Jesus Served; John 13:1-17

 

Rev. George Miller

March 13, 2022

John 13:1-17

 

Hard to believe, but four years has passed since our first Sabbatical experience as a congregation. 

 

Four years ago we learned to navigate what no other Emmanuel pastor had done before.  There were some rough seas and bumpy topes, but we made it through to the other side.

 

Now, preparations have begun for the next Sabbatical in 2023. 

 

The ideas great, options many.  What we arrived at is so logical, natural, that we are already seeing some benefits.

 

Instead of going far away, my 2023 Sabbatical is set to consist of rest, travel, and volunteering 19 miles south at the Highway Park Neighborhood & Enhance District.

 

Highway Park is a historically Black neighborhood in Lake Placid right off 27.  A 5013© with a community center, they serve senior citizens, veterans, and youth.

 

From June through August of 2023, I’ll be at the Center assisting with their programs, such as art, computers, financial literacy, and agribusiness.

 

I’ll assist with the youth leadership program, which teaches leadership, civic engagement, entrepreneurship.

 

The goals while there are to observe how a successful community program is run, to establish connections with youth, to learn more about the grant writing process.

 

To nurture a relationship between Emmanuel and the Highway Park people to add to our other existing relationships.

 

We are applying for a grant to cover my expenses and the expenses of Emmanuel so that we can continue providing solid worship while I’m gone.

 

Sabbatical- a time to rest, restore, and re-imagine.

 

Think back to the 2018 Sabbatical, how much of a game changer that was.  With rest and clarity, I was empowered to come back ready for 5 more years of service, and what a 5 years it has been.

 

The Narrative Lectionary, Garden Of Hope, Community Conversations, Rural Ministry, ADESE, ONA, and NAACP.

 

Most vital of all was a lesson that was shared with me on the 1^st day I returned from the 2018 Sabbatical.

 

Diane and I, sat down, and we had a talk.  “The Talk.”

 

And she said the most transforming thing to me. 

 

Diane observed that I often referred to Emmanuel UCC as “my church.”  Though it was meant to be a positive statement, it came across as ownership.

 

“Instead,” she said, “Refer to Emmanuel as the church you serve.”

 

The church that you serve.

 

Like digging my hands in the dirt a few weeks ago, it was a major reset.

 

Though I have been called to serve Emmanuel UCC for this space and this time, Emmanuel is not my church.

 

It’s God’s church. 

 

Emmanuel belongs to God, belongs to the community, belongs to us.

 

Emmanuel is not mine.

 

But.  But I get to serve Emmanuel UCC.

 

What an honor.

What a privilege.

What a responsibility.

 

That simple adjustment of words was a major adjustment of vision, action, and humility.

 

Words are powerful.

What we say makes all the difference.

 

After all, in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was…

 

Life giving.  Eternal.  Revolutionary.

 

Mine.  Serve.

 

Own.  Do.

 

Object.  Action.

 

To serve.

 

Words matter, and throughout this year we have encountered many words wrapped in so many stories.

 

Look back upon all we have discussed about Jesus in the Gospel of John, and a myriad of words swim in our mind.

 

Jesus is

The Word

The Light of the World

Son of God

 

Jesus is

Lord

Lamb of God

Messiah and Anointed

 

Read further in John.

Jesus is the

Wine Maker

Bridegroom

Living Water

 

Jesus is

Rabbi

Healer

Loaves and Fish Feeder

 

Jesus is the

Rough Sea Walker

Mud Maker

Sight Giver

 

Jesus is the

The Good Shepherd

The One Who Won’t Throw You Away

Your best friend

 

Jesus is

Alpha.  Omega.  I AM.

 

Today’s story adds one more title-

Servant.  Jesus serves.

 

Though Jesus is Lord, though Jesus is Messiah, though Jesus is the sum of all that is, was and ever will be, today we see Jesus take a humble roll, get on his knees….and serve.

 

Like an immigrant woman toiling at the nail salon, like a struggling mother making her money as a maid, like a man works after midnight to clean up after the party.

 

Jesus, on his own initiative, serves the very people he cares most about.

 

Even though they don’t always get it, although he is not always appreciated, though he will be betrayed,  Jesus serves.

 

In a culture in which folk walked everywhere, homeowners would have their guests greeted at the door by a servant who would wash the dirt and dust from their feet.

 

Because this was such a demeaning job, it was often only women who washed feet.  No man would do it because it would infer that they are less-than.

 

Yet Jesus Christ, Lord of All, Alpha and Omega, takes off his robe, ties on a towel, pours water into a basin, and begins to wash the feet of each and every disciple- Peter, Thomas, Judas.

 

Two weeks ago we saw how Jesus is willing to get dirty and down for us by spitting in the dirt and making mud.

