Trading Spaces
Because he had grown up just outside New York City a young pastor barely knew a cow from an ear of corn. That is, until he married a small town country girl from Ohio and traded spaces. Trading New York City for a small rural community, the day of his first sermon he tried very hard to fit in-- Maybe too hard! With his wife sitting in the front pew He began his discourse: “I never saw a cow until I met my wife.” Illustration from Readers Digest.
Trading Spaces: John was on his deathbed and gasped pitifully. "Give me one last request, dear," he said. "Of course, John," his wife said softly "Six months after I die," he said, "I want you to marry Bob." "But I thought you hated Bob," she said. With his last breath John said, "I do!"
Have you ever thought of trading places with a landlord. The trouble with being a landlord is tenants constant demands for repairs: Some even write letters like these:
The toilet is blocked and we cannot bathe the children until it is cleared.
This is to let you know that there is an awful smell coming from the man next door.
I request your permission to remove my drawers in the kitchen.
Will you please send someone to mend our cracked sidewalk? Yesterday my wife tripped on it and she is now pregnant.
Trading Spaces is a really popular Reality TV Show where homeowners compete and everyone hopefully ends up with a beautifully decorated room. What happens is that two teams of homeowners trade spaces with each other for two days with the help of one thousand dollars, one interior designer for each team and one carpenter for both. They redecorate one designated room in the other team’s home. During these two days, no one is allowed to talk to the other team and has absolutely no “say so” in what’s going on in the other house. Even though it’s on the Learning Channel and not a major network, this TV show has become so popular that the host, designers and carpenters are now as famous as movie stars. The names, Page, Genevieve, Doug, Edward, Vern, Carter, TY, Amy Wynn are now household names. The fun is to see people give up their power to the other team as they slap walls and furniture with bright or drab colors and fabrics as we wonder if the homeowners will like it. Imagine that two of your friends go into your home and paint your living room walls dark gray or bright orange. You’re stuck with orange or gray. When the host of the show switches keys with each team, the homeowners give up their power for two days.
Today I invite you to trade spaces with each one of the characters in our Gospel.
Let’s look at Martha. She had gone through the big trauma of losing her brother—he was dead for three whole days before Jesus brought him back from the dead. Martha was so grateful…In spite of the stress, still she had time and energy to open her house and prepare a delicious meal, a wonderful feast for Jesus. It was not only for Jesus, but for his disciples as well. You know when your spouse calls and says, “I’m bringing home ‘so and so’ for dinner, you’ve got to clean up, and you’ve got to prepare and you’ve got to…shop and cook and sometimes we complain. She didn’t do any of that: she was always willing to do the works of the Lord. As you trade spaces with Martha, think and ask yourself: How willing are you to put your needs aside in order to do the work of the Lord? Remember James --- “Faith without works is dead.”
Then there’s Lazarus, would you trade places with him? Dead for three days-- how can you wash the stench of death from your previously rotted body, except by clinging to Jesus. How does it feel to come back to life? Doesn’t everything look and feel exciting and precious. Are values and perspectives the same once you’ve been loosened and set free?
On the other side we have the disciples. Let’s trade spaces with them for a moment. Having witnessed one of the greatest miracles they would ever witness in their lifetime—a resurrection from the dead—unbelievable! They were probably so awestruck about that, and they were willing to follow Jesus 100%. They knew that Jesus had been targeted. They knew that the resurrection of Lazarus had really upset the political applecart, yet at this point, they were still willing to follow him. As you place yourself in the disciple’s room, ask yourself: Am I willing to take risks for Jesus and the church?
