God's Trombones: Go Down Death

Go Down Death
a funeral sermon
from "God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse"
by James Weldon Johnson
preached by Cynthia O'Brien August 28, 2006
at Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church

(This book is available from your favorite bookseller. Get an audio recording if you can.)

GO DOWN DEATH -- A FUNERAL SERMON

Weep not, weep not,

She is not dead;

She’s resting in the bosom of Jesus

Heart-broken husband – weep no more;

Grief-stricken son – weep no more;

Left-lonesome daughter – weep no more;

She’s only just gone home.

Day before yesterday morning,

God was looking down from his great, high heaven,

Looking down on all his children,

And his eye fell on Sister Caroline,

Tossing on her bed of pain.

And God’s big heart was touched with pity,

With the everlasting pity.

And God sat back on his throne,

And he commanded that tall, bright angel standing at

His right hand:

Call me Death!

And that tall, bright angel cried in a voice

That broke like a clap of thunder:

Call Death! – Call Death!

And the echo sounded down the streets of heaven

Till it reached away back to the shadowy place,

Where Death waits with his pale, white horses.

And Death heard the summons.

And he leaped on his fastest horse,

Pale as a sheet in the moonlight.

Up the golden street Death galloped,

And the hoofs of his horse struck fire from the gold,

But they didn’t make no sound.

Up Death rode to the Great White Throne,

And waited for God’s command.

And God said: Go down, Death, go down,

Go down to Savannah, Georgia,

Down in Yamacraw,

And find Sister Caroline.

She’s borne the burden and heat of the day,

She’s labored long in my vineyard,

And she’s tired –

She’s weary –

God down, Death, and bring her to me.

And Death didn’t say a word,

But he loosed the reins on his pale, white horse,

And he clamped the spurs to his bloodless sides,

And out and down he rode,

Through heaven’s pearly gates,

Past suns and moons and stars;

On Death rode,

And the foam from his horse was like a comet in the sky;

On Death rode,

Leaving the lightning’s flash behind;

Straight on down he came.

While we were watching round her bed,

She turned her eyes and looked away,

She saw what we couldn’t see;

She saw Old Death. She saw Old Death

Coming like a falling star.

But Death didn’t frighten Sister Caroline;

He looked to her like a welcome friend.

And she whispered to us: I’m going home,

And she smiled and closed her eyes.

And Death took her up like a baby,

And she lay in his icy arms,

But she didn’t feel no chill.

And Death began to ride again –

Up beyond the evening star,

Out beyond the morning star,

Into the glittering light of glory,

On to the Great White Throne.

And there he laid Sister Caroline

On the loving breast of Jesus.

And Jesus took his own hand and wiped away her tears,

Ane he smoothed the furrows from her face,

And the angels sang a little song,

And Jesus rocked her in his arms,

And kept a-saying: Take your rest,

Take your rest, take your rest.

Weep not – weep not,

She is not dead;

She’s resting in the bosom of Jesus.

God's Trombones: The Creation

The Creation
from "God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse"
by James Weldon Johnson (1927)
preached by Cynthia O'Brien August 28, 2006
at Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church

(This book is available from your favorite bookseller. Get an audio recording if you can!)

THE CREATION

And God stepped out on space,

And He looked around and said:

I’m lonely –

I’ll make me a world.

And far as the eye of God could see

Darkness covered everything,

Blacker than a hundred midnights

Down in a cypress swamp.

Then God smiled,

And the light broke,

And the darkness rolled up on one side,

And the light stood shining on the other,

And God said: That’s good!

Then God reached out and took the light in his hands

And God rolled the light around in his hands

Until he made the sun;

And he set that sun a-blazing in the heavens.

And the light that was left from making the sun

God gathered it up in a shining ball

And flung it against the darkness,

Spangling the night with the moon and stars.

Then down between

The darkness and the light

He hurled the world;

And God said: That’s good!

Then God himself stepped down –

And the sun was on his right hand,

And the moon was on his left;

The stars were clustered about his head,

And the earth was under his feet.

And God walked, and where he trod

His footsteps hollowed the valleys out

And bulged the mountains up.

Then he stopped and looked and saw

That the earth was hot and barren.

So God stepped over to the edge of the world

And he spat out the seven seas –

He batted his eyes, and the lightnings flashed –

He clapped his hands, and the thunders rolled –

And the waters above the earth came down,

The cooling waters came down.

Then the green grass sprouted,

And the little red flowers blossomed,

The pine tree pointed his finger to the sky,

And the oak spread out his arms,

The lakes cuddled down I the hollows of the ground,

And the rivers ran down to the sea;

And God smiled again,

And the rainbow appeared,

And curled itself around his shoulder.

Then God raised his arm and he waved his hand

Over the sea and over the land,

And he said: Bring forth! Bring forth!

And quicker than God could drop his hand,

Fishes and fowls

And beasts and birds

Swam the rivers and the seas,

Roamed the forests and the woods,

And split the air with their wings.

And God said: That’s good!

Then God walked around,

And God looked around

On all that he had made.

He looked at his sun,

And he looked at his moon,

And he looked at his little star;

He looked on his world

With all its living things,

And God said: I’m lonely still.

Then God sat down –

On the side of a hill where he could think;

By a deep, wide river he sat down;

With his head in his hands,

God thought and thought,

Till he thought: I’ll make me a man!

