Christ the King -- Is Jesus the Boss of Me?

                                                              Christ the King 2013

Jeremiah 23:1-6;Canticle of Zachariah; Col 1:11-20: Luke 23:33-43

Father Adam Trambley

November 24, 2013, St. John’s Sharon

Is Jesus the Boss of Me?

This is the King of the Jews.

            So reads the inscription by Pilate.

            In Latin, Greek and Hebrew.

The criminal, condemned beside him, reads it.

            Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.

            His final request:

                        Jesus be my King.

            Jesus, accepts –

                        A noble liege granting the petition of his supplicant—

            Today you will be with me in paradise.

Others are coming into his Kingdom also,

            For all things were made through him,

            Heavenly things,

            Earthly things,

            Invisible things,

            Visible things.

Things that can’t help eventually being subject

            To the King of Kings

            Because they were made for him,

            And will someday be at his feet.

All creation is ordered by his laws, his statutes and his ordinances:

            The gravity and momentum

that keeps planets circling suns;

The speed that light shines

through the vast expanse of interstellar space;

            The temperatures when snow melts

and steam streams upwards.

            The instinct that sends sloths up trees,

                        Makes monarchs migrate,

                                    And bears hibernate,

            The plans and purposes prepared for people

                        And the power of prayer.

All act according to the will of the everlasting Word

            Who is the firstborn of all creation

            And who sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

Jesus is King and Lord over all things,

            Except in those times and places

            Where he has permitted us to be the kingmakers.

He offers us the throne of our own hearts

            To place upon it who or what we will.

What do we decide to do?    

Our experience with Kings is limited, today.

Modern Americans don’t have Lords, either,

            Except those that collect rent.

Better for us, perhaps, is the colloquial question,

Is Jesus the boss of me?

Is Jesus the boss of me?

Our default, of course is “no”,

            You’re not the boss of me

            That’s what we say,

                        Whether speaking pertly to our parents

                        Sassing our siblings

                        Or even answering the Almighty.

No one’s the boss of me, we decide.

            I’m in control.

            The captain of my fate.

            The maker of my own destiny.

            The buck stops right here.

  Or does it?

            Who is the boss of me, really,

            if I send Jesus away,

            or even keep him around with a demotion,

            making him Undersecretary for Sunday mornings.

Somebody sneaks into that throne of our hearts,

            but often it isn’t who we think.

We believe that when Jesus isn’t in charge,

            Our brightest and best selves are.

            The part of us that will make us happy.

            The part of us that will make us successful.

            The part of us that will make us more

like the god we want to be

                        then the God that tells us what to do.

But we believe lies

            Because our best selves listen to Jesus. 

            When he’s not in charge,

            Our best selves take a back seat, too.

Instead, the rogues’ gallery steps in,

            People we wouldn’t want,

            Emotions we’d rather suppress,

            Appetites we’d prefer to ignore.

Let’s look closely.

           

Sometimes sitting on the thrones of our souls

            We find our own appetites.

            Our need for comfort and convenience,

            Our thirst for physical pleasures

            Our lust for power and control.

All of us know those whose lives are ordered around

            Such lesser lights.

            All passing

            All unfulfilled

            All eventually joyless.

We can never satisfy our appetites.

            They are cruel masters.

Always one more

One more needed,

            one more available,

            one more held by someone else

                        and we need to get it.

Resentments racking up out of

            The occasional inconveniences of live.

Black holes of desire,

            Eating us alive.

Anger at anyone

            Ignoring us

to follow their own lives.

We make excuses of course.

            Good reasons

Why we need another cookie

Why we deserve whatever we want

Why it should be done our way

Why the world should work tirelessly

for our happiness.

Never recognizing that the one who really wants our happiness

            And knows how to help us

            Has been standing aside helpless

                        While we indulge our immature inanities.

Is Jesus the boss of me?

Of course sometimes Jesus is pushed off by someone else,

            Usually with our tacit consent.

We don’t always acknowledge

Just how much control we give away

To those worth so much less than

Than one who lived and died for us.

But we do.

For some of us,

            It’s the cool kids (of whatever age).

            If they want it,

                        We do it.

            If they wear it,

                        We buy it.

            If they drive it,

                        We get it with heated seats.

            If they disapprove,

                        We scorn it, regardless of value.

            No “blessed are the poor”,

                        But blessed are the popular.

For some of us,

            It’s whoever will give us the approval we want.

