WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
November 25th 2007
Christ the King/Stewardship Dedication Sunday
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Humiliated King”
Luke 23:33-43
In preparation for Thanksgiving, I made sure to get a jump on my sermon for this Sunday. As a result I had a chance to head into the holiday without worrying too much about being prepared for today. However, that sense of contentment did not last very long. I was all ready to preach about the crucifixion of Jesus and how that connected with stewardship. (And, it is not what you might think, Give till it hurts.) But the more I paid attention the cultural cues around me the more I realized that a sermon about the cross and stewardship did not fit with the consumer orgy which began on Friday. To better experience the disconnect I was and am feeling let us take a closer look at what is going on in this passage.
In this passage we come face to face with the crucifixion of Jesus. Since most of us know the story the temptation is to move quickly through the event. Yet, we must resist this and take a moment to reacquaint ourselves with the central event of our faith. (That is not an overstatement. After all, Paul, the author of most of the New Testament, focuses his entire theology on the cross while saying nothing about the birth of Jesus. It gives us some clue as to the importance he places upon the nativity.) With that in mind let us now turn to the crucifixion.
While one might call crucifixion capital punishment, it was so much more. After all, the modern form of execution is done in private, at least giving the illusion of decency. The Romans however were under no illusions as to what they were doing. It was a very deliberate public spectacle meant to humiliate and ultimately kill the accused. It was also meant as a powerful message about who had the power and what happened to anyone who stepped out of line.
Crucifixion was the Roman liturgy which let people know who was in charge. It began when the accused was stripped naked, mocked, and beaten, but not so badly as to kill them. The event would loose its power if it ended too soon. In fact, even the way in which they nailed someone to the cross was done carefully so that the person would not die too soon. Even the taunting by the crowd was also part of this elaborate ritual. From the commoners, to the rulers, all would come out and heap abuse on the dying as a way of showing their allegiance to the power of Rome. It was unusual for someone to die quickly as well as to be removed from the cross. Most times the Romans would leave the victim on the cross so the vultures and dogs would finish them off and all the people would know who was in charge.
It was in the midst of this elaborate Roman liturgy of torture Jesus has compassion upon the people who were participating. It is a horrifying yet amazing scene which could not be more out of place as we begin the great consumer holiday season. How in the world do they relate? What is it that they have in common? How are we supposed to make the gospel relevant to the culture on this one?
Well, if by being relevant we mean that the message of the gospel and the messages of our culture will fit seamlessly together the answer is: We can not. If however, what we mean by relevant is something that will speak to our culture and help us live more faithfully than I believe that the crucifixion is relevant to both our consumer holiday and our stewardship dedication Sunday.
In fact, I can think of no better way to prepare ourselves for the holiday season than to begin by recommitting ourselves to live our lives like Jesus is our Lord. Before we find ourselves neck deep in a season which teaches that love can be found in a neatly wrapped package and disillusioned when the unwrapped gift simply cannot live up to the hype, we must pause and take a step back. In order to live more faithfully during this hectic season I believe we must focus on two things.
The first thing to keep in mind is what the heart of stewardship is all about. In learning about stewardship we find the simple yet scary truth that the way we spend money and the way spend time is a reflection of what we believe about God. And particularly at this time of year we can give no greater witness to our faith than to give feet to our beliefs and words. In other words, it might mean that this year we choose to spend money on fair trade items or on alternative forms of gift giving. Or, it might mean committing to an act of service, study, or prayer during the days leading up to Christmas. Whatever it is, know that being good stewards does not mean simply being a good consumer. Instead, we are called to be deliberate in our holiday practices giving witness to the way in which our faith impacts our lives. In doing so, we might just find ourselves just slightly out of step with the season, which might not be so bad. However, whenever we seek to take these sorts of steps, we must be careful not to become overzealous. Nothing creates a poor witness to the love of God in Christ than demanding that people follow our lead. And that is where the second thing we must remember comes into play.
Celebrating, or remembering Christ the King Sunday always points us back to the foot of the cross. The one we call Lord of Lord, King of Kings, acted like no other person of power in history. As he was being tortured and executed, Jesus had compassion upon the people who brought him to death. Instead of calling us to ignore the ways of death, and violence in the world it is a call to compassion because we are all trapped by the systemic violence all around us. We are called to live differently and never to become the evil that we struggle against. When we remember, or are confronted by, the reality of the cross it keeps us humble as we seek to practice of faith. So let us practice our faith and even our pronouncements with love, letting go of the guilt for where we might not measure up, but instead continue to look for ways to put our faith into practice. Amen? Amen.
