Source note.. This is my adaption of an idea from Fred Craddock in one of the Cherry Log sermons. I have added my own travel reflections and used it to reflect on a different Gospel text than Craddock did.. but the basic idea springs from reading his sermon: credit where credit is due!
PUMC Feb 24 2008 text John 4
The Holy Land of…
You know…. for the Wednesday night Lenten services we
we are talking about the Journeys of Paul
Paul had his three missionary trips around the Mediterranean world
some of those places are in
Some them are in
You can call up your travel agent
and take a tour called the footsteps of Paul
It would be a great trip….And I’m hoping to do that some day..
I think some you have been there.. anybody ?.. (Wanda S raised her hand)
its one of those religious pilgrimage trips.
You're mixing your faith .. into your traveling
Your NOT just A TOURIST..
You’er going to Bible places
and it s a kind of holy Land…
I think we should all go there...
Think about what you would see..
We could get on a bus right here.. in Brainerd except not today..its too foggy Beth was supposed to fly out of Brianerd this morning....going to Kansas///but she had to catch ride...
go to the cities …get on a flight
maybe we could land in
And that would make our Catholic friends happy too
check out the
and St peters Basilica…. do you think we could see that Michelangelo thing in the Sistine chapel…with God and Adam touching each others fingers.
..course we’ve got to see the coliseum..
think about those Christians that got thrown to the lions…martyrs for the the faith..
and Do you get to go into any of the catacombs in
where the early church met sometimes underground..
….I would need a least two or three days.. in
and then maybe we could to
but I bet the tour guide could take us to the areopgus up by the Parthenon
but somebody could read from Acts 17 the sermon that Paul preached..
( ..Claudette, or Dick could read that for us … when we are there.. ..and then
could run down to
,,, read from the Bible again…maybe 1
that chapter about love …. Maybe because they were having some trouble with that.
.being kind of petty and arguing… churches really haven’t changed much..
we have got stay in Christian love..
Then we could get back on the bus.
.go to
maybe that was a favorite church for Paul
he talked a lot about joy and thanksgiving when he wrote to them
, “rejoice in the Lord always… again I say rejoice
he also talked about having this mind of Christ. Among you
.that life of servanthood.. .and humbleness
we could probably read the whole letter of Philippians’ …..it s only 4 chapters. long
Let see where could you go next…
. some great sites there.
.some more Bible verse to read.
Then maybe we could head on over to
..I know the political situation is kind of touchy there
but I’ld love to go to
remember Paul had that
.I think pastor Jeff is going to preach about that this Wed..
Paul gets knocked off his horse… Here’s Jesus saying “Saul Saul why do you persecute
Paul gets blinded.. ,,,that’s a way of helping Paul see how blind he has been to the gospel of Jesus Christ..
Then maybe we could go to straight street.
Paul get his sight back. he gets baptized in
Holy sites… you know if your really talk about the Holy land you have to include
some Bible scholars say that more books of the New Testament are written from
I think Antiock is pat of
Of course by now w are right down by
and we just have to go there.
Maybe fly into Tel Aviv…… that’s what we did when I was there.
Now we are into what people typically call the
the church of the nativity
I remember that we sang “silent night” down in that at chapel of the nativity.
.I got down and touched that gold star in the floor..
it all felt so holy…. I picked up a stone from nativity plaza
just so I could remember that I had been to that holy ground…
powerful..
andd then of course there’s
Where Mary got the news and Jesus grew up..
The little town of
We did the boat ride thing…..ate some fish..i didn't really like the fish
and
and the place where he gave the sermon on the mount.
.they got churches for all those places
and you stop and read the scriptures
And then theres
And theres the the wailing wall..
and the church of the sepulcher….or the garden tomb.. and
Holy land …holy ground..
…well… I know there is some thing also very wrong
in the holy land the violence and the politics… ..Something unholy about it.
.but we wont go there for now..
When I was there in 2001 we just couldn’t get everywhere..
this morning the gospel lesson talks about this Jacobs well.. …
well
that a tourist site..
and we could read this story about the woman at the well… and I didn’t get into
it s a good stop.
Now I know that’s a pretty big trip for some of you and some of you are afraid to travel over there ..
Some of you want to say more in
We could fly form
and we could go to the Wesley sites..
we could see Wesley’s chapel..
and the
The Swenson family went to church there on a Sunday morning..
we had communion.
sang some hymns that were played on an organ that Charles Wesley had..
It was holy gound really liked the Wesley sites in
where John first did his out door preaching
that where Methodists really found its style..
it felt like holy ground..
We got to talk to some Local British Methodists when we were there
.they had a little gift shop and there was a women’s bake sale going on…sound familiar doesn’t it..holy ground..
I saw his room little in oxford
when he was teaching there.
. we didn’t get up to Epworth where John was born and where he preached on his fathers grave stone.. because they wouldn’t let him preach inside the church..
us Methodist would like a trip like that.
.of course we would not .,leave out those great Anglican churches either..
John and Charles Wesley were priests in the church of England.
but then as long as where in the
we would go up to st Giles in
Holy ground
Maybe we should do something for the Lutherans.
