everyone else rejected in scorn.

Upsetting the Society

The people around him were appalled. If the very idea that everyone had to stick to their place in society was challenged, they feared that their whole society would collapse around them. So of course, everyone hated what he was doing. But once again the disciples had been hoodwinked. They had allowed themselves to think that his crazy social engineering experiment could actually work.

But they had learned better now. Far from crumbling before Jesus’ onslaught, the social order had lashed out at him, turning him into the outsider rejected by all. It had sent him out from among the people to a lonely outcropping where he was counted among the cursed and nailed to a tree. His very idea that anything could breach the order of such a society had been exposed as pure nonsense.

Violence

Jesus had also appeared on the scene, suggesting that there might be a different way to deal with the problem of violence. You see, the world has always taught us that the only way to end violence is with more violence.

That is the plot to all of our stories. We tell about the lone gunslinger who comes to town and shoots all the bad guys. We make movies about superheroes who band together to stop the supervillains by punching their way through legions of his minions. Everything we hear reinforces the idea that the only one who can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

That is just the way that our world has always worked, often leading to violence spiralling out of control. And then Jesus came along, teaching people not to resist the evildoer and to respond to violence by turning the other cheek. He said that “all who take the sword will die by the sword,” (Matthew 26:52) and called the peacemakers blessed.

The disciples naively found this idea compelling. It was nice to dream of a world without violence. But then reality struck hard. When the violent finally came at Jesus with their clubs and swords and torches, he foolishly held onto what he had taught. He did not fight back. He didn’t even raise his voice in anger.

And where did that get him? Did it result in a better world and an end to violence. No, it ended on a cross in agony. It ended with the purveyors of violence leaning back with a smug satisfied grin on their faces. They had won yet again.

Yes, that whole idea that Jesus had preached that love was stronger than hate and that the meek could inherit the earth had been shown up for what it truly was. And it was in bitterness and deep despair that the disciples deflected their anger for having been duped onto the women and called what they said nonsense.

Death’s Victory

Perhaps even more importantly, Jesus had said that he was all about life. He said that this was why had he had come, “that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) And he even held out the promise of life eternal and suggested that people might find the resurrection in him.

I mean, what had they been thinking? That he could defeat the oldest enemy that humanity has ever faced? For millions of years, everything that had ever lived on the face of the earth had died. It was the one sure thing that everyone would have to face.

Did they really think that he could do anything about all of that? No. It was like death took everything he had ever said or promised about life as a challenge. Death threw everything that it had at him. It came at him with all of its power of pain and isolation and weakness.

Put on Display

It wasn’t satisfied just with extinguishing him. It put him on display for everyone to see. It made him struggle right up to his very last breath so that everyone could see that death’s rule over this world could never be broken. Its dominion would last forever and ever!

If anything, that made what these women were now saying not just nonsense. It made it offensive. To suggest that, after all of that, that we should not seek the living among the dead was the worst kind of denialism.

Felt Like Fools

So why is it that the disciples rejected what the women said as nonsense and idle tales? Yes, maybe, there was a bit of misogyny in it. But the real reason is that they had been shown that it was nonsense.

 Yes, they felt like fools to have believed, even for a moment, that the evil kingdoms and empires of this world could fall, that cultural hatred and exclusion could ever be shaken, that we could ever realize that violence is not the solution; it is the problem. Most of all, they had finally realized that death always wins.

 In so much of what Jesus had done and said, he had challenged and questioned the common sense of the world all around him. And now they had all seen that the world and all of its sense had had its way with Jesus. He was dead. He was gone. It was over. The disciples had had to conclude that it was all nonsense.

Unless

Unless, of course, what the women were saying was true. Unless the tomb really was open, the grave clothes abandoned, and the messengers of God let loose on the world. In that case, it might just be possible that the disciples had got it wrong.

If Jesus is risen from the dead, what does that mean? Does it mean that we get to go to heaven someday? Sure, that is part of it. But it is not just about what it will mean for us someday on the other side of death.

If we can get up on a Sunday like this, put on our best clothes, come to church and sing a few “hallelujahs,” and then go on home and continue with our lives as if nothing has changed, then we have not understood that what the women reported was nonsense. If we think that Jesus rose from the dead so that we can eat chocolate and roast lamb for today and change nothing tomorrow, we must learn from them.

Turning Sense to Nonsense

For what they observed at that tomb, was such nonsense that, if it is true, it means that so much of the sense we have taken as common is nonsense. If Jesus is not there, if he has risen just like he had said that he would do, then we have been looking for life in all the wrong places.

Do we think that the kingdoms and powers of this world will retain their place forever and ever? Do we think that the mighty and powerful will always prevail through violence? And do we suppose that we’re just supposed to go along with it when people are treated as if they are less than human just because they are different? Most of all, do we believe that death always has the final word? That is the sense that we have been fed all our lives, but if the women are right, then that is the nonsense.

Watch sermon video here:

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Hespeler, April 13, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Passion Sunday
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29, Luke 23:1-12.

After the events that took place on that fateful Friday, both Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas remained in place, ruling over their territories for a few more years.

Pilate continued to terrorize the people of Judea and Samaria until he eventually went too far, ordered a massacre of Samaritans at Mount Gerizim and lost his post. And Herod continued to extract as much money from the Galileans as he could until, eventually, he asked for too much and the Emperor had him exiled.

But for those few years, they both thoroughly enjoyed one aspect of their lives: their ongoing friendship. Whenever they could, they would meet up at one of their many palaces and spend an enjoyable afternoon sipping wine and sharing their memories of that golden day.

A Conversation Between Friends

“You know,” Pilate would often say, “we get along so well these days that I sometimes forget why we hated each other for so long.”

“Yeah, right,” Herod would say with a smile, “I hated you because you ruled over territory that once belonged to my father and should rightfully belong to me, and you hated me because I guess you were jealous of how devilishly handsome I am.”

“Something like that,” Pilate would chuckle.

But the truth of the matter was that they really had hated each other. But all of that had changed one Friday when they had become fast friends. They had bonded over a troublemaker who had been arrested.

Casual Cruelty

Now, condemning and punishing people – whether guilty or not – was never something that either of them had trouble doing. Pilate got a perverse kind of satisfaction out of ordering massacres and even mingling the blood of worshippers with their sacrifices. And Herod had a real cruel streak as well, as he particularly showed in his attacks on Nabataea.

But when cruelty is your favourite hobby, it can get complicated dealing with all of the consequences of your actions all the time. Finding excuses and ways to shift the blame almost becomes a full-time job.

And that was where their friendship really started. When that Jesus of Nazareth showed up before him, Pilate would have been only too happy to torture him to death right away. He had caused a disturbance in his city at a moment when Jerusalem was filled with rowdy pilgrims who might start an insurrection. Of course Pilate wanted him dead!

Passing it on to Herod

But Pilate had been getting performance reviews from the Emperor who was concerned about all of the indiscriminate killing. Apparently he wanted him to tone it down a bit. So, when Pilate found out that Nazareth was actually in Herod Antipas’ territory and that Herod was in town for the festival, he saw a perfect opportunity to let someone else take the fall on this one. And so off Jesus was sent to Herod’s place.

As for Herod, he had actually been wanting to kill Jesus for some time. Some Pharisees had even told Jesus so. So he was definitely on the same wavelength as Pilate. But, he could see that the man was doomed now anyways. So why should he stick his neck out? He chose instead to mock Jesus for a while over all of the reports of miracles and wonders he had heard about, and then just send him back.

Pilate should have been annoyed at that, of course. Herod hadn’t done what he wanted him to do, leaving him once more in the position of possibly catching some heat over his crucifixion quotas.

Passing it onto Jewish Leaders

But of course, this was not the only way that Pilate had for finding someone else to pin this on. The local religious leaders were quite aware of just how difficult Rome could make life for them if there was unrest, especially around the Passover.

So, if Pilate showed signs of not wanting to kill the man, maybe if he even made a ridiculous show of wanting to wash his hands of the whole affair, he knew that he could make them step up and take the blame on themselves. He could manipulate them if he needed to.

But Pilate couldn’t help but find some respect for Herod who had clearly understood what he was doing and yet had not been willing to play his game. He resolved that, as soon is this whole affair was over with, he would call up that fellow and get to know him better. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but there is something a little bit odd in the whole story of the trial, suffering and death of Jesus. There just seems to be a lot of energy being put into laying the blame and deflecting the blame for everything that happened. I mean, the whole story of Herod and Pilate’s unlikely friendship, which is told only in the Gospel of Luke, is really just the most obvious example of people trying to pass the buck back and forth.

Who Killed Jesus

The answer to the question of who killed Jesus is actually quite clear. Based on the historical data, there is one clear answer. He was killed by the Romans. He was executed by crucifixion. Crucifixion at that time was a uniquely Roman method of execution. They wouldn’t even allow anyone else to employ it. We know who did it.

It is also not very hard to understand what the Roman motivation might have been. Jesus had caused a disruption in the temple during the festival of Passover.

And Passover was a festival that always made the Romans very nervous about insurrection. It was a remembrance of the time when God had saved the people of Israel from slavery. The Romans liked slavery. Indeed they were completely dependant on it for everything. They got very trigger-happy whenever people were celebrating that kind of liberation. They clamped down on any disruption during Passover immediately.

