BIBLE READINGS 1
Corinthians 13: 1-13
SERMON
Who owns the messiah? It sounds like a silly question. But think
about it for a moment. Who has rights to the power that he brings.
Who can call upon the mercy that he offers. Who owns
the mineral rights to the spiritual riches Jesus has.
It is a very important question. Jesus is a veritable gold mine of
spiritual riches. He said he came to bring good news to the poor. Good news for
the poor is hard to come by. It is a commodity that should go for a good price.
He came to bring release to captives. People who are oppressed want release.
They will often pay a high price for freedom. Recovery of sight for the blind.
In this room there is easily over five thousand dollars
worth of corrective lenses. Imagine what the blind will give for sight.
"Who owns the Messiah?" It's an important question. It
is at the heart of the Gospel. It determines who is in and who is out of the
Kingdom. It defines who is blessed and who is cursed. Who, after all, owns the
Messiah?
The people of Jesus' hometown thought that if he was the Messiah,
they had first rights to him. They knew how valuable the Messiah was. Jesus
told them that morning that the prophecy of the Messiah had come true in him.
And they said his words were gracious. What a nice thing for him to say that
God would send the Messiah to us. I can just see the sign to be erected at the
edge of town: "Nazareth City: hometown of God's Messiah."
Oh of course they were a little sceptical. After all they all
remembered Jesus as a boy. He was the son of that carpenter. Oh, what is his
name: Jonathan? Uh, Joseph yes! He's Joseph's son. They had heard what he had
done in Capernaum, healing and teaching and stuff. They probably thought to
themselves, "You know those Capernians. They are
always exaggerating. He probably helped some old man with arthritis
and they all thought he could make the lame walk." But remember they also
knew the benefits if he was the Messiah.
Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said, "I'll bet you
want me to do the same things here that I did in Capernaum. You want me to
prove myself to you. And you want me to bless you and no one else. What does
the Bible say. During a drought in Israel God sent
Elijah to a Gentile widow to bless her. And when there were many lepers in
Israel God sent Elisha to a Gentile to heal him." They got the point even
if we don't. Jesus was saying that God sent him to bless all who would accept
him. Not just other Jewish towns like Capernaum and Nazareth, but even
Gentiles. That was more than enough. "What! God send the Messiah for
Gentiles? That was too much. It's bad enough that he won't stay at home now he
won't even stick with his own kind." They were so mad that they tried to
kill him rather than have him take God's blessing to the Gentiles.
Jesus got away that day. The Bible says that he just walked
through the midst of the crowd and walked away. But Jesus' words eventually caught
up with him. You see the religious leaders in Jerusalem thought they owned the
Messiah too. And when they couldn't control Jesus they
lost their patience. If they couldn't own Jesus, then nobody could.
So they surrounded him with a
crowd of soldiers. Jesus could have walked away again, but this time he chose
not to. They nailed him to a cross and he still offered God's blessings to
anyone who would accept them. On a cross next to him, a thief asked for
forgiveness and he gave him salvation. A sinner - a thief – some think a
terrorist, and Jesus gave him a place in paradise.
And if forgiving thieves wasn't enough he
continued to bless Gentiles. While the Roman soldiers were gambling for his
clothes, you know what he said? He said, "Father, forgive them for they
don't know what they are doing." Can you imagine the nerve of him to ask
God to forgive even Romans.
Who owns the Messiah? On TV there was a true story of a father
whose son had been murdered. The murderer was sentenced to death (in the USA) and
the father did all that he could to witness the execution. He wanted to see his
son's murderer die with his own eyes. He took the opportunity given him so that
he could be in the witness booth at the execution.
The father got to see his son's murderer die, but he wasn’t
satisfied. The reporter interviewing him asked him why he was not satisfied.
You see the killer with his last words should deep remorse and called on God on
the victim's family for forgiveness. He turned his life over to God an sought God’s
grace.The father was
disturbed because he didn't think it was right that his son's killer should go
to heaven.
Nobody owns Jesus, and everybody does. You might be thinking to
yourself - "You can't have it both ways Martin." Yes
I can, because the Bible says so. No one has exclusive rights to Jesus because
he died for the sins of the world. We can all share in his grace and mercy.
Christ's grace is offered to all. That is what Christianity is all
about. Jesus gave his life for the sins of the world. Jesus didn't do it just
for his disciples. He died so that anyone, even convicted murderers and
criminals, could be saved. And Jesus didn't give his life just so that Jews
could see God. He died so that even a Roman Centurion could say, "He is
surely the Son of God."
Jesus died for all. That is why we in the Uniting Church practice
an open communion, and try to welcome everyone. Anyone
could walk through that door and they would be welcome at this table. It
doesn't matter who they are or what they have done. The only thing that matters
is that they are loved by God. Wesley believed rightly that the sacrament of
Holy Communion was evangelical. If you love the Lord a little and would like to
love him more - this is the place for you.
Come, for Christ has provided the bread of life for all at his
table. come and receive with thanksgiving.
Acknowledgement: Rev Alex Stevenson