Friday, April 19, 2019

Maundy Thursday sermon, Passed Over..., by Pastor Ruth Foss, Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church, Patten, Maine, April 18, 2019

Maundy Thursday
April 18, 2019
Exodus 12:1-4, 11-14 The Message Bible
Luke 22:1-20 The Message Bible
John 13:1-9 The Message Bible
Psalm 116:1-6, 12-19 The Message Bible

Passed Over…

The Lord be with you…and also with you…let us pray…

We have come almost to the end of our Lenten journey…only two more stops to make, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. We all really like the Easter part of the journey. But the Good Friday…well…not so much. It is hard to think about what Jesus endured for you and me…for all of humanity. But it is in the remembering that we find strength and hope. It is in the remembering that we are changed and renewed…we are recreated within our sorrow and despair…as we rise from the ashes of Wednesday into the glorious Sunday dawning. Yes, it is good to remember even through the pain…so let us remember together…It is a dark night but also one that brought Light into a world full of darkness…yes it truly was a night to remember…

So here we are in the upper room with Jesus and His disciples. We can probably still smell the fragrant oil that Mary anointed Jesus with just six day prior. We are here to share a meal with Him before He completes His purpose here and returns home to His Father…our Father…in Heaven. We have come to stop here for a moment and be taught more of His ways and how we should act. Jesus was still teaching right up to the moment He breathed His last.

Let’s back track for one moment. Jesus had come into the city with fine fanfare. Coats were laid on the ground as well as palm tree branches. He was ushered into the city with loud Hosanna’s and “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” … The people had their savior that was going to save them from Roman oppression. Oh, how joyous it was…and oh, how things had changed since then…now…the religious leaders were looking for a way to kill this would be king of the Jews…soon that same crowd that sang His praises will be shouting “Crucify Him…Crucify Him” … If they only knew that by crucifying Him they made Him King of kings and Lord of lords. But enough of that story…we will save that for our next stop on our Lenten journey…

So, as I said, here we are in the upper room. It is a simple room that has no real specialty to it. An ordinary meeting room… But what happened here was far from the ordinary. What happened here turned the world upside right. What happened here we remember…we remember what Jesus said and did…how He turned the Passover Seder into something that would help all humanity be “passed over” …if they choose that is.

One thing that happened this night was truly a teaching moment. As if anything Jesus did was not teachable…The disciples followed Jesus and for the most part they were pretty teachable …or were they? They followed Jesus for His whole ministry and still didn’t get it…that is until the whole scene was played out…including Friday and Sunday… Let’s think back to the John Scripture I read tonight…

Now there were a couple of disciples that went and made all the arrangements for them to celebrate the Passover Seder…we will talk more on that later. Now they get there and they are enjoying the meal. All of the sudden Jesus gets up…sets aside His robe…gets a basin and washes the disciple’s feet… Now this was not an ordinary thing. He was their teacher…their Rabbi…how in the world can you allow someone of that stature wash your feet? But Jesus shows us how to treat others…not as superior beings but as subservient beings…looking out for others and caring for them more than we care for ourselves.

Jesus showed His disciples, then and future, that it is not about being mighty in our own selves but being humble enough to “lower yourself” so that others can be uplifted. How fitting that Jesus should wash the feet of His disciples telling them if they didn’t allow it they would have no part of Him…later they …and all of humanity, would be washed with His blood to make them worthy ambassadors of His Kingdom…but that is a choice that they and we would have to make. Remember…Jesus showed His disciples to be meek and mild…why would He force the decision upon humanity…?

It is within the simple that greatness is achieved. It is within weakness that victory is won. It is within death that true life begins… It is within rising from the bottom that the real journey begins…

Jesus now puts His robe back on and continues with the night’s festivities. They gathered to celebrate, to remember, to ponder upon the day that God’s mighty hand once again worked in the lives of His people…the night that God set the captives free. We heard the story of the remembrance of that night that they were passed over by the death plague as God pronounce judgment upon the Egyptians.

Within the Exodus story, there is still yet another story being created. God went through the land and struck down the first born in the land of Egypt…didn’t matter if it were it was man or beast…the first born was not going to be saved. Or was there a way of being saved from the angel of death…? Did God provide a way around the death sentence of the Egyptian’s sin against God…the night God pronounced judgement on the gods for Egypt?