Up from the bed of the river

God scooped the clay;

And by the bank of the river

He kneeled him down;

And there the great God Almighty

Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky,

Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night,

Who rounded the earth I the middle of his hand;

This Great God,

Like a mammy bending over her baby,

Kneeled down in the dust

Toiling over a lump of clay

Till he shaped it in his own image;

Then into it he blew the breath of life,

And man became a living soul.

Amen. Amen.

God's Trombones: The Prodigal Son

The Prodigal Son
from "God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse"
by James Weldon Johnson
preached by Cynthia O'Brien at Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church
August 13, 2006

(This book is available from your favorite bookseller, published by Penguin, and if you can get an audio recording, so much the better.)

THE PRODIGAL SON

Young man –

Young man – Your arm’s too short to box with God.

But Jesus spake in a parable, and he said:

A certain man had two sons.

Jesus didn’t give this man a name,

But his name is God Almighty.

And Jesus didn’t call these sons by name,

But ev’ry young man,

Ev’rywhere,

Is one of these two sons.

And the younger son said to his father,

He said: Father, divide up the property,

And give me my portion now.

And the father with tears in his eyes said: Son,

Don’t leave your father’s house.

But the boy was stubborn in his head,

And haughty in his heart,

And he took his share of his father’s goods,

And went into a far-off country.

There comes a time,

There comes a time

When ev’ry young man looks out from his father’s house,

Longing for that far-off country.

And the young man journeyed on his way,

And he said to himself as he traveled along:

This sure is an easy road,

Nothing like the rough furrows behind my father’s plow.

Young man –

Young man –

Smooth and easy is the road

That leads to hell and destruction.

Down grade all the way,

The further you travel, the faster you go.

No need to trudge and sweat and toil,

Just slip and slide and slip and slide

Till you bang up against hell’s iron gate.

And the younger son kept traveling along,

Till at night-time he came to a city.

And the city was bright in the night-time like day,

The streets all crowded with people,

Brass bands and string bands a-playing,

And ev’rywhere the young man turned

There was singing and laughing and dancing.

And he stopped a passer-by and he said:

Tell me what city is this?

And the passer-by laughed and said: Don’t you know?

This is Babylon, Babylon,

That great city of Babylon.

Come on, my friend, and go along with me.

And the young man joined the crowd.

Young man –

Young man –

You’re never lonesome in Babylon.

You can always join a crowd in Babylon.

Young man –

Young man –

You can never be alone in Babylon,

Alone with your Jesus in Babylon.

You can never find a place, a lonesome place,

A lonesome place to go down on your knees,

And talk with your God, in Babylon.

You’re always in a crowd in Babylon.

And the young man went with his new-found friend,

And bought himself some brand new clothes,

And he spent his days in the drinking dens,

Swallowing the fires of hell.

And he spent his nights in the gambling dens,

Throwing dice with the devil for his soul.

And he met up with the women of Babylon.

Oh, the women of Babylon!

Dressed in yellow and purple and scarlet,

Loaded with rings and earrings and bracelets,

Their lips like a honeycomb dripping with honey,

Perfumed and sweet-smelling like a jasmine flower;

And the jasmine smell of the Babylon women

Got in his nostrils and went to his head,

And he wasted his substance in riotous living,

In the evening, in the black and dark of night,

With the sweet-sinning women of Babylon.

And they stripped him of his money,

And they stripped him of his clothes,

And they left him broke and ragged

In the streets of Babylon.

Then the young man joined another crowd –

The beggars and lepers of Babylon.

And he went to feeding swine,

And he was hungrier than the hogs;

He got down on his belly in the mire and mud

And ate the husks with the hogs.

And not a hog was too low to turn up his nose

At the man in the mire of Babylon.

Then the young man came to himself –

He cam to himself and said:

In my father’s house are many mansions,

Ev’ry servant in his house has bread to eat,

Ev’ry servant in his house has a place to sleep;

I will arise and go to my father.

And his father saw him afar off,

And he ran up the road to meet him.

He put clean clothes upon his back

And a golden chain around his neck,

He made a feast and killed the fatted calf,

And invited the neighbors in.

Oh-o-oh, sinner,

When you’re mingling with the crowd in Babylon –

Drinking the wind of Babylon –

Running with the women of Babylon –

You forget about God, and you laugh at Death.

Today you’ve got the strength of a bull in your neck

And the strength of a bear in your arms,

But some o’ these days, some o’ these days,

You’ll have a hand-to-hand struggle with bony Death,

And Death is bound to win.

Young man, come away from Babylon,

That hell-border city of Babylon.

Leave the dancing and gambling of Babylon,

The wine and whiskey of Babylon,

The hot-mouthed women of Babylon;

Fall down on your knees,

And say in your heart:

I will arise and go to my Father.

Sermon: The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20

The Great Commission

Cynthia O’Brien

May 21, 2006

^{MT 28:16} Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,

Every Friday morning, lately, I try to get up at an early hour, an unearthly hour, or an ungodly hour depending on how you look at it, get dressed in business attire, and find my way to one of the businesses in Gresham for the weekly early morning meeting of the Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce. Being a night person and not a morning person, I only succeed about every other Friday. But something compels me, and I believe it has something to do with Jesus’ call to make disciples of all nations.

Much earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, the 12 disciples were sent out to tell the good news of Jesus to the Jews. We understand in the Old Testament that Israel was the example for the nations of the glory of God. But now, after the resurrection, Jesus tells the disciples to go out and make other disciples, regardless of their nationality. Now all the nations are invited to be God’s people and find salvation in him.

