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OY. Léf- BOS

Meditation John M Buchanan
Ash Wednesday

Defense Construetion Supply Depot

March 3, 1976

Lent is not what it used to be. | There was a time, not so very long
— —
ago, at least in the area of Pennsylvania that was home for me, when Lent had
some substance. \ For Church people, it was a time for buckling down and doing
ee

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some things we didn't de erdtnertty. \ tm my home it meant going to Church

every Wednesday night - not an altogether attractive prospect for a young boy

far more interested in playing baskerbalt,\ But we went, and I suffered through
‘Valet rere eR oo, Ce

all these Wednesday nights, and if my life depended om it I could not now tell

you one thing the preacher had to say in one of those many, many sermons,
Daal

What came through to me in that experience - besides the tedium and
a, ro

time lo £ the b b c ~ W h i
ime lost from the basketball court as a sense that something important was

happening, ar was about to happens| and that somehow the good news of Easter

morning was related to those difficult hours in the pew on Wednesday evening,

And, in retrospect, IT am convinced that the experience was helpful to mes

learned, in spite of myself, that at the heart of the Christian message is a
. - sO gta ts

very costly sacri fice:| and that people who pian

to celebrate and observe
D nizate gpsex’

anything on Easter morning had better come to terms with that - or the whole
= cmt CREATE . =a
thing will be a silly charade, ~Ceéeud 6 Clabes, Weta Meee io
y cha Q9+. Lappe piach Us

All that by way of saying I'm glad to be here sharing this experience

with you - on a day that retains a lot of importance to me ~ Ash Wednesday -

a day of buckling down for Christian people of all denominations, \ And EL invite

you to think with me about Lent - as a time when we move from the abstract to
SCRE

the specitic,| from the theoretical to the concrete,
aie] TREE a]

S very ms. we us fevers by « set ¢f absfractims =

Sometimes we never Come Ye prips with the

practice! , cmerete PAERM jw of flrse ater treertions. avaud
/ eas. Let me j/ tus fre te

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JESUS CHRIST FOR MODERN MAN John M. Buchanan
TEACHER Broad Street Presbyterian Church
Matthew 5:1-\2 Columbus, Ohio

March 9, 1975

Men knew him first as Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus bar Joseph,
ba ial

son of a carpenter: | rey knew him as a man. (It was not long,

however, until they confronted in him a ceacher. | Fifty times in
aa,

the Gospels he is addressed with words the only good translation

besiesiniemnie “sl

Today, people who are not particularly inter-

of which is teacher. | zven his opponents conceded that and addressed
him in the same way. \
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ested in theological assertions about him remain intrigued by what

he taught |

My starting point is that we exist as a church because of a
bd

story about a man who Lived and died and rose asain; | a story we
et all a

have discovered makes all the difference in the worid to us| a

Laue ind

story we want to tell to the wortd.| My starting point is alse
eT. ‘Smet

based on an observation made very recently by sociologists of re-
a

ligion, that the institutional church, in its frantic attempt to

be relevant within the social and economic and political chaos of
a pe

the past decade has, in fact, become soneyhag ieneheuant | Put
—co dey \pear Ftd Peed, ’ he ki

another way, the relevance we wantot teste irrelevant .\ People -
ET Fa

a

in and outside of the institutional church want to know the story.
el

wee MEIC

Again, this is not te say that the church should withdraw from its

—

mission commitments to the world with all the complexity and risk
Lee eee

LY

and potential unpopularity that inpties | It is simply to assert

that we first need to know the story: \ that we need, occasicnally,
ae abide a anal ed

to reacquaint ourselves with the story and the staggering impact it

can have when it is told and heard honestly, without embellishment.
—— —— — — tena

Thus, in Lent, a series of sermons on Jesus Christ for Modern Man.
oe ee

We thought last week about The Man, | We looked at the doctrine
Sen al

of the incarnation in classig. terms:

sttian \ We focused on the paradoxical claim of Christian Faith that
—az ind
Jesus was our brother, Like us in every way. \ Hrewuieongiaimabanitetine

Tt is helpful to remember that his followers, the disciples, did
Ln

not attach theological significance to his life until after Easter.
peat ee

They did not become Christians as a result of a well-reasoned theo-

logical tzeatise | they saw and responded te a man and what they found
rel Er Ca

in him immediately was a teacher \ So did an apparently increasing
\watrucmnipiaet ST -

number of people in the three years between 30 and 33 AD, referred
La el _—,

to in the New Testament, as simply "the crowds."JPeople - the crowds -
— eto —_— henanhiemmnmamamnanl

listened and followed him in order to Listen some pore. | wherever he
_— rnc,

went people gathered to hear what he had to say.\| So, this morning, we
micemmaiaienialied a mateo onl

look carefully at Jesus the Teacher.

