1 He still moves stones My new psychic abilities I have recently discovered that I very well may have precognition abilities. A kind of sixth sense that allows me to know things that second tier people like you do not have. You might naturally ask how I know such things The answer... the Zener Card test. How do I, a spiritual giant, know of such things as Zener Card tests. Well, let me tell you. I am not just a brilliant Bible scholar. Not just a holier than thou Bible thumper. Not just someone who knows the intricacies of heaven so well that I am of virtually no earthly good. No, I am also a renaissance man. I keep abreast of culture. I read the yahoo blurbs about Taylor Swift and Josh Duhameel and Justin Bieber and who won on the bachelor. I have the pulse of what s going on in the world, at least the important things like that. [Ghostbusters playing softly in the background] So how do I know the Zener card test? Its only one of the most scientifically credible movies ever made. And only one of the most brilliant scientific minds ever to be cast in the part of Doctor Peter Venkman. [Music should be full now] Do you remember this great opening? Dr. Venkman (Bill Murray is sitting on one side of the table and two people with potential precognitive abilities sit across from him. Both are hooked up to electrodes. One is a regular looking guy and one is a super-hot blond. He picks up a card and asks each of them what it is. This is the Zener card test. Basically it lays out five cards. One has a circle on it, one has a cross, one has a square, one has a star, and one has wavy lines. Each time Dr. Venkman holds up a card, invariably, the guy gets it wrong and the blond gets it right. Of course Bill Murray is cheating so she will think she has precognition abilities and maybe he can get a date. And of course, the guy gets shocked every time. Well I took this test recently on the computer to see my psychic ability. No electrodes, so I was willing. I had great hopes because at least in my mind I am a step above everyone else. It s not an ego thing, it s just the way things are. Don t hate me because of it. So, first I chose the star, but it was the wavy lines.
2 The second time I chose the cross, but it was the square. Third time was circle but I had chosen the wavy lines. Eight guesses, eight wrong. Undeterred! But I got number nine. And I got number 13. And I got number 17. That s right, I have some real ability when it comes to precognition. I knew I could safely ignore the bottom of the screen that informed me that.24 does not indicate psychic ability. What do they know? And when I took the test again, I got 3 correct in 16. That s 18% correct. I realize that s slightly less than the statistical average of randomly choosing one out of 5 cards, but that does not dissuade me from my belief that I have super powers. Undaunted by the website www.realsuperpowers.com/zener-card-test, I realize that I do indeed have super powers and I want you to know I plan to share my gift with the world. In the vein of Simon Baker from the Mentalist or Jon Edwards from Crossing over, I will attempt to demonstrate my gift right now. I need each of you to do me a favor. For the next 15 seconds or so I want you to think about yourself. That shouldn t be too difficult I want you to think generically about your last year. Don t try to filter your thoughts, just let them run rampant. Rabbit trails are okay as long as it relates to you and not some movie you just saw or book you just read. What I will seek to do, is to read the randomness, to pull out from the chaotic mix of emotions and logic a few things that will wow you. I am starting to see some things. Someone out there has ill-feelings towards a mother-in-law. (I know, I am amazing). Joyce Hartman, Joe Sorrell Someone is trying to make a decision about school. Someone who has the letter s, d, m or j in either their first or last (or middle or maiden name) has had a cold or the flu sometime this winter. Let me see if I can narrow this down a bit Someone in this general vicinity is thinking about 311. I don t know what that means, but apparently they are awesome and one cant think about the sermon and 311 at the same time Katie Ennis Someone over here is thinking about wheel of fortune, and now Darth Maul and now Cars. Stay on a topic kid.
