With the pageantry of Palm Sunday now behind us, our gaze fixes squarely on the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. We prepare ourselves for what we know will soon come. With betrayal, bloodshed, and burial imminent, we try to anesthetize our nerves with the assurance that Easter is just around the corner. Sunday will be here soon. The resurrection is coming.
As quickly as John moves to get to the events of Thursday and Friday, he is the slowest to get to Easter. He draws out the passion narrative more patiently than any of the other gospels. There is a lesson to be learned, and John does not want us to miss it by skipping ahead to the empty tomb.
Much of John’s version of the passion is consumed by Jesus’ confrontation with Pilate, the Roman provincial governor and ultimate adjudicator of Jesus’ fate. His portrayal is 50% longer than in the other gospels. This Pilate is also more inquisitive: he asks nearly twice as many questions of Jesus as the other three gospels combined. And, unlike the other gospels, where the extent of Jesus’ rebuttal is only a handful of words, this Jesus engages Pilate more fully, with talk about the kingdom of God and the purpose of his mission.
But most interesting is the open-endedness with which John explores Pilate’s internal struggle. The other gospels quickly and summarily dismiss Pilate as a self-serving antagonist to Jesus. Matthew’s Pilate washed his hands of the mess in order to prevent a riot. Mark concludes similarly: Pilate wanted to “satisfy the crowd.” Luke’s conclusion is the boldest: Pilate and Herod “became friends” after this event.
But John’s assessment of Pilate is not as straightforward. John’s Jesus questions Pilate directly: “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you?”
And later, they share this exchange:
Pilate: So you are a king? Jesus: You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate: What is truth? This is not an exchange between a hero and a villain. It is more like a test between a sage and a seeker, between the confident and the curious.
Such exchanges occur consistently throughout John’s gospel. Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, the blind beggar – all of them had personal encounters with Jesus and were forced to make a choice:
Was he the Son of God or not?
Was he to be believed or denied?
Did he speak the truth, or lead others astray?
According to John, Pilate struggled, even until the very end, and perhaps even retained a shred of pro-Jesus sentiment. Pilate had a sign on the cross above Jesus that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” The Jewish leaders responded, saying, “Do not write, the ‘The King of the Jews’ but, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’”
And these are the last words we hear Pilate speak: “What I have written I have written.”
In the end, our struggle must be the same as Pilate’s: What will we do with this Jesus? Will we believe him, or will we deny him? Lest we are too hasty to decide and too quick to skip to the resurrection, John invites us to ponder our surroundings.
The call of the crowds is deafening.
The culture around us is convincing.
The cost of following Jesus just seems too great.
And as difficult as it is to choose, it is a choice we must make. We must decide. There is no middle ground. In his book John: The Maverick Gospel, biblical scholar Robert Kysar writes:
Interestingly, (Pilate) is the supporting actor in the whole drama of the Gospel whose character is explored most fully. It appears that the evangelist did not want us to slip through the Gospel without becoming aware of how dangerous it is to try to remain neutral to this Jesus figure. This Thursday and Friday, as we gather together to hear again the stories of the week that changed the world, come with hearts and minds ready to answer the greatest question humanity must answer:
What will you make of this Jesus?
Grace and Peace,
Magrey
HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE Thursday and Friday night feature two very different worship experiences. Maundy Thursday is a standard service with sermon, Holy Communion, and music offered by the Chancel Choir. Friday night features a powerful Tenebrae service, with readings from John’s passion narrative interspersed with anthems and hymns led by the Chancel Choir. Nursery care is provided for both services.
March 20 Maundy Thursday with Celebration of Holy Communion 7:00 pm
March 21 Good Friday Service (Tenebrae: Service of Darkness) 7:00 pm
EASTER SUNDAY, MARCH 23 “Something to Believe In: I am the Resurrection and the Life” John 20:1-18 This Sunday, we will be offering two identical worship services, both led by the Chancel Choir and with the same sermon. The early service will also include the Celebration of Holy Communion. Because there is no Sunday school that morning, we invite everyone to join us between services for a wonderful Easter Brunch provided by the Youth Program.