What makes a great teacher? | For the amusement_of it TI counted
| a eT

the number of teacher I have sat under and concluded that the total is
ed re aa

well in excess of twa hundred, | I remember some of them viva |r re-
ee _—e

member some of them not at all, \ And while my collegues in education
a al AACE

might challenge my categories I have concluded that the teachers I

ing
remember, the ones I am consciously aware of hav/ taught me, had three
ite -
particular qualities, earl on subject they were teaching:
fagay

an ability to communicate which éwdeeed-both flexibility and obvious

personal coneern for the student +\\ and authority.) Now, authority
anaes perceC Tl — sibel sitet al ———

oerter-

comes in a number of packages. \t can be and is taken by coercions
cl

oe

authority accrues to a person with superior strength.\ tn the case of
CO eel

pase
a teacher it is the authority Hiwammd on the power to give a failing
a eal ee oe

grade, or to eject a student from the class, or to inflict physical
ii el —!

punishment.) But there is another authority - a better kind of
eet

biel se anes aa

authority in the context of a free society. \ te is the authority which
rE aa initial Lt

is granted by the citizen or the student. \e is not cogrced:\ rather

oes ek
it is MMM on the intrinsic authenticity of the teacher. as T
Se al

tried to think objectively about my own experience, there was a

,it. —e
sian Seah dense 3
megee TOMent in my relationship with the mmee JI remember, wheya

type
authority changed from one! to the other: | when, in essence, I con-
rey a ail iniecionemy

cented to be taught. | then learning happened. Authority - Ability

a el

to Commumicate-~ Knowledge of the subject - Jesus the teacher.
eS im ine a

He knew what he was talking about.| That point is so obvious from
| nme mended inbilialiiel | ssitchntetimemnaninal

a superficial reading of the accounts that we don't need to spend much
anna , anneal

time on ie-| Jesus was obviously schooled in Rabbinic thought \as Was
Ce el

the case with all young men, he had attended Synagogue classes:jhe had
basset Ce en eel
learned how to use the Hebrew language even though he spoke Aramaic,

He knew the law ~- Terah - and the prophets, | 1 debate he could quote
eee _ep

Se eae et

tha scripture and he knew which texts were more authogtative. | Tt is
amend behind al a

not evident to the casual reader of the New Testament but when Jesus
— aaa i a re

was in the wilderness and Satan tempted him by quoting scripture, Jesus
ee. ED

answered each thrust with another quote - in each case a text that had
meyer RIETIS eemmeanl Cen eee nme

more authority within the context of the Rabbinic thought of the time.
Rene,

Even the people who were opposed to him acknowledged that he knew his
De aa

sub ject.

He could consunicete.\ That rare ability included flexibility,
eo cece eed

for he taught not only in the formal setting of the Symagogue, but

from a mountain top, and at table {| and in the market place and from

the prow of a fishing boat. \ He drew from a wide range of literary

techniques which when looked at objectively are amazing. Consider

cet,
a few.| He apparently could coin a phrase that was literally un-
cow PP ¥ watt . oe eden

forgetable. {What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world

and forfeits his Liter") Several years ago there was great conster~

nation over the apparent triviality of the contemporary poleit,| someone

took a survey that we preachers would Like to forget.\ The purpose was
Ninna, —

to determine how much of a sermon is retained by a congregation.\ The

findings were that generally by Sunday night no one could remember a
en —

specific sentence: \by mid week very few could remember a general idea:
ne nd

and by the following week almost no one remembered the subject \ Even
given the possibility of additions and editorial corrections over the
emcees. —_— |

centuries, Jesus was apparently a master at turning a phrase that could
al

be remembered,

pre senbekion or

Oa,

He used as a teaching technique the
ES

“pe idea that sounds incredible, but that will not be dismissed because

of the suspicion that it may, after all, be erue,| [rstessec are the poor

in spizter'| "Blessed" is more accurately translated "How happy are those" ~
eee,

"How happy are the peace makers - the mourners ~ How happy are you when

you are persecuted?" | One New Testament scholar has suggested that if we

could hear the Beatitudes as if for the first time they would literally
i, a ed

take our breath away.

