… Therefore …
Sunday, May 22nd, 2005
Trinity Sunday
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Matthew 28:16-20
The choir had been working toward the competition for months.
The children – nearly a hundred of them – all elementary age – had been looking forward to the trip all year to the amusement park – the place where the competition was held.
The day finally arrived, a perfect spring day – sunny and relatively warm – and they set out. Arriving at the school early that Saturday morning, they piled into the school buses and accompanying vehicles, and set out for the park. They were as excited at the prospect of riding the rides and playing in the water park as they were about competing.
They arrived at the park and they began to prepare themselves for the competition. The kids had been singing the different pieces to themselves and their families more and more as the day approached. They’d done well – extremely well – in the past, and were ready this time as well. Their director was an amazing blend of musical talent, professional expertise, and childlike silliness – all rolled into one.
The moment finally arrived, and the hardest piece – one that began with four young soloists: three girls and a boy– was due to begin. The young boy who had the voice, and the ability, and who had practiced hard, opened his mouth to sing his part and …
***
Turning to our text this morning, we find the disciples on something of an anticipated trip themselves. They’ve been in Jerusalem, the site of Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection, and the place in and around which he’s spent the last almost two months teaching and spending time with them – POST resurrection. He’s appeared to them as well as to others – later references mention that the number of people who saw the resurrected Jesus was somewhere north of 500.
Although there were a few instances during his earthly ministry of Jesus’ taking time to actually ‘train’ the disciples – the sending out of the 70 is a case in point – most of their time was spent observing, listening, and trying – unsuccessfully most of the time – to understand what Jesus was showing and teaching them.
Aside from a couple of appearances, the bulk of that time that Jesus spent with the disciples and the other followers is undocumented. The Biblical record carries precious few details of what was spoken or of what transpired in those 50 days.
Imagine if you will, it was a rehearsal. More than a normal ‘get it wrong now and we’ll work out the kinks as we go along’ rehearsal, it was … more like a dress rehearsal, everyone off book and in costume, lights and sound and everything. Except for the audience, this is what it’s going to be like.
***
It was nerves, everyone agreed. It HAD to be. When the boy began to sing, the note he started off on was not even CLOSE to where he needed to be. There was really no way to disguise it, diffuse it, cover it up OR ignore it. He was just OFF. WAY off.
It didn’t look like they were going to make the grade this year. The coveted
‘Superior’ rating was finally going to elude them.
Then the miracle happened.
***
The disciples had seen what happened to Judas, who, torn with guilt over what he’d done, tried to return the blood money he’d been paid to betray Jesus. He’d finally chosen to end his life rather than live with the knowledge of what he’d done.
The disciples had also seen what had happened to Peter, who on some level similar to Judas, denied Jesus not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES on the night he was arrested.
But Peter had found redemption. He’d faced his weakest self, and Jesus was right there beside him. Jesus asked him three times if he loved him, and each time, Peter had affirmed that he did. It might just be a literary device that represents the spiritual resurrection that Peter experienced after his spiritual death, the mirror image that negates the darkest hour and those three denials that threatened to weigh Peter down for eternity, but they are, nonetheless, redemption.
***
He stopped the performance.
The choir director stopped the performance.
He knew, first off, that the error was one from which they could not recover. He also knew that he loved those children. He loved hearing their voices and watching their faces when they got it ‘just right’, the utter joy that came through working with them, and getting their attention, their hard work, their following his lead, down to the last note.
And he also knew that for the boy to not be scarred for life by the experience, he had to stop the performance.
The boy was so nervous he didn’t even realize he’d sung the wrong note. He was at first confused by the director’s action. The director turned to the Judges of the competition and spoke to them directly. He said “I’m not going to let this happen. I’m not going to let his nerves do this to him. You can take points away if you want, but HE CAN DO THIS.” In making that declaration, the director was saying in essence, “It’s more important to me that THIS BOY realizes that HE matters more to me than receiving a superior grade in this competition. We’re going to do this for HIM.”
He walked up to the soloist, stood behind him leaned in, and sang in his ear the notes the boy would need to repeat in order to begin again. Then he walked back in front of the choir, drew their attention, and signaled the soloists to begin again.
