await the mark of adam's dust

to seal their wills in Jesus trust

A sermon that time Jesus invalidated his own sermon (parable):

This might be the turning point in the whole Gospel. With this incident, the cross doesn’t just become inevitable; the resurrection does, too. Here, Christ turns everything, in the immortal words of Diana Ross, upside down, inside out, and round and ‘round. Yes, I know it looks like just another miracle, but with this miracle, Christ outdoes himself!

Literally! And I don’t mean figuratively, either! I literally mean literally! With this miracle, Christ literally outdoes HIMSELF!

Let me tell you what I mean: But to do that, we have to go back a few weeks. And then, after that, we have to go back to last week. Are you willing to go there with me?

Good! Ok. Remember a few weeks ago when Jesus told that parable about the sower and the different types of soil? There was the hard roadside soil, the shallow soil, the weed-infested soil, and then the good soil. And remember, we were asked to choose which soil we identified with most?

Ultimately, though, we acknowledged that we all have all these different kinds of soil in our lives. Don’t we? Ultimately-ultimately, though, we discovered that the real point of the parable is that Christ is the kind of sower who’s perfectly happy to sow his seed on all types of soil. Right?

Here’s the wild thing, though: today, Christ even ups the ante on that bold claim! But, to really appreciate that, we’ve got to go back to last week. Can you remember last week? It’s asking a lot, I know!

…Last week was another familiar passage. It was the episode of the rich young ruler. Remember, the rich man was a guy who had it all? Yet, for all that, he never felt like he had it all.

In fact, the poor stiff was so afraid of losing it all that he never learned how to just receive ANY of it. It was a tragedy in the truest sense. And it was so tragic it seemed to have steeled Christ himself! Remember, after the rich man walked away, Christ looked around in amazement and remarked how nearly impossible it must be for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. 

The thing, though, is that shouldn’t have surprised Christ. And I don’t mean that he had God’s perfect foreknowledge, either. No, what I mean is, Christ had already predicted such an outcome himself! Some of you already know the answer, but what kind of soil would you say the rich man is?

That’s right! He’s the weed-infested soil! The rich man is so overwhelmed with the cares of the world that the Gospel gets choked out! Jesus already predicted it! 

Nevertheless, Jesus is still utterly miffed when it happens! Isn’t he? And looking back, it seems as if that’s the moment when Christ decided enough is enough. Sure, he may have already predicted how the seed would fare in that kind of soil. However, now he’s done letting any kind of soil be the determining factor anymore! 

Today’s Scripture takes place on some kind of soil, too. Doesn’t it? Where is Bartimaeus sitting? 

That’s right, on the side of the road! And remember, that’s exactly where the first seed falls! Isn’t it? On the side of the road! But does the seed stand a chance?

No, it doesn’t! The seed never sinks into that hard soil. Plus, even if it could, the birds, representing Satan, swoop in and eat the seed before there’s ever even a chance.

…And check this out: that’s precisely what happens in today’s Scripture, too! There Bartimaeus is, sitting along the roadside! And he calls out to Jesus, too. But BEFORE Bartimaeus even has a chance, the crowd tries to hush him up. Don’t they?

It seems the crowd is possessed. Satan is using them to try and swoop in before Jesus, the word of God himself, even has a chance! And keep that in mind, too. I’ll come back to it and point out something really sweet. For now, though, it’s enough to notice that the episode is playing out just as Jesus said it would.

However, something happens. Doesn’t it? Jesus notices! And Jesus doesn’t just notice, either. Does he? No, he stops! He stops, and he calls Bartimaeus over!

It’s as if Jesus has had enough of fatalism! It’s as if Jesus has decided that his determination would now be the determining factor! And with that, Jesus upends his own parable! When Bartimaeus gets up, a whole new history is written!

And Bartimaeus isn’t the only one who’s given a new future, either! Is he? What does the crowd do when Jesus calls Bartimaeus?

That’s right! They get excited for Bartimaeus themselves! It’s as if the crowd itself is healed! It’s as if the crowd had been possessed by a demon. But now, they are made part of a congregation as Jesus chases away the fowl of that old satanic foe!

With that, SUDDENLY, the resurrection itself begins to poke through the Gospel! Now, not only is Christ healing people, but he’s doing the impossible! No, that’s not strong enough! Christ is making impossible his business! Now, impossible is precisely what Christ does!

…Truthfully, even the most staunch atheist will admit Christ existed. And they will even admit he was crucified, too. Not only is the historical record there, but all the facts make it inevitable. The cross was inevitable for anyone who did what Christ did.

