http://wiki.mrlocke.net/api.php?hidebots=1&hideanons=1&hidemyself=1&days=14&limit=50&action=feedrecentchanges&feedformat=atomNeal's Wiki - Recent changes [en]2024-03-28T21:07:26ZTrack the most recent changes to the wiki in this feed.MediaWiki 1.24.4http://wiki.mrlocke.net/index.php?title=Sermon_for_March_24th,_2024&diff=7143&oldid=7139Sermon for March 24th, 20242024-03-24T04:39:40Z<p></p>
<a href="http://wiki.mrlocke.net/index.php?title=Sermon_for_March_24th,_2024&diff=7143&oldid=7139">Show changes</a>Iranealhttp://wiki.mrlocke.net/index.php?title=First_Presbyterian_Church&diff=7140&oldid=7124First Presbyterian Church2024-03-24T03:42:05Z<p></p>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* [[Sermon for March 24th, 2024]] 499th Sermon: How to Steal a Donkey (Palm Sunday)</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* [[Sermon for March 24th, 2024]] 499th Sermon: How to Steal a Donkey (Palm Sunday<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">) (2186</ins>)</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* [[Sermon for March 17th, 2024]] 498th Sermon: In Pursuit of Wisdom, Part IV (1634)</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* [[Sermon for March 17th, 2024]] 498th Sermon: In Pursuit of Wisdom, Part IV (1634)</div></td></tr>
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</table>Iranealhttp://wiki.mrlocke.net/index.php?title=Sermon_for_March_24th,_2024&diff=7139&oldid=7125Sermon for March 24th, 20242024-03-24T03:40:56Z<p></p>
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</tr><tr><td colspan='4' style='text-align: center;' class='diff-multi'>(13 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 1:</td>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>==Luke 19:28-40==</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>==Luke 19:28-40==</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>28After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” 32So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” 39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” 40He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">''</ins>28After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” 32So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” 39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” 40He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">''</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>==How to Steal a Donkey==</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>==How to Steal a Donkey==</div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">*What do you call a donkey with only three legs?  A wonky donkey.</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">*What do you call a donkey with three legs and a lazy eye?  A winky wonky donkey.</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">*What do you call a donkey with three legs, and a lazy eye, breaking wind? A stinky winky wonky donkey.</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">*What do you call a donkey with three legs, a lazy eye, breaking wind, and wearing blue suede shoes?  A honky tonky stinky winky wonky donkey.</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">*What do you call a donkey with three legs, a lazy eye, breaking wind, wearing blue suede shoes and playing the piano?  A plinky-plonky, honky-tonky, stinky-winky wonky donkey.</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">* What do you call a donkey with three legs, a lazy eye, breaking wind, wearing blue suede shoes and playing piano while driving a truck?  Just talented.  Very talented.</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Today is Palm Sunday—the day we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem, when the crowds laid down palm branches in his path and hailed him as the long-awaited Messiah.  This story appears (with slight variations) in all four gospels, although in the gospel of Luke (our passage today) there are actually no palm branches mentioned.  Instead, people spread their coats on the ground in front of Jesus.  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Countless sermons have been preached on this story through the years.  I’ve preached on it several times, too.  Usually these sermons focus on Jesus (not surprising—he is the star of the show, after all), or sometimes they focus on the meaning of the palm branches (short version: they can either symbolize peace…or a conquering war hero).  Sometimes the Palm Sunday sermon will focus on the fickle crowd…. that shouts Hosanna and calls Jesus a King, but just a few days later turns against him and angrily calls for the Roman government to “crucify him!”  Often the focus will be on the great irony (probably intentional) of how the King of Kings, the Son of God, rode into town not on a stately horse, but on a humble donkey, not decked out in sword and shield, but wearing a robe and sandals, not at the head of a mighty band of warriors, but leading fishermen, peasants, and the dregs of society.</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Those are all great sermons…but they have been preached many, many times.  Today, I want to focus on a much more neglected part of the story, a much more perplexing (and in my opinion, more humorous) part of the story—the part before the crowds, before the palm branches, and before the triumphal entry.  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Today I want to talk about that time when Jesus told his disciples to go steal a donkey.</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">If you read the text, there’s really no way around this, other than to just ignore it (which is what most theologians seem to do).  Jesus clearly tells two of his disciples (verse 30) “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.”