March 24, 2013 Palm Sunday
“Ride on, King Jesus!”\ Mark 11:1-11 By Bill Cotton revcottonhill@hotmail.com What can we make of his day? We will have palm branches to wave. We will sing “all glory laud and honor” and little children will hear the stories of Jesus. It’s a strange day, a prelude to things to come. My old teacher Fred Gealy said it best: “Although Jesus appears to be thwarted, rejected and defeated, he walks like a conqueror. He bears none of the gorgeous trappings of a king—only rags of royalty and a crown of thorns—yet everyone who reads the gospels knows that he is a king. Thus his entry into Jerusalem is indeed a triumphal entry. And somehow what he did and said 1900 years ago—offers blueprint for each of us to follow.” Paul Tillich taught that there is an element or potential for greatness in every person. The goal for humanity, common folk, and public figures is to seek their greatness-- not in the sense of boasting or looking for some religious pay off. One does not set out to become a great person. One simply develops a life of integrity---striving to do the right thing, have the right kind of relationships, regardless of the personal risk or cost. Tillich also speaks of the cost, reminding us that those who follow the path to greatness—who strive to do the right thing-- find themselves paying a great and sometimes ultimate price. One only has to look at our national heroes, who led without thought of cost, to understand what Tillich meant. These people endured pain, criticism, abuse, and often paid the ultimate price. But faithful people nonetheless must seek to do the right and just thing regardless of the cost. Persons who refuse to follow the path to greatness -- those who take no chances, color within the lines, give in and give-up -- settle for a life of smallness, and fall beneath tragedy. These days when public cynicism rules the day, the palm branch reminds us that there will be a triumphal entry only when each of us faces with integrity what is required of us. Now all of this is a bit heavy—What I am getting at can be summed up in the wisdom of Hattie Woeste, a kind lady who watched our children. She said, “I always tell the truth and then I don’t have to remember what I said.” And telling the truth means living the truth – integrity! --- Let us break Bread Together, Abingdon Press. Nashville, p. 56. Tillich, Paul, Systematic Theology, Vol. III, p.92-93, University of Chicago Press, 1964; 51-2235
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March 17 Sermon Preparation
5th Sunday in Lent March 17, 2013 Is. 43:16-21, Psalm 126, Philippians 3:4b-14, John 12:1-8 “The poor you have with you always” by Bill Cotton revcottonhill@hotmail.com The lessons for this Sunday do not fit the somber mood of Lent. I have thought for a long time that the church makes a grave error in Lent by its heavy focus on the “Old Rugged Cross”—Lent ought to be more than preparation for a funeral. This week Isaiah 43 tells us that the Lord is about to do a new thing. The people will find a way through the wilderness. Psalm 126 speaks of joy and laughter, obviously a reference to the great homecoming from exile--- they are bringing in the sheaves. Paul in Philippians reviews his past life before he met the Christ and calls it all rubbish—he presses on, his new life now full of hope. Then we come to the Gospel of John. Jesus is having a meal with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Seems like there has to always be a fly in the ointment—in this case, old Judas is grumbling because Mary spent all of that money on a pound of nard that could have been given to the poor. In rebuking Judas, Jesus gives us a new proverb—“the poor you have with you always.” I think the theme that I will use next Sunday is “newness”—a new way to think about the Lenten journey. On the bulletin board in the Lacona United Methodist Church, someone posted a thank you card with pictures of a group of small children who had all signed their names. The Lacona UM Women had given money to the school milk fund. It seems that a number of children do not have money to buy milk at school. They were drinking water. In Iowa of all places, the breadbasket of the world, kids’ parents cannot afford milk for their children. For me this really put a face on those words “the poor you have with you always,” and it certainly moves me away from simply singing hymns about “the old rugged cross.” Those United Methodist women do more than sing, and in their actions of resurrection and faith, newness becomes reality. It also helps me understand what the Quakers mean when they tell us to “preach every day, when necessary use words!” The Thursday Memo for Preachers
For Sunday March 3, 2013, 3rd Sunday in Lent Luke 13:1-9 “Trees and Fruit” by Bill Cotton revcottonhill@hotmail.com Have you noticed? Jesus expects a lot from fig trees. There was the time when he became impatient and cursed the tree that bore no fruit. (Remember he was on the way to do some temple cleansing). Another time he will speak of the ax being put to the roots of the tree. In the Luke parable for this week, he is ready to rid the garden of a tree that apparently is gold bricking--three years and no fruit. In this case the gardner begs for one more year--you know, just add some manure. Does it seem providential that this text in some form usually surfaces in the spring during the making of cabinet appointments? Is Jesus really talking about trees? Well it would be easy to moralize this text. After all, the bearing of fruit is important to Jesus too. But something else is happening here. With the announcing of the new Kingdom that is being revealed in Jesus, there is a struggle between the old and the new. Jesus is the sign of newness. He will speak of the problem of patching old garments and the need for new wine skins to replace the old, because the forms of the old world are passing away--- Jesus is the sign for newness. I think this is always the case. T.S. Eliot once wrote that the “Church must always be rebuilding because it is always decaying from within.”. All of this seems a bit heavy, so lets visit that tree one more time. In East Peru, Madison County, where I hang out, there is a wonderful story of a Quaker farmer who planted sixteen apple trees. One of the trees appeared to be different. So the farmer cut it down. But the tree came back from the roots so the farmer said, “If thou would live then live,” and he let the tree grow. One year it bore fruit-- our farmer said, “This is the most delicious apple I have ever tasted!” Later he will sell the grafting rights for enough money to pay off his farm, and the world has the Delicious Apple. The original tree died in a 1940 ice storm but again came back from the roots, and last year it again bore fruit. The old tree is no quitter. There is a sermon here somewhere--Go and bear some fruit... (A special thanks to Bill Steward for sharing his wisdom last month.) |
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