Pastoral Prayer (Maundy Thursday)

[The picture above is from yesterday’s Maundy Thursday service at New Marshfield UMC, just outside of Athens. Union UMC joined them for this special service. We also celebrated Holy Communion. These are the two churches that our Office Manager, Jenaye Hill is serving as she begins her local pastor licensing process. Pastor Robert has been asked to preside over the Sacrament of Holy Communion at these churches until Jenaye gets her license. Our scripture focus was about Jesus being a servant and washing the disciples’ feet. The people took the message to heart. After worship, they all came out in the rain to try to push Pastor Robert’s car out of the mud! See photo below.]

O God, sometimes it’s not the hymns or the sermon that help us to sort out what is deepest in our hearts and minds. Sometimes it’s simply the silence that helps us answer the question, “How is it with your soul?” 

For some of us, our souls may be feeling excited because we know that Easter awaits this long week of sorrow and sadness. For others of us, it’s hard to see beyond the thorns, the nails, the betrayal, and the denial. Life has been hard on us and it’s difficult to see any light at the end of the tunnel. Some of us may not be feeling anything because we have heard these events so many times that we wonder if they can speak to us in new and fresh ways.

Loving God, however we come to this service tonight, we are grateful that you accept us for where we are in our faith journeys. You want us to question, to explore, to reflect, and to wrestle with who you are calling us to be because of these Holy Week events. Thank you for your unconditional love for us especially when we misunderstand you, when we fail you, when we doubt you, and even when we deny and betray you.

Nothing says I love you like the Son of God stooping down to wash dirty feet. Nothing says I love you like the Prince of Peace sweating drops of blood while praying in a garden. Nothing says I love you like the King of kings dying on a cross for the sins of the world. Nothing says I love you like a group of people gathered around a table to humbly receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

And nothing says I love you like when the church prays for those who are hungry, homeless, discouraged, and lost. Nothing says I love you like when the church opens it doors to all people. Nothing says I love you like when the church offers their gifts to bring transformation to our community and world. 

O Savior of the world, on this holy night, we your people, seek to follow your example to serve others, and to pray the prayer that you taught your disciples to pray and now teach us to pray together saying…

“Our Father, who art in heaven…

[Tip of the Day: Don’t park in the grass during a flood warning.]

Maundy Thursday Sermon (March 29) by Rev. Robert McDowell “Nothing Says I Love You Like...”

     If you’re into sending and receiving e-mails on a regular basis like I am, perhaps this has happened to you.

     I’ll be reading an e-mail from somebody and toward the end of the e-mail, there will be a very heart-warming concluding thought and in that moment, I think to myself, “Well how sweet for this person to share such a loving thought with me.”  It just kind of lifts your spirit when someone shares their heart with you.

     But that’s when I realize that this loving thought is really just an advertising slogan placed at the bottom of the e-mail by some company trying to get me to buy their product.

     Here’s an example.  In one of my former churches, my organist sent me a work related e-mail about something related to an upcoming worship bulletin, but then at the bottom, it was so nice for David to conclude his e-mail to me with these very personal and heart-warming words printed in red.

     “Nothing says I love you like flowers.”  

     And for just a brief moment, an ever so brief moment, I have this very irrational and bizarre thought that my organist is giving me a subtle hint that he will be sending me flowers because he loves me.  

     Then reality sets in when I read the next line:  “Find a florist near you.”

     In a matter of three seconds, I go from thinking that David will be sending me flowers to, “If I want flowers, I’m going to have to click on this advertising link which will send me to my local florist.”

     Call me gullible, but this has happened to me more times than you probably care to know.  

     Maybe there’s a little something inside each of us in which we long to be loved.  Maybe more for some of us than others.

     The last time she had worn the Muslim dress with a head scarf covering everything with the exception of her face, hands, and feet, was in the Miami International Airport where the stares were many and the security check was much more intrusive than for the other passengers.