The book of Acts tells how the early group of believers started to learn this. They had to overcome cultural differences and language barriers, which the Holy Spirit helped them to do. We have cultural barriers to overcome when we talk with our neighbors, and even our adult children and grandchildren who may seem to have a cultural world view totally different from yours. We are called to make disciples of all nations.

The Session, your board of elders, is reading this book “The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church” by Reggie McNeal. I heard him speak at a two-day conference last fall and I was very impressed with his passion for helping the church fulfill the Great Commission. One thing he says is that the Pharisees had a very closed community. Their strategy for welcoming new people was, “Come and get it.” If you can jump through all our hoops, and become just like us, you can be part of us.

But Jesus had a different view. He said, “Go into the world.” He went to where the people were and met them. The Pharisees were horrified that he sat down and ate with sinners. But he went out into the world.

That’s one of the reasons I joined the Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce a few months ago. Somehow I manage to wake up and go to the “Connect with Success” meeting where about 100 business owners meet for coffee. I am one of three ministers that go; the others are Pastor Keith Evans of Greater Gresham Baptist Church and Chaplain Harold Fuller.

One Friday morning, I knew that Becky Coleman’s ministry My Sister’s House was in a cash flow crisis. When it was my turn to speak, I told this to the group. Then an insurance agent, I think it was Rick Stubblefield, stood up and suggested passing the hat for donations, and he would put in $100 to start it. Over $900 was collected for My Sister’s House that morning.

On another Friday morning, at the end of the meeting, I approached a woman and asked, “How’s your mother doing?” following up on a brief conversation of the previous week. She told me all about the struggles in her family. I’m grateful that she considers me trustworthy.

There were words of praise at last Friday’s meeting for a group from Greater Gresham Baptist who volunteered to do the cleanup for a recent business showcase. I told Pastor Keith Evans later I thought it was great that he helped out like that. He said, “It was easy to do. I want the businesses to know that the church is here to serve.”

I attended two meetings of the Government Affairs Council, which has made me more aware of the problems facing our community. I met the Republican and Democratic candidates for Governor and was able to challenge them, from a religious perspective, about issues that affect us here in East County.

Being involved in the Chamber is one way that I can be out in the community, sharing the gospel. It suits me and I enjoy it.

We are called to go out into the world and make disciples of all nations…

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

I was very pleased to baptize Erica and the Giffords last Sunday, people who were ready to acknowledge God and become followers of Jesus Christ. It’s what we’re about, inviting people to hear God’s call and find salvation through Christ.

Back in the days of the Church Growth Movement in Southern California, we were cautioned against padding church rolls with people lured away from other churches. We were warned that “shuffling sheep” from flock to flock wasn’t building the kingdom of God, it was just sheep stealing. There are good reasons people come here from other churches, but our primary goal is to help others come to Christ.

²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

What are the things Jesus commanded the disciples? The sermon on the mount is a good start. Turn to Matthew 5. These three chapters would be good for you to read tonight and this week. For most of you it will be familiar. Let me skip through it – try to stay with me. These are things that Jesus has commanded us. This is how to live a meaningful life.

^{MT 5:3} "Blessed are the poor in spirit, --

Realize right from the beginning that to follow Jesus is to be counter cultural.

^{MT 5:4} Blessed are those who mourn,

^{MT 5:5} Blessed are the meek,

^{MT 5:9} Blessed are the peacemakers,

¹⁶ Let other people see your light, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

^verse. ¹⁹ Keep the commandments.

^{MT 5:21} Hold to the highest ethical standards. Not only are you not to murder, but you are not even to kill a person’s self esteem.

^{MT 5:23} Be a peacemaker. Don’t expect to worship God if someone has something against you.

^{MT 5:27} Be pure in your thoughts as well as your actions. Be faithful in marriage. Keep your word.

^{MT 5:43} " Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

^{MT 6:2} " give to the needy, and not just for show.

^{MT 6:5} "pray to God, and not just for show.

^{MT 6:9} "When you pray, pray in a way that reverences God and looks forward to the kingdom of God. Ask for what you need. Ask for forgiveness. Ask for guidance. While you’re at it, forgive other people.

^{MT 6:19} "Don’t be concerned about material possessions – think in terms of things that have eternal significance.

³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

^{MT 7:1} "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

^{MT 7:7} "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

^{MT 7:21} "Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

These are the teachings of Jesus that we are to pass on to others. But how can we do that if we are just learning these things ourselves? Easy. People who are not Christians and not connected to a church don’t have the benefit that you do of understanding these rules for living. If you set aside time for a good conversation, these things will certainly come up. When you talk about them, tell the ways in which you are learning yourself. Be a fellow traveler on the road. Share your struggles. Share what you know.

How has Jesus sent you out into the world? You may have a very busy life right now, working two jobs and trying to raise a family. You tell the good news of Jesus Christ by the way that you interact with people all day long. You write a letter of thanks to your child’s teacher. You speak kindly to the supermarket cashier who has a cast on her arm, and you say you’ll pray for her. At your job, your boss expects you to lie or cover up something, but instead, you find a way to keep your integrity, stand up for what’s right and be a positive example. You are teaching others to obey what Jesus commanded you.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened. Jesus promised the disciples that he would be with them always. He will be with you.

Sermon: Do You Love Me?

John 21:15-23 May 14, 2006

“Do You Love Me?”

^{JN 21:15} When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"

"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

^{JN 21:16} Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"

He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."

^{JN 21:17} The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.