            Our lives turned inside out to make someone else happy,

                        So they tell us how good we are.

            Maybe the beautiful girl,

            Maybe the wealthy guy,

            Maybe the over-demanding boss

            Maybe the neighborhood busybody

Maybe the guy who reminds us of our father

                        But certainly isn’t our Father who art in heaven.

How quickly we kick out Jesus

who loves us just the way we are

To install a capricious tyrant

            Who doesn’t even want

                        To be responsible for us.

For some of us

            Terrorists take over.

            Rarely the kind with guns and bombs,

                        Although it can happen.

            Usually our terrorists seem so much more

                        Socially acceptable.

            The alcoholic family member

                        Who drinks too much and

                        Demands damage control constantly.

            The controlling spouse

                        Who threatens injury,

                                    Physical or emotional,

                        If someone steps out of line.

            The oversized two-year olds who tantrum

                         Whenever they don’t get their way.

            They aren’t coming quietly off the throne once on,

                        Although Jesus can handle them

                        If we decide to put him in charge again.

Of course, usually fear is pulling the strings

            Regardless of the puppet play-acting as the king.

            Fear of being hurt.

            Fear of financial insecurity.

            Fear of other people’s opinions.

            Fear of death.

            Doesn’t much matter the form fear takes,

                        It will control us if we let it.

One thing overcomes fear—perfect love.

            Perfect love comes into our lives

                        When we put Jesus in charge.

Is Jesus the boss of me?

If Jesus is the boss of me

            What does it mean?

When Jesus is the boss,

            He is the big boss.

            Everything is his,

            And by everything, I mean everything.

Jesus is in charge of our stuff.

            We tithe to the church

            We give generously to the needy

            We are prudent with debt and savings.

            We care for what we have,

                        And we don’t have so much

                        That it requires all our energy to manage it.

            We aren’t wasteful,

                        And we don’t take more than we need.

            We remember there are those coming after us,

                        And we care for the environment.

            We value those who have made what we have,

                        And we pay them justly.

Jesus is the boss of our stuff.

Jesus is in charge of our time

            Our lives have a balance and a rhythm.

            We work

            We pray

            We spend time caring for others.

            We develop our gifts.

            We rest.

We play.

We sleep.

Jesus is the boss of our time.

Jesus is in charge of our bodies.

            We take care of ourselves.

            We eat right

            We exercise

            We avoid things that damage our health

            We get check-ups and visit doctors

            We remember

                        That our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit

                        And that we are wondrously and marvelously made.

Jesus is the boss of our bodies.

Jesus is in charge of our relationships.

            Love our neighbor as ourselves.

            Make disciples.

            Encourage each other to good works.

            Use our sexuality to build Godly marriages and families.

            Know that everyone you meet is a child of God.

Jesus is the boss of our relationships.

Jesus is in charge of our minds.

            A prayer of self-dedication from the Prayer Book begins

            Eternal God, so draw our hearts to you,

            So guide our minds,

            So fill our imaginations,

            So control our wills

            That we may be wholly yours.

            A Jesuit prayers says,

            Take, Lord, receive

            My memory, my understanding,

            My entire will.

            We think on things

                        Excellent and admirable,

                        True and holy

                        Just and pure,

                        Lovely and worthy of praise.

            We train our minds

                        To focus on Jesus and his love.

Jesus is the boss of our minds.

If Jesus is the boss of me

            I am always listening for instructions.

Sometimes in prayer.

Sometimes by reading scripture.

Sometimes through the instruction of the church.

Sometimes Jesus speaks

            Through those in legitimate authority over us.

We have parents when we are young,

            Many of us have spouses,

            We have a civic community,

            We have a church community.

We listen to what they tell us to do.

Part of our training in obedience to God,

            Is to follow their instructions

            whenever there is no pressing reason not to.

We can empty the dishwasher,

            We can rake the leaves,

            We can spend some time at home

            We can visit in-laws or

                        See the movie

                                    That is not our first choice.

            We can listen.

            We can drive at a safe speed

            We can pay our taxes.

            We can worship God,

                        Care for people

                        And grow as Christians.

And we can make time everyday

            To ask Jesus what he wants us to do

            And listen to what he might have to say.

But just because

            Jesus is our boss at this moment,

            Doesn’t mean he stays there.

Our lives are like a nightmarish game

            Of King of the Hill.

Everything is jostling to be on top.

            The good things in life becoming idols

            The bad things in life becoming worse.