3 Broadys Someone over here is thinking about Taylor Swift again Makayla Herbert Someone in the back left (my left) thinks Pittsburgh something Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins are horrible teams. Stillson It s eerie how well I know you guys isn t it? Let me sober this up a little. I know Someone out there is wondering why in the world they are in church, and a Baptist church at that. Someone out there has lost a job this past year. Someone lost a spouse Someone lost a parent Someone was passed over for a promotion Someone, no two, three, four, whoah. Several people don t like their spouse very much. Someone has a child who just won t listen even though you know what is best for them. Someone is doubting whether God exists. Someone else believes he exists but isn t too sure that he is good. Someone is struggling with depression and they don t even know why. Someone is facing jail time Someone is looking for love Someone is getting bullied, several actually Someone is feeling totally abandoned Someone has contemplated suicide in the last couple of months. Someone has been living a life that they aren t that proud of, but don t know how to get back on track. They don t know if God takes do-overs. Its Easter today. I have preached several Easter sermons in my life and the general theme is one of power. A sermon with a great story, rhetorical flourish, brilliant words designed to make you fall before the king. That s what I always go for. Not today. Over the last month I read a couple of books from the 1900s (that sounds so old doesn t it, but its only 13 years ago) that have made me want to go in another direction. One was called No wonder they call him savior. The other was what I titled this sermon He still moves stones. Considering how I used to ridicule these books, I guess you could say either I have grown up a little bit, or I have totally lost it. I have a rather simple plan this morning.
4 I want to remind you that the Jesus who died on the cross did so that he might show his love. I want to say that if your life isn t what you hoped, Jesus is still here. If you blamed God for what happened this year, he is still waiting and understands your bitterness. I want to tell you that if you are one of those whom Jesus would never touch, he is reaching out his hand today. Bruised reeds and smoldering wicks I want you to join me as we enter an art gallery. Its small, in the back room of a library in fact. There are a couple of dozen easels because the walls are covered with old books; no place to hang paintings. As you enter the room you are met with a beautifully done calligraphy painting. It stands alone and reads simply: A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out... What in the world does that mean? You took a college poetry class and this sure looks like poetry. The calligraphy demands your attention, but what is a bruised reed and a smoldering wick. A reed? Hmmm? You remember your Sunday school from a million years ago and some one told you that the Israelites crossed sea of reeds. Yeah, its one of those plants that grows up out of the shallow water. But its bruised, perhaps broken. It had once stood tall, but now it is slumped over. Not at its best. A bruised reed. Ok. Smoldering wick? That s not too hard. Your wife lights candles all the time, you know what a wick is. But it s not lit. The flame is out. It s hot still and the smoke is drifting off of it, but it sure isn t blazing as it once did. What exactly is this art exhibit about? About things that used to be straight and strong, but now well they aren t. About things that used to be hot and on fire, but now, well, they aren t. If you will You mull that around as you move to the first pair of pictures. The first is a picture of a man. At least you think it s a man. All you can really see is one hand and his eyes, the rest of his body is covered in a dirty, disgusting wrap. The hand is stretched out, if you can call it a hand. The fingers are gone, the skin is white and red. This man is literally falling apart. But it s his eyes that grab you, haunt you. The skin around his eyes is red and swollen and even bloody, but the eyes They are so alone, so lost, so in need, so abandoned. The background is chaotic fluttering. People trying to get out of his way, a mother pulling her child... someone has tripped and is trying to move, a man glaring over his shoulder. Under the portrait are these simple words, If you will, you can If you will what?