So, it is pretty clear who killed Jesus and why. Pilate did it; he maybe didn’t drive the nails into Jesus’ hands himself, but he was in charge. So, you’ve got to wonder why the gospel stories spend so much time trying to chase down other suspects. They tell the whole story as if it is a great whodunit that no one can solve.

Why the Gospels Don’t Emphasise That

Now they may have had some practical reasons for doing this. These gospels were written at a time when the church really couldn’t afford to catch negative attention from the Roman authorities. It was not really a good idea at the time to go around blaming the Romans for murdering their founder. It was helpful to introduce a bit of nuance into the telling.

But I don’t believe that this was just a cynical step taken to escape dangerous imperial attention. These gospel writers were writing for churches who knew very well who had killed Jesus. They understood how the empire worked better than any of us could. But, by playing around with the question of whodunit, I think that the writers were inviting those readers to look deeper – to look beyond the question of blame.

Our Tendency to Lay Blame

Whenever something goes wrong in this world, that seems to be our human reflex. We look around to find somebody to blame. Tragedies happen; they happen all the time. But there is something inside us that makes us think that, if only we can find someone, anyone to heap the fault on, it will somehow magically make the tragedy make sense.

It is faulty reasoning. Identifying someone to blame may sometimes (if done correctly of course) create an opening for justice to be done. It may even create opportunities to avoid similar tragedies in the future. But it doesn’t automatically make anything better. It can sometimes make things worse – especially when our blaming is faulty or too simplistic which it often is when we are desperately looking to lay blame to make ourselves feel better. But it is a very natural human response.

So of course, as the early church reflected on the death of Jesus, they felt that natural human response to find someone to blame. Of course they blamed the Romans, but they also knew that it was dangerous to talk too loudly about that. So they also considered the other possible collaborators – Herod Antipas, Judas (of course), the Jewish leadership and even the Jewish people themselves. So of course, the gospel writers wove all of that speculation into their account of Jesus’ passion.

Looking Beyond Blame

But the writers also knew what they were doing. They understood that blame is never a sufficient response to tragedy. It doesn’t really solve the underlying problems. That is why I believe that they went out of their way to push their readers beyond questions of mere blame.

That must be what Luke is doing by telling his unique story about the unlikely friendship of Pilate and Herod. They are, to be clear, perfect villains. They are the sort of people who would sooner condemn you to death than sneeze at you.

And yet Luke invites us as readers to enter into the speculation. “What if they didn’t do it? What if they didn’t even want to kill him and they each tried to pass the responsibility off to the other?”

The Scandal of Christian Antisemitism

That doesn’t make much sense historically. But what if Luke invited us into that story to show us just how silly it is to put all of your energy into blaming someone.

The whole blame game around the crucifixion has been so destructive throughout Christian history. In particular, the false but far too easy decision to pin it all on the Jews has caused no end of hatred and emnity, culminating in some of the worst atrocities carried out in the name of Christianity including the Spanish Inquisition, European pogroms and ultimately the Holocaust. Blame for the crucifixion has often taken Christians very far from who Jesus has called us to be.

Enemies Becoming Friends

And so maybe Luke told this story about shifting blame between Pilate and Herod to make us look past all of that to see what? To see friendship and specifically a friendship between two most unlikely characters.

What is the message in that? Is it supposed to make us like Herod and Pilate? Surely not. They are still the bad guys. Pilate is still the guy who gives the order that sends Jesus to the cross. They are irredeemable in many ways.

And yet Luke tells of how this all ended in their unlikely friendship. Is there not a message to the church in that? So long as we make the story of the suffering and death of Jesus merely a story about judgement and blame, we will not realize the fullness of its power.

Beyond Judgement

I do know judgement is a part of the Christian understand of Jesus’ death. For many, their only understanding of the meaning of it is that God judged and blamed us for our sins and that Jesus died to take that judgement away.

That is, of course, an accepted theological understanding, but I think that, with this story, Luke is prompting us to consider that there is something else at the heart of what Jesus suffered as well. He is telling us that it is ultimately about turning enemies into friends.

I mean, if the trial, the suffering and the death of Jesus could turn the likes of Herod and Pilate into friends – if it could make a little bit of space for friendship in the hearts of these psychopathic monsters, is it not also possible that Jesus went through all of that to bring the end of all sorts of enmity.

Jesus gives himself ultimately so that we can be friends with God and God can be friends with us. Jesus’ death means that ancient enemies – even the Russians and the Ukranians, even the Palestinians and the Israelis, can set aside generations of hatred and resentment to build friendship. It even means that you might find the opportunity to set aside that grudge, that resentment or even that hatred you’ve been carrying around against somebody forever. That is what the death of Jesus can achieve.

https://youtu.be/XRRIP0Ptx24

Hespeler, April 6, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Fifth Sunday in Lent
Isaiah 43:16-21, Psalm 126,  Philippians 3:4b-14, John 12:1-8

Have you heard the story about the time when Jesus was eating supper at somebody’s house when, all of a sudden, a woman came in and began to anoint Jesus? But then all of the men who were present began to criticize her harshly for doing that. But then Jesus began to defend her. In fact, Jesus defended her so strongly that he suggested that she might be better than any of them. At least he suggested that she had done what they should have done but had failed to do.

Of course you know that story – or at least you do if you are at all familiar with the gospels. That story is told in each of the four gospels in our New Testament.

Or is it?

Here is what you may not have noticed if you haven’t studied the gospels in depth. Yes, that story is told in each of the gospels, but there are details in those tellings that actually make them so distinct that they cannot be the same story.

In Simon’s House

Let me show you what I mean. The story told in Matthew and Mark is virtually the same – as in word-for-word the same for the most part – so we’ll count that as one story.

This story takes place in “Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,” where as Jesus “sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head.” (Mark 14:3) The woman is unnamed and the people who are present criticize her for wasting the money when it could have been given to the poor.

The details of this story are important. You anoint kings by pouring oil on their heads and so she sees herself as anointing Jesus as a king. Also the fact that she is unnamed is significant as Jesus calls attention to that when he says that “what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.” It is also significant that she does this just before Jesus is killed, as he says, “she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial.”

In the Pharisee’s House

But the story in the Gospel of Luke has different details. It takes place much earlier in the ministry of Jesus and in the home of a Pharisee where Jesus is reclining (not sitting) to eat. The woman, still unnamed, anoints Jesus with the same alabaster bottle of ointment, but she anoints his feet, not his head, and only does so after she washes them with her tears and dries them with her hair.

The details make the story quite different. This is not a royal anointing; you anoint the feet of someone as an act of penitence. And the men present criticize her, not because of the expense, but because she is so sinful and should not be touching someone as holy as Jesus. And Jesus praises her and forgives her because she has washed his feet when his hosts have failed to do so.

In Lazarus’ House

And then we come to this story that we read this morning from the Gospel of John. We are back in Bethany and just before Jesus’ arrest, but we’re in a completely different house – the house of Lazarus who Jesus just raised from the dead a chapter ago. And this time, the woman who is doing the anointing, far from being unknown, is a woman who we have already encountered in this book. She is Mary, the sister of Lazarus, the same one who told Jesus off for not coming sooner when her brother was dead.

So, what is going on here? The stories echo each other so perfectly, but the essential details mean that they cannot be the same story of the same events. I see two possible explanations.

Understanding Each Story

It could be that this was something that just happened to Jesus all the time – as in, there were constantly various women who were coming up to Jesus with alabaster jars of costly ointment. That seems a bit odd, but I suppose it is possible.

The other possibility is that these three stories are all based on one original incident, but what has happened is that each of the gospel writers has taken that story and intentionally told it in a slightly different way.

But they would have done this for a reason. You don’t go adapting a sacred story like this one without trying to use it to get your particular message across. Each of these gospel writers, in other words, was trying to use this story to teach us different things about who Jesus was and why he had come.

And if that is what is going on here – and I think that it is – then our job as readers is clear, isn’t it? We need to do our best to understand what each author is trying to get across to us by the way that each story is told. So, let’s it take a deep dive into the story told in the Gospel of John, because there are some really interesting things going on in there. In fact, let us put ourselves into the place of Mary as she prepares to greet her extraordinary guest.

When Lazarus Had Died

When Mary’s brother told her that he had invited Jesus to dinner, her mind immediately went back to the last time she had seen him. It had been at a horrible moment, when Lazarus has just died.

She had just finished watching and feeling utterly helpless as her beloved brother weakened and sickened over several days. Lazarus was not only somebody who she loved dearly. He was also the only source of financial security for his unmarried sisters. And here she was, there was nothing she could do to save him. And then she lost him. He was gone.

Four days after that, Jesus had come. She knew his reputation as a healer. She knew that, if he had come sooner, none of this would have happened. But now, here he was. Too little, too late.

She should have been furious but, honestly, her grief was so great that it was like she could hardly harness the strength to express any emotion whatsoever. When her sister Martha went out to greet Jesus, Mary just stayed back in the house. She wasn’t weeping; she wasn’t doing anything yet. She was just lost.

