The Message from Sunday, February 13, 2021
Scripture Readings:
Story For All Ages
“Trust in the Lord”
This morning, I would like to share with you a prayer from Thomas Merton who was an American Trappist monk. He was a writer, a theologian, a mystic, a poet and a social activist. [1] Ordained in 1949, he spent much time in the East opening dialogue with prominent spiritual leaders of other faiths including the Dalai Lama, and with Buddhist and Vietnamese monks. [2] He explored and wrote books about how Christianity relates to Eastern religions. [3] He died in 1968, near Bangkok, Thailand, but his wisdom, insight and inspiration lives on through his writings. [4]
His prayer that I would like to share is based upon Jeremiah 17:7, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this, You will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore, will I trust You always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.
From this prayer we see that the Lord is ever with us, through the paths of this life, through whatever perils we will face. And while there are no certainties of what our future holds or when our lives will come to an end, we can be assured that Christ will never leave us, and we will not be lost in the shadow of death for in Christ we have the promise of eternal life with Him.
Today’s Old Testament reading encourages us to put our trust in the Lord, in God alone. Yet there are some, who choose to turn their hearts away from the Lord.
They choose to place their trust in themselves or in others who are of mere flesh or blood. And what will they prosper in the end? “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” Amen.
[1] Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/Thomsa_Merton
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
The Message
The Question of ... What If
Would you pray with me: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. Amen.
There comes a time in life when every person will suffer the loss of a loved one: a family member, a friend, or a partner. When a death occurs, everything is changed. We become painfully aware that life as we knew it will never be the same again. We grieve the loss of the one we hold dear, treasuring the relationship we once shared, and remembering them always in our heart. Their loss can never be replaced. It leaves a hole that will never be filled, no matter how much time passes, or who new comes into our lives. And their death reminds us of our own mortality. For we are finite beings. We are born, we live, and someday we will all die.
This is not a pleasant thought. And it may not be a subject that many like to think about or talk about. Yet death is part of this natural world in which we live. Ecclesiastes tells us “All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.” [1] Yet the death of our physical body is not the end. Those “who trust in the Lord, whose confidence is in him” [2] will never die.
Those “who have fallen asleep in Christ,” [3] believing in Christ are not lost to the dust of the earth.
In today’s Epistle reading from Paul to the Church in Corinth, he brings the Good News of Jesus Christ and addresses the argument of some who “say that there is no resurrection of the dead.” [4] Now this argument presented in today’s Epistle reading can and has been debated by biblical scholars regarding what is being said, and it may also puzzle us. We may ask why would Christians not believe in the resurrection? Did those who “say that there is no resurrection of the dead” [5] deny the resurrection of our Lord? Or did they not believe that we too would be resurrected?
While answers to these questions are not clear from this passage, we can conclude from Paul’s argument, that if Christ was not raised from the dead, then what is the point of preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. What hope would we have? Our “faith” would be futile. [6] We would still be bound by sin and death. And Jesus would have died for nothing.
But Paul assures us that Jesus “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.” [7] And how do we know this? How can we have confidence in this? There is evidence throughout Scripture proving that Jesus died and was resurrected. Many witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus. After his death, he was taken down from the cross and buried, laid to rest in a “new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.” [8] But the grave could not hold him. And on the third day he was raised from the dead.
Our resurrected Lord was first seen by Mary Magdalene who had gone to the tomb, who then “went to the disciples with the news,” “I have seen the Lord!” [9] He appeared to his disciples when Thomas was not with them. And his disciples told Thomas “We have seen the Lord!” But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” And again, the Lord appeared, to his disciples, and this time Thomas was there. Scripture tells us that more than five-hundred people saw Jesus alive after His death and resurrection. [10] And most were still alive at the time when Paul is preaching this message to the Church in Corinth, “though some had fallen asleep” [11] – having passed from this earthly world.
So why is it important that Jesus was seen by so many? Jewish law required the witness of two or three to establish the truth. And in any court, this number of witnesses who saw Jesus after his death and resurrection would have far exceeded what was required by law to establish the truth. Yes, indeed Christ is Risen, and He lives today. But how can we be sure that we too will be raised? Let us turn to Matthew chapter 27, verses 51-53 in our pew Bibles to the moment when Jesus died:
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split
52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.
53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.[12]
Our Risen Christ has changed everything. Life will never be the same again. For “Christ is the mediator of a new covenant.” [13] His death and resurrection have set us free “from the sins committed under the first covenant.” [14] His death and resurrection have set us free from the bonds on death. We who are called, whose trust is in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him will never die for we have received “the promise of eternal inheritance.” [15] And someday we will all meet again at Jesus feet. We will be reunited with Christ and with one another. Let our hearts be filled with joy as we hold onto this promise. For in death there is life. And through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we will begin life a new, in resurrected bodies to spend all of eternity with our Lord.
Would you pray with me: Lord Jesus, give us strength to trust in you alone, help us to place our, confidence firmly in you. Amen.
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