Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN
“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious abundance.” For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the LORD shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.” (Isaiah 66:10–14, ESV)
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
It began as barley a whisper… a faint sound at the very edge of perception… no one in the house even stirred… except mother. From the very first, before any sound at all had filled the ears of anyone else… she awoke crawled out of bed and began the trek to her infant’s room. So, by the time he was in full cry, with a voice much more than someone his size should be able to shout, mother was already crib side. Quickly she raised the infant to her arms, “Hey Billy, what’s the matter?” She said quietly, as she gathered him to herself. At first, he was inconsolable, and his screams echoed through the whole house. They filled the ears of his brothers and sisters, who muffled the sound with arms, blankets or pillows in an attempt to return to their dreams. But soon quiet was again restored as the rocking chair and the sweet sound of mother voice brought infant comfort. He was safe and warm, there in his mother’s arms, satisfied and at peace.
Oh, to be at peace… like a little child in its mother’s arms, satisfied at rest, warm and content…. at peace. But as much as peace is desired it, peace is seldom found. Maybe that’s why this image of peace is so powerful for us, because we seldom know this kind of peace when we are no longer able to lie in our mother’s arms… when we have grown too large to be cuddled there. There are other moments of peace in our lives, standing on a quiet beach listening to the waves rush the shore; Being alone in the forest when all is quiet except the sounds of nature; Sitting beside the bed of a sleeping child listening contentedly to the shallow echoes of breath. But, moments of peace are few, because the world, this world that we live in, is a world of conflict.
A world of conflict… every day in the newspaper you can read about war somewhere around the globe. War is the same everywhere. There are two groups of people in conflict. They have determined that their conflict is so great that the only means of resolution is the violent death of the other party. They have determined that the only resolution is to disrupt the peace… to arm themselves with the tools of death. Many people would say that the exact opposite of peace is war. When the images of war explode onto the news, the comfort of our mother’s arms is very inviting.
But conflict isn’t just found between nations at war. We find it even in the smallest communities. In fact, any gathering of people is often marked by disagreement that often disrupts the peace. Do we build a swimming pool or not? Should the cult group be allowed to build a compound? Should there be a group home in my neighborhood? Should taxes be raised or cut… but it isn’t just government? There is conflict where we work… a co-worker we don’t like… a manager that won’t allow time off, or demands overtime… Work that builds up so much you are afraid to take time off… Conflict also lives in our homes… family decisions are marred by arguments and unhappy resolutions. What household has children that don’t fight, and parents who are always forgiving? What man and wife have never fought about family finances? Conflict is laced in every aspect of our lives… our families, friendships, and even our Church. Disharmony is everywhere it affects every relationship we have. But not all the conflict is external. Many people have an internal struggle that far outweighs the discord between people. Internal struggle can fracture the human psyche. The wounds it can cause are even more devastating than disagreements between people. We all experience some of that disunity. We all struggle to do what we know is right and avoid what we know is wrong. Saint Paul described the struggle so well
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:14–19, ESV)
When we think of these conflicts it is no wonder, we long for the comfort of our mother’s arms. That place where we can be comforted, safe from conflict, safe from trouble, and at peace.
All the disunity between nations, people, families, individuals, and even the internal struggles of people are really a sign, a window to an even greater more devastating division. Conflict, internal and external, is an image of the most serious human problem. All human beings have cut themselves off from God by their own sin. We are fractured people who are determined to conflict with the very one who made us, the one who designed us for a relationship with him. We have conflict with others, we can’t get along with other people; we conflict with ourselves; because we can’t get along with God. That is the real source of conflict in our lives.
This is where this image, given to us in our text, comes in. God says he will comfort us, brings us peace, like a mother does with her child. “I will extend peace like a river… as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.” He extends his arms around us, pulls us to his breast where we are warm, safe and secure. There we find peace. There we find comfort. He ended the conflict with us, because we didn’t want to end it with him.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6, ESV)
It is amazing and somewhat ironic that the one who God sent to restore peace to the world, the prince of peace, restored our fractured relationship, our conflict, by means of a violent death. He endured internal and external conflict on the cross as he was rejected by the Father in our place. The separation that our sinful nature desired; the conflict we wished; for was focused on Jesus Christ. He endured it all instead of us. And because of that he brought about peace between us and our Heavenly Father. But this peace is more than just a peaceful, tranquil feeling. It’s more than a feeling of contentment that even unbelievers can feel. Jesus brings a peace the is a peace that exists even when we are in conflict. It’s a peace that exists even when we don’t feel peaceful.
The peace that Christ brings is like the peace between two warring parties. He declares the hostilities cease. But when peace is declared sometimes the sides don’t want to end the fighting. Because we still have the effects of sin in our lives, we don’t always want God’s peace. We struggle against it. But the war is over, Jesus Christ has won it and he has declared the peace. It is a peace that passes all our understanding. When we feel it, when we experience that peaceful feeling like we are wrapped in the Father’s arms we rejoice; but it is just as true when we don’t feel it. We are still even then, because of Christ, at peace with God.
God doesn’t promise that Christians won’t have conflict in their lives. Christians just like all people will have internal and external struggles. But God, through Jesus Christ, has done something about the most serious conflict. Because of Jesus suffering and death on the cross we are no longer in conflict with God. Because suffered the separation of that conflict we can enjoy the comfort the peace. That peace, whether we feel it or not, affects our whole lives. Our relationships to our families… our relationships to our friends… our relationships at work... Our relationships to our community. That peace earned for us through the death of Christ, has given us peace with God and has opened the way for us to be at peace with others.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15, ESV)
Billy sleeps quietly in his mother’s arms. He is at peace, comforted by his mother. The noise of discord is all but forgotten. She had come and brought him comfort. He is safe and warm; he is at peace.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. Amen.
Showing posts with label Isaiah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isaiah. Show all posts
Sunday, August 24, 2025
Sunday, December 03, 2023
Isaiah 64:1-9; The First Sunday in Advent; December 3, 2023;
Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;
Isaiah has a dream, and it is a big one. God’s people are mired in sin. They are ignoring him, but more importantly they are ignoring God. His dream? That God would show himself in power and fix everything. He knows already that judgment is coming. He is afraid for the people. You do not trifle with God’s anger over sin. When the one who made the heavens and the earth displays his anger, there are earthquakes and lightning and fire and darkness and the rivers boil. A little of that would go a long way to the people seeing their sin and confessing. Isaiah makes no bones about it; the people are sinful. Even the good stuff they do is polluted like a bloody rag. Their sins make them dead and dry like a leaf that will just blow away in a breeze. But the people don’t see it, at least they won’t confess it. They refuse to call upon God’s name for mercy. Their sin has blinded them to their need for forgiveness. Isaiah confesses for them and then begs God to be the merciful God that Isaiah knows he is. There is no other god who acts in mercy toward those who wait for him. What that means it that those who stand in faith, those who wait for God to act in mercy toward them, those who see their great need for forgiveness, are given mercy and forgiveness. Isaiah reminds God that his people are his children. They were created by him, just as he created everything in the very beginning. Please temper your anger, Lord. He says. Lord, have mercy! He says. Look at us in mercy and forgive.
What could be better at Advent? We get a bit confused because we think Advent is all about the little baby in the manger. But it really is about waiting for God to act. Isaiah was waiting for God to act in mercy, to come and fix everything. Isaiah wanted God to come in person. And he did. He came in the manger in Bethlehem, the little baby that the song says doesn’t cry. But Advent is about his coming for a purpose, it is Isaiah’s dream. Jesus comes to bring mercy for those who are caught in sin. But Jesus also comes to bring God’s wrath against sin, lighting and thunder and earthquakes (all seen at his death). Jesus is God who acts. The baby goes to the cross. There is the full anger of God played out. God, the Father, turns his face away from Jesus, his Son. Jesus quotes Psalm 22. His words on the cross are haunting. “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1, ESV) The Psalm continues to make the point.
And Jesus comes. Word, water, bread and wine. He is here. He is present here just as he promises to be. And he comes for forgiveness. We confess our sin along with Isaiah. Please temper your anger, Lord. Lord, have mercy! Christ, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Look at us in mercy and forgive.
And that’s not all. Advent is about God coming to fix everything. He is coming yet again. He will fix everything then, by first destroying all that is corrupted by sin.
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:11–13, ESV)
It is God acting in mercy for those who wait on him. Sin and suffering, death and disease, done in. So, we wait for God to act for us. And while we wait, we act in holiness and godliness. That means serving the world as it needs to be served. Doing our daily work for the sake of our neighbor. Proclaiming the Good News of Jesus who forgives sins through his cross and resurrection and return. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence— as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence! When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? 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. There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.” (Isaiah 64:1–9, ESV)Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Isaiah has a dream, and it is a big one. God’s people are mired in sin. They are ignoring him, but more importantly they are ignoring God. His dream? That God would show himself in power and fix everything. He knows already that judgment is coming. He is afraid for the people. You do not trifle with God’s anger over sin. When the one who made the heavens and the earth displays his anger, there are earthquakes and lightning and fire and darkness and the rivers boil. A little of that would go a long way to the people seeing their sin and confessing. Isaiah makes no bones about it; the people are sinful. Even the good stuff they do is polluted like a bloody rag. Their sins make them dead and dry like a leaf that will just blow away in a breeze. But the people don’t see it, at least they won’t confess it. They refuse to call upon God’s name for mercy. Their sin has blinded them to their need for forgiveness. Isaiah confesses for them and then begs God to be the merciful God that Isaiah knows he is. There is no other god who acts in mercy toward those who wait for him. What that means it that those who stand in faith, those who wait for God to act in mercy toward them, those who see their great need for forgiveness, are given mercy and forgiveness. Isaiah reminds God that his people are his children. They were created by him, just as he created everything in the very beginning. Please temper your anger, Lord. He says. Lord, have mercy! He says. Look at us in mercy and forgive.