Martha and Mary

 Martha had done all of the heavy lifting that day. She had been the one to confront Jesus over his tardiness. She was the one who spoke to him of her hope of a resurrection of the dead on the last day, but that that seemed far too remote to give them any comfort now. She was the one to stand there perplexed as Jesus cryptically said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

But Mary, when she was summoned and had to force herself to get up and go out to see him, all she had been able to say was, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” And then, finally, with those words, the floodgates broke, and she began to weep like she had never wept in her life.

And then she saw it. Through the veil of her own tears, she looked up to see that he was weeping too. And no, it was not just a few tears tumbling down his cheeks. It was not just a moment’s weakness. He had completely taken onto himself the sorrow that had consumed her entirely in that moment.

For Mary, that moment when he wept as she wept had meant everything. The rest of what happened that day – the opening of the tomb and even when her brother had come forth again – that was just like a dream that flowed from that moment.

Preparing for the Guest

She had not said another word to Jesus since. And when she heard of her brother’s invitation, she knew that she would now finally have her opportunity. She, unlike her sister Martha, was a woman of few words. So, she decided to show him what was in her heart.

She spoke to Martha and asked her if she would take on the work in the kitchen. She would offer hospitality in the form of food. But Mary would take on treating him as the guest of honour that he was.

Martha was expecting, no doubt, that her sister would carry out the traditional duty of washing the visitor’s feet. Mary had a little something extra in mind.

Something Left Over

Remember that, just weeks ago, the sisters had carried out the terrible duty of preparing their own brother’s body for burial. This was something that had always been women’s work and they had done it with extreme care. They had used nothing but the best myrrh and aloes and costly perfumes. But, when they had done, there had been one alabaster jar of precious nard left over. Unbeknownst to her sister, Mary had kept it aside.

She probably should have sold it. It would have fetched 300 denarii – almost a year’s wages – or more. She could have used that kind of money to feed about seven and a half thousand hungry people. (At least the calculus at the feeding of the five thousand was that 25 denarii could feed a thousand).

But something made her feel as if she needed to keep it for Jesus. She was no fool. She could see the opposition rising against him. And she could also see that he was not going to back down just because things were getting dangerous.

Preparing His Body

Women were used to navigating dangerous situations. That was just what life was like for them. She knew just how likely it was that they were going to take him. And if they took him, there was no way that they were going to let him live.

And now, as she prepared to welcome Jesus into their home, she thought that the time had finally come to prepare his body for the now inevitable destruction that awaited it. And so, she took that jar of precious ointment and broke it open over his feet as he lay down upon the dining couch.

What was she doing in her mind? She was certainly acting as the hostess in her brother’s house by washing his feet. But she was also anointing him, not as a king or a priest. For that she would have anointed his head. No, she was anointing him as one already dead and ready for burial. She unbound her hair as a sign of one in mourning and used that hair to wipe the ointment onto his feet.

The Disciples’ Complaint

When they complained to her about the cost of the ointment and what else she could have done with it, it was not as if she didn’t already know. What, did they really think that women couldn’t do math? Well, yeah, actually that’s probably exactly what they thought. But it wasn’t that.

It was that they weren’t all that inclined to spend money to feed the hungry. Hadn’t they even said as much when Jesus had wanted them to feed 5000? They said that it would be ridiculous to spend that kind of money.

No, she was pretty sure that they raised that point as a smokescreen. They wanted something to distract themselves from the realization that she was coming to terms with – that they were about to lose him.

At least, she was pretty sure that was what was happening for most of them. But as for the one called Iscariot, she had good reason to mistrust his motives. Some women just know when they are dealing with a man who is untrustworthy.

Mashing Stories Together

It is an unfortunate habit we have of taking the stories of the Gospels and just sort of mashing the ones that are similar together in our minds. Remember that each gospel writer was telling his own story. Remember that they did not just write these books to report about what had happened. If that was all that these books were for, one would have been enough.

No, each gospel writer was trying to get across the important truths about Jesus that he had discovered. And each did that in the way that they adapted and told the stories. When we harmonize those stories, reducing them to the lowest common denominator so that they are all the same, we run the risk of losing sight of the very important truths that these writers were trying to give us.

https://youtu.be/L9VhlZ1iQvg

March 30, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Fourth Sunday in Lent
Joshua 5:9-12, Psalm 32, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

In our reading this morning from the Book of Joshua, we meet the children of Israel at what is clearly a key moment of transition. Let’s just take stock for a moment of where they are in their story as a people.

What God Has Done for Them

They have been saved from an enslaved existence by their God. They have been given a new identity – transformed from being the Pharaoh’s workforce to a people who are called by the name of their God.

In addition, their God has given them a law to live by. To put that in terms that we can relate to, they have been given a constitution. And their shared experiences both as they escaped from Egypt and as they struggled together through various trials and tribulations and a few battles during their wilderness wanderings have forged them into a united community with a shared national story.

These are all things that create a sense of nationhood. For us, they are the very things that give us a shared understanding of what it means to be Canadian: a name, a constitution, set of laws and a shared national story.

God has done all of this for them in addition to saving and sustaining them through all this time – the sustenance consisting mostly of the regular provision of food. Manna, as least has they have experienced it, has been heavenly food that they have not had to work for. It has simply been provided.

One More Thing

But in our reading this morning, we are told that God does one more thing for them. It happens once they have crossed the Jordan River and entered into the Promised Land. They arrive at a place called Gilgal, and this thing happens that seems to be pivotal and momentous. But I’m not quite sure what it means.

God says, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” But what is this disgrace? The Hebrew word that is used there is חֶרְפַּ֥ת (ḥer-paṯ). It only appears a few times in the Old Testament, and it is translated in various ways. Sometimes it is translated as disgrace, as here. But when it is used actively, it gets translated as abuse, taunting or scorn. It is a word that indicates that somebody is disrespecting you, either by denigrating you or perhaps laughing at you.

About Respect

What this is saying therefore is that, despite all that God has done for the children of Israel, they are still not getting the respect that God feels that they deserve. They are being mocked and taunted by others. And I can imagine it, can’t you? “You’re just a bunch of former slaves that have banded together,” people were saying. “You’re not a real nation.”

And so, as a final gift to them and a cap on their wilderness wandering, God rolls all of that away from them at the place called Gilgal. (And Gilgal, not so coincidently, means “rolling.”)

To put all of this in terms that we can relate to, lets imagine a ridiculous scenario happening to us today as Canadians. We have a shared identity, a shared national story and constitution. We fiercely defend our sovereignty. We don’t pretend that our country is perfect or that we don’t have problems, but we are justly proud of who we are as Canadians.

“Joking” About Our Identity

So, imagine what it would be like if somebody started making jokes about Canadian sovereignty. They might “joke around” by doing things like calling Canada the 51^st state or calling our southern border nothing more than an “artificial line” and our Prime Minister a governor. I know it is hard to imagine anyone doing such a thing (or at least it was a few months ago), but my question is how would you feel about such jokes?

I’m pretty sure that you wouldn’t find them very funny. Rather than responding with laughter, Canadians would be much more likely to respond with anger, defiance and even retaliation, right? And all of the protestations that someone might make that they are “just joking,” would certainly not calm down such a reaction. Indeed, as the so-called joking continued, we would no doubt become more and more concerned about where such disrespect might lead.

So maybe, if you reflect on that, you can understand what the children of Israel were feeling at that moment of transition and what God was doing for them. And maybe, just maybe, all of that might make you wonder whether God might just be willing to do a little bit of rolling away for our sake too.

Domination by Empire

The disgrace that the Israelites have suffered is related to their domination by a powerful Egyptian empire. In addition, this passage was probably written down at a time when the people of Judah had just returned from exile in the land of another empire, the Babylonians.

The disgrace is therefore not specifically related to something about Egypt. It is rather something that is common to all empires. They extend their power by denigrating and mocking and disgracing the nations around them. It is often much more effective than exercises of military might.

And that is certainly where empires often start like, for example, when Vladimir Putin’s attacks on Ukraine began in the form of mockery and statements about how they were not a real country and their borders were not real borders.

And I know how we like to say that you shouldn’t listen to such things and that “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.” But there is something about the jibes of empire that make them hard to ignore. There is always a lot of unspoken threat behind them.

A God Who Understands

But in this passage, we learn about a God who understands what it is like to be victimized by powerful empires. He has chosen these people of Israel and saved them from the power of empire. He has made a bunch of slaves into a nation that is free and sovereign. And now he has also removed any stigma of the disgrace that they have suffered.

I don’t know, but all of this does seem to be a message that we could use at this particular moment. We live at a moment in time when the disrespect of one empire and one wannabe authoritarian leader seem to be disrupting us a lot.

And one thing that might do to us that would be unhelpful would be if we got caught up in the hurt that such disrespect might make us feel. Stewing in our bad feelings is likely not going to be very constructive.

So, knowing that God is willing to take away that disgrace for our sake might be a helpful thing. It can help us to get past the emotional response and move on to more practical measures.