7:00am Easter Sunrise Celebration with Holy Communion
8-10:00am Easter Brunch in the Fellowship Hall
10:10am Easter Celebration
SERMONS A LA CARTE AVAILABLE We now have an audio recording of all the sermons given during the recent “Sermons A La Carte” program at Memorial Presbyterian. Let me know if you would like a copy. In addition, all the recordings are available for download from our blogsite, http://blog.cherokeespumc.org or from our iTunes Podcast.
As Holy Week draws near, we approach the firm footing of some very familiar territory. As veterans of Lenten seasons past, we know what lies ahead: the waving of palm branches, the breaking of bread, a kiss of betrayal, and the agony of death. These stories are etched into our collective memory, and we think there are no surprises.
Such perspective might make it difficult to enter the story of Palm Sunday in real-time terms. We might find it difficult to identify with the cheering crowds in Jerusalem, knowing that in a few days time, they would turn against Jesus. “Surely we would not make the same mistake,” we convince ourselves. We want to believe that we are much clearer about Jesus’ mission. He did not come to instigate a political overthrow or a military mutiny, as the crowds had wanted, but to usher in a broader, deeper, more cosmological reality – God’s kingdom on earth.
In the span of a few days, the communal psyche of the crowd shifted, from “Hosanna” (which means “Save us”) to “Crucify him!” While all four gospels record this event, John is clearest in pointing out this sudden mood shift. Whereas the other three gospels spend time chronicling the events of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, John skips right ahead, going from Palm Sunday in John 12 to Maundy Thursday in John 13. And, while the other gospels talk about Jesus riding a donkey as he was greeted by the crowds, it is only in John that Jesus gets on a donkey in response to the crowds. With people expecting their warrior king to come riding in on a mighty stallion, it is as if Jesus said, “You think I’ve come to meet your expectations? Well, guess again.”
By the time the week’s public opinion polls close, the people have shifted, from praise to prosecution, from adornment to indictment. It turns out, we now know, that the people were expecting an entirely different kind of king, who would address an entirely different set of their needs.
Before we cast aspersion to this crowd with the kind of clarity that only hindsight can offer, let’s let the scriptures speak to us today. Aren’t we as guilty of offering the same kind of hollow praise as the Palm Sunday masses? Isn’t it possible that, even in our best efforts to worship God, we really emphasizing ourselves – our own needs, our own desires, our own expectations?
Maybe we can call it “boomerang praise.” It is a feigned worship of God that circles back to our own needs. It’s a kind of devotion to God that is more descriptive of ourselves than it is directed toward God:
We pray to God, but our prayers contain more personal pronouns that divine ones.
We celebrate God, but only to the extent that we are in the mood.
We come to worship, so long as we find it entertaining.
We give God our gifts, so long as we have ability to do so (and as long as we have enough left over.)
We will follow this Jesus, so long as it costs us little.
No, we may not have the palm fronds in our hands, but we have the sentiment in our hearts.
So why do we observe Palm Sunday at all? To remind us that the Lenten journey is not at all about aligning Jesus with our needs and expectations. It is to radically reorient our lives toward the way and will of Jesus.
Biblical scholar Alan Culpepper writes:
“How, then, can the church’s celebration of Palm Sunday be such an act of reflection and remembrance? When the church celebrates Palm Sunday, when it shouts, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” it is not participating in a victory march. Palm Sunday is not one more excuse for a parade; it is, rather, a moment for communal reflection on Jesus’ identity. The life of the church derives form the life and love of Jesus, and the Palm Sunday liturgy invites the church to remember the shape and character of that life and love.” I invite you to join us this Sunday for all the pomp, pageantry, and passion of this most important week of the year. Come experience again the wonder and glory of Holy Week, and rediscover Something to Believe In.
Grace and Peace,
Magrey
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega St. Paul's United Methodist Church 531 W. Main St. Cherokee, IA 51012 Ph: 712-225-3955 http://www.cherokeespumc.org John15:1-17 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. 12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE March 16 Palm Sunday “Something to Believe In: I am the Vine” John 15:1-17 March 20* Maundy Thursday with Celebration of Holy Communion 7:00 pm March 21* Good Friday Service (Tenebrae: Service of Darkness) 7:00 pm (*Note: Nursery care is available for both the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services)
EASTER SUNDAY, MARCH 23 “Something to Believe In: I am the Resurrection and the Life” John 20:1-18 7:00am Easter Sunrise Celebration with Holy Communion 8-10:00am Easter Brunch in the Fellowship Hall 10:10am Easter Celebration
EASTER BRUNCH Share in the joy of Easter morning as our youth program once again hosts a brunch for the church. This is a wonderful gift to those who come to worship at our 7:00 and 10:10 worship services. Families are needed to provide brunch items and help host/clean-up during the event. If interested, contact Karla Wilkie.
