Central United Methodist Church (Arlington, Virginia) Sermon Podcast

A Thief’s Prayer
Scripture: Luke 23:39–43 (CEB)
Part of the Witness at the Cross Lenten series
In this week’s sermon, we remain at the cross and listen closely to a voice we might otherwise overlook—a condemned criminal hanging beside Jesus. In Luke’s Gospel, two men are crucified with him. One joins the chorus of mockery: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us.” The other does something astonishing.
He sees a king.
While religious leaders sneer, soldiers gamble, and a sign above Jesus’ head reads “King of the Jews,” this dying man recognizes what others cannot. He tells the truth about himself—“We are rightly condemned.” He declares Jesus’ innocence—“This man has done nothing wrong.” And then he dares to believe that Jesus’ kingdom is still coming.
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Not if. When.
Drawing on insights from Amy-Jill Levine’s Witness at the Cross, we reflect on how this second criminal represents a radically different response to Jesus’ suffering. With nothing left to prove, no reputation to defend, and no time to make amends, he offers only an honest heart and a simple prayer. And in response, Jesus speaks one of the most grace-filled promises in all of Scripture:
“Today you will be with me in paradise.”
Throughout Christian history, believers have tried to explain how the cross accomplishes salvation—through ransom, satisfaction, substitution, moral influence, Christus Victor, and more. Yet what they all share is this: our salvation rests on God’s action, not our own. Jesus does what we cannot do.
The thief understands this before any theologian names it. He brings no good works, no theological credentials, no time to “get it right.” His only claim is this: “The man on the middle cross said I could come.” And that is enough.
As we prepare to come to the table of grace and reflect at the prayer stations, we are invited to release our regrets, fears, and shame into the hands of the crucified King. The kingdom that comes through the cross is not built on force or self-protection. It is a kingdom where grace meets us at our worst moment, where a King dies even for his enemies, and where Jesus looks at us and says, “I remember you. You’re with me.”
🌀 Reflection Questions:
Does seeing Jesus as a suffering King change the way you imagine God’s power?
The thief’s only credential for paradise was, “The man on the middle cross said I could come.” How does this simple truth challenge or comfort you in your faith journey?
How does focusing on our salvation originating in God’s action through Christ—rather than our faith or our works—influence your daily walk with Jesus?
✨ Listen as we stand between two crosses, hear a dying man’s prayer, and rediscover the grace that welcomes us—not because we have earned it, but because Christ has spoken.
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The Cross as a Witness: Ash Wednesday
Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21
We begin Lent by marking ourselves with ashes and hearing the words, “Remember that you are dust.” Ash Wednesday confronts us with mortality — but it also points us to hope.
In this opening message of our Witness at the Cross series, we reflect on how the cross stands as a witness to two realities at once: the certainty of death and the greater certainty of God’s love in Christ. The cross exposes the emptiness of performative religion and calls us into a deeper, hidden faith.
Drawing from Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6, we explore how secret giving, private prayer, and unseen fasting become acts of quiet resistance — contending against pride, control, and the lie that more is always better. These Lenten disciplines are not about earning applause or perfecting ourselves. They are about allowing God’s grace to shape us in the hidden places of the heart.
In that secret place, resurrection begins.
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Bystanders and Scoffers
Scripture: Matthew 27:27-44 (CEB)
Part of the Witness at the Cross Lenten series 
In this week’s sermon, we step into the final hours of Jesus’ life, witnessing the suffering, mockery, and crucifixion in Matthew 27. From Roman soldiers to passing crowds, from religious leaders to Simon of Cyrene, we encounter the many bystanders and scoffers surrounding the cross—and we are invited to see ourselves among them.
Drawing on Amy-Jill Levine’s insights from Witness at the Cross: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Friday, we explore questions that challenge our daily lives: Are there any innocent bystanders? When do we remain silent in the face of injustice, and what might it take to move from observation to action? How does Simon’s compelled act of carrying the cross deepen our understanding of discipleship and responsibility?