Practical Results

And what might those practical measures be? Well, the passage ends by saying this: “they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.” And I can’t help but think that that might have something to do with not allowing any sense of disgrace to overwhelm them. It certainly reminds me of one of the most positive responses among Canadians these days as they choose to live on the things that are produced in their own country as much as they can.

I think that this passage makes it clear that such measures are not just good economic sense. It is a way of banding together as a people to support one another, knowing that our solidarity is a threat to the imperial powers of this world.

You see, that is what they don’t want us to know, that they are not as powerful as they pretend – that they actually depend for their power on everyone feeling inferior and subservient. When we don’t play that game, they lose that power.

Not Easy

That is not to say that it is going to be easy. When the Hebrews ate the produce of the land that year, it started with little more than, “unleavened cakes and roasted grain.” And I know that is traditional Passover food, but the very simplicity of the food is a message. When we choose to support one another first, that may come with a lowering of the standards we may have enjoyed while under empire’s wing.

Like the Israelites who complained, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate our fill of bread,” (Exodus 16:3) we may find ourselves missing many things in times to come. But let us not forget that independence and sovereignty are more valuable than pots of meat.

So, I do see this passage from Joshua speaking to us at this particular moment. And given the somewhat fraught political situation right now, it might be hard to approach this story as anything but Canadians.

Eating the Produce of the Land

But there are other ways to interpret and apply this passage that I would also like you to take away with you today – something to think on at least. The idea of eating “the produce of the land” is something that may apply to your own personal life as well.

It is so easy for any of us to fall into the habit of relying on an outside energy to direct and define our lives. Now, when that external energy is with you in a mutually supportive way – like in a good marriage or in our relationship with a loving God – that can be a very beneficial habit.

But when that energy is dominating and controlling, when it has an Empire energy to it, that is another story. This is what happens with addictions, with high control religious systems and with co-dependant relationships. This is destructive. It causes disgrace in that it keeps us from being the people we have the potential to be.

It is Worthwhile

And this passage is here as a comfort to you if that is what you are dealing with. God stands ready to roll away the disgrace of any empire that rules over your personal life.

And yes, that may not be an easy process. You may need to concentrate on the produce of your own life for a time, develop your independence in some uncomfortable ways. That may even mean that you have to subsist on “unleavened cakes and roasted grain” for a while.

But the work is always worthwhile and, in these words of the Lord to Joshua you have a promise that your God will work with you.

Despite what the powerful of this world often claim, your God is no friend of empire. Your God is at work to free those under the domination of any kind of empire – to free those who have been enslaved in any way and roll away all disgrace.

This story from the Book of Joshua is told of a people at a moment of key transition. And I can’t help but think that we are also living in a time of transition. The world is changing; old alliances are shifting. But do not fear. God will roll away your disgrace at a place called Gilgal.

https://youtu.be/0j-FgJRSvK4

Hespeler, March 16, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Second Sunday in Lent
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18, Psalm 27, Philippians 3:17-4:1, Luke 13:31-35

Listen up, you church people. Don’t you know that the church is doomed within our society? It has been on the decline for decades now. The church has been aging in its demographics and has failed to attract a new generation.

What’s more, it is increasingly viewed with hostility by society in general which sees it, at best, as irrelevant and, at worst, as toxic and destructive. If trends continue, chances are that they will seek to kill the church by removing things like tax deductible status and faith protections.

Don’t you realize that this is a bad situation? If you were wise, you would just give up now and get out of here before you have to deal with such a defeat.

A Warning We Might Receive

Okay, let me be clear here. I am not saying that. I wouldn’t say that, and I don’t agree with much of it. But I hope you’ll forgive me for voicing to you something that some people would say about the church. If you hang out in certain internet forums, you can read people who say it all the time. If we were to invite such people in, they would definitely be happy to say it to us.

And I just wanted to give you a moment to reflect on what it would be like to hear that. How would you feel about someone who told you that? There is some truth in it, of course, so, if someone said it to you would you take it as a friendly warning and assume that they were just trying to help you come to terms with reality?

Not Really Friendly

Probably not. It certainly doesn’t do that for me. I immediately suspect that they have an agenda. They may have some truth behind what they are saying, but they are definitely couching that truth in self-serving ways. They are not trying to save you but perhaps maybe even trying to hasten your demise.

But, whatever they are trying to do, the real question is how are you going to respond. Do you take their warnings and decide to give up? Or do you reject their warnings and try to fight against whatever truth is in them?

A Fragile Hour

There are problems with both of those responses. The church seems to be in a fragile hour right now. And so, if we were to receive such a warning, we might just overreact by giving everything up or perhaps by becoming so obsessed with survival that we lose sight of everything else and we lose any sense of what we are supposed to be doing. How are we supposed to respond to a warning like that?

Jesus’ Fragile Hour

Well, Jesus got a warning like that one day. The Gospel of Luke begins the story like this: “At that very hour.” And that is, let me tell you, a bit of an odd way to start the story. Because I looked at the passage before that, and there’s absolutely no indication what “hour” we are talking about. Jesus has just been traveling around Galilee teaching and telling parables like he does throughout most of this part of the story. There is no particular hour referred to. So, what is Luke talking about?

Maybe the hour is not related to an external event going on at a specific time. What if it refers to something going on internally. “The hour,” I suspect, just happened to be an hour when Jesus was feeling particularly vulnerable, kind of like what we might be feeling these days in the church.

The Pharisees

And “at that very hour,” we are told that, “some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” Now, does that sound a little bit suspicious to you? The Pharisees are not really the good guys of the New Testament. They are often the ones who oppose Jesus and his message. They argue with him and accuse him of doing the wrong things. In the Gospel of Matthew, there is a whole chapter-long diatribe where Jesus goes on and on about how bad the Pharisees are.

The Pharisees are sometimes portrayed a little more sympathetically in the Gospel of Luke, but still, when they show up like this at this vulnerable hour, we don’t immediately jump to the conclusion that they are there because they mean Jesus well.

They Do Not Lie

But here is the issue. Whatever their intentions, they do not lie to Jesus. “Herod wants to kill you,” is likely the truest thing they say in this gospel. Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee had multiple reasons to kill Jesus.

Jesus was stirring up the populace by teaching people that their first allegiance was to the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of Herod. He was telling fishermen to leave their nets and follow him, which was causing Herod to suffer revenue loss from all of his taxes and fees on fishing. He was feeding people bread and fish in the wilderness, the trade of which Herod was trying to monopolise.

Yes, Herod had all kinds of reasons to be mad at Jesus and, as he had proven in the case of John the Baptist, he was quite capable of killing the people who upset him. Yes, the Pharisees were doubtlessly correct that Herod wanted to see Jesus dead.

Their Motivations

But, even though they were telling the truth, we’ve got to wonder why. Do they want to save Jesus’ life? Or do they just want him to go away so that they don’t have to deal with him. I suspect that it is the latter, don’t you?

In fact, they have probably come because they figure that whatever happens next, it will be a win for them. They wouldn’t really mind if Herod did kill Jesus. They would be pleased to see him go away. But even if neither of those things happen and he refuses to leave, they figure that their warning is going to make him so cautious and paranoid that he will be totally ineffective in his ministry.

It is the oldest trick in the book. They present a danger and expect that Jesus will respond with base animal instincts – with either fight or flight. And they figure that either response benefits them. They can’t lose!

Dealing With Jesus

Ah, but they have forgotten who they are dealing with, haven’t they? They may think they have the perfect way to neutralize Jesus, but they are wrong. It is not smart to bet against Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t respond the way they expect. He doesn’t run and he doesn’t give into fear and paranoia. Instead, he responds with words that I’m going to admit have always puzzled me. “Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.”

 Think about this, they are talking about life and death decisions. They are talking about an enemy who has power to bring to an end everything that Jesus has accomplished. They are trying to provoke that classic animal response of fight or flight. And what does Jesus say?

Today, Tomorrow and the Next Day

“Today, tomorrow, and the next day.” That is the essence of his response. It is so important, that you will notice that he repeats it twice. They are talking about this existential threat, but Jesus talks about what he is doing today, tomorrow and the next day. They think they’re talking about whether it’s time for fight or flight, but Jesus talks about what he’s doing today, tomorrow and the next day.

This is a masterful response for a few reasons. First of all, he understands that they want to put him off of his game. They want him to focus on matters of survival or escape. But he knows he has to hold close to what his mission is. And his mission is all about what he is doing today, tomorrow and the next day. It is about what he is doing right now, and if he hasn’t got that figured out, what does it matter what happens beyond the next day?

Carrying Out His Ministry

And what is Jesus doing today and tomorrow and the next day? He is carrying out his ministry. He is reaching out with healing and care toward those around him who are struggling. He is seeing the needs in the community around him and responding according to the ability that God has given him. He is declaring that, so long as he is he is doing what he has been called to do, he does not need to fear beyond that.

And I think that the church needs to learn from that. Yes, there will always be things going on in the wider world that disturb us. Your country may be in the midst of a trade war. Somebody always seems to be threatening to turn your country into the 51^st state. The church may be feeling irrelevant and threatened. And of course these things are significant and they are having terrible effects on people’s lives.