     But on this day, she was going toward the restroom of a local eatery in a rural town of Alabama.  She expected the worse as she walked through the restaurant, waiting for people to shun her or mumble not so kind words as she passed by the tables.  She was even mentally prepared to leave the place if the manager would have said something to her.

     As she made her way toward the Ladies’ Room, a woman, taking notice of her dress, initially was visibly stunned at first, but then this woman gave her a very unexpected and disarming smile.  

     That genuine smile was all that was needed, to enable Hailey Woldt, a 22 year old Catholic woman, to know that a little love can go a long way.

     Actually, Hailey was participating in a social anthropological study involving four other 20 something Americans, and led by Professor Akbar Ahmed, the Islamic Studies chairman at American University in Washington.  

     The study was charting how Americans relate to people of the Muslim faith in everyday affairs.

     Jesus knew very well that love isn’t always easy.  It stretches us to do things and behave in ways that might not come natural for us. 

     So here Jesus is, with his closest followers, gathered for a meal.  And true to form, Jesus raises more than a few eyebrows when he takes the role of a servant by going around the room, and one by one, washes the feet of the disciples.

     By pushing away from the dinner table, girding himself with a towel, and stooping down to wash the disciples’ feet, Jesus didn’t just teach about love, he showed love.  The disciples were able to see love in action.

     And then Jesus sums up his actions by telling his disciples that this is their new commandment, this is the way they are to live, this is what it means to be one of his followers, to love one another just as he has loved them.  To the point of being a servant in the simple act of washing feet.

     “By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another,” Jesus tells them.

     “By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples.”

     Through the washing of feet, through a smile given to a stranger in a restaurant, through reaching out beyond our comfort zones to do something that Jesus would do.

     That’s how everyone will know.  If we have love for one another.

     In due time, Jesus will demonstrate yet again, what it means to love others unconditionally.  But instead of stooping down with a bowl and basin, this time, he will be raised high on a cross and with arms outstretched he will offer his very life.

     Tonight, as we come forward to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, God is saying to each one of us, “Nothing says I love you like this…Washing your feet and dying on the cross for your sins.”

     That’s what Jesus has done for us.  And by sharing this same love, that’s how everyone will know we are his disciples.

Pastoral Prayer (March 25/Palm Sunday) @ Athens First UMC

[One of our youth turned his palm branch into a beautiful interwoven tapestry during yesterday’s worship service. As we enter into Holy Week, we are reminded of how God was able to take all of the events of this week like the arrest, the mocking, and the crucifixion of Jesus and turn it into a beautiful resurrection victory. As we await the celebration of Easter, click here for the Palm Sunday cantata narration and reflection questions.]

Giving and gracious God, thank you for the cantata we just heard that tells the story of how Jesus gave his all for us, even death on a cross. But we know that there is one more song to be sung from this cantata.

It’s the last anthem that we have saved for next Sunday. It’s a song about the living robe of Jesus. The robe that reminds us that death doesn’t have the last word.

Even as we wait for our great Easter celebration next Sunday, help us to soak in all that you did for us as you met with your disciples in the Upper Room, when you suffered and died on a cross, and then when you were placed in a tomb. Help us to survey your wondrous cross on which the prince of glory died.

Lead us to think about what it means to continue to touch Jesus’ shining robe, his healing robe, his serving robe, his uniting robe, his honoring robe, his redeeming robe, and most importantly, his living robe. Thank you for this season of Lent journey to help us be the people you have called us to be.

Lord, on this Palm Sunday, we lift our palm branches to worship you and to pray on behalf of our community and world. We lift up to you our church family especially those who are in special need of you this day. We lift up to you our Bishop and District Superintendent that you would bless them in the work they do on our behalf. We lift up to our neighboring churches and especially the Presbyterian Church as they host our community Good Friday service this week. 