</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">A colt, in the Greek language of the New Testament is πῶλον, which can mean a young horse, a young donkey, or really any young four-legged animal.  But most biblical scholars acknowledge this as a donkey, in part because two of the gospels (Matthew and John) connect this event to an Old Testament prophecy in the Book of Zechariah that says that the king (the messiah) will come riding into town on a חֲמ֔וֹר (hamor), and the Hebrew word חֲמ֔וֹר (hamor) definitely means donkey.  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">“Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.”</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">So…maybe Jesus had already made prior arrangements with Enterprise-Rent-a-Donkey, or maybe he just used his Jesus-powers to poof a donkey into existence that didn’t belong to anyone…? But the next verse kind of works against that.  Verse 31:</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’  And then run really fast.  I’m just kidding, Jesus didn’t say that last part.  Or did he? You know, with a smile and a wink?  The Bible may not record EVERYTHING Jesus said….</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">IF anyone asks you….just say this.  The implication here is that IF no one asks you, just take it.  Don’t try to find the owner, don’t ask around to see if maybe this is a free-community-usage donkey, don’t ask for permission…just do it.  Don’t call attention to yourself.  Act normal, like it’s yours.  Nothing to see here, we’re just taking OUR donkey for a nice walk….</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">But clearly Jesus suspects that won’t happen, just like I suspect that if some random two guys walked up to your driveway and got into your car, you (or your neighbors) might say “uh, who are you and what are you doing?”  What?  Us?  Oh…ummm…the Lord needs it.</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">That’s what Jesus tells his disciples to say:  “The Lord needs it.”  The gospel of Mark actually adds here “and will bring it back immediately.”  As if that would somehow reassure the owner.  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">The Greek word Κύριος, which translates as “Lord” means something very specific to most of us, especially when we’re reading the Bible.  It means Jesus, the Lord of Lords.  But in 1st Century Israel, that wouldn’t have been obvious—in fact, Κύριος or Lord would have most likely referred to the owner of the house, the owner of the donkey.  So this choice of words is just a little bit sneaky.  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Jesus could have said, “tell them that Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth needs it” but instead he says, effectively…If they ask you what you’re doing, just say that the owner needs it.  Maybe Jesus, the son of God, the creator of the universe and all the animals is making a little play on words here (hey, I own everything, so technically I am the owner) but that’s probably not how the donkey’s actual owner would have perceived it.  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">In our passage today, when the two disciples go and do what Jesus told them to do, we read that the owners are the ones who confront them, saying “why are you untying it?”  The disciples give their line, and…then they take the donkey.  No response from the owners, perhaps because the disciples are crazy fast sprinters.  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">On the other hand, in the Gospel of Mark, it’s some bystanders who stop the disciples, and when they give their line, the bystanders (not the owners) “allow them to take it.”  Later on, they got the award for worst neighbors of the year.</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">When the disciples finally bring the donkey to Jesus, we read in verse 35 that the first thing they do is throw their cloaks over it.  Ostensibly, this is to make it more comfortable for Jesus to sit on the donkey.  But I’ve always wondered if it’s because the owners were in hot pursuit, just running over the hill, saying “where’s our donkey, you thieves?”  Donkey?  What donkey?  No donkey here!  Oh that down there?  That’s just our friend Judas, wearing two coats.  Shhh… Don’t say anything, he’s kind of sensitive about his hairy ears.  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">So Jesus rides into Jerusalem…and history…on a stolen donkey.  And we focus (rightfully so) on the palm branches, the Hosannas, the crowd, and all that happens in the climactic Holy Week that follows.  As we should.  But just this once, I wonder if there’s any lesson, any message for us in the story of the stolen donkey?  I mean, it’s in all four gospels—it has to be there for a reason, right?  If it weren’t important, gospel writers could have just said, “and Jesus acquired a donkey, upon which he rode into town”  Why is the interaction, the conversation, the excuse, the manner of its acquisition important enough to include?  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">I have a couple of ideas. </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">1.  Jesus was human, and funny, and mischievous, and the gospel writers (who were also human, and funny, and mischievous) wanted us to know that; they wanted to remember the Jesus who so often got them into trouble with a smile and the wink of an eye.  If you’re bothered by the idea of the perfect Son of God stealing something, remember that he did a lot of things that “technically” broke the law in the eyes of the rulers of his day.  And as I said before, “technically” he also owned ALL the donkeys, and he wrote ALL the rules.  But there’s no denying that Jesus was unconventional.  