…This morning Jesus is in a kind of parade—one he takes part in deliberately. Peter, who has been the focus of so much of our reflection this Lent, is nowhere to be seen. He has no dialogue. He asks no questions. But he is definitely there, of course, as are all the disciples, witnessing Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. And it’s easy to imagine that they are all overwhelmed, probably filled with anxiety, and wondering, on some level, what is going on….

Image: “Then They Remembered” by Rev. Lisle Gwinn Garrity, A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org.

They said this of me: "She has cracked," they said. Like an egg thrown at a wall. The smooth comfort of the home that was my own mind, gone. Instead, bits of what-was-me splattered, scattering, running down the wall and into the waste pile. Sharp-edged fragments lost in the dusty roads that run through my village…

Image: Mary Magdalene by He Qi. Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved. Artist’s website: https://www.heqiart.com/store/p158/24_Mary-Magdalene_Limited_Edition.html..

And now, for Jesus’ reminder that faith communities are made up of human beings, and we don’t always get it right. This morning finds Jesus talking with his disciples, and Peter in particular, about conflict and forgiveness….

Image: Seventy-seven times by Lauren Wright Pittman, | A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org

In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the apostle provides one of the most beautiful (and accurate) descriptions of love that can be found in the New Testament. His first words (describing what he calls “a more excellent way”) reference angels—specifically, the tongues of angels. Paul is saying that someone who approximates the most sublime creatures, with the most sublime voices, saying the most sublime words, is nothing, without love being the foundation of those words.

But first, he is saying, that when angels open their mouths, it is a beautiful thing to hear, beyond all telling. The sounds angels make when they communicate are exquisite.

This may be the closest the scriptures come to telling us that angels sing…

Eyck, Hubert van, 1366-1426; Eyck, Jan van, 1390-1440. Altar of the Mystical Lamb - Angels Singing and Making Music, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=49624 [retrieved February 20, 2024]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hubert_van_Eyck_017.jpg.

This is serious.

We’re at a serious moment in Peter’s journey with Jesus. Jesus has just said something to Peter that would have been unimaginable only seconds earlier. 

We’ve picked up this morning immediately following last week’s passage from the gospel according to Matthew. Last week, all was joy and hope and Peter being verbally anointed by Jesus into a new sense of leadership by virtue of his powerful statement of faith: “You are the Messiah, Son of the Living God.”

And now, Jesus has started to explain to Peter and the disciples what all that really means…

Image: “Beseeching” by Hannah Garrity, courtesy of A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org

…The disciples have told Jesus exactly what the people think of him, in a kind of shorthand. They believe he is a breath of fresh air in the face of the brazenly corrupt Herod, and the dreadful Roman Empire. They believe he has come to call out the mighty for the ways they oppress the little people. They believe he has come to give his vision of what God’s law means (nicely outlined in the sermon on the Mount, chapters 5-7) a law of love for neighbor and forgiveness of enemies, a law of humility instead of braggadocio, a law in which love of God is lived out through our love of neighbor, a law in which we trust that God is love….

Image: “Who do you say I am?” by Lauren Wright Pittman, | A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org

When I was still very young, I learned this prayer.

Angel of God, my guardian dear,

to whom God’s love commits me here,

ever this day be at my side,

to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

I was introduced to angels in the gentles of ways. This prayer first instructed me that there were angels whose sole purpose was to accompany and watch over us.  A little book showed me a picture of an angel who was a child, like me. Later I learned that guardian angels are mentioned in scripture, by Jesus, in reference to little children. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says,

“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.” ~Matt. 18:10….

Image: Medieval Seraph, source unknown. Public Domain

At this moment Peter has an idea. I think Peter must be a verbal processor, like me. I think he knows what’s going to come out of his mouth after he already says it. Immediately, he says, “Lord, if it’s you, call to me, and I’ll walk to you on the water.”

I wonder what Peter’s thinking. Is this a moment of bravado? A moment of pure faith? A moment of wanting to exert his growing sense of leadership? Or is it, simply, that he wants to be with Jesus that badly, that he can’t wait for his Lord to get to the boat?

Image: “Lift-Off” by the Rev. Nicolette Penaranda, courtesy of A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org

Immediately following his baptism, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness, to be tested by the devil. On this first evening of our series on Angels and Demons, we meet a devil who is contending with Jesus.

Did you notice the three different words for the “devil” that appeared in that passage? It’s as if the author is trying to get at something essential about the demons that plagued the people of the ancient Middle East. It’s as if the author tries different words to get at different aspects of those devilish forces. Each word conveys something slightly different.

The first word we encounter is “devil.” Most of us grew up with a mental picture of a red human-like being with horns, a tail with a point on it, and a pitchfork… something we might wear as a costume on Halloween. But in the definition of the Greek word, diabolos (as in “diabolical”), there’s nothing about appearance; it’s only about intent. It means “slanderer,” or “false accuser.” The Spirit has led Jesus to be tested by one who wants to paint a false picture of him. A liar…

Image: Tissot, James, 1836-1902. Jesus Carried up to a Pinnacle of the Temple, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54302 [retrieved February 14, 2024]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_Jesus_Carried_up_to_a_Pinnacle_of_the_Temple_(J%C3%A9sus_port%C3%A9_sur_le_pinacle_du_Temple)_-_James_Tissot_-_overall.jpg.

