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* THE EASTER SUNDAY CELEBRATION WAS A SERIES OF (4) BRIEF OBJECT LESSONS: #1: Mark 14:1-9 (scented oil) We are often invited to imagine the sights and sounds of the crucifixion scene, but do we ever stop to imagine the smells? * The sense of smell is the most powerful releaser of memory that there is. How many times have you smelled something and said, “Wow, that reminds me of walking into grandma’s…” Smells transport you immediately to times, places and people with vivid clarity. * According to a Cornell University study done in 2000, hamsters were able to recognize relatives they had never met from a group of strangers simply by their body scent. Biologists call this the “arm pit effect” (try it at your next family reunion! Admittedly, this could take us down a very disturbing path this morning!) * Mary realized that there are times when our affections run so deep that they almost demand something out-of-the-ordinary; some extra-ordinary expression of love. * We call that response to love “worship”… our reasonable response to God’s unreasonable love. * Mary’s seemingly senseless act of love was offered as a way of demonstrating that Jesus had truly captured her heart. Why would Jesus tell us to remember her? Why would he say that her story would be told whenever the gospel is preached? BECAUSE HE DID! * In just a few shorts days, Jesus would find himself before Pilate being stripped and beaten; having a crown of thorns crushed onto his head. As he lay on the cool, hard surface of the tile floor, somehow between the blows he was able to catch a glimpse out from under his arm, he looked for his friends; his companions. Where were his followers? Those who had pledged their devotion? Those he had healed and showed compassion? GONE. * Jesus’ senses are all fully engaged in the experience… …barely able to open his eyes (feeling the burn from the blood and sweat),..flinching from the effects of the whip on his skin,… hearing the noise of those who were mocking him, …tasting the blood as it made its way down his brow and into his mouth, IT HAPPENS. Even though it pained him to breath deeply, it happened… he smelled the perfume! * Immediately, his nose engages his mind and he is somehow transported from the hostile environment of Pilate’s hall to the friendly confines of loving companions… especially Mary. * The Jews associated the fragrance of the incense with God; that they could smell God’s presence with them in the incense (Exodus 30:1-5). Simply put, it reminded them of God. 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” * Smell is the lingering effects of presence. What’s left as a reminder of Jesus when he’s gone. This fragrance necessitates close-proximity. Close enough to have some of him rub off on you. 1 Peter 3:15 “In your hearts, set apart (anoint; choose) Christ as Lord”. I CHOOSE YOU! John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you…” #2 (Sheep and “sin dots”) * In 1996, Joan Osborn posed the musical question, “What if God was one of us?” * Christianity holds to the belief that God has become a man; fully engaging humanity and making him… AVAILABLE- to contest the ideas of God being distant and disinterested. ATTRACTIVE- … that he’s not just about smoking mountains and angry retaliation. ACCESSIBLE- to all; no longer limited to ethnic or religious status * Our entire approach to God rests on the conviction that there exists a creator God who longs to have relationship with us as his creation; and who has consistently demonstrated his stubborn commitment to us even in our rebellion. * One of the limitations we face is the mechanical approach that we take toward the Bible; viewing it as a text book or an owner’s manual… but, it’s stories within a Story. It includes people and places and situations and images; all meant to inspire our pursuit of God, not define Him. * Imagery and metaphor was the primary method of teaching in eastern thought. It was the ordinary to which God would attach meaning; meant to convey a deeper truth. Leviticus 16 Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The most solemn day of the year for the Jewish community. Solemn, because they were to intentionally reflect on all the ways that their lives over the past year had failed to reflect their commitment and dependence upon God… their sin. High Priest: He would act on behalf of the people. 2 goats brought to the Temple. One would be sacrificed and the blood presented to God as a means of temporarily ‘covering over’ (atoning) their sins. The other was called the “scapegoat”- the priest would place his hands on the head of the goat and confess all the sins of the people. The goat would then be led out into the wildernes * So, in this imagery, the goat was always seen as the innocent one taking upon itself all the wrongs of the people. He was going to carry away your sins so that you need not be perpetually reminded of them. The goat represented innocence and substitution. * The people believed that God was capable of removing their sins. When the goat left their sight, their sins went with it. * Imagine the sense of relief they felt as they watched the goat being led away from their sight (“Hurry and go” they would chant). Significance? God knew that we were not created to handle guilt. The inner turmoil that we feel that prompts a cover-up, but longs for a reason to come out in the open. * The emphasis was obviously not on the goat, but on the deeper truth that it represented… your sin would be transferred onto one who was totally innocent and uninvolved in your sin in order to restore your relationship with God. Isaiah 53:12 “…he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” John 1:29 “John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Heb.10:10-12 “…we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” #3: The Resurrection (John 20) 1-13 * I’m excited about some news I received via e-mail recently (it may be a bit premature to share it); but, I was advised that “I may already be a winner” (at the very least, I’m in the top 10). They even wanted to know how I wanted the