Sermon by Stephen Ricketts
Damascus United Methodist Church
Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51:1-12; Hebrews 5:5-10; John 12:20-33
Fifth Sunday in Lent - March 29, 2009
I have a quick question for all of you. How many of you use text messaging on your cell phone? I have discovered that texting is something of a generational thing. In general, I find that high school and college age people use text messaging all the time while those of us who have reached the age when the buttons on the phone have become fuzzier (if you know what I mean) do not use it as often - if at all. But, even if texting is not my preferred method of communication, I do know that if I want to talk to my daughter Debbie who is a sophomore at Towson University, I have to use text messaging - texting is how she talks to the world. Just last Tuesday evening, I was at Safeway when my cell phone gave one short vibration that indicated that a text was coming in - a quick check revealed it was from Debbie. So, I opened the phone and read her message: “From Debbie Could you send me a fb message (that is facebook for those of you who are not into social networking) explaining why the terms Son of Man and Son of God can be used to describe Jesus, when man and God are totally different?” Now, I guess this message was much better than many others Debbie could have sent, but I must admit her message threw me for a second. This is the sort of question I would expect on a systematic theology exam - not something a daughter asks her father. Nevertheless, I went home and sent her a quick message outlining an answer that seems to have satisfied her - at least she has not sent any follow-up questions.
However, as I thought about her question I realized that those of us in the church (and especially the clergy) use terms like “Son of Man” and “Son of God” without giving them much thought - we assume that everyone understands what we are talking about and that everyone accepts very sophisticated theological beliefs without question. The reality is that Debbie was asking a very important question and she deserves much more than a quick facebook response. So, today, I want to give Debbie a better answer to her question, and I hope the rest of you will indulge a father as he answers his daughter.
There are really three parts to my answer. First, how do we know that Jesus is both the Son of Man and the Son of God at the same time? Second, how is this possible? And, third, and most important, what difference does this make for you and me? I would like to look at each of these questions in turn.
First, how do we know that Jesus is both the Son of Man and the Son of God at the same time? Before we can answer that question, I need to define a few terms. At its most basic, the term “Son of Man” is just another way of saying that someone is a human being. In the book of Ezekiel, when God addresses the prophet as “son of man” he simply means that he is a human being. If you have read C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, you might remember that Aslan addresses the children as “sons of Adam” and “daughters of Eve” - he is saying that they are human beings. So, when Jesus uses the title “Son of Man” at one level, he is saying that he is just a human being. However, for Jesus’ first followers, that term also conjured up images from the Book of Daniel chapter seven. In that chapter, Daniel has a vision where one “like a son of man” is given dominion over God’s everlasting kingdom. So, when Jesus uses this term, he is also claiming that he is the Messiah - the one who comes as God’s eternal king. The term “Son of God” also has two meanings. At one level we all acknowledge that we are children of God because we claim God as our creator. But, the term “Son of God” is also a claim of divinity. When Jesus appeared before the council, the leaders asked him directly, “Are you the Son of God?” - they wanted to know if he claimed to be God. So, when they heard an affirmative answer, they heard blasphemy and they condemned him to death. So, to say that Jesus is Son of Man and Son of God is to say that he is a complete human being who is the messiah and coming king, and that he is also completely God. This affirmation of Jesus’ identity is not some recent theological insight - this incredible statement has been part of the Gospel from the very beginning. The birth narratives from Matthew and Luke are very clear - Jesus is the son of Mary so he is a human being and Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit so he is God. The Gospel of John is even more direct - the Word of God that is God from all eternity took on flesh and lived among us. In Philippians, Paul says that “though Jesus was in the form of God, [he] did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, [took] the form of a slave, [and was] born in human likeness. The message that Jesus is Son of Man - fully human and also Son of God - fully divine has been part of the Good News from the earliest days of the church and this is attested in both Scripture and the traditional Creeds of the Church.