¹⁸ I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." ¹⁹ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"

(To children – do you know the story, “Mama, Do You Love Me?”

I can remember when I was small, and I did something bad, I would wonder if my mother still loved me. She always did. Sometimes she told me, sometimes I asked her and she told me, and sometimes I just knew that, yes, she loved me.

Peter was a friend of Jesus. When Jesus was arrested, someone said to Peter, “You’re a friend of his, aren’t you?” Peter should have stood up for him, but he didn’t. He was scared. He denied knowing Jesus. He said, “No, I’m not his friend.” Three times he denied his friend, and Jesus knew that Peter did that. After Jesus died, Peter was sad, and went back to his fishing boat. He felt so bad about what he did that he cried. But Jesus was raised from the dead and went to find Peter. Listen in my sermon to find out what happened with Jesus and Peter.)

One of the first people to visit the Holy Land and write down the experience was a woman named Egeria. We don’t know much about her except that she traveled from somewhere around Portugal and spent three years in the Holy Land, AD 381-384. Travel at that time was very hard and dangerous, but she was courageous. She wanted to visit monasteries and holy sites, and she wanted to participate in the Christian ceremonies in Jerusalem from Lent until Easter. It is because of her that we have a record of the most ancient worship liturgies in Jerusalem.

On her visit to Galilee, she was taken to a small Byzantine church and was told that this is where Jesus offered the disciples bread and fish. She was moved by it because it commemorated the moment that transformed Peter’s life.

Now this site is taken care of by the Franciscans and has beautiful gardens. There is a statue which some say is the finest statue in Galilee, of a life-sized Peter, and Jesus renewing his love for Peter. People visit the site because something very important happened here.

Peter had made a terrible mistake. His triple denial of Jesus is one of the few stories that appears in all four gospels. It was such an important moment that none of the gospel writers left it out.

Peter had boasted that he would never forsake Jesus, even if all the other disciples did (Mt 26:33, Mk 14:29, John 13:37). This was the same as saying he loved Jesus more than the others did. But Peter did just the opposite of what he boasted; he denied Jesus three times. In Luke’s account, when the cock crowed, Jesus looked directly at Peter, and Peter went out and wept bitterly.

As far as we know, Peter never talked to Jesus again after denying him the morning of the crucifixion. I can only imagine the agony Peter felt after Jesus died. He didn’t get the chance to ask Jesus’ forgiveness. He had no way to show Jesus his love. He didn’t get another chance to stand up for him. After three years of following Jesus, making mistakes but still being faithful, he had ruined it all by the last words Jesus heard him say.

It’s one of the saddest things that Michael and I see as we offer pastoral care – the family where death comes suddenly, cutting off the opportunity for good-byes. You might have experienced it for yourself, but it’s a lot easier to watch on an episode of “E.R.” – where a patient has been in a terrible accident and is on life support, and a family member is in distress not just because her loved one is dying, but because the last thing she said to him was unkind, and she wants to undo it. We’ve seen situations where there is no hope for life, and it’s time for artificial life support to end, but the family member can’t let go because of his or her unresolved issue.

Think of your family members who are living. What was the last thing you said to them? What was the status of your relationship the last time you talked with them? Anything can happen at any time. The soldiers came in the night, they took Jesus, Peter was afraid, he denied knowing Jesus, then Jesus died. Peter could not make it right.

Consider what the rest of Peter’s life might have been like after that. Everything Peter would do in ministry would be making up for it. He could be energetic and preach the kingdom of God, but it would be like doing penance. “Because I failed God, because I failed myself, I have a lot to make up for.” This wouldn’t be a person with a joyful heart.

Or Peter could have been filled with despair. He might have become bitter and depressed, still trying to fulfill his mission, but destroying himself in the process.

When I used to read “The Runaway Bunny” to my children, the part I liked best was how the mother bunny always met the little bunny wherever the little bunny ran away to. The little bunny says “I will become a bird and fly away.” The mother says, “I will become the tree you land in.”

Peter had gone back to fishing… so Jesus met Peter on the beach.

If you are sensitive to the Spirit, you will notice this in your own life. Oftentimes, when you run away from God, God will meet you in the new place, far from where you last encountered God. You might have denied Christ, you might have turned your back on God, but God still loves you, and if you are paying attention, you might get another chance, like Peter did.

^{JN 21:15} When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"

"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

“Simon son of John” was the name Jesus had said when he first met this man who would become his disciple: You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas (which is translated Peter). But Peter had not yet proven himself to live up to the name, Peter, the rock.

^{JN 21:16} Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"

He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."

^{JN 21:17} The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.

This is an act of restoration. Just by having this conversation with Peter, Jesus showed Peter that he forgave him.

It is also an act of commissioning. It is one thing to say you love Jesus, but the real test requires actually doing it. Each time Peter reaffirmed his love, Jesus told him to take care of his sheep. He’s talking about his followers, the future Christians. “Lambs” and “sheep” were Jesus’ expressions of caring. Jesus asked Peter to show his love for Jesus by loving others.

The next time we see Peter, in the book of Acts, he is a changed person.

Sometimes our worst mistakes can change who we are… or perhaps it is the forgiveness we receive that changes us.

A minister told this story about himself, and a teacher of his (Ian Pitt Watson) told it to me: When he was a boy, he used to spend hours in the back yard practicing his golf swing. He wasn’t allowed to use a real golf ball because that could be very dangerous so near to the house and also could be expensive in lost balls. So he used a practice ball, the plastic kind with holes in it. You couldn’t hit it very far and it couldn’t do any damage.