5 You look at the canvas to the right. The title has only two words, I will. The scene has changed dramatically. The man is completely different. No longer hunched over, he stands erect. His outer wrap has been dropped and you can see both hands whole hands. His eyes aren t red and decaying. Once again, it s his eyes that draw you. This artist is amazing. The eyes that only a moment before read pain, abandonment, need, are teared, but with obvious joy. And on the side of the man s face/neck/shoulder is the hand of another. The person you can t see, but the hand touches him with affection. I will This man hadn t been touched in years. He wasn t ignored, even that would be better than what has been happening. People fled from him. Except this man. His leprosy didn t slow him down for a second. You stare at the hand on his face and the tears in his eyes. Someone opens the door to the gallery and you are reminded of what you are doing there. You move to the next easels. Whoever has no sin A woman dominates this scene. Quite a beautiful woman. She is also wearing a wrap around her but its not the wrap of a leper. It s that wrap of someone who was forced outside before she was dressed. A bedsheet perhaps, hiding her nakedness. The look on her face is one of embarrassment, shame,... and fear. Men surround her with angry faces and stones in their hands. You remember this story. She had been caught in the act of adultery. In the act. And thrown on the ground before a man that more and more keep calling Master. You look back in her eyes. Desperate as she looks up to this man who has his back to you. The next canvas is changed. The stones that were in the men s hands are laying on the ground. The men are absent. The woman is standing, surprised. The look of fear is gone and is replaced by one of shock. Who is this man who has gone back to doodling in the dirt a smile on his face? That smile catches you. Like the hand on the neck of that last guy. Something about it is so genuine and alive. You remember his words to the mob, Whoever has no sin, throw the first stone. With this phrase he has released the woman. The guilty woman.
6 And that smile on his face. Free The next one is kind of surreal. You can tell it s a man s face but maybe not a man. Something, human but not. A contortion of reality at best. Orange and red and purple dominate the picture causing you to close your own eyes for a second. When you open them you look deeply into the eyes of this contorted face in front of you. The eyes are slits, snake like, with so many pupils you have to blink again. The whole painting is overwhelming. You look away from the eyes, but the mouth isn t much better. It s wide open in a scream and... the darkness of the mouth is inhabited. It almost looks like it s moving. Hundreds of spiderish creatures claw over each other blending together to make the darkness of the mouth. The caption underneath reads Swear to God that you won t torture me The next canvas you assume is the same man, but the surreal feeling you had, the horror that you had looking at his eyes and mouth are gone. He sits, composed. His eyes are searching as if for more understanding. His lips are pursed as if in deep thought. The caption reads free and he leans over listening carefully. You see a shackle around his one wrist but the chain has been broken. The chain dangles You read the caption again: free Free? When was the last time you felt free? Obviously you are an American, you are free. But you aren t. You have a routine that you hate. You don t get to see your kids enough and when you do, you have to take them somewhere to make sure that they fit into the society that has enslaved you. Are we really free, you think. Stand up and walk The next painting is a bird s eye view of a man lying on a roof with four friends busily taking apart the roof. You can see through the hole they have made to someone in the house below. Hundreds of people are swarming the house, looking in windows and pushing others to hear. The look on the unmoving man on the roof is one of pain and frustration and a hint of anticipation. The next picture he has his bed in hand and the people part as he walks out of the house. A smile on his face, and on the four men on the roof and on the man in the midst of the house. Painting after painting portrays a hurting person in desperate need with a companion piece that can only be described as truly alive. Be healed A man who is straining and miserable and can t reach the healing pool, walking out of Bethesda healed Your faith...
7 A woman who has been sick for years. An incureable (it seems) bleeding that has made her physically sick (anemic and who knows what else), emotionally sick (abandoned), relationally sick (no one could touch her) spiritually sick (she couldn t go to the temple). You can read all that on her face. And she risks it all by grabbing for the hem of the masters garment. Then her walking away from him, both smiling, both loved by God. When God ran to reclaim his son A prodigal son Now you see A blind man I can love deeper A prostitute I love enemies A betrayer Little girl, get up A father crying for his dead daughter All touched by the master All forgiven. All given hope These paintings grab you more than you expected. Obviously the artist is something special, but it s not just the art. After all, you know the stories depicted here and you know that man in each of the portraits. You have spent your life hearing about him. Who hasn t? And you have a strong sense of empathy. You feel for those who are hurting, you have been there, for those who are lost, abandoned, contemplating their own death. And even as that grabs your emotions, it s not really you. Perhaps, you are doing okay. You walk to the tenth pair of paintings. Very unexpected. How can I be born again? Here sits an obviously well-off man. No bedraggled wretch, no one disabled or even lacking anything. You can see his clothes are sharp, his chains aren t on his hands but on his neck and they are gold and decorative. Across from him sits the same man that has appeared in every painting. They are talking. Its night obviously and one small light shines on him. The well-dressed man has a puzzled look on his face. As if he has asked a dozen questions and is trying to sort out the answers. They are unique, but profound. The question in the caption is one word How?
