Century Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)

1301 Tamarack Road, Owensboro, KY 42301, (270) 684-0286, Pastor:  Rev. Jim Westmoreland

What Part Did You Play?

Matthew 26:14–27:11-54 (read 26:14-16, 20-25, 31-35, 69-75 & 27:1-2, 20-25)

by Jim Westmoreland

On this last Sunday of Lent we remember that we have been invited to participate in a personal spiritual journey of reflection about our faithfulness to Christ. It is a time to review, to recognize and admit to ourselves and to God where we have sinned in the things that we have done and in the things that we have not done.

As we continue following the scriptures in the lectionary that lead us through the Christian year and Jesus life, we come to the gates outside of Jerusalem and Jesus is approaching riding on a donkey. It was a disappointing sight. The images of the Messiah coming to Jerusalem were captured in the spirit of the Son of Man, a title Jesus used of himself and was spoken of in the book of Ezekiel and Enoch, a popular book of Jesus’ day. The Son of Man was a conqueror who rode in from the sky like a “super-hero” on a larger-than-life stallion. A conqueror.

And, here comes Jesus, on a donkey. But he had been healing and performing miracles, and, so, he was popular and well-known by many of the people who had followed him around from Judea to Galilee. For a few moments in time, on that day, they cheered him, waved palm branches and laid down their garments for him to pass over on his grand entry into Jerusalem. They shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Well, the crowd celebration fell short of a coronation. Some may have thought “King Jesus,” but they laid down their palm branches, picked up their garments and went home. Some may have continued into Jerusalem to the Temple with Jesus. At some point Jesus got off of the donkey, Matthew tells us that he next went into the Temple and ran out all who were buying and selling. He turned over tables, scattered money, and severely upset “business as usual.” While he was there the blind and lame came to him, and he healed them.

How quickly the adoration of the palms passed, and the mood changes. Our scripture reading for this morning contains readings from Matthew 26 where the plot to kill Jesus begins to quickly develop and continues into chapter 27 where the crowds now yell for Jesus to be crucified. This is the section referred to as the Passion of Christ. His last days of betrayal, suffering and death are shared here. In my preaching I believe it is important for the church to know both stories, and so I alternate using the Palm narrative and the Passion narrative as the basis for the sermon. This Sunday, I am using selections from the Passion story using the question, “What Part Did You Play?”

Beginning with Matthew 26:14, let us hear a word from the Lord:

^26:14 Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵and said, ‘What will you give me if I betray him to you?’ They paid him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

²⁰ When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; ²¹and while they were eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.’ ²²And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, ‘Surely not I, Lord?’ ²³He answered, ‘The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. ²⁴The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’ ²⁵Judas, who betrayed him, said, ‘Surely not I, Rabbi?’ He replied, ‘You have said so.’

³¹ Then Jesus said to them, ‘You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written,

“I will strike the shepherd,

   and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”

³²But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.’ ³³Peter said to him, ‘Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.’ ³⁴Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ ³⁵Peter said to him, ‘Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.’ And so said all the disciples.

⁶⁹ Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus the Galilean.’ ⁷⁰But he denied it before all of them, saying, ‘I do not know what you are talking about.’ ⁷¹When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ ⁷²Again he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.’ ⁷³After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.’ ⁷⁴Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know the man!’ At that moment the cock crowed. ⁷⁵Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: ‘Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.

^27:1 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. ² They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor. ²⁰Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. ²¹The governor again said to them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas.’ ²²Pilate said to them, ‘Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ All of them said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ ²³Then he asked, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’

²⁴ So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ ²⁵Then the people as a whole answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’

There is a large cast of characters in this story. Just read through and list all of the people who betrayed and denied Jesus. Most of the people were good people. There were a couple of bad ones, Judas of course, and Barabbus, and Pilate didn’t seem all that good, but he did say that he thought Jesus was innocent. All of this happened a long time ago, and I know that I wasn’t there. And, I know that I didn’t do any of those horrible things.

But the word of the Lord calls out to my spirit and asks, What part did you play? And, I know that my claims of innocence are hollow and my attempts to hide my guilt and protect my vulnerability do not work. Let us all ask, What part did I play in denying and betraying Jesus? In my failures and denials, how do I crucify Him again?

Judas is one we know about. His name has come to be synonymous with one who betrays another. Societies have always reserved their harshest judgment for those who betray. It is a sin against the trust that is critical to maintaining any kind of relationship, whether it is between two people or among the people of an entire nation. That is why betrayal can destroy a marriage, a family, a community, or even a church. We have always been hard on Judas and all of his imitators. We won't even name a dog, "Judas."

Could it be that the real reason we show betrayers so little compassion is that we are afraid there is some Judas "gene" embedded in all of us? We hate the thought that we too are capable of betraying trust. When Jesus said that "you will all fall away on account of me," the disciples jumped in echoing Peter saying, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." But beneath the surface we know they had their doubts. "We're behind you, Jesus ... Far behind."

One of the messages of Holy Week is that sooner or later every disciple has the capacity to betray Jesus. We betray him at home when we hurt those who depend on us and trust us; we betray him in the workplace when it costs too much to think and act like a Christian; we betray him before the world by our indifference to the poor, by our mismanagement of resources, by our hatred of enemies. We betray Jesus. What part did you Play. It is apparent that we have the Judas gene.