One day when he was alone, he was thinking how nice it would be to feel a real golf ball on the head of the club. You know what happened – he sliced his stroke and the ball swung toward his parents’ bedroom window.

He said, “I heard the glass shatter and then I heard my mother scream. I ran into the house and up the stairs to her bedroom. She was standing there in front of the broken window and she was bleeding. I started to cry and I couldn’t stop, and all I could say was, “Mum, what have I done, I could have killed you.” I don’t know how often I said it. and she kept just hugging me and saying, “It’s all right, I’m all right, everything’s going to be all right.”

(Ian Pitt Watson, A Primer for Preachers)

Needless to say, that boy never took a real golf ball in the back yard again.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

When we denied that we knew him, God was planning to meet us later and give us another chance. When we were still hitting golf balls through the window, God forgave us. We could have killed him. Jesus died at the hands of people whom God loved and wanted to save. But now he lives, and he seeks us out, and asks us, “Do You Love Me?” And in that question, we know that we ourselves are loved.

Let us pray.

Forgiving God, we thank you for telling us about Peter, for teaching us about failure and forgiveness. Don’t let us get away from you, Lord. Meet us where we are. Show us your love. Give us an opportunity to make it right. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

Sermon: Stay With Us

Luke 24:28-35 Stay With Us

May 7, 2006

^{LK 24:28} As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.

^{LK 24:30} When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

^{LK 24:33} They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴ and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." ³⁵ Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

The fifth grade class at a Christian school was studying different denominations and the teacher invited the students to bring in a symbol of their faith. Three students were sharing on this particular day. The first said, “I’m a Mennonite and this is a hymnal.” The next said, “I’m an Episcopalian and this is a prayer book.” The third said, “I’m a Lutheran and this is a casserole.”

But the casserole is an important part of our faith, and I’ll tell you why. The disciples had shared many meals with Jesus. The Christian community has always had meals together in which we enjoy fellowship with each other in the Spirit. In our church we have the Spring Luncheon, and the annual potluck, and the various groups have meals together. The Alpha Course has lunch every week. In July we will have a luncheon in honor of the 25^th and 15^th anniversaries of some of our staff. These are meals that we celebrate as God’s people. We share with each other and become closer over meals.

There is another kind of meal that Christians in the earliest times had together, and it was known simply as “the breaking of the bread.” It wasn’t an actual meal; it was a sacred action that we now call communion, or The Lord’s Supper. The Apostle Paul gave us the liturgy, the sacred words to say, based on Jesus’ words at the Last Supper, “Do this in remembrance of me.”

The scene we read today in Luke 24 is the sequel to the Last Supper. Here the disciples were assembled in maybe the same upper room. They had invited a stranger to stay with them, but they didn’t know him until he broke the bread.

When he walked with them, they didn’t recognize him

When he taught them, they didn’t recognize him.

But they asked Jesus to stay with them for supper.

When he broke the bread and gave it to them, that’s when they recognized the risen Christ.

The decisive moment in the recognition of Jesus was in the breaking of the bread.

This week I took my harp to a harp builder to make some repairs on it, and since he lives in Lincoln City, he said maybe I could meet him at his in-law’s house in Tigard because he would be there for his father-in law’s birthday. I said, great, but I don’t want to intrude. He said, no problem.

When I got there, the brother answered the door, and said, “Oh, you must be Christine, come right inside” (close enough) and everybody was gathered around the dining room table having cake. The brother said, “Would you like some cake and ice cream?” I said, no thank you, and he said, “Go on through, David’s in the kitchen.” I had to walk through the whole party. As I got to the kitchen, David’s wife said, “Would you like some cake and ice cream?” and as we stepped out the back door to get my harp, somebody else yelled, “Would she like to stay for some cake and ice cream?” Even though I didn’t, by the third time they asked, I actually felt welcome.

When you ask a stranger to stay, who knows what good might come of it?

On a whim one Friday, I asked my neighbor if she wanted to go out for coffee. We ended up having the most thoughtful, intelligent conversation about things like education and integrity. Maybe it’s something about coffee, maybe it’s just the occasion of focusing on the other person. I wouldn’t have had that conversation in passing on a Saturday working out in our yards. It happened because I asked her to stay a while.

Meals are important in human life. Just think about the memories you have created with your family – birthday dinners, Thanksgiving and Christmas, Mother’s Day. We gather around a table, share good food and conversation. You remember Mother clucking and scurrying in the kitchen, Grandpa with his jug of wine, Dad and sister washing the dishes together. Eating and memories go together.

Now educators are saying that children who eat dinner with their families are more likely to succeed in life. Another reason to ask your teenagers to “stay for dinner.”

When the early Christians came together, they gave thanks to God and they had a vivid sense of the presence of the risen Lord with them at their meals.

I went to dinner at a single lady’s house, and there was a third place set. I asked if someone else was coming. She said, “That’s for Jesus. He’s always here with me, and setting his place reminds me of that.” She was physically inviting Jesus to stay with her.

When we say grace before meals, we thank God for the food, but we can also invite God’s presence. There’s an ancient grace we say at our house, that invites God’s presence: “Be present at our table, Lord. Be here, and everywhere adored. These mercies bless, and grant that we may feast in Paradise with Thee.”

We even see this thinking in Revelation 3:20: Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and sup with him, and he with me.”