What could be better at Advent? We get a bit confused because we think Advent is all about the little baby in the manger. But it really is about waiting for God to act. Isaiah was waiting for God to act in mercy, to come and fix everything. Isaiah wanted God to come in person. And he did. He came in the manger in Bethlehem, the little baby that the song says doesn’t cry. But Advent is about his coming for a purpose, it is Isaiah’s dream. Jesus comes to bring mercy for those who are caught in sin. But Jesus also comes to bring God’s wrath against sin, lighting and thunder and earthquakes (all seen at his death). Jesus is God who acts. The baby goes to the cross. There is the full anger of God played out. God, the Father, turns his face away from Jesus, his Son. Jesus quotes Psalm 22. His words on the cross are haunting. “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1, ESV) The Psalm continues to make the point.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.” (Psalm 22:14–15, ESV)It is so much like what Isaiah wrote.
There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.” (Isaiah 64:7, ESV)It is God, coming in Jesus. It is Isaiah’s dream, only better. Isaiah wanted the law to convict the people. Jesus comes and stand convicted for the people. He takes on God’s wrath in full. God executes justice on the cross, all justice for all time, for all people. It is the awesome thing that we didn’t look for. Forgiveness of sins when we were not calling upon his name, but enemies of God instead.
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8–10, ESV)God does it, he pours out his great wrath on Jesus so that his people can have Isaiah’s dream, so that he can:
Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.” (Isaiah 64:9, ESV)We are God’s people. Made so by God’s name placed on us in Holy Baptism. Made so through faith in the baby made sacrifice for us. And yet we are sinners, too. Isaiah’s dream needs to be re-read again. We live our lives not calling upon God’s name but trying our best to get along without him. We do our good deeds for our own benefit. Sin spoils everything. Even the good things we do are polluted by false motives. We need God, himself to come and be present and fix everything. We need Isaiah’s dream again.
And Jesus comes. Word, water, bread and wine. He is here. He is present here just as he promises to be. And he comes for forgiveness. We confess our sin along with Isaiah. Please temper your anger, Lord. Lord, have mercy! Christ, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Look at us in mercy and forgive.
… in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
… take eat this is my body … take drink this is my blood… for the forgiveness of all your sins.God present in an awesome way we would never expect. Forgiving our sin through his very presence.
And that’s not all. Advent is about God coming to fix everything. He is coming yet again. He will fix everything then, by first destroying all that is corrupted by sin.
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:11–13, ESV)
It is God acting in mercy for those who wait on him. Sin and suffering, death and disease, done in. So, we wait for God to act for us. And while we wait, we act in holiness and godliness. That means serving the world as it needs to be served. Doing our daily work for the sake of our neighbor. Proclaiming the Good News of Jesus who forgives sins through his cross and resurrection and return. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Sunday, October 08, 2023
Isaiah 5:1-7; The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost; October 8, 2023;
Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;
It’s harsh. The law is harsh. It is meant to be. There is no way around it. There seems to be very little Gospel in this text. God means to destroy the vineyard. It is like the text in Revelation 3.
It is easy to see this in other churches that have forsaken God’s law. He tears down the hedge and they are further driven from it. Lawlessness begets lawlessness. The churches teachings are sour grapes, with the hedge gone, they are no longer even grapes. But we should not so quickly discount our own church, especially how we reflect on the law. Our particular sin, as Lutherans, is to sometimes see the law too lightly. To live in our own sin as if it didn’t matter. Divorce, living together before marriage, greed, selfishness is rampant in the church. Care for God’s servants is lacking. The poor go hungry. The homeless are ignored.
We are a gospel church, an evangelical church. Evangelical means “good news preaching”, and we do indeed preach the good news of Jesus our Savior. Jesus canceled our sin on the cross. Jesus fulfilled the law for us, so we don’t have to. Jesus rose again from death to save us from eternal punishment. It is a sweet message. But so often the way we say it comes across as making light of sin. Your sin and mine, cost our God a great deal. He suffered hell for you and me. Our Roman brothers and sisters get this sort of right, with the stations of the cross. They emphasize the worldly suffering of Jesus. They contemplate what it cost Jesus in pain to take our sin to the cross. But it is only half of the story. Jesus suffered, not only pain and death on the cross, but also your eternal punishment and mine. The eternal punishment due to all people for all time. The abandonment by God the Father. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” We can’t comprehend the cost. The Father grieved over the death of his Son. The angels wept. And the sins the Jesus suffered and died for are not only those in our past, but also the ones we haven’t even done yet. Mel Gibson, in the movie the Passion of the Christ, is said to have used his own hands to film the scene as the one who pinned Jesus to the cross with nails. It was a reminder that he caused Jesus’ suffering. Every sin we commit is painful to Jesus on the cross.
We say it with our confession,
The bible is full of God’s faithful people struggling with sin and loosing. Adam, Eve, Moses, David, the Prophets, The Disciples (both before and after the death and resurrection of Jesus), Paul, and more. If you think you are spared this ongoing struggle…
Paul finally calls this what it is, a “body of death”, after talking about his own ongoing struggle with sin. You should expect, as a Christian, to continue your struggle with sin.
The church is a grace place, a mouth house where God continually tells you of Jesus and his life on your behalf, his death for yours, his resurrection promised also to you. God’s sure promise that your sin has been dealt with and it doesn’t mean eternal death for you. The condemnation of the law, that which says you should go to hell, is erased. There is no condemnation for you. You will not go to hell. Further in the church, God himself is present with you in your struggle against sin. The fight against it isn’t yours alone but through his word and promise he gives himself again in the Holy Spirit. He directs you against your sin. He gives you the power to resist thru the Gospel. And when you fail, he gives the comfort of the Gospel. It is the Trinity at work in your life. The Trinity at work in your struggle against your Old Adam, your sinful human nature.
We, as Lutherans, get very nervous when we hear about what God requires. We default to say, “Nothing, Jesus has done it all!” It is very true. Jesus has lived a perfect life in your place. He has satisfied God’s justice for your sin. You are destined for heaven and in the resurrection, you will rise to new life. But scripture is replete with calls for Christians to obey God and keep his commandments. Would these admonitions be there if there was no struggle, if we could in this life overcome our sinful nature? This admonition has nothing to do with your salvation but everything to do with you living as who you are. Because Jesus has done everything for you, you are now required to live a different life. Because we are one with Jesus, sin has no control over us, only when we (our sinful nature) allow it.
So, next week we will be having our Strategic Planning Seminar after Church. Is it a fair question to ask what God requires of us? Of course, it is. Especially considering all that he has given us. God has defied all odds here. We are not the church that should survive on the North Shore. Instead of liberal theology we believe, teach, and confess, the truth of Holy Scripture. He has graced us with this property. We are in the most ideal place for a church. He has even placed for our view a symbolic hedge of trees around it. This is all God’s work, a gracious gift from his hand alone.
• Will this be a place where God still defies the odds, and brings the Good News of Jesus to the community?
• Will this be a place where God’s word is continually and always taught in its truth and purity?
• Will this this vineyard be a place where people hear God’s law and Gospel, to convict stubborn hearts and gladden troubled hearts?
• Will this hedged in vineyard be a place where Christians can go with the trouble of their sin and find relief?
• Will this be a place where the Gospel compels us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God?
If the answer to these questions is “Yes” (and I believe it is), we have a lot of work to do. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!” (Isaiah 5:1–7, ESV)Grace and peace to you, from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
It’s harsh. The law is harsh. It is meant to be. There is no way around it. There seems to be very little Gospel in this text. God means to destroy the vineyard. It is like the text in Revelation 3.
So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” (Revelation 3:16–19, ESV)God is angry about sin. He has always been so. He will always be so until the end when it is finally completely gone. He sets his law before people, and they break it. The Old Testament uses the image of God’s nose burning in anger against sin. It is important to note here in both these passages God is talking about the church. Of all people who should keep God’s law, it is God’s people. With love and care, God set up the vineyard, that is the church, with a hedge to keep trouble out. But when the church acts no different than the world, he tears down the hedge. The church is trampled by foreign invaders. The crops are destroyed. They were only sour grapes anyway, but none-the-less, they are trampled to nothing.
It is easy to see this in other churches that have forsaken God’s law. He tears down the hedge and they are further driven from it. Lawlessness begets lawlessness. The churches teachings are sour grapes, with the hedge gone, they are no longer even grapes. But we should not so quickly discount our own church, especially how we reflect on the law. Our particular sin, as Lutherans, is to sometimes see the law too lightly. To live in our own sin as if it didn’t matter. Divorce, living together before marriage, greed, selfishness is rampant in the church. Care for God’s servants is lacking. The poor go hungry. The homeless are ignored.
We are a gospel church, an evangelical church. Evangelical means “good news preaching”, and we do indeed preach the good news of Jesus our Savior. Jesus canceled our sin on the cross. Jesus fulfilled the law for us, so we don’t have to. Jesus rose again from death to save us from eternal punishment. It is a sweet message. But so often the way we say it comes across as making light of sin. Your sin and mine, cost our God a great deal. He suffered hell for you and me. Our Roman brothers and sisters get this sort of right, with the stations of the cross. They emphasize the worldly suffering of Jesus. They contemplate what it cost Jesus in pain to take our sin to the cross. But it is only half of the story. Jesus suffered, not only pain and death on the cross, but also your eternal punishment and mine. The eternal punishment due to all people for all time. The abandonment by God the Father. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” We can’t comprehend the cost. The Father grieved over the death of his Son. The angels wept. And the sins the Jesus suffered and died for are not only those in our past, but also the ones we haven’t even done yet. Mel Gibson, in the movie the Passion of the Christ, is said to have used his own hands to film the scene as the one who pinned Jesus to the cross with nails. It was a reminder that he caused Jesus’ suffering. Every sin we commit is painful to Jesus on the cross.
Ye who think of sin but lightly Nor suppose the evil great Here may view its nature rightly, Here its guilt may estimate. Mark the sacrifice appointed, See who bears the awful load; ’Tis the Word, the Lord’s anointed, Son of Man and Son of God. (LSB 451 )It is only natural to want to pass over our sins very quickly and turn the Gospel. They are ugly and terrible. They leave our life in shambles. But our sins deserve more than a cursory examination. The Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, should make us hate our sin and make us dread committing them. The prophet Micah makes it personal; he speaks directly to individuals.
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, ESV)Oh man of God, oh woman of God, God has these requirements for you. It’s that walking with humility that is key here. To walk humbly with your God means to understand all that he has done for you in forgiving your sin.
We say it with our confession,
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8, ESV)If you believe you have conquered sin, if you believe that your sins are of no account to God, you are deceived (by yourself). The truth is not in you. That is not to walk humbly with your God. You don’t understand the depth of your sin, and you have a misunderstanding of the price Jesus paid. You can quit sinning on the surface. Sin is a darkness in your heart that makes you want to defy God. You can’t and never will destroy that until the old Adam in you is put to death permanently. The passage, our confession continues,
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, ESV)This is not a one-time thing, (the “if” is better translated “when”) it is continuous. Luther said that the Christian life is one of repentance. That means struggle against our human nature. A struggle against sin. An ongoing trip to the cross of Christ. An ongoing receiving of forgiveness offered there. Apply, rinse, repeat. If we could get rid of our sinful nature, we would only do the confession one time and be done with it. But that would make God and his Word a liar.
The bible is full of God’s faithful people struggling with sin and loosing. Adam, Eve, Moses, David, the Prophets, The Disciples (both before and after the death and resurrection of Jesus), Paul, and more. If you think you are spared this ongoing struggle…
Paul finally calls this what it is, a “body of death”, after talking about his own ongoing struggle with sin. You should expect, as a Christian, to continue your struggle with sin.
The church is a grace place, a mouth house where God continually tells you of Jesus and his life on your behalf, his death for yours, his resurrection promised also to you. God’s sure promise that your sin has been dealt with and it doesn’t mean eternal death for you. The condemnation of the law, that which says you should go to hell, is erased. There is no condemnation for you. You will not go to hell. Further in the church, God himself is present with you in your struggle against sin. The fight against it isn’t yours alone but through his word and promise he gives himself again in the Holy Spirit. He directs you against your sin. He gives you the power to resist thru the Gospel. And when you fail, he gives the comfort of the Gospel. It is the Trinity at work in your life. The Trinity at work in your struggle against your Old Adam, your sinful human nature.
We, as Lutherans, get very nervous when we hear about what God requires. We default to say, “Nothing, Jesus has done it all!” It is very true. Jesus has lived a perfect life in your place. He has satisfied God’s justice for your sin. You are destined for heaven and in the resurrection, you will rise to new life. But scripture is replete with calls for Christians to obey God and keep his commandments. Would these admonitions be there if there was no struggle, if we could in this life overcome our sinful nature? This admonition has nothing to do with your salvation but everything to do with you living as who you are. Because Jesus has done everything for you, you are now required to live a different life. Because we are one with Jesus, sin has no control over us, only when we (our sinful nature) allow it.
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. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” (Romans 6:1–12, ESV)Notice how Paul pushes everything back to Jesus, your baptism, the death of your sinful nature, and your resurrection to a new life. You are his, you should live differently. And when you fail, and you will, you drag yourself back to the cross and receive forgiveness there. That forgiveness is the power to live your life differently. That forgiveness is life changing. Amen.
So, next week we will be having our Strategic Planning Seminar after Church. Is it a fair question to ask what God requires of us? Of course, it is. Especially considering all that he has given us. God has defied all odds here. We are not the church that should survive on the North Shore. Instead of liberal theology we believe, teach, and confess, the truth of Holy Scripture. He has graced us with this property. We are in the most ideal place for a church. He has even placed for our view a symbolic hedge of trees around it. This is all God’s work, a gracious gift from his hand alone.
• Will this be a place where God still defies the odds, and brings the Good News of Jesus to the community?
• Will this be a place where God’s word is continually and always taught in its truth and purity?
• Will this this vineyard be a place where people hear God’s law and Gospel, to convict stubborn hearts and gladden troubled hearts?
• Will this hedged in vineyard be a place where Christians can go with the trouble of their sin and find relief?
• Will this be a place where the Gospel compels us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God?
If the answer to these questions is “Yes” (and I believe it is), we have a lot of work to do. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Sunday, August 20, 2023
Isaiah 55:6-9; Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost; August 20, 2023;
Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
When we are young it seems that we spend a lot of time thinking about growing up. Later on it changes and we spend a great deal of time trying to stay young. Part of growing up is a little ritual that happens, and it seems to happen to almost everyone. When we were very young, our parents carried us. These days there’s appears to be a comeback in the infant carrying slings that people wear. But it isn’t long until we can walk on our own. Now usually walking on our own comes with an agreement between us and our parents. “You can walk, but you must hold my hand.” It’s a good agreement. We were too old to be carried like babies, our parents allowed us to grow up and walk on our own, but they would provide direction and guidance. They gave us their hand to show us the way so that we wouldn’t get lost. But soon we begin to think that we don’t need to hold their hand anymore, so we push it away and take off on our own. We think we are too old to hold our parents’ hand, we want to find our own way and we are sure we won’t get lost.
Now we could say that all this is just a part of growing up. Really it is SIN showing up in our young lives. We are rebelling against authority. We don’t want to obey our parents, and for the first-time act like God, making our own way, trying to do our own thing. That’s really what the first sin is all about, too. Adam and Eve pushed God’s hand away. They wanted to find their own way and make their own decisions. Most of the time, we think about sin as the things we do wrong or about how we don’t measure up to God’s standards. But another way of looking at it is to see sin in terms of rebellion.
Rebellion is the rejection of authority. We’ve all been there. At some point in time, we violated the agreement between us and our parents. We slipped our hand out of theirs. You wanted to go it on your own. You may have even had somewhere you wanted to go but you knew that the hand holding yours wouldn’t allow. So, with some effort you disconnect yourself and off you went on your own. After a time of freedom, after a brief dash out of sight, you found yourself alone. At first it was ok, but soon you begin to realize the position you are in, alone and you look again for the hand to hold. Panic set in and soon tears may have even flowed because you were lost.
When we are lost our parents go out to look for us, even though we have pushed ourselves from them. It is their love that compels them to find us. They will go to great lengths to come to where we are and take hold of our hand and guide us again. Every day of our lives we go through the very same thing with God. Just like we didn’t want to hold on to our parent’s hand, every day we struggle with God not wanting him to direct us. We are positive we are “grown up” enough to walk on our own. We know that we are “mature enough” to handle life however it comes to us. We don’t want God to carry us, and we certainly don’t want God to hold our hand, keeping us from things we want to do.
It sounds wrong to us. We have a strong tendency to think that God really wants us to grow up to be mature enough to live life on our own. But that’s not how it is with our relationship with God. We can never really be independent from him. Independence from God means to be separated from him and his will for our lives. Independence from God is to live life on completely human terms. When we want to do things on our own, we push God out of our lives. Independence from God is a place called hell. When we push God away from our lives, when we reject his guidance for our lives, we reject all that he has for us. When we live on our own terms we live in terms of our sinful nature. St. Paul says it like this:
God comes to the place where we are lost and finds us. He asks us to repent and turn toward him, but first he makes it possible by finding us.
Where is God to be found today? The very same God, Jesus Christ is found right here in our worship. He promises to be present with us to forgive our sins. He is found here in his Word and Sacraments. His hand reaches out to us with the water of baptism that says, “This is my child, I have found him.” He is found in his supper. The very same body and blood that hung on the cross is given to you in the bread and wine. You can find God right there in a very specific place. And where you find Jesus, you find forgiveness. You find his compassion. You find his pardon for your rebellion. God makes it possible for us. He puts himself right here to be found. He comes near to us. Reaches out his and takes our hand when we are lost. So, we can walk with him, and he can direct our lives again. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
6“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 7let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:6-9 (ESV)(Thanks to Rev. Richard Jordan)
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
When we are young it seems that we spend a lot of time thinking about growing up. Later on it changes and we spend a great deal of time trying to stay young. Part of growing up is a little ritual that happens, and it seems to happen to almost everyone. When we were very young, our parents carried us. These days there’s appears to be a comeback in the infant carrying slings that people wear. But it isn’t long until we can walk on our own. Now usually walking on our own comes with an agreement between us and our parents. “You can walk, but you must hold my hand.” It’s a good agreement. We were too old to be carried like babies, our parents allowed us to grow up and walk on our own, but they would provide direction and guidance. They gave us their hand to show us the way so that we wouldn’t get lost. But soon we begin to think that we don’t need to hold their hand anymore, so we push it away and take off on our own. We think we are too old to hold our parents’ hand, we want to find our own way and we are sure we won’t get lost.
Now we could say that all this is just a part of growing up. Really it is SIN showing up in our young lives. We are rebelling against authority. We don’t want to obey our parents, and for the first-time act like God, making our own way, trying to do our own thing. That’s really what the first sin is all about, too. Adam and Eve pushed God’s hand away. They wanted to find their own way and make their own decisions. Most of the time, we think about sin as the things we do wrong or about how we don’t measure up to God’s standards. But another way of looking at it is to see sin in terms of rebellion.
Rebellion is the rejection of authority. We’ve all been there. At some point in time, we violated the agreement between us and our parents. We slipped our hand out of theirs. You wanted to go it on your own. You may have even had somewhere you wanted to go but you knew that the hand holding yours wouldn’t allow. So, with some effort you disconnect yourself and off you went on your own. After a time of freedom, after a brief dash out of sight, you found yourself alone. At first it was ok, but soon you begin to realize the position you are in, alone and you look again for the hand to hold. Panic set in and soon tears may have even flowed because you were lost.
When we are lost our parents go out to look for us, even though we have pushed ourselves from them. It is their love that compels them to find us. They will go to great lengths to come to where we are and take hold of our hand and guide us again. Every day of our lives we go through the very same thing with God. Just like we didn’t want to hold on to our parent’s hand, every day we struggle with God not wanting him to direct us. We are positive we are “grown up” enough to walk on our own. We know that we are “mature enough” to handle life however it comes to us. We don’t want God to carry us, and we certainly don’t want God to hold our hand, keeping us from things we want to do.
