March 13, 2022

2nd Sunday in Lent
Sermon Series on our mission statement: Rooted in Christ

Readings
Genesis 15:2-12, 17-18
Psalm 27
Philippians 2:3-11
Luke 13:31-35

Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, grace and peace to you from the one in whom we are rooted. Amen
 
This lent we are spending our Sunday sermon time
 revisiting our congregational mission statement
 and thinking about what it means for us and the ministry that we do.
Last week we explored the first part of the statement:
Saved by God’s grace, through which
 
We acknowledge that we are gathered together,
not because we are better than everyone else,
or because we are trying to be
 
but because God has gathered us together,
as unworthy as we are,
 to proclaim to us that we are loved by God
And that salvation comes from God, as a gift.
 
Today we move on to the next part of our mission statement.
Rooted in Christ.
 
And yes there is some tree imagery here,
 the roots of a tree are what anchor it to the ground
 and allow for flexibility higher up,
 rigid trees or those with shallow root systems
 are the ones that are blown over first in storms.
 
And of course the roots provide nourishment for the tree
 to continually grow taller and wider
 for as long as their roots and ecosystem support them.
Did you know that?
Trees never stop growing!
 
We are rooted in Christ,
through whom we are anchored and nourished,
who through this grounding and nourishing
calls us to flexibility and continual growth.
 
So how do we answer this call?
As Christians we are urged to live like Jesus.
 
Paul makes this argument many times,
 in writing to the Philippians he says:
 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus”
 
Then he goes on to explain what that means by quoting an ancient hymn:
“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
 who though he was in the form of God
did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
and being found in human form,
he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name that is above every name.”
 
 Jesus is human,
 Jesus is God,
ultimately, out of love for the world,
he died on a cross,
and God raised him on the third day,
defeating death.
 
He did this after being born in a stable,
 growing up,
gathering followers and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God,
and teaching how to live the kingdom life on earth
principally through love and service of others.
 
We are to be like Jesus.
 
While this seems like an admirable goal,
I don’t know about you but it also seems like a tall order,
so tall as to be impossible,
 
 in fact, anyone saying ‘be like Jesus’
risks setting expectations for themselves and others
 that will only be disappointed.
 
 Don’t get me wrong,
we should still try to be like Jesus,
but how many times have we been disappointed in ourselves
in others, in the Church,
for not living up to the standards of Jesus,
the Jesus who eats with sinners and washes disciples’ feet,
who forgives those who seek to harm him,
who includes those on the margins.
 
It is so easy to become disillusioned by our failures
and wonder why even try?
 
 but that is when we need to take a step back
 and realize that the most fundamental thing about Jesus
 is that he shows up.
 
 Even when he knows that trouble lies ahead he is present.
 
We see this in our gospel for today
where Jesus,
 aware of what awaits him there,
still heads for Jerusalem.
 
Some Pharisees come and warn Jesus
 that Herod, the ruler of the area,
wants to kill him.
 
Usually Pharisees are portrayed as being against Jesus,
 but these Pharisees are looking to help him out,
 these are good guys,
and yet Jesus dismisses their warning
and even sends them back to Herod
 to tell him right where he’ll be until he heads for Jerusalem
 
and it’s not as if the warning is misplaced
or Jesus fails to understand the danger,
he knows exactly what awaits him,
 and it grieves him, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” 
 
Jesus knows what awaits him,
 and he goes anyway.
  
Jesus shows up where he is needed to offer care, offer himself,
 even if that care, even if he, is rejected.
 
 And Jesus grieves this rejection,
we could substitute so many things for the Jerusalem of his lament,
 places that are supposed to be holy,
 people who you would think would be open to the messages of prophets
who in turn reject them.
 
 Even when we’re trying our hardest
we still struggle,
 
 the pharisees test Jesus,
 they get it wrong,
the Pharisees try to warn Jesus,
 they get it wrong,
 
sometimes it feels like no matter what we do,
 we get it wrong,
 
and yet Jesus still comes to us.
 
He shows up at celebrations and in the good times yes,
 but also and especially
 in the places of suffering and rejection,
and he works through those times to bring about new life.
 
Jesus is present on the cross,
and Jesus is present three days later outside the tomb. 
 
And Jesus continues to show up for us,
 he is there when two or three are gathered in his name,
and he is there when we feel all alone
 
he is present at the font in the waters of baptism,
he is there with those who are excluded
 
Jesus offers himself to us at the table
his body and blood in with and under the bread and the wine,
He is there when the hungry are fed.
 
Jesus forgives us our failures
And send us out to try again.
This is the one in whom we are rooted,
 the one from whom we draw strength and nourishment,
the one who holds us steady
 even as he calls us to flexibility
 in the midst of the storms of life.
 
Because of Christ we know who we are, whose we are, and our purpose,
 
 we are children of God,
saved by grace through faith in Christ,
 who calls us to bring the kingdom of God near
 first and foremost, by simply showing up
 rooted in the love of God. Amen
 
https://www.npr.org/2014/01/16/262479807/old-trees-grow-faster-with-every-year#:~:text=Like%20other%20animals%20and%20many,they%20do%20stop%20getting%20taller.