Lemme

He could be abrupt, shocking, vulgar: | "Ef your right eye causes you to sin,

pluck it out and throw it away."{ He could be satizical, humgrous: \ ne told

a story about a man with a two by four in his eye trying to remove a speck
bene seen amaieiamel eT, ‘eer
of dust from another man's eye - the first_century equivalent of that

Leal

modern wiaadess gag about a neuro-surgeon with shaking hands.
aici

He could be gentle, taking a child on his Jap and telling about the

simplicity of faith. \ and he covld tell stories - stories so vividly ex-
Cl Oe

presive that their titles are almost sufficient - "The Good Samaritan", \

itt
"The Prodigal Son'', "The Lost Sheep" \ (Much of this material is found pe eudk
SA eae - Ly

st, Chapter \c )

in William Barclay, The Mind of Chr

hat has always

we are those hints and references in the New Testament to the effect that Mewevr,
oe : EE

he had authority, | At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount we read,
RSET
(ene crowds were astonished by his teaching, for he taught them as one

who had authority, and not as their sexibes.") The same statement, in-
—— paperanian cet

2 sexribes, is found in Mark 1:22. | sno

DY

Where did he get his authority? \ reac did the crowds see in him?

He certainly had no official credentials: \ ve was merely a carpenter,
SE cece

from Nazareth - of all places. \ whatever it was, it stood out in stark
eee fe oe

contrast to the scribes.
, arene

The Seribes were the teachers:\ the official teachers. \they were

schooled in teaching the law ~ Tarah - the first five books in the Old
| fd

-5-

Testament and the body of commentary that had accumulated over the cen-
i a al

il,

cortes. | mey knew all the rules: }they knew the exceptions to the rules
and the exceptions to the exce tions.\ they knew who had said what about

which. \ they belonged to various schools: | and they taught by referring
oo

to the authoritative Scribes from their particular school. When they

taught a point of law - or when they were catled_on to interpret a dis-
ee | a

pute about a particularly fine point of law, they referred to the past

wisdom of others.
De

In sharp contrast Jesus, apparently, did not do that. \ie did not
Fan = |

refer to anyone else when he taught \ in fact, when he did, it only made

the contrast between the Scribes and himself sharper. | You have heard that
er... peer. ‘EET

it was sai" that is, by the Scribes [rout I say to you."| That was new:
eel _—eere

it was infuriating to the scribes themselves and to the rest of the re-
—— ae et

ligiocus estabLighnenc.\ who did he think he was? | rhe crowds loved it.
ad baal La]

For them - he had authority,
ome

in my home Ghurch for the first time.\ I was extremely careful to cite
Ee EEsce ease

every"authority" I knew on the subject, and to demonstrate what T thought
‘CORP 7 TE

at that time was important to demonstrate - namely that I had been doin
1p ¥ &

a lot of reading and had become very wise. | acer, overt Lunch, my father
ci Ree Daal

taught me about authority.| He said, (vou told us what Kari Barth and
i eel : Leuemnammnsnane nd

Fa
PaulTillich and Reinhold and Dietrich Bonhoeffer thought, but
el SR a na

I don't think you ever got around to telling us what you thought."
dens Pe

The crowds were astonished at what he said, because he assumed for

Ce aaa eal .
hick. over “Yar ceuburies, had beau reserved
himself the authority @émlummboaaiben .

gad Ma colton LS Ra, CERNE ON
Snare , preey consented to #me# authority because they could see
is ee meine

Hus Seq bts

r
ity

“pa “trewds
in him the integrity and the authenticity of what he was teaching.
ee

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. LT
Aud uet dhur is Wie feu tea “t
&
They knew that he cared about them, and they could see and sense that We nN
Ee a S| s peo we

somehow, for them, he was living out the implications of his teaching. we 74

Bane eel
fle was not simply discussing” ethical idealg - he was doing it. He was
(noeeoeroe Deena ee

not simply discussing the potential implications of loving an enemy -
saad Ol el

he was on the way to actuaily doing it.

They consented to be taught because this man cared about them.

