Breaking In

Isaiah 58: 6-11, Mark 1: 9, John 5: 9-18

 

 

          Breaking in. You hear that term and it usually brings up negative connotations. There was a break in at the Jones’ house, or the hardware store. Not good. In law school, we memorized all the elements of the common law crimes as they were imported from England into our law. It was so important that most of those definitions are still wandering around in my head, though I have not practiced criminal law for many years. The one I’m thinking about right now is burglary: the breaking and entering of the dwelling house of another in the nighttime with the intent to commit a felony.  Prove that and the person was guilty of burglary, but you had to prove each and every element of the crime to get a conviction.

          What’s that got to do with God? What’s that got to do with Palm Sunday? Well, it occurred to me that in some ways, the things God has had to do to reach us have been similar to common law burglary. What happened at the incarnation, the birth, of Jesus? What happened at the baptism of Jesus? What happened to the paralytic man sitting by the Sheep Gate in Bethesda?  What happened on Palm Sunday? What happened on Good Friday and Easter Sunday? What happens to our lives when we find the truth of the gospel? Is God a burglar? Let’s see if we can make a case.

          Two thousand or so years ago, the little city of Bethlehem had swelled to many thousands as people returned home for the census ordered by Herod. God chose that season to send his son Jesus into the world as a baby boy born to Mary. Jesus arrived uninvited and without the consent of mankind in the nighttime, arguably in the dwelling house of another. The common law was that if you were in the outbuilding of the owner, then that was the same as being in his house. So the stable counts as part of the dwelling. We seem to have all the elements except maybe the intent to commit a felony. But we can argue that treason is a felony, and Jesus came to usher in a new kingdom. That was treason to the Romans. I rest my case. God sent Jesus to commit a burglary on mankind.

                    Mark’s gospel tells us that when Jesus came out of the water after having been baptized by John, “the heavens were torn open for the Spirit of God to descend to the earth.” Another break-in. There was a break. There was an entry. It was from heaven to earth, the dwelling house of man. But it was not nighttime. Okay, maybe not burglary, but close. Under today’s codified criminal law, it would still be burglary if we could prove intent to commit a felony.

          What about that incident at the Sheep Gate? The fellow is sitting there minding his own business and Jesus invades his space, not once but twice. He doesn’t just heal the fellow; he comes back looking for him and warns him to sin no more. Jesus may not be guilty of burglary, but certainly of aggravated assault, disturbing the peace and probably a few more charges.

                    These incidents are just the tip of the iceberg, for Jesus is constantly breaking in to our lives. Look at Palm Sunday, where he came into a Roman occupied town to the salute of a crowd calling him their new king. Treason. Or Maundy Thursday, where he admitted to the Sanhedrin that he was nothing less than God. Treason.  How about Good Friday, where God tore open the veil of the temple and once more broke in to our world? He even created his own night by blocking out the sun. That sounds a lot like a burglary. That’s bad…no, that’s good!

          Of course, Jesus is no burglar. He is guilty only of overwhelming love. Something has been left out of these facts. God and Jesus are not guilty of burglary, because when they break in to the world, or the temple, they enter into their own creation. You can’t be guilty of burglary unless the dwelling belongs to another. Nothing here really belongs to us. We are only the stewards, and poor ones at that, of this earth. It all belongs to God, and he can’t break in to his own house.

          But what about us? Even if God didn’t burglarize the earth or the temple, what about us? Didn't he break in on us? What about that fellow at the Sheep Gate? He didn’t ask God for help. In fact, he was almost rude to Jesus and certainly not deserving or even appreciative of his help. And yet Jesus came for him not just once, but twice. He broke in to this fellow’s life without an invitation. Isn’t that some sort of invasion of privacy? There must be a law. Why does Jesus keep breaking in to our lives?

          Because he loves us. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are constantly breaking into our lives, waiting for an opportunity to break in to our hearts. That’s the story of the Bible. That’s the story of Palm Sunday. That’s the story of Easter. God loves us. How much does he love us? No Christian has any trouble answering that question. “For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in hum, shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life.” He came and made himself into a human being, a servant of men, a messenger of how to live our lives. He came to redeem us from ourselves and from death itself. If it takes breaking in to get our attention, then that is what he does.  He loves us that much.

          What does it look like to be the victim of this heavenly break-in? The prophet Isaiah tells us that the fast we choose is to loose the bonds of wickedness, to free the oppressed, to break every sinful yoke, to share what we have with others, to seek those less fortunate and be their brother. And what is the result of such brotherly love? Isaiah says that “then shall your light break forth like the dawn…then shall your light rise in the darkness.”  Isaiah challenges us to live our lives unselfishly, just like the Savior whose resurrection we are poised to celebrate. When Jesus breaks in, as he does constantly, he brings light to our darkness. Isaiah reminds us that we can and should do the same to our fellow man.

          The Bible is the story of God’s mission to redeem his love. It is the story of him constantly forgiving, forever coming for us. He keeps right on breaking into our lives, looking for an opening to break in to our hearts.  Scripture also warns us that there will be one more time when Jesus breaks in to the whole creation. The words are found in Matthew, in 1 Thessalonians, in 2 Peter and in Revelation. In each, they are virtually the same. At the Day of the Lord, Jesus will come again to close out the age. All will be judged. It will be the final break in. We are told exactly how it will happen in all four of these passages. “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”

          That’s a burglary I’d like to see. “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”