***
That’s where we are in the story – here in Matthew. It’s commonly referred to as “THE GREAT COMMISSION”. Just like it sounds, all three words capitalized.
It is Jesus leaning over behind the disciples and singing in their ears, “You know that Messiah you’ve been hearing and reading about all these years, the one who will come to set you free? Well, I’m the guy!” The one who has come to set you free from your anxiety, your pettiness, your pride, I’m the one who has been pointing to the loving creator for the last three years and saying, ‘God wants your HEARTS, not your performance!’ In the text, Jesus says – “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,” And here’s what you do with that: BECAUSE I am – that’s what the ‘therefore’ means – ‘go for that reason’ – and tell people I love them – THEY MATTER SO MUCH TO ME THAT I GAVE MY LIFE FOR THEM – and God loves them – and they are not alone – and they never WILL be alone. You need to tell them that the Holy Spirit will always be with them.
***
And the boy NAILED IT. He opened his mouth and he hit that first note flawlessly. He carried through to the end of the solo and the audience went wild. They gave him a spontaneous ovation so loud that the rest of the choir could not at first be heard when they started in on THEIR part.
Even after having received the applause, it was a tough pill to swallow for the boy. He’d been known for riding others unmercifully when they made mistakes – whether in singing or baseball or at school. He was overcome with shame – at getting it wrong to begin with, and at the embarrassment of being singled out by the director – and at first he was sullenly closed off from the other children after the performance. But one of the chaperones called him over afterwards to speak to him. She told him that he had a choice to make. Only he had the power to make it a negative experience or a positive experience. He could sit and sulk and dwell on the fact that he sang it wrong, or he could concentrate on the fact that the second time he not only sang it correctly, he NAILED IT! He had the choice to take the experience for what it was – an incredible opportunity to learn how precious second chances are.
So how are you with second chances? Have you gotten one recently? Have you looked back and realized “there’s no way I’m going to recover from that”, only to be confronted not with the expected consequences, but a moment of reprieve – a moment of grace so pure that you understand there is something more going on here. It’s not just a bunch of words. There really is a God who gives second chances! And God’s leaning over and singing in your ear the note you need to begin again.
Let’s pray.
Sunday, May 22nd, 2005
Trinity Sunday
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Matthew 28:16-20
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
The choir had been working toward the competition for months.
The children – nearly a hundred of them – all elementary age – had been looking forward to the trip all year to the amusement park – the place where the competition was held.
The day finally arrived, a perfect spring day – sunny and relatively warm – and they set out. Arriving at the school early that Saturday morning, they piled into the school buses and accompanying vehicles, and set out for the park. They were as excited at the prospect of riding the rides and playing in the water park as they were about competing.
They arrived at the park and they began to prepare themselves for the competition. The kids had been singing the different pieces to themselves and their families more and more as the day approached. They’d done well – extremely well – in the past, and were ready this time as well. Their director was an amazing blend of musical talent, professional expertise, and childlike silliness – all rolled into one.
The moment finally arrived, and the hardest piece – one that began with four young soloists: three girls and a boy– was due to begin. The young boy who had the voice, and the ability, and who had practiced hard, opened his mouth to sing his part and …
***
Turning to our text this morning, we find the disciples on something of an anticipated trip themselves. They’ve been in Jerusalem, the site of Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection, and the place in and around which he’s spent the last almost two months teaching and spending time with them – POST resurrection. He’s appeared to them as well as to others – later references mention that the number of people who saw the resurrected Jesus was somewhere north of 500.
Although there were a few instances during his earthly ministry of Jesus’ taking time to actually ‘train’ the disciples – the sending out of the 70 is a case in point – most of their time was spent observing, listening, and trying – unsuccessfully most of the time – to understand what Jesus was showing and teaching them.
Aside from a couple of appearances, the bulk of that time that Jesus spent with the disciples and the other followers is undocumented. The Biblical record carries precious few details of what was spoken or of what transpired in those 50 days.
Imagine if you will, it was a rehearsal. More than a normal ‘get it wrong now and we’ll work out the kinks as we go along’ rehearsal, it was … more like a dress rehearsal, everyone off book and in costume, lights and sound and everything. Except for the audience, this is what it’s going to be like.
