APRIL 30, 2006 PASTOR SCOTT FULLER
ACTS 3:12-19; PSALM 4; I JOHN 3:1-7; LUKE 24:36b-48
The Real Deal
Prepare our hearts, Lord, to receive your Word. Silence in us any voice but your own that in hearing we may believe and in believing we may obey your will revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear friends in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
One thing I really enjoyed as a kid was reading comic-books. I liked them all, from Archie and the Gang to The Incredible Hulk, but my favorites were those action figures who defended justice, truth and the American way. See if you can answer a few trivia questions about some of those heroes.
Which dispenser of justice would leave a robber all wrapped up in a sticky web? Spiderman. Which crime fighter, after defeating the bad guy, was known to cry out Hiyo Silver…away! The Lone Ranger. Which superhero was known to be Faster than a speeding bullet. Stronger than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Superman. And which conqueror of death proved himself by…eating a piece of fish?? Jesus’ demonstration just doesn’t have the same splashy effect, does it?
Yet that’s the kind of hype we look for in our heroes; it’s the kind of thrill we expect even in our news: the dramatic, the surprising, the life-threatening, in-breaking, mind-amazing events that get things stirred up. We prove over and over that we will not stomach celebrities whose star-power has slipped, nor will we tolerate news that does not titillate.
And lest you think that this problem is unique to modern times, remember what we heard about King Herod in our reading of the passion story during Holy Week. Says the Gospel writer Luke:
When King Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad –
he had been wanting to see him for a long time
because he had heard about him
and was hoping to see him perform some sign (23:9).
But Jesus refuses to answer…or…dance for the king – who finally gets frustrated and joins in punishing the Lord for his silence. The words from Herod’s song in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar say it all:
So, you are the Christ, you're the great Jesus Christ.
Prove to me that you're divine; change my water into wine.
That's all you need do, then I'll know it's all true.
Come on, King of the Jews.
Jesus, you just won't believe the hit you've made around here.
You are all we talk about, the wonder of the year.
Oh what a pity if it's all a lie.
Still, I'm sure that you can rock the cynics if you try.
So, you are the Christ, you're the great Jesus Christ.
Prove to me that you're no fool; walk across my swimming pool.
If you do that for me, then I'll let you go free.
Come on, King of the Jews.
I only ask what I'd ask any superstar.
What is it you’ve got that puts you where you are?
I am waiting, yes I'm a captive fan.
I'm dying to be shown that you’re not just any man.
Or has something gone wrong. Jesus, why take so long?
Oh come on, King of the Jews.
You're a joke. You're not the Lord.
You are nothing but a fraud.
Take him away.
He's got nothing to say!
Get out you King of the Jews!
Our world will not tolerate a pretender to the throne. It’s put up or shut up; play by our rules or we’ll make you pay. It’s a tendency that afflicts us all.
In today’s lesson about the events after the resurrection, we’re told about the disciples that Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45). Yet even here, a theologian was moved to ask Why didn’t Jesus open their minds at the beginning of his ministry? Why didn’t he help them believe from the start? Anyone have an answer?
Truth is, he tried to do just that. Three different times Jesus told his followers that he would suffer, be killed and rise again. The first time it happened, Peter jumped all over him for being such a nattering nabob of negativity (thank you, Spiro Agnew). Jesus responds, of course, with that infamous rebuke Get behind me Satan!
The secret to our problem, I think, lies in that ancient Chinese proverb: What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand. Jesus told them what would happen before he died…and they forgot. Now they see him…and will remember. But it’s not until they are able to do it that they will truly understand.
Do what? you might ask. And I would say, That’s a good question! And here’s the answer: do what Jesus does – proves that he is the real deal, that he has risen from the dead, that he is no ghost – not by using superpowers or some act of magic – but in the simple action of taking some food, eating it and sharing it.
And that is what we are all called to do. Our job as servants of the Lord is to prove every day that Jesus is the real deal… not by using any superpowers or acts of magic – but in the simple words and actions of our day to day lives, our everyday faith – at home, here at church and out there in the world.
We put food on the table for our families. We hand out bread and wine, Jesus’ body and blood, at Communion. We bring meals to the Brother Francis Shelter or goods to Gloria Dei’s food pantry. We pray for one another. We visit and listen to our neighbors. We sing hymns, tell others about Christ. We contribute our time, our money and our energy to the Lord’s ministry in and through Gloria Dei, Lutheran Social Services, AFACT, the list is as long as there are people and their needs.
And all these ordinary acts, prayers, gestures, words – when offered in the Spirit of Christ – well, they change us. They change us into the real deal: from hear-ers who may forget and see-ers who might remember into do-ers who will understand…that God loves us and calls us all to a life of loving service. Amen.