Watt's What

1 Sam 3:1-10; August 29, 2010; Rally Day;

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Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the young man. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” ” (1 Samuel 3:1–10, ESV)

Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

This is a great text for talking about the beginning of Sunday school and Confirmation Classes. It’s about someone who’s learning to be a servant of God. Samuel is a boy of probably about 12 years old. His life has been dedicated to working in the church every day and serving the aging priest, Eli. Eli is getting old and can’t see very well. That explains why Samuel would go running to him if he thought he needed help in the night. Samuel is a faithful servant, and does what is necessary for Eli. But really this story really begins before Samuel was born. It begins years earlier with his mother, Hannah. Hannah was one of the two wives of a faithful man of God. His name was Elkannah. Every year the family would travel to Shiloh to worship present their sacrifices to God. And every year Hannah would present double as instructed by her husband, he loved her so much. And yet, Hannah was troubled. She had not yet had children, while her husband’s other wife Peninnah did. The two wives didn’t get along because of it.

Hannah was very troubled, and during her visit to God’s house she prayed that God would give her a son. If he did, she said, she would dedicate him to service in God’s house. The high priest at that time was Eli. He saw her praying, and because she was moving her lips, but praying in her heart, he accused her of being drunk. “I’ve not been drinking, but I’m very distressed.” She said. “Go in peace. May the Lord do for you what you have asked.” Eli responded. Hannah left confident that God would do what she had asked. God did. And as promised, as soon as Samuel was old enough he was brought to live and work in God’s house. Samuel grew up to be a faithful servant to God.

Eli, the High Priest, also had children. His sons also worked in the temple. They were priests like their father, but unlike Samuel they weren’t good servants. In fact they were corrupt and deceitful. They took advantage of their positions to fill their pockets and satisfy their desires. Eli knew all about what they were doing, but didn’t do anything to stop them. That’s one of the reasons why, at the beginning of this text, it says that the word of the Lord was rare. It was God’s judgment on His people for being disobedient.

And that leads us up to what’s going on here, Samuel receiving the rare word of the Lord. It was God’s plan to make is not so rare again, through His servant Samuel.

It all takes place just before dawn. The lamp of God had not yet gone out. That’s talking about a lamp stand that was lit and burned all through the night until morning. Samuel is sleeping in his usual place, and just before dawn, Samuel hears a voice calling to him. “Samuel, Samuel.” He thinks it’s his master Eli calling for help with something. Remember Eli was nearly blind and couldn’t see very well anymore. It was probably common for him to call for help. But when Samuel went to him and asked what he wanted Eli says, “Go back to sleep your dreaming!” But when it happens a second and third time, Eli finally realizes that something else is going on. “Next time say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed and God called him again and he answered just as he was instructed. “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” That is how Samuel became a prophet of God. He was willing to listen to God’s word for him.

“Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” That’s the word for us today. It’s a good place to start our education year. Speak, Lord, we are listening. But, I wonder, maybe we are really fooling ourselves. Are we really listening? Of course we are here today sitting patiently while God speaks to us through His Word. But, sometimes it’s hard to pay attention. We get to thinking about lunch in the oven at home; taking care of the lawn; the mountain of work we have on our desk; or the football game that starts in a little bit. Oh, sure we are listening, but it’s hard to really listen, isn’t it? After all it sounds so much like what we hear every other Sunday.

Are we really listening as a congregation? Maybe we are fooling ourselves there, too? After all our attendance is good but it isn’t really that good, is it? In fact most of the people who belong to the congregation aren’t here. That doesn’t really sound like we’re really listening.

And what about our children, are they listening? Maybe it’s not their fault. Here at Trinity we do a great job of getting them to confirmation classes, and that’s great, but they don’t seem to get the chance to listen to God’s Word here on Sunday, either in Sunday school or our worship services. We seem to think that Wednesday night is for the kids and Sunday morning is for the old folks. Well, that’s not the way it should be. God has His gifts of forgiveness here for all of us; that includes our children. But, of course, our adults don’t attend bible classes very well either do we. I’ve been asking to do home studies for almost two years now and I’ve only done one. It’s a little bit as if we say, “Speak, Lord, and I’ll listen as long as it’s convenient, and doesn’t interfere with my real life. As long as I don’t have to commit to too much time.”

And if that’s not enough St. James tells us that if we listen and don’t act on what we’ve heard we really aren’t listening. "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." (James 1:22-24, NIV) You and I both know that when it comes to doing, we’re pretty lame.

So, we don’t listen very well. We may say “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” But when it comes right down to it we are pretty poor listeners. If only we could be more like Samuel. Maybe we could to him as a better example. He was willing to listen to God. We should willingly listen to God speaking. But really, pointing to someone as an example isn’t going to help us much. So what if Samuel was a good listener. That doesn’t do us much good, really. Really our problem isn’t really the fact that we don’t listen; our problem is that we don’t really want to listen. The problem really runs much deeper than just what we do while we sitting here. It’s not a matter of actions. It’s not a matter of doing or not doing. We confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. And we could add “By how we have listened, not applying the truth to ourselves as we should, and by how we have not listened, and done what God commands.” We could try to do better. We could try to follow Samuel’s example. But, when we are honest with ourselves, we know that before long we’d be right back where we started; with the necessity to confess our sin again. Following Samuel’s example just shows us our sin again and again.

So, what are we to do? Aren’t we listening to this text to find out what we need to do better? Aren’t we having Rally Day to tell us that we need to better with attendance at Church and Bible study? Isn’t today’s service all about getting us all charged up and excited that we carry through with our promises and do the things we should do?

Well frankly, no. I’d love to see better attendance. I’d love to see so many people at church that we run out of room and have to go back to two services. And even so many children that we would sometimes have trouble hearing. But, no amount of pointing to Samuel as an example is ever going to solve our problem. Our problem is the sin that’s right here in our hearts, the sin that we can remove by any amount of our trying.

We don’t need an example… We need a Savior. It’s a little like telling a person whose drowning and shouting “I can’t swim,” to follow the example of someone who is swimming next to them. At that moment that person doesn’t need swimming lessons; they need someone to reach out and save them. He doesn’t need an example he needs a savior.

Thankfully, that’s exactly what God does for us. He sends us a Savior. He doesn’t give us the bible full of examples and say; “I’ll save you if you do what they do. If you listen like Samuel, I’ll take care of your sin.” Instead He gives us His Word, where we find not and example, but a Savior. Really the person we should think about when we hear how faithful Samuel is isn’t us (that is how we should be faithful) but it’s Jesus. Just as Samuel was willing to listen, so Jesus was willing to listen. I didn’t tell you what God told Samuel when he listened. It was bad news for Eli. God was going to judge Eli and his sons for all the evil things his sons had done. It wasn’t a pleasant task he was given. Jesus listened to the Father, too. Neither was His task pleasant. When He listened to God the Father He heard a call to death. He answered that call on the cross, where He bled and died for the sins of the whole world. But also, when He listened to God the Father, He heard a call to life, and was raised again from death on the third day. And He answered that call, too! It is Jesus who perfectly listened to God. We hear about Samuel in the text, but he was an imperfect human. But, even if he was perfect he could only save himself. He died and stayed dead. Jesus died and rose again. He is the only one who can save us. And that’s what we learn when we listen to God, here in this place.

It’s a message worth listening to. Jesus Christ comes here to us in this place telling us again and again what He has done for us. He tells us how He has saved us as we were drowning in our sin. He tells us that He took the punishment for our sin, and was pinned with it to the cross. He took our death and buried it in the grave. He takes our live and gives it back to us by His resurrection from the dead. That’s the Word that we hear, right here in Sunday morning worship. That the Word we hear, in bible classes, Sunday school… actually, it is the purpose of all the education programs here at Trinity. That’s the word that we need to hear, the Word that’s worth listening to.

So that’s what we are celebrating today with Rally Sunday. That’s the encouragement we need to hear about today. So today, we emphasize the opportunities you have to hear that Word. Get out that insert in the bulletin and look at the opportunities to listen that you find there.

Sunday Morning Worship Sunday 9am
Trinity Preschool Weekdays Mon-Thurs Mornings and Afternoons
Sunday school Sunday 10:30am / Trinity Classrooms
Adult Bible Class Sunday 10:30am / Trinity Fellowship Hall
Junior Confirmation Class Wednesday 6pm-7:30pm / Trinity Fellowship Hall Classrooms
Lifelight Fall and Spring
Youth Group Monthly / Trinity Youth Room
Early Risers Tuesday 6:30am / HyVee Cafeteria
In Home Bible Study By Request
Adult Instruction Class As Needed / By Request Bu
God’s Word for Today Weekdays about 7:30am / KSIB Radio 1520AM

Not enough for you, not at convenient times? Got an idea about another way we can share the Good News of our Savior with one another? Talk to me about it. I’m willing to help get any kind of education program started here.

“Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” We are listening. Not because of the example of Samuel. But because of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Heb.11.17-12.3; Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 15); August 19, 2010

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By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 11:17-12:3, ESV)

(Thanks to Pr. Mark Anderson, CPR, Vol 17, Part 3)

Grace and peace to you from Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

This text continues on with the theme of faith spoken about last week, although it has a little bit different twist. This text focuses a bit on the pain that was suffered by God’s faithful people. Now there’s a subject we’d really like to avoid pain. There are lots of kids of pain. Pain from an injury. Pain from surgery. Pain from the death of a loved one. Pain from broken relationships. Pain from the loss of anything precious or important. You and I have suffered all these kinds of pain in our lifetime. There is one thing for sure, you have all had it, and you will all have it again. It is as sure as death and taxes.

We all handle pain very differently. There are those who use drugs and alcohol to cover up their pain. Pain can be ignored or buried for long periods of time, in hopes that it will go away. It never does. Something that is buried alive will eventually dig its way to the surface again. I see a lot of this one, lots of people try to pretend that hurts between people will go away if they are ignored. You won’t have to think long to come up with and example of this one either. Lots of people turn to God with their pain, or rather churches. Flip through the channels on Sunday morning and you’ll hear tons of preachers addressing pain. The problem with most of them is they make promises that they can’t deliver on, promises that God doesn’t make. People are attracted to them because it’s exactly what they want to hear. “Give your life to God and He’ll make you prosperous.” “Use this prayer rug and God will make your life easy.” “Live your life with purpose and God will make you fruitful” “Say the prayer of Jabez and God will give you whatever you desire.” It seems so right, but none of those promises are found in God’s Word.

Pain is here to stay until our Lord returns. Becoming a Christian doesn’t take it away. We still have trouble in our lives. We still have broken families. We still have broken relationships. Our friends and families still die.

Well, it doesn’t matter what pain you name… pain is all the result of sin. God’s creation was created without sin without pain. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:10b, ESV) Once the world was corrupted by sin, its effects are shown in human lives through pain. It’s not the way it should be. We can ignore pain. We can shift the blame to someone else. We can come up with a thousand ways to push it aside. But eventually the root of the problem has to be dealt with. Sin has to be dealt with. And only God can deal with sin.

So what about you? What’s your favorite avenue to avoid pain in your life? Maybe you are among the people who think that pain should be avoided all together. Maybe you even joined this church looking for relief from pain. If I’m a good Christian God will take it all away and I’ll be happy, healthy and full of good fortune. Well, that’s not God’s promise to you. In fact, when you became a Christian you signed up, not for less trouble and pain, but actually more of it.

That’s what the text for today shows us. Just look at Abraham. Think of what it was like to leave everything you had behind and wander off to an unknown place. Think of the pain involved in being told to kill you son like and animal on an altar for sacrifice.

How did Abraham deal with it? Our text says, He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. (Hebrews 11:19, ESV) Even when everything seemed hopeless, Abraham focused on God and the promises that were made to him.

Moses is also an example given here. Just look at the change in Moses life. He was a big shot, who became a sheep herder in a little out of the way place. Well that almost sounds like us doesn’t it? Moses suffered because he believed and trusted God more than he loved his high position. He believed in God’s promises, rather than focusing on the pain of the current situation.

And then there are the unnamed prophets and patriarchs.

Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:36-38, ESV)

That’s quite a list of pain and suffering. Anyone here want to step up to the plate and volunteer for any of these things? These faithful people of God didn’t choose these things but God allowed them to happen for His own purposes. The made it through them by believing in God’s promises in spite of how it looked.

For you and me, the question isn’t if we will suffer pain. The question is when. The question is how.

How do you make it through your pain and suffering? As Christians we keep in mind one simple thing. We hold one thing as more important than any other. When ever we see suffering, we see it in light of our Savior on the cross. Jesus Christ crucified for sinners. Jesus Christ crucified for you and me!

Those great examples that we talked about... They have some things in common with us. They were sinful people too. They knew about their sin. They knew they only deserved God eternal wrath and punishment. But just like I said, they place their faith in the promises of God. We have and advantage that they didn’t have though. They looked forward to a promised Savior to come. We have Jesus Christ on the cross. They knew the Messiah was coming. We have the account of His coming written in words we can understand.

God’s Word tells us that God himself came to earth to deal with pain and suffering. He became a human being to deal with sin. In Jesus Christ, the wholeness of God dwells, we are told. He suffered and died for the sins of the whole world. He bore the punishment for all sin on the cross. No matter how great your suffering is, it will never compare to what Jesus suffered for you. He didn’t just suffer physical pain, nails in his hands, bruises and cuts, and harassment. He suffered spiritual death and separation from God. Jesus suffered the pain of hell on the cross.

How do you endure pain? I’ve heard it a hundred times. “I don’t know how I’d survive if I didn’t have faith.” “How do people go through things like this without Jesus?” Those statements say just what the writer of the book of Hebrews says. How do we endure? We endure through the cross of Christ. We focus on him. We look to Him. We hold tight to His promises. We know that God has taken care of our greatest need, the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. He will surely take care of all our other needs. And we have his promise that our pain isn’t in vain. He has a purpose, even if we can’t see it in this lifetime. God take the pain of his people and uses it for the benefit of his people. These promises are assured for us in Jesus Christ.