***
It was nerves, everyone agreed. It HAD to be. When the boy began to sing, the note he started off on was not even CLOSE to where he needed to be. There was really no way to disguise it, diffuse it, cover it up OR ignore it. He was just OFF. WAY off.
It didn’t look like they were going to make the grade this year. The coveted
‘Superior’ rating was finally going to elude them.
Then the miracle happened.
***
The disciples had seen what happened to Judas, who, torn with guilt over what he’d done, tried to return the blood money he’d been paid to betray Jesus. He’d finally chosen to end his life rather than live with the knowledge of what he’d done.
The disciples had also seen what had happened to Peter, who on some level similar to Judas, denied Jesus not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES on the night he was arrested.
But Peter had found redemption. He’d faced his weakest self, and Jesus was right there beside him. Jesus asked him three times if he loved him, and each time, Peter had affirmed that he did. It might just be a literary device that represents the spiritual resurrection that Peter experienced after his spiritual death, the mirror image that negates the darkest hour and those three denials that threatened to weigh Peter down for eternity, but they are, nonetheless, redemption.
***
He stopped the performance.
The choir director stopped the performance.
He knew, first off, that the error was one from which they could not recover. He also knew that he loved those children. He loved hearing their voices and watching their faces when they got it ‘just right’, the utter joy that came through working with them, and getting their attention, their hard work, their following his lead, down to the last note.
And he also knew that for the boy to not be scarred for life by the experience, he had to stop the performance.
The boy was so nervous he didn’t even realize he’d sung the wrong note. He was at first confused by the director’s action. The director turned to the Judges of the competition and spoke to them directly. He said “I’m not going to let this happen. I’m not going to let his nerves do this to him. You can take points away if you want, but HE CAN DO THIS.” In making that declaration, the director was saying in essence, “It’s more important to me that THIS BOY realizes that HE matters more to me than receiving a superior grade in this competition. We’re going to do this for HIM.”
He walked up to the soloist, stood behind him leaned in, and sang in his ear the notes the boy would need to repeat in order to begin again. Then he walked back in front of the choir, drew their attention, and signaled the soloists to begin again.
***
That’s where we are in the story – here in Matthew. It’s commonly referred to as “THE GREAT COMMISSION”. Just like it sounds, all three words capitalized.
It is Jesus leaning over behind the disciples and singing in their ears, “You know that Messiah you’ve been hearing and reading about all these years, the one who will come to set you free? Well, I’m the guy!” The one who has come to set you free from your anxiety, your pettiness, your pride, I’m the one who has been pointing to the loving creator for the last three years and saying, ‘God wants your HEARTS, not your performance!’ In the text, Jesus says – “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,” And here’s what you do with that: BECAUSE I am – that’s what the ‘therefore’ means – ‘go for that reason’ – and tell people I love them – THEY MATTER SO MUCH TO ME THAT I GAVE MY LIFE FOR THEM – and God loves them – and they are not alone – and they never WILL be alone. You need to tell them that the Holy Spirit will always be with them.
***
And the boy NAILED IT. He opened his mouth and he hit that first note flawlessly. He carried through to the end of the solo and the audience went wild. They gave him a spontaneous ovation so loud that the rest of the choir could not at first be heard when they started in on THEIR part.
Even after having received the applause, it was a tough pill to swallow for the boy. He’d been known for riding others unmercifully when they made mistakes – whether in singing or baseball or at school. He was overcome with shame – at getting it wrong to begin with, and at the embarrassment of being singled out by the director – and at first he was sullenly closed off from the other children after the performance. But one of the chaperones called him over afterwards to speak to him. She told him that he had a choice to make. Only he had the power to make it a negative experience or a positive experience. He could sit and sulk and dwell on the fact that he sang it wrong, or he could concentrate on the fact that the second time he not only sang it correctly, he NAILED IT! He had the choice to take the experience for what it was – an incredible opportunity to learn how precious second chances are.
So how are you with second chances? Have you gotten one recently? Have you looked back and realized “there’s no way I’m going to recover from that”, only to be confronted not with the expected consequences, but a moment of reprieve – a moment of grace so pure that you understand there is something more going on here. It’s not just a bunch of words. There really is a God who gives second chances! And God’s leaning over and singing in your ear the note you need to begin again.
Let’s pray.
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