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Fourth Sunday of
Lent
March 26, 2006 Sermon
by Rev. Peggy Tuttle, Rector
Readings
A trip to remember! Ole and
Sven were taking a vacation in Sven’s new camper. As usual, they’d
become last and were wandering around a strange town trying to find the
highway. Sven was just starting down a grade to go under a bridge when
he slams on the breaks.
Ole says, “vat da heck you do dat for, Sven”
Sven answered, “Dat sign dere says ‘Low Bridge. No Vehicles Over twelve
feet high.’ Dis here camper is thirteen feet!”
Ole replied, “Cripes almighty Sven, dere ain’t no cops around. Yust hit
da gas pedal and go for it”
The Hebrew lesson for this morning describes a trip to remember! It
opens with the story of how naughty the Israelites had become! They were
not keeping the commandments; they were following the ways of the world
and not Yahweh’s way.
Then the people of God had received a clear message to build a temple. A
place where they were to gather, praise the Lord God, make sacrifices,
give alms, identify the needs of others and share their bounty with
those in need; a permanent structure to house the Ten Commandments. It
was to be a holy place!
All of this took place under the leadership of Solomon. But the people
forgot! Forgot what the temple was for and they began to misuse it. They
were no longer bringing perfect gifts to be sacrificed; they were
bringing their lame, unwanted animals. They were no longer bringing
their first fruits, they were bringing their leftovers! Times were hard
and the temple could just “make do” with whatever they could bring.
After all, aren’t my family and I more important than those silly
priests who go behind that wall and make burnt offerings?
God sent prophets to call the people back. God warned the people that
because they were not practicing their beliefs they had become
vulnerable. That’s what happens to us. Keeping God’s commandments,
exercising the muscles of discipline, keeping our hearts and minds sharp
with a deep love for God, protects us, shields us from the temptations
of sin. But the people couldn’t hear God calling them back. They could
only follow the desires of the flesh. It was easier to go along with the
crowd. No one would like me if I stood up against the majority. Standing
alone is just that: lonely.
So, in their weakened state, they are lured into a life without God.
They are captured by the Chaldeans who killed and looted. The young were
either killed or carried off into captivity. The temple was robbed of
its treasures. All that was of value, both human and material, were
carted off to Babylon and the house of the Lord was burned.
A trip to remember! Not a vacation, not a journey to seek a new life,
not a voyage in search of treasure but a trip into the depths of
despair; a trip into slavery.
But God being who God is, hears the cries of his people and responds.
And as usual, God does the unpredictable!
God calls whom God chooses. And this time God calls a pagan ruler,
Cyrus, a non-believer, to deliver the children of Israel from bondage.
The Lord speaks to the heart of King Cyrus of Persia and moves him to
release those who have been held captive for these seventy years. The
Chronicler writes:
“Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given
me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a
house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his
people, may the Lord his God be with him! Let him go up!”
A trip to remember! Can you imagine what it must have been like for
these people to return to Jerusalem? Many, if not most, had never lived
there. It had been seventy years since they were taken into captivity!
This was not a familiar place for them. Babylon was home for them, not
Jerusalem.
But the memories of the homeland and the temple had been handed down
from generation to generation and as they traveled along the road they
recalled them once again. They encouraged one another and built up the
faith as they journeyed back to Jerusalem, back to the Promised Land,
back to the temple. What a trip that must have been!
Jesus is on a trip, a most memorable trip, in today’s Gospel. It is
almost Passover time. Jews has traveled to the temple for Passover.
Passover is one of the most sacred times for Jew to remember the Exodus
and that famous trip the children of Israel made through the Red Sea.
Jesus finds himself in the midst of a crowd and has compassion on them.
He asks his companion, Philip, “How are we going to feed these people?”
Jesus does the remarkable! A young boy has five loaves of bread and two
fish. Jesus takes the loaves and gives thanks and distributes the bread
and the fish among the people. Everyone eats as much as they want and
there are twelve baskets left over. Jesus has just taken these people on
a trip to remember.
Like the Children of Israel we need to be released from bondage so that
we can return home. We come here with the words of the Psalmist on our
lips, “I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the
Lord.”
Every Sunday we are fed with the bread of heaven, the body of Christ.
There is always an abundance and our hearts are filled. As we remember
the trip Jesus took to the cross may we search our own hearts for the
warning signs of disbelief. As we continue our journey through Lent, may
we find along the way, signs of God’s handiwork in our hearts and minds.
This is truly a trip to remember!