 

Today we witness something more- public humility, true compassion, radical love, humble service.

 

Jesus, who will soon be raised up on the cross, lowers himself beneath us, so that he can wash our feet.

 

Jesus, who is Owner of The Heavens, lowers himself as low as possible to the ground as he can, kneeling before us, head bowed, nearly naked.

 

If you had any doubt how much Jesus loved you when he said no one will be thrown away, if you had any worry about how much you are loved when he got dirty in the dirt for you.

 

If you had any lingering wonder if Jesus truly, really did care about you at all.

 

The answer is yes.

 

Because here Jesus is, saying “I, the Great I AM, kneel before you, to touch your calluses and cuts, your dirt and your dust, and I am here to serve you, to wash you, to soothe your soles.”

 

Why does any of this matter?

 

Because how we see Jesus, the words we use to describe Jesus, can often indicate what it is we need from Jesus, and how we can serve in return.

 

Think of a Word you would use to describe Jesus.

 

If you say Shepherd, that means perhaps God is calling you to guide those who are lost and lonely.

 

If you say Teacher, perhaps that means God has crafted you to empower others as they learn.

 

If you say Mud Maker, perhaps that means God has shaped you to grow gardens and plant seeds.

 

If you say Servant…. then perhaps God is calling you to serve others, in humility, in kindness, in great care.

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word is life, and the Word is wellness, and the Word is world changing.

 

Servant, healer, feeder, sight giver.

 

Who is Jesus?

 

Who are you?

 

Amen and amen.

Confronting Jesus the Martha/Mary Way; John 11

 

Rev. George Miller

March 6, 2022

John 11:1-6 and 17-37

 

For 11 weeks we’ve been immersed in the Gospel of John, a world in which God the Creator has taken on human form, walked amongst us, talked to us.

 

In the Gospel we have experienced Light, Living Waters, and the assurance of Eternal Life; a life worth living in which Heaven is right here on earth.

 

Which sounds great…except for the days when it feels like Hell and not Heaven has had its way.

 

It’s easy to bathe in the Living Waters and turn your face to the Son when water becomes wine, bread is in abundance and you’re able to pick up you matt and walk.

 

But what about those days when wine has turned into vinegar, your supply of bread has run out, and you can’t pick up your mat because you’re laying in a hospital bed with tubes in your body?

 

Good, great news for the woman who is respected at the well, the lame man who can finally walk, or the son who is suddenly made able to see.

 

But what about those who’ll never be able to walk again, the son who’s died an unfair death, the woman who was sexually abused as a girl?

 

What Good News does the Gospel of John have then?  What bits of brightness and light can any of these story’s have? 

 

What good is belief if belief doesn’t stop your spouse from dying, your child from suffering, or a pandemic from spreading across the land?

 

Is anyone truly blessed, or are we just fortunate, until it’s our turn for disaster?

 

These are cold, hard truths.  Especially as we celebrate the 100^th Anniversary of Back Bay Mission, an organization we have grown in relationship with.

 

Back Bay Mission was established to empower the local fisherpeople of Mississippi as they worked hard and struggled in the waters of Biloxi.

 

The Mission grew in ministry and spread across the city as it became clear the issues were many- food insecurity, segregation, police force, UCC pastors threatened for showing compassion, HIV/AIDS, homelessness.

 

How to recover from hurricane after hurricane after hurricane that have lifted casinos and carried them to the other side of the highway, crushing long established churches.

 

What good is Living Water if too much can flood your modest home all the way up to the attic, and if too little can leave your loved one dehydrated in a hospital begging for an ice chip?

 

I could say that the Good News is how God calls Good People to do justice, kindness, and mercy, as we see at Back Bay Mission.

 

I could say the Good News is that we and our Iowa partners go to Back Bay every year and do the work of Christ.

 

Feeding the hungry, rebuilding homes, bringing clothes, visiting the lonely, meeting those ravaged by AIDS.

 

But no matter how good that feels, it doesn’t change the universal quandary- 

 

Why do bad, unfair, upsetting things happen to us, even when we believe, tithe, and testify?

 

…and there is no answer.  No answer at all, except that if you are alive, you are also going to die, and in between there is going to be joy and there is going to be pain.

 

But what about when the pain is far too great for words?

 

Do we diminish it away?  Do we fool ourselves with peppy, poppy talk?  Do we distance ourselves from others? 

 

Do we take it to God; and if so, does it even matter?

 

That’s the question we come to today.  It’s the story of Jesus and a family; the family of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. 

 

A family that is well known in town; a family that is well loved by Jesus.

 

But fame and a personal relationship with Jesus doesn’t stop death and sorrow from entering their home.