I use dto be Lutheran so Ild like to go into
place where he started the whole Protestant reformation
When do you want to make that trip. All these holy places!!!
O h I know … some of you just cant travel like that..
You worried about the money
And whose going to take care of the dog…and water the plants.
And you got your job… and the kids and all that..
Ok so maybe there is some holy land ..that is closer to home
Easier to get to…
How about this,,
we are in lent…right now
and I think we have a couple of travel options. …
. one of those would be a way for us to get together and go to each others holy lands..
we could call it the holy land of memories or telling our faith stories
we could get around on those new round tables down stairs..
and you could take turns telling each other
About you personal holy lands..
I could make up a form to get you started.
.it would have questions like
tell us about church your grew up in..
And maybe you could tell about some little country Lutheran church
.thats would I tell you about
and the wood stove …and how they would talk Norwegian sometimes and the ladies had this really high voices when they sang.
and the men didn’t sing very much but they sat together back in the corner..
but we had to be careful when we went outside to play.. Especially in the cemetery ..
and somewhere in that little church I learned about Jesus and Bible stories ..david and Golaith...Daniel inthe lions den..got to make somethings out of plaster of paris! and I know that this was Holy ground ..holy times..
You could tell.. your stories like too
and maybe you could tell us about your youth group…
.I went to Northern Pines.. I remember there was a Thursday
When I got on my knees and prayed with a counselor
and I gave my life to Jesus..
and I remember the tears.. and the feelings.. holy ground …I think of that when Im at Northern Pines
have you got a holy ground story like that..
And I could tell you about the lay witness missions.
. and youth trip to
well you get the idea
. do you get a chance to visit your holy ground. Of memory
.where did you learn John 3:16
or the Lords Prayer.
. Or when did you first take communion..
or did you ever get to bring your little baby up to the front of the church for the baptism
some of my holy ground feel come to me every time
I go by the little town of
.my first church out of seminary
so green…..so scared.
I was a nervous wreck
but I got though those sermons
and my first funerals and the weddings..
I love those people
They really cared for me.. and I would Not be here. if they hadn’t….
Holy ground well enough about me..
Maybe in lent
you could take a little memory trip to your Holy ground… remember your story..
Places where you felt God…or met Jesus.. or really had some worship
Now I want to get back to the Gospel lesson
Your wondering maybe what all this has to do with the gospel lesson.
. you see there is the woman at the well..
Jesus meets her.
.and I m guessing that if you could have asked her what her holy place is
she would have said
its where I met Jesus ….. Maybe she take you to that well..
and tell you a story…the one that we read.
and I know there is all this wonderful talk
About water and thirst
and the living water.
and spiritual thirst..
and how Jesus can give us that water..
inside of us..
but in all of that talk
this woman actually starts to talk about holy places
holy ground
look at verse 20 and the verse after that..
you see
the woman at the well this Samaritan
and they had thy had their own holy mountain.
.it was Mt Gerazimm
not very far away from that well..
and they used to have a temple there
. it was their Holy ground
the temple in
and that where you were supposed to worship
that was there holy ground
but did you hear what Jesus said..
the time is coming
when when you will worship God on neither one of those mountains.
. and then he talks about worshiping in spirit and in truth
verse 24
God is spirit. and those who worship God
Must worship in spirit and truth.
What does that mean ? Worship is about bringing … our true selves..
Devotion and adoration
From the heart.
Engaging the spirit..
Coming to God…
With our lives..
Bringing that thirst.
. bringing that deep search
and coming to Jesus..
Coming to the water..
and letting it quench the thirsting of your soul.
. worship…
holy ground.
.prayer becomes holy ground
the scriptures as you hear that world of God
this is holy ground when it becomes
peace and forgiveness.
love
life hope …servanthood
its where you find yourself saying
he touched me..
were going to sing it later..
Something happened and now I know he touched me..and made me whole..
holy ground..
I know sometimes
we think that the holy ground is a place or a building…
Like this..
and yes they are filled with holy memories.
. but the holy ground is the spirit and the truth..
Jesus Christ as the living presence of Ground
this the holy land..
Jesus said where two or three are gathered in my name…..I am there….
that the holy land of worship and fellowship…
You see if you want to go to the holy land
you probably don’t need to get on jet or a bus or go very far..at all
as Jesus said to the woman at the well…
you don’t have to go to this mountain or that mountain.
.you just need to be with me….
. the Christ is here.. Jesus says to the women.
.The Messiah is already here. I am the one
True Worship can be now.. here and now
but
yes
you might need to go to your soul….to your heart.
Pray ..Listen..
or go to the person right next to you as you care for someone else. In the spirit of Christ
wherever the Love of God is shared..
its holy ground
whenever the witness of Jesus Christ. is lived out.. its holy ground
I think this
When we deeply hear the call to worship
or the greeting of grace to you and peace in Jesus Christ..
but then all week long…
You can visit the holy lands..you can be there..
As Jesus said in the gospel lesson
God is spirit.. we are called to worship in spirit and in truth.
When you live with your heart of faith…..in the spirit
You are in the holy land..
let help each other to be there.
I hope you go there ….often…..again and again.. Lent is a good time to travel..lets all go.
This
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