THANK YOU FROM THE YOUTH The youth group had a wonderful time on its Progressive Dinner on Sunday night. Thanks to Dick and Betty Point, John and Kay O’Connor, John and Jill Chalstrom, and Gene and Jean Anderson for hosting the kids throughout the night.
It’s been 15 years since I took Physics in college, but every once in a while I like making connections between my undergraduate science degree and my seminary training.
You may have never heard of a hodograph before, but I’m sure you’ve witnessed its practical applications. It’s one among the many useful diagrams physicists use to describe the direction, velocity, and trajectory of objects in motion. Without getting into mind-numbing equations and elaborate explanations, the most basic definition of a hodograph is that it analyzes a single point in time and space and charts motion in relation to that point.
It has widespread use among astronomers, engineers, and biologists, but its most practical use is in meteorology. Weather forecasters use hodographs to analyze wind speed and direction at various levels of the atmosphere, helping them track weather patterns and emerging storm systems.
Hodograph comes the Greek roots hodos, meaning “path,” and graph, for “drawing.” Interestingly, the word hodos is the same word that Jesus used in describing himself. Hear the words from John 14:6:
Jesus said to him, “I am the way (“hodos”) and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Right there, in the middle of John’s gospel, is a hodograph. John offers a chart that invites readers to plot their movement and direction in relation to a single point, Jesus Christ, the “Way.”
And what is that way? It is not the way of pride, self-promotion, or heartless ambition. It is not the way of power or destruction. It is certainly not the way of vindication or violence. It is nothing less than the way of love and the way of self-sacrifice. In the thirteen verses prior to this one, Jesus sets up the costly expectation of those who choose to follow the way of Jesus:
“Where I am going, you cannot come. I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (John 13:33-34)
Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you. Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.” (John 13:37-38)
Following the way of Jesus is costly, for it leads to no other place but a cross. It challenges our ways of believing and behaving, and aligns us with values and priorities that are kingdom-shaped and counter-cultural. But its rewards are priceless. It unites us with others on the journey, forms us into a new community, and anticipates a life abundant and eternal. This hodograph is heaven-bound!
Jim Wallis, Christian author and activist, wrote in his book The Call to Conversion:
"The early Christians were known for the way they lived, not only for what they believed. For them, the two were completely intertwined. The earliest title given to them reflected the importance of their kingdom lifestyle. They were not called the people of the experience or the people of right doctrine or even the people of the church. Rather, they were the people of the Way. It is equally significant that the Christians were known as the people of the Way. More than just individuals who had been converted, they were now a people, a new community of faith, which had embarked together on a new way of life. To follow Jesus meant to share Jesus’ life and to share it with others.”
I invite you to join us this Sunday as we continue our journey through the “I am” statements of Jesus in John’s gospel with a sermon titled, “Something to Believe In: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” We will discover how we can be “People of the Way” once again!
See you on the way,
Magrey
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega St. Paul's United Methodist Church 531 W. Main St. Cherokee, IA 51012 Ph: 712-225-3955 http://www.cherokeespumc.org
John 14:1-7 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going." 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
A GREAT HOUR, INDEED! Thank you, St. Paul’s, for a wonderful response to the One Great Hour Special Offering. Your contributions total over $600.00 to the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Know that as natural disasters strike all over the world, your gifts allow the United Methodist Church to be among the first on the scene. We still have a steady stream of coin banks and other donations coming in, so it’s not too late to contribute. Thank you!
AFTER THE RECOUNT..... Marilyn Brubaker, chair of the Missions Committee, has learned that the Conference has recalculated our missions giving for 2007. We are very pleased to announce that your giving has enabled us to surpass not only First-Mile giving but also Honorable Mention giving! For the first time, St. Paul’s is a SECOND-MILE GIVING CHURCH! And we thought recounts only happened in Florida elections! Praise God, and thank you!
