Sermon – Tuesday Morning Worship 22nd November 2022
St Oswald's Rugby
You may be puzzling over why
as all the preparations for Christmass gather pace are we reading the story of
Jesus’s crucifixion.
The simple answer is that
next Sunday is Advent Sunday and the New Liturgical year begins and a new set
of Lectionary Readings.
This year, Year C, we have
had Luke as our principal Gospel. On Sunday Year A begins with Matthew as the
principal Gospel.
One of the disciplines that I follow and would commend to you is to read something like Tom Wright’s ‘Everyone’ series – each day you can read a section of the Gospel followed by Tom’s commentary.
Thus, as we end year C and
Luke’s Gospel we come to the climatic moment of the crucifixion.
And focussing on the Cross is
not a bad preparation for Christmass.
Because without the Cross
there would be no Christmass.
If ever I have an opportunity
to set up a Nativity or Crib Scene, I always place a simple cross in there, set
at the back.
This serves to remind us that the Child in the Crib became the Christ on the Cross.
I said the crucifixion was
the climatic moment which it is in large part but would have come to naught
without the resurrection.
Around the time of Jesus
there were at least fourteen other Messianic movements.
All of these were brutally
crushed by the Romans, their adherents fled, or were killed or sold into
slavery or crept back into society and kept their heads down.
Perhaps the most famous was
the Bar-Kochba revolt of 132 – 136 CE.
Remember the Temple was destroyed during an
earlier revolt, in 70CE.
Kochba who as a self-styled
Messiah took up arms against Rome and for three years ruled from Jerusalem as a
Messianic type of figure.
Exactly the kind of thing
some thought Jesus might do or perhaps should be doing.
The Bar-Kochba revolt was put
down, Jerusalem destroyed, and all Jews banished from living in their homeland
of Judea.
Jerusalem was renamed and
became a Roman city.
So, you have to ask yourself
why there isn’t a worldwide movement dedicated to Bar Kochba or any other
self-proclaimed Messiah's during this period.
Could the answer be that Jesus was
miraculously raised from death.
This is part of the claim we find Luke’s Gospel (and in many other places) we
don’t get to read here but do read during the Easter Season.
And it’s Luke who gives us
the wonderful Emmaus Road story.
Remember how Jesus opens up the Scriptures and shows how he was the Messiah, but not as was commonly expected.
Thousands upon thousands of young Jewish men were crucified as these revolts were crushed.
Yet of all those young men only one of them still commands a world wide following.
And in a few weeks, we will
be celebrating the birth of Yeshua bar Jospeh, aka Jesus.
And many will celebrate and
have fun and have parties and eat too much and perhaps drink too much and make
all sorts of promises to be kind and to keep in touch – and all of that.
Then baby Jesus, along with
Santa and the lights and trimmings will be put away for another year.
And we then wonder why we
don’t keep in touch, why we then fall out and have arguments, why we are not as
kind and loving as we know we ought to be.
It is because we do not allow
Jesus to grow up.
It is because we neglect to
study the Scriptures.
It is because we are
forgetful about becoming an active member of a Church, a Community of Faithful
21st century followers of Messiah Jesus.
It because we have forgotten
what was written above Jesus’ head as he suffered, bled, and died. ‘Jesus King
of the Jews.’
On Sunday last the Church
celebrated The Feast of Christ the King. Our Gospel reading today is the Gospel
reading set for this Feast Day. And it is here we read about this sign written
in the three common languages at the time – ‘Jesus King of the Jews.’
And we have come to know that
Jesus was King not only of the Jews but over all the created order and over
every power and authority.
(Matthew 28:18 'Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.")
But that claim makes demands
of us – and so, I tell you what, let’s keep him as baby and say that Christmass
is for children and make it all twee, comfortable. After all who does not like
babies.
Well Herod wasn’t that
pleased to hear about a new king that had been born – and he took some brutal
steps to try and eradicate this baby.
So here a question for us to
ponder over.
Are we going to allow baby
Jesus to grow up and to remind others that is just what he did do, and maybe
invite them to explore just what Jesus did when he grew up.
Or will we join in all the
fun and games and then put Jesus back as a baby – in effect stomping and
stunting his growth – keeping Jesus as a perpetual baby which we can handle and
manage and put away if he starts making demands of us.
Where do you sit with this
this morning?
Be careful on your choice –
when one of those being crucified with Jesus rebuked the other and asked Jesus
to remember him when he (Jesus) came into his kingdom, Jesus responds by saying
that they will be together later that day in paradise. As for the other criminal…
Christmas
parties,
Mince
pies,
Carols,
X
number of shopping days to Christmas,
School
nativity play;
And
out of a dark and dusty corner of the church
the crib is found.
Baby
Jesus (the plastic, white faced, blue eyed variety)
Is
placed once more with ‘dignity’
In
a place of honour surrounded by tinsel,
Fairy
lights and Father Christmas.
The
babe of God slips into the world
And
into the hearts of all who love babies
(Even
Herod’s are kept quiet today)
Then
back goes the representation of Jesus,
Along
with all the other trimmings,
Back
to a dusty corner in people lives.
Jesus
Christ, Son of God, Perpetual Babe,
save us from our madness!
© Gordon Banks 08/12/1983
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