February 19, 2012

“TIME TO MAKE A DECISION”

Text: Luke 9:23-26

 

 

“What shall I to do with Jesus who is called the Christ?” Our text actually is the words of Pontius Pilate who will play a critical role in the drama leading up to the death of Jesus’ on Calvary’s Cross. You might wonder why we are jumping ahead of ourselves.  We are not, really. We will get back to Pilate later. His question, as direct as it was, is exactly what we must deal with now as we get ready to begin the season of Lent and a time of hopeful humble devotion and reflection.

This Wednesday, as we share in our Ash Wednesday service, we will begin a time of 40 days when we will be called in different ways to look into our heart and soul.  We will deal with the same question that bothered Pilate, “What are we to do with Jesus who is called the Christ?”

That’s why we have these 40 days.  We can get ready for what we now know is to come and deal with it in the best way we can. Maybe that is why Jesus took so long to get to Jerusalem.  Not because he was dragging his feet not wanting to face the Cross, but because we have been dragging our feet unable to make a real decision, a decision that will last. It is more important than what we will give up for Lent; it’s about what we will choose as a way of life, not just 40 days.

And so we ask. What do you do with a man who knew the time, the method, the place, and the hour of his execution for crimes he did not commit, but walks right into his executioners hands without putting up any defense?

What do you do with a man who is a carpenter by profession but whose main teachings are designed to save God’s people and save the world, but didn’t bother to save himself?

What do you do with a man who talked about the power of love and peace in a world where hatred and vengeance seemed more of a norm?

What do you do with a man who asks you to make major changes in the way you live your life, in your priorities, and how you spend your time, your energy and your money?

What do you do with a man who calls you to think of others before you think of yourselves and to even make sacrifices for their sake to bring them hope?

Well, we have two choices, and only two, and now is a good time for us to decide.

We can reject him as being just a bit bizarre, asking way too much, being plain unreasonable, to say nothing about unbelievable.

Or, we can accept his unconditional, undeserved love. We can claim his gift of hope and his eternal promise, his guidance and his presence.

We can accept that he has only our best interest at heart and his way and his words of truth are the only real answers for all the challenges and the times of testing we face every single day.

We need to decide. It seems we owe him that much. Will we accept him as our Lord and Savior; will we listen to his teachings and seek to make them a part of our life, at least more than we have in the past?

If our answer is yes, then Jesus says “follow me”. He doesn’t promise that the path will be easy.  It will often be difficult and will often test the foundation of our faith. He does promise that we will never be alone and if we stick together we will get through.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if while Jesus walks to Calvary, that we let him know that what he does he does not do in vain. We will follow him the best way we can. We will believe in him with all the strength we have. We will have faith and trust in him and what he has and what he will continue to teach us. We will take it as a sacred calling that we will tell others about him and what he did, not just to those who have already accepted him, but also to the ones who have yet to accept that his gift is for them too. 

Our task is to keep the story alive by the way we live and how we treat those who are still searching, those who are on the outer ring of society.

That is if we have decided that what we are going to do with Jesus is to accept him and follow him this day and all our days.

Is that what we are going to decide?  He’ll be starting his walk soon.