Calvin Synod Herald, 2014 (115. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2014-03-01 / 3-4. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HF.RAI D 7 ....was not exactly his usual motivation for the way he carried out his form of justice - but in the end HE was willing to sacrifice Jesus... to keep some semblance of peace. Do you think Pilate was willing to put Jesus on the cross........because he wasn't important enough to save from execution? If so, is that not just another way for him to look upon Jesus as "the little man"? And there are the disciples. For about three years now... they have invested themselves - their pasts, their futures, everything - in a whole new enterprise Jesus is fond of calling the kingdom of heaven. They have bought into it lock, stock, and barrel. Oh sure, they were misguided in terms of how they viewed the kingdom. They had these visions of power and glory. But that doesn't matter now. It really doesn't. Not now on Good Friday. It's obvious the kingdom doesn't exist. Not if their Master is dead. And they don’t have it in them to carry on his mission. Besides, what kind of mission could it be.....? if it all comes to this? They loved him. Make no mistake about that. Like their ideas of the kingdom, their love might have been misguided, but it was real nevertheless. Now, when it is obvious that Jesus didn't have the power to withstand the political pressures exerted by the Jewish leadership and the Roman authorities, do you think that in the minds of the disciples.......Jesus and his kingdom are diminished, gone. Do you think that at this moment, maybe even subconsciously, they look upon Jesus as "the little man"? The late Carlyle Marne reflects upon the significance of Jesus, "The Carpenter's Son." He thinks about Jesus as the Word, the Word of God. He suggests that Jesus is God's Last Will and Testament, God's last and final Word. We all remember how precious the word of a loved one is when it turns out to have been his /her last word. Letters are treasured and memorized. Words meant casually are given incredible meaning. Time and again the church grasps for some a new word, but we are always driven to the last thing God said for sure. He makes the point - well-taken, I think - that Jesus is the last thing God has said for sure, that after Jesus arrives on the scene all of scripture points to him. I've officiated a few weddings in my time. Not as many weddings as funerals, but quite a few. So, I've learned a few ministerial tricks along the way, things that make the ceremony go more smoothly, and therefore make it more worshipful. Inevitably, someone in the wedding party will ask me, "What do I do? Where do 1 stand? What do I look at, how do 1 turn?" Stuff like that. So, I tell them this... Keep your focus on the last young lady who has come down the church's aisle. Until the bride comes in, that would be the made of honor. However, once the bride enters the room, all eyes are on her for the remainder of the ceremony. Focus on the bride and you can't go wrong. That's what the Bible does when it comes to Christ! After he enters the room, every word, every thought, every deed in scripture points clearly to him. You can call it hindsight, if you wish. That after the disciples had a chance to think about it.... they decided to come up with this creative and imaginative story that would keep their "movement" alive. But I'd prefer that you call it faith. I'd prefer that you consider how they came up with this wild story... because the risen Christ came to them as the final Word of God and made his inevitable claim upon them. In other words, now that we know what we know,.... Jesus isn't simply "the little man" on the cross. He's God's last and final Word. God has nothing more to say... because he has said it all. He has no more to say.... until the Son is heard.2 Good Friday is the day when the Son of God is to be heard. Every year we gather in this place with our hearts and minds trying to make some sense of what really happened that day some two thousand years ago. And by the way we live.....every other day of the year we reveal - honestly and rather sinfully, I'm afraid - that we really think of Jesus as "the little man." But not today. Today, Jesus is the Christ, the Word, and God’s last and final Word. So every time we see the cross upon which our Lord and Savior died, may it remind us that it is time for us to listen to what God has to say? Everything we say or do has a shadow rising above it. It is the shadow of the cross. At the cross, there is no room for observers. You cannot stand there and be uninvolved. So, from now on - from now on — do you suppose we can do this? Do you suppose we can let it govern and direct who we are and how we live? If so, may we be people of the cross, whether the "little man" is on it or not. Father, be in our hearts and speak to us your last word. May that Word always be Jesus. In his name we pray, Amen. Rev. Stefan Torok Prayer by John Calvin CHRIST OUR ONLY MEDIATOR Grant, Almighty God, that as thou not only invitest us continually by the voice of thy gospel to seek thee, but also offerest to us thy Son as our mediator, through whom an access to thee is open, that we may find thee a propitious Father; O grant, that relying on thy kind invitation, we may through life exercise ourselves in prayer, and as so many evils disturb us on all sides an so many wants distree and oppress us, may we be led more earnestly to call on thee, and in the meanwhile be never wearied in this exercise of prayer; until having been heard by thee throughout life, we may at length be gathered to thine eternal kingdom where we shall enjoy that salvation which thou hast promised to us, and of which also thou daily testifiest to us by thy gospel, and be forever united to thine only/begotten Son of whom we are now members; that we may be partakers of all the blessings which he has obtained for us by his death.Amen. John Calvin (1509-1564) as collected from his commentaries on the Minor Prophets, translated by John Owen into English in 1846)