            And Jesus waiting for our response.

He is more than a match for all the demons,

            All the fears,

            All the temptations

            All the people

            All the things

that try to take over.

But he doesn’t seem to act unless we want him to.

And we don’t always want him to.

We put Jesus in charge,

            Then we mess up and follow something else.

            That is being human.

The secret, though,

            Is to set up our schedules

            Such that we regularly remember to request his return.

            Spiritual disciplines are the ways

            We continually call

Jesus back to the throne in our lives

And us back to ourselves.

            We want to be on auto-pilot,

                        With good habits

                        That convince Jesus that

                        We want him in charge.

We set the alarm every week for church

            Not caring whether we feel like coming or not,

            Not caring whether it is raining or not,

            Not caring whether it is cold or not.

We take the first ten percent of our income

            Whenever we get a paycheck

            And give it to the church

            Before we think about what else

we might want to buy.

We sit down at specific times

            Every day

            And open our Bibles and say our prayers,

            Whether we are busy or not,

            Whether other people are around or not,

            Whether we are at home or not.

We take time every day in the shower

            Or over breakfast,

            To think of one nice thing

            We can do for a family member and

                        We plan how to do it.

We schedule a time every week to talk with someone

            Openly and honestly

            About the struggles we have

            To keep Jesus as our boss

            So we can always put him

                        Where we need him to be.

What will it take to make Jesus the boss of me

Every day

In every way?

Many people, motivations and things

Control us if we let them.

But only one made us

Only one totally loves us.

Only one knows what is good for us

            And wants that good for us.

Only one is King of Kings

            And Lord of Lords

            And will have everything put under his feet.

That one longs to be our personal Lord and Savior,

            And to remember us in his kingdom.

How will we remember him

answering in word and deed,

            The simple questions,

Is Jesus the boss of me?

             

Resurrection (Luke 20:27-38)

                                                                 Proper 27C 2013

Haggai 1:15-2:9; Ps 145; 2Thess. 2; Luke 20:27-38

Father Adam Trambley

November 10, 2013, St. John’sSharon

In today’s gospel the Sadducees come up to trap Jesus.  The Sadducees were a Jewish group of Jesus’ time

who were closely tied to the Temple and to the political structures in Jerusalem.  One of their defining theological beliefs was that there was no resurrection, but they weren’t trying to trip up Jesus for doctrinal purposes.  They were playing politics, but they used theology as a way to get at him.  Jesus’ response avoids their games, while affirming the centrality of the resurrection for our faith.

The Sadducees ask about a Jewish custom of people marrying their brother’s widow to raise up children for his name.  Without spending too much time trying to understand this tribal-era oddity of an earlier time, we could ask the question about people generally who are remarried.  In heaven, the Sadducees wonder, whose wife will the woman be? 

Jesus doesn’t spend a much time playing the Sadducees’ games.  Marriage isn’t needed in heaven the way we need it to on earth, he seems to say.  He tells the Sadducees that instead of arguing immaterial details you don’t understand, focus on what really matters – resurrection.  Resurrection and being children of the resurrection is the point, and we know we get there because God is not God of the dead, but of the living.

Resurrection is our hope.  Part of why resurrection matters is that it takes seriously both the tragedy of death and the immeasurable greatness of God in overcoming death.  

This weekend a number of our young people died tragically and suddenly.  In the Philippines, thousands were killed by one of the worst storms on record.  Hundreds of others died of starvation, disease and violence.  Some died of what we call old age.  In the past twenty-four hours, approximately one-hundred-fifty-thousand people died, and each and every one was a terrible tragedy.  Certainly some died at a time when their mortal bodies had worn out and the time had come for them to be released from their pain and suffering, and their death was the lesser of two evils. 

But we were not made for death.  We were made for unending physical life in the midst of this beautiful creation.  Death is a result of sin.  Death comes because we have turned away from God who is the source of our life, and once we turn away for even the briefest time, decay follows and our mortal bodies deteriorate and eventually we die; or we die suddenly as a result of the sickness, disease, accident or even malicious will that entered into creation at some previous point when the children of God turned to their own ways.  God never intended death, and our deaths aren’t the results of God wanting us with him or because he decided we were supposed to die at a specific time.  The Greeks believed the fates controlled our times of deaths, but they were pagans without hope.  God never wanted any of us to die, and he is always looking for opportunities to bring us abundant life for all times and places.

