Advent 3 Weekday Service, December 19, 2007, Ezek 47:1-12

Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side. Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to En-eglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” (Ezekiel 47:1-12, ESV)

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

“Come to Calv’ry’s holy mountain, Sinners, ruined by the fall; Here a pure and healing fountain Flows for you, for me, for all, In a full, perpetual tide, Opened when our Savior died” (LSB 435:1).

Christian artists have throughout history painted many different kinds of pictures of Jesus on the cross. They were attempting, in art, to portray the importance of what Jesus did there. How do you make a picture of the forgiveness of sins that comes to us through God’s Word and the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion? Many artists have pictured angels capturing the blood streaming from Jesus hands, feet and side, into Chalices. One picture captures the moment when the soldier pierces Jesus side with a spear, with a chalice collecting Jesus’ blood and the water flowing into a font, a Baptismal font. It’s a vision of God’s gifts to us through Jesus death, delivered to us through the means of Grace.

Well, that’s what Ezekiel’s vision that I’ve just read is about too. Ezekiel sees water flowing from the temple. Notice particularly he describes the water. It starts with a trickle, ankle deep, and then knee deep, then waist deep, then over his head, deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. He calls it living water. It watered trees on the bank, and brought life everywhere it went. There is a connection between Ezekiel’s vision and the water that flowed from Jesus side. Remember Ezekiel describes water flowing from the Temple.

St. John’s is the one who tells us.

Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness— his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth— that you also may believe. (John 19:31-35, ESV)

Blood and water flowed from Jesus body. John is also very careful to tell us that Jesus calls himself the temple.

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,” he said. The Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” “But he was speaking about the temple of his body” (John 2:19-21, ESV)

Just like Isaiah the water of life flows from Jesus.

“If anyone thirsts,” our Savior Said, “let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’ ” (John 7:37-38, ESV)

Jesus’ body is the temple. That’s what Ezekiel was talking about. In Jesus very body, God was present in bodily, human form, true God and true man united in a miraculous and mysterious way. When the soldier wanted to make Jesus dead, for sure, he drove the spear into His heart, and out flowed blood and water. I think of the picture from Mel Gibson’s movie, where the man was sprayed, drenched with water. That water, flows into Holy Baptism. That water is the water of live that gives us all that Jesus did; His life, death and resurrection for you and me. When we are drenched with the water of Baptism we are connected right to Jesus on the cross, right to His perfect life, right to His birth in Bethlehem, right to His resurrection, and even more importantly right to His coming again to judge the living and the dead.

Over the years the church has understood this very well. In fact, the early Christians used a symbol to remember their connection to Jesus in a vivid way. You may know that they used a fish to mark their worship places, as a secret symbol to guide each other, and bring them together. The reason they use a fish is because if you take the works Jesus Christ God’s Son, Savior in Greek Iesu~ Cristo~ qeu~ Uio~ Soter. But that’s not all there is to the fish symbol. They were also thinking of Ezekiel’s picture of the water of life.

Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.

Our brothers and sisters in Christ, oh, so long ago, thought of themselves as little fish who swam in the living water of Jesus, the water of Holy Baptism. One of the early church fathers wrote:

“But we little fish, like our Fish Jesus Christ, are born in water, and it is only by remaining in water that we are safe. Therefore . . . [the enemies of the faith] well knew how to slay the little fish by removing them from the water” (Tertullian, De Baptismo, para. 1; translated Alexander Souter, 1919).

Jesus says a much too.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16, ESV)

He actually gives His followers a purpose for living, in the water. This is what we are to be about as a church, even right here in Howard. If this purpose isn’t in our hearts, if this isn’t the reason we gather together and make plans and budgets, we are not doing what little fish should be doing.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV)

That life giving water flows from Jesus side flows to the whole world. It began as a little trickle. But the flood gates were opened. Peter preached at Pentecost. Repent and be baptized every one of you for the forgiveness of sins. 3000 little fish were born that day. And it didn’t stop there. Paul and Silas baptized the Roman Jailer and his family. And Philip baptized the Ethiopian Eunuch. We could recount each one of you, too. Here at this font you were born, little fish, in the water of Holy Baptism. The water of life flows from Jesus side to this small pan where you were born again into God’s family, having your sins forgiven.

This gift, Holy Baptism, is for you and your children. It is a wonderful gift for you. It is your connection to the Babe in the manger. It is your promise of eternal life through the forgiveness of sin. It is new life that flows from Jesus on the cross to you. Don’t let anyone take you, little fish, out of the water! Amen.