You don’t have to rely on your feelings. You don’t have to rely on anything you’ve done. You don’t have to point to yourself and say that I’ve accepted Jesus. All that kind of talk is not placing faith in Jesus but faith in you. You can’t do it without Jesus. God makes sure you know that His promises are for you. Here again is the font (I hope you never get tired of me pointing to it as a reminder of God’s promises to you). This is not just an idle promise. It is a promise made by God’s very name. He puts it on you with water. It doesn’t matter if it was this font, another, or a small bowl at the hospital. God’s promises go with His Name, His Word and water. You are baptized child of God. It’s not a onetime event but a lifetime of living in God’s promises. And now, here at Trinity, over and over again your faith in God’s promises can be strengthened. God gives you the body and blood of Jesus Christ for you to eat and drink. The very same Jesus who suffered and died for you is going to go right into you. As you eat the bread and wine, God is saying to you that His promises of forgiveness are true for you. With that promise of forgiveness he also promises that He has taken care of all the things that cause pain in your life.

Here’s the thing. Jesus died for you and he rose again from death, for you. Packed together with his promise of forgiveness is his promise of resurrection. That’s the goal. That’s the prize. New life forever with Jesus. New life forever with no pain and no suffering… no sin! God has done it all, taken care of it all, and promised it all to you. Suffer as you will, and you will suffer, it doesn’t compare to the promises God has made for you in Jesus Christ. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Hebrews 11:1-16; August 8, 2010; Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost;

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11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:1-16, ESV)

Luke.11.1-13; Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, July 25, 2010

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Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.” And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:1-13, ESV)

Lord, teach us to pray…

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Today’s Gospel from St. Luke is the account of Jesus teaching his disciples to pray. It is, in fact, a unique thing. Not that Jesus is teaching but it’s the only place in the bible where Jesus is asked to teach. The disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray as John the Baptist taught his disciples. They ask and Jesus answers. Notice, too, what Jesus says: “When you pray say…” He doesn’t say here’s a pattern for your prayers, here’s what they should sound like, he says, “Pray these words.” So very often we think that prayers from our hearts are more valid than written prayers. Or that that spontaneous is real prayer and the Lord’s Prayer is just a beginner’s prayer. But the truth is there is no better prayer than this one. A Christian could pray this prayer every day of his life and never exhaust the importance or the depth of this prayer. Now I’m not saying there isn’t a place for prayers from the heart, God loves those prayers too, but often we tend to think that the Lord’s Prayer is a “beginning” prayer, and that our prayers will get beyond the Lord’s Prayer as more spiritually mature. Or that the Lord’s Prayer is just a pattern prayer that we use until we know how to pray. Well, Jesus doesn’t say that he says “pray this prayer.” It is the very best we can do is to say back to God the very words that he gives us to say. Our Church services are full of the very words that God gives us to say back to Him. We can take great comfort in knowing that whenever we pray the prayer that He gave us to pray we have prayed for everything that we need and everything that our neighbor needs. A Christian who knows and prays the Lord’s Prayer every day should never be heard saying, “I don’t know what to pray for.” When you ask, “Lord, teach me to pray.” He answers by saying, “here’s the prayer to use.”

Remember also that prayer isn’t an option for a Christian. God commands us to pray just as much as he promises to answer our prayers because of Jesus. The Second Commandment says “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” God gives us his name, that is, he makes us his children through faith in Jesus. He adopts us through the Word and Water of Baptism and puts His name on us. We are to use His name that He gives us as He tells us to use it. … call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”(Psalm 50:15, ESV) Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!(Psalm 118:1, ESV) … whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.(John 16:23, ESV) We pray because God is our Father, because He commands us to pray, and because He promises to always listen to and answer the prayers of those whom He has given faith in Jesus.

Of course many of you will recognize that Jesus words here in the Gospel of Luke are just a little different than the words He used to teach the disciples in Matthew’s Gospel. There Jesus starts the prayer with “our Father,” here he just begins with “Father.” Either way means the same. The word “Father” sets our prayer in its proper context. God is our Father. He loves us and cares for us by giving us we need. In fact of all the words in the prayer “Father” may indeed be the most important one. The whole rest of the prayer, and the little parables that Luke records for us, are really expanding on the idea that we pray to “Our Father in heaven.”

I find it difficult to say it better than Martin Luther did. Turn to page 323 in the front of your hymnal. [a word about the hymnal as a home devotional resource] Let’s read the Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer together.

The Introduction

Our Father who art in heaven.

What does this mean?

With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father

Listen again to some of the words… God tenderly invites us. That’s Jesus teaching his disciples to pray. “Say this prayer.” Use these words that God tells you are true. He is your Father, your true Father and we are His true children. Jesus explains what it’s like in a way that we can understand:

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

He’s saying, “You know what it means to have a loving father. No loving father is going to give his son poison when he asks for food.” God is our true father. He is God over all things. He will give us everything we need, because He alone knows exactly what we need. And as Luther said, “God tenderly invites us to believe” this. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are confessing that we believe that God is our Heavenly Father; that He loves and cares for us beyond our understanding. We pray that He will do what is best for us, no matter what. And because of Jesus, that’s God’s promise to us, God’s Children.

But exactly how is it that we are God’s children. How is it that we dare call God, “Father?” It’s easy to lie ourselves into thinking that because we sit in our pew every week that we earn it. We always think that while other people aren’t worthy of God, we are, because we give more than our fair share to the church or other charities. We strive to not be wasteful of our possessions. We have worked hard to earn a good long retirement. We are clean, well kempt, non-drug users and respected in the community. Naturally we want to think that because of these and many other things, God calls us his children. We look like his children; we act like his children, so we must be his children. But as I said, all of this is a lie that we tell ourselves because we really want to save ourselves. We want our hard work, all the “good” things we do in our live to account for something more than just a nest egg, and a good reputation in our community. But God makes it very clear. “all our righteous deeds,” He tells us through the Prophet Isaiah, “are like polluted garments.” And as far as our relationship to God, all the good things we do, all the hard work, and self sacrifice, mean nothing for our relationship with God. Did you notice that God didn’t say our evil deeds? No, He said that all the good things we do are polluted. You see, when we hold up our good works to God as signs of why He should treat us like His children, it’s like a child offering their dirty diaper as a precious gift to their parent. We are not God’s children because of anything we do. Everything we do is polluted by sin. Everything we do is corrupted by sin. The things we do are tainted by our self interest. None of what we do makes us God’s Children. We are God children because of what God does. We are God’s Children because of Jesus Christ.

The fact that Jesus calls God, “Father” is very significant for us. Where God tells us our good works are filthy rags, He says to Jesus, “This is my Son; in Him I am well pleased.” What Jesus presents to God, all of His good works, is perfect and perfectly acceptable to God. The life He lived every day, the prayers He offered every day, and especially His self sacrificing death on the cross; His whole life was good and perfect in His Father’s eyes. His life is what ours should be, but can’t be because of sin. But remember, Jesus invites us to believe that God is our Father too. He invites us to believe that we have a relationship with God our Father just like He has. He invites us to believe it. He also promises us that it is true. Jesus has made sure of it. It is because of his life, death and resurrection. Jesus didn’t come to show us how to do good things that are acceptable to God. He didn’t come to give us a pattern to follow for our live, just as He didn’t give us a pattern of how to pray in the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus came to do acceptable things for us. Jesus came and lived a perfect life for us. Jesus loved our neighbors beyond our ability to love them. His righteous deeds are perfect, so Jesus establishes a perfect relationship with God. And then He gives that relationship to us by removing the thing that makes all the things we do unacceptable to God. Jesus perfect life was sacrificed on the cross for our sin. His perfect life makes our imperfect life, perfect in God’s eyes. God makes that exchange for us in Baptism. His perfect life is ours; our perfectly deserved death is put on Jesus. His righteous deeds are given to us, our un-righteous perfectly polluted deeds are put on Him. What He takes from us He takes to the cross and puts to death. When He rises from the dead, He proves that what He gives to us is perfect. Everything that He came to do, he came to do for us. In the Lord’s Prayer, when Jesus says, “when you pray say, ‘Father’,” He’s saying that, everything that he came to do makes God our Father, too. Sin is removed, God is indeed our Father.

The last thing I want you to notice about Jesus teaching about prayer is this. Do you know what the most common word in this text is? It’s “friend.” That’s Jesus way of assuring us that we are God’s friends and more than that even, as Luther said “true children who in all boldness and confidence ask Him as dear children ask their dear Father.” You see, we don’t pray to God for the things we need and want because we deserve anything. We don’t ask for anything from God, our Father, because we earn it. We ask because He is Our Father. We can indeed ask boldly. We can indeed ask with confidence. We can do that because of Jesus, because of what God does for us through Jesus. What God wants to do for us doesn’t have anything to do with our polluted rags. He gives it because of our relationship with Him, He is our Father. And so we pray, Our Father, in heaven… Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ, Jesus. Amen.

My pick for "Blog of The Week"

2010-07-22T13:52:00.001-05:00

No! I don't have a regular column called "blog of the week" like my favorite radio program "Issues, Etc." (see http://IssuesEtc.org)

It's just that this post by Rev. Paul McCain says something very important. It is entitled "One of the Very Best Things The Missouri Synod Did Not Do Last Week." Rev. McCain refers to defeating the resolution that would have changed the way delegates are elected for Synod conventions. The recommendation (made by a task force on structure) would have done two things. 1. Moved the election of delegates from the congregation level to the district level. 2. Given larger voice to larger congregations. The motion was only defeated by sending it to committee, where it will hopefully die a painless private death. As Rev. McCain so ably states, this proposal would have changed how Missouri understands the church. Check out his post here.

http://cyberbrethren.com/2010/07/19/one-of-the-very-best-things-the-missouri-did-not-do-last-week/

Technorati Tags: Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod,LCMS Convention,LCMS

LCMS Convention Communications

2010-07-06T17:50:00.001-05:00

Tuesday, July 06, 2010; Week of the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

To the Churches of the Southwest Circuit, Iowa District West, Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod;

It is my privilege to serve as your pastoral delegate to the 63^rd Convention of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod this coming week in Houston, TX. Marvin Reents (St Paul Lutheran Church-Yorktown) is your lay delegate. Please pray for us as we consider the resolutions brought to the floor for consideration.

I have set up several avenues for communication during the convention to keep you informed. You may choose any or all of these:

My personal blog

http://Sermons.WattsWhat.net
Daily posts concerning business of the day

Twitter

http://twitter.com/WattsWhat
Regular posts throughout the day

Facebook

http://facebook.com/WattsWhat
Regular posts throughout the day (same as twitter).

send your email address to Delegate@TrinityCreston.org and I’ll send you the daily blog post via eMail.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments about the convention

eMail: Delegate@TrinityCreston.org
Phone: (605)579-0005 – please leave a message.
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/WattsWhat
Facebook: http://Facebook.com/WattsWhat

Along with my updates please visit http://lcms.org/Convention for more up-to-date information. Including live video, pictures, news, etc.

God’s Richest Blessings

Pastor Jonathan C. Watt, Pastoral Delegate, South West Circuit, Iowa District West, LCMS

Technorati Tags: LCMS Convention,Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod,Missouri Synod

Gal.6.14; Sixth Sunday after Pentecost; July 4, 2010

2010-07-05T08:37:00.001-05:00

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. (Galatians 6:14-15, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

(Thanks to Rev. Paul Raabe)

St. Paul says the world is dead to him. What about you, are you dead to the world? I’m not talking about a really sound sleep; I’m talking about being influence or not by the anti-Christians things that surround you every day. Clearly there are a lot of ideas that you come into contact with every day that you are tempted to believe, tempted to take to heart, tempted to say are not a problem for your life. Do you think like the world? Do you value what the world values?

Maybe I should ask the question a different way: What are you most proud of? What is your biggest boast? What’s the one thing in your life you couldn’t live without? The one thing you are unwilling to lose? Is it your job? Your children? You church? Your savings account? Your family history? Your reputation? Your standing in the community, position in church, your family held farmland?

Well we must all confess that we all have things we like to boast in, things we think we brought about through our own hard work, ingenuity, accomplishment, or status. Things that we believe we deserve because of our own good works. That’s from the footprint of sin in our lives. Our sinful nature always wants adopt the thinking of the broken world around us and to take credit for the good things in our life. We want to be recognized and held in high esteem by the world around us. We even want to be recognized by God for our good works.

That’s part of the problems they were having in the Christian Church in Galatia. And it’s one of the reasons Paul wrote a letter to them; a letter we know as the Book of Galatians. What they were valuing was being “good Jews.” Some of the members of the congregation were boasting that they were circumcised and followed the Jewish laws. They even held it over the non-Jews who were a part of the congregation. “If you really want to be a real Christian, you have to be circumcised, like we are; you have to follow the exact letter of the Jewish laws, as we do.” They were really boasting in their own accomplishments. “Look at us! Look at what we’ve done! Look at who we are!” That’s the way the world works isn’t it? We have to demand our own attention, in order to get ahead. We have to boast in ourselves. Sometimes that means stepping on other people to push ourselves up.

Now Paul really had reason to boast. His credentials were of the highest caliber. His background was impressive, according to the Jewish religion. He was circumcised on the 8^th day, just like the law demanded. He was a faithful member of the house of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin. He followed the strict laws of the Pharisees, went to the best school available at the time. He protected the laws he followed against all those who would make them less important. With zeal he sought out and killed Christians. In many ways Paul could “out-Circumcise” the folks who wanted everyone to follow the letter of the law.

But Paul didn’t boast in any of those accomplishments. In fact he considered the garbage in light of what Jesus did for him. Paul only boasted in the “cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” Paul knew that all the praise of the world, all the good deeds he did in the name of his religion meant nothing at all to God. In fact, since they were self-centered and full of selfish pride they were evil in God’s eyes. What God counts as important is not what Paul did but what Jesus did, “the cross of Christ.”

