Sermons for the Month
DATE: April 5, 1998
SERVICE: Passion Sunday
TEXT: Isaiah 50:4-9a
Sermons for the Month
"(Don't Just) Hang in There"
DATE: April 5, 1998
SERVICE: Passion Sunday
TEXT: Isaiah 50:4-9a
"To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
We've all seen it. That too-cute poster of a clinging kitten, hind feet dangling in the air, its front paws dug in frantically, keeping the kitty chin-upping somewhere above the ground. Underneath the picture of this panicked pussycat is the admonition, "Hang In There" Come 7:00 a.m. Friday morning, this is the kind of visual message we're told we need to encourage us to stick it out for just one more day until the freedom of the weekend. But there are two strange facets of this picture of a cliff-hanging cat that I would like you to note. First, why does this picture evoke from us a grin, a chuckle, when we look at it? Surely, we aren't all abusive cat-haters, pleased at the distresses of any and all frantic felines. No, we smile for the same reason we laugh at slapstick comedy. Our laughter is a burst of relief that, at least for the time being, the one about to fall flat isn't us. We sympathize. We even empathize. But we also heave a great sigh of thanks that we are not the one caught just barely hanging on. The second mystery of this poster is that we seem to assume that some rescue awaits that kitten ... if only it can just "hang in there" long enough. But in all the versions of this portrait I have seen, the viewer can't see beyond a few inches below the kitten's toes. We can't tell if she is afraid to let go and drop three inches to a grassy lawn -- or if she is dangling above the open jaws of a snarling pit bull or the whizzing traffic of a four-lane highway. We assume a happy ending or a safe landing for the kitten. Otherwise, the encouragement to "hang in there" wouldn't make any sense. Most of our "hanging in there" life episodes can be weathered by just "hanging in there." A frustrating week of work is usually followed by the weekend. A sniping, snarling car trip with the kids will eventually come to an end. Head colds do finally loosen their grip and go away. Even tedious, do-nothing meetings inevitably adjourn. Sometimes "hanging in there" is all that is required. But there are other situations in our lives that call us to do much, much more than simply dangle our way through disasters. When your Titanic is sinking, you can't just "hang in there." You've got to get moving, break out the life rafts, and start rowing for all your are worth. When you or your child or your spouse succumbs to an addiction -- to drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling -- is the solution merely to "Hang In There!"? Of course not. Addictions dictate life-choices about relishings and relinquishings. Addicts have to admit their abuse, seek help, confront and redirect their cravings, and re-build their self-image. Those are actions, not just "hanging in theres." When your neighborhood starts to change for the worse, is the solution merely to "Hang In There!"? If drug dealers encroach on the street corners and on the fringes of the schoolyards; if there are no parks or playgrounds for the children; if there is more trash than there are flower beds lining the curbs; if going out for a stroll down the block has become something you hesitate to do -- "hanging in there" is the worst thing you can do. Neighbors have to organize their outreach, petition for more police presence, combine resolve with rolled-up sleeves, and build a place for children, create more green space, plant a tree, pick up litter, develop or renew their sense of pride in their homes and in themselves. These are all actions, not "hanging in there." When corporate policies begin to steamroll over employees, do you just "Hang in There!"? It is not "good business" or good discipleship to "hang in there" while racism, or sexism or ageism sculpts the face of your office. It is not "good business" or good discipleship to "hang in there" while overseeing attitudes and practices that cause environmental destruction or continued social injustices. You've got to risk speaking out, work toward new solutions, think new ways, and entertain new possibilities. These are actions, not just "hanging in theres." For centuries, the church approached each Palm Sunday as a kind of "parade day." After all, didn't Jesus mount a young colt and parade into Jerusalem before an enthusiastic crowd? A parade is a pretty good example of a "hang-in-there" picture. The cheering crowd that first Palm Sunday did not have to move or change its position to watch the Jesus parade. The onlookers only had to stay in one place while the parade passed by in front of them. Eventually they saw the whole procession without ever having to move or do anything. They too were betting that everything would come out pretty safe in the end. Come to think about it, those in a parade were "hanging in there" too and not just "hanging in there but "hanging out there" too. They were hanging out on a prescribed path, hanging out at a proscribed pace, hanging out until they could leave safely without ever getting involved. No surprises. No one gets lost. Just hanging out and hanging in until the end. Until someone says, "Its all finished. You can go home now." On the other hand, Jesus wasn't merely hanging out there or hanging in either there as he rode into Jerusalem that day. He knew he was walking into a deadly trap. Jesus knew what awaited him in Jerusalem—and it had little to do with a ticker-tape parade. He knew the branches that were being strewn across his path as he entered the city would soon become the branches that would cut into the bare flesh of his back. For Jesus, what we now call Holy Week wasn't something He merely had to passively endured, knowing that if he could just "hung in there" he would be rescued by a kindly old grandfather type God on