Jesus — Page 18

April 12, 2015 – “Have Life” from John Knox Kirk on Vimeo.

A sermon preached at John Knox Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on April 12, 2015.

Editorial note: I’m working on correcting spacing issues. Thank you for your patience in the meantime.

A few months ago,
I was talking with a guy who grew up in a small town during the Great Depression.

His family ran a small grocery store.
He remembered that times were tough—
–running the store as an enormous challenge.

Inventory was difficult.
Often they would sell out of important staples and have no resupply for weeks.
Other times, they would get stuck with a product—
–let say cans of beets—that just wouldn’t sell.

What would they do then?
“The best thing” he said, “was to put the cases of beets
right by the front door,
and slap a sign on them that said:
‘LIMIT–TWO PER CUSTOMER.’
And they’d all be sold in a few hours…”

///
I think we tend to approach this text about Thomas
in the same way we view the market manipulation
that makes beets sell.

A presumed world of scarcity makes you buy beets
when you really don’t want to buy beets,
but you’d better buy them
because the sign says there’s a LIMIT.
And, if there’s a LIMIT—there might not be enough.
And, if there’s NOT ENOUGH – you may miss out!

A presumed world of SCARCITY is a world
where Jesus shows up ONCE…and you win!

But if you were missing—then you LOSE!
Too bad for you, Thomas!

After all, blessed are those who believe and have NOT seen!

The world where we spend most of our time is a world of SCARCITY.
It’s a world where we can’t imagine second chances,
free gifts of…anything…

…Despite the flowers, real, not plastic,
despite the triumphal music last Sunday–
it’s just NOT a world where it can be Easter all the time. Right?

The world of SCARCITY we know so well…
…is the world where, despite last week,
it is STILL more like Good Friday. [Read more…]

April 5, 2015 – Easter – “Wasting Easter” from John Knox Kirk on Vimeo.

A sermon preached at John Knox Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on April 5, 2015.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11
and Mark 16:1-8

Editorial note: I’m working on correcting spacing issues. Thank you for your patience in the meantime.

I once heard of a church that always had a beautifully decorated sanctuary on Easter.

It was the pride of the whole town—
–highlighted by 500 lilies that were arranged in the sanctuary
for the special day—
–sometimes just a bank of lilies;
–sometimes in the shape of a cross;
–sometimes almost randomly strewn around
like an artist with a canvas.[i]

They were memorial lilies.
People gave five dollars for each of them,
and every year, the bulletin insert listed 500 names,
those remembered by the giving of a lily.

Five hundred lilies…five dollars each.
They were beautiful.

In the 16^th year of that tradition—it came apart.

One of the older members of the congregation, a woman,
went up after the Easter service
and said, “I’m going to the hospital to visit a friend,
      can I take one of the lilies to her?
  I know I can’t tell which one I gave,
      but anyone of them will do… they’re all alike.”

And without really getting an answer to her question,
she went up to the cross of lilies—500 lilies—picked one up—
She paused,
–AND THEN turned to those who still remained in the sanctuary
and shouted in a shocked voice:
“THEY’RE PLASTIC!”

Well, there was much concern.
Not at first just over their being plastic,
“but, we gave five dollars for these lilies, but if they’re plastic,
they could be the same ones we paid for last year.”

Well, committees met and huddles were formed—official and unofficial, you know—
and the WHOLE tradition collapsed.

Someone came up with the figure,
over 15 years, that $37,500…for the exact same lilies!

The minister gathered those concerned together,
and tried to defend the practice of having plastic lilies.

They were carefully stored and covered, he said,
and they had, indeed, lasted for years—and they were beautiful…

His defense, it seems, was along two lines:
The practical defense:
in response to what has happened to the money, he said—
“We have used it in a contingency fund.
We have been able to help transients,
and to meet emergencies that have not been budgeted,
and let me assure you,
the money has gone to good use.”

And there was whispered and reluctant acceptance by some,
rejection by others.

His OTHER line of defense for the action…was THEOLOGICAL.
He said, “After all,” and he said this with enthusiasm—
“After all, the plastic lilies are more appropriate to Easter—
–because they always bloom…they never die.”

And then he said: “After all, we don’t want to waste Easter!” [Read more…]

Sermon: Have Life

Sermon: Wasting Easter