That’s really quite different from the way we think. That’s very different from the way we want to think. Whenever, we hear that God doesn’t consider our good works, we always say things to our ourselves like: “Maybe not other people’s good works, but mine count, to God. They have to. I’ve done some really good things. I sit in church every Sunday. I’m known for my work throughout the community. I make sure everything gets done, and that it’s done right. This church / community couldn’t survive without me. That’s got to mean something to God. God’s got to notice me.” Don’t you see how that matches up with the way things are in the broken world? To get ahead we have to be noticed by the boss. We’ve got to go public with our accomplishments or we’ll never be recognized. Volunteer hours have to be counted to be praised. God doesn’t work the way we do. He doesn’t think the way we do. We see it most clearly in the only thing that Paul wanted to boast in, the cross of Jesus. What God shows us by sending Jesus to hang on the cross and suffer and die for us is that He doesn’t want to praise you or admire you, he wants to forgive you.

Just think about God’s Law. The way we want to use it is to say, “Look at how I measure up.” Usually we use it to show that other people don’t live up to it and imply that we do. But God won’t let us get away with that. He tells us that breaking the law is a matter of the heart. We can make a show of keeping God’s law like the Ten Commandments, but in our hearts we’d rather be breaking them. And the more we really look at them, the more we look at ourselves in light of them the more sin we see and the more hopeless we see our own situation. The world says, “Look inside yourself to find the good that is there.” God shows us that inside the human being is sin, hatred and death.

But God wants to forgive you. In fact, it is his very nature to do so. The more he can forgive you the happier he is. You won’t find your happiness and life by looking inside yourself. There’s nothing to boast about there. You will find it outside of you, in the only thing you can boast in, the cross of Jesus. Inside of you is sin. Outside of you is a perfect Jesus. Inside of you is death. Outside of you is Jesus resurrection from death. That’s the Good News that’s worth boasting on.

Paul said that he was dead to the world, crucified to it. Jesus’ death on the cross put to death the old way of the world. All its values and boasts are worthless to you. They can’t do anything to help you. Jesus resurrection from the dead brought about a new world, a new creation. In another letter Paul says it like this. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.(2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV) That new creation is in you through faith in Jesus.

The old world doesn’t rule over you anymore. Jesus death is your death through baptism. Jesus new life, his resurrection is yours, too, through baptism. You have been crucified with Christ and now you no longer live, but Christ lives in you. You don’t have to boast in your achievements to get God to notice you. He knows who you and he considers you worthy because you are connected to Jesus.

Back in Galatia, some Christians boasted that they were circumcised. The non-Jewish Christians alternative was to boast that they hadn’t been circumcised. Paul said that neither was anything to boast about. What as worth boasting about is what Jesus did for them on the cross. What was worth boasting about was the new life they had received from Jesus.

Well, of course, it’s hard not to be influenced by what we see every day, where we live and work. It’s expected that people will conform to the ways of the world. We are told that boasting is necessary to get ahead, and we are likely to believe it. But to you and me, that world is dead. If you want to boast, boast every time you get wet with water and remember your Baptism. Boast every time you rise from your bed and step in the shower or sit in the bath tub or pour a cold glass of water down your throat, and remember the water that was poured on you in Jesus name. Boast that through Baptism you are dead to the world and you life to God. Boast in the Cross of Jesus that is yours. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

LCMS World Relief and Human Care responds to Jesus First questions about Finances.

2010-06-29T10:16:00.001-05:00

06-28-2010: The Truth about the Stewardship of LCMS World Relief and Human Care

For the sake of our work of mercy and those in need around the world, and to provide reassurance to our donors, it is necessary to respond to the Jesus First Delegate Letter No. 9. As chairman of the Board for Human Care, I have requested our board Vice Chair, John Edson (a Certified Public Accountant), to prepare a response.

Rev. Bernie Seter
Chair, Board for Human Care

Luke 9:51-62; Fifth Sunday after Pentecost; June 27, 2010

2010-06-28T08:57:00.001-05:00

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village. As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Lk 9:51-62 (ESV)

Grace and peace to you from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“It’s hard to find good help” (Special thanks to Edit-O-Earl)

You can’t help but see a twinge of disappointment on Jesus face when he turns and “rebukes” the disciples that had returned from that Samaritan village. Once again they don’t seem to “get it.” He had rebuked them before, he was going to have to do it again, and well it wasn’t going to be the last time. But maybe it was especially disappointing at that very moment because he has “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Jesus knew what lay ahead of them. His journey to Jerusalem was a journey to the cross. In that city he would give up his very life. There would be nothing that would turn him aside; his face was set like flint (Isaiah 50:7) to the task at hand. God’s power was to be revealed in the weakness of human flesh. God’s great love was to be shown in innocent suffering and death, and the pouring out of the Holy and precious blood for the sins of the world. The disciples were talking about calling down fire from heaven. They wanted a great display of God’s power, which would teach the people who rejected them a lesson. God’s power was going to be shown in a much different way. And then there were the three “wannabe” disciples saying they will follow Jesus. They don’t “get it” either. Really their promises are half hearted; they put anything and everything before their promise to follow. Jesus determination is set in clear contrast to the commitments of the disciples.

Now it is interesting that when we hear this story our first inclination is to find fault with Jesus. “Isn’t he just a little harsh?” When the first guy says “I’ll follow, but let me bury my father, first,” Jesus coldly answers, “Let the dead bury their own dead.” When another says, “I’ll follow, but first, I need to say good-bye to my family.” Jesus reply is, “No one who has put his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service.” Well, even if we don’t admit it openly, we feel it in our hearts. These requests seem pretty reasonable to us. We cringe at Jesus responses. Isn’t family important to Jesus? Do we have to give up everything to be a disciple?

To really understand what Jesus is saying to these guys we have to look at all that’s going on here. We need to remember that the text starts out with Jesus “setting his face toward Jerusalem.” Jesus is committed to his task and the journey that will take him there. These disciples have been told what it all means. Jesus will go to Jerusalem, be handed over to his enemies, be crucified dead, and rise again on the third day. They react the way they do because they think this plan of action is crazy. Who would want to go on a journey that they all knew would lead to death. Jesus is determined, the disciples want to follow him, but they offer excuses. They want to go with him… sort of. When we look at everything from that point of view, these excuses are more like, “I’d like to go with you but I’ve got to stay home and wash my hair.” After the disciples want to burn up the Samaritan village, and give excuses for not going with Jesus, You can almost hear him saying, “It’s hard to find good help these days.”

I wonder a little bit about these excuses. We don’t know what was in these men’s hearts, but Jesus did, because he knows all things. The first disciple says he’ll follow. But we get the impression that he isn’t really committed. “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but not me. I have no place to call home. That’s what you are singing on for. No glorious living. No fame and fortune.” We don’t know how the man reacted. The next man says he’ll first need to bury his father. Was his father dead? If that was the case why wasn’t he off making arrangements already? Why wasn’t he caring for his mother? Maybe he was saying that he would become a faithful follower of Jesus after his father’s death? That could be years. Jesus ministry; Jesus plan was immediate; he was going to Jerusalem right now. There would be no delay. “Let the dead bury their own dead.” The third disciple gets right at the point. Especially with Jesus reply. “Let me say good-bye to my family.” Jesus makes clear what’s going on. “No one who plows looking back is worthy of plowing.” You have to remember in those days the plow was in front of the plowman. You had to watch the animal and the machine as you walked behind it. You won’t make a straight furrow if you’re not committed to the task at hand, if you keep looking back. There is a Latin word for a plowman who keeps looking back. The word is delirious. It means literally “out of the furrow.” A delirious man, one who isn’t paying attention to his work is like a plow out of the furrow. Being a follower of Jesus isn’t a matter of convenience it’s a mater of commitment. There are no part time disciples in the crowd that claims to be Jesus followers. Jesus calls for full time faithfulness. “It’s hard to find good help these days.”

“These days” we have the same view as those would-be disciples. All too often today, Jesus is a part time activity; Sunday mornings and once a quarter meetings. “I don’t have time.” “Everyone is so busy.” “Let the younger generation do it.” St. Paul’s words to the Galatians are words also spoken to us. “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13, ESV) Luther says it like this: “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” It was Jesus journey to Jerusalem that set us free. Free from the worry about our own relationship with God. We don’t have to do good things to earn a place with God. Jesus has done them for us. We don’t need our good works, but our neighbor does.

“It’s hard to find good help these days.” I think it was always hard for Jesus to find good disciples. I’m sure I’m one of his most troublesome. The truth is we are all lousy disciples of Jesus. Even when we want to do good things we have to argue ourselves into it. And even when we do things for the right reasons our own sinful pride takes credit where none is due. For every good thing we’ve done there are twenty that we didn’t do. For every right thing we do there’s a bucket full of wrong. And there are lots of excuses. School, family, jobs, television, all keep us from being the disciples that Jesus would have us be. Now don’t think I’m just talking about church meetings. We could do all the meetings we want, and still not be “good help.” Our lives of service to others isn’t centered on our gathering in this building for meetings, it’s centered in the life that God has given us. And the new life he gives us through Jesus. Through his life, death and resurrection that is our new life in Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. It has everything to do with the family he’s placed us in. The job we go to every day. The friends we play with. The school we attend. It doesn’t take a church program to serve our neighbor. It doesn’t take a church program to defend life and speak against abortion, or to speak up about the hope that is within you, the hope of eternal life in Jesus. It’s a full time job. It’s a full time commitment. “It’s hard to find good help these days.” You aren’t going to do it perfectly. Just like you, I’ve missed opportunities; I’ve left unsaid what needed to be said. We’ve all used every excuse in the book, “Let me bury my father first…” “Let me get my life in order first…” “Let me get through school first…” “Let me settle into retirement…” “Let me raise my children…” “It’s hard to find good help these days.”

And yet we just sang a beautiful hymn: Take my life… take my hands… take my money… are we saying that we didn’t mean any of it? No of course not. We really didn’t mean every word. After all we are Jesus disciples. He has called us to be his. We know that Jesus walked that road to Jerusalem for us. We know it’s for us because of the promises he made to us in our Baptism. He reaches out with a pastor’s hand and pours water on our heads and says, “The trip to Jerusalem is for this one.” That’s the most important part of faith, clinging to the promises of God, knowing that Jesus did all these things “for me!” That’s the essence of a personal faith in Jesus. That’s what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

Jesus is the perfect model of loving service. Don’t think for a moment that he wasn’t in complete control of events. The Chief Priests and teachers of the law weren’t in charge. The Roman governor didn’t call the shots. Jesus wasn’t even the puppet of His Father. Jesus chose the path that he was on. He made his choice freely and without being forced. His choice was service through sacrifice. He really “took up the cross” of his own free will. And most important of all, he did it for you. He did it for your sins. He did it for your failures. He did it in spite of the excuses you make for not taking up a cross of your own. That’s exactly why he set his face to Jerusalem. That’s exactly why nothing was going to stop him from going. For Jesus, there are no excuses that will stand in his way of setting you free.

We heard also from Paul in the Second reading: For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1, ESV) The freedom that Paul is talking about, the freedom Jesus won for us, isn’t the kind of freedom we often think about, especially as we think about the upcoming celebration of our Nation’s independence. It’s not a freedom to do whatever we want. That kind of freedom is self indulgent. Christ set us free from our need to earn our own salvation. We don’t have to work to make our place with God. We don’t have to do good works to earn anything. Jesus has earned it all for us. In fact, Jesus freed us from the slavery to sin, death and Satan, so that we could be his servants. Just like the Declaration of Independence didn’t mean that our forefathers were free from dependence. They were just dependent on each other instead of the King. “Take my life, O Lord, renew, Consecrate my heart to you;” Disciples of Jesus are dependent on him. We are dependent on Jesus. We are free to serve. Free to follow Jesus… full time, with our whole heart, soul and mind.

As Pastor Earl Feddersen wrote: “Paul has a message for us [today]. It is rather simple really: Christ has already set us free! Get out into the light of His day. As Jesus implied, the spiritually dead can bury their own dead, but you get out and proclaim the kingdom of God!” Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Luke 8.26-39; Fourth Sunday after Pentecost; June 20, 2010;

2010-06-20T13:48:00.001-05:00

Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:26-39, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Well, this is a great account of our Lord healing someone in great need of healing. I noticed a few things about what’s going on here. First, Jesus is clearly identified for who he is. Legion the demons yells out at him, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” and later when Jesus is going to leave he tells the man to tell what God had done for him. The man recognized God’s work in Jesus by telling everyone what Jesus had done for him. Although we wouldn’t use this as a proof that Jesus is God, it clearly shows the man knew who was helping him and that God was working through Jesus.

Secondly, I noticed that the guy who Jesus was helping really needed help. It seems to me that lots of people tried to help him and failed. I’m not sure they locked him in chains and kept watch him just to protect themselves. He had family and friends that didn’t want him to hurt himself. Even if they were very selfish in trying to help him by confining him they couldn’t do anything anyway because he broke the chains and ran back the desert. This guy living naked in the graveyard, foaming at the mouth, screaming at the top of his lungs, was quite helpless and in great danger. The danger was very real.

Notice also, how everything is in turmoil in the account. Jesus comes ashore; he’s confronted in a loud voice. There’s a herd of pigs near by (they are not necessarily quiet animals). There’s the description of the man’s activities, and the argument with the demons called Legion. They are begging with Jesus and he’s telling them what they are going to do. “Please don’t cast us into hell! We don’t want to go there yet! Can’t we live in those pigs? We won’t be too much trouble there?” I think Jesus just waved his hand and pointed to the herd. Off went the many demons thinking they had won a victory against Jesus. But instead the pigs were sent screaming into the lake to drown; noise, anger, death, drowning pigs what a commotion that must have been. No wonder the folks who saw it were afraid. Now the contrast is really what this reading is all about. The pig herders run of to tell everyone what happened. When everyone comes to see Jesus the man who had the demons is dressed, in his right mind and sitting a Jesus feet. He’s learning from Jesus. Hanging on Jesus words, it reminds me of Mary and Martha. Remember Martha busy in the kitchen working a frenzy to get everything ready and Mary sitting quietly at Jesus feet listening. Jesus says it is the one thing needful. What Mary needed, what the man who no longer had a legion of demons needed, what you and I need… is to listen to Jesus, to sit at his feet and take in his Word.