Focussing on What We have to Do

But while all this is going on around us, we have a way to stop it all from overwhelming us. We just have to focus on what we need to do today and tomorrow and the next day. We can focus on the tasks that Jesus has put before us.

And central to that task is doing what we can to care for those of this world who are marginalized and victimized. It includes giving food to the hungry and clothing to those who need it. It means offering a word of hope and healing to those who find no peace in such a world. We, like Jesus, will find our way through hours of threat and danger by focussing on what we need to do today and tomorrow and the next day.

Herod is Not the Threat

Jesus is also saying something else in his response to the Pharisees. Once he declares that he intends to focus on what God has given him to do today and tomorrow and the next day, he goes on to say this. “I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.”

What is he saying here? He is declaring that he knows that Herod is actually not a true threat to him. This is not because Herod Antipas is not powerful, he is. This is not because Herod is not a narcissistic, transactional and completely self-interested ruler who is quite capable of killing Jesus on a whim, he is.

Jesus Knows Who Holds His Fate

Herod is a danger to him and perhaps the whole world, but Jesus knows that Herod can ultimately do nothing to him. Why? Because Jesus knows that his fate is not in the hands of Herod, it is in the hands of God. And God has decreed that no prophet needs to fear being killed outside of Jerusalem. And Herod’s territory of Galilee is a long way from Jerusalem.

So, what is Jesus saying? He’s saying that Herod can’t kill him because he’s got to go be killed somewhere else. I’m not scared of you because that guy down there is going to kill me. It is an odd sort of comeback when you think about it. But it is one that I think can help us to deal with our threats.

Our Threats

It is true that there are all kinds of things that seem to threaten us and our continued existence. That actually seems more true today than it has been in a while, and it is true for the church and for us as individual believers.

But what this example of Jesus teaches us is that, when we have a firm sense of our destiny and when we know that that destiny is in the hands of God, we actually don’t need to fear the Herods of this world. The disruptions in the economy or political systems may come and go and we will deal with them of course, but knowing that our destiny is secure and all that we are required to do is remain faithful, gives us a very different perspective on those ups and downs of life.

There are threats and dangers out there; warnings you hear may be true. But Jesus has shown us what to do. Let us remember always what Jesus has called us to do today, tomorrow and the next day and that includes continuing to do the work that we do offering food to those who are hungry and clothing to those families who struggle in these times. And let us never forget who controls the destiny of our personal lives and our church.

Don’t let them scare you.

https://youtu.be/NRXwytL1Gnw

Hespeler, March 9, 2025 © Scott McAndless – First Sunday in Lent
Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16, Romans 10:8b-13, Luke 4:1-13

The story of the temptations of Christ is told in three of our gospels. But only one of the stories, the one we read this morning, ends with a curious note. The Gospel of Luke sums up the tale of the temptations by saying, “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.”

And I don’t know about you, but every time I read that ending, it has always made me ask one question: when? When is the devil going to return with more temptation? What is the more opportune moment that he is waiting for? The Gospel itself doesn’t seem to answer that question.

After the Devil Departs

It is true that, once the Devil departs from Jesus in the wilderness, he doesn’t appear again in this gospel, at least not in the same form. Satan does appear in the twenty-second chapter, when he is said to enter into Judas, prompting him to betray Jesus (v. 3). But that is not really the same kind of visionary tempting presence, is it?

So, we are left waiting. The tempter is apparently out there, waiting for his moment, but we, the readers, are not told when that might be. This is, I suspect, quite intentional. I believe that the gospel writer is giving a subtle nod to his readers. He is warning us that the opportune time may arrive at any moment. He is telling us to be prepared.

But the evil of this world does have a limited playbook. By telling us the things that Jesus was tempted with in the wilderness, he is also suggesting to us that we will be tempted along the same lines.

Wilderness Temptations

But when? Well, I am pretty sure that the author of this Gospel was probably thinking of the temptations that the church was facing as he was writing this. But that is not the only time to consider. I am sorry to tell you this my friends, but I believe that we are living in one of the opportune times that that gospel writer is referring to.

The temptations that are described in this passage are wilderness temptations. They are temptations that you face when you are not in charge, when you are cut off from the mainstream of society and you are struggling because of it. That’s always what the wilderness represents.

But the Christian Church in the Western world has not spent much time in the wilderness over the past approximately 1700 years. Christianity has been in the mainstream of society; it has largely set the agenda and enjoyed a most-favoured religion status.

Compared to that long history, however, the church is now facing much more of a wilderness time, isn’t it? And in such times, we are facing wilderness temptations.

Feeling Famished

For example, the first temptation that Jesus faces is very relatable today. It came, we are told, because Jesus “was famished.” I think that the church is feeling kind of famished these days. Resources feel scarce. Our churches struggle, for example, to pay bills and balance budgets. And what is the temptation when you feel as if everything is scarce?

“The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to ‘become a loaf of bread.’” The temptation is to focus all of your energy – all of your being – on getting the basic staple food that people need to stay alive. The temptation is to focus only on survival.

Focussing on Survival

Of course, we see this tendency in many churches these days as they cut everything external – all of the mission and the outreach and charitable support – to focus only on maintaining the internal systems.

That is perhaps an understandable temptation, but we need to listen to the response of Jesus. “Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.”’”

Mere survival, mere taking care of the basic staples of staying alive is never enough for the church. When all we have left as a church is working to keep ourselves alive, we are already dead for all intents and purposes. But giving our energy only to survival is something that we keep falling into.

The Temptation of Power

The second temptation of Christ is also one that is striking many churches in this wilderness time. “Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.’”

Now, I realize that that particular temptation might not seem to be hitting the Presbyterian Church in Canada right now, and it isn’t really. But there are churches that are grappling with it. They have been throwing in their lot with various movements in an effort to gain political power and influence.

Some churches, for example, have been seeking power by tying themselves to extreme political movements. There are nationalist, racist and other similar movements that are eager to use the church to promote their goals. They are eager to partner up with churches as a way to give their message legitimacy.

There are many perks to those Christians who go along with this. In the United States, for example, Christian nationalists have just recently been put into the Vice Presidency, cabinet and special advisory positions. They have a lot of power and I have no doubt that they will use it to promote their understanding of what might make a Christian society.

Comes at a Price

But, as the devil makes clear, in the wilderness such power comes at a price. “If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” The price comes with bowing down to worship someone other than God, which, of course, Jesus rejects immediately. I’ll leave it to you to decide who those Christian nationalists who have attained such power might have to worship to keep it.

But it is not just a question of who they must pay homage to. There is also the matter of them going along with the very things that Jesus preached against by blaming the poor for their poverty and giving blessing to the rich. It is about them rejecting the outsider, the immigrant and the refugee that Jesus taught us to love. You have to ask what you can accomplish for the cause of Christ when you must give up the very essence of the gospel to get your power!

As Jesus said elsewhere, “For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” (Mark 8:36)

Third Temptation

So, you see that the first two temptations are very much ones that are hitting the church at this opportune time. But what about the third one? Here the devil tempts Jesus to throw himself down from the highest point of the temple – essentially attempting suicide.

At the same time, the devil promises him, correctly I assume, that God “will command his angels concerning you, to protect you… On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” So, what does this third temptation have to do with what we are facing in our wilderness times.

Jesus’ answer to the devil, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test,” is initially confusing. After all, Jesus was constantly berating the disciples for having little faith – for not trusting in God to save them when they were in a storm or worried about God not giving them food or clothing. He constantly taught them to step out in faith and expect God to meet their needs.

So how is that different from what the devil is proposing? Well, one key difference is that the devil is telling Jesus to make a spectacle out of trusting in God. The temple in Jerusalem was the most public site in all of Judea, constantly bustling with thousands of people. So what the devil proposes would have made a very public splash (no pun intended).

Making it About Us

But even more than that, it was a demonstration that would have been all about Jesus himself. If God were to save Jesus while he was attempting this kind of terrible suicide, God, whose grace knows no bounds, might do that, but it would only be in order to save him. There would be no greater purpose – no spreading of the good news, no feeding of the hungry or clothing of the naked.

And I think that that temptation to make it all about ourselves is definitely one that we are dealing with in these wilderness days. When we are feeling as if our church, our denomination, our congregation or traditional ways of doing things are at risk, we are tempted to spend whatever faith or energy or commitment we have on making sure that those things survive.

Jesus’ Commitment

Remember that Jesus’ commitment in this world is to the spread and the establishment of the kingdom of God, not the survival of your denomination. Remember that Jesus wants people to hear and experience the power of the good news in their lives, but he cares much less about whether people hear about how Presbyterian polity works. He is committed to the church of Jesus Christ, but that is not the same thing as being committed to your congregation.

Now, if your congregation and polity and denomination are actively participating in making the kingdom of God real in people’s lives, Jesus will be only too happy to bless them. But too often, I suspect, we get that turned around. We demand that Jesus save our churches so that, if we have a little bit of money and energy left over, we may consider doing something for the sake of the kingdom.

We make it all about ourselves and what we think we need. If there is one lesson we need to take away from the wilderness story today, I think it is this.

Buildings

How often have I heard stories about churches holding onto their buildings – their beautiful buildings that they love – and pouring everything into them, while any sense of mission and ministry or even of purpose (apart from maintaining a building) falls away?