I think sometimes we try so hard to sanitize Jesus, emphasizing his divine, perfect, and sinless nature, that we end up sacrificing his real, authentic and human nature in the process. And the we act surprised when the world can’t seem to relate to him.  Jesus was (and IS) truly the best of both worlds, of heaven and earth.  We have to hold on to both of those things, even if we can’t quite explain how they work together.</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">2. Sometimes God takes things away from us…things we think God has no right to.  He doesn’t ask permission, and he doesn’t always explain himself, at least not to our satisfaction.  Maybe God (in the guise of fate, life or bad luck) “robbed” you of a dream or an opportunity you thought you had earned or worked hard for.  Maybe God “stole” someone from your life, someone that you loved, too soon, and unfairly.  What should our reaction be when that happens?  We never get to see the reaction of the owner when his donkey is stolen, and that’s probably a good thing.  He might have said a few choice words that he wouldn’t want recorded for all posterity.  Neither would we in those moments.  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">When God takes something away from us, we don’t usually have the benefit of the grander picture.  We only see the loss, the injustice, the broken rule or broken trust.  But in the story of the stolen Donkey, and in all of God’s stories (which means all of our stories) there’s definitely a bigger picture.  I like to imagine it went down this way—many, many years after that first Palm Sunday:</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">James and John, once timid young disciples…. now gray-haired old apostles, bold in their faith, having witnessed the resurrected Jesus, having experienced the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and having guided the faithful in the earliest days of the church.</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">James and John, who just may have been the two donkey thieves-in chief, are now sitting together in the corner of a busy room, gathered with other believers as their weekly service of worship is about to begin.  Maybe it’s even Palm Sunday.</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">James says to John, “Hey John…do you remember how mad that guy was when we ran off with his donkey?  John chuckles, and says, “Yeah, he was pretty pissed.” </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">“Well, don’t look now,” says James, “but I think that’s him sitting over there near the door.”  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">“No kidding—it IS him!  You don’t think he’s still mad about that, do you?  I don’t run as fast as I used to.”  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">“No, he’s been here a few times before.  It took me awhile to figure out where I remembered him from.”  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">John and James continue to watch their old nemesis as the service begins, as the people sing and pray and break bread together.  And then finally someone stands to tell the story… one of the younger disciples who has committed it to memory.  It’s the story of Palm Sunday, and it all begins with the words of Jesus, the Messiah, saying “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.”  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">The man raises an eyebrow at this, but then when he hears the part about the two disciples, and the line “Say that the Lord has need of it” a flash of recognition suddenly comes over his face.  He’s putting two and two together.  Then he shifts nervously in his seat, as though he’s worried about what might be told next.  But the story moves on, back to Jesus, riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, of crowds waving palm branches and crying out “Hosanna!” </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">At just the right moment (maybe with a little prompting from their parents), the little children in the congregation cheer and wave their palm branches, re-enacting this precious memory that a few older ones in attendance might still remember with a mixture of wonder, regret, and love.  And in the midst of the shouting, in the very back of the room, a tear rolls down the cheek of the man who lost his donkey all those years ago.  His smile betrays a sadness mixed with pride.  Now he knows the bigger picture.  His loss was the entire world’s gain.  And his gain, too.  </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">James and John, those two old donkey thieves, watched knowingly from their corner of the room.  Somewhere in the distant recesses of their memory, they could almost hear their friend, their savior, their Lord Jesus, laughing joyfully across the years.</ins></div></td></tr>
</table>Iranealhttp://wiki.mrlocke.net/index.php?title=Sermon_for_March_24th,_2024&diff=7125&oldid=0Sermon for March 24th, 20242024-03-23T23:12:40Z<p>Created page with "==Luke 19:28-40== 28After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he..."</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>==Luke 19:28-40==<br />
28After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” 32So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” 39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” 40He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”<br />
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==How to Steal a Donkey==</div>Iranealhttp://wiki.mrlocke.net/index.php?title=First_Presbyterian_Church&diff=7124&oldid=7121First Presbyterian Church2024-03-23T22:51:26Z<p></p>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* [[Sermon for March 10th, 2024]] 497th Sermon: In Pursuit of Wisdom, Part III (2416)</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* [[Sermon for March 10th, 2024]] 497th Sermon: In Pursuit of Wisdom, Part III (2416)</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* [[Sermon for March 3rd, 2024]] 496th Sermon: In Pursuit of Wisdom, Part II (1436)</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* [[Sermon for March 3rd, 2024]] 496th Sermon: In Pursuit of Wisdom, Part II (1436)</div></td></tr>