And Lord, we silently lift up to you those who are on our hearts and minds this morning. Hear our prayers…

And now teach us to pray the words that Christ taught his disciples and now teaches us to pray together saying…

“Our Father, who art in heaven…

“Come, Touch the Robe” Easter Cantata (March 25/Palm Sunday)

“Come, Touch the Robe” Cantata

Cantata Narration & Discussion Questions

March 25, 2018

During this season of Lent, we have been asking ourselves what it means to come and touch the many different robes of Jesus. We are called to touch the shining robe, the healing robe, the serving robe, the uniting robe, the honoring robe, the redeeming robe, and on Easter Sunday, the living robe. 

When we touch the shining robe of Jesus, we recall when Jesus took three of his disciples up the mountain and was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as the light. Certainly, this was a powerful encounter for the disciples.

One of the ways that we can touch the shining robe of Jesus is by actually putting on the spiritual clothing that the Apostle Paul describes in Colossians, chapter 3. This includes the clothing of compassion, patience, forgiveness, and most importantly, love.

Come, and and touch the shining robe of Jesus.

“Shine On, Great Savior” (Shining Robe)

Shining Robe: Which spiritual clothing listed in Colossians 3 has been your focus during the season of Lent? Compassion? Patience? Forgiveness? Love?

The gospels tell us about a woman who had suffered for twelve years and had spent all she had, searching for a cure. Then one day, in an act of faith, this woman from Galilee quietly reached out to touch the hem of Christ’s robe. She was instantly healed.

All of us are in need of some type of healing. It may be related to how we are feeling physically, emotionally, relationally, mentally, or spiritually. God cares about all of these dimensions of our lives. Sometimes, God’s healing may come quickly. Often times, it comes slowly. The important thing to remember is that God’s healing love is offered to us in any given moment.

Come, and touch the healing robe of Jesus.

“Come, Touch the Robe” (Healing Robe)

Healing Robe: How has God brought healing in your life? Physical? Emotional? Relational? Spiritual? Other?

This Thursday, we will remember when Jesus was with his disciples for the Passover meal or what we now refer to as “The Last Supper.” Jesus took the form of servant by pouring water into a basin and washed the disciples’ feet.

The disciples were surprised that Jesus, their Lord and Teacher, would do such a humbling thing. It was a moment they would never forget. We too, are called to humble ourselves like Jesus. This is how we are to love others.

Come, and touch the serving robe of Jesus.

“Wash Their Feet” (Serving Robe)

Serving Robe: Share where you have seen someone offer humble service on behalf of others.

At the foot of the cross, the Roman soldiers cast lots to see who would take Jesus’ robe. As Christ died, the winner held the empty robe in his hand. All four gospel accounts tell us this story, but it’s John’s Gospel that tells us that Jesus’ robe was seamless.The seamless robe of Jesus is a symbol of God’s uniting love for all people. 

What does it mean for us to live out God’s uniting love in a world of so many different opinions and political persuasions? Maybe what unites us isn’t that we all have exactly the same beliefs. What unites us is whenever we say those three powerful phrases before we receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion. “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.”

Come, and touch the uniting robe of Jesus.

“Soldiers of the Cross” (Uniting Robe)

Uniting Robe: Think of a specific way that you can help people feel included rather than excluded.

On this day, Palm Sunday, we read about a man who gave Jesus his donkey. He didn’t have to give this gift to Jesus but he gave it anyway. Jesus used this donkey to ride into Jerusalem as the humble king. Like the owner of the donkey, the people who stood by the road gave what they had by laying their robes along the dusty road.

We too, are called to offer what we have to Christ. We honor him by offering our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. When we offer these gifts, that’s how we make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of our community and world.

Come, and touch the honoring robe of Jesus.

“Hosanna in the Streets” (The Honoring Robe)

Honoring Robe: In what ways can we honor Christ and be a blessing to others in his name?