A building is a tool. It can be beautiful. It can be something that enables outreach and ministry. But it can also be something that constrains or limits our ministry. Maintaining a building has never been the purpose or goal of the church. But often we test the Lord our God by demanding that God save our building, making it all about ourselves and what we think we need.

Things We Value More

And, of course, it is not just buildings. We make it all about ourselves when we are unwilling to let go of our pride – when we are unwilling to rejoice in what God might be doing in another church. We also test God when we value things like our independence, our name, our time of worship and being open each Sunday morning so much that we allow those things to become a stumbling block that prevent us from working with other congregations.

That could become a major problem as far as I can see because, in these wilderness times, Jesus is calling us to work in closer partnership with one another. The more we make it all about ourselves and saving what is important and precious to us, the harder it will be for others to work alongside us.

It is an Opportune Time

Don’t you find these gospel stories amazing? This one is not just a story about something that happened once at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The final word about the devil waiting for an opportune time is a warning to all of us that the opportune time is nearer than we think.

But if we are in an opportune time, do not fear. You can resist the temptation to prioritize survival above all else, to seek power at all costs and to make it all about ourselves. Jesus has shown us how. We resist, like he did by harnessing the Scriptures, by remembering what our true meaning and purpose are and by remaining faithful in an opportune time.

https://youtu.be/p0Q4ig2CNr0

Hespeler, March 2, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Transfiguration Sunday
Exodus 34:29-35, Psalm 99, 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2, Luke 9:28-36, Luke 9:37-43a

The rumour in the camp was that underneath the veil, the face of Moses was shining so brightly that no one could stand the sight of it. That’s what they said, but of course, none of them had ever actually seen it because of the veil.

He would disappear for hours at a time in a tent – in a place that was called the holy of holies. And people said that he met with God and received messages from God there.

What was it like? They knew that Moses wasn’t hearing some voice booming from heaven because surely that was something that they would have heard outside of the tent. Some people argued that perhaps the voice of God came to him more like a whisper – a disembodied voice emanating from the empty space just above the Ark of the Covenant. Others liked to imagine that God materialized bodily right in the tent as a heavenly being in the form of a man or perhaps as a spiritual being made of little more than wind.

They Hadn’t a Clue

They imagined all kinds of things because they really hadn’t a clue what went on in there. They just imagined these wild scenarios, terrifying themselves in the process. All that they knew for sure was that he did encounter God in there and that God gave him messages for all the people.

They probably would have been surprised and maybe disappointed to find out what actually went on in that tent.

Moses didn’t hear voices, not really. He spent his time in deep meditation, emptying his mind of all extraneous thought and then reflecting upon his experience and the law that had been passed down among the people of Israel to discern what God might have to say about any particular circumstance.

And yes, he did believe that the answers that came to him were answers given by God. But that belief was often mixed with doubt and always mixed with an understanding that any answers he came to were partial and incomplete. He struggled over every answer as someone who was called to lead God’s people.

The Veil Effect

But the people saw none of that struggle because of the veil. Yes, they said it was to cover up the scary aftereffects of him being in the presence of God. But they never got to peek under it. If his face was actually shining or if it was just showing lingering uncertainty or doubt, they didn’t know because all they saw was the veil.

It made everything that Moses said when he wore it absolute truth, the unquestioned word of God. It removed all shades of grey and reduced it all to black and white. But sometimes, I think, Moses must have wished for someone to understand that, under the veil he was just a man and maybe struggled with many of the things that they did.

I find that image of Moses wearing that veil and speaking for God through it to be extremely important. It is fascinating because the wearing of the veil indicates the presence of something that no one can see because of it: the shining of Moses’ face – the lingering aftereffects of being in the presence of God. Ironically, they only know that it is there because they can’t see it.

The Role of Clergy

I think that this brief passage is key to understanding the role that priests and clergy have played in society down through the ages and right up to today. Clergy are these people who have been seen as having a unique relationship with God. They go into their study or vestry or prayer closet and God speaks to them in ways that are not accessible to other people.

In ancient times it was not uncommon for clergy to then literally put a mask or veil over their face and become the literal voice of the god to the people. We have become a little bit more sophisticated than that, of course. But we still have this tendency to defer to our clergy when we see them wearing certain collars or vestments or speaking from special places. It marks them as speaking for God.

My Conflicted Feelings

I have always felt a little bit conflicted about all such thinking. Let me say this. As a member of the clergy and as someone called to preach in the church of Jesus Christ, I do believe that God uses me to speak the word of God. I know that I have written sermons and said things that, unquestionably as far as I am concerned, come from God and are things that God wants said here and now.

And, no, that is not because I have heard God speaking to me as a voice booming from heaven, nor even some still small voice whispering to me from an invisible point above the communion table.

I have found that message through years of studying the Bible and reading many scholars. I have particularly found that message by reflecting on contemporary events and struggling with the question of how they might relate to scriptures written in a very different time and place. On top of that, I also take the time to meditate and reflect on all of that to allow space for the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts.

My Doubts and Questions

And when I do all of that, I have often been amazed to discover a message that I am quite convinced is from God. But, at the same time, I would never say that I don’t have any doubts about that.

I would also never suggest that I have received a complete and final oracle from God – it is more of a particular word for a particular moment. But it certainly is exhilarating to receive and to be able to pass on such a message.

But then what do I do? I come into the church and pass on that message. And, though I do not wear a literal mask or veil, I do feel like there is a kind of a metaphorical veil when I do so. All of the doubt and the ambiguity and the incompleteness of the message is covered up. All of the shades of grey that were there in the study somehow get filtered down to black and white.

That’s why I think I can understand what Moses went through when he put on the veil. I think, to a certain extent every priest and member of the clergy can understand. And maybe, to a certain extent, that veil is necessary. Maybe there are times when we need to have the message presented in black and white, but I still wish that we could find ways to give people more glimpses beneath that veil.

The Role of Clergy

I think that this passage is inviting us to probe a little deeper into the role of clergy in our churches at a time when it seems to be in flux. For many decades now, the life and work specifically of our Presbyterian Churches has been dominated by the clergy.

Most of us grew up in a time when it was normal for every congregation to be led by one minister, at least in urban settings. In rural settings, two or sometimes three-point charges were also quite common. But the assumption was that there would almost always be that clergy in that leadership position.

When a minister moved on or retired, the expectation was that they would be replaced in fairly short order. The interim period was a scary time; congregations did their best to move through it as quickly as possible. The church could then breathe a sigh of relief when a new minister was called and get back to “normal.”

Not Working That Way

I don’t know if you have noticed this, but things don’t quite work like that in many of our churches these days. Many of the other Presbyterian churches around us these days don’t have full-time clergy. Many of them can’t afford them or struggle to find them if they can.

As a result, the clergy that we do have are being stretched thinner and asked to do more to keep our churches going. This is something that has been contributing to clergy burnout and people leaving the profession, something that has been happening across the religious spectrum in recent years.

Now, I do believe that there is a vital role for the clergy in our churches. I do believe that the depth of study and experience we bring to the church is essential. I expect clergy to continue to contribute in that way for a long time to come. But I also think that we are going to see a shift in the role of the clergy in coming years.

In particular, I see us shifting from being a denomination that is clergy led and supported by the laity to one that is led by the laity who are supported by the clergy. That is a subtle shift, but its an important one. And one of the key parts of that is a changing attitude towards those jobs that have been traditionally reserved only for the clergy.

Traditionally, in our denomination, the things that only clergy could do were preaching, leading the sacraments of baptism and communion, and moderating sessions. But that is changing, and I believe the change will accelerate in years to come.

Lay Leadership

For some time now, we have come to realize the wisdom and blessing that comes from the preaching of the laity. We have learned that lay preachers are not lesser preachers, nor greater preachers, but they are different preachers and they bring their own perspective which is valuable and enlightening.

More recently, the church has opened up ways for the laity to step up and offer leadership in the sacraments. And again, that’s not because they do it better nor is it that they are second best. They bring their own unique approach and wisdom to the task and that is also a gift to the church.

That is why, when the session considered the possibility of designating one of our elders as a sacramental elder, I supported the motion. I think having Steve as such an elder is an incredible asset that we now have.

We can ask him now to preside at the communion table or at the baptismal font when it is needed. We can even designate him to go to other congregations and lead in the sacraments when they may have a hard time finding someone to do so.

Important Development

I welcome this development. Some might say that it takes away from the uniqueness and the mystique of the role of the clergy. Some even think that it will make the clergy irrelevant. But I don’t see it that way. I see it as welcoming us all to peek beyond the veil. It is an invitation to see that whoever is preaching or whoever is leading in the sacraments, they are human.

They don’t really have all the final answers. They don’t have an absolute truth that they can present in black and white. And they are not manipulating some sort of magical power. But they do have what we all have, the ability to encounter God in our own way and on our own terms and to share that experience with others in powerful ways.

I respect the traditional role of the clergy and also the traditional ways in which their special role has been marked. We don’t use veils or masks, but we have found other ways to mark them as speakers of the truth.