The last thing to see here is how everyone is afraid. The pig herders are afraid. The town’s people ask Jesus to leave because they are afraid. In the face of Jesus power and his ability and in recognition that he’s connected to God in some great way people are afraid of him and just want him to go away.

So that’s what we see in this account. Now the interesting thing is this one is right in the middle of two other accounts that have the same kinds of things happening. Right before this Luke tells us that Jesus and his disciples were boating across the lake and were caught in a storm. The waves were crashing over the boat the disciples were in grave danger. They were helpless, the boat was going to sink and they were going to die. Jesus was sleeping. They wake him up and he calms the storm. They are afraid. “Do you have no faith?” Jesus says.

After the Legion account Jesus is waking through crowds of people. They’ve come because of all that they’ve heard about him. Some want to be healed, some want to see the guy who casts out demons, some want to see what’s so special about a guy from Galilee. He was “almost crushed” by the crowed as he was trying to move along. A man named Jairus comes and asks Jesus to heal his sick daughter. She’s helpless, too, because she is dying. On the way another helpless person touches Jesus robe because she is just sure that if she does Jesus can heal her 12 years bleeding illness. Jesus calms the crowd to find out who touched him. She was healed by faith in Jesus. Then news of the little girl’s death comes to Jairus. “Master, don’t bother the teacher anymore, your little girl is dead.” Think of the sense of helplessness that must have filled him standing there with the person who he was sure was his last hope, and the delay caused by the crowds and a sick woman cost him his daughter. Think of the fear of facing his wife… and seeing his little girl dead…. well you know the story, Jesus arrives at the house and the mourners are shouting the grief of death. Jesus quits them and raised the girl to her mother’s arms. And again everything is calm.

Do you see the pattern? Chaos, trouble, helplessness, Jesus, calm. In fact in these four short stories (that actually happened!) Jesus shows that he’s more powerful than nature, Satan and his demons, sickness and even death.

Chaos, trouble, helplessness… that is where we are most of the time in our lives isn’t it? Surgery doesn’t just cause us pain, it takes away our ability to care for ourselves and we have to depend on someone else. It may even mean a change of how we’ve always done things. Oil spews from a hole in the ocean floor and threatens people’s livelihood. The wind blows and the house creaks and the water rises and the rain keeps coming. We panic about all our stuff we’re going to loose in the storm. We send out storm spotters to watch so we can scurry to cover and protection. Murderers live closer than we care to even talk about. Drug smugglers are targeting our kids and making national parks unsafe to visit. Not to mention that we let our kids go out and party on Friday nights closing our eyes to the danger. “They’re going to do it anyway.” Talk about helpless… and danger. My heart aches for the families that will be hurt when Satan’s handiwork comes to its fullness. Death hovers over us. It will happen again; another casket will set before this altar with broken hearts. All of these dangers are real. We get sick, we can’t control or even predict the weather, there’s real evil out there, and people die every day. Satan is constantly trying to get us to focus on our troubles instead of Jesus. The church is not spared the chaos in caused by simple things, signs, paint, carpet, water leaks, etc.

Chaos, trouble, helplessness… Jesus. Jesus on the cross. He hung on the cross because of all that chaos trouble and helplessness would be all that our lives were about if we were left in our sin. The epistle lesson said we were “captive under the law.” That’s a way of saying that whatever we get, chaos, trouble, helplessness we deserve because of sin. But that’s not what God wants. This story of Jesus casting out Legion and sending them drowning in the lake is to show us that Jesus is in control. That God is in control. Jesus suffered, he cried out in pain, he was helpless, there on the cross bearing our sin. He lay in the coldness of death in the tomb, but he overcame it all. He is in control of it all, the whole time. Nothing is more powerful than our God and Savior Jesus Christ, not even chaos, trouble, pain, death, taxes and church budgets.

Jesus brings us here… to be calm; to receive his word; very specifically his word about sin. It’s not a word of judgment. It’s a word of forgiveness. The chaos we face, and oh boy, do we face it, isn’t to punish us, it’s to remind us that He has it in his hands. He can and does control all things. He’ll take care of all things when he will take care of you. Psalm 46 says it… though the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam… though kingdoms totter… be still and know that I am God.

That man that Jesus saved from the Legion of demons was dressed, in his right mind and sitting at Jesus feet, listening to his word. That’s what God wants for you.

Are you afraid of what Jesus can do and does? Well, join the crowds… what Jesus does is frightening. Fear is a natural reaction to God’s Word. But dear brothers and sisters in Christ, your panic, and planning, and fighting, and trying to control others is never going to change your life (or this church). That’s trying to chain up chaos. The chains just get broken and we end up living in the cemetery again. If you want calmness in your life and among us here in the church, it is only going to come through the gifts that God gives: Sitting at Jesus feet, listening to him, eating his meal, his very body and blood, pouring water, and in the name of Jesus receiving the forgiveness of our sins.

That’s what the man had to say about Jesus. Jesus said, “Go home and declare how much God had done for you.” He says that to you do. So let’s start right here. Say this with me:

“Jesus is in control. Jesus has forgiven my sin.” Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Uwe, once again on target.

2010-06-18T12:38:00.001-05:00

I have come to read this post a bit late. Please read "Of Foreboding and Forgiveness" by Uwe Siemon-Netto.

It is a timely, direct call for Missouri to "get its act together." A sample of Seimon-Netto's direct language.

The time might soon come when there will be no mega churches with thousands of happy-clappy congregants; whoever among Lutherans believes that in periods of woe bestselling guidelines to a purpose-driven life can be put into action will be egregiously disappointed. What sustained me in air raid shelters and during months of starvation were not expressions of religious enthusiasm but the words and tunes of the Scripture-based liturgy I had memorized since Sunday school, and the unshakeable message that, whatever happened, I was a forgiven sinner and would therefore live eternally by virtue of Christ’s vicarious suffering, death and resurrection.

Along with those mentioned in his article, I too look for the LCMS to am '...praying that the LCMS will emerge from Houston “as a robust church ready to allow the treasures of its own tradition to bear fruit.”'

Uwe endorses Rev. Matt Harrison for president. As a delegate I am inclined to vote for Harrison for these reasons and many others.

1 King 17:17-24; Third Sunday after Pentecost, June 6, 2010

2010-06-06T13:42:00.000-05:00

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Creston, IA

¹⁷After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. ¹⁸And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” ¹⁹And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” ²¹Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” ²²And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. ²³And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” ²⁴And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.” 1 Kings 17:17-24 (ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

We know what it’s like to lose a loved one. We know the heart ache of not having that one person to confide in, that one person we can depend on. We know the emptiness of the empty chair and the empty space in the heart that comes when a friend is gone. We know reaching for the telephone and realizing that we don’t have that person to call anymore. It is the way life is, friends leave... loved ones are lost… people die.

It’s because we all know what it’s like to lose a person who is close to us we can understand what’s going on with the widow in the readings for today. She is mourning the loss of more than just a friend. She is mourning the loss of a child. It’s not just any child either it’s an only child, in fact an only son. Not only did this woman lose a friend, a child, and a family, she’s actually lost everything. You see, in those days there was no welfare system, no society “safety net” for people to depend on. All that parents had to take care of them when they grew old were their children. So for a widow to loose an only son was for her to be without any means of support, more than just alone, destitute. Of course, she was also broken hearted. It is the greatest pain in the world when a parent looses a child. Our heart goes out to this widow sitting clutching her breathless child to her breast. We can feel the agony of the loss, the empty feeling in the heart. We know what it’s like to lose a friend. And yet this poor widow has lost so much more than a friend.

Leading up to this heart-wrenching scene the bible goes into great detail about the unfaithful kings of Israel. Right before this text is a litany of kings who “did evil in the sight of the Lord” by leading God’s people to worship other gods. As a reminder that God’s people are only to worship him, God sends a severe famine over the whole area. Elijah, God’s prophet to Israel, seeks safety in the house of the widow, a place to survive during the famine. Things seem to have been going fine between Elijah and the widow until her son suddenly takes ill and dies. That’s when she asks the same question that we seem to always ask when we have a great loss. “Why have you done this to me?” “Why are you against me? O man of God?” she cries. She had opened her house to him, given him a place to stay, even during the hardship of the famine. And for all her good, for all her trouble her son ends up dead. “You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” She’s saying to Elijah, “You’ve brought me back to God’s attention and because I’ve got sin in my life, sin in my past, God has struck down my son as punishment.”

And again isn’t that where we really connect to her? Isn’t that where we can really understand her feelings? Our first inclination whenever we encounter some great trouble in our lives is to think that God has sent it to us because of something we’ve done. Something has caused us to come to God’s attention and He’s seen our sin and acted accordingly. We know that our lives are far from the perfection that He rightly demands. But we often hope to hide among the masses, hoping that God won’t pay any attention to our individual sin. We know naturally sin puts us naturally at odds with God. Whenever we have trouble in our lives that seems to come from God we can see very clearly that sinful people are really His enemies. “Now Pastor,” you say, “I don’t feel like God’s enemy. I see God as my friend.” But I really wonder if that’s always true.

There are lots of examples for us in Scripture. Job is the first to come to mind. The bible tells us that he was blameless in the eyes of God, and yet God allowed Satan to take everything from him. Job lost not only his children, but his house, his health, and his wealth… he lost everything but his nagging wife, “just get it over with, just curse God and die!” she said. And Job’s friends gathered around him and told him that he must have done something really evil to deserve all this trouble. All Job could do was complain to God. “Why have you done this thing? Why am I your enemy?”

We know that sin puts us at odds with other people. We know sins separating effects. All of us have seen friendships that have shattered, marriages that have crumbled, and families that have been torn by sin. All of us have at one time or another been the cause of separation through our own sin. We know what sin does in our relationships with other people and we know what sin does to our relationship to God. Just think of the people you know who stay away from church because of some situation they are in, some sin that they live with every day. How many times do we say to ourselves, “I’ll get right with God then I’ll go to church.” Or “I’ll set my life in better order first then I’ll pray more often.” That’s the natural, sinful person in us knowing that sin pushes us away from God. The widow woman seems to have been in the same situation. “God had forgotten about my sin until you came and reminded Him of them. And now my son is dead.” She was hiding away from God because she knew she was a sinful person. She doesn’t say that she didn’t deserve the trouble.

This all points us to our need for forgiveness. We confessed together a few minutes ago, “we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean.” That’s what the bible tells us. The human race isn’t made up of people who are basically good and do bad things once in a while. We are all basically evil, full of sin, and sometimes we do good things. What we deserve from God is punishment, anger and wrath. We deserve to lose our children, families, homes, and jobs. Because of the sin we all have we should rightly be God’s enemies.

But the widow woman saw something different from God. When she complained to Elijah that he had brought her to God’s attention, she was right. When the prophet took the boy in his arms and carried him to the upper chamber the woman must have wondered what was going on. Why was he taking her child away? What did he want with her child’s body? We don’t know how long he was up in that room but it doesn’t seem very long and he returns with a living boy instead of a dead one. Her son was alive again. Her hope was restored to her. She was reunited with her loved one. God was telling her that even though she deserved punishment God forgives and restores. God was not her enemy God was her friend. She responded in joy. She responded in faith. What a joy it is to know that God deals with us that way, too.

We should have sung the hymn “What a friend we have in Jesus” today. That’s what’s going on here. Even though our sin should make us enemies of God, Jesus has makes us His friends. What God does for us is just like what happened to the widow. The son was dead and raised to life again. That death and resurrection of her son brought her to a reunion with not just her son but also with her heavenly father. Not only was her son totally restored to her, but her relationship to God was totally restored, too. She knew that God didn’t hold her past sins against her. That’s what the death and resurrection of God’s Son, Jesus Christ says to us, too.

When Jesus broke the bonds of death, when he came out of the cold dark room of the grave, He promises to us that our sins are forgiven. All that we deserve for our sins, death, separation, trouble, punishment and God’s anger were put on Jesus on the cross. He suffered and died in our place. The widow believed that God struck down her son dead because of her sin. Jesus is struck down dead because of our sin. There is sin in your past that troubles you; sin that caused you to lose a friend; sin that ended a marriage; words spoken in anger that cut a family member to very soul; sin that troubles you in the darkness of your own bed; sin that should by rights make you God’s enemy; sin for which you deserve to die. When that sin came to God’s attention He struck down the Son. Jesus Christ crucified is God’s answer to your sin. The death of Jesus is the death of all the sin in your past. The death of Jesus is the death of all the sin in your future. And when breath returned to Jesus, life returned to you and me, through Jesus. His resurrection is God’s full restoration of friendship through the forgiveness of sins. You don’t have to hold on to the guilt of your sin. Sin no longer makes you God’s enemy. Jesus makes us God’s friends.

You know the widow responded in joy to the new life given to her son. We respond in joy to the new life given to us through resurrection of The Son, Jesus Christ. Sin and guilt don’t have to dominate our friendships. “In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for you, and for His sake God forgives you all your sins.” When we see what God has done for us through Jesus our natural response is one of joy, “What a friend we have in Jesus; all our sins and griefs to bear!” When we hear again what God has done for us in Jesus, we naturally turn to Him in faith, and hold on to Him in faith all the more. Because we know what God had done to take care of the sin that separates us from Him and other people, we naturally put our trust in Him whenever we run into trouble. We know God is faithful by what He has done, we know He is faithful in what He will do.

