Happy Mother’s Day! Moms, thank you for the unconditional love, sacrifice, and all you have done to convince your children of their tremendous worth. Kind of sounds like someone we like to talk about here a lot, doesn’t it? A mother’s love is so much like the love of Jesus. You are heroes and we absolutely treasure you. This church is filled with Godly mothers, some of whom did not have great examples of how to be one. Its overwhelmingly beautiful to witness, and I pray you feel honored here today.
Mother’s Day, like all holidays, can be filled with a lot of mixed feelings. Some of us have had to say goodbye to our moms. Some have had very complicated and even painful relationships with our moms. Some have deep longing today because they couldn’t be, or chose not to be, a biological mother. On a day when others are celebrating the joy of what we have in our moms, there can be hurt and pain. Feel seen and loved today, too. As I said, this church is filled with some pretty wonderful moms. I’d encourage you to reach out to one of them. Tell them your story. Let them mother you, even today, and give you a bit of what all human hearts yearn for: the comfort, compassion, and understanding a loving mother can give. Geez… what a dad move, right? I just gave all the mothers another job to do today – on ‘their’ day no less!
If my Mom were here, I’d be in trouble (I might still be as I look at my wife). Last Sunday, three of our church families walked the property after coffee hour, thanks to Peter’s generosity, and I got a few laughs out of the kids by using my southern tour guide/stewardess accent, which I have been doing since I was knee high to grasshopper. Now you probably won’t believe this, but as a child, every once and a while, I would get on my mom’s nerves. Crazy, right?
I can therefore testify to the truth of the wise old saying, “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!” When I was particularly irksome, sometimes my oldest sister Sheri would get mom to laugh by singing a silly song from Disney’s Country Bear Jamboree attraction. The lyrics flow, “Momma don’t whoop little Buford. Momma don’t pound on his head. Momma don’t whoop little Buford. I think you should shoot him instead.” We would all laugh, Sheri would wink, and mom would say “Paul Jr., remember your name.” More on that in a bit.
Today’s Gospel, John 10:22—30, takes place at what sounds like the start of a James Bond movie or some dark thriller. The season is winter, and there is a chill in the air both physically and in the feeling of dread. The place is Solomon’s Colonnade. It’s a large space, open aired, with a roof supported by massive columns which can easily hide spies, assassins, or arresting soldiers. Its the perfect place for an ambush.
The feast of the dedication is in full swing, which you might be surprised to know goes by another name: Hanukkah. The celebration of the triumph of the Maccabees over Greco-Syrian forces which not only attacked Jerusalem but desecrated the temple by sacrificing a pig to Zeus on the altar of God. It’s a story of military triumph and vindication over those who had humiliated God’s people.
That is important to note because it speaks to the hostility the scribes and Pharisees feel toward Jesus. He has been going up and down the country and even (gasp) visiting Samarian towns, claiming to be Messiah. What’s worse to them is, so far, there are no miraculous military victories happening to oust Rome; only the sick being healed, the poor being fed, and the message of loving of one’s enemies spreading like wildfire.
Jesus has been teaching at Solomon’s porch, where they confront Him. This location, Solomon’s porch, happens to be the furthest place that gentiles are allowed to go in the temple. This spot is the closest they can come to the Holy of Holies, an area expressly forbidden to them. You know who else can’t go beyond Solomon’s porch? Women. Women were also forbidden to go any further into the temple. That’s why Jesus is teaching there. His love is for everyone, and anything keeping people from the most intimate places of God, He opposes.
The Pharisees start to encircle Jesus, surrounding Him. Not exactly the body language of people seeking the truth, is it? They ask Him a ridiculous question framed in a ridiculous way, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense. Are you the messiah, or aren’t you?”
In suspense? The only suspense in this moment is why are you dudes surrounding Him like a bunch of ninjas about to attack a foolish samurai warrior who dared to oppose them.
Jesus has quite literally answered this question multiple times. In chapters 4, 5, 9, and elsewhere, He has already said this plainly. NO. Jesus knows what this is and as it was just May the Fourth, I’ll quote the Star Wars Rebel hero Admiral Ackbar, “It’s a trap!”
They are asking this question at the temple because the temple guards will have jurisdiction to arrest Jesus then and there if He blasphemes. They could even stone him on the spot for doing so. Spoiler alert, they try that later. Yet, even in this, the Good Shepherd is caring for His sheep and turns this unjust moment into another chance to tell the vulnerable they are loved.
Jesus’ answer is clever and yet very bold, “I already told you that answer, and you don’t believe it”, and then in a powerful move He reminds them that seeing is believing. He tells them the proof in who He is lies in what He does.
Well, what has Jesus been doing? Healing the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda, stopping the stoning of a woman caught in adultery, calming storms and treading on the waves, being a shepherd to the poor, the rejected, the sinners. Loving people just as He finds them. As the prophet Micah, who also spoke of the Messiah, declared, “And what does the LORD require of you? But to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God.” Not conquer the Holy Land through war. They were trying to get Jesus to define Himself in their terms, under pain of death, but Jesus knew His name.
Which reminds me of my mom. Growing up, especially in my teen years, my mother didn’t tell me to behave. She didn’t say, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do” or “Don’t you embarrass me” or anything like that. No. She would simply look me in the eyes and say “Paul, remember your name”. Whaaaa? What does that even mean, Mom? In my teens, I looked up what “Paul” meant. It means humble… boy did they get that one wrong!
All joking aside, she meant to tell me to remember my worth, who I was created to be, who I was to her. Someone who loves you is calling you by name: act like it! It mostly worked, btw. I was known as the guy who brought glass bottles of milk to parties; referred to as “that Christian guy”.
Jesus’s name (Yeshua in Hebrew and Aramaic) means “Yahweh saves” and that is exactly who Jesus tells this plotting, circling mob He is. He was telling them that these people you have rejected, that have faced hardships, that have been hurt, that you say are not enough… these are my sheep. I know them. They know me; it’s a relationship not some religious transaction. I am here to lay down my life so that we never have to be separated.
That’s who I am. You want to hear me say I am the Messiah? How about this? The Father and I am one and there is absolutely nothing you can do to take these, my precious sheep, away from US. You see, Jesus isn’t just telling these villains His name. He is also telling everyone else in that crowd that they are His sheep, that He loves them and calls them by name. He is saying the same to you today.
Jessica means “God beholds”, Peter means “the foundation”, Janice and Janet mean “God is gracious”, Ron means “counsel”, Christina means “anointed”, Curt means “gentleman”, Bel means “beauty”, Nate means “gift of God”, Ray means “wise protector”, Liz means “God’s promise”, Shawn means “God is merciful”, Tracy means “just warrior”, Robert means “bright glory”, Xavier means “new home”.
I wish I could go through all your names here, but the truth is your real name is Child of God. Whatever has brought you to church today, I want you to remember that name – hear it whispered by the still small voice of the Father this morning. It is saying you have more worth to me than you could possibly imagine, and nothing - not height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Remember your name!
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