2017 Easter Sunday Matthew 28:1-10 - Eternal Life - not a scam.

Easter Sunday Main Service – Matthew 28:1-10 Eternal Life – not a scam

Rarely a day goes by when I don’t receive an email trying to lure me into a scam. They range from Lotteries that I have won that I did not enter. Or beautiful Russian women that somehow got my email address and tell me how much they want to meet me. Then there are the banking emails from banks I don’t bank with. There are the Generals from Nigeria who want to sneak out an amount of money from their country and promise to share it with me if I give them my bank details. That last one always amazes me because it’s not just a few dollars but usually 10s of millions of dollars. Just like the solar panel phone calls that I get every evening – I get rid of them straight away. They are scams.

I wonder in this generation when there are so many people wising up to scams whether the Easter Story is going to fit into that category also. We have the story of a person, Jesus Christ, who is crucified, dies and is buried and then rises from the dead. There is a great earthquake; an angel descends from heaven rolls back the stone covering the entrance to the cave which was used to bury Jesus and sat on it. Then he announces to the 2 women coming to the grave that Jesus has risen from dead. Is this a scam?

We are so used to these sorts of offers that we are told – if it’s too good to be true then it probably isn’t true. And that’s what the Easter story sounds like – a story too good to be true. Jesus rises from the dead and promises us the same when we die at no cost. That’s the difference between the Easter story and a scam. Scams intend to take things away from you – your money, your passwords, your identity. The Easter story is the opposite. It intends to give at no cost to us but has been fully paid for by Jesus.

What always amazes me about scams is that no matter how far-fetched the offer is someone will always fall for it. You hear about it so often. People who have lost thousands sending money to people they have never met because they hope that maybe it might be true. What surprises me about the Easter message is that people don’t take that same chance. Let’s look again at what Easter is about. Easter is about what happens after we die. Everything in the Christian message is about that one detail. That when we die we rise to a new life in Heaven.

The Christian message is not about how to make people live moral lives. The Christian message is not about making sure that same-sex marriage doesn’t happen. The Christian message is not about complaining that the AFL is now playing football on Good Friday. But sadly this is the Christian message that has been heard. Too often we allow earthly things to distract us and we forget what it is that is important to our message. And that’s why Paul says;  Seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

The Easter message is so beautiful, so simple, so complete. It’s everything everyone is wanting. That after we have lived our life here on earth there is a home in heaven waiting for us. But too often we allow ourselves to be distracted by earthly things that we forget what it’s all about. I think this year I have been asked more about my views on Same Sex Marriage, Hot Cross Buns so early, the commercialisation of Christmas and Easter and playing football than how I feel about so many people not believing in Jesus Christ. We are more concerned about people saying Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas than the amount of people who say they don’t believe in God.

Jesus dying on the cross for our sins and assuring us of eternal life after we die is all we should be concerning ourselves about. When the 2 Marys saw the angel they were given the message to take: Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ This is my message for you. When you lose a loved one or you’re facing your own questions about death, the other things don’t seem as important. It’s not to say they aren’t important but that’s not the message we are sent to proclaim. The message of the church is the same message given by the angels to the 2 Mary’s: He has been raised from the dead. That’s what people want to hear – that’s what people NEED to hear. Christ is risen – he has risen indeed.

That was the message of the first church before they became concerned about Hot Cross Buns, and Happy Holidays and Football. As passionate as we are about those things it can take away the reason why we are here today celebrating Easter:  ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ Christ has risen – he has risen indeed – This is my message for you.

2017 Easter Sunday Dawn Meditation John 20:1-18

Easter Sunday Dawn Service – Seeing by believing John 20:1-18

The resurrection cab be a confusing story and apparently was equally confusing for those who were present at the time. Mary Magdalene, whose life had been transformed by Jesus, came to the tomb early in the morning.  Despite what Jesus may have said about rising from the dead, it is clear that Mary had come to see the dead. She believed that death was final including Jesus’ death. When she saw the empty tomb, she assumed that someone had stolen the body. What other explanation could there be?

She reported this bad news to two of Jesus' closest disciples, and they ran to the tomb. Peter saw the empty tomb, but the story continues to be confusing. "Then the other disciple ... also went in and he saw and believed; but what did he believe for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead."

So what was it that the disciple believed? Maybe just that Jesus’ body was missing?There seemed to be some sort of misunderstanding. What was their response to this earth-shattering event? "Strangely, even though it says they believed, the disciples returned to their homes." It was Mary who stayed around but she too didn’t understand.