In our Philippians scripture reading for today, the Apostle Paul writes that Jesus took upon himself the form of a servant. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death. He demonstrated this obedience through his arrest, his trial, and his crucifixion.

After he was tried, the Roman soldiers mocked him. They put a crown of thorns on his head and hailed him as King. It was through his suffering, that he was able to offer his redeeming love for the world.

Come, touch the redeeming robe of Christ.

King of Suffering (Redeeming Robe)

Redeeming Robe: What does the word “redemption” mean to you?

After Jesus’ death on the cross, his body was laid in a borrowed tomb. The stone was rolled into place. The grave was sealed as his body lay silently wrapped in the shroud of death.

In I Corinthians, the Apostle Paul writes, “O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

This is the victory that will lead us to an empty tomb next Sunday when we will hear the words, “He is not here. He is risen!”

Come, and touch the living robe of Jesus!

O Death, Where is Thy Sting? (Living Robe)

Pastoral Prayer (March 18) Athens First UMC

[The Greek Orthodox icon of the Risen Christ raising up Adam and Eve was mentioned in this week’s sermon  “Come, Touch the Burial Robe of Jesus.” It’s a powerful image of how Christ’s death and resurrection offers us new life and hope. This Sunday (March 25), our choir will sing the cantata, “Come, Touch the Robe of Jesus” at one combined 10:30 am service. We will be able to ponder each of the robes of Jesus that we have been focusing on during this season of Lent.]

Redeeming God, only you could turn the shameful, torturous, ancient instrument of execution into a symbol of hope, salvation, and new life. Only you could do that and you did!

And so, we tremble because we are in awe of your redeeming work. We tremble because you did for us what we were unable to do for ourselves. We tremble because the agony you endured on the cross was no match for the magnitude of your grace. We tremble because as the Easter hymn says, “Love’s redeeming work is done.”

O God, we worship you this day because we hold on to the hope that your redeeming work continues to bring transformation to our broken and hurting world. We are in need of your all sufficient redeeming grace to help us overcome racism, gun violence, human trafficking, nuclear threats, drug abuse, domestic violence, world hunger, and anything else that brings harm to this world that you created and called good.  

But we also worship you this day because we hold on to the hope that your redeeming world is offered to each and every one of us in a very personal way. You extend us forgiveness especially when we find it hard to forgive ourselves. You offer us salvation especially when we think that we can save ourselves. You provide guidance especially when we don’t know which way to turn. You comfort us especially when we mourn and are confronted with the reality and sting of death. 

Yes, O God, we tremble because thanks to the cross, love’s redeeming work is done and continues to be active in our world and in our lives. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

And it is in his redeeming name that we pray together saying…

“Our Father, who art in heaven…”

Sermon (March 18) by Rev. Robert McDowell "Come, Touch the Redeeming Robe of Jesus”

During Lent, we have imagined the robes of Jesus and what they can tell us about his life and his ministry. Today, we look to the burial robe as we remember the ending of Jesus' life. Jesus was condemned and executed by the Roman powers on a cross on a prominent hill outside the Jerusalem walls.

This happened on a Friday and his death occurred in the afternoon. All four Gospels state that a Joseph of Arimethea went to the Roman ruler Pilate and asked to have the body of Jesus so it could be cared for before the Sabbath began at sundown. The violence is over, the crowds have thinned out. Joseph comes and retrieves Jesus' broken body for burial. The Gospel writers emphasize that there is a burial; there is no doubt that Jesus really died on the cross.

The Jerusalem area has many stone tombs from the time of Jesus. Rock quarries were plentiful and tombs were carved out with small entry passages.

A tomb itself may consist of a rectangle room with ledges, or shelves where bodies would be placed. Extended family members (children and adults) would be buried in the same tomb. About a year after a burial, the bones would be gathered and placed in another area or in a stone box. The shelf then could be used for another burial. It is said of the tomb that Joseph provided that there had not been a burial in it; it was newly cut from stone.

Jewish custom for burial is that the body would be bathed, oils/spices added, and then wrapped in cloths. Joseph and those helping him did all they could do in the short time that they had before sunset.

There is a family tomb from the first century that was excavated in Jerusalem in 2000 which contained several remains, including those of a young man.

What was very unusual about this burial is that there were remnants of his burial cloths that had not completely deteriorated. There appeared to be three or four cloths, some from linen, and one from fine wool. It was speculated that the young man was from a family of wealth. 

We don't know many details about Jesus' burial cloth, only that is was a clean cloth of linen. 

To provide the burial clothing was an act of love from Jesus' friends. They did what was needed to take care of his body. They responded even though their grief must have been tremendous after witnessing his death on the cross.

A friend of mine shared about a time a couple of years ago when her mother-in-law was very sick. Her father-in-law asked her if she would go and buy the clothing that she would be buried in. He said that if she would do so, it would relieve him of a heavy concern. Several family members went to a Cincinnati department store. Weary and distracted, they couldn’t find what they were looking for.

A saleswoman came to their rescue and quickly understood their task. She stepped in and helped them find everything that they needed. She was very grateful to her for her attentive care and compassion for them on that sad afternoon.

Sadness and disbelief surrounded the cross. For the disciples of Jesus, his family, and those who followed him, the cross was a sign of broken dreams, hate triumphing over goodness, sin having the last word.

The cross robbed them of their Lord. The one who had healed so many, who had shared about God's love, who had promised abundant life, was gone.

Even though we know the rest of the story, I don't want us to turn away from this scene just yet. Something important has happened. Love for the world propelled Jesus forward even if it meant death on a cross.

The story of the burial brings up difficult questions that we have about our own losses. We ask “Why did this have to happen?” We wonder “Why did her life have to end as it did?” And we struggle with how we can continue to live in the face of death when nothing is the same. 

There is an ancient devotional practice called the Stations of the Cross where one walks from station to station, reads Scripture, and remembers an action that happened to Jesus in his last 24 hours. In the modern Stations of the Cross, the first station begins in the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus praying , and the last station #14 is Jesus’ burial.

Mark Roberts has written a devotional and prayer to be used at each station of the cross. This is his prayer for the Station of Jesus Burial: “I'll never be able to understand fully the wonder of your death, Lord. But I can grasp the fact that your real death opened up the door for me to experience real life.”

There is a song, I believe, that can be heard faintly at this final station. The words go: “Death, where is they sting? Grave, where is thy victory?”

We could rightly argue that there is plenty of pain and sting in life. We can see it on the faces of those who mourn. We have known the pain from our own experience of loss. For all of us, it has been hard to say goodbye.

But the melody continues. The reason that we can sing the song is because Christ has overcome death for us. We still know sorrow and grief but we mourn as those who have unbelievable hope.

I was reading about a common image for Easter in the Orthodox Church, but one that was not familiar to me. This powerful icon of the Resurrection depicts the risen Christ reaching out, beginning with Adam and Eve, pulling them out of a tomb and into new life.

Not only is Christ risen, but he is bringing new beginnings to all people, to all creation, to us. No matter how deep the darkness, the light and power of Christ enters, chains are broken, the doors to the prison of death and defeat are flung open. This is why this robe of Jesus isn’t just a burial robe. It’s a redeeming robe!

We are all lifted up by Christ from despair to joy!

Oh, but back to my friend’s story about finding clothes for her mother-in-law. She said that they found a beautiful pink suit for her to wear as her burial clothes. That person picked that color because it was a suit fit for an Easter celebration!

And then my friend shared that because of that helpful salesperson, her family discovered that in the midst of winter and our sadness, they were able to anticipate the glorious life to come. They knew at the funeral that this was not the end.

She said that even with heavy hearts when they gathered for her mother-in-law’s funeral, and with tears in their eyes, they knew deep down. They knew deep down, that death wasn’t the last word.