The answer to that is yes…God did provide a way for those who believed in Him…and sill does. He instructed them to put blood from the lamb that was slaughtered on the door post of their home. When the hand of God came by it would pass by their home because of the blood on their door posts. How ironic is the fact that the first born of Egypt was put to death because of the sins of the Egyptians and that Jesus, God’s first born died not for His sins…He was sinless…but for our sins and transgressions. It is when we put the blood of Jesus…our only Savior…the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the earth…on the door posts of our hearts that we too are passed by and do not receive the judgement of God’s mighty hand,” the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life” Romans 6:23.

So, they are celebrating the meal and it comes to one of the parts where Jesus was going to bless the bread and cup… Now as I have said before…He celebrated this meal many times with His disciples…but tonight it was different…there was this kind of a nervousness in the air. There was something big on the horizon and you could cut the tension with a knife...Little did they know how big it really was…

The scene was set and not one of them knew the life changing events that were happening right before their eyes. He broke the bread, raised to heaven , broke the bread and instead of saying the usual recitation He said “This is my body, given for you. Eat it in my memory.” His disciples must have thought, “What! What is Jesus talking about His body broken for us. Why is He saying this? Has He had too much wine tonight?” And again, with the cup, He raised it to heaven, Blessed it now this is where it really get weird for the disciples…He said more off the wall things, “This is the cup of the new covenant written in my blood, poured out for you.” Again, His disciples must have been confused. They may have even thought, “What is He talking about a new covenant? We have the one that was given to us through Father Abraham. Why is Jesus talking about a new covenant?”

At this moment, Jesus took on the manifestation of the Spotless Lamb of God. There was no other way and even though He asked if it was His Fathers will for Him to be able to not have to do what He came to do… It was God’s will and not His own He was concerned with doing. Since Adam and Eve people sacrificed lambs to God for the forgiveness of sins. But it wasn’t a once and for all thing. They had so many kinds of sacrifices it was probably hard to keep up with them. They used a live goat over whose head Aaron, the priest, confessed all the sins of the children of Israel on the Day of Atonement. The goat that symbolically bore their sins, was then sent into the wilderness. God knew that there was only one way to have His relationship back with humanity. There needed to be a perfect lamb and only Jesus had the credentials to do it…

Let me go one step ahead of this night to the moment Jesus died for you and me…for all of humanity…it has to do with the lambs. The religious leaders were the ones who slaughter the lambs and passed them out to people so they could apply the blood on the door posts and eat the lambs as they had done for centuries. Well, when Jesus was put on the cross to die, they had not yet slaughtered the lambs yet for Passover. It was when Jesus, the Lamb of God, breathed His last…the temple lambs were slaughtered at that very moment…those Passover lambs and our Lamb that enables us to be passed over, fulfilled their purposes… And as I said before…it is when we apply the blood of Jesus to the door post of our hearts that the voyage begins…the voyage of a life time with Jesus at the helm…a voyage to the heart of God…a voyage of eternal instead of the temporal life we had before…

We heard the Psalmist of Psalm 116 cry out to God for mercy and God listened to him…death was on his heals and he cried for God to save him. God did just that and still does when we cry out for a Savior. Through this Savior we are made right with God. There is no way to pay for this gift…Jesus did that for you and me. We, like the Psalmist can bless God’s name by raising His name up in the assembly of believers and beyond, we are set free to be a blessing to others…that is our greatest service. A grateful and thankful heart for what He has done is a sweet aroma to God as our praises waif up to heaven.

Something began in that upper room. Something that would shake the world. Justice was being served for the least, last and forgotten. God was getting ready to turn the world right side up. And it began with a meal of remembrance and a willing heart. Do you have that willing heart to open itself to the application of the blood of the Lamb that will take away your sins…the blood of a new covenant? Let us remember as we share this meal…doing this in remembrance of Him…the Lamb of God who took away the sins of you and I…

Let us read together from the bulletin the Prayer of thanksgiving…

Living and loving God, we lift our hearts to you in gratitude and joy for all your gifts to us.
You made us in own image and set us in this world of contrasting beauty.
In your great love, you delivered your people of old from slavery and you have delivered us from the power of evil and death through the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ.
We praise and honor you; holy God
Heaven and earth are surely full of your glory.
Blessed is He whose supper we share this night,
and blessed are we - renewed by his life.
 