Because Mary believed that death was final, she did not recognize Jesus when she saw him. Even being spoken to by two angels did not change her understanding of death. Even when she spoke with Jesus face to face she thought he was the gardener. It was only when Jesus addressed her personally that her mind was opened to believe that Jesus had been raised from the dead. When she believed, she was able to see. Seeing wasn’t believing. Believing was seeing. And that is an important distinction – it’s what we call “faith”. Believing without seeing – as the book of Hebrews says: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

Sometimes, like Mary we too fail to see Jesus in our lives because we fail to believe he is with us when we look at the terrible things happening in the world. When we see the terrorist threats, the threats of war or anything that threatens our lives or livelihood, we forget that Jesus has promised to be with us and so we fail to see him in our lives even though he is standing right there beside us. Believing that Jesus is by our side enables us to see him during those times.

Seeing comes from believing. But if we let the threats around us be what we see then, like Mary, we can sometimes not see Jesus there.

I was thinking about this a couple weeks ago when we had that huge downpour on the Saturday afternoon. I was at the football and I could see the dark clouds gathering. I looked at my phone and the weather radar and could see that the huge storm was heading my way. I saw the crowds starting to rush to get under cover as they too could see the dark clouds. The difference for me was that I had bought a seat under cover. It could rain and storm all it liked because I knew that it wouldn’t affect me. If I just looked at the clouds or the weather radar I would panic. But as I looked at the cover above my head I didn’t have to worry. Jesus is the same.

As we look at Jesus, even though the threats are all around us we know that the extent of what they can do to us is limited. At worst they can take away our lives but Jesus’ death and resurrection has secured our eternal life in heaven which cannot be taken away from us. That’s the good news that comes from Easter Sunday. As St Paul says in Romans chapter 8: For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38,39).

Likewise, Paul says again about focusing on the wrong things, like Mary who was focusing on Jesus’ death and missing body: Paul says: Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)

Like Peter who took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the waves and began to sink, we need to keep looking at Jesus and believe what he has said: I am with you always (Matthew 28:20)

The resurrection means that Jesus is always with us but because of our human nature we sometimes become like Doubting Thomas and refuse to believe unless we see. But Jesus reminds Thomas there that blessed are those who believe without seeing. So even though you may not see Jesus in those times when the dark clouds are hovering, may you continue to believe that he is there with you. Seeing is not always believing – but believing is always seeing.

Christ is risen – he has risen indeed.

Let us go in the peace of the Lord.

Good Friday 2017 - Destined to die – destined for eternal life.

Good Friday

Destined to die – destined for eternal life.

At our community meal a few weeks ago I was chatting with one of our guest who was enjoying his cup of coffee after his meal.

We have lots of chats about politics, religion and sport – the 3 topics that you say you shouldn’t talk about.

As he was sipping his coffee I made the comment to him – did you know that 100% of coffee drinkers end up dying.

He was shocked and wondered whether he should give up drinking coffee – until he realised the logic behind it.

One of the other guests responded – yes, and 100% of pastors die also.

It’s a topic no one likes to talk about that we must all face the reality of death sometime in the future.

Death is a common experience of life.

All who lived in the past died. Every one of us now living will die sooner or later.

It is estimated that 150,000 people die each day but it’s something we don’t want to talk about.

On Good Friday we often forget that there were three crosses on Calvary, a criminal on each side of Jesus.

These two men died just as much as Jesus died.

Why then do we Christians make so much of the cross of Jesus?

How is Jesus' death different from all other deaths?

We tend to make a special issue out of Jesus' cross.

We wear it as jewellery.

The cross is a mark of our faith.

We even sing, “when I survey the wondrous cross” even though it was by the brutal cross that Jesus died.

Was Jesus' death different because he suffered?

That could not be the answer, because the two men crucified with Jesus suffered equally with him.

The hurt of the nails in hands and feet was as bad for them as for Jesus.

The three equally shared the agony of the noonday heat.

Since Jesus' legs were not broken, perhaps the other two suffered even more physical pain than Jesus did.

Jesus' death is different because it was the fulfilment of God’s plan for us.

Jesus always referred to his death as being part of God’s will.

Thy will be done are the words he prayed before his death.

The cross was God’s plan from the beginning of the world.

God had it in mind from the time that Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden.

From that time, God began a plan of bringing us back to him.

God decided to clean up the world by the Flood and continued a new humanity in Noah and his family.