At our deaths, and especially at the deaths of young people, the plans of God are frustrated for a time.  Why God allows such things, I cannot claim to know.  We can talk about free will, and human choices, and many other things, but the evil present in premature death is beyond our comprehension.  We cannot spiritually or rationally make sense of evil and death because such things can exist only in the absence of the light of God that illuminates our minds and warms our hearts. 

God’s response to the evil of death is something we can talk about, however, and that response is three-fold.  God’s most important and final response to evil, death and all human brokenness is resurrection.  We are to be raised.  We know this because Jesus was raised, the first fruits of all those who fall asleep.  The tomb was empty and a group of people had an experience of the risen Lord Jesus that was so profound that it reshaped their entire lives, sending them forth with such power that they changed the world.  This transformation and power is unmistakable and a historical fact, and their cause is Jesus’ resurrection.  Jesus experienced death as we did and defeated it – once and for all.  His resurrection opened the door to our resurrection to new life.

This resurrection is a resurrection of the body.  We profess this in the Apostles’ and Nicene creeds.  Jesus is going to restore us to the physical, unending life that we were always meant to have.  We are going to be like him, in a body that maintains some sort of connection with the bodies we currently have, while also being incorruptible and perfect in ways we only can begin to conceive today.

This resurrection is going to happen at the end of this world, at the end of this age, when the ascended Jesus comes back from wherever exactly he went when he was taken up to heaven in bodily form.  We don’t quite know how everything will happen, we don’t know where Jesus is now, and we certainly don’t know the day or the time.  We only know our hope which is for nothing less than the full resurrection of our physical bodies as they were supposed to be, and an eternal life with all the saints who are resurrected with us.  We will spend eternity living in such a richness and depth of love and joy that the Sadducees questions about marriage will seem as sweet and immaterial as a six-year old asking us how many best friends they can have in heaven.  In God we will all be so closely united that the closest relationships we have now will pale before our love for our slightest heavenly acquaintances, and all of our love for God and our neighbors will grow deeper and deeper throughout eternity.    

Resurrection is the first great response of God to death, which is completion of Jesus Christ’s final victory over death.  God’s second response is the saving each and every one of us individually from death at the end of our own mortal lives.  God rescues us from death and preserves us somehow until the final resurrection.  Anglicans tend to call the place we go “paradise” because on the cross Jesus says to the thief who repented, “This day you will be with me in paradise.” 

At our Diocesan Eucharist, Father Brian reminded us that the word we translate savior means healer or rescuer, so that a better way to think of Jesus might be as our lifeguard or EMT.  At the moment when we come to death, Jesus acts as our lifeguard.  Through his defeat of death, he is able to come and snatch as away so that death cannot claim us.  We don’t go down into some shadowland, or disappear into nothingness, or get reborn into something else, or reap some imagined punishment for our sinfulness, or turn into part of a zombie army, or whatever is believed by those without hope.  Instead, as our bodies die and await resurrection, some real piece of who we are is preserved in a good place while we await Jesus’ return.  We understand this paradise as a place where we might have contact with our loved ones and where we are in the presence of God.  In many ways this place may seem nicer to us than our mortal existence, since there we are free from pain and suffering.   This blessed place is God’s deliverance for those whose bodies have worn out, and for those who die suddenly or much too young.  Paradise is part of God’s redemption of the tragedy of death – perhaps not his original plan, but a way to salvage something good out of death while we await our final resurrection. 

Third, God is always present with people in the midst of death, as well, just as he is in the midst of all tragedies.  His comfort and healing are present, and he brings whatever good is possible out of any individual death.  We know of deaths that have made others aware of problems in ways that have helped others not to die from similar causes, whether specific accidents, illnesses, or environmental contaminants.  Sometimes the hopelessness of death draws people to God or forces them to rely on him more.  Sometimes a death pulls people together.  God doesn’t cause people to die to accomplish these types of plans, but when people die, he will always bring forth whatever good can come out of a tragedy.  These acts that redeem death and use even this apparent victory of the enemy for God’s purpose are only the preparation for the ultimate victory of God, the final resurrection.

The resurrection is our hope.  As Paul says, if there is no resurrection, we of all people are most to be pitied.  But we know that the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also raise our mortal bodies to the fullness of a physical life beyond anything we can ask or imagine. We will be citizens of the New Jerusalem with those who are coming after us and with all those who have gone before, and Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God will be at the center.  God is not God of the dead, but of the living.  In him, we will all be alive.