It sounds wrong to us. We have a strong tendency to think that God really wants us to grow up to be mature enough to live life on our own. But that’s not how it is with our relationship with God. We can never really be independent from him. Independence from God means to be separated from him and his will for our lives. Independence from God is to live life on completely human terms. When we want to do things on our own, we push God out of our lives. Independence from God is a place called hell. When we push God away from our lives, when we reject his guidance for our lives, we reject all that he has for us. When we live on our own terms we live in terms of our sinful nature. St. Paul says it like this:
5For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Romans 8:5-7 (ESV)The response of God to rejection is punishment and death. Well deserved punishment and death. Those who push themselves away from God should be lost forever. And this is where our text speaks to us. We know God and still we continually push him out of our lives. God’s response to our slipping our hand out of his is to say to us (as Isaiah says),
“let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. (Isa. 55:7)”That’s God calling out to us to repent and return to him. And just like the child who is lost from his parents, we don’t find our way back to God, we can’t find our way back. He comes to us and finds us.
God comes to the place where we are lost and finds us. He asks us to repent and turn toward him, but first he makes it possible by finding us.
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;”He comes near to us, right to the place we are lost. God came into a dark and sinful world, a world full of his human creatures who had pushed themselves away from him. Jesus Christ found human beings right in the middle of their lives. He found us by becoming one of us. He was flesh and blood. He could be touched and seen and heard; God, able to be found; God, near enough to call on. Just think, God himself, became a human person, with arms able to hold a child. We can find Jesus because he wraps his loving arms around us. God so much wants us to be found that he did what was necessary to make it possible. He has compassion on us, even when we push him away; he abundantly pardons our sin of rebellion. And it’s not arbitrary. God doesn’t look the other way and ignore our rebellion. He takes care of the punishment we deserve. He does by taking it upon himself, our deserved punishment and death is placed on Jesus, and he took it and right there in our midst, right there in the middle of our world he paid that punishment in full, with is “holy and precious blood, and innocent suffering and death.” He was beaten and crucified to restore us to God. Yet the punishment that Jesus received for us isn’t just physical. He received the eternal punishment for our rebellion. He suffered the punishment of hell for us. And that is where we find God. That is where he is to be found, hanging on our cross, suffering and dying for us.
Where is God to be found today? The very same God, Jesus Christ is found right here in our worship. He promises to be present with us to forgive our sins. He is found here in his Word and Sacraments. His hand reaches out to us with the water of baptism that says, “This is my child, I have found him.” He is found in his supper. The very same body and blood that hung on the cross is given to you in the bread and wine. You can find God right there in a very specific place. And where you find Jesus, you find forgiveness. You find his compassion. You find his pardon for your rebellion. God makes it possible for us. He puts himself right here to be found. He comes near to us. Reaches out his and takes our hand when we are lost. So, we can walk with him, and he can direct our lives again. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Sunday, August 06, 2023
Isaiah 55:1; John 4:7-45; The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost; August 6, 2023;
Isaiah 55:1; John 4:7-45; The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost; August 6, 2023;
Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;
There is no getting around it, life is hard. Oh, I know, we don’t always think so, but it is true. It’s not just church things that make it hard, family things, money things, time things, work things, retirement things (that’s not working things), all things. We’d like life to be easy, without stress and without worry. There are good days when we relax and enjoy the people and world around us, but usually they are few and far between. Life is hard. We want it to be different.
Jesus dealt with that kind of trouble. He called it thirst.
Jesus was sitting at a famous well in the town of Sychar in Samaria. A Samarian woman came to draw water in the heat of the day. That was unusual, most people would draw water in the cool of the night. Jesus knew who she was and what she was about. He said, “Give me a drink.” She was set back, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?”
Jesus, knowing her true thirst replied. “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
She was confused, “You have nothing to draw water, the well is deep. Where will you get that?”
Our Lord seemingly changes the subject. “Go get your husband.”
“Don’t have one.” she said curtly.
“Yep, in fact you have had five, and the guy you’re with now isn’t your husband.”
He gets to the heart of the matter. Her guilt and sin have brought her to the well in the heat, to avoid contact with the other people in her town. Her sin and shame have brought about a thirst that can’t be quenched.
Life is hard, but we make it harder. That’s what sin does. It destroys relationships. Her relationship with the people of Sychar is strained. She wants to be able to come to the well at any time of the day, her thirst for things to be different will never end, without what Jesus has to offer.
Everybody knows this thirst. Our plans fall apart. Our loved ones die. We must interact with people who seem to be wandering around without a clue. Hostility reigns in the world. From customers hassling servers, and neighbors not being good neighbors. Not to mention the growing hostility to Christians who confess biblical truth.
We are especially thirsty when it comes to our families. We grieve over our children having to learn life lessons on their own, because they don’t listen to our advice. Our spouse, who God has called us to love unconditionally, at times, makes us very thirsty.
We are thirsty when we deny Holy Communion to those who don’t confess the truth of scripture. We want the divisions in the Church to end.
But don’t forget, our thirst is mainly because we break all the commandments on a regular basis. If you think you haven’t, all you have to look at Jesus interpretation of them. You may be able to control yourself on out outside, but in your heart, you know that you don’t do what Jesus says perfectly as the law demands. “In thought, word and deed.” We say in our confession.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
The woman at the well has all these. She is human. She has sin, hidden and in the open. Just like you and me. She is very thirsty. She must have been shocked at Jesus’ insight. “I see you are a prophet.” She says and pushes back on another source of thirst, the relationship between Jews and Samaritans. “You people tell us we aren’t worshiping properly because we worship on this mountain.”
“… the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Is Jesus answer.
In other words, “it’s not the place, it is the object, and the truth that God brings in his Son.”
“When the Messiah comes, he will tell us the truth.” She confesses her faith in God sending a Savior. Jesus says it plainly.
“I who speak to you am he.”
“I’m speaking the truth of God to you. You have sin that makes you thirsty. Trust in me and your thirst will have an answer.”
She drops everything, she has forgotten her shame and guilt. She goes to the people that shame her. She wants them to know what she heard.
“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
Because of her actions, and Jesus’ confrontation with the truth, many people of Sychar came and received living water to end their thirst.
Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony,
I don’t have to ask if you are thirsty. It is a fact of human existence. We thirst for things to be different. Jesus has an answer for it. He answers on the cross. Sin is the root cause of this thirst. Our Lord deals it to death there. At his feet we receive the living water of forgiveness. It’s easy to blame everyone else for our problems, but it is our sin always involved. Like the soldier at the foot of the cross (John 19:34, ESV), living water from Jesus side flows over us and washes us clean. His blood flows into the chalice of the Supper. We drink it deeply and receive his gift of life. Our thirst is quenched. We are at peace with God, our sin is dealt with. We have a relationship with the Father through Jesus. A relationship that pours out living water continually. A relationship that is founded in the cross and confirmed through the life-giving water of Holy Baptism. When we remember God’s promises and gifts given to us in this sacrament, we can drink deeply and revive, and quench our thirst.
Does it make a difference? Yes, of course! Baptism connects us to the Holy Spirit. He promises his presence every day of our lives. When the thirst threatens, pray this simple prayer. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. The Spirit causes living water to flow again, and we are refreshed.
In one sense, Christianity isn’t complicated. It’s simple. Come to worship to hear God’s word and the preaching of forgiveness of your sin. It refreshes. Live in your Baptism. Claim the promises there. They refresh. Receive the body and blood of Jesus at this altar. It quenches thirst.
And there is more, with God there always is. Jesus not only gave his life on the cross, but remarkably he rose from the grave to life. There are promises in that action that make this recurring thirst bearable. With his resurrection, Jesus, promises you and me a resurrection from our grave. The Revelation of St. John describes that new life this way:
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:2–4, ESV)
It is the promise of God to his people. All tears, mourning, crying a pain will be past. That means and end to “thirst”. In God’s presence, there will be complete joy, and no more thirst. So, as we now constantly need to be refreshed, through Word and Sacrament, then we will no longer need these things. Come, Lord Jesus, soon! Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. (Isaiah 55:1, ESV)Grace and Peace to you from Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
There is no getting around it, life is hard. Oh, I know, we don’t always think so, but it is true. It’s not just church things that make it hard, family things, money things, time things, work things, retirement things (that’s not working things), all things. We’d like life to be easy, without stress and without worry. There are good days when we relax and enjoy the people and world around us, but usually they are few and far between. Life is hard. We want it to be different.
Jesus dealt with that kind of trouble. He called it thirst.
Jesus was sitting at a famous well in the town of Sychar in Samaria. A Samarian woman came to draw water in the heat of the day. That was unusual, most people would draw water in the cool of the night. Jesus knew who she was and what she was about. He said, “Give me a drink.” She was set back, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?”
Jesus, knowing her true thirst replied. “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
She was confused, “You have nothing to draw water, the well is deep. Where will you get that?”
“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”“I want that water,” she said, “so I don’t have to daily draw water in the heat of the day, and not be thirsty.”
Our Lord seemingly changes the subject. “Go get your husband.”
“Don’t have one.” she said curtly.
“Yep, in fact you have had five, and the guy you’re with now isn’t your husband.”
He gets to the heart of the matter. Her guilt and sin have brought her to the well in the heat, to avoid contact with the other people in her town. Her sin and shame have brought about a thirst that can’t be quenched.
Life is hard, but we make it harder. That’s what sin does. It destroys relationships. Her relationship with the people of Sychar is strained. She wants to be able to come to the well at any time of the day, her thirst for things to be different will never end, without what Jesus has to offer.
Everybody knows this thirst. Our plans fall apart. Our loved ones die. We must interact with people who seem to be wandering around without a clue. Hostility reigns in the world. From customers hassling servers, and neighbors not being good neighbors. Not to mention the growing hostility to Christians who confess biblical truth.
We are especially thirsty when it comes to our families. We grieve over our children having to learn life lessons on their own, because they don’t listen to our advice. Our spouse, who God has called us to love unconditionally, at times, makes us very thirsty.
We are thirsty when we deny Holy Communion to those who don’t confess the truth of scripture. We want the divisions in the Church to end.
But don’t forget, our thirst is mainly because we break all the commandments on a regular basis. If you think you haven’t, all you have to look at Jesus interpretation of them. You may be able to control yourself on out outside, but in your heart, you know that you don’t do what Jesus says perfectly as the law demands. “In thought, word and deed.” We say in our confession.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
The woman at the well has all these. She is human. She has sin, hidden and in the open. Just like you and me. She is very thirsty. She must have been shocked at Jesus’ insight. “I see you are a prophet.” She says and pushes back on another source of thirst, the relationship between Jews and Samaritans. “You people tell us we aren’t worshiping properly because we worship on this mountain.”
“… the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Is Jesus answer.
In other words, “it’s not the place, it is the object, and the truth that God brings in his Son.”
“When the Messiah comes, he will tell us the truth.” She confesses her faith in God sending a Savior. Jesus says it plainly.
“I who speak to you am he.”
“I’m speaking the truth of God to you. You have sin that makes you thirsty. Trust in me and your thirst will have an answer.”
She drops everything, she has forgotten her shame and guilt. She goes to the people that shame her. She wants them to know what she heard.
“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
Because of her actions, and Jesus’ confrontation with the truth, many people of Sychar came and received living water to end their thirst.
Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony,
I don’t have to ask if you are thirsty. It is a fact of human existence. We thirst for things to be different. Jesus has an answer for it. He answers on the cross. Sin is the root cause of this thirst. Our Lord deals it to death there. At his feet we receive the living water of forgiveness. It’s easy to blame everyone else for our problems, but it is our sin always involved. Like the soldier at the foot of the cross (John 19:34, ESV), living water from Jesus side flows over us and washes us clean. His blood flows into the chalice of the Supper. We drink it deeply and receive his gift of life. Our thirst is quenched. We are at peace with God, our sin is dealt with. We have a relationship with the Father through Jesus. A relationship that pours out living water continually. A relationship that is founded in the cross and confirmed through the life-giving water of Holy Baptism. When we remember God’s promises and gifts given to us in this sacrament, we can drink deeply and revive, and quench our thirst.
Does it make a difference? Yes, of course! Baptism connects us to the Holy Spirit. He promises his presence every day of our lives. When the thirst threatens, pray this simple prayer. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. The Spirit causes living water to flow again, and we are refreshed.
In one sense, Christianity isn’t complicated. It’s simple. Come to worship to hear God’s word and the preaching of forgiveness of your sin. It refreshes. Live in your Baptism. Claim the promises there. They refresh. Receive the body and blood of Jesus at this altar. It quenches thirst.
And there is more, with God there always is. Jesus not only gave his life on the cross, but remarkably he rose from the grave to life. There are promises in that action that make this recurring thirst bearable. With his resurrection, Jesus, promises you and me a resurrection from our grave. The Revelation of St. John describes that new life this way:
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:2–4, ESV)
It is the promise of God to his people. All tears, mourning, crying a pain will be past. That means and end to “thirst”. In God’s presence, there will be complete joy, and no more thirst. So, as we now constantly need to be refreshed, through Word and Sacrament, then we will no longer need these things. Come, Lord Jesus, soon! Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Sunday, December 27, 2020
Isaiah 63:7-14; First Sunday after Christmas; December 27, 2020;
Isaiah 63:7-14; First Sunday after Christmas; December 27, 2020;
Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;
I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. For he said, “Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely.” And he became their Savior. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people. Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit, who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name, who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the desert, they did not stumble. Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. So you led your people, to make for yourself a glorious name.” (Isaiah 63:7–14, ESV)
(from and outline by Joel Biermann, Concordia Journal Fall 2013)
Grace and peace to you from our Savior Jesus Christ.
Well, it'll be nice to get back to normal won’t it? Christmas is nice, New Years can be fun (if you don't overdo it!), but normal is nice. But who knows when normal will return? What's with this text anyway? It doesn't seem very Christmasy. God giving extraordinary loving kindness to Israel and their response is rebellion. And then returning to the Lord once again and he forgives. It's an endless refrain. A familiar story. But it seems out of season. Let's hear something more about the Baby of Bethlehem.
Yes, let's not forget that the Baby was born. Let's also not forget that once the baby arrives there's no going back. Any couple can tell you the baby changes everything. There's a new routine. A new emphasis. This week we still want the baby. But next week when we take down the tree, we might rather pack the baby back in the box with the rest of the Nativity scene and let him stay there till next year.
But, this baby, this Christmas baby, won't be packed away. Because this baby is no ordinary baby. The changes he brings are not the same as midnight feedings and new bills. This Baby brings something much more. He has come to stay. And he comes on his own terms. He comes with an agenda. He is the King. He comes to bring his kingdom. A kingdom can only have one King. That's the problem the children of Israel had. They rebelled against their one King. It's an old story. God acts to bring salvation. Human beings rebel. There actually is no choice. It is a consequence of our fallen, sinful nature. Without the baby, we are blind, dead, enemies of God and we want to be our own King, and the new King born in the manger is a threat.
We think we can make it on our own. We think we are self-reliant. We think we have charge over our lives. It's an illusion. It's an illusion that began in the garden when Adam and Eve thought they knew what was better for them than God. What they wanted was not theirs to have. They thought they wanted what they didn't actually need. The illusion is brought full force to our eyes and ears through cultural inputs. Movies and television and music assure us that we are the master of our own destiny. And the illusion is so strong that in spite of the evidence, our broken relationships, our inability to do what we know we should do, our lack of care for our neighbors, and our insistence on our own way, that we think we have everything in control. But we fail daily in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and left undone. We fail to love God with our whole heart. And so, we resist the new King is strongly as Herod who sought to kill him, too.
Herod is the great evil man in the Christmas story who would dare to strike out and kill a helpless child. He strikes out in a violent attack against the one who would be king in his place. There we stand. In Bethlehem, the baby comes with an agenda. He is the Lord. He is the King. There can be only one. We cannot rule ourselves and bow before the true King. The true King will not be content until he rules all, even every aspect of our own lives. He comes to remove sin from your life and mine. Even the sin I don't want to get rid of. If you think about it, Herod's reaction isn't really that surprising. This baby King changes everything. This baby comes, and makes demands, and someone is going to get hurt. Someone is going to die. There's no getting around it. This baby King threatens to kill my rule over my own kingdom. Actually, this baby King, threatens to kill me. And I won't have it.
But maybe I will. Because I need a Savior. I am unable to rule over my own kingdom. My rule leaves my life in shambles. My failures are stacked up. My relationship with God is shattered by sin. Someone is going to get hurt. And if not me than the baby. And he does. In fact, it's why he was born. What Herod tried to do by force, the baby does willingly. He gives himself into death on the cross. In the fight to reign over my own life God will win. He will do whatever is necessary, including sacrificing himself. My sin and rebellion are punished by God in the baby on the cross.
And I will die. In Holy Baptism, my old sinful nature is drowned to death. My rebellious nature is killed. And the baby's claim on my life is set forever. I am beat by the baby. All that happened with Israel is repeated. I am raised from death to new life.
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Sunday, December 13, 2020
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Third Sunday in Advent; December 13, 2020;
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Third Sunday in Advent; December 13, 2020;
Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. For I, the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations. (Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11, ESV)
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Some things seem almost inevitable. If you don’t take care of your body, you’ll pay the price… stop eating for a few days and you get hungry… stop sleeping and you get run down and probably sick… too much of anything good has its effect on our waistline… But there are good things that are generally predictable too. If you do a good job on a project, you’ll probably feel a sense of accomplishment and joy. If you work hard at work, you’ll generally get along with your employer. It happens again and again in life. A certain consequence seems to follow a cause, so naturally and regularly that we even take them for granted.
But, once in a while we are surprised by a totally unexpected result, either pleasantly or unpleasantly. We watch out diet carefully and still get sick. We make mistakes raising our children and yet, they seem to turn out all right. Things in life don’t always turn out how we expect them to.
Spiritual things are no exception. Some results seem inescapable. Violate God’s law and you must pay the price. When you are guilty in God’s eyes, you must suffer punishment and death.
Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die. (Ezekiel 18:4, ESV)
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23, ESV)
But in the face of those terrible threats, the Gospel promises something totally unexpected. We receive an undeserved blessing because of Jesus Christ. That Gospel makes it know to all who will listen, that the Good News is that salvation and rescue are available for all people. In this text for today, God speaks to us through Isaiah, about this very thing; we call it the Great Reversal.
This text in Isaiah is one of the Songs of the Suffering Servant. Isaiah uses this image over and over again in his book. He talks about one who is sent, and anointed by God to do a wonderful, and very unexpected thing. This Servant would deliver God’s people from their suffering. But amazingly he will do it by suffering himself.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me. (v. 1)
Says the Servant. He is anointed by God to preach this good news.
The surprise comes several hundred years later, when Jesus reads these very words in his hometown synagogue.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19, ESV)
Calmly Jesus rolled up the scroll and returned it to its proper place. And he sat down. Then, as was the Jewish custom after reading a scroll, he began to speak about it.
And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21, ESV)
Those around Jesus were shocked, to say the least. “Isn’t this guy Joseph’s son?” Jesus responded,
And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. (Luke 4:24, ESV)
“How can he say that?” they shouted and ran him out to the crest of a hill to throw him down and kill him. But Jesus simply walked through them. Things weren’t as the people in Nazareth expected them to be. They couldn’t accept that God would not just for them, but for all people.
The unexpected is found in Jesus Christ. God comes to earth as a human being to be, not a great earthly king, to rule over people with his armies. He comes as a lowly baby in a manger. He comes to poor parents in a poorer city. He comes as a servant. He
but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:7-8, ESV)
He doesn’t come to destroy he comes to suffer himself, even death on a cross. It just isn’t what is expected from God. What God accomplishes through Jesus Christ is a Great Reversal.
He comes to change around everything for us. The Suffering Servant in Isaiah says he comes to preach to the poor. He isn’t just talking about earthy poverty. He’s talking about spiritual poverty. He is talking about people who would by nature deserve nothing from God but his punishment. Isaiah says in another part of his book:
For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, (Isaiah 26:21a, ESV)
We don’t want to see ourselves as poor. Especially at this time of year, we pride ourselves in giving something to the poor. We puff up with pride when we think that we’ve made a difference in someone else’s Christmas. When we’ve given them something they didn’t have? But God’s Word tells us that that’s who we are. We don’t possess anything that can help us face up to God when he comes to punish.