But now, with this stunning turn, inevitable isn’t inevitable anymore! Or rather, inevitable is child’s play for Christ, the child of God! Now, Christ is taking inevitable and making it the very soil for the seed of his new creation! His new creation that splits the hard soil of reality itself! His new creation that splits the hard soil of reality and plants the promise of his impossible resurrection therein! 

We all have places in life where the inevitable holds sway. Don’t we? There’s no shortage of spots where the past catches up with us or the future closes in on us. And if Christ had let his own parable have the last word, that would be where the Word of God was either snatched, withered, or choked.

But now, Christ has had enough of that! Now, Christ is taking matters into his own hands! Now, it all depends on him! Now, Christ, and Christ alone, is the determining factor! Now, inevitable is choice land for Christ!

You and I, we live with this fantasy that our lives are difficult. But they’re not! No, our lives are impossible. Yes, you heard me right. Impossible!

There’s no way to do life right! The perfect child or parenting technique does not exist! And neither does the ideal friendship or marriage. The dream job is also an illusion! And so is the flawless way to age, too! 

On and on the list goes, too! Life is impossible. You can’t do it right. And I know that might not sound very optimistic. But it’s really the best piece of Good News you’ve received in a long time! 

Now that you know you can’t manage your life, you can actually start living it! Plus, when you can just let life come on its own terms, you can finally begin to receive it as the gift it’s been all along! But the icing on the cake, the part that sounds too good to be true is, this messy life with all its imperfections is the staging ground for Christ and his impossible handiwork! Christ turns his gaze to you when you cry out amid all your impossibility. 

And Lord knows we all have more of that than we like. Don’t we? But the promise is, real life begins where your dreams of a perfect life end. And the pure gold, solid rock Gospel is, Christ is for real life! Christ is for real people living real lives! So if that’s you, and it is, that makes you the apple of Christ’s eye this morning!

…And I know how, in the pinch, this can be hard to believe. But lately, it’s not been so difficult for me. It’s always hard. But recently, I saw it happen for myself. And I saw it, of all days, on Ash Wednesday.

On Ash Wednesday, I try to make as many visits as possible. It can make for a hectic day. And it can make for short visits, too. And short visits aren’t anyone’s favorite, either. 

Around lunchtime, I was visiting with Pauline. I gave her the ashes, and she received communion, too. We chatted for a while, but before long, it was time to be getting on. Before I left, though, something happened.

That dull Wednesday afternoon was filled with a holy light. Yes, lovely Iowa afternoon light was pouring in through the window by her bed. But the real light was the glint coming from Saint Pauline’s eyes themselves! Holy rays seemed to emanate from her! 

I think Saint Pauline could sense it, too. But, like all saints, she trusted enough in that moment not to draw attention to it. Instead, she just basked in the splendor of that mundane miracle. And then, with those ashes tracing her baptism smeared on her brow, Saint Pauline was overshadowed by a sacred glow. Instead of being upset I was leaving so quickly, Saint Pauline smiled and said, “Life can be good when you let it.” Life can be good when you let it.

Now, I know that sounds like an easy thing to say. But believe me, it’s not. It never is. And Saint Pauline came to that faith the hard way herself. 

Saint Pauline lives at Bickford now. And, like all big transitions, it was a tough one for her. Plus, like all of us, Saint Pauline has known her fair share of sorrows, too. And yet, somehow, at that moment, it was all caught up and incorporated into this wider activity of God that sanctifies, redeems, and remakes all our moments into an impossible instance of eternity itself!

…This is what the resurrection has unleashed! And not someday, either. No, at the cross, Christ flooded this rough and rowdy mortal coil with his heavenly impossibility! And now, it is presently changing everything!

Yes, it came to fruition on that first Easter Sunday. But it was enacted on the only Good Friday that didn’t seem all that good. I can’t help but suspect it was put into motion on that day Christ looked at Bartimaeus and decided to outdo his own parable! Either way, it’s all yours. And it is even now making all things possible, all things new, and all the difference amid all your impossibility.

You can’t talk yourself into this. You can only experience it. And you have. And you will, too. In the meantime, though, we can pray for it. We can wait for it. And we can lean into it, too!

One of the best ways to do this is to sing! And we’ve got just the perfect hymn for it, too! Hymn number 325. I Want Jesus to Walk with Me—hymn number 325. I Want Jesus to Walk with Me. 

Let’s sing!