</table>Iranealhttp://wiki.mrlocke.net/index.php?title=Sermon_for_March_17th,_2024&diff=7122&oldid=0Sermon for March 17th, 20242024-03-17T13:10:45Z<p>Created page with "==Job 42:1-6, 10-17== ''1Then Job answered the LORD: 2"I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3'Who is this that hides counsel withou..."</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>==Job 42:1-6, 10-17==<br />
''1Then Job answered the LORD: 2"I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 4'Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.' 5I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; 6therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes."<br />
''<br />
''10And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of money and a gold ring. 12The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys. 13He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15In all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters; and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. 16After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children, and his children's children, four generations. 17And Job died, old and full of days.<br />
''<br />
==In Pursuit of Wisdom: Part IV==<br />
My favorite author, hands down, is John Steinbeck. The first time I read him, in high school, I thought I hated him (incidentally, I had that same reaction the first time I read John Calvin in seminary). I read Steinbeck's novel, "The Pearl" when I was about sixteen years old, and at the end of the novel, the main character has lost everything, has been utterly defeated, and then dies. The end. I was pretty ticked off. That's not how a good story is supposed to end. <br />
<br />
Years later, I taught Steinbeck to high school freshmen -- Of Mice and Men, Tortilla Flat, Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden -- and all of them pretty much follow the same pattern: Through the course of the novel, the main characters lose everything, get kicked around by life and the other characters in the novel, and have their hopes and dreams ripped out from underneath them. And that's usually where Steinbeck ends the novel. My 9th graders would get really angry after reading the first Steinbeck novel--they thought they had been ripped off, cheated, or tricked somehow. By the second novel, they'd be asking how he ever got to be a bestseller, let alone winning the Nobel prize for literature. <br />
<br />
And then somewhere in the midst of the third novel...they finally began to understand: It is only after Steinbeck's characters are stripped of all their ambitions, their possessions, their relationships, that they begin to see themselves for who they really are--not as farmers, fishermen, mechanics, factory workers, or "Oakies" -- but as human beings, sharing a fragile existence with every other human being on the planet. Steinbeck's characters lose everything...but never their dignity, never their humanity. In fact, as everything else falls away, these things become more and more visible. Kindness and generosity and compassion begin to surface in unexpected ways. On the surface, all of Steinbeck's novels are tragic...and yet below the surface, they are the most moving, inspirational works of literature I've ever encountered.<br />
<br />
In America, we have a love affair with the "happy ending." We are products of Disney fairy-tales, Hollywood romances, and rags-to-riches success stories. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Stories like these entertain us, give us escape from the ordinary, and most importantly, they help us to hope and dream. But sometimes, like my freshmen, we get so used to the happy ending that we form this implicit contract between ourselves and the story: It's a "good" story if it has a happy ending, and a "bad" story if it doesn't. <br />
<br />
But this kind of thinking influences other parts of our lives, too--I'm a "good" person if I'm winning, if I'm successful; I'm a "bad" person if I'm not. God is "good" as long as there's a happy ending in sight; if there's no happy ending, why bother with God? As Christians, we learn almost from the very beginning that our story has a happy ending--Easter, the Resurrection of Jesus. But we tend to forget that the first disciples were called to follow Jesus without knowing whether or not there would be a happy ending.<br />
<br />
And so we come at last to Job. Last in many senses: Today's scripture passage is from the last chapter of the Book of Job; we read about the last years of his life, and this is the last sermon in our series the pursuit of wisdom in the Book of Job. <br />
<br />
When I first read the story of Job as a child, or possibly as a teenager, I liked it. Any guesses why? It has a happy ending. Sure Job loses everything, but he gets it all back in the end, times two. Yay Job! As a young adult, beginning to study the Bible more closely, I started to have some doubts. It's a happy ending for Job, but not so much for all the servants, animals, and children he loses the first time around. Where's their happy ending? Then as a seminary student, I learned that some biblical scholars think the "happy ending" is a later addition to the text, possibly by a different author. Apparently, our insatiable need for a happy ending goes back a lot further than Hollywood or Disney. <br />
<br />
After more than a decade studying and preaching through the Book of Job, I currently think it's all one unified piece, not the work of a single author, but rather of one single editor -- someone who has taken the threads of a very ancient story and woven them together in a skillful, intentional way. And that means, like it or not, I'm stuck with this happy ending. I've often thought that if Steinbeck had written (or edited) the Book of Job, it would have ended with the beautiful, awe-inspiring words of God in chapter 38. <br />