Fortunately that Judas gene carries with it, not only the capacity for betrayal, but the capacity for remorse as well. After Judas betrayed Jesus and Jesus was arrested, Judas was nothing if not remorseful. He returned his ill-gotten gain to the Temple tyrants who had given it and then went out and hanged himself. It is too bad that his remorse was so strong that he could not have lasted for just another day. He might have heard some words from the cross which would have helped. He might have heard, "Father, forgive..." God offers forgiveness. He calls us to be reconciled.

However, there is no reconciliation without remorse, without repentance and owning up to and being accountable for our own behavior. What part did you play? Christian martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, wrote in his book, The Cost of Discipleship, "Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession. … Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."

Simon, whose name had been changed by Jesus to Peter, which means rock, did not live up to his name. His faith and actions were not solid. In fact wanting so much to blend in with everyone else, when asked if he was one of Jesus’ disciples, he denied Jesus three times.

Some people try to avoid the tears of failure by refusing to admit they can fail. This was the case with Peter. When Jesus told him that he would deny him, Peter boastfully declared, "Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you." We, like Peter, can be so very proud and sure of ourselves and our accomplishments. We are absolutely sure we will not give in to temptation. Then, pride goes before a fall. Rather, are we not in the position of the Disciples who asked, when Jesus announced that one of them would betray him, "Lord, is it I?" What part did you play? When have you wanted to blend in and wanted to hide your identity as a follower of Jesus? When you see injustices and prejudices in our community and do nothing, what part did you play?

Acting out of their stubbornness and pride were the pharisees and elders. These were the ones who plotted to kill Jesus. They hired Judas to betray Jesus. They heard what they wanted to hear and twisted the story to fit their reactions and prejudices. Historically, these are the people who deny that they failed when they did fail. We have a tendency to find a scapegoat, or to make excuses, or to blame someone or something for the failure. Oh no, we cannot fail. Others may, but not us! We become numbed to the truth by the frequent use of the drug of self-deception and dishonesty. What part did you play?

It is like the boy who considered himself to be an excellent batter. One evening he asked his father to come to the backyard to watch him demonstrate his skill. He held the bat in one hand and with the other threw the ball in the air. He swung as hard as he could but missed it. The lad shouted, "Strike one!" Again he threw up a ball, took a mad swing, and missed it. He yelled, "Strike two!" With confidence, he threw the ball up for the third time, swung at it for all he was worth, and missed it. "Strike three!" he called. Just then, his mother called them to come in for supper. As he picked up the ball and started for the house, he turned to his father and said, "Dad, wasn’t that great pitching?”

During Lent the church has called us to reflect on our sins, our lapses in faithfulness, in our failure to fully live for Christ. Why? Because good things come out of it. God reaches out to us in our honesty and confession. It seems strange to think that failure can be "good"? Yes, being honest over our failure can come as a blessing. It is possible to say about losing, "It's the best thing that ever happened to me." When we realize that failure can be a blessing, we experience the mystery of God’s grace and our hearts respond with gratitude. God has a wonderful way of bringing life out of death, joy out of sorrow, and success out of failure. Where are you in your Lenten Journey? Have you started? How is God healing your brokenness? What part have you played?

We can be grateful for failure if we have allowed it to be a learning experience. Will Willimon served as advisor for a minister who was working on his doctor's degree. A committee of three professors met with him for a final comprehensive examination. Willimon remembers, “It was my unpleasant duty as advisor to tell him that he failed. Imagine what a blow it was to him, for he had worked up to this point after years of hard study. Later, he came to my office to learn where he had failed and why and what he should do to pass the next time.” He said, "I admit I failed miserably, but I am choosing to see it as a learning experience and hope to do better next time."

Failure can be a blessing by causing us to turn in another direction or try a new approach. Who did Peter blame for his denial of Jesus? No one but himself. That is a sign of health and maturity. It allowed him to be open to be forgiven and reconciled.

Once a failure does not mean always a failure. We can profit by our mistakes. A young boy was arrested for stealing. This was his first offense. The judge asked him if he had anything to say in his defense. The lad said, "Only, that I wish it had never happened. And I know it won't happen again." The judge did not ignore what he had done or act as if it didn’t matter, but he sentenced him to two years' probation and promised the boy, if he had good behavior, to erase the offense from the boy's record. Because he was given a second chance, this young man turned his failure into success by having no further problems with the Law.

God has a way of getting our attention, if we will let Him. Just as Peter settled comfortably secure in his lies, the sound of a rooster crowing broke the stillness before dawn. Certainly, this was an ordinary sound to those in the courtyard who could tell by the eastern sky that morning was about to come. A rooster crowing was a normal morning sound, something they heard every day, but for Simon Peter it was an awful reminder. Grief-stricken and appalled, he ran out of the courtyard and wept bitterly in repentance.

What does it take for God to get our attention? Can we look at our lives and admit to ourselves and to God what part we have played in denying Jesus. Peter learned and his life was changed, and we know, from reading the Book of Acts, that he experienced forgiveness and was changed and never came close to denying Jesus again. “Faithful follower of Jesus,” that is the part that God is calling us to! What changes will we have to make? Amen.

Century Christian Church, March 16, 2008 - Sermon by Jim Westmoreland