SERMON SERIES WEEK 6-LENT: A TIME FOR LOVE. LOVE DOES NOT KEEP A RECORD OF WRONGS
When we began our midweek Lenten journey some five weeks ago, the first reading we heard on Ash Wednesday was from the book of Joel. You might remember that through this prophet, God warned his people of his coming judgment for their failure to love. After Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the garden, the rebellion of God’s people had only become worse. They had not followed the way of love of God and one another. God had pleaded with them over and over, but they turned away from him and his prophets despite his longing pleas again and again.
In that reading from Joel, God demanded that the warning alarm be sounded—he was about to bring about a consequence—disaster is on the way—a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! It is an invading swarm of locusts, personified as God’s army coming to bring judgment on Israel. The swarm is so great that they will block out sunlight and cast a dark shadow over the land as they wipe out the vegetation in a flash. Destruction of the crops not only means the people will have no food, but they will have no grain for making grain offerings to God. Had God brought an end to his relationship with his people?
There is a parallel with these themes in tonight’s Passion narrative. Hundreds of years after Joel’s prophecy, God again warns of judgment he is bringing on his people. Jesus himself gives this warning as he travels to the Cross. A crowd follow him, among whom was a group of women who were weeping for Jesus. Jesus said to them: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ (like saying it would be better for them if they had never been born).
Jesus gives a chilling insight in to what is to come: For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Green wood doesn’t burn very well, but when it is dry it is fuel that is easily consumed by raging fires. Jesus likens the time of his suffering and death to green wood, that would ordinarily be unsuitable to burn. If the people can cause so much destruction while the wood is green, just imagine the devastation of divine judgment later on when the wood is dry. Jesus is speaking of a future destruction of Jerusalem by their Roman oppressors. In Joel an army of locusts threatened to bring an end to the sacrificial system, here in Luke God warns the invading army of the Romans will destroy Jerusalem and bring an end to the Temple, where he had promised to be present to hear his people and forgive and bless them. Would God end his relationship with his people this time? The coming disaster will be so great for they who had rejected and murdered their own Messiah that it would be preferable for the mountains to fall in on them, rather than ongoing suffering and destruction of Jerusalem.
All this talk of judgment might seem very confronting and challenging to our view of a loving God. But how often do we experience the sin of another against us, or witness something in daily life or on the world news and implore God to do something about it. Let’s read the verse on love from First Corinthians 13: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:4-6).
True love doesn’t just mean doing whatever we want, and it will all be fine, because God loves us. That isn’t how God understands love. For love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
Yet it is in the midst of this dire warning that comes some of the most profound messages of grace. As Jesus was led away to be crucified, two criminals were also led away to be put to death with Jesus. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified Jesus in the company of criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Was Jesus praying for the criminals, or for those who were executing him? I believe it was all of them. Jesus was not counting their wrongs against them, but willingly humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a Cross.
Would you do this? Would you lay down your life for someone you loved—your husband or wife, your children, or parents? Would you do it for someone who was impatient with you, or someone who was rude to you? Would you do it for someone who had wronged you, or who counted all your wrongs against you? Would you do it for someone who only sought their own interest, who bullied you in the schoolyard or in the workplace, or exploited you to get what they wanted, or tarnished your reputation to make their own look better? Would you do it for a criminal—a vandal, thief, murderer…or even for the worst possible tyrant you could imagine?
In Romans 5 Paul says: “At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God loved the people who cast lots to divide Jesus’ garments. God loved the rulers who scoffed at Jesus: “let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” God loved the soldiers who mocked Jesus, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” God loved the criminal who railed at Jesus: “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” While we were sinners, Christ died for us.
In the Ash Wednesday text from Joel comes a proclamation of God’s love for his wayward people, and a promise, yet, of grace, for them:
“Even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
Who knows? He may turn and relent
and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings
for the Lord your God” (Joel 2:12-14).
In tonight’s Passion narrative, it is Jesus who is the grain offering and the drink offering left behind. He is now the sacrifice to make atonement for our sin and reconcile us to God. God’s grace and compassion, slowness to anger and abundant love is in Christ. For all those who have ears to listen to Jesus and trust in his words, there would be divine mercy and favour—that was the promise even despite the calamity that would befall Jerusalem.
And so the other criminal rebuked the first for his words of anger to Jesus: “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
What an amazing statement of faith and trust, and confidence in Jesus! He knows that Jesus is coming into kingly power and authority, about to reign. This cant be any earthly political kingdom, which is what Israel hoped for—Jesus to lead a rebellion to overthrow Roman rule—because he’s about to die! This can only be a spiritual, supernatural kingdom; one with divine power and authority—and mercy and grace: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This isn’t just a call for Jesus to remember him mentally—but more to act faithfully according to what he has promised.
Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Love keeps no record of wrongs.
There is a fable of Aesop’s called ‘The Two Bags’. Every person carries two bags about with them, one in front of them, and one behind. Both bags are packed full of faults. The bag in front contains their neighbours’ faults, the one behind, the person’s own faults. And so it is that people do not see their own faults, but never fail to see the faults of others.
Although that is a fable, it describes well the human nature. If we are truthful and honest with ourselves—love rejoices in the truth—we recognise that that is what we are like too. Since the Fall, we set the standard and happily point out when others cross that standard, but excuse ourselves. That’s really self-justification…blaming others to feel better about ourselves.
But self-justification is nowhere near enough in God’s sight. That is why he sent his Son—that God might justify us—that we might be justified through faith in Jesus’ righteous life, his suffering and death, his shed blood and body nailed to the Cross as the perfect sacrifice for sin. Rather than keeping a record of our wrongs, he nailed them to the Cross, freeing us to forgive those who sin against us.
As we continue in this season of Lent, and quickly approach Holy Week now, may we, like the second criminal, confess completely our transgressions that caused the sinless Son of God to take our sins upon himself, and suffer and die. And may we throw ourselves completely on his righteousness alone. May you hear his gracious, life-giving, life-freeing words to be true for you too: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Amen.