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)
In God’s eyes all of the things that we try to do to please him fall well short. When we come to see this, we are indeed poor and alone, bruised and broken hearted.
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. (1 Corinthians 15:56, ESV)
But Jesus accomplishes the Great Reversal he comes to bind up the broken heart. We are the poor ones, but he became poor for us.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9, ESV)
He stood in our position as one having no right to anything good. And as a matter of fact, he became sin for us!
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 5:21, ESV)
He willingly took on himself the punishment of our sin. He, who had no sin of his own, took ours. He suffered our death and punishment on the cross. And in exchange he gives to us his righteousness. It’s as if we had never sinned at all. That’s the unexpected. The perfect one is punished, and the sinful ones are made perfect. When Jesus himself proclaims that to us our hearts are soothed.
Jesus Christ comes to proclaim freedom to captives.
And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. (Genesis 8:21, ESV)
Again, we are the captives. We are bound to sin. It entangles us in its web of Death. We think that we have free will, but our free will is bound to sin. “Our sins have snatch us like thieves.” Said Martin Luther. And our final destination is death. We know very well what we deserve.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23, ESV)
Our lives are continually tied up in it. In fact, our whole lives are really lived out beside the grave. No matter how successful we are, no matter how much money we make, or how many bushels per acre we raise, it all ends the same. We can’t effect a change in our day of judgment. Death comes to take us even if we have given our entire fortune to feed the hungry. It would leave us in a state of grief and despair, if it were not for the Great Reversal brought by Jesus Christ. But the web of sin and death are not stronger than he is. When he lay in the tomb cold and dead, he only seemed to be permanently entangled and defeated. He reverses death for us. Through death he makes us alive. He crushes death by dying and by rising again. It is our death that he dies, and his life that we receive, life forever. Isaiah says it like this,
“to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” (v.3)
Life doesn’t end in death instead death ends in life. Jesus Christ has turned everything around. He brings to us the unexpected.
So, here we are in Advent. We are sitting here remembering and thinking about what happened in Bethlehem, some 2000 years ago. It was an unexpected thing. Mary was surprised, Joseph was surprised, and the shepherds were certainly surprised. God, himself came in human flesh to do the unexpected. He came to preach Good News to the poor, to bind up broken hearts, and to free captives. That baby born in an unexpected place changed everything around. He came to do a Great Reversal for you and me. Let’s rejoice in that today, as we look forward to Christmas day. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Sunday, November 29, 2020
Isaiah 64:1-9; The First Sunday in Advent; November 29, 2020;
Isaiah 64:1-9; The First Sunday in Advent; November 29, 2020;
Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;
Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence— as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence! When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? 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. There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.” (Isaiah 64:1–9, ESV)
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Isaiah has a dream, and it is a big one. God’s people are mired in sin. They are ignoring him, but more importantly they are ignoring God. His dream? That God would show himself in power and fix everything. He knows already that judgment is coming. He is afraid for the people. You do not trifle with God’s anger over sin. When the one who made the heavens and the earth displays his anger, there are earthquakes and lightning and fire and darkness and the rivers boil. A little of that would go a long way to the people seeing their sin and confessing. Isaiah makes no bones about it; the people are sinful. Even the good stuff they do is polluted like a bloody rag. Their sins make them dead and dry like a leaf that will just blow away in a breeze. But the people don’t see it, at least they won’t confess it. They refuse to call upon God’s name for mercy. Their sin has blinded them to their need for forgiveness. Isaiah confesses for them and then begs God to be the merciful God that Isaiah knows he is. There is no other god who acts in mercy toward those who wait for him. What that means it that those who stand in faith, those who wait for God to act in mercy toward them, those who see their great need for forgiveness, are given mercy and forgiveness. Isaiah reminds God that his people are his children. They were created by him, just as he created everything in the very beginning. Please temper your anger, Lord. He says. Lord, have mercy! He says. Look at us in mercy and forgive.
What could be better at Advent? We get a bit confused because we think Advent is all about the little baby in the manger. But it really is about waiting for God to act. Isaiah was waiting for God to act in mercy, to come and fix everything. He wanted God to come in person. And he did. He came in the manger in Bethlehem, the little baby that the song says doesn’t cry. But Advent is about his coming for a purpose, it is Isaiah’s dream. Jesus comes to bring mercy for those who are caught in sin. But Jesus also comes to bring God’s wrath against sin, lighting and thunder and earthquakes. Jesus is God who acts. The baby goes to the cross. There is the full anger of God played out. God, the Father, turns his face away from Jesus, his Son. Jesus quotes Psalm 22. His words on the cross are haunting. “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1, ESV) The Psalm continues to make the point.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.” (Psalm 22:14–15, ESV)
It is so much like what Isaiah wrote.
There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.” (Isaiah 64:7, ESV)
It is God, coming in Jesus. It is Isaiah’s dream, only better. Isaiah wanted the law to convict the people. Jesus comes and stand convicted for the people. He takes on God’s wrath in full. God executes justice on the cross, all justice for all time, for all people. It is the awesome thing that we didn’t look for. Forgiveness of sins when we were not calling upon his name, but enemies of God instead.
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8–10, ESV)
God does it, he pours out his great wrath on Jesus so that his people can have Isaiah’s dream, so that he can:
Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.” (Isaiah 64:9, ESV)
We are God’s people. Made so by God’s name placed on us in Holy Baptism. Made so through faith in the baby made sacrifice for us. And yet we are sinners, too. Isaiah’s dream needs to be re-read again. We live our lives not calling upon God’s name but trying our best to get along without him. We do our good deeds for our own benefit. Sin spoils everything. Even the good things we do are polluted by false motives. We need God, himself to come and be present and fix everything. We need Isaiah’s dream again.
And Jesus comes. Word, water, bread and wine. He is here. He is present here just as he promises to be. And he comes for forgiveness. We confess our sin along with Isaiah. Please temper your anger, Lord. Lord, have mercy! Christ, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Look at us in mercy and forgive.
… in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
… take eat this is my body … take drink this is my blood… for the forgiveness of all your sins.
God present in an awesome way we would never expect. Forgiving our sin through his very presence.
And that’s not all. Advent is about God coming to fix everything. He is coming yet again. He will fix everything then, by first destroying all that is corrupted by sin.
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:11–13, ESV)
It is God acting in mercy for those who wait on him. Sin and suffering, death and disease, done in. So, we wait for God to act for us. And while we wait, we act in holiness and godliness. That means serving the world as it needs to be served. Doing our daily work for the sake of our neighbor. Proclaiming the Good News of Jesus who forgives sins through his cross and resurrection and return. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Sunday, October 11, 2020
Isaiah.25.6-9; Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost; October 11, 2020;
Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:6-9, ESV)
Grace and peace to you from Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
It will happen. Sooner or later we’ll have to deal with it. Death will visit Life in Christ, Grand Marais, sticking its bony fingers into our business. Members of this congregation will have to gather, with friends, and family around a loved one who has died. Death will come, and we will be left, sad, afraid and lonely. We don’t like the intrusion. We would just as soon be left to go about our regular business without having that visitor. We don’t want to suffer the separation from our loved ones; we don’t want to have to deal with the pain, and the loneliness. Most of all we don’t want to take the time to deal with our own mortality. Sooner or later, and we all hope later, that ugly visitor will be knocking on my door. And sooner or later, he’ll be at your door too. It doesn’t console us at all to know that death only comes to those who deserve it. We only need to look at ourselves to see that each and every one of us deserves it. “The wages of sin is death.” The bible shouts at us. The more we look at ourselves the more sin we see. From that little white lie that we told last week to the selfish lustful desires that come and invade our thoughts. The sin is present, unavoidably, unmistakably present. Yes, we see it and we know that when death comes, we deserve it.
But, hey, we each come from a long line of deserving people. Deserving parents give birth to deserving children. When those cute little babies are born, we press our noses to the nursery glass, hoping to see ourselves in their features. We hope our best traits have been passed on. “Oh, look at that adorable little baby, she has her father’s eyes. Oh look; she has her mother’s nose...” The comment we never hear or say is “Eck, she has her parent’s sin.” But parents deserving death always pass on their least attractive trait. She has her parent’s sin. She deserves death too. She will live her whole life in that dark shadow. The dark shadow of death cast by her unavoidable inheritance. She takes her place in a very long line of deserving people.
“Oh, Pastor.” You are saying, “I thought today’s theme was party, party, party. You sure know how to kill a party. What happened to the party?” Well, the truth is this, Death has crashed the party, and he’s out there, rattling around in our lives, stalking us at work and lurking about in our house. Death is a real part of our everyday lives and that’s exactly why we are here today. It’s exactly because God had done something about Death’s shadowy intrusion that we have a reason to have a party. In a sense, all the things we do here are a party. Worship is a party. Each time we gather here on Sunday we have a victory celebration. We revel in Christ’s victory over Death on Easter Sunday. We sing joyful songs of praise, and gather around party food, a feast of bread and wine at the Lord’s Table. Today is a party to remind us, that even when Death seems to have the victory, Jesus Christ is the true victor. Death doesn’t stand a chance before the one who faced death, a brutal, horrible, bloody death, but broke through death and rose again to live again.
Isaiah is a true artist; he paints us a picture of a party. He calls it a “feast of fat things.” He didn’t worry about cholesterol. Isaiah knew the best parts of the meat were the fatty parts and the marrow, where all the flavor is. “… the stakes were this thick!” He might say today. “and the wine…” Isaiah says rolling his eyes for effect, “it’s the best wine that there is. It’s the oldest and clearest; it’s the stuff that’s left on the dregs (the stuff in the fermenting vat), extra long. It’s the wine that has the most flavor. Every drop was to be savored. The feast, the party that Isaiah is describing is the kind that was reserved for only the most special occasions: Marriage and other very important events in a family or victory over enemies. “This party,” Isaiah says, “is because the LORD has done something about death! There is a mountain,” Isaiah says still painting a picture for us, “and on it he is going to destroy the thing that we all live in fear of; the burial shroud that covers us, death itself, is going to be destroyed. The Lord will remove it tear it to pieces and it will not bother us any longer! Then on that mountain we are all going to have a party!”