But this didn’t work and God looked to a new people, the Hebrews.

He called Abraham and led him to a new country where he was to be a great nation and, through him, the world would be blessed.

God brought his people out of Egyptian slavery under Moses.

He led them into a Promised Land and gave them a king.

God put his hopes in David and made his kingdom great.

None of this was working with bringing people back to God as they kept going after other gods.

So God looked to one person, his chosen one, his own son, Jesus of Nazareth.

Through this one man, sin was placed entirely on him and through Jesus we now find access and acceptance with God.

Because the cross was planned, the death of Jesus was different to other deaths.

The cross was no accident.

Jesus was always master of the situation and reminded the people that he laid his life down on his own accord and that no one took away his life.

This was God's work of bringing us back to him, and Jesus was obedient to that will of his Father.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus experienced the will of God and nothing could keep him from obeying.

Just before he died, he gave a shout of victory, "It is finished!"

The work of restoring us began from the time of Adam, and at last completed, finished, at Jesus’ death.

This great work of returning us back to God was completed on the cross with Jesus’ death.

It was done for each one of us, for you and for me.

Jesus' death is different to other deaths because it had a purpose.

The cross was a place of sacrifice.

His death was an offering for our sin.

No other death had this meaning or purpose.

When Adam and Eve sinned it demanded a penalty.

God warned that if they ate from the forbidden fruit they would certainly die.

The amazing thing is that this penalty of death was taken by God on his own son Jesus Christ on the cross.

He is our substitute.

As the Bible says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

The price was paid for our sins through the life of Jesus.

The purpose of the cross was to save us from eternal death.

Jesus' cross is different.

No one and nothing else can save a person from sin and give assurance of life in heaven.

Because of the cross, the way is open for our return to God.

Now we can know for sure that God will accept us, forgive us, and love us.

God offers us mercy and full forgiveness.

What a tragedy that God goes to this great expense - opens his arms to us and so many refuse to come!

Even as Christians we can sometimes forget to appreciate what our eternal life cost God.

Jesus' death was different because of who the person was on the cross – the son of God.

This really made the difference in the three crosses on Good Friday.

Two were only human beings who were dying as payment for their crimes.

In the middle there was a human being also, but more than just human.

Here was the Son of God paying the price of OUR sin.

There is no other way to explain the perfect life and death of Jesus which we have come to call Good Friday.

Jesus is God on the cross suffering and dying for us.

There should be a deep sense of gratitude that calls us to follow and be his forever.

Without a doubt, the greatest reason for Jesus' death being different from all other deaths in history was the fact that his death lasted but three days.

All others have died and stayed dead.

Jesus rose from the dead never again to die.

On this Good Friday we watch him die as one of three on crosses.

And St Paul reassures us that if we die with him we shall also live with him when he rises on Easter.

So, this is not only a remembrance of the world's most unique death, but it is an occasion for great celebration even though it was the most horrific of deaths.

How glorious will Easter then be - we shall have new life, new beings in Christ!

Maundy Thursday 2017 - True Evangelism

Maundy Thursday

Text John 13:1-17, 31b-35 – True Evangelism

Evangelism is a word that is on the tips of the tongues of all churches.

Churches are feeling the pressure of declining memberships and are looking at ways to attract new members.

There are many reasons why people no longer feel that church is part of their life.

People are too busy for church.

Church is no longer relevant.

I know church is important but I just don’t get anything from it – in fact it is boring.

Churches try lots of things to drive their evangelism to draw new members.

Visiting programs.

Letters to lapsed members.

Advertising.

Small groups.

Running ALPHA courses.

Jesus today teaches us the most effective evangelism program ever:

He says: Love one another: Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

There is no point doing evangelism if people come in and see us as no different to what they experience in their everyday lives.

St Paul says a similar thing in the great passage on love in 1 Corinthians:

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If visitors, or even long standing members come in and find us arguing with one another – gossiping about one another – putting others down – then it doesn’t matter what evangelism program we run, or how successful it is – it will mean nothing to them.

Even if we have the best music – the best sermons- if people come to us and find a lack of love then they will leave.

For Jesus, this is the basics of evangelism.

Love one another.

Jesus says: When we love one another then “EVERYONE” will know that you are my disciples.

It’s sad that the church is not often the place where people find examples of love towards each other.

They find backbiting – arguing – gossiping – feuding and a whole host more.

But not only that but often they find the church not being an example of love in the world.

When we react to things in the world we don’t always example love.