There is hope in the resurrection, not just for our relationships right now, but also for the relationships that have been broken by death. Those separations are the most difficult for us. They seem to us, in human terms to be the most permanent. The joy that the widow experienced will be our joy, too, when we gather in wonderful reunions with our family and friends who have believed in Jesus. We’ll grab a hold of one another and shout joyous praises to our friend Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Very Interesting Article: Criticism doesn't surprise Redeemer pastor By LARRY MITCHELL - ChicoER.com

2010-06-03T12:17:00.001-05:00

Mitchell puts together a very interesting article about the Missouri Synod. Read it an let me know if you think it's accurate? fair?

Here's how it starts

CHICO — The Rev. Donald Jordan says it's no shock that his church, Redeemer Lutheran, and its denomination, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) are sometimes targets of criticism.

They've been called such things as old-fashioned, inhospitable, unyielding, inhumane, unfair and insular.

Jordan doesn't accept all these barbs, but he says, according to the spirit of the age, they are understandable.

Old-fashioned?

The hymns sung at Redeemer often date from the 16th and 17th centuries, and the service is quite formal, with little room for innovation.

And the message in Jordan's sermons may seem archaic to many. There's plenty of talk about sin, death and eternal life.

The sermons focus on what Jordan calls "Law-and-gospel" Christianity. According to this understanding, the Law (the 10 Commandments) is simply impossible for humans to keep. Christians would be doomed were it not for the good news of the gospel, that Jesus kept the law perfectly and gave his life for humankind, so that believers can be in good standing with God.

Finish reading here: http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_15188236?source=rss

A Registry of Lutheran Faculty

2010-06-03T09:22:00.001-05:00

HT: Cyberbrethren:http://cyberbrethren.com/

Dr. Jon Bruss sent me the following note and asked me to pass it along . . . A Registry of Lutheran Faculty Most college students raised in Missouri Synod, Wisconsin Synod, and Evangelical Lutheran Synod households do not, for whatever reason, attend synodical colleges. This website is for them and their families, because their continued connection with the Evangelical Lutheran Church is of utmost importance. In the presence of the Means of Grace—the Word and the Word in the Sacraments—faith in Christ is created, fed, and nourished. Apart from the Means of Grace, this faith withers and dies.

It’s quite that simple. Orth[odox] Luth[erans] i[n] a[cademia], orthluthia, is designed to facilitate helpful contact between Lutheran students and orthodox Lutheran faculty. Those listed here have volunteered their names and contact information because they want to help students maintain their confession in the face of indifference on the one hand and animosity on the other. If you are student or family member or pastor of a student, please use this site! It’s meant to be used, not looked at. Faculty, if you would like to be listed, please send your name, university, department, email address, parish affiliation, and synodical affiliation to the webmaster at jonbruss@yahoo.com.

http://orthluthia.webs.com/

Romans 11.33; Holy Trinity; May 30, 2010

2010-05-30T11:57:00.000-05:00

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Romans 11:33, ESV)

(Thanks to Norman Nagel)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

What is God like? You probably don’t get asked that question very much. But if you did I’d be willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that you wouldn’t answer the question with the Athanasian Creed. In some ways it feels more like the “Athanasian Confusion” rather than a statement of belief. And yet again I guess we shouldn’t expect it to be all that easy to understand it is after all speaking about God. God is well beyond our understanding. To attempt to describe Him in human language is to attempt the impossible. God as farther above us then we are above insects. The author of The Letter to the Romans says “For who has known the mind of the Lord?” (Rom 33:34, ESV). So any creed that delves into the mystery of the Holy Trinity is going to be tricky. And yet, it is a confession of what we believe. Its purpose is to state what the Bible tells us about God in as clear a fashion as possible. To say a creed is to say what God says. To confess what God tells us about himself. To “Same-Say.” We say what we say about God because it is what He tells us about Himself.

I said God was far beyond our understanding. It’s true. We don’t have the brains to understand “depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.” And sin, our broken relationship with God, makes it even more difficult. In Isaiah it tells of God looking down on the earth and the people are like grasshoppers. Think about holding a grasshopper in your hand. What would it think of you? It probably only understands that it can’t escape as you hold it but it will try to escape to preserve its life, because it fears being crushed. There is nothing else it can understand about you. It can’t understand anything about who you are, or what you are like. Its brain isn’t big enough to understand. It can’t fathom the depth of your knowledge. Its reaction to you is based on its fear and desire to preserve its life. If grasshoppers had a language, how would that language be able to describe you?

If you want to know what humans think about God, you only have to look at the world religions outside of Christianity. You’ll see that same kind of fear. Without God’s Word nature is our only information about who God is and nature is a dangerous place. If it is God’s creation and human beings are routinely swept away in tsunamis and swallowed up by earthquakes what language can be used to describe Him? Consider the billions of people on the earth and the insignificance of a single person among billions. The human reaction to the God of nature is to do whatever it can to appease Him. We must live the best life we can to keep His anger away from us. We must make something of our lives to be noticed in the right way. Or even more common today, deny the obvious and ignore the Creator so as to not be accountable to Him.

Human beings who fear God do so naturally. We have been given a conscience that tells us what is right and wrong, what pleases God and what makes Him angry. Human beings have every right to be afraid of God. You know what He expects of you, and when you look at yourself you know you don’t live up to it. It is very similar to the fear the grasshopper in your hand feels. You have the power to destroy. God could just as easily destroy you.

How could that grasshopper come to understand who you are? Well there is no way it for you to communicate with it except to become a grasshopper yourself. As one of his own you could tell him about you in grasshopper language.

When we want to know what God is like, we only have to look to Jesus who did that very thing for us. Jesus is God become man, to tell us what God is like in human language. He tells us that He is God. He does things only God can do. He says things that only God can say. He is worshipped by people who see Him for who He is. There are people who don’t believe He is God. They call Him crazy. And it’s true, Jesus is either God or He is insane. You can’t just make Jesus a great moral teacher. If what He says is true, then He is either crazy, or He is God.

Jesus is God, expressed in human person, language and action. Jesus is God speaking to human beings about who He is and what He wants for us. St. John even says that Jesus is the Word of God. Jesus is God speaking about Himself in a living and breathing way. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, ESV) If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. He is God that can be heard, and seen and touched and most importantly, understood.

Jesus says to us, Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. (John 15:13, ESV) He’s telling us something about God that we can’t know any other way. He shows us of God’s love for us at the cross. The cross is what God thinks of us, we are His friends. But friends just doesn’t quite cover it does it. Jesus laying down His life is even more than we expect. In Jesus, God becomes human and suffers the eternal agony of hell’s punishment. He dies for everyone, not just the ones who say they love Him. God’s love is expressed even for those who reject Him and wish Him out of existence. His love is for those who hide from Him in fear. It is for those who know what God expects and know they can’t do it. Let me say it very clearly. The love of God you see in the death of Jesus Christ is for you.

There is no greater love. God loves the un-lovable. God loves sinful people. That is what God is like. God dies to set aside our sin, to bring us forgiveness instead of punishment. When punishment is set aside fear of the Judge is gone. Because of Jesus’ paying the punishment for our sins we no longer need to be afraid of God. In fact, we now call God our Father.

“Our Father…” we pray in the prayer that Jesus gives us. “I believe in God the Father…” we confess in the other creeds of the church. We have that relationship with God because of Jesus. He says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, ESV) Faith believes in the forgiveness that Jesus has made. With that forgiveness in hand we can approach God, as Martin Luther put it:

With these words [Our Father Who art in Heaven] God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father. (Luther’s Small Catechism).

Without faith is to be without forgiveness. God is no longer Our Father, but only Our Creator and Righteous Judge. When the cross of Jesus is rejected, forgiveness is rejected. Where there is no forgiveness there is only God’s inescapable wrath and punishment.

So Jesus shows us God the Father, and our relationship to Him through the forgiveness of sins, blood bought by His death on the cross. He also shows us the Holy Spirit. It’s important to know about the Holy Spirit because if it weren’t for Him we’d have no faith. No human being can believe that Jesus is God any more than we could believe that a grasshopper could be a person. Jesus Christ completely God and completely man is nonsense to our way of thinking.

Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was. Peter confessed it clearly. “You are the Christ,the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16, ESV) Jesus reply tells us of the work of the Spirit. “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17, ESV) It isn’t specifically the work of the Father that Jesus is talking about, St. Paul clarifies it for us. “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 13:3, ESV) The Holy Spirit works faith in us to believe and confess that Jesus is Lord, faith to see that Jesus is God’s son sent to be the sacrifice for our sin and restore our relationship to God the Father.

The Holy Spirit works through the Word of God, which is all about Jesus. The Spirit never points to Himself; He’s only interested that we see Jesus. The Gospel of Jesus enters our ears and hearts and the Spirit turns us to Jesus so that we can see who He really is. When the Holy Spirit works in us, He points to us He points at our sinful hearts. Then He shows us Jesus, our only hope for freedom from sin’s punishment. He shows us Jesus, our only way to the Father. Since you can never quote Martin Luther too much:

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. (Luther’s Small Catechism, The Apostle’s Creed, The Second Article: On Redemption)

The Holy Spirit enlightens me with His gifts, Luther says. That’s talking about Holy Baptism and Holy Communion: God’s Word in visible form; God, doing what God does, active in our lives bringing us Jesus and the forgiveness of our sins.

What is God like? Did you notice that in answer to that question we talk about what God does? God is a living and active being. He is best known for what He does, most clearly in what He has done in Jesus. God’s action shows us that He is a unity in trinity, three persons in one God. We speak most clearly about The Trinity when we speak about God and say what He does.

Look at the Apostle’s Creed. God creates. God saves. God makes us holy. God is three persons, unified in action, unified in purpose, unified in love for you and me. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Nice Post on "Deeds Not Creeds" by LifeInGrace

2010-05-26T16:04:00.001-05:00

Nice Post!

http://www.lifeingraceblog.com/2010/05/deeds-not-creeds.html

Dyslexics of the World Unite! This guy gets me.

2010-05-26T10:43:00.001-05:00

Be sure to go to the sight and read the flyover!

http://xkcd.com/745/

Gen.11.1-9; Acts 2:37-47; The Festival of Pentecost; May 23, 2010;

2010-05-24T09:08:00.000-05:00

¹Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. ²And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. ³And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. ⁴Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” ⁵And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. ⁶And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. ⁷Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” ⁸So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. ⁹Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:1-9 (ESV)

Grace and peace to you from Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

2010 has had quite a few unique occurrences. Here’s one you may have missed. Prior to this year (actually Dec 2009, but close enough) there was a controversy about the exactly what was the worlds tallest building. For years the question has always been weather you count spires and antennas or just go by the highest occupied floor? If you count spires and not antennae the twin Petronas towers in Kulua Lempur were the tallest at 1483 feet. But if you count antennae then the title was in the hands of the Sears Tower in Chicago at 1729 feet. Highest occupied floor honors were also held by the Sears Tower and the highest roof at 1483 feet. Then came Taipei 101, just finished in 2004 in Taipei Taiwan has a spire that reaches to 1667. It also now holds the record for the highest roof and the highest occupied floor. Until they were knocked down the World Trade Center in New York was always in contention.

Well, the battle is over. Dedicated in January of 2010 is the tower in Dubi, United Arab Emirates. It eclipses everything at over a half mile high. It is the tallest structure every built by humans. It is a skyscraper at 2,717 ft tall. It took 6 years to build and cost a whopping $1.5 Billion (that with a “b”).

Records held by Burj Khalifa

Tallest skyscraper to top of spire: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously Taipei 101 – 509.2 m/1,671 ft)
Tallest structure ever built: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously Warsaw radio mast – 646.38 m/2,121 ft)
Tallest extant structure: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously KVLY-TV mast – 628.8 m/2,063 ft)
Tallest freestanding structure: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously CN Tower – 553.3 m/1,815 ft)
Building with most floors: 160 (previously Willis Tower – 108)
World's highest elevator installation, situated inside a rod at the very top of the building
World's fastest elevators at speed of 64 km/h (40 mph) or 18 m/s (59 ft/s) (previously Taipei 101 – 16.83 m/s)
Highest vertical concrete pumping (for a building): 606 m (1,988 ft) (previously Taipei 101 – 449.2 m/1,474 ft)
Highest vertical concrete pumping (for any construction): 606 m (1,988 ft) (previously Riva del Garda Hydroelectric Power Plant – 532 m/1,745 ft)
The first world's tallest structure in history to include residential space
Highest outdoor observation deck in the world (124th floor) at 442 m (1,450 ft)
World's highest mosque (located on the 158th floor)
World's highest installation of an aluminum and glass façade, at a height of 512 m (1,680 ft)
World's highest swimming pool (76th floor)

Tall buildings have always been an interest. Just look at the design the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed in the 50’s, it was building that was to be a mile high. (Lot’s of people suggested that it be built to replace the WTC). But what’s all the height about? What’s it all for? What’s the money spent in these endeavors really all about? Well, actually, I think its bragging rights. Bragging rights are important to us as human beings. Be honest, If you take the new tower in Dubai out of the picture how many of you think the Sears Tower should hold the record over the Petronas Towers and even the Taipei 101 because if you count it’s antennae it’s really the tallest. We want “our guy” to win, even though we really don’t have any more of a real connection to the Sears Tower than the Petronas Towers. The Petronas Towers are a center for world banking. Sears sold the Sears tower long ago.

Bragging rights is really what it’s all about. And that’s just what the people in our Old Testament lesson were talking about. “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” If we build a tall tower we will be important and we can stay right here and bask in our glory and our achievement. It’s the “If we build it they will come” idea on a grand scale. And they even talked about using the “state of the art” construction techniques that would be necessary to build such a tower. “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Most buildings in those days were built with dried bricks. They wanted their tower to last.