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

Advent 2 Weekday Service, Dec 12, 2007, Luke 12:50. The Ultimate Exodus

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I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! (Luke 12:50, ESV)

The Ultimate Exodus
(Inspired by a series by Rev. William Weedon.
Concordia Pulpit Resource, Volume 17, Part 4, Series C)

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

The bible, the book we hold as God’s only true and inspired word, is really built around to big events, two releases, two journeys, two great acts of salvation from slavery, a first and a second Exodus. Ours is the second, Christ on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. It is the second and greater, more important event. Without it all would be lost to sin, and death, and hell and Satan. We would be dead in our trespasses and sins. We would be lost. The first is God’s rescue of His people, the Israelites, from slavery in Egypt. These two events are very closely linked. The first points back to the second as a shadow of what was to come. The second points to the first as the most important event in human history. Now, I’ve heard it said that what happened so long ago can’t have any real importance for you and me, “modern people of the 21st century.” But it does. In fact, how we understand what Jesus has done for us is very deeply rooted in our understanding of what God did, when he rescued his people from Egypt, the Exodus.

First, we start by understanding that we are slaves. Our lives are full of suffering and pain. When a baby is first born it begins to die. Sickness and illness show us how helpless we are to prevent death. But it’s not just death. We are bound to our own selfishness. Inside our hearts are evil thoughts. Our passions lead us to murder, unfaithfulness, lies and death. We cannot escape. We are slaves to being human beings. We are slaves to our broken nature. The human race as always been this way living centuries of death and bloodshed. It cannot be changed. Just as the children who were born to the Jews in Egypt were born into slavery that they couldn’t do anything about, so are we born in slavery to what we can’t do anything about. We are born slaves to sin, death and Satan himself.

This situation is intolerable for us, but it is all we know. God is not content with human suffering. He didn’t create the world for this. He sent Moses to lead the children of Israel out of slavery to Pharaoh. God sends Jesus to free us from our slavery to sin. God led the people of Israel through the waters of the Red Sea to freedom. God leads us through the waters of Holy Baptism into freedom from sin, death, hell and Satan.

Remember back to Sunday school? You learned about the Transfiguration. Jesus stood on a mountain and glowed with the light of God. He was joined by Elijah and Moses. They were having a conversation. St. Luke is sure to tell us what it is about. Most of your bibles will use the word “departure.” But that’s not exactly what Luke said, if you look at the word as he wrote it you’d see it is the word, “Exodus.” Jesus and Moses and Elijah were talking about Jesus and his Exodus. We use these words:

…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.

It was these things that made a way for us from our slavery. Jesus didn’t bypass all that we live in every day, he went right through it. He suffered life and death just as you do. Yet, in all that we are told we see Jesus’ great love for us. He doesn’t strike out against those who seek to hurt him. He replaced the severed ear of the servant of the High Priest. “Put away your sword, Peter. This is sin.” “Father forgive them,” he pleads to the Father for those who drove the nails into his hands and feet and mocked him from the foot of the cross. Jesus suffers all, yet he does it willingly. He is on a mission, a journey, an Exodus to open a way for us to eternal life, a life without sin, suffering, death and the control of Satan.

Jesus calls it a Baptism.

I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! (Luke 12:50, ESV)

His is in blood. His is a baptism of suffering. His is a baptism of death. He goes though all these things to bring us through them to life forever. He does it to make a path, a way, a journey, an Exodus through it all for us.

Now the way through is easier than we think. We don’t have to slog through using our own strength. We don’t have to fight the demons. We don’t have kill the evil thoughts that come from our own hearts. We don’t have to make ourselves better. Jesus does all that for us. He makes it simple as it has to be for us. He calls us to follow him through the path he has made.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (Matthew 28:19, ESV)

For us, Baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is our Exodus. It is God working in us faith in what Jesus has done. It is God dragging us through Jesus, life, death and resurrection to the new and promised life. Afterwards we are called only to leave behind what was a part of our life of slavery. St. Paul puts it clearly:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:1-4, ESV)

We walk in newness of life, life with Christ our Savior. We follow him. You might not remember you Exodus at this font. You won’t if you were baptized as an infant. The little babies who were carried in their mother’s arms through the parted Red Sea didn’t remember that event either. But they were told about it. They were saved from slavery and Pharaoh’s army nonetheless. You have been told about your Exodus. You don’t have to remember it for it to be important. It is, in fact, the most important event of your life.

Now, it is important to remember that for the people of Israel the promised land, their final destination wasn’t right on the other side of the Red Sea. In fact, it lay a far journey away. They were free from slavery, but they hadn’t reached the Promised Land yet. They had lives to live on the way to where God was taking them. Baptism isn’t the end of your journey either. It is just the beginning. In fact, the most difficult part is ahead; trouble, pain, sorrow will come. But our Savior doesn’t leave us to travel alone. He gives us all that we need. His life sustaining Word. His promises, and food for the journey. In fact, he gives us his very body and blood to nourish us on the way. God fed the people of Israel by sending heavenly bread called manna. He gives us the bread of himself.