There are many things that concern us and with which we disagree but sadly our responses are no different to the worldly way in which it responds.

We don’t have to agree with everything but we can still show love.

There is a saying that we are to love the sinner but hate the sin.

That’s what Jesus typified in his ministry – eating with sinners – forgiving the woman caught in adultery while telling her to sin no more – defending the woman who washed his feet with tears.

He is hating the sin but still loving the sinner.

Too often we hate the sin and the sinner which is not what we are called to example.

Jesus today shows us the fullest example of hating the sin while loving the sinner as he gives us his body and blood that was sacrificed for us to forgive our sin.

It is here where we see where God made him who had to sin to become sin while we became the righteousness of God.

God hating the sin by taking it to cross while loving the sinner by forgiving.

As we come to Holy Communion today it begins our journey into the very heart of God that loved us so much that he gave up all he had to rescue us.

As we hear Jesus’ command today to “love one another as I have loved you” we are challenged to consider what is preventing us from loving one another – maybe a hurt, maybe a fear, maybe a disagreement with a person’s lifestyle – and if we believe that we have a right to withhold love then we need to think again about what it meant for God that it was while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us.

That is true love and that is the love that Jesus has asked, no, commanded us to also show.

If we want to do true evangelism this is where it starts – loving one another as Christ loves us.

Sadly our human nature prevents us at times from showing that sacrificial love.

And so Jesus introduces his sacrificial love firstly with an act of humility.

He does something that no one expected of him.

He gets down on his knees and washes his disciples’ feet.

Peter objects as this is not how it should be.

But Jesus shows that acts of love begin with acts of humility.

Showing Jesus’ love means putting aside our inhibitions and judgments.

As Christians we are commanded to show humility in being the ones who initiate love to one another.

There are times we are hurt.

There are times when we are confronted with people we don’t want to love.

But humility places that all behind us.

And that’s what it means to love one another as Christ loves us.

As St Paul says in Philippians – Jesus humbled himself and become obedient unto death on a cross.

Maundy Thursday is about humility – washing the feet of his disciples – sharing his body and blood with his disciples, including Judas who would betray him.

That is the example which Jesus has left for us – love one another as I have loved you.

Good Friday - Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 – Membership has its privileges

Good Friday

Text: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 – Membership has its privileges

Some years ago American Express ran a marketing campaign with the slogan:

“Membership has its privileges”.

It was to encourage you to apply for its credit card which was to stand out when you went places and paid with it.

It was supposed to get you recognition that other credit cards didn’t.

These days just about every organisation has a membership program that offers you privileges and discounts to try and get your loyalty.

When you sign up they give you a loyalty card with member only discounts and invitations to special events.

I’m sure if you look in your wallet or purse you’d find one or more membership cards.

When doing our annual statistics one of the statistics we report on is “Baptised Membership”.

Baptism is considered as a membership status of the church.

What sort of privileges does this sort of membership offer?

On this most solemn day in the church calendar, St Paul explains to us what we are joining when we are baptised.

He says: “all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”

What does that mean.

He goes on further to say:

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:3,4).

Jesus’ death is a very solemn day which we acknowledge by the starkness of our church today.

No flowers, no coloured paraments, no adoration of the altar or sanctuary whatsoever.

Make no mistake – this was not a glorious day for Jesus or his Father in heaven.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me – why are you so far from helping me” (Psalm 22)

It was not a glorious day for Jesus but it is the most glorious day for us.

The writer to the Hebrews makes it very clear what Jesus death now means for us:

It means that we can now approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. .

Because of his death Jesus became the source of eternal salvation for all (Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9).

When Jesus died we read in Matthew’s Gospel that the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

That curtain was a barrier to the throne of God in the Holy of Holies – the most holy place in the temple that only the High Priest could enter.

You and I could not come near the throne of God’s presence

We could only hope that God would hear us through his high priest.

There was only one member in that elite tribe who had access to God’s throne of grace – the High Priest.

But by his death Jesus has torn down all barriers and invited us to approach God’s grace with boldness

Boldness not in the sense of arrogance, but with confidence.

Confidence that God hears us when we cry out to him for help, as he did for Jesus:

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard.

So too God hears us because of Jesus’ death.

His death has torn down all barriers symbolised by the temple curtain being torn in two.

We now have confidence in being saved from eternal death, as Jesus, through his obedience and death has become the source of eternal salvation for all.

There is a solemness and sadness about today and we should never lose that even though it is such glorious news for us.