Them" in the New Testament is the "Crowd", an unfortunately neutral
=e no a. a

word.| in Aramaic - and the later Greek - the word is far better trans-
ed sc A,

lated veage-nacer \ ct I may refer to one of my authoritis - a New
oa —— Ca |

Testament professor who translated it bluntly - "the bung", \ x one cared
baat al Sees — “

about them, least of all the religious officials \ The Pharisees,
Sn ieee mirmmamnananatll

custodians of the law, drew their robes tightly in order to avoid con-
eno ad

tanimatiwg, physical contact with these people - the cxowd\ Equally,
the crowd laughed at the pomposity of the righteous Phariseef.| He had
be eras

no authority for them at all \ ao a this man cared, and they listened

,i4 ies
Jesus taught that “the kingdom of God was present in the life of the

: in th re - net after death - not beside but separate from
world: jot in the future - a £ p

~J~

put jewel
the life of the world:| net in it-as bemendmg is in bread.| The Kingdom

of God exists, he taught, when God reigns - and God reigns when men

and women do his yit.| His teaching is not a new Law: it igs wot a new
ed =i Le anal

legal code to replace the law of Moses. \ Jesus was, and remained a Jew.
DT be aan nial

And while he respected the Holy Law of Judaism he said simply that ewes ta beds
.
K jag een, as righteousness means more than obeying the Law. | That was
rrr

radical and revolutionary when he taught it, and Christiap people have

found it radical when they have thought about it for very long ever since.
oer Di |

Jesus taught that is was God's will that men not only refrain from

committing perjury but that they tell the truth.\ He taught that it is
ad

were ll i RENEE

God's will thak men not only refrain from killing each other but that

: . . T
they stop hating each other. \ sesus taught that righteousness, in God's

Kingdom, is not simply a matter of refraining from doing all the pro-

hibited, forbidden acts, but in positively doing something that no law
new el

can preseribe.| In God's Kingdom, for instance, it is not enough to re-
PRR ORT ARK — oe

frain from attacking and stealing from your neighpor: \ you are to stop
aaa ad ee

what you are doing when you find him lying jn a ditch and_bind up his
joing wh Jying i _bind

wounds. \ ta God's Kingdom, you nof only carry another man's load the

mile the law prescribes, you go along another mile on your own volition.
ail Fan

In God's Kingdom, here, you not only obey the law, go to Church on Sun-
ee eal a!
j i NeOp '
day, and live a proper life, you help and heal and love people you don't

have to and who don't know you and may not even Like you,
CET, ST ., De

The Kingdom of God, Jesus taught, is here whew, men and women reflect,
we La ba orn
in their lives, the will of god. \ now, men have despaired at chac.\ When
Per car

they have regarded the teaching of Jesus as a new law they have invariabl
mere emencoe® Lan aa Ce iad ri

ee

ae = aT

threwn up their hands in grustracion. \ nos igs it possible, for instance,

not to feel anger?\ Emil Brunner once remarked that Jesus made every man

a murderer and an adulterer - when he equated anger and lust with the
=A EE

-~g-

actual crimes.\ When a man once told S@ren Kierkegaard, the great Danish
Le aa | es dame ——

theologian, that he could accept Jesus as teacher but not Lord, Kierkegaard
a all —_—eee
simply invited the man to try to live those teachings.\ In fact, if Jesus
a el a arene

taught a new system of ethics and if, in fact, he is the judge of our per-
De | Eee

formance, we are in rather savious trouble.

Bul Jesus also “regu also

sa

ue Goad,

A God who is
a vighteous judge but who is also a loving father | A God who understands when
be i | | [Aer

his children stumble and fall:\a God who places strenuous demands on his

children, but whose forgiveness can pick a person back up and give him
Ey :

the grace and courage to try again.
aren, wos

Jesus taught about a God who wants us to obey his win\ to live

better, kindlier Lives, to be more generous, more loving, more courageous,
[ETE =m

more joyful than any of us is. \re taught about a God whose incredible

love for us compells us to keep trying, not because we're afraid of what
eam

will happen if we don't \not because our egos need boosting by self-acheived
nn

goodness, but because his love for us is so great that we have no other
™ fove. “Tha ack
alternative, desvs Gicd ~ demmehrakoy He’ redeem NONE:

of Aa Sepa pr Re Ae Noecamn he Sarrhor & She cross,

Ser AAA ove a Vike * wk \

Jesus taught that God reigns now. | And that when you and I learn
al meee ET

aed eeperiare
Erom him and obey his will, we are privileged to usher in’a bit of God's

i all

Kingdom tear on earth.
re

"The crowds were astonished because he taught them with authority."

“Tie has nek Onan 28 tur (SEN —~he teaches v2 ,

cas - 2 Amen,
— nee

Father, we would Learn at the feet of the master. Help us to hear

as if for the first time. _ Amen,
f

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