“Because God Loves Us”              2012

Isaiah 40:3-8        Mark 11:1-11

 

Isaiah 40:3-8

3A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 6A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. 7The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. 8The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.

 

Mark 11:1-11

1When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. 7Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. 8Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! 10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”11Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

 

Growing up, my dad wasn’t one    to say much about his feelings,

            but we know he loved us by the way he provided and cared for us

                        and he showed it by the special things he planned for us.

 

For example, I remember a family vacation he planned one summer.

       I was still in elementary school and he thought it would beà

                        great fun to go from our home in the Boston area and camp                                     all across the country to California and back again…

… including a stop in El Paso on our way to visit Carlsbad Caverns.

 

My father was an engineer,

      a real believer in careful planning and detailed preparation.

                        He bought a 3-room tent for our cross-country vacation,

                                    and had my brother and I practice

                                             setting it up and taking it down in the backyard

                                                            until we could get it right every time.

 

And Dad didn’t just follow a AAA planned travel route,

            but he also worked out when we’d arrive at each tourist spot,

                        and exactly where we would set up camp for the night…

  … and amazingly, it all worked out pretty much as he planned.

 

Though we teased him about his elaborate and detailed planning,

            knowing that he did have everything all worked out,

                        we felt safer, and more sure and secure along the way…

 

… and as an adult looking back and remembering,

            I realize now and appreciate that he went to all that trouble,

                        and made such an effort to carefully plan and prepare ---

            -- because he loved us,

                    and wanted that vacation to be something special for us.

* His planning and preparations – his attention to the details  --

          - they were a sign and expression that he loved his children.

 

The Isaiah text we read is really a description of God’s plan

            meant to comfort and reassure

                    the Hebrew people who were being held captive in Babylon;

            àthat God had not   abandoned them, but still loved them,

                        was working a plan that would bring them home again,

                                    and re-establish the defeated nation of Israel.         

    God’s promise and plan were really a sign of God’s abiding love.

 

It was common practice those days for conquering armies

            to capture the people and drag them off in chains like slaves,

                        and be forced to serve as captives …   placing themà

                             into a hopeless and powerless exile of defeat.

 

The prophet’s message to those taken in exile to Babylon

            was that God’s promise and plan was to be fulfilled;

                             so get ready to see what God’s going to do next!

vs. 3~8

            “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; {that’s the plan … and here’s the promise}... Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. … The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. ”

 

God has a plan and is preparing a way through the wilderness,

          which proves God’s steadfast faithfulness & gracious love.

God’s promises will surely be fulfilled ---

          and though all else of this world fails and fades,

                    yet God’s word,  grace and goodness does not,   not ever.

 

If you know ancient history, then you know that as promised,

            the people did return home from exile in Babylon,

                        and the nation of Israel was restored, as God had said.

            But this text is much more than just a trek back into history…

                        because it also reveals

                                    something very important and true about our God.

 

To those struggling and suffering in Babylon,

            life looked hopeless, and that all was forever lost.

They couldn’t imagine any possible resolution or reason to hope,

                            but we know that God had a plan,

                                    and that God’s promises were gloriously fulfilled.

           

The message for us from the text   that we need to hear today,

            is that we worship and serve that same   God of the exiles,

                   who still  loves, plans, promises and fulfills…

                             … because that is the nature and character of God.

* History reveals that what God  says in Scripture comes to pass…

          … which is the same point at heart in the Mark 11 passage.

 

This part of Mark’s gospel about entering Jerusalem toward

            the events of Holy Week, the death and resurrection of Jesus.

It is noteworthy in this passage,

            that much of the focus is on the colt Jesus would ride…

 

… which is a seemingly, just a minor matter of his transportation.

            Yet over half of Mark’s story about Jesus entering Jerusalem

                        deals with the details of acquiring the donkey ---

                                    where to go and find it, what kind of colt to seek,

                                                instructions about what to do and what to say.

    So why do you suppose, there is so much emphasis on the donkey?

It’s because details of Jesus entering Jerusalem include a donkey

            as described and foretold by the Old Testament prophets…

… making the point that events of Palm Sunday, Holy Week & Easter,

      were all according to the will, plan and saving purpose of God.

 

It matters that the entry into Jerusalem was all arranged

            because that shows and demonstrates

                        that God did have a plan in place all along,

               and that Jesus was not a victim accidently crucified,

                 or that the events of Holy Week were an unexpected mistake.

 

The gospel writer wants us, the readers,  to understand that à

          the death and resurrection were in fulfillment of God’s plan

                    and that all was arranged according to God’s purpose,

                           because God loves us, and wants to save and bless us.

 

This leads to two important truths about our hope in Christ.

            First, our God is a God who plans and fulfills promises.

                        So when we fail, struggle, suffer, or even face defeat,

                                    we are assured that God has not abandoned us.

 

God’s declared promise, purpose and plan made long ago    is allà

            for our good, our salvation, blessing and spiritual growth…

 

… and by faith we know that God will prevail

            and transform even our worst defeats, failures and losses

                        into blessing and benefits toward our eternal growth.

… and by faith we will see

            that God has been accomplishing all along the way,

                        God’s purpose and plan of grace intended for our good.

 

The second hopeful conclusion we can draw from these texts,

            is that God’s plan and purpose is always

                   an expression and sign   that demonstrates God’s love,

                              and our assurance of God’s desire to grace & bless us.

 

My father made his plans for our family vacation out of love,

            because he wanted to give and do something special for us…

                        … and so he worked the details of our journey,

                              providing for us to arrive safely at our destination.

So too, our heavenly Father’s purpose and promise

            is  a sure plan for our salvation, our journey of faith,

                        that provides blessing and opportunities for us to grow

                            and develop our life & faith as our loving God intends.

 

And so the point is far more than just a focus on ancient history,

            or some events that happened of a couple thousand years ago.

 

Just as God  loved, planned, promised and fulfilled back then,

            so God is still at work and still accomplishing grace and good

                        in our lives, this church and the world today, right now.

 

Yet the world around us

            can be a very scary, difficult and disheartening place,

                        quick to point out our faults, mistakes and failures.

            Everywhere the message we hear is that we are damage goods;

                        that we are insignificant, unworthy, or a mistake…

   … that our best isn’t good enough and we really don’t measure up.

 

In contrast to that, God’s message is, “I love you.”  John 3:16-17

            “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.  Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

 

God says, “I love you, that’s why I made you    the way you are.

            I did it on purpose, because I have amazing plans for you,

                        and if you let me, by walling in my love and my blessings

                                    that will satisfy you and fulfill you gloriously.”

Scripture reveals that our God loves, plans, promises & fulfills,

            just as in baptism, God claims us, calls us beloved family,

                        saying, “you are mine, and I want my grace to bless you.”

 

So as we move into Holy Week,

            the Lord does have something special in mind for each of us,

                        God wants and desires good and blessing for each of us,

                                    and for that gracious love to encourage & change us,

                                                for it to influence more   about how we live.

 

Our call and our task, especially this week,  is to look for how

                        what God is doing in our life and in our world,

                                    connects with the life and teaching of Jesus.

 

Our call is to trust God, and grow deeper and more authentic,

            and for Jesus to reign & rule over more and more of our lives,

                        as we trust that God is up to something more wonderful,

                                    and that our living experience of God’s grace

                                            is an amazing story that is still being written.

 

à as God promised in Jeremiah 29:10~14

            For thus says the Lord: … I will fulfill to you my promise … For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.     Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord