For God So Loved the World

By the Rev. Darren Miner

Gospel Reading

Today’s Gospel reading relates the tail end of an encounter between Jesus and a man named Nicodemus. Now, Nicodemus is an interesting fellow. He sat on the ruling council of Jerusalem. He was a member of the pious Pharisaic sect. He was an acknowledged teacher of Israel. Yet with all these credentials and reasons to be smug about his knowledge of God, Nicodemus recognizes that Jesus is something much more than an acknowledged teacher of Israel; he recognizes that Jesus is “a teacher who has come from God.”

But Nicodemus is not a full-fledged convert. For one thing, he is not willing to be seen in public associating with Jesus. John’s Gospel emphasizes that Nicodemus “came by night.” Perhaps he felt it would be too damaging to his reputation to be seen with this itinerant rabbi.

Jesus opens the conversation with Nicodemus with a teaching about the need for spiritual rebirth. When Nicodemus fails to understand Jesus’ teaching, Jesus gently chides him for his invincible ignorance. But Jesus doesn’t give up on Nicodemus. Instead, he continues to teach him.

He teaches Nicodemus about the price of salvation, death on a cross. And he likens his future crucifixion to the bronze serpent that was raised up by Moses to bring healing to victims of snake bite. But unlike the episode with the bronze serpent, the lifting up of Jesus on the cross will bring healing to countless people throughout the generations—to all who come to trust in him and in the Father who sent him.

Jesus then tells Nicodemus, and us, one of the most important teachings in the entire Bible. He tells us why God sent Jesus, his Son, into the world. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life (John 3:16).”

Now, in most instances in John’s Gospel, the word “world” is code for those who actively oppose the ministry of Jesus. But here, I think, the word is used more inclusively. Here, we learn that eternal life is a gift from God, given to the entire world out of pure love, and that we can choose to accept this gift through faith in his Son Jesus Christ and faithfulness to Jesus’s teaching.

The next verse in today’s reading reinforces this happy teaching, reassuring us that Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save it. Now, if Jesus had concluded his teaching at this juncture, I think we would all be more comfortable with the Gospel reading. But Jesus doesn’t stop there. Instead, he warns that those who actively reject him and choose to walk in spiritual darkness have thereby condemned themselves.

Jesus makes it clear that God’s offer of salvation comes with strings attached; or to be more precise, it comes with one string attached. We are required to trust in Jesus, to trust in him so much that we give over our entire life to him, walking in his way of love.

Now, so far as we know, Nicodemus never became a full disciple of Jesus, never gave himself wholly and openly to the service of the Son of Man. But we know that he was so close to doing so. So close!

Brothers and sisters, don’t be like Nicodemus. Don’t hold back. Give yourself, your entire self, to the service of God’s Son. Trust in him with your whole heart, and follow him, bearing your cross, wherever he may lead. For the reward for total trust in him is nothing less than eternal life.

Amen.

© 2021 by Darren Miner. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Follow the Good Shepherd

By the Rev. Darren Miner

Readings

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Easter, unofficially known as Good Shepherd Sunday, because of all the references to sheep and shepherds in the readings.

Now, in Morning Prayer, the psalm precedes the readings and serves to set the tone for what follows. And Psalm 23 does a very good of job of it, beginning with the very first verse: “The Lord is my shepherd.” It is a pledge of allegiance to our God, a promise to put God above any earthly ruler. But for me, in this time of pandemic, it is verse 4 that really stands out: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” If we are honest, we have to admit that sometimes we do, in fact, fear evil. And that’s precisely why we have this aspirational psalm in our scriptures, so that we can read it, pray it, and find comfort in it.

The lone exception to today’s sheep-and-shepherd theme is the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, which makes no mention of either. It avoids all such metaphors in its description of the exemplary life of the first Christians. Ironically, we cannot, at this time, practice all of the recommended devotions. For we cannot break bread together; we cannot share Holy Communion. Be that as it may, we can and should continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship. We can and should continue in the prayers. And that’s why we are here today on this conference call!

The reading from the First Letter of Peter deals with the issue of righteous people’s suffering. Now, it does not explain why righteous people are allowed to suffer. But it does speak about how we might deal with the suffering that befalls us. Peter’s advice is to endure our suffering faithfully, following the example of Christ, the shepherd and guardian of our souls, who also suffered unjustly. For such faithful suffering will be credited to us in the next life. I don’t dispute this, but, even so, this is a very difficult teaching.

Finally, we come to the Gospel reading. In the first of two parables, we’re told that the rightful shepherd is let into the sheepfold by the gatekeeper. The shepherd calls each of his sheep by name, showing no partiality. His sheep recognize his voice and follow him, while the sheep that do not belong to him are left behind.

Jesus tells this parable to explain why some who hear the Good News respond and others do not. Those who do not respond are like sheep that belong to some other shepherd, one who does not truly care for his flock. Those sheep get left behind in the pen, unable to graze and subject to the ravages of thieves and bandits. The upshot of this parable is to follow the rightful shepherd, Jesus, if you would be saved.

Now, Jesus must have had the feeling that his audience didn’t understand the first parable, so he tries again with a second one. This time, Jesus identifies himself with the gate leading into the sheepfold. Jesus goes on to say that whoever goes in and out through this “Jesus gate” will be sheltered from harm and will have a good life. He ends this second parable with a mission statement, “I came that [my sheep] may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Jesus speaks here about eternal life, a life in communion with God that begins in the here-and-now and that extends into eternity. Now, there may be times when that gift of eternal life doesn’t feel real—times like now, when you are locked in your house and missing your friends and family. But it is real! And it is the source of our hope as Christians. So, hold on to that hope, faithfully endure the suffering that befalls you, and follow the Good Shepherd wherever he may lead. For at the final destination, beyond the valley of the shadow of death, there will be green pastures and still waters and refreshment for your soul. Alleluia!

© 2020 by Darren Miner. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

What’s So Good about Good Friday?

By the Rev. Darren Miner

Passion Gospel

I’d like to know who decided to call this day “Good Friday,” for there is nothing good about it. It is a solemn day, a dreadful day, an awful day. It is a day of fasting and abstinence. It is a day to contemplate the torture and execution of Jesus on a Cross, a day to confront death itself. And this year, we have to do all this in isolation, trapped in our own homes. No, it is not a “good” day!

So, why on earth do we put ourselves through this torment? Why are we compelled to think about the Cross? It would be much more congenial to skip right over Good Friday and to go straight to Easter Day. Now that’s what I call a good day!

Well, folks, that just wouldn’t work. You see, the road to Easter, the road to Resurrection, goes straight through the valley of the shadow of death. There is no other route. Before we can experience the new life of Christ, we must surrender the old life of sin. We do this for the first time at our baptism (or our godparents do it for us). We do this again and again every time we confess our sins to God, whether at Holy Eucharist or at Morning Prayer. And we do it today in spades!

There are many lessons to be learned from the Cross. But the first and foremost is that Christ died for us. And I put especial emphasis on the “for us.” Put another way, Christ died because of us. Once upon a time, the Church was in the habit of blaming the Jews, all Jews, for the death of Jesus. That slander was false then, and it is false now. One of the hymns normally sung during Holy Week has this verse:

Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?

Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee.

’Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee:

I crucified thee.

The fact is that we all share in the responsibility for Jesus’ agony on the Cross, for it was our sin that made this terrible sacrifice necessary. And it behooves us to remember that shameful fact on this most solemn day and to grieve.

On this day, for the sake of our souls, we are constrained to imagine the painful and humiliating death of Jesus of Nazareth. For our Lord did not die stoically, as John’s Gospel might lead us to believe. The other Gospels make it quite clear that Jesus suffered both physical and spiritual agony on that cross.

But, thanks be to God, agony and death were not the end of the story. And even on this day, which focuses on the death of our Lord, we need to keep in mind that the road goes on, out of the valley of the shadow of death, to a place of refreshment and eternal life. The Cross, as crucial as it is to our faith, is not the final destination. It is but the signpost to a place beyond death.

Later today, I would suggest that you take some time to look at a crucifix, a cross with Jesus’ body fixed to it. Maybe you have a crucifix on a wall somewhere in your home; maybe you have an icon of the Crucifixion. And even if you don’t, you can always Google the word “crucifixion” and bring up a medieval painting on your computer screen. Just take some time today to gaze upon the life-giving cross and upon the Son of God who was nailed to it. Look upon the one who suffered so that your sins might be forgiven you, and worship him!

© 2020 by Darren Miner. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

From the Fullness of the Incarnate Logos We Know Grace

By the Rev. Darren Miner

For a printable pdf version click here.

Gospel Reading

Merry Christmas! And just so you know, I intend to say that till Twelfth Night on January 5^th.

For those of you who attended the Christmas Day Eucharist, the Gospel reading today must sound rather familiar. For reasons beyond my pay grade to question, the Gospel reading for the First Sunday after Christmas is the basically the same reading as that of Christmas Day. The only difference is that four additional verses have been added to the end. Now I knew about this ahead of time. And my original intention was to have Fr. Webber preach today. I thought it would be interesting to get two different perspectives on the same reading. But the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Fr. Webber was unable to preach, so you get to hear my voice again on the very same subject. I apologize if I repeat myself.

Today’s Gospel reading serves as a prologue to the whole Gospel of John. It is sort of like the overture to a musical or opera. It introduces the audience to the themes that will be elaborated more fully later in the work. The purpose of this particular overture is to introduce us to Jesus Christ. But it goes about it in an unexpected way. St. Matthew and St. Luke start where most biographers would be expected to begin, with the story of Jesus’ birth. St. John starts at the very beginning, the beginning of all things at Creation!

He tells us about the relationship between God and a divine being called “the Word.” Now, in the original Greek, the name of this being is Logos. Yes, it can be translated as Word. But it can also mean Reason or Order. This Logos existed with God before time itself. Creation was mediated through him. And in some sense, one can even say that the Logos is God.

I Am the Bread of Life

By the Rev. Darren Miner

Gospel Reading

Let me begin with an admission: I like bread. I really like bread! Maybe that’s why today’s Gospel reading appeals to me so much. For the subject matter of Jesus’ teaching today is bread. The Gospel lesson begins with one of the most amazing statements in the Bible: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” The statement is full of hope and promise, but on a literal level it is clearly untrue. Jesus is not literally made of bread, and Jesus’ followers may very well suffer physical hunger and thirst.

So, if Jesus is not speaking literally, how is he speaking? In a metaphor…in a metaphor that needs some unpacking. What Jesus is claiming is that he is the true source of spiritual nourishment, and that those who are fed by him will be spiritually filled. And folks, we humans, by our very nature, hunger and thirst for such spiritual nourishment, whether we realize it or not. When we are spiritually empty, we look to fill that emptiness with all kinds of things: money, property, food, drugs, alcohol, sex…the list goes on and on. But if we would fill the spiritual emptiness, we need only look to Jesus Christ. Through his teaching, we can be filled. Through his mediation with the Father on our behalf, we can be filled. Through the sacrament of his Body and Blood, we can be filled.

Now, Jesus’ original audience may not have fully understood what he was trying to say, but they knew that he was speaking in some kind of metaphor. So rather that criticize his statement that he is the bread of life, they focus on an earlier statement that he is the bread that came down from heaven. Here they feel they are on firm ground, for they know where Jesus came from. (Or at least they think they do!) They know his father and his mother, and his brothers and his sisters. But they don’t know what we know: Jesus is the Divine Word made flesh; he is God incarnate. So even though he was born of a woman and raised by an earthly father and had brothers and sisters, he is indeed from Heaven.