"Well,
I don't know what will happen now. We've
got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the
mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long
life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go up to the
mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land.
I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we,
as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about
anything. I'm not fearing any
[man]. Mine eyes have seen the
glory of the coming of the Lord."
Those
words, spoken by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the night before he was
assassinated in Memphis, still haunt us. To this day, they generate speculation and debate. Some are convinced that King knew he would be
killed. With the kind of turmoil King
was creating and the general upheaval that was being witnessed from courthouse
squares to college campuses, it doesn't require much imagination to envision a
scenario wherein King would be gunned down. King noted on that very night that the "... nation is
sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around." Others are equally certain that King did not
have a premonition about his own death. John Cartwright, who holds the professorship at Boston University
which bears King's name, believes that King was not predicting his own death. Rather, according to Cartwright, Dr. King was
only aware that the arc of justice is long and that significant changes only
happen over an extended period of time. In other words, King knew that his words might articulate the
dream, but the reality of the dream might not be experienced until generations
later.
We,
the church, have debated the same issue regarding Jesus. Did Jesus know he was going to die? Did God send Jesus to earth to die? Or, as events evolved and pressure mounted,
did it then become evident to Jesus that his faithfulness to God may bring
about his own death? There are
those who believe that Bethlehem and Calvary were interwoven into Jesus'
life from the beginning. When John the
Baptist declared that Jesus was the Lamb of God, it could have sounded like
Jesus' crucifixion was certain from the outset. In a culture that sacrificed lambs twice a day in the temple,
those words were the kiss of death. "Here
is the Lamb of God" can be loosely understood to mean, "Hey, look
here, everyone, here's the One that is going to be sacrificed." This Lamb of God imagery says something very
different from "light of the world" or "bread of life"
imagery. Jesus as the light of the
world illumines and brings warmth. Jesus
as the bread of life satisfies our deepest spiritual and physical hunger. Jesus as the Lamb of God speaks of one who
was on his way be sacrificed … on the cross.
We
will never know for certain if our Lord Jesus knew that His sacrifice was
looming near. What we do know for sure
is that His sacrifice was for the sin of the whole world. Notice
that the word is sin. Hamartia (AMARTIA) in the Greek -- it is not the plural sins but simply sin. And it has the meaning of being
sinful rather than acts of sin.
There’s a distinction then between the sin that is in our being, our
nature, and the sins which we commit because of that nature. We say in the BCP (p. 337) O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of
the world, Have mercy upon us but that’s not what this verse in John is
saying. Jesus came to do more than
bring pardon to our sinful acts. He
came to bring pardon, and thus restoration, to our being, our soul, which is a
far greater act of grace and mercy on God’s part.
A missionary in Africa was preaching his first sermon in a
mission church. When time came for the
offering, the people danced their offerings forward. They danced and sang praise to God as they brought their offerings
to the altar. It was a beautiful
moment. What do you think? Should we get our ushers to do that?
After the service, he asked one of the people, "Why do
you dance and sing when you bring your offering forward on Sunday
morning?" Back came the answer:
"How could we not dance? We are so
grateful to God for what He has done for us in sending Jesus Christ to save us
that we have to dance and sing our thanksgiving and besides it says in the
Bible, God loves a cheerful giver."
Let me ask you something.
Do you feel gratitude to God that strongly? Do you have a strong case of the "can't help its" when
it comes to gratitude? When you are
Christians, gratitude is the spirit of your lifestyle. When you are a
Christian, you can't help but be grateful!
Take
some time in this season of manifestation, before we get to Lent to ponder just
what a gift we have been given in and through the Lamb of God, who takes away
the SIN of the world. And offer to God
your grateful thanks. Not once, but
often. Amen