Easter morning. Jesus knew on Palm Sunday we was about face evil incarnate—and that meant having to do more than just" hang in there." The kind of action that Jesus took the last week of his life stuns us still. Jesus went far beyond merely "hanging in there." Instead of capitalizing on his popularity and brandishing a zealot's sword, Jesus embodied the action of Isaiah's Suffering Servant. When accused, the Isaiah's Suffering Servant does not fight, flee or even mount a defense. Isaiah's Suffering Servant of God instead offers himself up to the angry abuse of others. In fact, in today's text, the servant willingly gives his abusers three separate targets: his back, his cheek and his face. 1) His Back: "I gave my back to those who struck me" (Isaiah 50:6a). By offering his back to his accusers, the Servant refuses to take any opportunity to strike back, to defend himself. His back takes whatever abuse is dished out. To give one's back is not to back away, but to "stay in there" and "stand in there." Giving someone your back demonstrates a determination to remain vulnerable, to maintain a posture that makes defensive retaliation impossible. Ironically, it is by turning his back or backing into the problem that Jesus was able to move God's purpose of salvation forward. 2) His Cheek: I gave "my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard" (50:6b). By turning his cheek—the painful, emasculating process of having one's beard pulled out—the Suffering Servant of Isaiah not only appears vulnerable but even seems to be "asking for it." No one voluntarily turning his other cheek and taking such abuse is just "hanging in there." Repeated "in-your-face" abuse like Jesus suffered could only be endured by a strategy for mission and ministry that is determinedly action oriented. It took the most creative, imaginative, energetic, adrenalin-pumping kind of faith imaginable to enable Jesus, the Suffering Servant, to stand bare faced before his enemies, to risk everything in this encounter with Jerusalem. 3) His Face: "I did not hide my face from insult and spitting" (50:6c). By setting his full face for the ultimate degradation of hurled spit and slander, the Isaiah's Suffering Servant found a strength that transformed his very countenance. The Servant didn't simply "hang in there" with a drooping, hangdog appearance. Jesus was able to "smile in there" and to "pray in there." Jesus' faith enabled him to set his face "like flint." Assured of God's purpose and continual presence, the Servant is not disgraced, no matter how disgraceful the treatment. Jesus embodied the Servant's confidence and courage when he first "set his face toward Jerusalem." The flint-like set of the Servant's face became the steely determination of Jesus to see his mission through to the very end. The courage to face this conflict was set in a face-forward faith.
March 5, 1998, Dallas police arrested four youth on arson charges after fire destroyed the office and Fellowship Hall of Bethany Lutheran Church. The young men ranged in age from 16-20 years.
The vandalism had not stopped there. It had spread through the church's neighborhood. Cars were splashed with acid, and tires were slashed. Racial slurs and graffiti were painted on homes and an elementary school.
Brandon Lee Ramsey, one of the young men arrested for the fire, just ten days after his arrest this March 15 worshiped with the congregation whose church he had helped set on fire. "He expressed his deep regret for what happened and was embraced by many of Bethany's members," said Neila Petrick, the congregation's Outreach chairperson. Ramsey and several of his friends later helped move furniture and toys so the church's Early Childhood Development Center could re-open March 17.
Petrick said members of the congregation are even now meeting informally with the families of the young men. The congregation also hopes to invite everyone in the neighborhood touched by the damage to meet at the church to discuss the event.
"We're finding what good there is in this. It's brought the congregation closer together," said Petrick. Volunteers who have never done so before have gotten involved and done a lot of painting and clearing of debris. "I've been praying for greater visibility for my church. Petrick joked, and God said, 'Okay, are you sure?' As a result, there's been a tremendous outpouring from neighborhood churches and neighbors to extend offers of help to us. So, we have just been surrounded by love," she added..
Once upon a time Jesus once and for all literally "hung out" on a cross and died so we would not have to. Because of Jesus we can now "stay and stand in there; move and run in there; smile and pray in there" without fear." Because of Jesus we don't have to give in to the temptation that all we can do in the face of such tragedies as a church burning down or children shooting children is to just "hang in there." Because of Jesus we can give life our all—our back, our cheek, our face and know that God will give us thanks and salvation to all who believe. In the parade of life, none of us can really afford to be bystanders or parade-watchers. Many try. We all know that to be true. But at what price? What does it profit a person to gain the whole world but lose their soul, their value, their worth, their character. We are all on a life-journey that is filled with hazards and hardships, conflicts, contests and con artists. My friends, ours is not enough to just "hang in there," head down and teeth gritted, hoping we will somehow get through the tough times. Nor is ours to merely "hang out there" waiting for things to somehow change. The question, I guess I am leaving you now is what kind of person do you want to be? One who just "hangs in" or "hangs out" watching the parade go by or one who wishes to join with the Master of the parade to bring healing and salvation to a hurting world. The choice is ours.
AMEN