Sermon preached by Fr. Tom
at St. Thomas Episcopal – Plymouth
November 24, 2013
Last Sunday of Pentecost
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Canticle 16
Colossians 1:11-20
Luke 23:33-43
“May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be an acceptable offering in your sight, Oh Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”
I want to start today by telling a couple of stories about being stuck. This being stuck can happen in a lot of ways. People get stuck sometimes in bad relationships or jobs that are not going anywhere. I know some of my students used to dig a hole they couldn’t climb out of sometimes. My stories are not so dramatic as any of these, and since she is not here to defend herself, they are going to be about Susan.
By way of some back story, Susan’s family lived in GA and SC all her life. Susan’s parents really don’t like driving in the snow, and they have never had much experience driving in it. Susan and I got married and lived in LA for two years and TN for 17. When we moved to IN, she still had not had much experience driving in the snow.
One day in the first couple of years we were in IN, Susan drove a girl down to see her mother in prison. The mother’s first three months were up, and the mom could have a visitor. The weather was not being cooperative, and Susan slid into a snowpile and was halfway off the road. I am not sure, but I think a wheel was in the air. This car was not going anywhere, and really it represented a traffic hazard. It was blocking a state road in a blizzard. Someone was likely to run into our car and create a bigger traffic hazard.
In all this, there is a child who wants to see her mom and Susan is worried about the car and what I am going to say. Along comes a snow plow, and Susan is blocking the plow. She talks to the guy who is nice enough, but he is not going to get involved. He gives Susan a number for a tow truck which charges $60 to pull her out of the snow bank. There is a lot of being stuck in this story. There is the mom in prison. There is the car in the snowpile. There is the snow plow driver who has a job description and is going to do his job and no more. This guy is stuck as well.
Let’s turn the clock forward a few years. Susan is driving our Ford Explorer. It is another blizzard, and there are snow drifts over the road and a patch of ice. The Ford slides off the road into a ditch. Susan calls me on her cell phone literally from the ditch. In the middle of the call she says, “Let me call you back.”
Some guy essentially saw this as it took place and jumped out of his truck. He got chains out of the back and attached them to a tow hook on the Ford. He pulled Susan out of the ditch, and would not give his name or accept money. He threw the chains in the back of his truck and Susan called me back. “You are not going to believe this,” she said. Within ten minutes of sliding off the road, Susan was back on the road.
Now these are two very different stories about being stuck, and they ended in different ways. In the first story, the plow driver can’t do his job and has an incentive to help. He is not much help at all. The second story has a person with no real incentive to help and does so anyway.
Now I told you I had two stories about being stuck, and really I gave you two stories about getting unstuck. I want to look at these two incidents, and then I want to talk about today’s Gospel.
The first driver had every incentive to help Susan, and on some level it was his job. He was keeping the roads clear and safe in a storm. He did what he was required to do and no more.
The second driver had nothing to gain by helping a stranded motorist and was generous from the heart. I could ask you which of these men acted more like Jesus, and you would know the answer.
Let’s look at the Gospel now. We have been walking slowly to Jerusalem for the past few weeks as we have been reading Luke. We skip the Passion and go straight to the cross in today’s reading. Jesus has been crucified with the Good Thief on his right, and the Bad Thief on his left.
The Good Thief is usually called Dismas, although he is not named in the Gospel. If any of you have ever wondered about the Orthodox cross with the extra piece at the bottom, the one on the bottom which slants is slanting up pointing to the Good Thief and slanting down pointing to the Bad Thief.
Think about some people who are stuck. These thieves are in a very bad place. They have been crucified and left to die.
My first question is how do we respond when we are in a bad place? Do we lash out at God? That is what the thief on the left was doing.
‘One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”‘
There are lots of people who find themselves angry with God for one reason or another. While God is big, and he can take it, you have to ask yourself what is the point? You also have to ask how it seems to be working for you. The Bad Thief has not improved his short term or his long term situation by being angry at God. At the end of the day, the Bad Thief is still being crucified and has no hope.
The Good Thief is able to recognize that he bears some responsibility for the bad place he has ended up. He asks Jesus to redeem this situation, and Jesus does.
‘”And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”‘
This thief has improved his situation when he has a really bad set of circumstances. He recognizes the presence of Jesus in his life. He asks Jesus to redeem the situation, and Jesus does.
The second question for you this morning has to do with the times we are not stuck. Sometimes we are the person called to be generous with time and energy. Think about those two times when Susan needed help in the snow. The plow driver did what he had to do and no more. The other man was generous and gracious. One of these men was a better reflection of Jesus. The question is “Which one are you?”
Each of us has opportunities to serve others and be Jesus for someone. We often have the chance to redeem a situation. We can respond grudgingly and do no more than is required. We can also respond cheerfully and graciously.
Instead of takeaways this morning I have some challenges for you. Think of it as homework. Yes – it will be on the test.
- My first challenge to you this morning is to think of the ways you might be stuck. There are lots of ways we can run ourselves into a snowbank and be sitting there waiting and not going anywhere.
- Next I want you to think of how you respond when you are in a bad situation. Do we respond like the bad thief or the good one? Do we lash out at God or recognize His place in our lives? Do we ask God to redeem these bad situations? We need to.
- Finally I want you to think of the opportunities you have for ministry to others. Think of the ways you touch other peoples lives and the ways you are Jesus for another person.
I have said these words in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen