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The Third Sunday In Lent
Almighty God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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The Third Sunday In Lent
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Scripture citation(s): John 2:13-22; I Corinthians 1:18-25
A Sermon by
The Rev. Canon Carl Turner
on
John 2:13-22; I Corinthians 1:18-25
✛
A Sign of Contradiction
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Last week my son, who is now in his early 20’s suddenly needed to talk to me.
“Is it important?” I texted.
“Yes!” came the reply.
The wonders of Facetime meant that we could talk quickly.
“What’s up?” I said (wondering if it was about finances or his relationships).
“It’s about walking on water!” he replied, “I am finding it hard to believe it. After all, if I tried to, I would sink!”
“Ah!” I said, “But Jesus wasn’t just like you or me he was also God – so he could do that kind of thing!”
“Okay but, what about all those miracles?” (He can be like a dog with a bone). “If I made mud out of my spit and put it on a blind person’s eyes they wouldn’t be able to see now would they?”
“No,” I said, “Probably not, they would just have a dirty face! It’s not so much what miracles we can do – it’s about believing what Jesus did.”
“But how can I believe it, Dad if I wasn’t there?”
And that was a very poignant moment for a dad who is also a rector of a church dedicated to Saint Thomas who said exactly the same words as my son.
Antony’s questions are good ones – I am glad he has them and I am glad that he sees them as important to share them with me – his questions reveal to me that he is on a journey of faith. The doctrine class that I teach with David Daniel on Tuesdays is a very satisfying class to teach, not because we are imparting knowledge but rather, because we are grappling with questions.
In our Gospel reading, Jesus shocks everyone with his actions and then speaks of his death and resurrection by using the analogy of his own body as the Temple – so we cannot miss it, the author of the Fourth Gospel spells it out. Those in the Jerusalem Temple who heard it mocked him because it sounded ridiculous – they couldn’t believe it!
This was, of course, not the first time that Jesus had uttered, apparently, contradictory statements. Nicodemus said to him “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4) Another time the crowd disputed with him, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (John 6:52) The scribes and the Pharisees questioned him, “Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:21) And, of course, in his own home town of Nazareth, those who knew him the best could not believe in him: “Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? Is not this the carpenter’s son?” (Matthew 13:54-55)
Jesus seems to be regularly a sign of contradiction to others and, my friends, he remains a sign of contradiction to this day.
St Paul knew about this kind of contradiction. He describes the very same dilemma in his first letter to the Corinthians: “The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
The Corinthian Church was a vibrant community of faith but riddled with division and its own contradictions. The Corinthian Church struggled with social class and status and this entered into the heart of their fellowship, causing disruption and bitterness – even at the Lord’s Supper, where some people ate before others, presumably because they were higher class, while others were hungry and some even got drunk! (See 11:17)
Earlier in the Chapter from which we just heard, Paul makes this all very real and personal when he talks about ‘Chloe’s people’ who have written to Paul to tell him about quarrelling in the church. And that quarrelling was all centred on status: who belonged to Paul, or Apollos, or Peter, or Christ himself? Paul is exasperated and says that “Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.” (1:17)
And that takes us to the heart of the matter; in the eyes of the world, it all seems quite ridiculous and unbelievable; this foolishness of the cross that Paul keeps repeating. Why would God come down from heaven in the person of Jesus Christ and allow himself to be shamefully treated, scourged, mocked, whipped, crucified, killed and buried? Because, as Paul reminded the Corinthian Church, “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” (v.25)
As the late second, early third century theologian Tertullian famously said, “It is certain because it is impossible!”
My friends, we are preparing for the celebration of Holy Week when we will proclaim Christ Crucified and his Resurrection from the dead. And it will be a contradiction to the world and all the world still holds as dear; the same contradiction that the people of Corinth found, and the people of New York will still find.
So, how do I get my son to understand and believe in the power of the cross and the hope of the resurrection? How can this celebration of Holy Week make a difference to his life? Only if it makes a difference to my life. By ensuring that I think carefully about my own status, my own use of power, and my craving for worldly ambition or affirmation – whether I live my life only by what the world counts as important; Jesus has set us an example. This year I have asked those attending the Doctrine Class if they will have their feet washed on Maundy Thursday. At the foot-washing we will hear these words: “Come remembering the admonition of Christ that what will be done for you is to be done by you to others.”
If God were to follow what the world sees as reasonable, he would use his power to assert control. Instead, the example of our God is one of humble service for he girded himself with a towel and washed the dirt off sinners’ feet. It sounds impossible; the world still sees it as foolishness; but to us it is a sign of the lavishness of God’s love for us.
Let me share with you a prayer that I have always loved, and my parishioners in an earlier parish liked to use at the end of mass:
Those who work for change suffer resistance
– So make us strong.
Those who do new things sometimes feel afraid.
– So make us brave.
Those who challenge the world as it is arouse anger.
– So grant us inner peace.
Those who live joyfully are envied.
– So make us generous.
Those who try to love encounter hate.
– So make us steadfast in you.
Amen.