In all our journey, our Baptism that marks the beginning is also a promise that we will reach the end. After their long journey the people of Israel stood again on the shore, near water. The Jordan River lie between them and the promised land. God parted the river just as he had the Red Sea. They passed through it on dry ground, God kept his promise. Their journey began and ended with a baptism of water. That’s our journey too. It begins with water poured on our heads in God’s name. It ends with our passing through death, through the Jordan into the land promised to us by God. Joshua led the people through the river. our Joshua leads us through death. Did you know that Jesus and Joshua are really the same name? Yea, Jesus is just the Latin version of the Hebrew name Joshua. It means “God Saves.” That’s what Jesus does. He leads us through death to life forever. He saves us.

Right now we live in between. We are on the journey, the Exodus. We don’t go alone. God has given us all that we need. Here we hear of His promises in Jesus. Here we receive the food we need. Here we have fellowship with others on the journey, too. Slavery is behind us, new life is ahead. Amen.

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

First Advent Weekday Service, December 5, 2007, 2 Cor 5:17-21

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Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21, ESV)

The New Creation
(Inspired by a series by Rev. William Weedon.
Concordia Pulpit Resource, Volume 17, Part 4, Series C)

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

Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel!

What in the world does Advent, getting ready for Christmas, have to do with Baptism? Pastor I think you’ve lost it. What we need is a little tweaking about selfishness and overspending. What we need is to hear about how the world gets carried away with Christmas, and doesn’t have the right focus. “They’ve forgotten what Christmas is all about!” So that we can feel good about ourselves because we’ve got the right focus. That’s why we’re here tonight to get us in the Christmas mood, to perk up our Christmas spirit, get us in the mood to give gifts instead of receive. What’s all this about Baptism?

Well, Baptism is foundational for our faith. In fact, it is so central we shouldn’t be talking about God’s gifts to us without placing Baptism among the most important. If we believe what we say we believe then our baptism should never be far from out thoughts. That’s why I’ve moved the font front and center this evening. Really, it belongs there all the time, or right in the middle of the entrance. We have the tradition of moving it back when we are not using it. Maybe though, it would be good to put it out front a bit more often.

Take a good look at the font. This one, like most of them, has eight sides. There’s a reason for that, it’s not just a random thing, the way the carpenter decided to make it. He had a reason. There’s a long standing tradition in the church for having them octagonal. Just like so many things, symbols in the church, there is a deeper meaning. And that’s what we are going to look at tonight.

To really get the understanding about what Baptism is all about, and how it connects us to the baby in the manger, we need to go back a ways. Not to Bethlehem. But way back even farther than that, all the way back to the beginning.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2, ESV)

I want you to notice a couple of things here. First, it starts with God… in the beginning, God. No big bang, no aliens, nothing but God. And notice how God is active The Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters. The world begins with water and the Spirit. From the water the Holy Spirit brought life.

The account goes on to explain just how God, the Holy Spirit worked to create everything. And here’s the first hint as to why the font has 8 sides.

• Day 1: light and darkness, day and night.
• Day 2: Heaven and earth.
• Day 3: Land and sea.
• Day 4: Sun, moon and stars
• Day 5: Birds and fish.
• Day 6: Animals and human beings.
• Day 7: God rested.

It was all good and perfect. No suffering. No pain. No death. Human beings were in perfect relationship with God and everything around them. It was Eden, paradise.

“Seven days of work make one weak” W E A K. That’s not what God intended for us. God set aside one day for rest. He calls it the Sabbath. The confirmation students can tell you what day the Sabbath is. He worked six days, Sunday through Friday and rested one, Saturday, the Sabbath. That’s God’s way of doing things. That’s God plan and order for creation. He made everything, beginning with water.

Water is the key to all life. When the explorers searched the world for new places they spent lots of time searching for water. When scientists look for life on other planets the first thing they look for is water. Nothing can live without water. We need water. Without it we die. We use water for everything. We drink it. We wash with it. We horde it, when it is in short supply. We even play in it. Water is the key to God’s creation.

God’s creation of the Garden of Eden was centered on water. When we think of the best places to be on the earth, we picture peaceful waterfalls and pools of cool clear water. That’s a yearning that comes from deep within us. We know the world isn’t as it should be. “in the beginning” that’s the way it was. Everything was in perfect harmony. Everything was in perfect relationship to everything else. Everything was in perfect relationship to God. We have a built in longing, homesickness to return to that. God’s creation isn’t that anymore. Where once peace was everywhere, now there is only death. Instead of life being in harmony, life is in competition. Instead of time marching toward eternity in perfect peace, it marches only toward death. Seven days at time, week by week we march toward death. An endless series of sevens until death takes away all that we have.