Today we begin a journey with Simon Peter.

I have a confession to make. I was drawn to this worship series, designed for our use in the season of Lent, for two reasons. First, it appealed to me because I think I have given Peter short shrift over the course of my years of preaching. When I look back at his appearances in my sermons, I haven’t been very kind to Peter. I’ve made a caricature of him—had an attitude of “Oh, that Peter. There he goes again. Saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, missing the point.” And that’s simply not fair. If we look at the whole of Peter’s life with Jesus—the high points and the low points, the moments of deep insight and the moments of deeper learning—Peter feels awfully familiar. Peter starts to feel like us. Ordinary people who find themselves in a lifelong relationship with a Lord who challenges them, affirms them, lifts them up when they’re sinking, and calls them to be his witnesses in the world. What better guide could we have in our Lenten journey than someone who, just like us, is always working to figure out his faith? What better companion along Jesus’ way? Because, of course, a journey with Simon Peter is sure to turn out to be a journey with Jesus…

Image: River of Grace by Lisle Wynn Garrity | A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org

I want to highlight the Biblical understanding of sin, in both testaments. The Hebrew and Greek words for sin are both terms of archery; sin means, “missing the mark,” or the “measure by which you missed the mark.”

This is incredibly important for us to remember. The biblical assumption about sin is that it is not necessarily something we do out of malice, but most often, a situation where we tried and failed to do the right thing. Could David’s situation with Bathsheba fall into that category? Probably not. Hard to say. That’s between David and God. But for us, who may be weighted down with guilt, or even, as Martin Luther had, scruples—that is, self-criticism that becomes an unhealthy obsession—for us, the understanding of our ancestors in faith can be liberating. It can help us to think of our failures as failures, and it can also help us to understand when we have crossed that line into malice.

This is why it’s so important that we tune our hearts to God’s as Lent begins, and ever afterward. David is beautifully attuned to God’s heart:

God is kind and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love…

Design elements by the Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman | A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org.

…Elijah is a remarkable figure. We first hear about him in 1 Kings, after Ahab comes to power in the northern kingdom—Ahab, who is notorious, one of the most awful, unfaithful kings of God’s covenant people. Adding to that, Ahab’s wife is a worshiper of Baal—a Canaanite god responsible for the weather. Ahab upends Hebrew worship and builds a large temple to Baal. Jezebel imports a large group of Baal’s priests and prophets. That’s enough for Elijah. He appears, and does everything he can to call out Ahab and Jezebel until the day God whisks him away, because not only are they terrible, they’re only the most recent in a long line of monarchs who have wandered far, far away from God….

Image: Elijah and Elisha, Koenig, Peter. Elijah and Elisha, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58492 [retrieved February 1, 2024]. Original source: Peter Winfried (Canisius) Koenig, https://www.pwkoenig.co.uk/.

I’ve always wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps, from the time I was a tiny boy. I remember peeking out of my mother’s arms in the early morning, while it was still dark, to see my father and my uncle Andrew, faces shining in the firelight, ropes draped over their shoulders, saying goodbye before heading down to the sea to climb into their boats.

My father was a genius with the nets. In fact it was always a point of contention—even competition—between him and my uncle Andrew. Who could find the perfect spot, the place where, when the nets were cast, almost immediately the men in the boat would begin to feel the rustle and sway that told them, ah. Here it is! The place where the fish are today! Ah. Tonight my wife will smile warmly at me, because the proceeds from this catch will feed our family for a week, maybe even two.

I saw the joy my father took in the catch, the way he would throw back his head and murmur a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord: “How good it is to sing praises to our God; for God is gracious!” I saw the satisfaction he had in a hard day’s labor, that made his muscles ache, yes, but also made them strong. I saw the contentment he found in providing for his family. I saw all these things, and I thought: that is what I will do. I will follow my father down to the sea and into the boats….

Image: Israeli Boy, source unknown.

…This is where reading scripture can get tricky for us. We hear a lot of possession stories in scripture described in ways that seem to indicate mental illness to our modern ears. In Jesus’ day, it was common to think illnesses of every kind came from demons or demonic spirits. That was the norm, for the terrible and the inexplicable. In some ways, the belief in demons provided an explanation for the unavoidable trials and sorrows people experienced, things that made life painful, difficult, and sometimes, cut it short.

We have modern medicine to cast out many, if not most of those ailments. There are medications and therapy to give folks who struggle with mental illness or depression at least a fighting chance to live at peace with themselves. But life isn’t perfect yet. We still experience and witness things that bring us down. Depression that convinces us nothing will ever change, and there’s no reason to try. Illness that seems responsive to the latest drug or procedures, but which returns, or never truly leaves. Not to mention, systems that oppress, dominate, and harm, treating human beings as cogs in a machine, or worse, as animals, vermin, only worthy when they are useful. And such systems transcend place and time—here and now, there and then, they were and are active. No wonder the concept of “demons” is so strong in scripture. When faced with these kinds of intractable problems, we can understand why people would attribute them to supernatural forces…

Image: Friesach, Konrad von. Jesus Casts Out the Unclean Spirit, the Cathedral of Gurk, Carinthia, Austria, ca. 1450. from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56402 [retrieved January 6, 2024]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fastentuch_Gurker_Dom_Daemonenaustreibung_30032007.jpg.

