The gospel account of John the Beloved written to a worldwide
audience provides us with one of the most intimate of family encounters during
the crucifixion of our Lord. For John, a Hebrew writer, these words take preeminence
in the mind of a faithful follower near the end of his earthly life. This
tender mother and Son moment stands out to the one lone disciple who remained
at the cross. Jesus speaks, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And
to John, “Here is your mother.” It was the duty of the eldest
male to look after father and mother later in life. Since it also appears
that Joseph is no longer alive and though there are other siblings, Jesus
fulfils His cultural duties by ensuring His mother’s care following
His earthly existence. John makes it clear that he fulfilled the request of
Christ from that moment on.
We turn to Mark’s gospel account and view the inspired
writings of this close friend of Simon Peter. We grasp the intensity the Savior
feels at the separation caused by the burden of our sin taken on by the sinless
Lord. His cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” resounds
through our ears and pierces our spirits. Mark, writing to the slave culture
Roman world, shows us the tremendous cost of our spiritual freedom. What a
revelation to even new believers who were still slaves this must have been.
It also spoke to the hearts of slave owners to see the wrongness of this moral
plague of enforced bondage. Christ in the midst of this culture spoke the
words that proved He had paid our price for spiritual freedom. Some though,
as it often happens today, misunderstood the significance of these powerful
words.
Returning to John’s gospel, we hear Jesus fulfill prophecy
and utters the words, “I am thirty.” Christ understood the completeness
of what He had accomplished on the cross and made sure that all Scripture
would be fulfilled. We hear His value of the written word, just as He had
proved His worthiness by quoting scripture during the temptation in the wilderness.
God’s words still bring power in the midst of the impossible.
We are surrounded by a hurting, needy world. People are living
in doubt and uncertainty. In North America, our society has gone from a 50
percent Sunday School attendance rate to a 25 percent rate in only four to
five decades. To many the Church has appeared disconnected from the real world
and uncaring. Homelessness and joblessness have become everyday words in the
media and in our local communities. The Church has often been slow or unsure
how to respond to the needs around it. We have become unclear about our mission.
Yet our calling and mission has never really changed.
Christ, limited by the nails and timber, still reaches out to
meet the immediate personal need of His mother, Mary. Christ’s answer
to her need was found in His follower, John. The same holds true today. Christ’s
so often chooses to meet the real needs and problems of others through the
empowerment of spiritual delegation using His living disciples. We are to
be Christ’s hands and feet to the world around us. We must begin locally
and aspire to fulfill Christ’s message of compassion globally. Christ’s
ministry of compassion to the world is a message of hope and empowerment through
a return to urban ministries, crisis care kits following a natural disaster,
organization of events that raise the awareness of real community needs, and
ministries that touch people one person at a time. We are the answer He has
sent.
As the victim of judicial injustice, Christ calls to believers
to raise the banner for social justice. The Church has, historically, often
been the vehicle through which grave social needs were met. Meals have been
provided, education has been made available, a partnerships formed to address
particular community needs. The Church is at its best when it models justice
and compels society to do what is right. We understand that every person matters
to our Lord and He died and rose again for all. God’s is genuinely and
actively concerned for the individual through the work of His people. Social
justice must take the place of complacency and remain an active part of the
life of the Church around the world.
What does the life of a disciple of Christ look like? A true
believer with a changed heart cannot look upon someone in need and be satisfied
with only an emotional response of compassion. The genuine follower of Jesus
Christ will follow their Spirit-led hearts and live with compassion toward
those in need around them. Our churches must become true ministry centers
unlocking the real needs in our community. When real needs are met with compassion
and the message of the gospel, lives are changed within and without; believers
find real joy and purpose. We must seek and be vehicles for justice in our
communities, uniting to bring about justice globally.
(For the full manuscript
of this sermon go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons.”)
Our congregations so often after Lent and Easter go into sermon
overload mode and fail to grasp that we must be more than just hearers of
the Word, but must clearly be doers of the Word. These three statements from
the cross demand a response that is more than just verbal assent. This message,
partnered with a call to undertake ministry that has been identified and studied
as a real and addressable need in the community can bring about a much needed
goal and focus for the local church. Hopefully, an action plan with assigned
leadership has already been formulated with all the preliminary work completed
and leaders procured. We truly have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps
of Jesus who brought healing, hope, and even foot to a subjugated people who
often lived from day to day.
These passages remind us that every family has needs and often overwhelming difficulties to face. It reminds all of us in the community of faith how much we really do need one another. Even Christ’s family needed help from the apostle John. It reminds the Church that we are not only to be the recipients of care and compassion, but also the vehicles of these same gifts. Since our church history is firmly grounded in our movement being keenly involved in the carrying out of compassionate ministry and social justice, we must carry on the traditions of our God-called movement. This would be a great opportunity for our missions ministry to present global ministry opportunities and needs. This passage provides an opportunity for testimonies from those who have already come to Jesus Christ through the current ministries of the local church and how their lives have been radically blessed. Even dealing with passages about the death of the Messiah can lead to great celebration when we see the results of sacrifice that is God led. This service could lead to a challenge to serve and even take up the call to vocational Christian ministry.