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3, 9, 10, NIV)

And yet, there stands our Baptismal font. All eight sides. Right in the middle of meaninglessness. Right in the middle of certain death. Right were we put the coffins. Right where your coffin will be. If the Christian faith means anything it must have something to say about death. If it doesn’t then, you may as well be an atheist.

There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6, NIV)

One baptism connecting us to one Lord, Jesus Christ, sent into the world to set it free form the endless march of seven and seven and seven and seven leading to death. One Lord, Jesus Christ, sent to rescue us from meaningless life.

God created the world in six days. He finished all his work and rested on the seventh day, Saturday. Does it sound familiar? God’s Son did it too. He did his work of salvation. He finished it on the sixth day… a Friday. We call it Good Friday. That day He hung nailed to the cross. He suffered, died and was buried. He restored our relationship to God by removing the punishment for sin. He lived a perfect life for us. He was born, lived a perfect life and died on the cross. His very words were “It is finished!” Dead and in the tomb where we will all be. His body rested in the grave on the seventh day, Saturday. But this is where everything changes. This is where Advent really has some meaning. We look forward to this baby’s birth, but only because the baby died, and rested in the tomb on the Sabbath. But even more so because the baby rose again from death, the next day, Sunday, the first day of the week. Day 1 but a new day too, Day 8, a new day of a new creation. Jesus Christ rose from death, promising to you and me a resurrection. You see the 8 sides of the font? When you were baptized, you were placed into the 8th day of creation. You were given new life in the new creation. Those eight sides are a constant reminder that the old has passed away and the new has come for you.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21, ESV)

That’s what I’m talking about. In the beginning God, the Holy Spirit moved over the water and created life. At this font, God, the Holy Spirit moves over the water and creates life. By His life giving promises God gives you new life, through water and the Word. You have a new beginning. One that doesn’t end in meaningless death, but one that passes through death, with Christ into new life, eternal life. In Baptism God connects you to the baby in the manger. You receive the forgiveness of sins. That means your relationship with God is restored to paradise.

Ah but… there always an “ah but.” As I look at my life, the reality of God’s promise doesn’t seem so sure. I sin. You sin. Relationships fall apart. Death waits for me outside the doors of the church. Work is endless. Week after week an endless progression of seven, seven, seven. Look here. Look at the eight. Don’t think that your baptism is just a one day event. It’s not “I was baptized” it is “I am baptized.” You live every day in the eighth day. Take your sin as God uses his word to point it out and lay it at the stable, the cross and the font. Receive the forgiveness of sins every time. You are a new creation. You are a forgiven child of God.

Eight sides. One for each day of the week and one for the Eighth day, the day of the resurrection, the day of your baptism, the day of your new life. Jesus said it,

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:5, ESV)

That newness, is yours through Holy Baptism, into the new life of the eighth day. Amen.

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

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Prop 18), September 9, 2007, Luke 14:25-33

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Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:25-33, ESV)

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

How much is it going to cost?

That’s a good question.

Listen Bob, I’m not going to start this building project without knowing how much.

It isn’t that easy to calculate. There are a lot of variables to consider.

How am I supposed to know if I can finish the project if I don’t know the total cost.

I hear ya Tom. Maybe I can work up a reasonable estimate.

Bob, I need better than that. I need to know the worst case. Just think what it would look like if I started this project… what if I got the building half up and then the money ran out. I’d really look like a fool then wouldn’t I. I’d never be able to build another building again.

Ya, I see what you mean. I’ll get right on it.

Thanks Tom. I really need to know how much this is going to cost me.

+----+----+

How much is it going to cost? It’s a question we ask ourselves every day. Maybe not in a dramatic a fashion as Tom, the man building a building, but, it is the sensible thing to do. How much are the car payments? Can I afford to remodel the house, and add on a bedroom? Which college can I afford to go to? How much will the herbicide cost? If I don’t use it how is it going to affect the yield? We know how to count the cost. What Jesus is saying to us today is this: “You know how to count the cost of things in your life. Have you accurately counted the cost of being my disciple? Do you really know what it means to follow me?”

“First, of all,” Jesus says. “Do you realize that if you want to follow me, you have to hate your family.” I don’t know about you… but I don’t like the sound of that at all. I happen to love my family very much. After all, I work to support them. I try to provide them with everything they need, food, clothing, Christian education. I try to spend time with them, and don’t like to be away for too long. It seems to me that the Fourth Commandment: Honor your father and mother. And the Sixth commandment: You shall not commit adultery. Have something to say here too. Don’t these commandments specifically apply to my family? Isn’t what Jesus is saying here going against these commandments?

