It was a busy day in Jerusalem. It was the first day of Passover week. And since Jewish law required all Jewish men to present themselves in Jerusalem for the feast, the whole city and all of its suburbs overflowed with pilgrims who had travelled from all over the world. It was Sunday, so the Sabbath was ended, and all of these throngs of people would have been bustling about, as busy as worker ants in an ant colony.
It is hard for us to know the motivations of Simon, the Pharisee, in our text. Why did he invite Jesus to dinner? One would like to think that it was born of noble motives. A genuine attempt to get to know him better.
One of the major themes of the Gospel of John is “truth.” We see this in the very first chapter. In that section sometimes called the Prologue of John’s gospel, John tells us that Jesus came full of grace and truth (v. 14). John concludes the Prologue by telling us: For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (1:17). John wants us to know that truth, lasting eternal truth, is to be found in Jesus.
Our opening hymn on this Saints Triumphant Sunday was a hymn called “For All the Saints.” It is a long hymn. We didn’t sing all the verses, but I would like to read for you now one of the verses that we missed:
And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave again and arms are strong.
Alleluia! Alleluia! (CW 551:5)
Have you ever seen a business that had a name ending with “& Son”? I grew up in Watertown and I can remember the paint store called David & Sons. It’s a common thing to do. It’s a business name that calls attention to the fact that this is a business where a father and son are in business together. The son likely learned the trade from watching the dad.
This Psalm sets before our eyes two contrasting images. The one image is a world in utter turmoil, a world with nations that rise and fall, a world with mountains that shake and tumble and disappear, swallowed up by the turbulent sea. But then the other image is a tranquil image, a peaceful image, the image of a single safe haven that rests undisturbed by the trouble and the terror all around. In the midst of a turbulent world, one solitary fortress stands firm.
“That’s impossible!” How many times couldn’t we say that as we look at the ministry of Jesus. Jesus looks out over a crowd of over 5,000 hungry people and over here stands a boy with five loaves of bread and two small fish. We hear one of the disciples ask rhetorically, “What is that among so many?” We chime in, “What he said!” Jesus says, “Bring them to me.” And thousands of people go away filled with good bread and fish.
What is the motivation that encourages you to keep going when adversity comes and you are under pressure to give up? The football player thinks about the upcoming game when he needs to summon the strength to lift the bar off his chest three more times. The medical student thinks about the patients she will one day help when she chooses a late night of studying over a night out with her friends. A soldier pulls out a picture of his family far away when he needs to remember why he fights and why he puts himself in harm’s way.
The date was day 6 of creation; it was a Friday. The venue was a beautiful garden in Eden. The reception buffet included the fruit of every tree in the garden except for one. The officiant was the triune God. The groom was Adam, and the bride would be called Eve. Perhaps you can recall the details of the day when you were joined in marriage.
Most of you will be familiar with the names Cain and Abel, those two sons of Adam and Eve. You may recall the sad story of these two brothers from Genesis 4. Cain developed a deep hatred for his brother, and he nursed that hatred in his heart. The Lord God came to Cain and warned him, “Sin is crouching at your door.” (Genesis 4:7) That’s an interesting way to think about sin.