… So, my first question was: Why did these men leave all those things, all those people, and do it so easily, almost cavalierly, carelessly? That’s what it looks like in our passage. It looks like, a stranger walked up to these men, said, “Follow me, and I’ll show you how to fish for people,” and they all said, YEAH! And jumped up and went.

And my second question was, how is it possible to leave all these, and be ok? How is it possible to do it without resentment, without regret? Isn’t it hard? Isn’t it heartbreaking?

Then, I went to Bible Study, and there, as it so often happens, the members of that group set me on the right path. Sometimes, God provides exactly what you need, exactly when you need it…

Image: Tissot, James, 1836-1902. Calling of Saint James and Saint John, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56290 [retrieved January 20, 2024]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Calling_of_Saint_James_and_Saint_John_(Vocation_de_Saint_Jacques_et_de_Saint_Jean)_-_James_Tissot_-_overall.jpg.

…This is a strange story, but it has a ring of truth about it…one of the things I treasure in scripture is that it tells us everything, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Though this story has come down through thousands of years, and its situation is unlikely to closely resemble any scenario we might experience in this year of our Lord 2024, there are still points of contact. I believe this story teaches us at least five things about hearing and receiving God’s call.

God might call upon us before we seem or feel ready.

Samuel is a child, perhaps as young as 5 years old. His mother is still making him little robes each year, because he hasn’t yet grown into the robes they keep around the temple. And yet Samuel is the vessel God chooses to receive this divine proclamation….

This week, I read the following story. (It was shared by Dr. Alicia Vargas, dean of a seminary.):

The town in which I live has one main boulevard that runs east to west through the entire town. For most of this route of maybe two miles, there are “NO U-TURN” signs posted at each cross street. Having … been puzzled by this for a long time, I finally got the explanation from a local who had lived there many years. It is designed to prevent young people from cruising—in other words, driving and circling back and forth up and down the boulevard—so that the road became virtually undrivable for many hours each weekend evening.

Then one day, I had a vision: there were workers taking down all the NO U-TURN signs and getting rid of them. Instead, at each cross street they had posted “U-TURNS OK” signs.

U-turns OK—no, in fact, strongly encouraged.[i]

This is a good summary of what is going on in the preaching of John the Baptist, whose ministry is so appealing to Jesus, Jesus joins the crowds from all over Judea, wades into the water, and experiences something that surprises us 21st century Christians. John is inviting everyone, everywhere to come to be washed, as a sign of their repentance—and a U-turn is as good a metaphor for repentance as any I’ve heard. ..

[i] Alicia Vargas, “Commentary on Mark 1:4-11,” Baptism of Christ (Year B), Working Preacher Website, January 7, 2024. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/baptism-of-our-lord-2/commentary-on-mark-14-11-5.  

Image: Zelenka, Dave. Baptism of Christ (painting, 2005), from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56385 [retrieved January 6, 2024]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baptism-of-Christ.jpg.

… I was reading our passage from 1 John this week. It is a beautiful passage—filled with comforting words of reassurance. “See what love the Father has given us,” the author writes, “that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are.” There is no question that our faith in the God of Jesus Christ is a gift, one through which we are blessed every day. To be children of so loving a parent, to be followers of the image of God on earth, is a tremendous blessing. To be privileged to call God father, or mother, or Beloved, suggests an intimacy in our relationship with the Divine that breaks the mold of religions in the ancient world, in which gods were unpredictable tyrants who needed to be flattered with offerings, so that they didn’t crush you.

But in the next verse, the author says something curious: “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be, has not yet been revealed….”

Image: Cross, Henri Edmond, 1856-1910. Landscape with Stars, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57008 [retrieved October 25, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Landscape_with_Stars_MET_DT736.jpg.

…It’s important for us to understand how the generations that came before have shaped us, and that goes beyond our literal DNA. I have no doubt that the parents I knew and loved, who raised me, had a profound impact on who I am today. The same is true of the churches that formed throughout the years—the spiritual DNA they carried in them.

What’s the spiritual DNA of Union Presbyterian Church? I think we see living examples of it all around us…

Image: UPC Tree of Life by Susie Chadwick and the congregation; sanctuary cross.

… Some stories are like that: so familiar, we can just about recite them word for word, filling in the blanks if necessary. I remembered that episode this week as I was pondering the very famous, very well-known story we’re reading together today. This is such a well-known story that I knew the “punch line” to it long before I’d ever heard it in the context of worship. “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.” (KJV)

How do we hear a story like this anew? How do we slow ourselves down from inserting all the answers and interpretations we already know as if we’re Rory, just waiting for it to be over? It’s not easy. But I think we can do it….

Image: Roman Coin of Caesar Augustus, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=59709 [retrieved September 15, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aureus,_Auguste,_Lyon,_btv1b104440369.jpg.