 

Lazarus, who may be the youngest of the family, falls ill, and then he dies.  It’s safe to assume that he is rather young, and his life if unfairly cut short.

 

Instead of focusing on Lazarus, we are going directly to the open wounds and profound pain of Mary and Martha.

 

When we get to verse 17, their baby brother has been dead for 4 days.  His body is in the grave and the whole town is with the sisters, consoling them with casseroles and kind words.

 

Martha, the woman who was known for too many tasks, hears that Jesus is finally making his way to town.  She wastes no time, going to where he is.

 

You can read the words of Martha many ways.  I hear Martha as upset, with a hand on her hip and daggers in her eyes.

 

“Lord, what took you so long.  If you have been here, my brother would still be alive.  I still believe in you, but I don’t know why.”

 

Try to picture this.  Try to strip away any sense of fake holiness or perceived perfection about Martha.  Try to really see her, to see her as a person who is

 

-deeply upset

-deeply sad

-deeply mad that Jesus was not there

-deeply feeling abandoned.

 

Abandonment- one of the most primal, powerful of emotions of all.

 

“If you had been here,” she says.  In other words “Where were you?”

 

Martha’s saying to Jesus “When I most needed you, when we most needed you, you weren’t here.”

 

Martha speaks for all of us. She is speaking for you.  She speaks for me.

 

She is standing before the Lord, toe to toe, holding Jesus accountable. 

 

She is holding God in contempt.  And does Jesus ignore her?  No.

 

Just like the Woman at the Well, he engages with her in conversation. 

 

She speaks.  He responds.  She speaks.  He responds.  He asks her a question.  She responds.

 

Does what Jesus say gets him off the hook, as far as I am concerned?  No. 

 

But at least Jesus shows us a Savior who can stand there and take what we need to say.

 

Then there is Mary.  Mary who spent time as a student by his feet. 

 

Mary wastes not a moment, she does not wait for Jesus to take his time.  She takes control of the situation, using her legs to swiftly carry her to Jesus.

 

And when Mary gets to Jesus, she falls at his feet.  And she weeps.  She weeps the kind of tears that the English language does not have words for.

 

Mary sheds tears that combine rage and compassion, disgust, and uncertainty.

 

Mary weeps the kind of tears that makes you feel like at any moment you are going to throw up.

 

As Mary weeps, she says to Jesus “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

 

Mary hold Jesus accountable.  Mary does not sugarcoat.  Mary doesn’t apologize for how she feels. 

 

Mary does not hide her disappointment in Jesus.  After all-

 

if you are going to be called Lord, then act like one.  Lord’s don’t allow their people to suffer needlessly.

 

Mary, who once sat enraptured at Jesus’s feet as a student, now is at his feet, crying deep sobs.

 

This causes Jesus to weep too.

 

Jesus weeps.  Mary weeps.  It’s as if they are weeping for all the tears and all the sorrow and all the pain we ALL, as a people, have endured.

 

I can’t tell you why bad things happen.  I can’t tell you why believers in Heaven still go through Hell.

 

But what we can say is that today we have a story, just like the Woman at the Well. 

 

Two people who have nothing left to lose, so they bringing it all to Jesus.

 

Martha and Mary are heroes.  They show us that being a person of faith, being a friend of Jesus does not let the God of Christ off the hook.

 

Mary and Martha verbally, physically, and emotionally show us that to have a true relationship with the God of Jesus is to hold God accountable.

 

Martha and Mary embody what faith during tragic times can look like-

 

We can be angry

we can be mad

 

We can cry

We can fall to the ground

 

We can be ugly

We can demand an explanation.

 

Faith isn’t just saying “Thank you” when the Living Waters flow smoothly.

 

Having faith is saying “Where?  Why?  How?” when the waters are dried up.

 

Mary and Martha respond to Jesus in such a realistic, powerful way that Jesus himself, God incarnate, Emmanuel…has no other choice but to weep too.

 

Mary weeps, so does Jesus; which means when we weep, so does God.

 

Just like last week’s reading with the spit and the mud, faith in Jesus is not always going to look pretty.

 

Just like last week’s reading, faith in Jesus does get down right messy.

 

Sometimes that messiness is tears from our eyes, our face red with rage, and our mouth full of questions that God can never properly satisfy.

 

But God does listen.  God does hear.

 

Jesus can take whatever we have to say.  Jesus will stand toe to toe.

 

It won’t stop bad things from happening.

It won’t guarantee a pain free life.

 

But at least we know we do not have to suffer in silence.  We do not have to suffer alone.

 

We can be as angry with God as we need to be.

 

For some of us today, that is perhaps the truest news we can hear.

 

On behalf of all who are suffering, let us say “Amen.”