Where is the mountain that Isaiah was talking about? It’s a mountain that we all know about, is a “green hill far away.” It’s the mountain where Jesus Christ destroyed the shroud of death that covered us. He took that shroud from our sin burdened shoulders and placed it upon his own sinless body. He wore it for us, wrapped up in it as he bled and died on the cross. It clung to him for three days, tying to hold him. But Jesus Christ is the master of that shroud, he his more powerful than death, and he broke free from its power removing it from us forever. That is the victory celebrated that Isaiah was celebrating, that is the victory that we are celebrating today again. It’s Jesus victory that removes the curse and the power that death holds over us. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin… Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Sin causes death, death is out there but the resurrection of Jesus Christ proves his victory over it… proves its powerlessness in our lives as well, because God has promised us that same victory when he called us his own, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” That’s our promise that we too will be raised. Death will take us, but just like Jesus, it cannot and will not hold us, because our Savior has proven that he is stronger than death.
And some day soon, our strong Savior will return, he has promised that, too. When he does, death won’t even be able to stalk us any longer. It has now already lost its power. It is now already nothing to fear. On that great day, it will be no more. There will be no death to bring separation from our loved ones. There will be no death to cause pain and loneliness. There will be no more death, period… its cold dark shadow will be obliterated by the Light of the Living Son of God.
Now picture the party again, the feast on that day. There are long tables as far as the eye can see. They are stacked with food. There are huge dark crusty loafs of hot bread. The steam rises off each one, fresh from the oven. The smell is more than you can stand. The tables are so crowded with serving dishes, the plates hang off the edge… if you try to push them so they don’t; everything else moves. There are giant goblets, full of dark red wine; the tablecloth has pink spots from the great red drops that have fallen from each and every one. You are sitting there, elbow to elbow, with your family and friends; your plate has never been empty. And is seems as if there are children everywhere… well you all feel like children anyway. That pain in your back doesn’t bother you anymore; you don’t even remember what it felt like. It is noisy and happy. There is singing… you join in from time to time, because you know each and every word, they just come flowing out of you as natural as breath. And the center of it all is Jesus standing, arms open wide. You’ve already been with him, leaned upon his breast and cried tears of joy. You saw the marks in his hands and feet and side. He is the reason you are there. His love lights the whole feast. It will never end… the joy, the singing, and the feasting… with the resurrected Savior.
That is what our worship is all about. It is a little party to remind us that the great party, the mother-of-all parties that is coming. Today we sing praises to the host of the party; at the great party there will be unending songs of praise. Today we feast on bread and wine, Christ’s own body and blood; these are the seal of the promise of the great feast to come. Look around you and see your brothers and sisters in Christ, they’ll be seated around you at that party, too. I can’t wait!
Yes, death is still out there. It still claims its victims, one by one, and it will claim each of us. Today’s feast… this great party… is a reminder that death’s visit is not a cause for fear. Death’s sting is gone. Jesus, our Savior, has swallowed up death and destroyed it forever. Today, at our little party, we repeat the wonderful words of Isaiah, and we will say them again at the great feast, “This is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation." Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Sunday, August 02, 2020
Isaiah 55:1-3; Ninth Sunday after Pentecost; August 2, 2020;
“Come, all
you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy
and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend
money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen,
listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest
of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make
an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.
Grace and peace to you
from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
So, have you ever been
really thirsty? Or really hungry? I don’t mean just a little, I mean really,
really thirsty; hot, and dry and parched. Your tongue gets thick and stiff, and
sticks to your teeth and the roof of your mouth. Your lips crack and if you
lick them, they just get more dry instead of less. You can pull dry layers of
skin from them, too. Even your eyes seem to be dry and the wind burns in them.
That’s dry. How about hungry that’s more than just a little rumble in your
stomach. I remember a time when I worked for my cousin on his garbage truck. It
was a cold January day. He was sick and needed someone to help run the route. I
bundled up and made the rounds. It was a smelly, dirty, exhausting job. But
what I remember most was lunchtime. I had worked extremely hard and I was very
hungry and very thirsty. Lunch was packed for us… a large jar of water, clear
and wet, and simple cheese and mayo sandwiches. I drank the water like I never
had before. And never had cheese and mayo tasted so good. We ate and napped and
then went back to work. It was a long and hard day.
Hunger and thirst are
universally understood. Everyone’s been hungry and thirsty at sometime in their
life. There are some who are always hungry and always thirsty, they are
literally starving. It’s sad to realize that there is well enough food to feed
everyone, and yet millions are on their way to death from starvation. It is
particularly difficult to see when it involves young children.
The children of Israel
were thirsty and hungry, too. After settling into the Promised Land they had
basically ignored God, the one who had rescued them from Egyptian slavery, and
given them the land. They went through the motions, but it was empty worship.
It was empty action without real meaning. Isaiah asked them “Who’s your real
king? Are you trusting in earthly kings, are you trusting in foreign kings? You
shouldn’t be you should be trusting in your God.” But, life went on for them.
They ignored Isaiah’s pleas to the people to return to the true king, God, YHWH
the one who had chosen them and saved them.
“Watch out!” He said.
“Babylon is coming, and you are going to be taken into exile. Everything you
have now, your wealth, your families, and even land is going to be taken from
you. You will be taken to a far away land.” His words went unheeded… Babylon
came and conquered the land and the people, and the survivors were hauled off
into slavery and exile. Earthly things and kings had failed them. They had lost
everything. They were thirsty and hungry for things to be different.
You see, Isaiah wasn’t
talking about a famine where food and water were scarce; he was talking about
spiritual hunger and thirst. And that too is something we understand. The world
is thirsty and hungry, actually starving to death, and not even aware of why.
People everyday search for meaning in their lives. They go to every well and
banquet they can find. What they are experiencing doesn’t seem all that bad, it
is a less immediate hunger and thirst, but it is no less dangerous. Famine and
drought are common today, even in areas (especially?) where there is plenty to
eat and drink. If you know and watch people at all you know you don’t have to
look far to find emptiness. For lots of people life is a void, an undefined
dissatisfaction with the way things are, even though they have all they could
ever want or need. Most people that we come into contact with every day are
filled with good, and yet they feel that something is lacking. People today are
spiritually hungry and thirsty. Many are actually starving and parched, even in
the midst of plenty. In their search for satisfaction people stuff themselves
with a steady diet of spiritual junk food. Sects and cults have never been more
popular. There is a constant demand for spiritual gurus and advisors. People
are turning to television personalities to answer spiritual questions of life
and death. But the food they are eating is food without spiritual value. And
the drink they are guzzling doesn’t quench their thirst. In fact, they are
overweight from eating, and still starving. They are waterlogged from drinking
and dying from dehydration. It is all poison. Instead of leading of to health,
it all leads to death.
Jackie was happy, she
thought, and yet something was still missing. She had been happily married for
so long, it was difficult to remember a time when she wasn’t a wife. Her children were grown
and successful and happy. She had everything she needed and most everything she
wanted. Her husband was highly successful, too. They were comfortable, if not
well off. But ever increasingly she felt as if something was missing. There was
a vague dissatisfaction in her life but she just couldn’t put her finger on
what it was. It was a longing for something unknown and illusive.
Jackie had many friends
and acquaintances. Gloria seemed very much like her. But there was a
difference. Very frequently she had invited Jackie to attend a bible study with
her. Finally, she gave in for the sole reason of being able to say that she had
tried it, and put the request to sleep for good. At the gathering one of the
women read this text.
“Come, all
you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy
and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend
money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen,
listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest
of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make
an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. Isaiah 55:1-3
Jackie was startled. Were
the words talking to her? Is that what her problem was? Is that why she felt so
empty? Was she spending her life in pursuit of things that didn’t really
satisfy? What exactly was being offered in those words that would fill the
emptiness?
Maybe
today you are hungry and thirsty, too. You’ve had questions about running here
and there trying to do everything that needs to be done, and yet you wonder if
it’s all worth it. Year after year you do the same thing, standing on the
assembly floor, sitting in the tractor seat, cleaning the same carpet, feeding
hogs in the same building. Work has provided you with everything you need, and
most of what you want. It’s all going very well, but maybe you’ve said to
yourself there has to be more. So, you do more. Social clubs, sports teams,
fair boards, and more… but there is still that little emptiness in there, a
thirsting for more, a hunger that isn’t ever really quite satisfied. I’ve been
there too. It’s an easy place to get to. It’s easy to be hungry and wanting,
and thirsty for what seems elusive.
I’ve got good news for you. No, I’m not going to pass around a jug of
water, and some cheese sandwiches. Actually, Isaiah has good news for you. It’s
the same good news he had for the people of Israel. Remember they were hungry
and thirsty, too. “Come all who are thirsty…” he said to them. You’ve forgotten
who your true King is, you are wondering around looking for something you can’t
find. Come to your God and King and he will satisfy you. He is what you’ve
crowded out of your life with all of life’s troubles and problems, wants and
desires.
God is there for you to
calling to you to come… It’s not that you don’t know who he is, and what he has
done for you in Jesus Christ, but it’s easy to let “more practical” concerns
set Jesus aside. I’ll get back to Jesus when I have time. But, before you know
it your thirsty again, and hungry for that missing something. The missing
something is Jesus.
Remember the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. She was drawing
water for drinking. Jesus asked her for a drink.
“I can’t do
that,” she said, “I’m an outcast and you’re not. I a Samaritian.”
Jesus answered
her; “If you knew who I am you’d be asking me for living water. Anyone who drinks
of it will never be thirsty again.”
“That’s the
water I want! I’d not have to make tiring trips to the well every day.”
“Go get your
husband.”
“I don’t have
one.” She answered.
“Yes, I know.”
Jesus said, “You’ve had 5 husbands and now your living with a man. It looks to
me like you want more than just water from this well. You won’t find what
you’re looking for it in those men. You’ll find it in me.”
It’s when we find our life
lacking, when we are hungry and thirsty that we hear the words of Isaiah and
Jesus as Good News. What is truly and finally satisfying is a relationship with
Jesus Christ. He is the bread of life. He gives the water of life. He has a never-ending
banquet of food and drink. With Jesus “my cup overflows.” When we partake of
Jesus Christ, through faith, we are not disappointed. He gives us what we
really need: The Bread of God.