In the Lord’s Supper, we ask Jesus to stay. Do you sense God’s presence at communion? You may appreciate how Christ comes to you as you quietly meditate while you sit in the pew. Or you may have the joy of meeting Christ as you walk forward to the table. Trusting in these promises, we believe that Christ is present when we come together to break bread.

We are not remembering some one who is dead and gone. We are remembering someone who was crucified, dead and buried, and who rose again, someone who is gloriously alive. The memory turns into an encounter with Jesus.

Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always.” So we can say, like the disciples said to a stranger, “Stay with us.” And pray that our eyes will be opened, and we will recognize him.

Sermon: Easter: Invitation to Life

Easter 2006

“An Invitation to Live”

Matthew 27:57-28:15

Cynthia O’Brien

April 16, 2006

Matthew 27:57 – 28:10

^{MT 27:57} As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. ⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

^{MT 27:62} The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ⁶³ "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, `After three days I will rise again.' ⁶⁴ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."

^{MT 27:65} "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

^{MT 28:1} After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

^{MT 28:2} There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

^{MT 28:5} The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: `He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

^{MT 28:8} So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

^{MT 28:11} While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. ¹² When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, ¹³ telling them, "You are to say, `His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' ¹⁴ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." ¹⁵ So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

If you’re going to be a spiritual person, if you are going to seek after the divine, sooner or later you are going to have to talk about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That’s what we are talking about today:

- What have people said about the resurrection?

- What is the truth about the resurrection?

- What does the resurrection mean for our life and our future?

I. WHAT HAVE PEOPLE SAID ABOUT THE RESURRECTION?

AND WHAT IS THE TRUTH?

Last Sunday, we read the story of the trial of Jesus, how the chief priests and other Jewish leaders conspired to force Pilate, the governor, to have Jesus executed. If you have seen a movie about Jesus like The Passion of the Christ, you can even picture it. Now, as we just read in the Scripture, even after Jesus has been killed, those same chief priests and Jewish leaders go back to Pilate and say, “Look, this imposter said that he would die and after three days be raised, so you’d better put some extra security on the tomb, just in case those pesky disciples try to deceive us.”

They were worried about Jesus being raised, or about someone claiming he would be raised. They did not like him and did not want him to turn out to be their Messiah. No matter what miracles they saw him do, no matter what wisdom he spoke to them, they would not believe him.

According to Matthew, the first witnesses of the empty tomb are the women and the Roman guards. The angel tells the women to run and tell the disciples. But the security guards run to the priests who hired them and say, There was a violent earthquake,

a fierce heavenly creature came down from the sky to the tomb. It rolled back the stone and sat on it. It looked like lightening. We were terrifie. It said that Jesus had risen and that he was going to Galilee.”

The guards have no reason to lie. They are obviously telling the truth. At this point, those chief priests and Pharisees should say, “Oh, my God, it’s all true! Jesus – the Christ! How could we have not seen it? They should fall to their knees, rend their clothing and beg God for mercy. Instead, they cover it up and pretend it didn’t happen. They pay the soldiers to spread a rumor that the disciples stole the body.

It must have been a huge sum of money for these guards to lie, after having seen such a terrifying supernatural event.

Some people today don’t want to accept Jesus’ resurrection. They wonder if the guards’ story might be true. Hey, maybe the disciples did steal the body so they could pretend he had been raised from the dead.

Could that have happened? Not likely. Think about it. There’s no way those guards would be asleep if they valued their lives. The disciples were in no shape to steal the body and create an elaborate scam – they were no longer a strong group. They were discouraged and depressed. Their real life teacher, their friend, their Lord, was dead, and so was their faith.

And even if they could have done something like that, it wouldn’t last. No one lays down his life for a fabrication. Surely at least one of them, about to be put to death, would have confessed – “No! We made it all up!” But not one of them recanted.

If anyone lied, it was those chief priests and Pharisees.

What else do people say about the resurrection? Both the Bible and historians of the day say that the risen Christ appeared to his disciples, but some people want to explain it away. They say, “Maybe the disciples were just seeing things. The disciples must have wanted to see Jesus so much that they actually thought they did, but they were just hallucinating.”

That doesn’t make any sense either. Jesus appeared to 10 disciples without Thomas, then later to 11 disciples with Thomas, then to other people, then to hundreds. Soon after that, the Apostle Paul wrote: “The people who saw Jesus are alive – you can ask them yourself!” A single person might have a hallucination, but not several groups of people.

Some people say Jesus didn’t really die in the first place, that he was just in a swoon and then magically revived, got himself out of the grave wrappings, moved the stone himself and took off. Consider all the people who handled Jesus’ body: flogging him, pounding nails through his hands and feet, hanging him on a cross until he suffocated, piercing his side with a spear so that blood and water flowed out, bringing the body down from the cross, wrapping it in grave clothes and laying it in a tomb. Not one of them saw any signs of life. It was as horrible as they say. He really did suffer a terrible death.

Since we can’t explain away the Resurrection, let’s consider the good that has come of it, which is as good an evidence for its truth as any. The disciples, terrorized, cowardly, dejected, in just a few weeks time are preaching the message of a risen Christ in the middle of cities. Peter, who at the time of Jesus’ arrest was so afraid that he kept swearing up and down that he didn’t know Jesus, now stands in the middle of Athens, unafraid, preaching the good news.