And we should never forget the cost of our salvation and that it was because of our disobedience to God that Jesus’ obedience included his obedience unto death – even death on a cross (Philippians 2).

It was a horrible death, a death of torture and pain and suffering.

Bloody and bruised, mocked and derided, stripped naked and nailed to the cross, Jesus endured the suffering and felt the pain.

But there were no cries of pain by Jesus until he felt the pain of our sin.

It was then Jesus felt the greatest of all pains – abandonment by God – true hell.

But because of his pain, suffering and death we will be spared the pain of abandonment by God.

We will be spared the pain of hell.

A pain to which there is nothing to compare.

Abandonment by God.

True hell.

Because of all that Jesus went through, for us, we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.

And so the cross is no longer a place of shame and torture.

It is a place of love and hope.

In fact John’s gospel doesn’t have an Ascension account because he sees the cross as the throne of God where we now come to to find God’s love and our hope of eternal life.

Let us therefore approach the Cross of Christ, the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Membership has its privileges.

Baptised into Jesus’ death and as members of God’s family has its privileges – eternal life in heaven.

Good Friday - Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 – Sin properly dealt with

Sermon Good Friday

Text Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 – Sin properly dealt with

I never know what to write on Good Friday that seems fresh and new.

I’ve started this sermon several times trying to get an angle or opening illustration that you’ll remember.

I can only sympathise with Pastors from previous generations who used pen and paper and typewriters and their frustrations at starting sermons over and over again – ripping out that paper from the typewriter and going through bottles of liquid paper.

I couldn’t understand why I was struggling so much.

And then it hit me.

What I was trying to do was not helpful for you.

I had forgotten the core message of Good Friday.

Good Friday is not about me finding a good sermon point to hit home with or something that you will laugh at and talk about later.

No, Good Friday is about one thing and one thing only.

Proclaiming again that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

Maybe I was feeling a bit self-conscious.

It seems that many today don’t like to hear that they are sinners so how can we make sense of Jesus dying for our sin?

The brutality and harshness of Jesus’ death however should tell us that sin is a serious matter.

Why?

Because it separates us from God.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden it began a life of separation from God for them.

First they hid.

But when they could no longer hide God sent them out of garden – not as a punishment but for their protection from punishment.

As the population of the world grew, so did its sinfulness and God even regretted having made humankind.

He decided to wipe out his creation with a world-wide flood and start again with one righteous person.

Noah and his family.

But that didn’t solve the problem as sin began to multiply again as the population grew.

God devised a system of sacrifices to pay for the sin of the world with one nation representing the world – Israel – and one tribe from that nation – the Levites – from whom a certain group would become priests who would oversee the sacrifices  – and from them one family would be the line of High Priests – and only the High Priest could enter into God’s presence in the Holy of Holies in the temple once a year on the Day of Atonement.

Sin is something we all struggle with and wondering whether it is really that bad.

We only need to listen again to the brutality of Jesus’ death to understand that, yes, sin is serious.

And Jesus’ death should be the central message of any Good Friday message.

And if you ever want to understand the complexity of sin then read the books of Leviticus and Numbers in the Old Testament.

Sin could not be overlook by God but it was how God was going to deal with sin so as to preserve humanity that he had created in his own image.

The grief that wiping out the entire population in the days of Noah brought to God saw God vow that he would never deal with sin that way again. (Genesis 9:13).

But God still had to deal with sin.

And so he sent Jesus – holy and innocent so that his death would pay in full the sins of the world.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that we would become the righteousness of God.

Jesus is the new High Priest who has gained access again to our Heavenly Father for us.

And now, through Jesus, we can approach the throne of grace with boldness, where we will find forgiveness for our sin.

Now maybe none of this really makes sense or you don’t understand the significance of it.

That’s okay.

That’s the point of Good Friday.

Good Friday was to take away the complexity of having the right sacrifice for the particular sin we had commited.

It means we don’t need to worry about having the right sacrifice for the particular sin – or having the right combination of words to say to God.

No, Jesus made it quite plain and simple what Good Friday is about when he said:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16).

As St Paul so simply says: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)

So when Jesus cries out from the cross – It is finished – he meant that the work of reconciling us with God was finished.

No more separation or hiding.

Friends, when God created Adam and Eve he created the world for them to enjoy.

God would come in the cool of the day to speak with them.

That’s what Jesus came to restore.

A life where we became free again to enjoy God’s creation.