money… one time payment or series of installments. “Why do we keep opening the envelope? Why do we keep clicking on the icon?” Wouldn’t it be great if for once, they were honest with you. Open it up and it says… “Sucker!” or “Congrats my friend, you are a loser!” Or, a picture of Ed McMahon pointing his finger and laughing at you! * Sometimes, it seems that our only alternative to honest belief is “gullibility”; to believe in the resurrection makes us appear as if we’ll believe anything. * The resurrection is the crux of the Christian faith. It is the link between our present experience of God and the historical Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15:14 “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” * Quite simply, either he did or did not raise from the dead. If he did? It’s the most significant event in history. If he did not? Our faith is reduced to nothing more than a good “Hardy Boys” mystery. John 20:1-18 * What becomes apparent from all of the resurrection accounts is that the last thing that anyone expected was for Jesus to have actually risen from the dead. Does it bring comfort to anyone else to know that at the first Easter, the biggest skeptics… the first ones who needed convincing were Christ’s own followers? * None of these people are registering “off the charts” on the faith-o-meter! Verses 1-2: Still dark. The body gone is just adding insult to injury (bad enough that he’s dead, then they take the body). Verses 3-7: they know something’s up, they just don’t know what; they didn’t fully understand. Something inside of them believes that God is up to something here. Just like many of you: although you still have questions, you are ready to admit that God may be at work here. Verses 10-13: She’s disappointed; disillusioned. She’s come to expect this from life. She is totally committed to Jesus and even if he is dead, she just wants to be near him. She remembers Jesus’ words from the cross, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” and she makes those words he own… she’s used to be forsaken. ► If you are disappointed enough, you don’t want to even try to believe. Despair not only causes us to see only what we want to see (or come to expect to see), but sometimes it prevents us from seeing what’s right in front of us; what we’ve hoped was true! “Why are you crying?” This is seemingly not the most intelligent question to ask at a tomb. (Try it next time your at a funeral). The key?...no one asks those kind of questions unless they already know the answer; or, unless they know something that you don’t know. * Mary is filled with all kinds of false assumptions about God…therefore, her hopelessness. Mary is trying to fit what she is experiencing within the framework of her ordinary experience; what’s rational and possible. But, it doesn’t! #4: John 20:14-16 * Mary is CLUELESS! Jesus is letting her experience the moment; to wrestle with her heart. “Who are you looking for?” * No matter what your current position on the resurrection, there’s a part of us that wants it to be true; that needs Jesus to be different. To believe that death is not final and life is not random and meaningless. Apart from faith, life becomes really restrictive. We are left trying to make sense of all the disappointing realities of life. Verse 16: Why couldn’t Jesus have just said, “Hey, Mary. It’s me, Jesus!” It’s almost as if the truth of the rez must dawn on her gradually; in her own time. * There’s something about hearing your name; especially when it’s dark and you are scared. I don’t think you hear your name when you are hurrying and rushed. But when something happens that stops you in your tracks… that shatters all of your preconceptions; maybe you will be able to hear your name. ►What does all of this prove? Nothing, if you really don’t want to believe! DOUBT says… “I just need more evidence”. UNBELIEF says… “I don’t care how much evidence you produce, I’m not going to believe”. Jesus never faulted people for doubting, just refusing to believe. ►There is so much about the resurrection that invites belief, but nothing that demands it; nothing that will force you to believe. Love, as we have discovered, is vulnerable and when offered to another is always subject to rejection (i.e. who of us has not felt that pain of unrequited love; the “I love you, do you love me? Check one”.) ►Ever wonder if you may already be a winner? There’s a certain irony to disappointment: do you think that you may have at some point thrown away the winning ticket or pitched the winning envelope? Maybe we’ve been disappointed so many times, we’re not falling for that! ►How would it make you feel if God knew your name? ►I can live with doubt, but I can’t live without hope. I doubt because I want to know the truth. It may sound strange, but doubt is what leads to authentic faith. I think what I am doubting is not so much God as it is my ability to know for sure. Doubt is unavoidable; it permeates every aspect of my life (i.e. I doubt that my wife loves me as much as she says, that my friends are really as available as they say, that I should have stayed with law enforcement instead of ministry). * The resurrection of Jesus is the only hope that I have for life in this world. Jesus resurrection is the ultimate triumph because what other affect can sin/evil have on you if you won’t stay dead! In his death, he assumed our sin and in his resurrection, he reversed the consequences of that which we feared most… death. Prayer… Mary’s story parallels the good news of the cross/resurrection: 1. Mary was desperate for Jesus; she had come to the point in her life when she realized that she had no other options but him. 2. In the midst of her disappointment, she found Jesus. Even though her ability to believe was limited, she found Jesus in her doubt. 3. Jesus’ life became her hope! “My God and your God… my Father and your Father”. All the things that she had hoped for: a family, a place to belong, a sense of identity, connectedness with God. HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE A GOD LIKE THIS?
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