Maybe Jesus doesn’t really mean hate here when he says hate your family. Today’s theme is Count the Cost. I think we can pretty easily see what Jesus is talking about. Some people, when they become Christians are disowned by their families. When I was in Concordia College in Seward, I remember a gal from Taiwan. When she came to school she wasn’t a Christian. But over her time there God worked in her life through all the people around her. She heard the Gospel and finally gave a confession of faith. She was promptly disowned by her family. When she left for home she was not heard from again. The great fear in her case is that there are so few Christians in her home land that she was pressured to return to her family religion. Maybe the cost was too high for her. Maybe no one took the time to explain to her what Jesus is saying in this text.

But, Jesus isn’t just talking about people whose families disown them when they become Christians. He’s talking to us too. God is to take first place in our lives. We are to love him with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our being. Remember the 1st Commandment: Maybe not, so turn in your hymnal and we’ll read it together.

The First Commandment
You shall have no other gods.
What does this mean?
We should fear, love and trust in God above all things.

We should fear, love and trust God above everything else. Everything else includes our wife. Everything else includes our children and parents. God is to be first. The most difficult idols to give up are the ones that are closest to our hearts. What Jesus is saying is that when we place things in our lives in the place that only God should be, pushing them out may indeed feel like hating them; in contrast to the love we hold for them now.

What Jesus is talking about here may fall much closer to home than we are comfortable hearing. I’m sure you can think of examples of children who have fallen away from the faith… yet, parents don’t speak about it, even to each other, for the sake of family unity. It’s difficult, who wants family gatherings to become a battle ground. Who wants to ruin the all too brief visits with arguments? And yet, that is exactly what Jesus is talking about. Holding God over family unity can feel very much like hating your family.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus speaks this idea just a little bit differently.

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:37, ESV)

It isn’t easy. It is a cross to bear, so to speak. And Jesus knows that it’s not easy. He didn’t say, “Take up your Lazy Boy and follow me.” He said “carry your cross.”

This is a very powerful image. In Jesus time especially, the person who carried a cross was the one who was going to die on it. It was a part of the execution itself. Humiliation, defeat, painful, bloody death, dealt out with cruel indifference. To bear a cross meant all of these things. Jesus is saying to us today… the Christian life a life of cross bearing, and you can’t do it unless He is the most important thing in your life.

By now we are all saying to ourselves, as we look around us to the ones we love; “The cost is too high. How can I possibly love God more than my children? to do so feels like hating them. How can I…” well remember what Jesus said. “… anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” The cross Jesus is asking you to bear is more than just keeping the first commandment. The cross Jesus is asking you to bear isn’t just suffering sickness, or family dis-unity. The cross Jesus is asking you to bear is his cross. And he expects you to carry it to your death, just as he did. “I can’t do that!” You say. Yes you can. As matter of fact you’ve very likely done it already.

And what’s more we’ve seen it happen right here in this place, right before our eyes. Right here little children have carried their crosses to their death. “We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

The promise of God there is this. The sin in your life, the things that you put before God, I have done something about. I have killed you. I have raised you. You are my precious child. Just as I killed my own Beloved Son, just as I raised my own Beloved Son, this baptism is my promise to you that I have done all this for you. Go now live your life bearing your cross.

A little child that is baptized here isn’t your going to love God all the time. You don’t love God with your whole heart as you should. Sometimes you love other people, like a child or parents or a spouse more than God. That’s because of the sin that is in your life. At times it pushes God out of first place. But, that’s why Jesus lived and died for you, because we can’t do what God demands. But, you see, from the day that you were baptized you bore the cross of Christ. We make that sign: “Receive the sign of the cross both upon your forehead and upon your heart to mark you as one redeemed by Christ the Crucified.” Jesus also said it this way:

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23, ESV)

That’s one of the reasons why we come to church every week. To be reminded again and again of Jesus life, death and resurrection for us. To be reminded that we live as God’s baptized child every day.

So what about the cost? Well, the cost is still there. We don’t try to build a building with out knowing how much it’s going to cost. Jesus is describing what our lives, as God’s beloved baptized children, are going to be like. It isn’t going to be easy… sometimes we’ll have to confront our children… sometimes there is going to be family disunity… sometimes our actions are going to feel like, well, like hating them… we need to know the cost of following Jesus. He wants us to know what’s coming, so that when it does, we can remember to bear the cross, his cross… and remember what he did there on that cross for us. He wants us to remember how our Baptism ties his death to our death… how Baptism ties his resurrection to our resurrection. When we remember that, God will once again be first in our lives. Amen.

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

Amazing Grace - Weekday Lenten Service 3, Psalm 25:6

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

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind but now I see.

“I once was lost…”, left behind, ignored, abandoned, forgotten. I’m not sure that’s what the hymn writer had in his mind when he penned those words, but that’s how it seems to fit with the Psalm verse we read with it at the beginning of the service. “Remember me! O Lord.” It says.

"Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old." (Ps 25:6, ESV)

Have you ever felt forgotten? A birthday that came and went without a card or letter, or phone call or even an eMail? Sitting and longing for that phone to ring bringing news from a living-away-from-home child? Wanting someone, anyone to visit you after an absence from church? It happens all the time. People get forgotten. People feel lost and alone. There is no fear like being forgotten.

There is a movie that’s a few years old now, called “Toy Story.” It’s about toys that live in the room of a child named Andy. In the movie, Andy and his family are moving. The toys are all very concerned about being forgotten and left behind when the family leaves. So to prevent the worst thing that can happen to a toy, they pair up into “moving buddies.” “The last thing I want is for a toy to be forgotten,” one of the toys says. No toy wants to be ignored by a child.

Human beings do lots of things to try to prevent being forgotten. Some donate money to hospitals, Sanford Health was Sioux Valley. Some donate money to the church. Others build networks of friends and colleagues, the more the merrier. The idea is that the more people you know the less likely it is that you’ll be forgotten. But no matter what people do there is still the risk of being forgotten; there is the risk of being alone and lost.

But the Psalmist is asking for something more than just to not be forgotten. The toys didn’t want to be lost because they didn’t want to be ignored. That’s really what the Psalm is saying, too. “Pay attention, God. Don’t forget your mercy and love for me. Look on me.” It’s like that last phrase we use every worship service here. The “Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine on you…. Turn your face toward me,” we say. “Don’t ignore me God. Remember me!” And we say it to remind us that God promises to pay attention to us; to remind us that we are not alone; to remember that we are remembered by Him.

But there is a danger in having God remember us. When God turns His face toward us He sees everything. He sees all the good we do, and He sees all the bad we do. He hears all the good things we say, and all the lies we tell. He even knows the good things we think about, and the awful things in our mind. And in fact, God is the one who sees everything we do in relationship to himself. He sees straight into our hearts and sees that in reality everything we do is sinful.

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:6, ESV)

John Newton understood what that means. “‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear…” He wrote in beloved hymn. When we consider God paying attention to us, and our sin, we realize that we have good reason too fear. King David was a man who struggled with sin. He was boastful and proud. He was led astray by adultery. He paid the price for his sinful nature with the death of his beloved children. When David thought about God remembering him and his sin he said:

"For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." (Ps 51:3-4a, ESV)

And our text has that in mind too, because it goes on to say, "Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions." (Ps 25:7, ESV) “Remember instead, your mercy. Pay attention to me in mercy.”

God has a track record of doing just that. When the Noah, his family and all the animals were loaded into the ark and God had closed the door. They were afloat in the water of the flood for 150 days. The bible tells us that “God remembered Noah and all the animals in the ark.” (Gen 8:1) He paid attention to them, cared for them and had mercy on them. While He destroyed every other living thing on the earth, because of sin, He had mercy on the eight humans and the animals. It’s not just that He thought about the from time to time He protected and directed and cared for them.

Where guilt is great and sin abounds,

There God’s great grace is poured,

And fervent prayer from saints resounds,

“Remember me, O Lord.”

So, how do you know that God remembers you, in mercy, instead of seeing your sin?

In the movie “Toy Story” one of the toys that is almost lost comes to his senses and remembers that he belongs to Andy because Andy has written his name on him. The toy remembers who he belongs to because a big “A N D Y” had been scribbled on his foot in big bold letters.

And you have God’s name scribbled on you in big bold and wet letters. That’s how God promises to remember you. A little over a week ago we gathered together to begin our Lenten journey at this rail by receiving a sign in ashes. Those ashes weren’t only a sign of our sinfulness, but they were put on us in the shape of a cross. That cross was just the same as the sign of the cross made upon your forehead and upon your heart to mark you as one redeemed by Christ the Crucified. That’s the same sign of the cross given to you in baptism, and it’s shorthand for the name of God.

“But that’s too simple to be sure, it’s too ordinary. I’d really like God to do something really spiritual. Like a glowing face, or lightning or thunder or a warm fuzzy feeling deep in my heart. Water in a man’s hand is too simple to really be God remembering me.”

That’s one of the great things about Baptism. It just doesn’t leave any doubt about who God is dealing with. Do you want to know if God remembers you, if God is paying attention to you, and looking upon you? Ask yourself this: Did make me promises in Holy Baptism? Was it water connected to God’s Word that made my head wet? Was God’s name spoken over me? You can’t get any more specific than that. In Baptism God is working through His Name and water. And were God puts His name He promises to be. He put His name on you and He promises to be with you, and look upon you and remember you.