Could these men and women have turned their lives around if they were mounting a deception? Would each one of them have died a martyr’s death if it were a scam? Each one of them was a new person. They were filled with joy and courage. They didn’t care what would happen to them. They had no government protection for the first 300 years of Christianity. And yet something made it so worthwhile that they followed Jesus, even to the death.

Why weren’t they afraid to die? Because Jesus had told them about eternal life, and they believed him. Jesus said, “Do not be troubled, do not be afraid. I go to prepare a place for you, and I will come again for you, so that you will be where I am.” They were not afraid to die physically because they knew they would live eternally.

III. WHAT DOES THE RESURRECTION MEAN FOR OUR LIFE AND OUR FUTURE?

If you believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, if you believe that Jesus was a wise teacher, then you can trust the things he said about himself, about heaven, about eternal life. Christians from the earliest days to today share a common vision of the day when, as the Scripture says, “The trumpet shall sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” We look forward to the day when we will trade the troubles of this world for the kingdom of God, and Jesus will rule over it, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Have you thought about these things before? Many people just don’t think about it. Perhaps you’d like to believe, but you haven’t given faith a chance. Maybe you just haven’t had time. But when you take a moment and slow down and think, you realize that it bothers you that you have not resolved this for yourself. It’s as if there is a stone in front of your heart and you can’t pry it loose to see if there’s something good behind it.

Or maybe you do believe, and you have even had a deeply spiritual experience of God, but you’re facing tremendous pressure, like the soldiers did, to deny what you have experienced.

At school, maybe you have restrictions on you regarding talking about Jesus in the classroom.

At work, maybe the boss wants you to take some shortcuts that may not technically be illegal, but you know they’re not ethical, yet you don’t know how to challenge it.

At poker night, the guy in the baseball cap gave you grief when you mentioned God, so you dropped the subject, even though the other three guys were interested in what you had to say.

You may be wrestling with this, but you don’t have to keep it to yourself. People want to know about God. As a culture, we are generally more interested in spiritual things than we were even five or ten years ago.

Like Amy. She wanted to help her mother, who is single, meet some people and maybe even meet a nice older single man. So Amy got her mother to go to an Alpha Course, which is a 10-week course on Christianity that we offer here at the church. Amy was not really into God and did not plan to attend the course, but she went the first time with her mom.

She said, “The last thing I expected was to be intellectually stimulated at the first talk.”

The topic was, “Who is Jesus?”

Amy, a Ph.D. in physical chemistry, started paying attention. “I had never really thought about the person of Jesus beyond Christmas and Easter. I was used to dealing with facts [in my work], but when it came to Jesus I realized that I had made a lot of assumptions. Over the course of the 10 weeks, I began to think more about my faith. Every talk I went to, I realized I couldn’t reject it until I knew what I was rejecting. Overall, my biggest revelation was that I needed to actively examine my spiritual faith, for my life to have meaning.”

If your faith has died, it can be resurrected today. Examine the evidence. Choose to believe. Receive the new life -- a changed life now, an eternal life to come.

Listen to these words by Macrina Wiederkehr.

Easter at Your Door

by Macrina Wiederkehr

When dawn stands still with wonder

when birds jubilate in the trees

when buds hurry into blossoms

and grass starts wearing green

I always know that Easter wants to come again.

But deeper yet and richer still

When Jesus, imprisoned in me,

asks me to roll away the stone

that locks him in

then Easter wants to come again.

So, let it come

It’s one dawn past rising time

and Resurrection is the wildest news

that’s ever touched

this crazy, mixed-up world.

It says, yes!

when everything else says, no!

It says, up!

when everything else says, down!

It says, live!

when everything else says, die!

Easter’s standing at your door again,

so don’t you see that stone has got to go?

that stone of fear

of selfishness and pride

of greed and blindness

and all the other stones we use

to keep Jesus in the tomb.

So here’s to rolling stones away

to give our Lord the chance He needs

to rise and touch

a troubled, lonely world.

Some call it Resurrection.

It’s wild with wonder,

It’s beautiful and real

Intent on throwing life around

it touches and it heals!

Yes, Easter, you can come.

I will be an angel of life.

I’ll roll the stone away

and set you free.

Sermon: Save Me From This Hour?

"Save Me From This Hour"?
John 12:20-33
Cynthia O'Brien
April 2, 2006

^{JN 12:20} Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." ²² Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

^{JN 12:23} Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

^{JN 12:27} "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? `Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name!"

Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." ²⁹ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

^{JN 12:30} Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. ³¹ Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. ³² But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." ³³ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

Chum Sophan is a young woman who lives in Cambodia. Her parents were trying to make a living raising pigs, but the pigs would usually get sick and die before they were old enough to take to market. This upset Sophan, but there was no opportunity for her to get the education she would need to make it work. She couldn’t make it on her own. She needed someone to save her. Then Church World Service came to work in her village. They selected Sophan to train as a Village Livestock Agent to provide preventive care and treat animals. They also gave her a small loan to build a pig pen and buy one sow. Now she’s one of 28 trained Village Livestock Agents in her district, and a successful pig farmer. She has a reputation for healthy pigs and other farmers are lined up to buy from her. Her family has gained the skills they need to work with animals and to generate income for their whole family. Her prayers have been answered; the Lord saved her and her village.

We count on the Lord to save us, and we praise God when our prayers are answered. But there was one man who did not pray exactly as we would. In John chapter 12, Jesus said,

^{JN 12:27} "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? `Father, save me from this hour'?

YES, save me! Here is where Jesus should quote the Scripture “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” Every other human being prays to be saved from suffering. We pray to be spared an untimely death. We pray to be relieved from pain.