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April 19, 2019


April 18, 2019
Maundy Thursday
Holy Week
Exodus 12:1-4, 11-14 (1st Passover)
Luke 22:1-20 (last supper)
John 13:1-9 (foot washing)
Psalm 116:1-6, 12-19 (servant song)
and sermon, “Passed Over…”
video
text:
by Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
8AM Live
meditation blog
“God’s Whisper” blog
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
April 18, 2019
&
April 14, 2019
Palm Sunday
6th Week of Lent
Sermon Series: Christ In Me
Inspired by:
Casting Crowns: “Only Jesus” CD
“Only Jesus Devotional”
by Pastor Mark Hall
With Tim Luke
Psalm 31:9-16 (NIV)
Matthew 28:18-20 (Great Commission)
Philippians 1:19-26
and sermon, “It’s Not Over Yet…”, by Pastor Ruth Foss
video – part 1 (before video), most of sermon
video – part 2 (after video for One More Song)
text:
by Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
8AM Live
meditation blog
“God’s Whisper” blog
Children’s Message
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
April 14, 2019
&
April 7, 2019
5th Week of Lent
Sermon Series: Christ In Me
Inspired by:
Casting Crowns: “Only Jesus” CD
“Only Jesus Devotional”
 by Pastor Mark Hall
With Tim Luke
Psalm 126
John 13:35
Philippians 1:27-30
and sermon, “Bridge Construction…”, by Pastor Ruth Foss
video – part 1 (before video)
video – part 2 (after video for The Bridge), most of sermon
video – part 3 (after video for One Awkward Moment)
text:
by Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
8AM Live
meditation blog
“God’s Whisper” blog
Children’s Message
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Patten, ME
April 7, 2019
&
edited April 4, 2019
to the Potter’s hand – v2
edited new name April 3, 2019
to the Potter’s hand
edited April 3, 2019
into the Potter’s hands – v3
edited April 3, 2019
into the Potter’s hands – v2
April 3, 2019
into the Potter’s hands
April 3, 2019
yet still a lump of clay
April 3, 2019
rising up from the clay
April 2, 2019
back on the Potter’s wheel
April 2, 2019
our clay made new
April 2, 2019
a lump of living clay
April 2, 2019
our clay still soft
April 1, 2019
remolded by the Potter
April 1, 2019
feeling the Potter’s touch
April 1, 2019
never  far from the Potter
March 31, 2019
A Life on the Wheel
March 31, 2019
4th Week of Lent
Sermon Series: Christ In Me
Inspired by:
Casting Crowns: “Only Jesus” CD
“Only Jesus Devotional”
 by Pastor Mark Hall
With Tim Luke
Psalm 32
Jeremiah 18:1-6
 “Hands of the Potter”,  by Casting Crowns
and sermon, “Life On the Wheel”, by Pastor Ruth Foss
video – part 1 (before video)
video – part 2 (after video)
text:
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message
by Pastor Ruth Foss
March 31, 2019
&
March 24, 2019
keep on praying - 2
March 24, 2019
give this world back to God
March 24, 2019
3rd Week of Lent
Sermon Series: Christ In Me
Inspired by:
Casting Crowns: “Only Jesus” CD
“Only Jesus Devotional”
 by Pastor Mark Hall
With Tim Luke
Psalm 63:1-8
Ephesians 5:13-14
Psalm 139:23-24; John3:19-21
“Awaken Me” by Casting Crowns
sermon, “Wake Up Sleepy Head”
video – part 1 (before video)
video – part 2 (after video)
text:
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message
by Pastor Ruth Foss
March 24, 2019
&
March 17, 2019
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Second Sunday in Lent
March 17, 2019
St. Patrick’s Day
Sermon Series: Christ in Me
Inspired by:
“Only Jesus” CD by Casting Crowns
“Only Jesus Devotional”
by Pastor Mark Hall
With Tim Luke
Psalm27
John 1:19-27
1 Corinthians 3:5-8
Philippians 3:4-8
“Nobody” Casting Crowns
and sermon, “It’s Not About Me”
video
video, close of the sermon
text
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Departing Blessing, closing prayer, farewell
March 17, 2019
&
March 10, 2019
we are a legacy
March 10, 2019
how can Christ use me
March 10, 2019
all about Christ
March 10, 2019
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
First Sunday in Lent
March 10, 2019
Sermon Series: Christ in Me
Inspired by:
“Only Jesus” CD by Casting Crowns
“Only Jesus Devotional”
 by Pastor Mark Hall
With Tim Luke
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Acts 20:24
“Only Jesus” Casting Crowns
and sermon, “What Is Your Legacy?”
video
text
by Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
8AM Live
meditation blog
“God’s Whisper” blog
Children’s Message
by Pastor Ruth Foss
March 10, 2019

All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 49,520 of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Christ, Spirit, God, grace, prayer, love, Lent, journey, cross, Pastor Ruth Foss, Patten, Maine, Palm Sunday, poetry, poem, Maundy Thursday, Holy Week, Good Friday, Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church,

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