2020 VISION TEAM UPDATE Thank you, St. Paul’s, for a tremendous response to the congregational survey With over 100 surveys returned, you produced a terrific 25% return rate on the surveys. The team has gone through the results and is mapping out the next steps in our long-term planning process. These steps will include:
A meeting in the next few weeks with heads of local community service agencies, to listen for needs and opportunities for service by the church.
A meeting soon after with civic and business leaders to hear their sense of community trends and challenges that might be served by the church.
A series of focus group “feedback sessions” with members of the congregation to follow up on results from the survey. These sessions will commence shortly after Easter.
Analysis of demographic data for the surrounding community
Please continue to keep this team, and this process, in your prayers. Thanks again for your response to the surveys!
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL IS COMING! We are looking forward to a very exciting, highly creative VBS this year! It is themed “Power Lab” and promises to be a thrilling, high-energy time for children in the community. We need volunteers with varying skill sets and creative abilities to make it happen, so this would be the perfect time to help if you’ve never served before! Please come to a brief orientation after church next Sunday, March 9, in the Feller Lounge. For more information, contact Carmen Teoli.
YOUTH PROGRESSIVE DINNER Attention, youth grades 7-12! Join us this Sunday for a fun, delicious progressive dinner, and hear the story of the passion of Christ. Mid-highers will begin at the church at 4:15 and will be finished at 6:45. Senior highers will begin at 4:45 and be finished by 7:15.
SERMONS A LA CARTE This annual ecumenical series concludes with services on March 5 and March 12, at Memorial Presbyterian Church. Services begin at 12:05pm, followed by a fellowship luncheon at 12:30. Magrey will be preaching this Wednesday.
EASTER LILIES We are now receiving orders for Easter lilies that you may purchase in honor or in memory of a loved one. The cost is $11.00, made payable to the church. Please give us your order, including the names of those honored, by Wednesday, March 5.
It would certainly be anachronistic to suggest that Jesus was a student of the Socratic Method, but it appears that in John’s gospel, he loved to teach lessons by asking questions. Some examples:
To the paralyzed man in chapter 5, he asked, “Do you want to be made well?”
To the man born blind in chapter 9, he asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
To Mary, at the empty tomb, the resurrected Jesus asked, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?”
And at the end of the gospel, Jesus three-peated a question to Peter: “Peter, do you love me?”
In each of these moments, Jesus asked questions not out of ignorance of the answers, but as an invitation for people to deepen their faith. And every time a person answered Jesus’ question correctly, their lives were transformed. Right answers brought right belief, which led to new life. Here’s a question from Jesus to the disciples that sums up John’s central premise:
His disciples said, "Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God." Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? When Jesus asks you a question, it’s never out of ignorance of your response. It is to engage you in a deliberate exercise of clarifying your beliefs, solidifying your commitment, and taking a risk.
This week we focus on the question that Jesus asked the disciples on the mountaintop while viewing the starving multitude. While the three other gospels record Jesus telling the disciples, “You give them something to eat,” John plays Jeopardy! by framing it in the form of a question:
“Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” And look at the responses. Phillip reacted with a realistic assessment of the situation. There was not enough money to buy enough food. And even if they had a stockpile of six months’ worth of salaries, it wouldn’t be enough.
In contrast, Andrew went on a search and found a possibility, albeit a remote one. He brought to Jesus a boy with a few fish and a handful of loaves. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Andrew’s response is a model for each of us to follow during this Lenten season. Faith enables us to see divine hope in the most remote of possibilities. And it calls us to place our finite lives and limited resources in the hands of the one can feed the masses.
The noted preacher, theologian, and social activist Walter Rauschenbusch wrote:
Salvation is always a social process. It comes by human contact. The word must become flesh if it is to save. Some man or woman, or some group of people, in whom the saving love of Jesus Christ has found a new incarnation, lays hold of an enfeebled, blinded human atom and infuses new hope and courage and insight, new warmth of love and strength of will, and there is a new breathing of the soul and an opening of the inner eye. Salvation has begun. (from Christianizing the Social Order) We continue our Lenten series “Something to Believe In” focusing on the One who called himself the Bread of Life. Together, let us answer the questions correctly, and join in feeding a hungry world.
See you on the journey,
Magrey
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega St. Paul's United Methodist Church 531 W. Main St. Cherokee, IA 51012 Ph: 712-225-3955 http://www.cherokeespumc.org
It’s official. The WebKinz craze has swept into the deVega family.