We do practical things every day to back up these prayers. We try to prevent diseases. We stop smoking, get annual mammograms and eat foods that contain antioxidants. We buy cars with good crash-test ratings and pray for protection driving to the coast. And when we find ourselves in some kind of foxhole – literally or figuratively – we pray, pray, pray to get out alive. “Father, save me from this hour!”

Then if God does save us, we not only have our life back, but we have a great story. A testimony of the glory of God. We quote the Scriptures: “In my distress, I cried to the Lord, and the Lord saved me.”

Jesus says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Hallelujah! I can hear the disciples thinking. God is going to save us! Jesus is going to be glorified. This will be the event of the year! How will Jesus show his glory? Will he do a great miracle? Will he heal someone, or raise someone from the dead? How will he be glorified? The disciples can’t wait to see Jesus glorified.

But the more Jesus talks, the more confused his disciples get. Jesus is talking about seeds dying, about men losing their lives. Even though Jesus says he is about to be glorified, he says, “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? Father save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.”

SKIING

Dave Barry can’t decide whether he wants to ski or be saved from skiing. He wrote recently about how he and his son have such different approaches to skiing that they can no longer ski together.

Quote: “(My son) skis via the Downhill Method, in which you ski down the hill; whereas I ski via the Breath-Catching Method, in which you stand sideways on the hill, looking as athletic as possible without actually moving muscles (this could cause you to start sliding down the hill). If anybody asks if you're OK, you say, ''I'm just catching my breath!'' in a tone of voice that suggests that at any moment you're going to swoop rapidly down the slope; whereas in fact you're planning to stay right where you are, rigid as a statue, until the spring thaw. At night, when the Downhillers have all gone home, we Breath-Catchers will still be up there, clinging to the mountainside, chewing on our parkas for sustenance.”

What should Dave say as he stands sideways on the hill – “Save me from this hill?”

You skiers and snowboarders know: There is a reason that you fill up your gas tank, go to the rental shop and pay 25 bucks to rent your skis or board. There’s a reason you drive 37 miles up to Timberline and pay 46 bucks for a lift ticket. There’s a reason you wait 15 minutes in line and ride a thousand feet on the Magic Mile Express, get off and get on the Palmer chairlift and ride another 1500 feet up to the top where you stand at 8,540 feet elevation.

Now what shall you say? Save me from this mountain? No, the reason you went up there was to ski DOWN. That is the point of all you have been through until this moment.

Jesus said, It was for this very reason I came to this hour.

ESTHER

Remember the Jewish girl in the Old Testament, Hadassah, who was made Queen Esther of Persia only to discover a plot to kill all the Jews? Her uncle Mordecai said, “You have to approach the King and tell him this is wrong.” But she said, “The king will kill me if I do.” Mordecai replied, “Well, if you don’t save us, God will save us another way. But who knows but that you have come to royal power for such a time as this?” What should Esther do? Go quietly back to her rooms, after understanding that her whole reason for being there was to step out in courage?

Jesus said, It was for this very reason I came to this hour.

Now for anyone who is paying attention, Jesus explains more about this hour in which God will glorify him.

Jesus said, ³¹ I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." ³³ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

CRUCIFIX

Imagine a young couple in a jewelry store, shopping for a gift for her great aunt for Easter, comparing cross necklaces, and one turns to the other and asks, “Do you think we should get the cross with the man on it or without the man on it?”

The cross that shows Jesus on it is called a crucifix, and we think of it as a primarily Catholic image. The plain cross is thought of as a mostly Protestant image. Which one shows Jesus’ hour of glory? The crucifix, with which we meditate on Jesus suffering, or the empty cross, signifying the resurrection?

Personally I’m more comfortable with the resurrection. But I find it interesting that Jesus, when he talks about his hour of glory, does not talk about the resurrection. When he talks about being lifted up from the earth, it is not his resurrection or his ascension into heaven. John makes it clear this is about the kind of death he was going to die. Jesus’ hour of glory is the hour of his death.

Jesus’ hour of glory, he says, is when he is lifted up on the cross, when he is humiliated and tortured, when he dies slowly by suffocation and exposure. This is the hour he will not ask to be saved from. This is his hour in which he draws us all to him. This is his hour of glory.

What is your hour of glory? It is when you take up your cross and follow Jesus down the hard path. It is when you make an unpopular decision that you know is right. It is when you suffer in order for someone else to be happy. It begins in this hour right here, when we hear his word, when we believe it in our minds and hearts, and when we seal it in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. In this hour, we share in this glory of Christ’s suffering and death. He draws us to this table to share his suffering with us. As we eat the body and drink the blood, we are tangibly reminded of his hour of glory. We are bound to him.

Paul wrote to the Romans: We were therefore buried with Christ through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

And he said to the church at Corinth: Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

When we gather at the Lord’s table, we find reason that we are here. We find the courage to follow Jesus. We remember our responsibility to those who are in need. We find the strength to do the hard things that we know we must do.

The Lord answered Chum Sophan’s prayer. But who was it that sacrificed to give the money so that Sophan could get the training she needed to support her family? You did, just a few years ago. You and 11,000 other Presbyterian congregations gave to One Great Hour of Sharing. The money for her training can be traced all the way back here, because we are the people who care.

We might have said, “Lord, save me from this special offering!” But Jesus didn’t say that, and neither do we. Jesus said, “No, it was for this very reason that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

For what reason did you come to this hour?