This sermon also warns of the danger when those in positions of religious or social authority use influence to harm others in God’s name. How can we hold ourselves and our faith communities accountable, ensuring that our witness reflects Jesus’ inclusive love rather than fear or prejudice?
🌀 Reflection Questions:
When have you found yourself as a “bystander” to someone else’s suffering or injustice? What made it difficult to step in, and looking back, what might have helped you become a participant instead?
How does Simon of Cyrene’s story challenge your understanding of what it means to “carry the cross” in your daily life? Where is Jesus inviting you to carry something this week?
How can we ensure our witness in the world mirrors Christ’s inclusive love rather than our own biases?
✨ Listen as we journey to the cross, confront the scoffers and bystanders within and around us, and consider how God calls us to active, faithful presence in a world that desperately needs courage and compassion.
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From the Mountain to the World
 Scripture: Matthew 17:1-9 (CEB)
The culmination of our series, A Journey of Justice: From the River to the Mountain
In this concluding sermon of our worship series, we stand with Peter, James, and John on the mountaintop of the Transfiguration—awestruck by Christ’s radiant glory and tempted, like Peter, to stay where the moment feels holy and safe. But the mountain is not the destination. It is the launching place.
As Jesus leads the disciples back down toward Jerusalem—and ultimately toward the cross—we are reminded that every encounter with the living God is meant to send us back into the world bearing light.
Drawing on the life and witness of Desmond Tutu, this sermon explores what it means to practice joy as resistance. In the face of apartheid’s cruelty and injustice, Tutu chose laughter, hope, and unwavering love—not as denial of suffering, but as defiance against it. His joy was not naïve optimism; it was a theological conviction that the light of Christ is stronger than any darkness.
Rooted in the promises of our baptism—to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves—this message invites us to consider how mountaintop moments with God equip us for courageous, justice-shaped living. We cannot remain neutral in the face of harm. We cannot stay on the mountain. We are sent.
What would it mean for us to become “joy warriors” in our own time?
 What does it look like to move from silence to action, from cynicism to hope, from private faith to public witness?
The world does not need more despair. It needs people so grounded in God’s love that they radiate joy, mercy, and justice wherever they go.
🌀 Reflection Questions:
Desmond Tutu practiced “joy as resistance” in the face of apartheid’s evil. Where do you see the need for joyful resistance in our world today, and what might that look like in your own life?
Tutu said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Where might God be calling you to break your silence or move from neutrality to action?
✨ Listen as we journey from the mountain back into the world—carrying Christ’s light, choosing joy as resistance, and embracing our call to love boldly in a broken world.
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Corrie’s Reflections: A Journey of Justice — From the River to the Mountain
This week’s service was something different—and deeply moving. Instead of a traditional sermon, we welcomed guest speaker Olive Horning, who shared Corrie’s Reflections, a first-person portrayal of the life and witness of Corrie ten Boom.
Through story, memory, and testimony, Olive invites us to step into Corrie’s world: a quiet Dutch home transformed by war, courage, sacrifice, and an unwavering trust in God. As we listen, we encounter a faith forged not in comfort, but in resistance—one that chose to shelter the persecuted, speak truth in the face of evil, and cling to hope even in the darkness of Ravensbrück concentration camp.
Corrie’s Reflections is not a performance for entertainment, but a witness meant to be received. It bears testimony to a God who is present in suffering, faithful in impossible circumstances, and able to bring light even through fear, loss, and human weakness. Corrie’s story reminds us that God’s love truly is deeper than the deepest pit—and that ordinary people, relying on extraordinary grace, can become instruments of mercy and courage.
Olive also shares her own story of being called to carry Corrie’s witness forward, offering a gentle reminder that God often uses gifts we did not expect, in ways we could not have planned, for purposes far greater than ourselves.
✨ We invite you to listen prayerfully to this special episode, allowing Corrie’s story—and the God revealed through it—to speak to your heart, stir your faith, and renew your hope.
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