Sermon 14 November 2021
So Jesus went to the temple with his disciples. This is near the end of his earthly ministry according to the Gospel of Mark. He teaches while in the temple and interacts with the people who are therein. When they are leaving the temple the disciples marvel at how beautiful it is, and how large stones are stacked upon one another to create it. Jesus tells them that a day is coming when the temple would be completely ruined. We are fairly certain that in fact the temple was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 ce. This would have been about another 30 – 40 years after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. The destruction of the temple happened so close to the time of Jesus that most scholars of the Bible believe that the gospels were almost certainly all written after that destruction. In other words Christianity was so fresh, so in its infancy that there weren’t written gospels for decades after Jesus’ earthly life. There were spoken traditions. There were collections of Jesus’ teachings, but by the time leaders in the church sat down and said, “We’ve got to write this all down” the destruction of the temple had already happened.
Why did the destruction of the temple happen? It happened because there was a Jewish uprising; a revolt against Rome. So the Roman army totally destroyed the temple. This is what is called the Pax Romana; totally destroy the spiritual core of your enemy, then you have peace. Of course nobody would ever try to use that same strategy today. Would they? Rome issued a coin with an image of the temple being crushed under a Roman Sandal with tears pouring out. This went all over the empire as a “Gospel” or “Evangelical” message. Don’t mess with Rome.
This tells us that at the time of Jesus there was already this possibility.There were zealots and sicarii that would do violent acts against their enemies and especially the Romans to stir up trouble and to try to start a rebellion. They wanted political and spiritual freedom from Rome. In fact, when Jesus is standing trial, this very fear and concern is what likely led to his death. Some of the religious leaders said, “It is better for one person to die, than for the whole people to be destroyed.” Jesus made the leadership extremely nervous because they thought he would lead a rebellion. Right before Jesus is sentenced to death, he has an opportunity to be released, but that favor is given to Barabbas. Barabbas was a known violent zealot or sicarii. What if Barabbas helped to lead that rebellion some years later?
Sociologists have a term for when a group of people decide that in order to save themselves they must destroy one of their own. It’s called the scapegoat principle. From the dawn of time groups of people, when they face a crisis and their group identity and cohesion is tested, will identify someone deemed to be the cause of their strife, and will either kill them or expel them from the group believing that it will save them, their integrity, or purity.
The most terrifying thing about the scapegoat principle is that it temporarily works. When a group decides who the enemy is and the cause of all their problems and they turn on that person and expel or kill them, there is a period of relief and peace. People get along. Things return “back to normal,” but only for a time. The problem with a group depending on scape-goating to keep the peace is that the cycle repeats generation after generation, with countless victims bearing the burden and the sin of the group. In the case of Jesus, the temple and order was maintained for another 40 years, but alas, the war and destruction could not be forestalled forever, and the temple ended up being destroyed after all. And that’s the problem with scapegoating, it is not a solution to the deeper problem, it is only a temporary fix.
Even today scapegoating can be a very tempting solution to times of crisis and anxiety. When I was a youth director just starting out in ministry I witnessed this right away. If there was a youth who was different, perhaps they struggled with developmental difference, or their brains process information differently, or they just lacked the social skills of their peers, inevitably someone would come up to me in hushed tones and say, “Wes, if we could just get rid of so and so, then the whole group would do a lot better. You know that we lost families because they won’t let their children come because of this one problem child.” It was the scapegoating principle happening right before my eyes. What we really have to pause and ask ourselves is; if we begin to exclude others, could the same thing happen to us? So what is the alternative to scapegoating?
Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice, like a scapegoat, so that we don’t have to sacrifice anybody else.
That is what we read about in the letter to the Hebrews. We believe that Jesus in fact was a scape Goat, or what some say today, a GOAT. G.O.A.T. Greatest Of All Time. Rather than getting bitter and despondent about what happened to Jesus, the Holy Spirit helps us to see the value and gift that his life and death is for us. He was the scapegoat to end all scapegoating. He was the sacrifice for all of our sins, for all of time, so that no more sacrifices need to be made. If Jesus was the sacrifice for our sins, then we are saved by grace through faith, and not by our works. Nothing about who you are or anything you’ve done exclude you from God’s love and salvation. Nothing you do can exclude or expel you from God’s love. Jesus’ sacrifice was enough for everybody for all of time. If we have been saved and accepted by God’s unconditional love and grace, can’t we extend that same love and Grace to others?
Happy belated Veterans Day! The city of Upland had a very meaningful and well put together service at City Hall this past Thursday. The keynote speaker was retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Sarah Letts. Letts served her country in the military for 30 years, including a tour in Afghanistan and two tours in Iraq as an intelligence officer in the Army. a military intelligence officer. She spoke a couple of years before too. I have to say that her address was phenomenal. We all know that we live in a time of great division and polarization in our country and in many places all over the world. Rarely do you hear someone who truly seems to stand in a sacred middle ground. This person did that. As she gave her address I couldn’t help but feel like with her words she was mending a torn cloth. She didn’t drive apart, she pulled together. How did she do this?
She shared a lot about her own personal struggles. She talked with deserved pride about ways she has served her country and the world. She was also honest about the toll her service has had on her personal health and well being; and on her family. She was honest about her own personal trials. But what really won me over in her speech is that it was all about Grace. She said that we all need to practice grace with one another. What did she mean by that?
She meant that extending grace to people means believing and having faith that they are doing the best that they can do. She led the whole assembly in an exercise in which we were to think of someone who had hurt or wronged us. She then invited us to contemplate that these persons even though they might have done something wrong, maybe something very wrong or traumatic, that they were doing the best thing that they knew how to do at the time. She referenced the book, “The Shack” in her speech. In that book a man who survives a terrible atrocity to his family is spiritually led to understand the backstory of the perpetrator. In doing so the survivor was able to forgive, to heal, and to be able to move forward in his life.
I believe that this is an essential practice for Christians and Christian leaders; for pastors. We are called to believe and trust that everyone with whom we interact is doing the best that they know how to do. Even if it makes you crazy! This is the way that peace is found. This is the way you can move forward when you hurt after being wronged by someone. This is the way we let the Holy Spirit grow the church and tolerate difference.
What I like about this approach so much, the approach of extending grace to others, is that it doesn’t mean you dismiss or accept bad behavior. As a leader, we must do what seems to be impossible. We must at the same time understand that people are doing their best, and help people to do better. We can’t lead without first extending grace to others. Extending grace means doing our best to understand how somebody is doing the best that they know how to do. When we are doing that, then we are being Christian leaders.
Daniel 12:3 says, “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” You should have seen how the keynote speaker shined on the stage. You should have seen how the people and the veterans who were there shined because of her words and their actions. God makes you shine when you extend grace to others, and lead them to righteousness.
You can do this because God has extended grace to you!
Psalm 16 says:
10For you will not abandon me | to the grave,
nor let your holy one see the pit.
11You will show me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
God is showing you in this very moment the path of life. God is illuminating it with the brilliance of righteousness.
Daniel says that when the anguish is at its worst, then we will know God’s salvation. If you feel fear and anxiety at what the future holds then you know God’s salvation is near. Near to you!
And when hardship comes. When pain increases, surely God’s grace will be with us so like Jesus said, We will not be afraid. We have nothing to fear!
Nation may rise against nation, but we have nothing to fear!
The Earth may move under our feet, but we have nothing to fear!
Great wonderful works of architecture may crumble at our feet, but we have nothing to fear.
Charlatans may trick multitudes with clever lies, but we have nothing to fear.
These are all but birth pangs, and what is to be born is truly our salvation. Amen!
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