November 25th 2007
Christ the King/Stewardship Dedication Sunday
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Humiliated King”
Luke 23:33-43
In preparation for Thanksgiving, I made sure to get a jump on my sermon for this Sunday. As a result I had a chance to head into the holiday without worrying too much about being prepared for today. However, that sense of contentment did not last very long. I was all ready to preach about the crucifixion of Jesus and how that connected with stewardship. (And, it is not what you might think, Give till it hurts.) But the more I paid attention the cultural cues around me the more I realized that a sermon about the cross and stewardship did not fit with the consumer orgy which began on Friday. To better experience the disconnect I was and am feeling let us take a closer look at what is going on in this passage.
In this passage we come face to face with the crucifixion of Jesus. Since most of us know the story the temptation is to move quickly through the event. Yet, we must resist this and take a moment to reacquaint ourselves with the central event of our faith. (That is not an overstatement. After all, Paul, the author of most of the New Testament, focuses his entire theology on the cross while saying nothing about the birth of Jesus. It gives us some clue as to the importance he places upon the nativity.) With that in mind let us now turn to the crucifixion.
While one might call crucifixion capital punishment, it was so much more. After all, the modern form of execution is done in private, at least giving the illusion of decency. The Romans however were under no illusions as to what they were doing. It was a very deliberate public spectacle meant to humiliate and ultimately kill the accused. It was also meant as a powerful message about who had the power and what happened to anyone who stepped out of line.
Crucifixion was the Roman liturgy which let people know who was in charge. It began when the accused was stripped naked, mocked, and beaten, but not so badly as to kill them. The event would loose its power if it ended too soon. In fact, even the way in which they nailed someone to the cross was done carefully so that the person would not die too soon. Even the taunting by the crowd was also part of this elaborate ritual. From the commoners, to the rulers, all would come out and heap abuse on the dying as a way of showing their allegiance to the power of Rome. It was unusual for someone to die quickly as well as to be removed from the cross. Most times the Romans would leave the victim on the cross so the vultures and dogs would finish them off and all the people would know who was in charge.
It was in the midst of this elaborate Roman liturgy of torture Jesus has compassion upon the people who were participating. It is a horrifying yet amazing scene which could not be more out of place as we begin the great consumer holiday season. How in the world do they relate? What is it that they have in common? How are we supposed to make the gospel relevant to the culture on this one?
Well, if by being relevant we mean that the message of the gospel and the messages of our culture will fit seamlessly together the answer is: We can not. If however, what we mean by relevant is something that will speak to our culture and help us live more faithfully than I believe that the crucifixion is relevant to both our consumer holiday and our stewardship dedication Sunday.
In fact, I can think of no better way to prepare ourselves for the holiday season than to begin by recommitting ourselves to live our lives like Jesus is our Lord. Before we find ourselves neck deep in a season which teaches that love can be found in a neatly wrapped package and disillusioned when the unwrapped gift simply cannot live up to the hype, we must pause and take a step back. In order to live more faithfully during this hectic season I believe we must focus on two things.
The first thing to keep in mind is what the heart of stewardship is all about. In learning about stewardship we find the simple yet scary truth that the way we spend money and the way spend time is a reflection of what we believe about God. And particularly at this time of year we can give no greater witness to our faith than to give feet to our beliefs and words. In other words, it might mean that this year we choose to spend money on fair trade items or on alternative forms of gift giving. Or, it might mean committing to an act of service, study, or prayer during the days leading up to Christmas. Whatever it is, know that being good stewards does not mean simply being a good consumer. Instead, we are called to be deliberate in our holiday practices giving witness to the way in which our faith impacts our lives. In doing so, we might just find ourselves just slightly out of step with the season, which might not be so bad. However, whenever we seek to take these sorts of steps, we must be careful not to become overzealous. Nothing creates a poor witness to the love of God in Christ than demanding that people follow our lead. And that is where the second thing we must remember comes into play.
Celebrating, or remembering Christ the King Sunday always points us back to the foot of the cross. The one we call Lord of Lord, King of Kings, acted like no other person of power in history. As he was being tortured and executed, Jesus had compassion upon the people who brought him to death. Instead of calling us to ignore the ways of death, and violence in the world it is a call to compassion because we are all trapped by the systemic violence all around us. We are called to live differently and never to become the evil that we struggle against. When we remember, or are confronted by, the reality of the cross it keeps us humble as we seek to practice of faith. So let us practice our faith and even our pronouncements with love, letting go of the guilt for where we might not measure up, but instead continue to look for ways to put our faith into practice. Amen? Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment