Holy Trinity Ankeny

Today Jesus asks his disciples a pointed question – "Who do you say that I am?" They have witnessed all the miracles and still wonder who this man they are following is. Jesus also asks us the same question. If we get the answer right, then we rightly know ourselves.

When Jesus encounters a Canaanite woman begging him to heal her daughter his response is, at best, curious. It seems offensive. He calls her a dog who is unworthy to eat at the table. To say this is out of character for Jesus seems obvious. But what if Jesus is not grumpy, but (as he is all the time in Matthew) in teaching mode? What if this story has a deep message that spoke to the disciples then and speaks to us today?

“Being saved” in our age seems restricted to concern over where we go when we die. It is more than that, according to scripture. We’re so concerned about heaven because we are so afraid of death. Faith saves us from our fear and sets us free today, while we live, not just when we die. Elijah is saved from his fear, Peter walks on the water because fear is overcome. They are saved because God is as close as their lips and heart.

Jesus retreats to the wilderness to be alone as he processes the death of John the Baptist. It was at a table that John’s execution was decided. A table full of death and chaos. It is a stark contrast to the feeding of the thousands that happen in today’s gospel reading. Here in the wilderness, Jesus feeds the people with five loaves and two fish. And they eat until they are full. A life-giving meal in a world that is so full of anything that isn’t life giving.

It seems we spend a lot of time assuming that the universe is set against us. Fear is the default posture of all of us who are always on defense against the next threat. What if, however, God is for us? That is Paul’s question. If God is for us, who (or what) can be against us? This leads to a life that overcomes fear and allows for joy. That is something more valuable than anything else, isn’t it?

Jesus uses a parable about weeds and wheat to address the presence of good and evil in the world. What do we do about evil empires, bad church members, and sinful people (weeds)? Jesus says let them be because it is beyond our wisdom to know the difference between good and evil even in our own lives. So what is a person to do?

It is easy to focus on the soil in today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower and then explains it. He talks about four different kinds of soil. Human nature is to focus on the different soil types and how they would describe ourselves or others. The good news here is that the parable is not about the soil, but about the sower.

There are a lot of voices in our world that continually weigh us down. There are happenings in the world that can weigh heavily upon us. There are times when the burdens of this life get to be more than we can handle. Jesus has some good advice for those of us that have heavy burdens.

The Church is called to proclaim the Gospel – which means Good News. The paradox is that sometimes the good news can sound like bad news and vice versa. The prophet Jeremiah spent a lifetime declaring the good news, and it always sounded like bad news to the people who listened. He didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear. He declared that judgment was necessary if they were to become more and more God’s people. The same is true for us.

The Good Friday sermon given by Pastor Travis Segar.