<br />
Why does the happy ending bother me so much? I think it's because the first few times I read the Book of Job, I did what most people do: I read the first two chapters, quickly got bored with the long philosophical poetry (35 chapters) in the middle, and then skipped to God's speech and the happy ending. No problem there. But when I really began to study the middle--and the meat is in the middle--the ending no longer made sense.<br />
<br />
Remember, the prevailing formula for wisdom in Ancient Israel comes from the book of Proverbs (wisdom for beginners!) Good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Simple. I believe the Book of Job was written to challenge--or at least nuance--that point of view. Job is undeniably a good person. He argues this point throughout the book. The author (or editor) of the book agrees, and calls him a righteous man. God agrees, and calls him a righteous man, both in the beginning and at the end. And yet bad things happen to Job. Proverbs wisdom can't explain this. But through 35 chapters of questioning, complaining, and crying out to God, Job finally arrives at the conclusion that true wisdom lies in admitting that we don't know everything. We can't know everything. We can't explain everything. God's ways are, ultimately, a mystery. I think that's some pretty profound wisdom.<br />
<br />
But the problem is, when we just read the first two chapters, skim the middle, and skip to the end, we come up with this instead: Sometimes things can get a little rough, but in the end, good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Job was good, so in the end good things happened to him. And we're right back to Proverbs wisdom. <br />
<br />
Don't misunderstand me here--there is truth to Proverbs wisdom. Our actions, good or bad, do have consequences. It's just that Proverbs is "Wisdom 101" and we shouldn't stop there for all time. There is a theological danger in telling a person terminally ill with cancer "If you're a good person, and if you have faith, you will get better." God does work miracles, but sometimes, in his infinite wisdom, he doesn't. <br />
<br />
There is a theological danger in telling a person who has lost everything, "Don't worry, if you're a good person and have faith in God, you'll get it all back and more." Sometimes, as in Job's case, God does that. But sometimes (and I think we can all point to examples in our own experience and circle of acquaintances) he doesn't. <br />
<br />
There is also a theological danger in making God's love for us too closely tied with our wishes and desires. When my daughter, Abby, was ten years old, she would sometimes say, "Daddy, if you love me, you'll buy me a horse." I would respond, "I do love you, sweetheart, but it's a little more complicated than that." That was hard for her to understand at that age, just like it's hard for us to completely understand God's love this side of heaven.<br />
<br />
And so this is how I've come to understand the "happy ending" in Job. It's not cause and effect. It's not because Job was faithful through all his trials, or because he somehow "passed the test" God (or Satan) was putting him through. God's decision to bless Job at the end of the book is just as random, just as inexplicable, and just as mysterious as God's decision to bless Job at the beginning of the book, and just as random, inexplicable, and mysterious as God's decision to let Job suffer in the middle of the book. <br />
<br />
The Book of Job is not about the happy ending. And ultimately, it's not about the suffering, either. God loved Job when he was blessed with abundance; God loved Job in the midst of his suffering, and God would have loved Job right up to the end of his days whether he was blessed or not. The sign of this love is not the restoration of Job's fortune at the end. It's the fact that God showed up, in chapter 38, and answered Job's cry. God said, "not only have I been with you all this time, I've been with you and all creation since before the foundations of the earth were laid." <br />
<br />
The Book of Job IS, however, about the pursuit of wisdom. At the end of Job's journey, he makes this simple declaration to his God: "I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know." That's almost a thesis statement for the entire book:<br />
<br />
The greatest wisdom is found in humility--knowing how much you don't know. <br />
The greatest wisdom is found in wonder--gratitude for the marvel and beauty of creation.<br />
The greatest wisdom is found in God's presence--in humble conversations with the one who made you, and who loves you from the first page of your story right up to the very end.</div>Iranealhttp://wiki.mrlocke.net/index.php?title=First_Presbyterian_Church&diff=7121&oldid=7120First Presbyterian Church2024-03-16T17:13:14Z<p></p>
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<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">* [[Sermon for March 17th, 2024]] 498th Sermon: In Pursuit of Wisdom, Part IV</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* [[Sermon for March 10th, 2024]] 497th Sermon: In Pursuit of Wisdom, Part III (2416)</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* [[Sermon for March 10th, 2024]] 497th Sermon: In Pursuit of Wisdom, Part III (2416)</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* [[Sermon for March 3rd, 2024]] 496th Sermon: In Pursuit of Wisdom, Part II (1436)</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* [[Sermon for March 3rd, 2024]] 496th Sermon: In Pursuit of Wisdom, Part II (1436)</div></td></tr>
</table>Iraneal