And the work began. They were proud of their accomplishments. It was the power of positive thinking at work. Slowly the tower rose, higher and higher. They must have thought that nothing was greater than their tower, and nothing was greater than the ones who were building it.

And then we have a very interesting turn of phrase in the text. ⁵And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. Moses, the one who wrote this text for us to read, is saying something important. Even though the “children of men” thought that their tower was the greatest thing since sliced bread, God had to “come down” to see it. Moses is using a literary device called Anthropomorphism to make a point. (That’s speaking about God as if he were a person.) The point is that from God’s vantage point the great work of these people wasn’t even tall enough for God to see without coming down. The picture he wants you to have in your mind is of someone squatting down with their face pressed against the ground to view an ant hill. After all their efforts at greatness their accomplishment this great tower they are building is really nothing at all from God’s perspective. It’s a puny little ant hill that God has to stoop down even to see.

So what exactly was wrong with what they were doing? What’s wrong with a little human ingenuity? What’s wrong with building tall buildings and making a name for yourself? Is God just afraid of losing power because “nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” What’s wrong with building a tower anyway? The key here is a very small word in the first part of the text. “Let us build…” Let us do it… not “Let’s see if God would have us do it…” or even “Let’s do it for the good of all people.” “Let us… according to our own will… according to our own power… according to our own ability.” What they were saying was, in effect, we don’t need God to reach the heavens. We don’t need God to be all that we can be. In fact if we stick together, if we are just unified, if we depend on one another, we can do with out God altogether. If we can unite in building this tower we can prove that we can do whatever we want. We can be in charge for ourselves. If we build this great tower we can build our own way up to God. And this tower itself will prove that nothing is impossible for us.

And on that point God agreed. “Nothing they propose to do will be impossible.” But, God’s mind is different than ours. God knows the evil that runs in the hearts of people. When God says “nothing they propose,” he knows what kind of evil will naturally result. He’s not worried about the building of great skyscrapers, that’s not the kind of thing He’s working to prevent. It’s the great evil that lives right in here even in our hearts. He knows about the lies that allow people to claim each other as property. He knows about the pride that leads to holocausts, slaughter of millions. He knows about the selfish ambitions the leaves thousands of dead soldiers lying on bloody beaches. He knows about the evil arrogance that leads to tourcher chambers and mass graves in the desert. When God said, “nothing they propose will be impossible,” I don’t even want to know about the evil that he was acting to prevent, when he confused the languages and caused them to be scattered instead of unified he was protecting mankind for the evil that consumes us. But that’s where man is when he sets aside God, when he “goes it on his own.” History bears it out in spades. Just think what it could have become if people were unified in their evil with a common language.

Even now after God scattered the human race through the confusing of language. We continue to build. And God still kneels down to look at our puny towers… All the things we depend on instead of him. All the things we use to say, “We really don’t need you God. We can do it on our own.” We depend on technology; faster computers; smaller portable telephones; stem cell research; miracle drugs; bigger airplanes; we build it all to make names for ourselves. It’s not that these things are bad, just when they take the place of God; just when we turn them into towers of our accomplishment.

You and I have prideful towers we have built too. Just think for a moment about the things we use to help us to “make it on our own” and “make names for ourselves.” Just think about how we depend on all those things more than we depend on God. We really haven’t scattered far from that “baked brick structure.” We float along in life pretty well, feeling pretty much in control, standing at the foot of our man-made towers, using our Sunday church attendance to keep God right where he belongs. And when trouble comes we even may even pay God lip service through prayer. But really we believe that if we are just strong enough we can get through our problems by ourselves. Like when we have to face death in the family we say things like “I can get through this” or “I’m a strong person he’ll survive” or “If my faith is strong enough I can survive this trouble.” We live life and deal with trouble as if God lets us suffer so that we can show how strong we are. So we can build our own tower of strength and show how we really don’t need Him at all. So much for the towers we build for ourselves, weather they are built from burned bricks or silicone or just our own self-esteem. It all comes out the same. We want our bragging rights. We want to be in our own control. The sin of the people at Babel is our sin. That’s because all sin is rebellion, the desire to be apart from God. That’s our connection to those “baked bricks” of Babel.

Back at the Tower of Babel, God broke up the people’s pride by breaking up their communication. He scattered them across the face of the earth to prevent greater evil. He breaks our pride by allowing trouble and pain in our lives. That trouble and pain show us that we are fully and completely dependant on Him. Death shows us how helpless we really are. How scattered we become when we push God away.

But the God that scattered is also the God who gathers. The same God who took away the ability to communicate gave it back again. That’s what happened on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came and turned dis-unity, scattered people, dis-united, scattered language, into unified people who each heard “the mighty works of God” in their own language. It was a return to Babel, actually it was “Babel undone.” But God didn’t bring this unity so that those people could once again build a tower, a monument to their own interests. He did it to bring the true unity in Jesus Christ. Remember the “mighty works of God!”

Human beings naturally want to take care of things themselves. It’s because of sin that is in the deepest parts of our hearts. We want to earn our own way. We think that if we just build a tower tall enough we can make it to God on our own. If we just do enough good things we’ll be right up there with him. But God undoes that plan by having Jesus, His own Son, accomplish salvation for us. Jesus does everything necessary for us to be with God. We want to build our own mountain to reach God. But God has Jesus climb the mountain of Golgotha and hang on a cross for us instead. We want to make it to God by making our own false religion where our good works and efforts count for everything. God gives us the only true religion where we are brought to God only through the free gift of His only Son. He gives Jesus to die for the sins of the whole world. All the sin of pride, and self-promotion, all the sin of depending on the things we make with our own hands, all the sin of leaning on everything but God, all the sin of wanting our own bragging rights; all of our sin was taken to the cross of Jesus. The pride that separates us from God is put to death there. With all of that done away with, God can start building.

Yea, God is a builder. It’s God who really does the building that makes a difference. He’s a much better builder we are. Mile high buildings might be impressive to us but to God they are nothing. The building He does is right here (in our Church) and it’s nothing like any building that we could ever hope to do. St. Peter talked about it: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” (Acts 2:39-38 ESV) What is torn down is build up by God. What is scattered is drawn together by the Breaking of Bread. Just look at the difference.

⁴¹So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. ⁴²And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:41-47 ESV)

The signs and wonders that we are told about here isn’t the building of skyscrapers, it is God turning hearts toward Jesus, through the work of the Holy Spirit. It’s the miracle of people being devoted to the Apostle’s teaching. That’s God building using His Word. It’s the miracle of God putting His name on people, making a name for them, through the Water of Baptism. It’s the miracle of God building up faith through the Breaking of Bread, the eating and drinking of the Bread and Wine and Body and Blood of Jesus. God’s building program seems to us to be un-impressive. Steel structures are more to our liking. They seem more important. But God’s way isn’t like our way. He’s the one who decides what is and isn’t important he builds in the way that he chooses, and he makes his building successful.

That what’s going on here again today, God’s successful building: Here we have the apostle’s teaching, the breaking of bread and prayers. It’s God building again. He’s building something more important that a tall-tower. In His Word and Sacraments, through the work of the Holy Spirit, He’s building up faith in you. Not so that you can take care of yourself, not so that you can depend on yourself, but so that you trust more and more in Jesus and less and less on yourself. You see, in the things of God all the bragging rights belong to Jesus. If you want to brag about something brag about him. As St. Paul says,“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 10:17, ESV) Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Acts.1.6-11; May 16, 2010; Ascension of Our Lord (observed);

2010-05-16T15:23:00.001-05:00

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” ” (Acts 1:6–11, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

There they stood on the Mount of Olives gazing up into heaven. For all they could tell Jesus was gone. A cloud took him away. I think they were wondering what to do next. Of course Jesus told them,

“…you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (v. 8)

But how could they possibly do that without Jesus? As they were standing there with their mouths hanging open in wonder the angels appeared. “Hey, why are you looking up there? You’re looking for Jesus in the wrong place. Look for him, instead, where he has promised to be. He’ll come again just like that. You’ll see him that way again. But for now, he’s giving you something else.” The disciples were there standing in two great promises. First, the angels tell of the promise of Jesus coming again. We Christians stand with the disciples in between. Jesus came first in the womb of the Virgin. He completed all that was necessary for our forgiveness. His life lived for you and me. His death died for you and me. His resurrection too for us. Everything is done. He goes into heaven and is coming again to bring it all to its conclusion; a world without sin and death and pain and sorrow. That’s the joy of the Ascension. That is the ultimate joy of those baptized into God’s name. We are his children, adopted through Holy Baptism by God putting his name and promises on us with water. We live our lives looking forward to Jesus’ glorious return, just as he promised.

To put some flesh on the second promise of the Ascension we turn back to St. Luke’s Gospel, the Gospel reading for today. Jesus promises the disciples what they’ll be doing.

“…repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in [Jesus] name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you.” (Luke 24:47-49, ESV)

The Good News of Jesus is going to go out from Jerusalem. They are witnesses of these things; the forgiveness of sins that Jesus has won. They saw his life. They saw his miracles. They heard his teaching. They saw his death. They were witnesses to his resurrection. When he promises they know it is true. The one who can rise from the dead can do whatever he promises. The disciples are the ones sent with this Good News the forgiveness of sins won by Jesus. And they do not go alone. Jesus’ Ascension comes with the promise of the Holy Spirit. He is the promise of the Father. It is through the Holy Spirit that Jesus promise to be with us always is true. He is with us in God’s Word and worship, in Bread and Wine and Water. Creating and strengthening faith in Jesus, through the proclamation of repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

These are the two great promises of the Ascension and we confess them in the Apostles’ Creed when we confess the story of Jesus:

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

Jesus sits at that right hand of God. As one of my seminary professors says, “The right hand is what you use to do things.” (Norman Nagel, 2010) What God is doing right now in the world he is doing with his right hand, Jesus. In his life, death and resurrection Jesus gains forgiveness for you. His “It is finished” on the cross restores your broken relationship with God. He takes your sin, your deserved punishment into the grave, and rises to your new life. He is active and working right now in your ears, on your wet head, and in your mouth. In fact, this means that Jesus is closer now than he has ever been. It is what Jesus did on the cross, delivered. In these means, the spoken word, water, and bread and wine, he delivers forgiveness to you.

It’s as Luther confessed in the Small Catechism:

What benefits does Baptism give? It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. (Small Catechism, The Sacrament Holy Baptism)

What is the benefit of this eating and drinking? These words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. (Small Catechism, The Sacrament of the Altar)

There is nothing more practical than the daily remembering of the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ. Every day we sin. Every day we live with the knowledge of broken relationships, broken promises, and broken dreams. Every day we struggle with the knowledge that death waits for us. It is ours because of sin. But we live every day also in the promises of the Crucified One, the Risen One, the Ascended One, the One Who is Coming Again to be our judge. For those who are his children, Jesus’ return is not a day of dread or fear. We already know the Judge. What God promises is already true. Jesus is already, right now, our judge. He has declared us “not guilty” through his cross, his word, and his sacraments. We are his forgiven children now. We can only be lost from him if we reject his promises to us, wanting to be our own savior. We look forward to his return, because then we will see him, just as the Ascension angels promised. We will be with Jesus forever. This great Ascension joy compels us to live differently. Forgiven sinners forgive sinners. We forgive those who sin against us and strive to live our lives according to God’s will.

This is the joy of the Ascension. There is no question as to why the Christian church has celebrated this as one of the highest festivals of the church year. We rejoice in Jesus coming the first time, in flesh and blood for our forgiveness. We rejoice in the message passed down to us through the Apostles; repentance and forgiveness of sins, proclaimed beginning at Jerusalem and ending in our ears. And we rejoice in our Lord’s second coming as our judge, our Savior. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Acts.11.1-18; Fifth Sunday of Easter; May 2, 2010

2010-05-03T06:50:00.000-05:00

Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” But Peter began and explained it to them in order: “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” ” (Acts 11:1–18, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Once in a small town church on a Sunday morning as the worshippers were gathering almost ready to begin there was a huge roar out side the church. It was the deafening and unmistakable sound of machinery, motorcycles. The windows of the church rattled as the engines roared, and then there was silence. The congregation all looked at the pastor who was standing in front ready to begin. The silence was very loud. It seemed to last for a lifetime. The doors of the church opened and in walked two bikers. They were dressed in leather, unshaven, dark bandanas on their heads. The usher froze. He didn’t know what to do. One of the men grinned at him and took two worship folders. Still in shock the usher moved aside and the pair found a seat near the back of the church. For everyone the service felt odd. They did everything just as they had always done, and yet, it seemed different. When everything was finished, the bikers left greeting the pastor on the way out the door. “Thanks,” was their only comment. The others waiting to greet the pastor stood still until the sound of engines roared again and began to fade in the distance.

“Well, what do you think of that?” said one of the faithful, lifelong members. She was an elderly woman. “Pastor,” she said, “why do we let people like that into the church?”

“Well,” came the answer, “we let you in didn’t we?”

“Peter, why do we let folks like that into the church? Those are gentiles! They are unclean. They do things that we don’t understand. They don’t bathe like we do. They ride scruffy donkeys. They wear weird cloths.” The problems of the circumcision party we can readily understand. Their sins are our sins. How would we feel if a bunch of bikers walked in the door and took our pews? Oh, and it’s easy to say we’d be happy to have them. But you and I both know, there have been from time to time, complaints about folks who are members of our congregation, those wishing that so-and-so would just go somewhere else. We say the good news of Jesus is for everyone, until we have to sit next to someone who doesn’t look like we do. Or someone who did something to my family member…

Apparently, Peter was just as thick as we are. God had to show him a vision, a PowerPoint presentation in his brain. Until then, it seems, he wasn’t too keen on gentile Christians. Well, after all they were Gentiles! They weren’t allowed in the temple. They ate whatever they wanted to eat, totally disregarding the distinctions between what was clean and unclean. So God intervened. Peter was shown a sheet full of animals that he wasn’t supposed to eat.