The second question: How is this possible? This question is at the same time the most difficult to answer and also the least important. What we really are saying when we ask this question is that we think we know enough about the substance of God and the substance of humanity to say that they are incompatible and that they cannot co-exist in the person of Jesus Christ. When you think about it, this is preposterous - we barely know how our own human bodies function and really nothing at all about the substance of God. When we are confronted with the statement that Jesus is fully human and fully divine, the best we can say is that this is a divine mystery - it is something that is possible with God and beyond human understanding. This may sound like a copout, but it really is the best that we do given our limited human understanding. In Isaiah, God declares, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” However, that should not discourage us from asking the question, nor should we believe that asking reveals a lack of faith. God gave us inquiring minds that gain faith by asking hard questions and letting God reveal answers that not only satisfy our mind but also draw our spirits closer to God.
That brings us to the third question - what difference does this make for you and me? To answer this I want to look again at the passage from Hebrews we read today. In this passage, the author calls Christ our high priest. This word, “priest” is one we tend not to use much in the Methodist Church - we call our pastor Elders instead of priest, but the word “priest” is very important. The Greek word for priest, (pronounced e-a-refs), comes from the word that means holy - a priest is a person who goes into the presence of the holy. I like to think of a priest as someone who mediates between the sacred and the profane - between God’s reality and our reality. A priest is someone who stands in the presence of God and brings to God the joys and concerns of the people. A priest is also someone who stands before the people and brings to them the love, grace and forgiveness of God. This “priestly function” is evident many times during our services here. The “Prayer for the Church and the World” is a priestly prayer. The pastor (or other person offering the prayer) stands between God and the people and offers our prayers to God. During communion, we confess our sins to God and then the pastor says these words, “In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.” This too is the “priest” speaking - bringing God’s forgiveness to the people. The problem with me or any other person who takes on the priestly role is that I am a very imperfect priest. I must join with you in the prayer of confession and confess my sins and I must ask you to be a priest to me and help me hear God’s words of forgiveness offered for me. The truth is, I do not fully understand your trials and your joys - at best I approximate your concerns when I pray. And, I have a very limited understanding of God’s amazing grace - I know what God has done for me, but there is a wideness in God’s mercy that is simply beyond human understanding. The perfect priest is someone who is fully human - someone who understands what it means to be tempted, someone who knows the pain of betrayal and rejection, someone who understands the pain of suffering and loss, someone who is completely “Son of Man,” someone like Jesus of Nazareth. And, the perfect priest is also someone who fully understands God the Father, someone who has descended from heaven, someone who knows God completely, someone who feels the love of the Father as only the Son can feel it, someone who is completely “Son of God,” someone like Jesus Christ. Jesus, the perfect Son of Man; Christ, the perfect Son of God, is our perfect priest.
Jesus came into the world to be our great high priest. As Jesus approached his passion - as he approached the cross, he faced a moment of decision. Would he ask God to save him from the hour of his death or would he embrace the cross as the ultimate expression of his obedience - would he complete the human journey and be fully Son of Man for our sake? All the gospels record this moment of decision - this moment when Jesus chooses us - this is the moment when Jesus is glorified by God. As Jesus walks with confidence to the cross - as he walks in the knowledge that he is doing the Father’s will - as he walks to his death - as he is lifted up on the cross - as he draws all people to himself, Jesus is also glorified as the true Son of God.
So, how should I answer Debbie’s question - How can Jesus be both Son of Man and Son of God? Perhaps the best response is another question: How will you respond to God who became flesh for our salvation? Jesus Christ meets us in the garden and calls our name - Jesus meets us by the seashore and calls us to follow him - Jesus meets us in the wilderness and calls us to take up our cross and follow our Risen Savior. Will we reject Jesus and continue to wander lost and alone far away from God or will we embrace our brother, Jesus Christ, who offered his blood on the cross so we might have abundant, eternal life? As we approach the end of the Lenten season and anticipate Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday, this is much more than some academic question - how we answer this question will shape how we live the rest of our lives. Our second year confirmation students are considering this very question as they decide whether to profess their faith publicly and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. But, this question is not just for them, it is for all of us - the face of God is fully revealed in Jesus Christ who is both Son of Man and Son of God - it is revealed to us so we might embrace the divine, revealed so we can be reconciled to God, and revealed so we can receive eternal life. “See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! (2 Corinthians 6:2)” The hour has come - the ruler of this world has been driven out and the Son of Man has been glorified.
Thanks Be To God. Amen.