Here’s a primer for those of you who either don’t have children or have been successfully immunized against commercial toymakers. WebKinz is a line of small, stuffed animals, similar to the “Beanie Baby” dolls from the 1990’s. Except these toys have a high-tech, virtual dimension: Register your WebKinz on-line, and you can care for and play with your little friend in a massive virtual universe, along with other registered WebKinz owners around the world.
It was only a matter of time before my girls caught onto the craze. My younger daughter Madelyn and I were in a local store on Saturday, and she happened to see a big display of them. Her eye immediately caught one of the pink ponies, which she picked up, gripped tightly in an embrace, smiled, and started walking toward the cashier.
“Hey,” I said. “What are you doing?” “Can I have it, Please? This is the one I want.” “Hmmm…I’m not sure. We should talk about it.” “Please?” “Why don’t we talk to your mother first and see what she thinks?” “Please, daddy? I’ve named her Crystal.”
And then I knew it was over. End of discussion. The moment she gave that pony a name, I knew it was coming home with us. She had gotten too attached to it, and giant tractors weren’t going to separate them.
Names signify attachment. Know a person by name, and your relationship takes on whole new meaning. That person is no longer the “other,” no longer an anonymous stranger. Your relationship is now fluid and dynamic, with possibility for growth and intimacy.
Just think of the numerous biblical examples:
God’s command to Adam to name the animals coincided with the command to be stewards of all creation. Naming produces connection, and a desire to protect and preserve.
God’s revelation to Moses of God’s divine name introduced a new level of understanding between God and the people. Moses and the Israelites would not be alone; God’s power would guard them and God’s love would provide for them.
The angel’s visit to Mary introduced the world to the name Immanuel, the very presence of God drawn near to us in Jesus.
THE GOOD SHEPHERD Our next stop in this journey through the “I am” statements of Jesus in the gospel of John is “I am the Good Shepherd.” Listen to how Jesus characterizes his relationship with those who follow him:
“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” It may be hard to believe, but this great God of the universe, this awesome and austere Holy Presence, knows you by name. You may feel your past is too blemished, your present too shameful, and your future too dark to ever think you are of value to a holy and righteous God. But your life is not an incidental blip in the grand scheme of the cosmos, and you are not anonymous to God.
At the moment of your baptism, God named you, as God’s very own child, a recipient of God’s grace. And it means that your life really does count. You matter to God. And God is calling you by name today.
Another gospel writer would underscore this with another parable:
"Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.'” (Luke 15:4-6)
Join us this week as we continue our Lenten series “Something to Believe In” and discover more about Jesus, your good shepherd. And together, let’s follow the leader.
In Christ’s name,
Magrey
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega St. Paul's United Methodist Church 531 W. Main St. Cherokee, IA 51012 Ph: 712-225-3955 http://www.cherokeespumc.org
John 10:11-30 11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away--and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father." 19 Again the Jews were divided because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?" 21 Others were saying, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" 22 At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; 26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. 30 The Father and I are one."
Have you read any good stories about doors lately?
Think for a moment about the many ways some of the great literary works have used the image of the door as a central metaphor.
Nathaniel Hawthorne begins The Scarlet Letter with a chapter called, “The Prison Door”, which introduces a shadowy undercurrent of human depravity in the midst of a Puritan community.
Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights uses numerous locked doors and gates to symbolize the confinement that comes from social convention and desires for revenge.
A concealed door becomes the entryway for a young girl to experience long-lost happiness and peace in Frances Hogson Burnett’s The Secret Garden.
And a hidden door in the back of a wardrobe becomes the passage for four children to enter the magical world of Narnia, in C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Even the Bible has its own fair share of door imagery:
In Exodus, the Hebrew slaves sprinkled blood on the doorposts of their homes in Egypt, saving them from the death angel as it passed over them.
In the Temple, a veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, symbolizing exclusive, privileged access to the presence of God.
And as the Israelites ascended the hill to worship in the Temple, they enthusiastically chanted the words of Psalm 24: “Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors! That the King of glory may come in.
Centuries later, John Wesley would continue the metaphor, in this classic formulation of the salvation journey. Listen to how he equates a door with one’s saving faith in Jesus Christ:
"Our main doctrines, which include all the rest, are three: That of repentance, of faith, and of holiness. The first of these we account, as it were, the porch of religion; the next, the door; the third, religion itself."