And what about those sins? That’s what the water reminds us of. They are washed away because of Jesus. When God puts His name on you He gives you everything Jesus earned for you. He remembers you in mercy and love because He turned away from Jesus and allowed Him to suffer and die on the cross in your place. It was a very real and physical death, a very real and physical punishment for sin. It’s God’s name on you that makes that punishment yours. It’s simple really. His death in your place. His name on you makes it yours. Oh yeah, don’t forget that He didn’t stay dead. Not only did Jesus die a real physical death He also rose again in a real physical body. And when the time comes, when Jesus comes again, He will transform your lowly body to be like His glorious body (Phil 3:21). And that’s yours through Baptism, too!

It’s simple and easy to identify because God knows how simple and easy we need it. Just think, God uses water and His word to make you His, and remind you that He remembers you and because of Jesus He has taken away your sin. He has used water to put His name on you. Every day you turn on the tap to get a drink of water, you can say “Remember me, O Lord.” Every day as you wash in the shower as and see that dirty water going down the drain, you can say, “Remember me, O Lord.” When you wash the dog and you pour the dirty water out on the ground, or you wash the dirt from your hands in the sink, you can say, “Remember me, O Lord.”

God remembers you. He has put His name on you, and with His name comes everything Jesus Christ did for you.

For all my sins Christ did atone,

That I might ransomed be.

Now leave me not, my God alone;

In love remember me. Amen.

Amazing Grace? Yes, not lost but found, not forgotten but remembered. Amen.

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

First Sunday after the Epiphany, The Baptism of Our Lord, Jan 7, 2007, Luke 3:15-17; 21-22

Luke3v15-17, 21-22

Epiphany 1, Baptism of our Lord, January 7, 2007

St. John’s, Howard, SD

(from an outline by Mark Wangerin)

¹⁵As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, ¹⁶John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹⁷His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Luke 3:15-17 (ESV)

²¹Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21-22 (ESV)

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

I don’t know if you remember those old commercials for Coca-Cola. “It’s the real thing!” they said. They were saying that Coke was the real cola, and all the others were imposters. Right here in town we have Dakota Beef, packing beef that’s the ‘real thing’ without preservatives, chemicals, hormones, and steroids. ‘Organic’ food is very popular in grocery stores these days. Increasingly people want only natural, real products. Only the ‘real thing’, no substitutes will do. The gospel lesson for today is also about ‘the real thing.’ But this real thing is much more important than a pound of ‘Dakota Beef’ or a sugary drink. The real thing St. Luke is talking about here is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Right away, as you read this lesson, you see people asking the ‘real thing’ question. They want to know if John the Baptist is the expected Messiah. “Are you the Christ?” They asked themselves ‘in their hearts’. It’s not really a strange question. John’s ministry was having an effect on people. There were large crowds, tax collectors, soldiers, religious leaders, coming to see who John was and what he was saying. It’s a very natural question for a group of people who are expecting something to happen to help them out from under the thumb of the Romans. At that time, they were not a free people. They lived in an occupied land. Foreign soldiers patrolled the streets, and harassed them. Corrupt government officials over taxed them. It would have been easy for them to look back, remember how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt, and expect that God would do something great again. In their minds if they were looking for someone to take on the Romans, he was going to have to be a strong talking person. And the entire thing that John said only heightened their expectations. “Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” he shouted to people. He let them know that things were going to change. And they were expecting a Messiah. All over in the Old Testament, their Bible, were prophecies that told them to be ready. John seemed to fit the bill. They wanted to know if he was the “real thing.”

But, John made it very clear. “No, I am not! No matter what you may think you are seeing, when the ‘real thing’ comes, he’s going to do greater things than I do. In fact, I’m so far beneath him, that I’m not even worthy to tie his shoes.” John was saying that compared to the real Messiah, he was only a slave. Slaves were the ones who had the job of tying and untying their master’s shoes. John says that the coming one, the real thing, would do much greater things than he was doing.

Even the thing that John was most known for was less than ‘the real thing.’ John says that the baptism he was doing was only with water, but the ‘real thing’ would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. John’s baptism was only in preparation of the ‘real thing’ to come. He shouted at the people reminding them that they were all sinful. “You brood of vipers! You need forgiveness that you can only receive from God.” The people responded to John’s message and were baptized in the water of the Jordan River. It was a baptism in response to God’s words of forgiveness. ‘The greater one’, ‘the Real Thing’ that John was preparing them to meet would have a different kind of baptism for the people, “with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

John’s message gathered crowds of people, but the ‘real harvest’ was in the hands of the ‘real thing’ to come. Just look at the words he uses to describe what the Messiah would do! The winnowing fork was used to separate the chaff from the grain. You probably know all about this the old way of doing the harvest better than I do. The stalks of grain were brought to the ‘threshing floor’ from the field. It was beat with boards to separate the grain and then the winnowing fork was used to throw it up in to the air so that the wind would blow away the chaff. The grain falls back to the floor. Notice how John says that the Messiah will ‘clear’ the threshing floor. He will thoroughly clean it; every piece of grain will be taken care of. All of the chaff will be burnt in the fire. It’s a real harvest to be done by the real messiah.

And the real Messiah comes.

²¹Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21-22 (ESV)

Jesus is baptized. After all of John’s preparation, Jesus is baptized. It is rather funny, that the way St. Luke writes it Jesus almost seems anonymous in the crowd. With all those people, Jesus was also baptized. And yet, Jesus baptism is a very important part of His ministry. It is the public proclamation of what He has come to do and that what He has come to do begins right now. And John the Baptizer isn’t even mentioned. Of course John is the one who baptized Jesus, but Jesus is the focus. John is the lesser. Jesus is the most important. John disappears and Jesus stands alone. The writer wants us to know that. And John would agree. In another place he says, “I must decrease so he can increase.”

Jesus is the ‘real thing.’ And just in case people weren’t sure, the Holy Spirit makes an appearance, ‘in bodily form.’ St. Luke gives us this important detail. The Spirit’s appearance here isn’t a secret thing only John and Jesus saw, but ‘bodily’ in the form of a dove (pigeon). And also God the Father makes His appearance too. He speaks from heaven. “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased. You are the real thing. You are my promise of forgiveness of sins fulfilled.” We heard something similar to those words in the reading from Isaiah. Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. Isaiah 42:1 (ESV) The work of the ‘real thing’ is the work of the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

What is the work of the Real Thing? Well, it’s all spelled out for us in John’s simple statement that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Just as the Holy Spirit was poured out on Jesus, so also he will pour out the Spirit on all those who are baptized in His name. In a few days we’ll be doing it again here… we will gather a family and newborn infant around this font and pour water on her head. And according to Jesus promise, in the same way that he was baptized, in the same way that the Holy Spirit came to him, the Holy Spirit will come to that child here. Our newest sister in Christ will begin their life of faith with baptism… a life lived in the shadow of the life Jesus lived for her.

And Jesus says that with the Spirit comes fire. John was really talking about God’s anger, His wrath over sin. That’s what the fire is. In the Old Testament, when it talks about God’s reaction to sin it talks about His anger burning. But Jesus was perfect without sin, he doesn’t deserve God’s anger and punishment, and yet it is placed on him. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We fully see God’s anger, his disapproval of sin, the punishment that sin deserves, when we see that Lamb sacrificed on the cross. God’s anger burns against Jesus. The full force of His disapproval over human sin is poured out on His only son instead of you and me. He actually turns away from Jesus and allows him to suffer the whole punishment of sin, the eternal punishment of sin, and sins wages death. That’s the baptism of fire, the Baptize was talking about. The Spirit who descends on Jesus brings not only God’s favor but also God’s judgment. For you and me, for the person we will next baptize here, that punishment is also brought to us in the Baptism that is given in Jesus name. When Jesus is baptized in the Jordan river, when Jesus hangs on the cross suffering and dying, He stands in our place to receive the fire, the wrath, the anger of God over our sin. We are baptized into his life, his death and his resurrection. That’s a baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire.

Jesus is the Real Thing. After he suffered the fire of God’s anger, after he bled and died on the cross, after he was place in a cave for burial, he rose again from death. The punishment, the fire of God was taken to the grave, but Jesus Christ rose again to life. That’s something only the Real Thing can do. It proves he’s no imitation Savior. It proves that the punishment he bore was paid in full. It’s proof to you and me, who are connected to him by the Baptism of the Spirit and fire, that the work that he did was finished, and pleasing to God.

Now what about you? Well, you are the Baptized children of God. You have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire. Weather it happened here, or over in the parsonage, at home, or even and entirely different Christian church altogether. That baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit means that when you sin, when you fall short of God’s plans and desires for your life; when you hurt your neighbor; when you yell at your children for no good reason; when you act selfish when you know you should be helping someone else; you have a place to go. You don’t have to worry about God’s anger over your failure. When water was splashed over your head, your sin was washed away to Jesus. And God’s fire, his over your sin extinguished on the cross. That’s exactly why we confess our sins here. We are reliving our Baptism, seeing our sin, and seeing our Savior.

So, you can live differently. When you yell at your children, you can ask for forgiveness and move on to a better way of handling them. When you are selfish, you can set that aside and be helpful instead. You can serve by doing whatever God has called you to do in your everyday work. When you are hurtful you can do what is necessary to set things right again. That’s the Holy Spirit working in you through God’s Word. That’s Jesus the Real Thing motivating you to live a life more like his.

All in all, nothing else really matters, except Jesus Christ, the Real Thing. He, who was baptized in the Jordan, lived, suffered, died and rose again. John pointed to him as the most important. We recognize him as the most important thing in our lives. He is the beloved Son of the Father. Jesus Christ is the Real Thing. Amen.

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