8 He doesn t seem to need anything. Life is okay. Things are going the way he planned. But apparently he does... need something, that is. The next painting is one you don t immediately recognize. It s dark again. The same man with the same clothes and necklaces is huddled in a tomb. Next to him are jugs of perfume and myrrh and he and another man are bending over something. You strain to see and notice that it is a body. The body of the same man that was answering his questions. It was Jesus again. But he was dead. The caption here read born again That didn t end how you expected. The teacher with the smile and the hand and the forgiveness and healing was dead. And it says born again. Is he dead or is he born again? Very confusing. Perhaps through the one man s death, the other is born again??? You have made it around the whole circle and have come back to that first calligraphy painting. But from this angle you notice there are two other paintings put back to back against that first one. This is the last set of paintings. Don t be afraid... ever again As you look at that first painting you are amazed at the memories from childhood Sunday school that flood back into your mind. You know this artist must be amazing to get all of this from one painting. The women can barely be seen in the dark, as they make their way up a slight hill next to a mountain. They carry jugs and they stare only straight ahead. The darkness is overpowering. You wouldn t be able to see them at all except in the distance there is a glowing. A light. They cant see it from their vantage point, but you can as you admire the painting. All they see is darkness. Its been dark for two days. Yesterday they never saw the sun all day long. You know where these women are going. You know where they were. You know why it s so dark. In fact, it s way more than physical darkness. It was dark with Peter s denial on their minds It was dark with the disciple s betrayal It was dark with Pilate s decision It was dark with crying out of Jesus It was dark with Satan s glee. And the darkness continues as the women climb this hill to meet this corpse. Their eyes tearing, one steady step in front of the other. Overwhelmed. They come to say goodbye once and for all. They expect nothing.
9 They just loved this man and he must be honored. They won t get anything in return, but they loved him. I wonder if they stopped on their way to the tomb. I wonder if they realized the pointlessness of it all. Why even show honor to a dead man. Sure he meant something, but he is dead. And we have been following after this guy for years. Where is Nathaniel? Where is Peter? Andrew, anyone? We can barely find the path through the darkness and our tears, why aren t any men here to help us. I don t know if they even considered stopping, but I am glad they didn t. Your mind has really travelled far with a single painting of three women in the dark walking up a hill. The next picture, like all the second pictures jumps out at you. As you expected at this point, it s a cave in a mountain, a stone rolled away. But it s not the cave that draws you in. It s the face of one of the Mary s heavy in the foreground. She is quickly turning away from the tomb. Tears fly through the air as she spins as if the tears are gone forever and on her face a combination of shock and joy. Someone has said something and she has turned to see. The caption at the bottom simply says, Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid. Ever again. Because the stone has been rolled away. Ever wonder why the stone was gone? I mean, Jesus sure didn t need it to be gone. I wonder if the primary reason was so these women could go in and look. So they could know, Jesus was alive. But then Jesus, I suspect with a spark in his eye, thought that wasn t enough. I have to see the look on her face when she realizes it s really me. And Mary and Mary clasp his feet and worship. Who do you resonate with the most? The walk through the library/art museum is complete. A dozen or so people in desperate need and a dozen or so people touched by the masters hand. Which of these people resonated with you the most? Are you like the leper, feeling like an outcast and unwanted by anyone? The woman in turmoil in need of healing?