Here in this place God
feeds us with the Good News about Jesus Christ. Here we are fed by words that
travel through the air to reach us and tell us what God has done for us in
Jesus Christ. How he fills that elusive empty feeling, that space that can’t be
filled. He shed his blood for you and he did it so that you’d never be hungry
and thirsty again. He took your sins to the cross and sacrificed himself there
for you, so that you could have a relationship with him forever.
But, God knows you need
more than just colorful metaphors about his promises for you. He knows that
your diet needs real food and real drink. It’s easy to say, “Come to me and
I’ll give you what you need.” He does more than that; he actually gives you
something to eat. And he gives it right here. Open up your hand and in it, God
gives you the very Bread of Life. “Take and eat this is my body… take and drink
this is my blood.” It’s more than just spiritual, ghostly eating. It’s real and
physical. We receive Jesus in his body and in his blood right there in the
bread and wine. God gives us food that is more than food, and drink that is
more than drink. This is the blood of the covenant given for you for the
forgiveness of sins.
While we live in this world, we’ll always be hungry and
thirsty. We can’t get rid of our craving for food that doesn’t satisfy. Jesus
gives us food that satisfies. Wholesome bread and living water to take care of
what we need, and also to remind us of the time when we will be with him,
sitting and eating and drinking in the banquet that will never end. Amen.
The peace of God that passes
all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
Isaiah 2:1-5; The First Sunday in Advent, December 1, 2019;
Isaiah
2:1-5; The First Sunday in Advent, December 1, 2019;
Life in
Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;
The word that
Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that
the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of
the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations
shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up
to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may
teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ.
Well, there’s
nothing like a fresh snowfall. There are
hardly even any footprints even in the snow.
I like sitting out in the cold after a snowfall at night and listening
to the quiet, peace that seems to cover everything. Grace and peace… hey that’s what today’s text is all about peace.
“It the last days… They will beat
their swords into plowshares and their spears in to pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.”
That sure sounds
like peace to me.
It seems to me
that this is an especially good time to talk about peace. Here we are at the
brink of 2020 and who knows what’s in the future.
We always talk
about peace at this time of year. “Peace
on Earth” banners are all around. Peace
on earth is included in many of your Christmas decorations. “Peace on Earth… good will toward men…” is quoting
angels. It is what they sang to the
shepherds the night Jesus was born. Peace,
we all love to be at peace. But the
truth of the matter is this… we are never at peace.
Anyone who
studies history at all knows that peace is a very rare commodity. Human history is very often marked and
counted by war. We remember what
happened at a certain time because of what war was going on. “I was married at the end of WWII.” “My dad
fought in WWII and Korea Hanoi
Well, as far as
what Isaiah says, I don’t see much turning swords into plowshares that this
text is talking about. Governments are spending
more on ‘training for war’ than ever before.
Right now, the only way we’d want to turn a sword into a plow is because
“If you hit a guy with a plowshare, he really gonna know he’s been hit.”
And yet, at this
time of year, as Christmas approaches, we still spout off “Peace on Earth,” and
claim that Jesus brings peace.
Well, maybe we’re
talking about a different peace than just the absence of war between nations. Maybe we’re talking about peace between
ethnic groups… that hardly seems possible.
Look at all the ethnic fighting around the globe. How many of you have any real hope for this
new round of mid-east peace talks?” Peace talks are always so fragile; a
sideways glance leads to a new round of suicide bombers. There are riots in France and ethnic
cleansing in Africa. The coming of the
little baby in the manger doesn’t seem to have much impact in these
places.
Let’s look closer
to home. Maybe Jesus brings peace to our
families. But… I don’t think so. I’m sure you remember the last fight you had
with your spouse; I do. Are you getting
along with all your children? There is
so much to do during the Peace on Earth season, tempers often run a little
short. The busier we get the less peace
we see. For a season that is about peace
that comes through the baby of Bethlehem
If you want to
see a prime example of the lack of peace in families, just look at the divorce
rate. It’s staggering! All around us and
among us are families torn apart by divorce, children shuffled between
households, uncertainty, insecurity, and arguments over child support. Divorce is a declaration of war on the family. Is it any wonder God says, “I hate divorce.”
(Mal 2:16)
Well, maybe the
peace that Isaiah is talking about is a peace between individual people. Peace between you and me. You’ve got friends and neighbors… you are at
peace with all of them, right? There are
no squabbles about fences, are there?
Nobodies hunted a deer without permission on your property, right? You’ve never heard, “I wanted that land and
you knew it, why did you buy it?” Tall fences make good neighbors, we sometimes
say. Neighbors sometimes have very
strained relationships.
The peace can be
broken even in the best relationships… a misspoken word, or with an unintended
harsh tone. Feelings are hurt. The friendship is strained, sometimes to the
breaking point. Some who were friends
haven’t spoke in years. It is easy to
see there is not much personal peace either.
In fact, when peace is broken on this level the effects are most
devastating.
What about inner
peace. Maybe what Isaiah means is that the
baby brings peace that sooths the inner torment of people. But, a look around will show you troubled
people everywhere. Physiologists and
psychiatrists have never been busier. On
the outside we may be calm, but a storm is brewing… so many people feel on the
very brink of disaster. Peace is not in
there either.
“‘Peace,
Peace’, when there is no peace.” (Jer 6:14, ESV) Says
the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Israel
There is no
peace. The real root of the problem is
that human beings are at war, not only with themselves, their neighbors, and
other nations; the issue is that human beings are at war with God! You see, a perfect God cannot and does not
tolerate sin. And the problem is that if
you are human you are sinful. So, God
cannot tolerate sinful human beings, that means God cannot tolerate you! In fact, to be human means to be God’s enemy. Now pastor, you’re not going to make any
friends talking like that. Can’t you
just fluff over that part and get right to the good stuff. I wouldn’t be pastor if I did. It is my job to remind you, that as a member
of the human race, a sinful member of the human race, you deserve only God’s
anger and punishment, that when you are born, right out of the gate, you were God’s
enemy. God’s enemies deserve his wrath
and punishment, God’s act of war against them.
And yet
we say that Jesus Christ brings peace. Peace,
as the bible talks about it, is completeness, wholeness, harmony, and
fulfillment. It isn’t just and absence
of war, but it is being in perfect relationship with everything around you; perfect
relationship with other people and perfect relationship with God. Peace, says the bible, has its source in God,
himself. And so it only makes sense that
when God himself, comes among us, in Jesus Christ, he would be called the
Prince of Peace.
For to us a
child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his
shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:6, ESV)
But
still the question remains, how does this Prince of Peace bring peace? How is
the peace he brings, for us?
St. Paul wrote a letter to the Church at Ephesus
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have
been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself
is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the
dividing wall of hostility
by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances,
that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making
peace, and
might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing
the hostility.
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near.
(Ephesians 2:13-17, ESV)
Jesus
death brings together warring parties. It
restores broken relationships. It does
it because Jesus Christ ended the war between God and man. How? He did it by becoming God’s enemy. That’s right, Jesus Christ the only Son of
God himself, became God’s mortal enemy. Even
though Jesus was perfect, even though he never in his life, from the time he
was born in that dingy stable until he hung on the cross to die, did anything
to deserve God’s anger. He became God’s
enemy. When it was you and I that
deserved God’s anger it was poured out on Jesus on the cross. As he hung there on those nails, as he breathed
in agony, as he suffered, he called out to his father, “My God, My God why have
you forsaken me!” and God turned away from his enemy and let him die. And with that death, the war ended. “It is finished!” Jesus said, “The war is
over.” He told his disciples:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as
the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let
them be afraid.
(John 14:27, ESV)
As
amazing and as wonderful as this peace is, it wasn’t the last word on the subject. “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”
the angel asked. “He is risen! God
approves of him again. The war is over. Now God even approves of you! Jesus has done all that is required for you to
be at peace with God.”
Since
Jesus died as God’s enemy, we no longer need to do so. In fact, we have become his beloved children. That’s what he promises us when we are
baptized into his family. We, who were
once enemies of God, have gone from enemies to children. Talk about a change in status! There at the
font, God wraps us in his loving arms, “You are mine!” and “You are mine!” and
“You are mine!” There is no stronger statement of self-worth that can be spoken. Think of it the Creator of the Universe says
to you, you are my very own child. What an
ultimate statement of inner peace, to be loved and cared for by God, himself. That means that nothing that happens in our
lives is beyond his control and purpose.
When we suffer, when there is no peace in our lives, God has it well in
hand, well under control. He promises
that it will all work out for our benefit.
And what
God has done for us, he promises to other people, too. As we live and work with the people around
us, we realize that these too are people for whom Jesus died. He loves them so much that they too are
children of God when they believe what he has done for them. If he loves them that much how can we, who are
also his children do any less. Our
togetherness in Christ, because of what he has done for all of us, brings down
the walls of hostility. All our
relationships are different because of what God has done for us through Jesus
Christ. Instead of raising a sword
against each other, peace can grow and flourish. The energy needed to make war can be turned
to making peace; building up, instead of tearing down. And the peace that Isaiah is talking about
can begin. That’s turning swords into
plowshares, and spears into pruning hooks.
That’s true peace brought to us by the Prince of Peace.
That’s
why we remember what happened so many years ago, in a dark stable, in a small
corner of the world. That’s why we celebrate
the birth of the ‘enemy of God.’ Jesus brings peace. He is peace.
Peace, first, between God and man.
Peace in our families. Peace
among friends and neighbors, and even peace between nations.
And he
is coming again. And then the peace we
have right now, the peace that he brings will be fully realized. The Prince of Peace becomes the King of Peace. All nations will ‘stream’ to him, just as
Isaiah says. And peace will flow like a
river.
Whenever
we think of Advent, we think about looking forward to Christmas. And that’s what advent is all about, but it’s
more than that… it’s also looking forward to the time when Jesus will come
again. The time when the peace he brings
will be everywhere, and there will be no more war only peace. Amen.
The peace
of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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