Jesus remember me

Jesus remember me from my sermon on 11/21/10 from Luke 23:33-43

(we sing the Taize chorus, "Jesus remember me, when you come into your kingdom," as ushers pass out nails to the congregation.)

Warning: this message may contain material that some listeners will find offensive. You think I am kidding, but I am not. I would rather talk about football and other light matters, but the text is not headed that way. If you have been reading Luke's Gospel, it is no surprise that we find ourselves here today. Three times Jesus has said that he is going to Jerusalem, and there be rejected, crucified, and die. We have been on a journey with Jesus for months now in our worship services. Way back in the 9th chapter, Luke said that when the time came for him to be lifted up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

So we find ourselves today in this ominous place called the Skull. Is it a hill that is shaped like a skull? Is it because there have been so many crucifixions that there are many skulls lying around? We don't know. All we know is that we don't want to be here. It is ugly, gruesome, upsetting. We want to avoid this place, where Jesus is dying on a cross. Luke tells the story briefly, compactly, but compellingly.

Warning: you may find this material objectionable. I know my former congregation did. I was talking about Jesus dying on the cross. Rome had chosed this form of punishment because it brought public humiliation and maximum pain upon the criminal, and it discouraged others from similiar crimes. But we have santized the cross. Today, we wear the cross as jewelery--a bracelet, a necklace. We polish the cross and put it up in our sanctuaries. Our Roman Catholic friends still have Jesus on the cross in suffering and pain. We Protestants have Jesus resurrected, so our crosses are empty. It is a symbol of victory for us. But we may have lost the emotional impact , the shock value of the cross. Now here is the part that you won't like. In my former church, I said, "what if we put a modern day symbol of death in our sanctuaries? What if we put up front an electric chair? Or here in the state of Texas a gurney with leather straps and hoses with needles?"

After the service, a dear faithful woman came up to me with tears in her eyes and gripped me by my shoulders. Lana Kay said, "You can't do that without giving us some warning. Don't you remember what happened to my son?" Of course I had forgotten. Her son had worked as a clerk at a convenience store up over that big bridge in Corpus Christi. A robber had come in and demanded money. He was inept, scared, maybe high on drugs. He botched it. He got away with very little cash, but he murdered Lana Kay's son. The security camera caught it all on tape. The TV stations played it over and over again for days. The young man was caught, sentenced, sent to prison, and placed on death row. Lana Kay wrote him letters, formed a relationship with him, got on his visitors' list, and had even gone to see him in prison. His execution date had been scheduled. Lana Kay said to me, "You have to give us some warning before you tell us stuff like this." We will return to Lana Kay in a minute.

We don't like Jesus on a cross. We want a different kind of Messiah. Some people tell me that they follow Jesus because he is a good man; they want a moral example. Some say they like Jesus because he is sort of a guru full of wise teachings. But we don't get to pick what kind of Messiah Jesus is. God has chosen to show His love for us in Jesus on a cross.

This is Christ the King Sunday. We have a king. His throne is a cross. He wears a crown...of thorns. We don't get to choose this. God already has.

We shout "Save yourself!" Did you notice 3 times in the text people are shouting at Jesus to save himself? It sounds an awful lot like the opening scene of Jesus's ministry when he is out in the wilderness and the tempter comes to Him and says, "If you really are the Son of God....then change these stones into bread, .....worship me and all this world will be yours...., jump from the Temple pinnacle and you won't be hurt."

The religious leaders, the Roman soldiers, and one thief all yell at Jesus to save himself. One thief gives a minority report. He says, "Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom." He gets what no one else gets. The disciples don't get it. The crowds don't get it. The religious leaders don't get it. The Roman soldiers don't get it. The other thief doesn't get it. Only this one thief gets it while hanging on the cross beside Jesus. He sees Jesus as King, as Messiah, as Savior. He gets it because he is totally helpless. He has no other hope. It is before the resurrection. It is the first Christian sermon. He sees Jesus as Messiah because he is desperate.

There is no one beyond hope. Even a thief on a cross. There is always time till the very last breath to be forgiven. No one is beyond God's grace.

I wonder if we don't avoid the ugliness of the cross because we think we don't need it. Let me put it another way. I went to workshop recently where I heard a really great preacher. He asked his congregation this question: "Are you a sinner or just a mistaker?"

I ask you, do you just say as a mistaker, "Oops, my bad?" Or do you acknowledge that you are a sinner and have offended God? Are you a mistaker who just bends the rules? Or are you a sinner who has broken God's heart?

I wonder if we miss the power of the cross because we think we are just mistakers, not sinners. We don't like to be helpless.

Back to Lana Kay, I am not breaking any confidences here, on the day the young man was executed for killing her son, she went on the Today show on NBC, and she said, "I forgive him." When you are helpless, when you turn to Jesus in desperation, and are welcomed, that forgiveness can flow through you and into others.

Remember what Jesus says earlier in the passage, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." The Greek verb tense is one of continuing action. Jesus is literally saying over and over again, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

There is incredible good news in this passage. To the ones who are helpless, hopeless, and cry out, "Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom," Jesus says, "Today, you will be with me in paradise."

I want you to go to the ugly cross now, holding that nail in your hand. I know that nail is dirty and oily; it marks you. I want you to mediate on that nail as we sing once more. I want you to answer the question: "Are you a sinner or just a mistaker?"

(We sing, Jesus remember me, when you come into your kingdom.)