10 Perhaps the man who appears to need nothing? But really does. Sometimes Christians suck Perhaps you see Christians as people who are so holy that you can t imagine hanging out with them. They show you how good they are, but you don t really see anything all that different about them. You know it s a show. Why can t they just be honest? Perhaps you see Christians as haters of everyone else except their in-group. They hate gays and hate Obama and hate tree huggers and well, they just seem to hate everyone. Perhaps when you think of Christians you think of the Spanish inquisition, and the crusades and people who believe fairy tales about a first man and woman. I get it, Christians suck sometimes. I can t speak for all people who say they are Christians. Remember that many who say they follow Jesus don t really. But I can speak for this group. I know them well and they are trying to love everyone, even if they disagree with them. They are praying for people who differ in their policies and convictions. They are purposing to repent over the atrocities of yesteryear and yesterday. And they still fail often. But for a moment, don t look at the failures of Jesus followers. Look at Jesus. It s true and it s horrible when we don t touch lepers like we should, when we don t reach out to depressed, when we don t comfort the afflicted, when we don t befriend the unfriendable, when we don t love the unloved, but here is the point this morning. Jesus did. Every day. Do you see Jesus for who he was and who he is? It s this same Jesus who did all of these things and hung out with thieves and with prostitutes and with the lowly that also went to the cross. It s this same Jesus who took nails in his hands and feet, a spear in his side, a crown of thorns on his head, spit and fists to his face. It s this Jesus who took the pain of the outcast, the abandoned. Even crying out to the father with us, Why have you forsaken me? And it s this Jesus who met Mary on the other side of the cross alive. And he is not some Jesus far off who has done his job and now he can rest. He still touches people every day. He still loves people every day. He still reaches out to you, right now and says Ignore the failings of my church, they are trying, but look at me. I am here, I love you, I rose that you might have life future life and present life. If you would bow your head please, close your eyes. Talk to God for a moment. This a call to Christians to wake up and serve like Jesus served. Because of what Jesus did for you, reach out to the hurting and the lowly and love people who are different from you. If you are someone who identifies with Christianity and you hear this call and you want to do better, I want to see a hand.
11 It s a call to Christians who are still hurting and still feeling abandoned sometimes and even though they know Jesus is there for them they don t always feel that way and the world often overpowers them and they just hurt. Anyone here fit that bill? Let me see some hands. It s a call for them to remember that Jesus does feel your pain and he does love you And it s a call for those who don t like the term Christian. It s a call to consider Jesus. This man of gentleness and compassion who went willingly to the cross for you and conquered death. It does require something of you, but it s not something that you don t already know. It requires you to admit that you need him. That you have something that keeps you from being a true son or daughter of the king. It requires a turning from yourself to your savior. To a friend I want to close with a letter Dear Friend: I had to write to tell you how much I love you and care for you. Yesterday, I saw you walking and laughing with your friends; I hoped that soon you d want me to walk along with you, too. So, I painted you a sunset to close your day and whispered a cool breeze to refresh you. I waited you never called I just kept on loving you. As I watched you fall asleep last night, I wanted to touch you. I spilled moonlight onto your face trickling down your cheeks as so many tears have. You didn t even think of Me; I wanted so much to comfort you. The next day I exploded a brilliant sunrise into glorious morning for you. But you woke up late and rushed off to work you didn t even notice. My sky became cloudy and My tears were the rain. I love you, oh, if you d only listen. I really love you. I try to say it in the quiet of the green meadow and in the blue sky. The wind whispers my love throughout the treetops and spills it into the vibrant colors of all the flowers. I shout it to you in the thunder of the great waterfalls and compose love songs for birds to sing for you. I warm you with the clothing of My sunshine and perfume the air with nature s sweet scent. My love for you is deeper than any ocean and greater than any need in your heart. If you d only realize how I care. My Father sends His love. I want you to meet Him He cares, too. Fathers are just that way. So, please; call on Me soon. Love, Your Friend, Jesus. I know there are several people who probably resonate with these words. I am going to pray for you as a group, but I would love to see who it is who wants prayer. Any hands? And he says that as you take his hand, he will lead you and love you and never leave you.