Whether in the Bible or in works of literature, doors symbolize entrance into new freedom and new life. It invites deliberate movement, from the trouble and trauma of the past into hope and possibility for the future. It’s no wonder that John would seize this image for his gospel, including it among the ways that Jesus would identify himself as the Son of God.
So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. Consider the possibility that Jesus is offering you a doorway to a new, abundant life. What will it take for you to walk through that door? If repentance is the front porch of religion, what will you need to leave behind in order to come in? And if a life of holiness lies just beyond the threshold, what new commitments will be demanded of you?
This week we continue our “Something to Believe In” sermon series based on Jesus’ seven “I Am” statements with a sermon titled, “I am the Door.” To prepare for this Sunday, I invite you to continue reading the scripture bookmark you were given last Sunday in church. Additional copies are available at the church.
We’re all familiar with the famous phrase “I think; therefore I am” penned by Rene Descartes, the 17th century French philosopher. Centuries later, contemporary German theologian Eberhard Jungel reframed the saying as follows:
“I believe, therefore I am—namely, a new creature and as such, one called to represent the being of Jesus Christ in the communion of saints, as a person existing as a member of the church of Jesus Christ. The believer knows that he or she is called to represent the foundation of his or her faith before the world by a life which corresponds to God…” (from Theological Essays II, 1995)
If Jungel is right, then what we believe shapes who we are. It is more than a matter of thinking, it is a matter of believing. It is more than a matter of thought; it is a matter of conviction. And to Jungel, the only belief that is an adequate foundation for one’s life is a belief in the triune God fully revealed in Jesus Christ.
But in the secular world around us, many choose to believe in other things. I stumbled on a rather non-scientific survey (and by that I mean, an on-line message board!) that asked people to complete the phrase: “I believe….” Look at some of the responses:
I believe that faith and dedication are the foundation for success. (“Bobby”) I believe that the best way to double your money is to fold it and put it in your pocket. (“Patricia”) I believe that a wise man does not play leapfrog with an unicorn. (“Anthony”) I believe in a tall glass of iced tea on a hot summer day. (“Lillie G.”) I believe Michael Keaton was by far the best Batman. (“Aaron”) I believe the purpose of life is to have one amazing adventure that would inspire other people to make the most out of their lives. (“Jessica”) I believe that Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. (“Jesse”) I believe you should treat others the way you want to be treated, with respect. Also take the time to listen to the elderly, they absolutely love it! (“Sharon C.”)
So how would you complete the statement? What do you believe in?
That is the central question of the gospel of John, which will serve as our tour guide through this season of Lent. Whereas the other three gospels carefully craft the story of Jesus, John is more interested in one’s belief in Jesus as the savior of the world. Its theme verse is found in John 20:31:
But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
There has been some scholarly discussion over this key verse in John. Some early biblical manuscripts translate the Greek word pisteusate as “that you may continue to believe”, suggesting that John’s original readers were predominantly believers in need of encouragement against Jewish and Roman persecution. Other manuscripts, including the NRSV version of the Bible, translate it as “that you may come to believe” suggesting that John’s work was primarily evangelistic, targeting people who were not yet believers.*
Regardless of which version was John’s original intent, it’s fundamental message is the same, and it agrees with Eberhard Jungel. You are what you believe. And believing in Jesus brings life.
Come along on this deeply meaningful, thoughtful reflection on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Our signposts on this journey will be Jesus’ seven “I am” statements that mark John’s gospel. Each one makes a unique claim about Jesus and offers a personal path to new life and deeper commitment. Together, we will follow the well-worn, familiar path that leads us to the power of the cross and into the triumphant glory of the empty tomb.
See you on the journey!
Magrey
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega St. Paul's United Methodist Church 531 W. Main St. Cherokee, IA 51012 Ph: 712-225-3955 http://www.cherokeespumc.org (*For a further look at the background of John’s gospel, I recommend John: The Maverick Gospel by Robert Kysar (Westminster John Knox, 2007), which has been very helpful in my preparations for this sermon series.) John 8:1-12 8:1 while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, 4 they said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6 They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." 8 And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" 11 She said, "No one, sir." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again." 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."
John 9:1-5 9:1 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