“Kill and eat!” was God’s command.

“But God, those are unclean animals and you know that I would never eat unclean animals.”

“Peter, You do not understand. ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.”

God repeated the presentation three times, just to make sure that the message penetrated Peter’s stony skull. When the vision was over gentiles appeared at the door. Peter went with them.

“When I preached the Word of God to them and told them of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, they received the Holy Spirit. They believed it. They trusted in Jesus for their forgiveness. They have faith. I had to baptize them.” He sounds as surprised as we would be about bikers in the back of church. But Jesus is clear. He has made them clean, that is forgiven, through faith in his sacrifice on the cross. We cannot set additional requirements on God’s gift of salvation. What God has made clean, through Jesus blood, we dare not call unclean.

Well, I guess we are really a bit off the hook here anyway. After all, when was the last time that a real visitor darkened our narthex door? Most of our visitors are family, after all. I’m not sure if that’s because we’ve mistreated people in the past, or if it’s just a new cultural thing NOT to visit churches. Here in our little Sumner street hideaway we don’t get much chance to talk to our brand of gentiles. But I wonder if we would really want them here anyway. You know the truth is we have contact to folks outside of these doors that we don’t even try to bring in here. We avoid talking about our church, partly because we think folks won’t understand what goes on here anyway, and partly because if there’s communion we don’t want to tell them they can’t come. Yes, we do have our gentiles, too. Just go a few blocks east. How many of you would volunteer to knock on doors in that neighborhood. Maybe God has to give us a PowerPoint presentation to the brain. We are guilty like Peter. Actually, we are sinners like Peter. What God has made clean we have chosen to ignore.

So, in light of our sin, oh and I’m not just talking about our ‘gentile’ ignoring sin, I’m talking about all our sin; our fights with our family; our self serving discussions with co-workers; our secret desires and longing that fall well outside God’s commandments; our unwillingness to forgive the neighbor; yea, you know what I mean our sin, your sin, my sin, the sin that God says deserves death and eternal punishment, in light of that sin, not forgetting our ‘gentile ignoring sin’, would you say that you are righteousness enough to go to heaven? You are clean? You are perfect as God demands? How many say “no?”

This is exactly why we have confirmation, exactly why we have Sunday school, bible class, and why God provides for us this place to receive his gift of forgiveness. Look at the cross here. (As you know I’d like it much better if we had one with Jesus on it). Look at what Jesus did for you here. St. Paul says it like this:

For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. ” (Romans 5:19, ESV)

The disobedience is ours in Adam, who sinned first and destined us all to be unclean sinners. The one who obeyed is Jesus Christ. He got it right. He lived for the benefit of everyone around him (and you and me). He followed God’s commandments perfectly. He loved the bikers and the Division street crowd. He was obedient to God even though it meant that he had to hang on the cross and suffer the full anger of God over sin. He does this for the forgiveness of your sin. This forgiveness is God’s way of saying that you are clean. Satan has his way. He stands right behind you and urges you to look at other folks as if they are undeserving of forgiveness. And you believe him. Then he turns on you. “You hypocrite! You’re just as bad as he is. If you were better you’d not think that way about other people.” God says differently in Jesus Christ. Your sin is forgiven. You are a child of God. You are washed clean of your sin. I put this font up here in front so I can point to it and remind you of your washing. When God washes away the filth of your sin. You are as clean as the water that is used and the Word of God that goes with it. And here’s the best part. It is true for you right now. You are clean right now. Jesus blood was shed for you right now, not for some future time. Just like every morning when you crawl out of bed, trip your way to the shower and push the soap around your body, every morning God declares you to be clean again. From Luther’s Catechism:

What does such baptizing with water indicate?

It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

He does this not because you get it right, but because you get it wrong. Heaven isn’t the gift we receive when our body lays in the casket and our friends and family morn our death. It is what we get right now. It is what we are right now. You and I are part of the holy Christian church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins… You see? You are clean. Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross to make it so. You are clean. Washed in his blood. Bathed in his forgiveness. Clean of the stink of sin. All because of Jesus’ for you. That means we dare not call unclean what God calls clean.

So there it is. When the bikers come and sit back there and push you out of your regular pew. When that church member you just don’t like does what they always do that drives you batty. When you argue with your family, or do the disgusting thing you can’t seem to not do; Go to the font, there Jesus drowns your old Adam, in this water, he pushes him under. Let him die. You are God’s pure and holy child. Arise and live before God in righteousness and purity forever. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

For Seminary Graduates who Did Not Receive a Call

2010-05-02T07:55:00.001-05:00

This post is worth reading and the audio like to Pr. Matt Harrison's message at the sem is worth listening:

http://cyberbrethren.com/2010/05/01/what-would-you-need-to-hear-if-you-had-not-received-a-call-to-be-a-pastor-this/

http://dizzysound.net/media/RevHarrison_April30_2010.mp3

Lord, have mercy! Christ, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

John 10:22-30; Good Shepherd Sunday; April 25, 2010

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At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

(a homily by Rev. Will Weedon, Saint Paul Lutheran Church, Hamel, IL)

Once upon a time (a real time, mind you, not an imagined one), there was a wolf. He was a fat old thing. You see, he had it pretty easy. Whenever he wanted to eat, he only had to walk his door of his cave and look at the sheep that fed right outside. He’d eye this one or that one. And then he’d go after it and with a pretty minimal struggle, he’d bring the sheep down and eat away. And the more that he ate, the bigger he got, and the bigger he grew, the hungrier he got. He was a wicked old thing; sometimes he’d just poke his head out the door and howl. All the sheep began to shiver at the very sound of him. He’d chuckle to himself. “Yes, you better be afraid, you stupid sheep because one of these days I am going to eat you, and it won’t be pleasant, oh no it won’t. Ha! Ha!” This big, bad wolf, you see, had a name. A name of fear. The sheep had only to think of his name and they’d get wobbly on their knees and some would faint outright. His name, you see, was Death. And Death was always hungry and never satisfied. Always eating sheep and always wanting more. And he stank. The very smell of him was worse than his name or his howl. He was altogether dreadful, let me tell you! He was in charge and all the sheep knew it.

There came a day when he was feeling hungrier than usual. He poked his head out the cave door to roar and he couldn’t believe his eyes. Why, right there in front of his door, on his very door-step almost was the fattest, juiciest sheep he’d ever laid his eyes on. The effrontery of it! He drew in the air to fill his vast lungs and then he let out a stone-splitting howl. All the other sheep in the vicinity turned tail and ran. They were afraid. All but the sheep that grazed still just outside his cave. That sheep paid him no heed at all. Kept on eating, just like it hadn’t even heard him. He was getting mad now. He came bounding out the door and right up to that impertinent animal. Again he sucked the air into his lungs and this time he breathed out right in the sheep’s face. The sheep looked up and blinked as the hideous odor of decay was blasted in its face. Totally unconcerned the sheep blinked and then stared.

Now the wolf was getting himself into quite a tizzy. “Don’t you know who I am?” he snarled. The sheep looked at him and said: “Yes. I know.” Calm, at peace even. The other sheep began to creep back at a distance to watch. They couldn’t believe what they were witnessing. “Well,” snarled the Wolf, “aren’t you afraid?” The sheep looked Death, that old wolf, right in the eyes and said: “Of you? You have got to be kidding!” Now the wolf was so livid with anger that he spoke low and menacing: “You’re for it, lamb chops. You are not going to have it easy. I’m going to take you out slow and painfully.” There was a moment of silence and then the sheep said: “I know.”

The other sheep had all been watching because they’d never heard anything like this before. But the moment that the wolf pounced they turned away. A great sadness filled them. They had thought, well, they had scarcely dared to hope, but it was just possible that, this once, the wolf wasn’t going to get his way. But their hopes were dashed. It was an awful and an ugly sight. The wolf chowed down. It was slow and it was painful, just like he said. And in the end, there was nothing left. He turned his rude face, red with blood to the other sheep, and he belched. They turned tail and ran, knowing that he’d be back for them one day soon.

As the wolf went back to his cave, he took out a tooth pick and cleaned his teeth and he thought that he’d never tasted a sheep that was quite so good before. Nothing tough about that meat. It was tender and rich and really altogether satisfying. The thought hit him with surprise. It was almost as though his insatiable hunger had actually been quenched for once. The thought was a little disturbing. Well, no matter, he thought. And off he went to bed.

When the morning came the wolf wasn’t feeling quite himself. It was almost as though he were getting a bit of tummy ache. Such a thing never happened. He always woke up ravenous and went off to start eating first thing in the morning. At least a dozen or so sheep before the dew was off the grass. But not this morning. His tummy WAS grumbling. By noon he was feeling more than discomfort. He was feeling positively ill. He who had brought such pain on those poor sheep, he was getting a taste of pain himself and it was most unpleasant. He kept thinking back to that impertinent sheep he had eaten yesterday afternoon, the one that had tasted so strangely good. Could it have actually been poisoned or something? It wasn’t long before he stopped thinking altogether. The pain was just too great. He rolled around on the floor of his den and his howled and yammered.

The sheep heard the sound and didn’t quite know what to make of it all. They crept cautiously nearer and nearer to the door of his house and turned their heads listening. What could it mean?
It was sometime in the dark of the night that the wolf let out a shuddering howl. Something was alive and moving inside its own gullet. Something that pushed and poked and prodded until with a sudden burst, the gullet was punctured and hole ripped open. And something, rather, someone stepped right out through the hole, right out of the massive stinking stomach. The wolf felt like he was dying. And I suppose in a way he was.

The figure that stepped out of the wolf’s belly was totally unknown to the wolf. Why, it looked like a shepherd. He’d heard of such a critter, but had never actually met one. With a staff in his hand he walked around and stood facing the wolf. And he began to laugh. He laughed and his laugher burst open the door of the wolf’s house. He laughed and the sheep were filled with bewilderment wondering what was going on in there. He laughed and he looked the wolf right in the eye.

“So, you don’t recognize me, old foe? It was I who ate outside your house three days ago. ‘Twas I that you promised would die horribly and how you kept your promise. But what do you propose to do about me now?”

“You? The wolf gasped. The voice was the same; he recognized it. This shepherd was indeed the sheep whom he had swallowed down. “You. But how? Oh, the pain!” The shepherd smiled and said: “Well, I think you’re pretty harmless now, my friend. Go on and try to eat some of my sheep. I promise you that as fast as you swallow them down I will lead right out through the hole I made in your stomach. And then you’ll never be able to touch them again! Ta!”

The wolf howled in fear and anger and rage, but there was nothing he could do. The Shepherd had tricked him, fooled him good! And the Shepherd then stepped outside the door and called the sheep together. They knew his voice too. They’d heard it before. They stood before the Lamb who had become the Shepherd and they listened as he told them what would happen to them. “You’ll die too. He’ll come out in a few days and be hungrier than ever. He’ll swallow you down. But don’t worry. I punched a hole right through his belly and I promise you I’ll bring you out again.”

Once upon a time, and the time was 2,000 years ago. But the promise still holds: “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand.” It is the comfort of the Resurrection that Christ reaches us today in his Supper. Here we may taste the body and blood that went into the wolf’s mouth, but which the wolf could not hold. As you eat and drink you have the same promise: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life!” Let the old wolf howl and snarl all he will. We know about the hole in his tummy. We know about the Sheep who is the Shepherd. Our Good Shepherd. Amen!

John 10:11-18; Good Shepherd Sunday; April 25, 2010

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I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (John 10:11-18, ESV)

Dear Christian Friends;

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. I’m going to do something that I don’t usually do, but it is by request. My daughter loves the story I told last year on Good Shepherd Sunday. And I think it is very much worth hearing again. This story is one I borrowed from Pastor Will Weedon, Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church, Hamel, IL.

(a homily by Rev. Will Weedon, Saint Paul Lutheran Church, Hamel, IL)

John.21.1-14; Third Sunday of Easter, 2010; April 18, 2010

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After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. ” (John 21:1–14, ESV)

“Our God is the God for people who make mistakes.”

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Alleluia! Christ has risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

You’ve heard that old joke. Earlier today I was sure I had made a mistake. I wasn’t sure because it is so rare for a guy like me. But upon reflection, after thinking about it for a long time, I realized that I was mistaken. I didn’t make a mistake after all… oh wait; I guess I just made one. Maybe the other thing was a mistake after all? Well, that’s not me. I make mistakes all the time. Lot’s of times the mistakes I make are right out in front of everyone. Have you made a mistake this morning? Preparing to come to church, did you use the wrong toothpaste, use too much hot water in the shower and leave everyone else cold? Make a wrong turn? Say the wrong thing to your spouse?

Really though, those kind of mistakes are one thing, we’ve all made mistakes like those, but we’ve all made another kind, too. I’m talking about the ones that keep you up at night. The ones you have to keep pushing into the back chamber of your mind. I’m talking about relationship destroying mistakes, bridge burning mistakes. Things you did that change your life in ways you never liked. The ones you say to yourself even years later, “If only I had done that differently.” I’m talking about the kind of mistakes that eat away at you in regret. Now they’re not always big mistakes either, sometimes the littlest thing can bubble up in your memory, like a minor offense against a long lost friend that can now never be taken back.

Now before we go on I want to make a point. It would be a mistake to classify all our sin as mistakes. That makes it seem that all our problems are accidental, as if somehow we weren’t to blame because (as we often say) “nobody’s perfect.” That’s just an excuse to try to push the blame away. Let’s be clear. We are sinful people. We live in the sin that we were born with. We can point at our parents and blame them because we inherited our sad state from them, but we have plenty of blame on our own. The mistakes that we make accidentally are only a by-product of that sin. In confirmation class we talk about “not living in a perfect relationship with God.” The First commandment says, “You shall have no other Gods. What does this mean? We should fear and love God above all things.” And we don’t. Primarily we love ourselves above all things. That’s the real nature of sin. We want to be god instead of letting God be god. When our selfishness shatters that part of the law; all the rest, all nine of other commandments, fall down like dominoes. Without a perfect relationship with God, it is impossible to have a perfect relationship with anyone else. Mistakes, especially those in our relationships with other people, are a part of that “not living in a perfect relationship with God.” The regret that we feel, the self inflicted pain that we suffer is the law that is written on our hearts that tells us that things should be different.