But truth, as important as it is, is seldom black and white. Finding truth is a struggle and a quest. It involves frequent doubts and questions and uncertainties. But it is the most important struggle that we can ever have. And it is something that I invite us all to engage in, beneath the veil.

https://youtu.be/2ke6vHUS1Hc

Hespeler, February 23, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany 
Genesis 45:3-15, Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40, 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50, Luke 6:27-38 

The sons of Jacob had been hearing disturbing things about the country to the south (and west) of them for some time. It seemed that Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had essentially handed over the control of his entire nation to some unelected immigrant who he called Zaphnath-Paaneah. (Genesis 41:45) 

I realize that that name is a bit of a mouthful. That is why people mostly referred to this man as the First Buddy. When they wanted to mock the Pharaoh for giving up most of his power, they called him President Zaph.  

Having obtained enormous power, President Zaph immediately set about using it in unprecedented ways. He created a new department to achieve his goal of Disrupting Operations Governing Egypt (or D.O.G.E. as he liked to call it). And he sent out his DOGE goons to seize control of all of the granaries in the country. 

The Seven-Year Plan 

He spent the next seven years plundering the best food produced in the Nile Valley, the breadbasket of the ancient world, from the farmers and workers of Egypt. All of the food he took and stored up in the granaries that were under his exclusive control. 

When people complained and asked who he was to do such things, Zaph explained that he was doing it all for their own good. He understood that what he was doing might cause the people of Egypt enormous harm, but that was a price that he was willing to pay. 

The Collapse 

And then, after seven years of Zaph sucking up everything from the people and imposing complete control, it was like everything finally collapsed. The entire economy had been despoiled of all of its resources and many sectors just began to shut down. This led to a recession that caused widespread shortages. 

This was the crisis that President Zaph was ready to exploit. He opened up his granaries and storehouses to offer food to the Egyptians and even to people who were starving everywhere. And, since he had established complete control of supply, he was able to charge whatever he wanted for the food.  

Opposition? 

Did anyone complain? Did anyone point out that the food that he was now selling to the people of Egypt at a premium had actually been seized from them over the previous seven years? Did anyone add that it had been taken with the promise that it was being done for their own good and that it would be available for them when bad times came?  

Well, there were no reports of anyone raising any of those issues. Was that really because everyone was happy with the situation? Maybe, but the sons of Jacob suspected that it was more like no one was brave enough to object, or maybe even that anyone who did dare to step forward had been eliminated as a lesson to the rest. 

The View from Up North 

The people of Egypt, and indeed of the whole world including the sons of Jacob up north in Canaan were reeling. The change and chaos brought by Zaph’s actions had thrown everyone off balance. People were walking around shell-shocked and hadn’t a clue what to do. 

Many assumed that Zaph was just plain evil. Perhaps they would have had some sympathy for him if they had known some of the struggles he had faced in his life. 

He had always had a hard time fitting in. He was different – probably on the autism spectrum or neuro-divergent in some other way. His birth family had also treated him horribly, inflicting horrible emotional trauma on him. 

So maybe there was more to the story of Zaph and what had made him the man that he was. Whatever the whole story was, though, the devastating effects of everything that he was doing were plain for anyone to see. 

Practical Effects 

The Egyptian people lost everything – not only their life savings, but also their livestock, their ancestral farms and ultimately their own freedom as they literally sold themselves into slavery. 

And there was President Zaph sitting upon an ever-increasing mountain of wealth. He said that he was holding it on behalf of the Pharaoh and all people of Egypt, of course. But he was the one who had exclusive control of it. And when it comes to wealth, practical control always trumps theoretical ownership. 

The Crisis in Canaan 

The crisis in Egypt quickly became a recession. The Pharaoh responded by raising tariffs on surrounding nations which meant that the economic pain quickly spread beyond the borders. Up north in Canaan, the brothers were suffering. They needed to replenish their stores and they had heard that the only place where there was any surplus was in the granaries that were under control of Zaph. 

And so, they pulled together an enormous amount of money and headed down south to deal with the man himself. 

The Brothers in Egypt 

It was a horrible experience. First of all, he treated them like criminals, interrogating them endlessly, probing into every detail of their lives and family. Then, just for his own amusement, he just threw them in jail for three days. Finally he let them buy some supplies and return home, but actually kept one of them as a hostage that he said he’d only release to them when they brought back to him their youngest brother, Benjamin, their father’s favourite. 

They were terrified by this man, but what choice did they have? They played his game. And then when they returned with Benjamin, Zaph went on to frame him for theft, threatening to take him and make a slave of him. 

The brothers were beside themselves. This man was clearly a monster! But now he was not only robbing from the Egyptians and using the stolen goods to play with them. He was about to destroy the life of their baby brother for no reason! And this was not just about Benjamin, if they didn’t bring Ben home, the loss would probably kill their father too. 

That was when Judah stepped forward and fell to the ground before the evil oligarch. “Take me, take me instead, O President Zaph. You can ruin my life if you wish, but please, if you have an ounce of humanity in you, let the kid go.” 

Surprise Reaction 

That was when Zaphnath-Paaneah suddenly ordered all of his Egyptian attendants to leave. This included his Canaanite interpreter who had enabled the entire conversation up until this point. The brothers looked at each other uneasily. For all they knew this madman had just gotten rid of the witnesses and he was about to have them all killed, and their bodies thrown in the Nile! They were going to be annihilated! 

But, no sooner had everyone left than a strange look came over Zaph’s face. Then, as the brothers look at each other in utter confusion, the most bizarre thing that had happened yet in this entire story took place. Zaph began to weep uncontrollably. 

It was a real ugly cry. The tears flowed down his face like a waterfall. He kept trying to speak but he was sobbing so hard that they couldn’t make anything out even though he amazingly seemed to be trying to speak their own Canaanite dialect. 

True Identity of President Zaph 

This went on for several very embarrassing minutes until Zaph finally caught his breath. When they finally caught what he had been trying to say, they completely understood why it had taken them so long. It was literally unbelievable.  

“Judah, it’s me. It’s Joseph. Remember, the brother that it was your brilliant idea to sell into slavery for 20 pieces of silver? Is… is my father really still alive?” 

That was about all he managed to get out before he turned and hugged his brother Benjamin like a man who had never before been hugged in his entire life. 

That was when the fear of the brothers turned into utter panic.  

Skipping the Troubling Parts 

We have a certain tendency in the church to skip over some of the really troubling parts of the story and rush to the happy ending. I think that might be one reason why people sometimes think that the Bible is irrelevant to modern life. We give people this impression that it only says that all is well and that God is obviously in control and making everything well. Meanwhile, people are living in a world where things go very wrong all the time.  

Well, the story of Joseph is a story that is very much set in the real world. To just reduce it to a happy ending (which our reading selection from the Lectionary would have us do) is to totally miss all of that. For one thing, we skip over the terrible trauma that Joseph goes through. It starts with him being rejected, beaten and sold into slavery by his own family and gets worse from there. 

Egypt’s Trauma 

But more interesting to me today is how we skip over the trauma that was inflicted on Egypt and the world because of the trauma that Joseph had suffered. The story I just told you about what I call the disruption of Egypt is absolutely there in the Book of Genesis and it is the story of people who had their whole world systematically dismantled. 

The Story in Genesis 

Of course, the story in Genesis is told from the point of view of Joseph who seems to be confident that he is doing the right thing for the people of Egypt. 

But let me tell you something. Anyone looking from the outside on the actions of the man given the name Zaphnath-Paaneah by the Pharaoh would have seen it much like I have described. He disrupted every system and norm of the Egyptian state leaving fear, destruction and chaos in his wake. And everyone was terrified at where all of this might lead – even Canaanites looking on from the North.  

Does any of that sound familiar? Does any of it sound relevant to the kinds of things we see going on in our world today? I’m afraid it does. And I talk to many people who are reeling these days as so many of our assumptions about how the world is supposed to work are thrown into chaos.  

Well, I wanted to tell you this story to let you know that, if you are feeling like that, you are not alone. The people of Egypt experienced it in biblical times and so did their appalled neighbours to the north. 

So, the Bible understands what you may be feeling. But I suspect you may be looking for more than just understanding today. The big question for today is what do we do when the world falls apart like that. The big question is where do we find hope. 

Seeing Their Enemy Anew 

Joseph stared at his brothers; his brothers stared at him. It was a remarkable moment. The sons of Jacob had spent the last nine years seeing this man in front of them only as President Zaph – their enemy who had been put on earth merely to torment them.  

And now, they were being forced in a moment to see him a completely different light. They were forced to see how they were connected to him. Indeed, they were all part of the same dysfunctional family and had even played their own part in making him the flawed person that he was. 

I wish I could tell you that that recognition of their connection suddenly made everything alright. The damage that Zaph had done still remained. The Egyptians were still destitute and enslaved. The whole world was in an economic mess that was causing untold misery. There are no easy fixes once the oligarchs take over and plunder everything of value.  

More Connected than We Think 

But perhaps if this story can teach us anything, it is that we are more connected than we usually realize. The objects of our hatred and scorn – the ones who seem to be ruining our lives are our own family.  