The color pink reminded them that the last word isn’t death. The last word is “resurrection.”

Thanks be to God! 

Come, Touch the Redeeming Robe of Jesus

Small Group Questions

I Corinthians 15:53-57 & Matthew 27:57-61

March 18, 2018

In 1st century Judaism, when someone died, it was customary to clean the body and include oils/spices and then wrap the body with linen cloths and place the body on one of the shelves in a tomb. After a year, the bones were collected by the family and placed in a box which freed up the shelf for the next body. This burial rite was a way of showing love and respect to the person who had died.

What emotions do you think were going through the minds of the people who prepared Jesus' body for burial? How do we show love and respect in our culture today for loved ones who have died? 

When Jesus died on the cross and was placed in a tomb, his followers most likely felt defeated since the promised Messiah was not expected to die on a cross. We of course, know how the story ends, Jesus was raised to new life on the 3rd day. Each year on Good Friday and Holy Saturday (the day before Easter Sunday) we are invited to reflect on the meaning of Jesus' death.

What does Jesus' death on the cross mean for you? What are you thinking about on these days leading up to Easter Sunday?

In the Orthodox faith tradition, an icon depicts the Risen Christ reaching out, starting with Adam and Eve and drawing people out of their graves. It's a symbol of how Christ brings new life out of death.

Share a time in your life when you felt Christ offering you new life.

Mark Roberts has written a devotional and prayer to be used at each station of the cross. This is his prayer for the Station of Jesus Burial. Read this as a group in unison:

“I'll never be able to understand fully the wonder of your death, Lord. But I can grasp the fact that your real death opened up the door for me to experience real life.”

The Story Behind My Nikos Blog

Tomorrow’s New Testament Lesson is I Corinthians 15:53-57. This is TOTALLY at the very top of my favorite scriptures list! This scripture is why I named my blog, “Nikos” when I created it back in the summer of 2008. I just realized that this year marks the 10th anniversary. 

Footnote: “Nikos” is pronounced “Neekos.”

In verse, 57, Paul writes, “But thanks be to God who gives us the victory (nikos) through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “Nikos” is the Greek word for “victory.” So, here’s why this particular Greek word that we find in the Bible is so awesome, awesome enough for me to choose it as the title of my blog. 

In this chapter of his letter, the Apostle Paul explains the meaning of "resurrection." By resurrection, Paul is NOT referring to a "spiritual" non-physical state of being. The resurrection body is physical, just not subject to sin, illness, and death. This is what resurrection meant in the 1st century Jewish world.

This chapter in I Corinthians depends on the readers having the particular Jewish worldview that there is the present age and a time is coming when heaven and earth will fully overlap and sin and death will be no more. When heaven and earth come together completely, God will raise up the faithful and give them resurrected bodies. Jesus' resurrection was a foretaste of what awaits God's people at the close of the present age. When people are given resurrection bodies, they will be changed and transformed and this will happen in an instant.

Many people today misinterpret this passage because our culture's worldview has changed significantly since the Jewish worldview of the 1st century. Their worldview believed that heaven and earth were two separate parts of God's creation. Today, we often see heaven and earth as far away from each other. The Jewish worldview believes that they are closer than we think and the future hope is that one day they will fully unite.

This biblical worldview is why the Celtic Christians from the early centuries referred to the overlap of heaven and earth as “thin place” moments. They are thin places because the distance between heaven and earth is razor thin. How do you know when you are experiencing a “thin place” moment? It’s when your soul, the deepest part of your being has an “aha!” moment. It’s that mysterious moment where you realize God was present in a very real way. These aren’t always dramatic experiences. Sometimes, we miss them and only notice them after they happened to us. 

The important thing is for us to be conscious of these “thin place” moments in our everyday lives. This will lead us in having a more biblical worldview and we will be more likely to share with others how God is at work in our lives.