[Mcgregorpage] McGregorPage 548, Lent 5, 3/25/07

[rmcgregoralbq at aol.com]

Lent 5, March 25, 2007

Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm 126
Philippians 3:4b-14
John 12:1-8

GET OVER IT!

I once had a minister of music whose response to complaining was, “Get 
over it.” (And there was a lot of “it” over which to get.)

Get over it, Judas, not satisfied with the way Jesus ushers in the 
kingdom, Judas pushing his own plan. Get over it.

Paul had probably rehearsed his claim to righteousness many times in 
his own head. He could tick off his proof list at the drop of a hat, 
but Christ appeared to him as if to say, “Get over it.” And he did, way 
over it.

Isaiah reminds the people of God’s mighty act of salvation when God 
drowned the army of the Pharaoh and then says, “Get over it.” Get over 
what? Certainly not the memory of God’s saving act but rather the 
question, “What has God done for us lately?” The answer to that 
question for the prophet’s listeners was, “Not much.” How can a people 
get over that attitude? How can a community get over despair when God 
seems not to have done anything yet?

Is it an act of will or an act of faith? Isaiah paints a picture of the 
future, a beautiful abstract picture and then invites the listener to 
embrace it. Will we embrace it? Will it come true? When we choose to 
embrace the picture of God’s salvation, we find the gift of faith 
descending to embrace us.

This is too good to be true. “Pinch me. I must be dreaming.” “No,” 
Isaiah says, “You aren’t dreaming. This is God coming.”

How could everything Paul had based his life on become rubbish to him? 
He found something too good to be true, but he pinched himself and 
found that he wasn’t dreaming. He belonged to Christ and nothing else 
mattered.

The Psalmist paints his own picture of God’s coming or of our coming to 
God. I can never read those words without hearing a choir of angels 
singing them as Brahms set them to music. Whatever it was that was 
holding me back, I’m over it.

Mary painted a beautiful picture with her tears and her hair and her 
perfume. It was too good for Judas to think it true, but Jesus knew 
better. It was a picture of every sinner who wakes up in the presence 
of God having gotten over it.



May these thoughts strengthen you.

An Open Letter to Fellow Pastors
>From Roland McGregor, United Methodist Pastor
(an e-mail service)

[See Web Page address below for a Children’s Message coordinated with 
these lections.]

http://www.webspawner.com/users/ChildPage/

Multiple Sermon Starter Essays are available at
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