Check Your Ego

Raul Garcia III
Second Sunday in Lent
March 17, 2019

Let us Pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, during these forty days of Lent, enable us to see all the ways that we have forsaken you,

have turned away from your will for our lives, and have betrayed your love for us in Jesus the Christ. Through the power of your Holy Spirit, give us courage to be honest about our sin, and turn to your redeeming grace in Jesus’ death and resurrection. This we ask in Christ’s holy name.

Amen.

When I read this Gospel text I can feel the arrogance and ego’s of the people who are surrounding Jesus.

Are the Pharisees really warning Jesus that Herod wants to kill him or are they trying to get rid of Jesus?

Then Jesus goes and tells the Pharisees which I love, Jesus says. “Go tell that fox, I will keep driving demons and

healing people today, tomorrow and on the third day.”

Jesus was still focused on his mission and the Pharisees wanted Jesus to get out! Please leave Jesus, you are

making us look bad. Get out Jesus we don’t need you. But Jesus told them, I am among the poor, the lame,

the sick and downtrodden. I am doing what you need to be doing.

Go Check your ego.

How many remember back in the 80’s this song, “We Are The World”, whose proceeds of the song went to help famine

victims in Africa. Recording artists from a wide variety of fields all got together to sing this song written by

Lionel Ritchie and Michael Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones.

Video for We Are The World USA for Africa

I remember watching an interview with Lionel Ritchie, Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones about this song.

Lionel and Michael being the fabulous singer/songwriters they were and Quincy being a top notch producer knew very well

what stars and celebrities are like.
But they also knew that the project they were working on was important, and that if they did it well, the whole world be

greater place — their cause was bigger than any one star, or even than all of them put together.

And so they put a note at the entrance to the recording studio when all the stars came:
“Check your ego at the door.”

Apparently the sign did its job it was quite remarkable how that group of very diverse stars was able to work and

sing together to record “We Are the World”. They understood for that little time,  

that there was no room for pride, arrogance, or celebrity when they had such a big and important task ahead of them.

There was a much bigger and infinitely more important task ahead of Jesus at the time he spoke the words of our

gospel today. His mission wasn’t the feeding of thousands or even millions of hungry mouths it was the salvation of

billions upon billions of lost souls, and the forgiveness of their countless sins.

We’ve talked a number of times in the last few months about how Jesus set aside the glory that was due him as the

Son of God we can hardly call it “ego” and humbled himself to become a man to save us.

But for anyone to receive the benefits of what Jesus came to do, or to be a part of what Jesus still doing today

through his church, we must also leave all pride and arrogance behind. When you enter into God’s House,

into the kingdom of heaven, check your ego at the door.

One way that we try to manipulate Jesus today is that they try to “redefine” him, as though he is some kind of

Play-Doh figurine that they can push and twist and shape into whatever they want him to be whatever kind

of Jesus serves our selfish purposes and justifies whatever it is we  want to believe, teach, or do.

That’s why we have the Jesus today who was just a misunderstood moral teacher, trying to help people live better lives.

That’s why we have the Jesus who was full of self-doubts and never seemed to know what he was here for,

and that’s why we have the Jesus who preached love and tolerance

without teaching any law the one who would never call anyone a sinner or condemn anyone for his sin.

But that kind of manipulation doesn’t work any better today than it did in our text. Because Jesus is who he is,

and that cannot be changed. He is a Rock that cannot be moved, and we thank God for that, because he is the

Rock of our salvation! Jesus said, “I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day” he was determined to go

all the way to the cross and do everything it took to achieve our salvation. And he shows that same determination today

in giving us that salvation and all his blessings, just as he promised, through his Word, through Baptism, and through the

Lord’s Supper.

Thank the Lord that his will is stronger than ours! In his love and compassion he steps in and makes the unwilling willing,

just as Christ’s love and compassion kept him on his way to Jerusalem to save people who didn’t want to be saved.

The Holy Spirit works through the gospel to change our hearts and minds from arrogant unbelief to humble trust in Jesus.

It’s not anything we do; it’s not even anything we really want until he gives it to us — we are saved by God’s grace alone,

through faith alone.

Thanks be to Jesus, that not even Herod’s threat of death, nor the cross that awaited him in Jerusalem,

would deter him from revealing the power of God’s love and forgiveness.

The beautiful thing about God sacrificing His son for us, is that He did it for each one of us. Not some of us. All of us!!

When we have had those glorious moments where we experience God and we cannot sustain it because of life

and life happens. It is for us that Jesus died on the cross, that we may know the forgiving and redeeming Grace of God.

Lent is a season in which it challenges us to look at ourselves and try to honestly live a life of hope, grace and love

with Jesus everyday. So check your ego at the door because we are not perfect. We need to love one another

amongst our differences. Jesus gives this all to us in His Word, in our remembrance of our baptism and when partake in the

Lord’s Supper.

Amen.