Sadly sin in the world continues to create the division that Jesus death overcame.

We continue see a divide between rich and poor because of greed.

We continue to see a divide between nations through war, terrorism and racism.

And again we saw what humankind without an understanding of God’s love and forgiveness can do by the terrorist acts in Brussels.

We are called to go from here and set a new example of love.

To be an example of the extent that God was prepared to go through because of his love for us.

Whether it’s the injustice we seen the world with prejudice, racism, violence, treatment of asylum seekers, anything that goes against love of fellow humanity – we need to remember the extent of God’s love in the death of his own Son and speak out against the sin and injustice.

Thanks be to God that because of Jesus death we no longer have to hide like Adam and Eve did but we can boldly and with confidence approach the throne of God and seek his forgiveness and stand against sin and the evil it produces in the world.

Year A - Palm Sunday

Sermon Palm Sunday

Text Matthew 21:1-11 Quick Change

There is a saying that if you don’t like Melbourne weather, just wait half an hour and it will change.

I’ve found myself these past few weeks starting off the day with jumper and heater – only to be ripping them off before midday and putting the air conditioning on and then getting home and putting my electric blanket on.

Things change very quickly:

The football season has just started and the media are already speculating on which coach will be sacked first.

In our own lives things can also take a sudden change.

Life can be going along so smoothly until there’s a call back from the doctor – or there’s a knock at the door with the news that there’s been an accident.

We cannot find any guarantee against such changes in life.

We take out insurance to try and cope but health insurance won’t stop you from getting sick – just a huge bill and your choice of hospital and doctor.

Life insurance won’t protect your life but gives some financial security to those left behind.

Car insurance won’t protect you from the person who has had a few too many drinks or who is distracted on their mobile phone.

Likewise Jesus is discovering today just how uncertain life can be and how quickly it can change.

In the matter of days Jesus will go from having people praising and cheering him to calling for his death.

But surprisingly there is really nothing untoward that happens that would change their minds about Jesus.

And that’s sometimes how life goes.

Sometimes there is no explanation as to why certain things happen.

Even Jesus himself struggled and asked why, even though he knew that this is what was going to happen:

He cried out – “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me”.

And that’s sometimes what we feel like crying out – My God – why?

We know that God loves us but we still question it at times.

Why are you letting this happen to me?

Sometimes there is no answer as to why.

As a Pastor, sometimes I have to shake head in disbelief too when I am asked – why?

And when that happens I don’t point them to an answer or a reason why, but I point them to the one who can provide comfort and assurance and that is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus was not immune to the unexpected changes in life but what he has done is gone beyond those changes to give us hope.

So when something unexpected come our way – no matter how tragic that circumstance is – Jesus points us beyond that to the coming time when all that will fade away and a new life will emerge.

Just as John saw in his Revelation when he said:

I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. God will wipe every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

Part of the reason why the people turned on Jesus was because he didn’t arrive the way they expected their new King to arrive.

He didn’t arrive on a white stallion ready for battle – he arrived on a donkey.

But that has been the type of King Jesus has been all along.

He wasn’t born in a palace but in a barn – in a feeding trough.

He wasn’t born to a ruling King and Queen but to an unwed teenage peasant girl.

He didn’t associate with the leading members of society but ate and drank with sinners and tax collectors.

And maybe that’s why so many people struggle with their relationship with God.

Because God doesn’t always act in ways that we believe God should act.

God should protect us from sickness, death and tragic accidents.

We call events like what we have just seen in Queensland and NSW as “acts of God”.

Acts of God that have killed and injured and destroyed.

And so Jesus’ entrance today is a different type of entry.

It is an entry that shows that God doesn’t always work to OUR expectations but instead offers us a better expectation.

An expectation that he is there for us when it matters most.

When we are standing before God on Judgment Day we will have by our side the one who has been given all authority.

That’s what St Paul said: God exalted Jesus to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord

And Jesus will use that authority to ensure us of our home in heaven without judgment.

In our Baptism we hear that assurance when Jesus says – all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.

So we are not to look at what is happening all around us which is so uncertain.

We are to look to the future where Jesus has made all things new and therefore we are certain of what is ahead of us.

A new heaven and new earth.

Life along the way may not always be what we hope or expect, but with Jesus by our side we know that when we arrive at the end of life that Jesus will be there to make sure we do not miss out on entering into heaven.

And with Jesus, our entry into heaven will be OUR triumphal entry.

Hosanna to Jesus Christ our Lord.