That means, for one thing, that we have a voice. We can speak up against the systems at work that are robbing people of their autonomy and freedom. It also means that we can have compassion for those who are plundering the world – to understand that they are only trying to fill an aching void within them that can never be filled by all the wealth in the world (as some of our wealthiest billionaires are definitely demonstrating to us these days). 

Compassion doesn’t mean we don’t oppose them, of course, but it does recognize that healing can only come when we find the common humanity of all.  

Joseph wept inconsolably on the neck of his little brother Benjamin who reached up and placed his hand on Joseph’s head. 

“You are my brother and I love you,” he said. “You’ve made a terrible mess, but I love you.” 

https://youtu.be/kG2Xxz07Mtc

In the Gospel of Matthew, the beatitudes of Jesus – that famous list of those who are blessed – are delivered from a mountaintop. That is why we call it the Sermon on the Mount. Mountains represent hierarchy – the idea that some things are naturally higher than and rule over others. In Matthew the beatitudes are literally a teaching that is handed down from on high.

I find it interesting that, when the same teaching is featured in the Gospel of Luke, the setting is so strikingly different. There Jesus delivers the beatitudes “on a level place.” Rather than looking down upon his disciples, Luke says that he looked up at them.

A Different Perspective

Surely this represents a different perspective on this very important teaching of Jesus. It is given in a setting where everyone is on the same level. Everyone, at least in Jesus’ eyes, is equal. And that perspective definitely changes the meaning of Jesus’ words, doesn’t it?

For one thing, it means that Jesus’ words are no longer directed only to certain people in the crowd – those he sees as particularly worthy of blessing. He must also address the others.

And I would like to reflect on one of those teachings today. I would like to imagine it not only reverberating across the people standing in that level place, but also to imagine these words echoing down through the centuries until today. I wonder how people might hear them in our times.

That teaching is this: “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” Or, as it is put in the Good News Bible, “you have had your easy life!”

Prosperity Gospel

Imagine, for example, those words echoing down all the way to the pulpits of certain modern preachers. There are a number of them who, in our times, preach something called the “Prosperity Gospel.” Their message is fairly simple, and often quite persuasive.

If you listen to their messages, they will inform you that God wants you to be wealthy, like really wealthy. And they will promise you that, if you only live out the Christian Life in the way they tell you, which almost always includes committing to send them significant amounts of money, God will make you extremely rich.

These Prosperity Gospel preachers are always an excellent example to their flock as they demonstrate how to live a lavish lifestyle replete with mansions, private jets and expensive parties. Oh yes, they show you how to be wealthy.

Biblical Basis and Misuse

This way of understanding the gospel is not just wishful thinking or something that they made up. There are definitely passages in the Bible that seem to proclaim a sort of Prosperity Gospel. The Psalm that we read this morning is a perfect example.

The psalmist describes righteous people like this: “They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.” You see, it is right there. If you are righteous, if you are someone who always does the right thing, prosperity is guaranteed.

It is a lovely thought, of course. Imagine living in a world where everyone who did the right thing was always generously rewarded. But here is the thing. It is not always easy to judge someone’s righteousness or right action. But it is pretty easy to see who is really prosperous and who is not.

Teaching Turned on its Head

That’s why this teaching of the Bible often gets turned on its head. We look around and see all the extremely wealthy people and conclude that, if they are rich, God must have blessed them. And if God blessed them, it must be because they are righteous. The other side of that coin, of course, is that, if people are poor, it must be because they are bad. They must deserve it.

This is an assumption that it is so easy to fall into in our world. And the preachers of the Prosperity Gospel take advantage of that easy assumption. But anyone who pauses and reflects has to realize that things simply don’t work that way. There are also lots of Bible passages that complain about the evil who prosper and the righteous who are mistreated.

So, perhaps when these words of Jesus come echoing down through the centuries till today, we need to allow them to challenge the ways we think about the rich and just how worthy they really are to enjoy their prosperity. Perhaps we need to allow them to challenge the easy judgments we make of those who are in the ranks of the poor.

A Famous Scene

But the preachers are not the only ones who need to be challenged by these words of Jesus. Let’s imagine, for a moment, them carrying all the way to a scene that famously took place about a month ago. On that day, three people were gathered in one place who were the richest people in the entire world. Their names were, in order, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg.

But let me be a bit more precise. They were not just the three richest people in the world at that moment. They are the three richest people who have ever existed in the entire history of the world. More wealth was concentrated in that one spot than has ever been extracted from the global economy before. And it is wealth that every single one of us has contributed to because you actually cannot function in the modern world without using the various services that have made them so wealthy.

Now, was Jesus speaking to them when he said, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation”? He absolutely was. Sure, nobody in the crowd that day would have been able to imagine that such people could ever possibly exist. But there is no better example of what Jesus was really talking about.

Having Enough

So, what would they think if those words came to them? I suspect that they would find them hilarious. I think that they would especially laugh at the part where Jesus says to them, “you have received your consolation.” That implies, doesn’t it, that they have enough – that they don’t need anything more.

And let me tell you something. There is no group that is less satisfied with what they have than multi-billionaires. Every so often you will hear someone argue that billionaires make the best leaders because they already have what they need and so they won’t be tempted to engage in corruption or self-serving.

Insatiable Billionaires

That may sound reasonable. It is true that billionaires have so much money that they could never possibly spend it on themselves or their loved ones (if they have them) in several lifetimes. But it is actually only the very rare billionaire who ever decides that they have enough.

This is something that is absolutely undeniable as we see over the last few decades that all of the people who have billions have constantly managed to amass more and more. They have clearly decided that they have not yet received their consolation.

So, how would those billionaires react if they heard these words of Jesus echoing down to them. I think that I can hear them laughing from here.

Who Owns the Kingdom?

But there is another reason why they would laugh. This saying is contrasted in the Gospel with Jesus’ opening beatitude. “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” So, Jesus has just promised the poor a kingdom and now goes on to say that the rich have already received as much as is coming to them. In other words, no kingdom for them!

Now, what kind of kingdom Jesus means when he says “the kingdom of God” is obviously a big question that we’ll come back to. But whatever this kingdom looks like, he is definitely saying that the poor get to rule over something.

And would our modern multi-billionaires laugh at that? You bet they would. I’m not sure we’ve all come to terms with this yet, but we are actually increasingly living in a world where the extremely wealthy have pretty much taken over.

Failing Systems

And yes, I know, you will say to me that our democratic systems of government are still in place and so the oligarchs are technically not in control. But the wealthy have such control over everything that keeps our democracy running that it doesn’t seem to matter very much. When, for example, they control almost all of our primary modes of communication, do they not also control most of the levers that flip our democracy one way or the other?

They have taken over the kingdom of this world and they don’t seem to be hesitating to use their position to build up their wealth and power even further. I kind of suspect that Elon Musk might take over the entire U.S. Treasury at some point if he hasn’t already. And the world is not stopping them. It seems to have declared, “You who are rich are obviously blessed, so why don’t you just take over everything and we’ll hope for the best.”

That is the simple truth, these words of Jesus would be met with nothing but mockery and derision from the wealthy of our world if they were spoken today. And so it also was when Jesus first said them.

Why did He Say it?

So, why did he say it? He was obviously not offering a commentary on how the world actually works, because it doesn’t work that way. It never has. It is clear that he was offering a picture of an entirely different system – a picture of the way that the world should work, rather than a pragmatic picture of how it does work.  That is what he means when he talks about the kingdom of God.

I know that we often speak about the kingdom of God as something that is only achieved in another world – a place we go only after we die. I understand where that kind of thinking comes from. The picture of a world where the extremely rich are satisfied and not in the process of taking over that Jesus presents here seems so impossible that we are often left thinking that the kingdom of God must be a literal pie in the sky idea.

But Jesus wasn’t talking about what might happen in heaven one day. He was talking about here and now. He said “Blessed are you who are poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.” And he spoke of the consolation of the rich as something that was over and done with.

So what do we do with that? Because I am not ready to say that Jesus was just delusional and had no understanding of what he was talking about. I hope you aren’t either.

An Alternate System

Jesus was proclaiming that the world’s system and much of its functioning was corrupt. But when he spoke about the kingdom of God, what he was promising you and me was that we don’t have to live according to that system. We, by choosing to follow him, could opt out of this world’s system and choose to live in an alternate system – this thing that he called the kingdom of God.

And living in the reality of the kingdom of God is not just living in denial of how the world really works. It makes a practical difference. It is a difference that is to begin here, in the church, where we are called to live into the reality that, as Paul wrote, “There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” He also could have added that there is no rich or poor, no oligarch and no powerless people in the thrall of oligarchs.

It Starts Here

It starts here where we demonstrate to the world that things can actually operate according to a different system. And it extends from here as we reach out into the community to treat all people, no matter who they are – no matter if they are poor or immigrants or minorities or people who don’t fit into the traditional roles of society – as people who are more valuable in themselves than the richest billionaire is according to this world’s measure.

And if we do it right, o my family in Christ, if we do it right, we will shake the wealthy in the very halls of their power. It is, to be fair for a moment, something that the church has rarely gotten right in its long history, but the potential is there. That potential was what Jesus was talking about when he stood and shared blessings and woes on that level place.