Un-expectation of Hope

Un-expectations of Hope
Over the past 6 weeks, we’ve been in the season of Lent in the church…The season when we are preparing for Easter…Lent is a time of prayer, meditation, and self-reflection…It’s a season where we are in preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus…In that season of preparation, we look at ways that we can remove the things in our life that keep us from fully celebrating the resurrection of Jesus…Those things that are a stumbling block in our relationship with God—those places in our lives that have become too full, too busy, too overwhelmed with ourselves to spend quality time with God…Lent is an opportunity to examine those places and put the focus back on God.
During our season of Lent, our sermon series and Lenten study have been using the book by Rev. Paul Nixon, I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church. Through the series, Rev. Nixon has set forth 6 critical choices that need to be made…These 6 choices have been…Choosing life over death, choosing community over isolation, choosing fun over drudgery, choosing bold over mild, choosing frontier over fortress, choosing now over later…each of these choices are difficult on some level, but are important for each individual and each church to make…These choices have been ways for us as individuals, and as members of God’s church to examine those places where we have been too full, too busy, too overwhelmed with ourselves to focus on what it is that God is calling to us…
With all of this talk of self examination and reflection, it could be easy to think of Lent as something awful…But taking these times to examine is important…It’s when we can remember who we are and whose we are…Throughout these times of self-examination there are bound to be things that come up that no one could have ever thought of…Feelings, emotions, events that arise that no one could anticipate…
Over a year and a half ago, I told you about a word that I made up… Un-expectations…Those times when you have an idea of what is going to happen and it turns out opposite or something that you didn’t even think of, happens…It’s a moment of unexpected surprise or un-expectation…And these moments can turn out great or they can be a little nerve-wracking…They catch you off guard…
Jesus’ whole life was about un-expectations…Jesus constantly did thigns that were unexpected…He spoke out against injustices…He challenged the social norms of the day…He encouraged people in their faith…He taught that we should love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and love our neighbors as we love ourselves…He healed…He performed miracles…While Jesus’ messages were filled with hope and love, they were anything but expected…It was those messages that got Jesus attention from all people…There were people who were filled with hope because of his messages and there were people who were threatened by his messages. The un-expectations can be seen and heard throughout Jesus’ life, and especially during the last week of Jesus’ life, when we celebrate Holy Week with Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Mornign…
Our Holy Week journey started on Sunday with Palm Sunday—Jesus entered Jerusalem for the Passover festival to a celebration with people waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna!” Things would change dramatically for Jesus…As we remember Jesus’ last supper with his disciples on Maundy Thursday, Jesus is aware of what is going to happen as he washes his disciples’ feet to the un-expectation of the disciples and breaks bread and shares the cup with them…As Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane and is betrayed by Judas and arrested…As we remember on Good Friday Jesus’ trial, beatings, and crucifixion…A life full of un-expectations…One of the things that we learn quickly about Jesus is that with him, you have to learn to expect the unexpected! And although we can say that, we say that knowing the whole story…
The disciples and followers of Jesus didn’t have the luxury of knowing the whole story…Although Jesus had told them over and over what was going to happen—that he would die and rise again…He had shared with them that he was going to be betrayed and killed, but that he would come back again…It wasn’t something that Jesus mentioned in passing once or twice, he told the disciples many times what was going to happen…But they didn’t want to believe that was possible—how could this person that they had grown to love, respect, and follow—someone that they thought to be the Messiah really die?? Although it should have been expected, the disciples truly didn’t expect Jesus’ death to be real…Jesus’ death for them was an un-expectation…
Can you put yourself in the disciples’ shoes? Because we’re often so hard on the disciples because they should have “gotten it”…They should have understood what Jesus was talking about because they had spent so much time with him teaching them and talking with them…But think about yourself for a minute…In Jesus’ last moments—where would you have been? Would you have been standing by his side or would you have fled to avoid arrest like the disciples? Would you have remembered Jesus’ teachings or would you have gotten lost in your own emotions and fears? And not just in those last moments with Jesus…Do you remember Jesus’ teachings today or do you get lost in your own emotions and fears? The disciples aren’t the only ones who have a hard time with what Jesus was telling them to do…We still have that difficulty today…Do we live our life in un-expectation or do we try and make sure everything is all together?
The disciples scattered when Jesus was arrested…Some watched from a distance, some fled entirely…At some point they all must have gathered together to share in what had just happened…We know that they were together the morning after the Sabbath…As they gathered together, did they recount all the moments in their time with Jesus that they had experienced those moments of un-expectation…Where they had watched Jesus teach, preach, and share…How they had each experienced those thigns with Jesus…The last days and hours of Jesus’ life…Did they recount those times with tears, laughter, or another emotion?
Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb at dawn to anoint Jesus’ body with spices and oils. She wouldn’t have been able to do it earlier because Jesus died on a Friday just before sundown. The Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday at sundown and is over on Saturday just after sundown. The Sabbath is a day of rest—there were and still are specific rules about what can and cannot be done on the Sabbath. There were rules about how many steps you could take and still be considered observing the Sabbath. Observing the Sabbath was part of their religious observances and part of their law. Mary and the rest of Jesus’ followers being Jews themselves, would have observed the Sabbath strictly…
After the Sabbath, Mary goes to the tomb at dawn to anoint Jesus’ body for burial…She knew what she should expect—she saw where Jesus’ body had been laid and had seen the stone rolled in front of the tomb…She expects to see that stone, the guard, and the body of her Lord laying in the tomb…And as she approaches the place where she has seen her Lord’s body being laid, there have to be a number of emotions going, but all knowing what she is going to encounter at the tomb…
As she approaches the entry of the tombs, she receives a surprise as the stone is rolled away from the tomb. She ran to get the other disciples, thinking that someone has taken his body…As the disciples investigate and find that yes, Jesus’ body truly is gone, they have forgotten what Jesus said would happen and they simply return home. Mary stays outside of the tomb, weeping…Not only does she believe that her Lord is dead, but she thinks his body has been taken…
Mary sees two angels sitting in the tomb where Jesus’ body was laid…She speaks with them and wants to find Jesus’ body…As she turns around she runs into who she assumes to be the gardener…She asks him also where the body of Jesus is, not recognizing that he is in fact Jesus…As a matter of fact, she doesn’t recognize that he is her Lord until he speaks her name… “Mary”…
Jesus broke the silence…The silence that he had kept when he breathed his last to when he said Mary’s name…That silence can be deafening…That silence can overwhelm us at times…But that’s not all that there is…It’s not all just silence…Where are the moments in our life that Jesus calls our name? Those un-expected moments when we think we know what’s happening and Jesus calls our name? Where have you encountered Jesus? Where have you seen the resurrected Christ?
Two years ago, I was in seminary, getting ready to graduate and waiting for a phone call about where I would be appointed in the United Methodist Church…I took on more than I should have my last year at United Theological Seminary…I was working 3 jobs, organizing student activities for the campus, serving as an associate pastor, taking double the full time credits, serving the church on a national level, preparing to graduate and on top of that, I had volunteered to lead a Bible study on a college campus in Cincinnati…I know, I was crazy! About a month before the semester was going to end, I was getting very crabby…I had long past my breaking point and was working on about the third one! Thursdays were particularly difficult because I had a class that started at 8 am, which meant that I needed to leave my house by at least 7…Then, I was either working, studying, or in class from 8 am until 7 pm. After that, I would grab something quick for dinner and head down to the college to lead the Bible study. One Thursday I was just not in the mood to go, but it was too late to call anyone to cancel and it would have been irresponsible to just not show up…So, I grabbed something quick to eat and turned up my angry music in the car and drove the hour and a half down to Cincinnati—all the while whining and complaining and screaming my angry music! When I got to the college, I tried to put on a happy face, but it wasn’t my best attempt and quite frankly, I wanted everyone to know that I wasn’t happy…So, I sit down in the room where we have Bible study—cranky and crabby and in no position to lead a prayerful discussion on anything, let alone Scripture! When Erin walks in…Now, Erin and I were at odds a lot of the time—sometimes it was on theology, sometimes it was about nothing at all…Erin sometimes had a hard time communicating herself and often came out sounding judgemental, harsh, rude, or just awkward…In my crabby state, she was really the last person that I wanted to see come! I tried to make small talk and pretend like everything was okay, but I’m sure she could see right through everything…We made small talk for about 30 awkward minutes and we both came to the realization that it would just be she and I tonight…In my head, I’m screaming and so angry that I just drove an hour and a half and here I have to sit with a person that I really just don’t want to be in the room with…I tried to take a couple deep breaths and figure out what to do with our time when I continued to make small talk with Erin…Kind of half paying attention, I asked her how classes were going…. “Oh, okay…” she said… “Well, not really okay…I don’t think I’m going to pass this class and I have spent hours studying and preparing for it…I’m so tired of studying, but I can’t break away because I really need to pass…” With that, Erin started to cry…She looked at me with tears streaming down her face trying to hold back sobs… “Even if I wanted to break away from studying, I don’t really have any friends…No one wants to spend any time with me…All I want to do is get together with a group of friends and fly a kite or play a game…But, I can’t…” As Erin cried and apologized for her outburst, my heart broke…I met Jesus in an unexpected place…In my own emotions and stresses, I almost missed this opportunity to interact with the risen Christ…I heard Jesus say my name…I handed Erin a box of Kleenex and asked her, “How can I best minister to you today?” She wiped her eyes and sniffled, then a smile crossed her lips… “Do you want to play Scrabble?” Erin and I didn’t open the Bible that night, but it was one of the most spiritual experiences that I have had…I met the risen Christ in one of the most unexpected places…The most unexpected place to see Jesus was where I saw Jesus …In the un-expectation, I heard Jesus call my name…I saw the resurrected Christ…
In between Jesus’ death and resurrection, much had changed…Not just that Jesus had been resurrected…But the whole universe had been changed…The whole universe has changed and will never be the same…Through Jesus’ resurrection, the universe was turned upside-down… Resurrection is new life; the reality of a new creation. We can see glimpses of the power resurrection in creation as the plants that seemed to die in the winter show new life in the spring. The power of the resurrection makes us into a new creation as we die to ourselves and rise in Christ. Jesus’ death isn’t about the devesation…It’s about the hope…
Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are no longer able to be defeated by death. Within the resurrection of Jesus, we have hope in eternal life. In John 3:16 it is written “God so loved the whole world that God sent Jesus Christ, God’s only son, so that whoever believes in Jesus will not perish, but have everlasting life.” That’s the hope that we have in Jesus Christ! Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we have the promise of eternal life. It begins when we live into our resurrection. Eternal life is a present and future reality as it is God’s future and not solely our own. It’s an un-expectation of hope!
Where Jesus’ life had been a series of reversals…On Easter morning the ultimate reversal happened. Jesus defeated death and rose again. What was once dead, was now and forevermore alive.
What was un-expected became the reality…The silence was shattered with shouts of joy, with cries of amazement…With shouts that Christ has risen! Christ has risen in deed!