And then there was Judas who was very, very concerned about money for the poor. I’m going to ask you: “When are you Judas? Not who is like Judas in your life, but when are you a Judas? When do you trade spaces with Judas? When do you let Judas invade your sacred space and redecorate you? Judas was the one that handled the money. Jesus and the disciples let him, but they had their questions about what he was doing with the money. Was he using it for his own political gain? The Gospels tell us that he was a thief. He was a thief, but he was numbered among the disciples. Is there a thief in you—one who steals from the glory that belongs to God, that steals from the works that you need to dedicate to God, Are you like Judas in that you often have a negative, comment? …that discouraging word and negative spirit: “Why should we do that: let them!” …a critical spirit, a discourager, a complainer. Then you’ve traded spaces with Judas! That’s exactly what led to Judas’ betrayal. Or like Judas, do you powerfully push your agenda—your agenda before anybody else’s agenda: then too, you’ve traded spaces with Judas.
Then we have Mary, who, without knowing why, just out of love, lets her heart get so filled with love for her Master, that she takes the flask of perfume and pours it at His precious feet. It is her house, her own money, her costly perfume! She spills it at the feet of the Master and let the lavish scent fill the room. Do you spill out, pour out your best essence at the feet of the Master, here at church, and let it fill the space? When you praise God and when you worship here this morning, do you break the flask of your praise and your love generously to be poured out so that everybody can be touched by the fragrance, by the essence of your faith? Are you extravagant in your worship?
Then there is Jesus, the Holy Flask, the One who chose to be broken and spilled out for us, who delivered himself as a sacrifice on the cross so that you and I could be here today, that you and I might read the Scripture, that you and I might trade spaces temporarily with each one of these characters and let Jesus transform us by the power of His Holy Spirit.
Jesus trades space with us. He went to the cross, yet we were the ones that deserved the punishment. We are the ones he died for—the betrayers, the complainers even the Judases in us: Jesus went to the cross that we might find salvation. Jesus traded spaces with us and now we can be like Him!
Jesus says that Mary was doing this as a preparation for his burial. There’s a leap from that anointing that anticipates the return of these holy women to transform the stench of Good Friday by the aroma of their anointing. “She is doing this for my burial…but won’t be able to do it then because of the Sabbath. She is doing it now: what is it to you that she loves me? You will always have the poor, you will always have ministry, you will always have your family, you will always have works: but unless you accept Jesus Christ and his sacrifice, you will not always have the anointing with your works.
Don’t expect what other people are going to do in ministry. Don’t spend your life in their head, as it were, but rather discover what is God’s call for you. Don’t spend your life trading spaces with others! Just trade spaces with the Holy Spirit of Jesus, your Christ, your God who Traded Spaces on the Cross for you. Trade spaces with your God who was broken and spilled out that that you might live.
“Grandpa walked into the family room and found his little grandson, Billy, standing up in his playpen, crying.
“He looked so pitiful, standing there in his little baseball T-shirt and diaper. His face was red and tear-stained from crying. When Billy saw his grandpa, his face lit up in a way that melted the old man’s heart.
He immediately reached up his chubby little hands in supplication. “Out Pop-pop, out!”
“What grandpa could resist such a plea? Not this one! He walked over to the playpen and reached down to lift his little buddy out of captivity and distress.
“Just then, however, Law and Order stepped into the room.
“Billy’s mother walked out of the kitchen with a dishtowel in her hand and spoke sternly. “No, Billy! You are being timed out.! Leave him right there, Dad.”
“Oh, fine. Now what’s a grandpa to do? His grandson’s tears and reaching little hands tugged mightily at his heart- but he didn’t want to interfere with a mother’s discipline either.
“He couldn’t stand staying in the same room with the boy, reading his newspaper and pretending to be aloof. Nor could he turn around and walk out the door without feeling like a betrayer to his little pal. What could he do?
“Love found a way.
“Since Grandpa couldn’t take Billy out of the playpen, he climbed in with him. “If you’re in the playpen, Buddy, I’m in the playpen. What’s your sentence? How long are you in for?” And finding a big, jolly grandpa suddenly filling his little prison cell, the little boy found comfort even in his captivity.”
Jesus traded spaces with you. What are you going to do about it!