Today’s texts are about mistakes. Well to be more accurate they are about God (that’s really the case with the whole bible). These texts are about the God who is the God for people who make mistakes. And talk about regrets, St. Paul had a whole bucket full of them. He had no illusions about where he was before Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. He wrote in his letter to Pastor Timothy:

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. (1 Ti 1:15-16, ESV)

When Paul was still called Saul he “breathed threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord…” He didn’t just make life tough for them; he did everything he could to cause them to be killed. When we first see him he is standing among a crowd of angry people, approving of their stoning of Stephen. “I stood watching and approving.” He said later. Paul wasn’t just an enemy of Christ’s Church; he was an outspoken and active persecutor of it. There was real blood on his hands. In some ways it puts our simple regrets to shame. And he had no illusions about who he was. And yet, Jesus met him on the road. Paul, chief of sinners, because Jesus greatest Apostle. Had Paul made mistakes? Yep, did Jesus forgive? Yep. And look at the result.

Now the disciples too were plagued by mistakes. When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the garden, they ran for their lives like scared rabbits. They left Jesus alone, even though they knew exactly who he was: They had seen miracle after miracle, and heard every word he spoke. And Peter even more. When he was confronted with being Jesus disciple as a he stood outside at Jesus trial, he denied that he knew the man who he saw walk on water, and who invited him to do the same. “I will lay down my life for you!” Peter told Jesus, but to the woman who accused him of being a disciple, he said with a curse, “I am not!” I think you can see their regret. Remember where they were on the first evening of Jesus resurrection? After they had heard from the women that Jesus was alive? They were huddled together in a darkened room with the doors locked, “for fear of the Jews.” And maybe even for fear of Jesus. They had left him to the cross. Peter had denied. When the news of Jesus alive again reached them I can imagine they really weren’t all that anxious to see him again. “If only I hadn’t done that.” “If only I hadn’t said that.” The minds must have been full of regret. Their actions, their failed courage, their running and hiding and denying, were all mistakes they must have wished they could take back. But as I said Jesus is the God for people who make mistakes. When he appeared to them, the very first time after the resurrection, he said, “Peace be with you.”

John tells us another account of Jesus appearing to them. When they didn’t know what to do they went fishing. It sounded like a good plan. But even though they were accomplished, professional fisherman, they didn’t catch anything. Jesus appeared to them and directed (even though they didn’t know it was him) and directed them to a large catch. I must have seemed just like the old days! Peter swam ashore, and the disciples dragged the net ashore. Jesus allays all their fears and eats with them. It was a sign of forgiveness and acceptance. It was like saying “Peace be with you” again. Jesus appeared to bring them peace, to remove their regrets, to accept them in spite of their mistakes.

Jesus accepts you in spite of your mistakes. But you should know that he doesn’t just sweep them under the rug. Remember the real problem isn’t mistakes it’s “not living in a perfect relationship with God.” That’s our real problem. That the real nature of sin in us. And what we deserve for that is God’s anger. He wants to be in relationship with him and we simply push him away, for our own selfish reasons, because we want to be our own god. Imagine how hurt you’d be if you invited someone to diner and they just said, “No. I won’t come and eat with you.” Well, Jesus takes care of our broken relationship. First, he did live in a perfect relationship with God, the Father. That first commandment that we can’t begin to keep; Jesus did, and all the other nine, too. Perfect, complete, and finished. And then he took stood in our place as God let out all his anger against sinful people. As Jesus hung on the cross dying, he wasn’t just suffering from nail holes and struggling to live, he was suffering what human beings should have suffered. Eternal punishment for their rejection of God. Jesus withstood the punishment of hell for you. Jesus withstood the death of sinful people for you. We are selfish, he was selfless. In love he gave up his life and he suffered punishment for you. Now because he suffered the punishment, we don’t have it to suffer anymore. Through faith in Jesus we are connected to God again. Our imperfect relationship is made a perfect. You see, he doesn’t just sweep aside sin; he deals with it in the only way it can be dealt with. The punishment is received and the relationship is restored.

Since regret and mistakes are only a symptom of the real problem they all go with it. Mistakes, and regret, willful sin and accidents, hurts and pain, trouble and sorrow follow Jesus in death into the tomb. But only life comes out again when he rises from the dead. That’s why he can bring peace to the disciples. The peace he brings evaporates the regret they feel from their mistakes and failures. That’s why he can turn Saul to Paul, and along with a name change a change of heart. Paul’s regrets are done away with and Jesus uses him. And even you, even the regrets that you have… they are done away with by Jesus. Those mistakes that you made are taken care of.

You might well ask the question, why would I want to be a Christian? Why would I want to be religious? Out there every day, and more and more every day, when you leave our little ‘protected’ corner of the world, you are going to find a world that is hostile to your faith. You will be challenged in your faith from every direction. You will have bosses, friends and family who will tell you that your church is old fashioned and doesn’t really know the true nature of things. They will tell you that the world is the result of accidental forces of nature not created by any god. They will tell you that if you believe homosexual behavior is a sin you are some kind of bigot. Your friends and family will tell you that sex outside of marriage isn’t wrong and everyone cheats a little bit. And you will be tempted to keep quiet when you know the truth of God’s Word. And you know what? You are going to make mistakes. You are a sinful person. Life is challenging. Why do you want to be religious? Why is Christianity so important to you today and tomorrow and all the rest of your life? It’s not the reason most people think. It’s not because you’re going to be perfect, or even because you’ll get to be better than anyone else. It’s because you will make mistakes. You will sin. You will fall short of your expectations. But our God is the only true God, He is Jesus Christ, and he is the God for people who make mistakes. He is the only One who has taken the regret that you are going to feel and put it to death, and buried it in the grave right along with the punishment that your sin deserves, right were it belongs. The very same thing that Jesus did for the disciples and Peter on that beach in Galilee, the very same thing that he did for Saul / Paul on the road to Damascus, is what he has done for you. And that’s what it means to be a Christian. That’s what it means to belong to the God who is the God for people who make mistakes. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ has risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

John.20.19-23; Second Sunday after Easter; April 11, 2010

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On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” (John 20:19-23, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

“Peace be with you.” It was the normal greeting that people shared with one another. It was the everyday “hello” and “goodbye” the people spoke to one another without even thinking about what it meant. Like we say, “How are you?” not really wanting to know. But on the evening of that day that first day of the week, the first Sunday after the crucifixion, the first one after the disciples had heard the incredible, unbelievable news that Jesus had risen from the dead. It was so much more than just that kind of simple greeting. Those words coming from the lips of Jesus was everything to those men huddled together in the darkened upper room.

They were afraid of the Jews, the text says, and with good reason because the Jews that they were afraid of had the ear of the Romans. After all they were able to convince the Romans to crucify an innocent man. And the Romans never just stopped with the leader of a group they considered dangerous. The fear the disciples felt was real, and overwhelming. The Romans used crucifixion as a means of terror. “Don’t do what this guy did or the same will happen to you.” Suffering men and women on crosses made great billboards for the will and power of Rome. The disciples cowering in fear knew that first hand. And they also knew by example what the Jews who hated Jesus were capable of doing. They were afraid of the might be planned for them. And so they locked the doors and hid.

But, there might be more to their fear than just the fear of being crucified like Jesus. You see there was the betrayal to deal with. When Jesus had needed them most they all fled like scared rabbits. The one brief moment of defiance, the cutting off of a servant’s ear, was a lame excuse for a stand. When it mattered most they didn’t say or do anything. And Peter had the added pain of a public denial, “I don’t know the man!” he said with curses. Even though Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, they were all guilty of betrayal in one degree or another. And now… John and Peter had seen the grave empty. Mary claimed to see Jesus alive. It was difficult to believe. But even more, don’t you think that they were afraid to face Jesus alive, because they had all failed him when He faced death.

So there they were afraid in the upper room behind lock and key. Their ears pursed for marching footsteps. And they were afraid Jesus would come to visit them.

Jesus did come. He stood among them appearing without the door even opening. The disciples must have fled to the corners of the room wanting to escape the deserved wrath of God. He would surely be angry at their betrayal and their denial. Their sin was obvious and their punishment totally deserved. But, Jesus did the unexpected. “Peace be with you.”

That day, that greeting wasn’t the normal “hello” greeting between people. It was in fact very abnormal and especially what the disciples weren’t expecting. Of course there were doubts about the resurrection itself, but more so the doubts that Jesus could forgive them for their sin. In their minds their sins were great, they’re denial complete. They could have no part in Jesus anymore. But Jesus shattered all their fears when he spoke to them “Peace.”

Peace. To the disciples it meant more than the simple word peace means to us. In Hebrew the word is Shalom. Shalom is not just an absence of war. Shalom is a word about relationships. It speaks of wholeness, unity, and restoration. It speaks of completeness, satisfaction, and safety. In that one word Jesus spoke to all the fears of the men he stood before that day. They had broken their relationship with him, they had denied and betrayed him. They had forsaken him and left him for dead (they weren’t even there when his body was buried!). But Jesus restored them, in a word. “No matter what you have done, no matter how evil your thoughts, no matter how selfish, all is well, we are at peace.” It was good news for the disciples, in fact, the best news they had ever heard. Jesus forgave them and restored his relationship to them. They knew what they deserved from God for their betrayal. They deserved the painful death that Jesus died. They deserved the death that would have been theirs if they had not run in fear. But in spite of what deserved, they were forgiven.

Are you at peace with God? Maybe you don’t even remember being at war. “I’m not as bad as other people are. I go to church. I give plenty of money. I haven’t betrayed Jesus like Judas did.” If you think that you’d have done better in the garden than disciples did when they were faced with death or Jesus, I think you are deceiving yourself. But the question isn’t really weather you are better than other people, the question is; are you good enough to live up to God’s standards? God doesn’t just require our best effort, either. “I did the best I could do,” isn’t a defense for sin.

And there is sin in your life. There is sin in my life too. No matter how perfect you try to be you know your failures. “Honey did you forget to take out the trash again?” Your wife repeats with a little sharpness in her voice. You didn’t really forget you were just watching the game, and you put it out of your head. “You know better than that!” Your mother scolds. “I don’t want to see you do that again.” “Dave, that proposal isn’t what I asked for at all. Didn’t you listen to what I said?” “Weren’t you at the meeting?” “Do I have to check over everything you do?” We fall short of our expectations all the time. These are the experiences of sin in our lives. We can’t help it. We try. But we fail.

“Well, at least I don’t betray him, like the disciples did.” You say. “Well, I just don’t know about all this living together stuff.” You neighbor asks. “Things are different now then they used to be. As long as they love each I guess it is ok.” And you keep silent not wanting to cause a stir. “All religions are the same,” you hear, “as long as we are sincere in what we believe.” And the chance to witness to Jesus as the only Savior from sin slips away as you hold your tongue. For fear of rejection, or ridicule, or loss of reputation, or even loss of friendship we don’t speak up when we should. At least the disciples were afraid of death. What’s our excuse? We have none.

But again, we don’t have to deny Jesus or the truth of God’s Word to deserve death, all sin is a betrayal of God and his will for our lives. If you doubt that, just look at what sin leaves in its wake. Broken homes leave devastated children, parents don’t get divorced families do. Unchecked anger leads to violence. Lies lead to more lies and distrust. Alcohol abuse brings death. None of these things are what God wants for his human creatures. It is very much like the destruction of a war. All of it is the result of the denial of God. All of it is the result of sin. All of this is found right in your heart. If you examine yourself with an unbiased eye you see it clearly. You excuse it, minimize it, confine it to the back of your mind, but you know it’s there.

“Peace be with you.” Jesus says. And he is talking to you, “poor miserable sinners” all. You who have sinned against him in “though, word, and deed, by what you have done, and what you have left undone.” “Peace be with you.” Jesus says. “No matter what you have done, no matter how evil your thoughts, no matter how selfish, no matter how often you’ve fallen short of expectations, all is well, we are at peace.” That is the very reason Jesus walked the earth, to bring peace to you. That is the very reason Jesus suffered the shame and scorn of the cross, to bring peace to you. That is the very reason Jesus died the death that you deserved for denying him, to bring peace to you. And most of all, that is the very reason Jesus Christ rose from the dead, to bring peace to you. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, [Jesus] has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before [God]. (Col 1:21-22 ESV) He has restored your relationship with God. Peace is now where there once was hostility. Punishment that was deserved has now been paid. You are at peace with God.

What does it mean to be at peace with God? It means that no matter what, whenever you fail you have a place to go to find peace. Whenever you find yourself cowering in the darkness for fear of the consequences of sin you can run to him instead. Life can be hard when we fail. But God gives peace even in the middle of the darkness of consequences. Whenever you have hurt someone you can find the strength to make peace because God gives you peace. God first restores your relationship with him. The peace he gives you is what you need restore your broken relationships. God’s peace even covers our fear of speaking the truth in the face of charges of being intolerant. God’s peace, the peace that Jesus pronounced to the disciples so long ago is for you, and your life every day.

“Peace be with you,” Jesus says, “you are forgiven.” How often do you need to hear it? Me, I need it lots, because I am still a sinful and weak person. I need to hear it hear every Sunday, in the words of forgiveness spoken for Jesus. I need to hear it in the Lord’s Supper as often as it is available, “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” I need to hear it from my family whenever I’ve hurt them. And I need to hear it from you when I fail to live up to the responsibility of being your pastor.

“Peace be with you,” Jesus says, “you are forgiven.” I want you to hear it often, because I know that you need to hear it too. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.