Lutherans For Life Statement on the George Tiller Murder

June 1, 2009

Lutherans For Life (LFL) joins pro-life groups across the country in extending our sympathy to the family of George Tiller, the late-term abortionist who was gunned down Sunday morning in his church. We join other pro-life groups in denouncing this action as evil. No circumstances justify the violent murder of another human being.

God’s Word tells us not to fight evil with evil but to “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Based on that same Word of God, LFL believes that abortion is a great evil, the violent murder of another human being that deeply grieves the Author and Redeemer of life. But we oppose the use of evil to overcome this evil. We have the greatest “good” there is to use against it, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. LFL strives to apply the Gospel to the life issues, to change hearts and minds so that people will turn to the Lord of Life and not the god of death as the solution to difficult circumstances. We want to make the killing of children in the sanctity of the womb as unthinkable and deplorable as the killing of George Tiller in the sanctity of his church.

While George Tiller was a member of a Lutheran denomination that does not officially oppose abortion, it should be noted that almost all other Lutheran denominations do take an official stance that opposes abortion and asserts the God-given value of human life from conception to natural death.

We commend the Tiller family and all affected by this tragic event into the loving arms of a crucified and risen Savior. May He be at work in all of this according to His good and gracious will.

http://lutheransforlife.org/

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The Truth is Scaryfunny. (I think that's Newspeak)

Coming up on a special episode of COPS: San Diego police close in on an illegal Bible study ring!

HT: The Sacred Sandwich Dubious Photojournalism; WorldNetDaily

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Psa.139.1-12; Pentecost, May 31, 2009

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

I’m sure many of you have heard this story: A farmer went into his banker and said to him that he had good news and bad news. “First the bad. I can’t make the mortgage payment, and I can’t pay back my operating loan this year. We couldn’t get the crop planted because of the weather, so I won’t be making any payments on my equipment either. In fact, I’m going to pack it all in and just turn the farm over to you.” After a prolonged silence the banker asked, “What’s the good news?” The farmer smiled, “I’m still going to bank with you.”

Good News and Bad News. We get used to hearing things that are good news and bad news. Of course in real life we don’t want to hear the bad news, only the good. And here we are pew sitting Easter is still fresh on our minds. Isn’t this the time when we expect to hear about “Good News?” The purple of advent is gone, the fasting, the sorry feelings for what Jesus had to go through on our behalf. Let’s hear some more Good News about Jesus being alive! OK!

Well, that’s not just Good News that Christ has risen, that’s Best of the Best News. Jesus Christ has conquered sin, death and hell. Every time we shout it we proclaim the victory won by Jesus. The victory that is our by faith in what He has done. It’s Good News…

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. (Psalm 139:1-12, ESV)

My question to you today is: Is that psalm Good News or Bad News?

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! (Psalm 139:1, ESV)

Well, of course it’s not always good to have God know everything about everything about me. It almost feels like an invasion of privacy. Think about it, God searching me and knowing me! If God’s knows me, I can’t hide in the crowd. I can’t blend in to the wallflowers. He knows who I am and there’s no getting away. That’s Bad News, isn’t it? Or is it Good News? He knows me. He knows who I am, I’m not just a number in the crowd. He knows me for me. Come to think about it that means when Jesus hung on the cross, when He died for the sins of the world, he because he was God, he knew me there too! When He rose from the dead as the first fruits of those who believe, he knew me then too! Because he searches me and knows me, he knows how much I needed a Savior, and when he bled and died on the cross he did it for me. And he rose again from death, and when I shout “He is Risen!” I’m shouting it for me because God knows me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. (Psalm 139:2, ESV)

God knows when I sit and when I rise, that pretty much covers all my waking hours: At work, at play, at home, at church, as a matter of fact this sounds a lot like church, sitting and rising. Right here and now God knows my thoughts from afar. I don’t think that’s Good News at all. He looks inside here, inside my head, and knows what I’m thinking. Well, at times it’s rather empty, but at times it’s full of awful things. When I sit by people that I don’t like, God knows what I’m thinking… God knows what I’m thinking; he knows my thoughts from afar. He doesn’t have to be here and see the disgust on my face when I sit and wish that certain people would just go away. I’d rather not have God know about that… But God knows my thoughts… He knows my struggle every day to do what’s right. I know I should be welcoming to everyone. I know that Jesus promise of forgiveness is for everyone. He knows that I know what I should do and yet I don’t do it. He knows my thoughts, how much help I need, so when He promises to help it’s not an empty offer. He is the one who can help me make a change in my attitude, and change my thoughts, because he knows what they are. That is Good News.

You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. (Psalm 139:3, ESV)

God watches over my going out and my lying down: in my house, outside of my house; in the garage, taking a nap on the couch, or late nights in front of the glow of the tube, God is familiar with all my ways. He’s familiar… does familiarity breeds contempt? My ways are not God’s ways. It’s not Good News that God is familiar with what I do every day. Mostly because I’m not sure he’d be happy with some of the things I do. I don’t want my family to know all my ways. I have private moments that I thought were just mine, but God says he’s familiar… with my personal failures, my personal struggles with recurring sins, my personal demons, all the things that I hide from everyone. He knows them all… that’s Bad News, and yet, it’s Good News, isn’t it. If he’s familiar with it, he knows how much those things hurt me. If he’s familiar he knows how unhappy I am when I do them. The bible says that Jesus was tempted every way just as we are, that means he knows how difficult the struggle is. If he knows about them there’s no reason to not talk to him about them. No reason not to confess them to him. He’s familiar, he’s not going to be surprised at my confession, in fact when I say I have sinned in thought word and deed, he’s familiar with what I’m talking about. “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” That’s his promise. He is faithful. He is familiar. He is forgiving. He forgives me.

Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. (Psalm 139:4, ESV)

There are times when I wish I knew what was on my tongue before I spoke. More often than not, my words cut. More times than I care to admit my tongue is my most versatile weapon, and it works with more precision than any satellite-guided bomb. Worst of all my tongue is connected to my heart. When I say the things I wish I didn’t say, I do mean them, even if I don’t mean them later. My tongue reveals the blackness that I know is in my heart. And God knows it’s there, too. He knows what I’m going to say before I say it. And what about those words that I don’t say? Those hurtful, spiteful words that I somehow manage to keep from rolling off my tongue. If he knows the ones I say before I say them then he knows the ones that I bite off in my mouth. Even though it was good not to say them, it’s bad that I even thought them. And God knows them all. He knows them because he doesn’t judge the words of my mouth. God judges by the heart, and mine is full of sin. He knows the words because he knows the heart. Out of the heart comes all sort of evil, Jesus says. St. Paul says to let the words of Christ dwell richly in your heart. If his words are there then His words will come off your tongue. Just look at today as an example: God knew I’d be singing the words of the hymn we just sang even before we sang them, even before I pick it for us to sing!

So, the tongue that hurts is also the tongue that repeats Good News. The tongue that cuts can also be the tongue that speaks of the forgiveness won for corrupt hearts. Jesus Christ knows, He knows what I’m going to say. He can and will cause his words to come out of me, instead of my own.

You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. (Psalm 139:5-12, ESV)

The psalm speaks of God’s pursuit. Everywhere I go He is there. He’s like a bloodhound on the trail. I can’t climb a tree, or into a hole. He knows me. I can’t hide from Him. He knows my thoughts, the evil that fills my brain. He knows the things I do, weather in secret or in public. The things I do that are selfish, or hateful, or for spite. He knows my heart and the evil words I will speak. For all of that He should pursue me for punishment. The wages of sin is death, He says. I deserve death, for my thoughts words and deed. And I can hide none of them from God. The “Bad News” is that I am guilty and God knows it.

But the Good News is: That instead of pursuing me, God pursues someone else. It’s funny, in a way, because even though I am evil and deserve punishment, God punishes him even though He is Good. Jesus Christ fell under the relentless pursuit of God punishment. He suffered and died for my sins. AS Jesus bled and died on the cross, God heaped on him the punishment for my hidden thoughts, my evil actions, and my sinful heart. And when Jesus said, “It is finished!” the punishment for them all went away with His death. He rose again for me, to give life to me instead of the death I deserved. That is Great, Good News.

The funny thing is that if we think again of the psalm we don’t have to worry about the “Bad News” any more. We can think of the Good News of the Psalm instead. He searches me and knows me he knows all my needs and takes care of me. No intrusion on my privacy only the searching of a loving caring God. He only wants the best for me. Because of Jesus he knows my sitting and my rising and my thoughts from afar. He knows me so well that nothing can separate me from his love. I am always on his mind. And He knows and hears me even before I speak. Before I even know my needs myself, before I can even speak them God knows about them and has already answered my prayers.

So the Psalm that would be Bad News / Good News is really not Bad News at all. It’s Good News about my relationship with God, because of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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

Psa1v1-6; Seventh Sunday of Easter, May 24, 2009

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

That is the opening paragraph from what many consider to be a great classic work of literature. The book is called “A Tale of Two Cities,” by Charles Dickens. I don’t know if you’ve read the story or not, but it’s a book about contrasts. The whole story takes place during the upheaval of the French Revolution, and is centered on two characters that look alike but are actually quite different. One exhibits the best qualities of the time, the other the worst; one is wise, the other foolish, etc. Dickens uses the contrast between these two men to build a story life and death, darkness and light, and good and evil.

The psalm for today also talks about the same kind of contrasts. It paints for us a very vivid picture of two ways of life; two ways that humans can live. The way of wisdom, the way of the person who is blessed by God, and the way of wickedness, the way that perishes.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1:1-6, ESV)

The author of the Psalm paints these pictures with two strong images. The first is the image of a strong tree flourishing by a stream. This tree has great leafy green branches that spread into the sky. Each leaf receives the moisture it needs from the stream, they “never wither” the poet says. The tree is a fruit-bearing tree. In season the fruit is heavy on the branches, a good crop at the proper time. “And all that he does prospers,” the Psalm says, in conclusion, that is it grows and bears fruit just as a tree should do. Oh how blessed is the tree that has been so planted that it can grow and prosper in the way that tress should grow and prosper.

Oh how blessed is the man… The picture of the tree is a picture of a righteous person. You can see the contrast set up again by the psalm. A person grows and prospers by the instruction of God, not by the counsel or wisdom of the wicked. A righteous person meditates “day and night” on the things of God not living the way that wicked people live, not by sitting with them to learn from their foolishness. Instead the blessed person goes to God with the questions of life. He listens to the wisdom of God and considers what it means for the way he lives.

That isn’t the way with the wicked people described by the psalm. They are like the chaff the wind blows away. In contrast to the planted tree, the chaff is the throw away part of the harvest. The newly harvested stalks of grain are stacked on the threshing floor. Oxen trample them to release the grain. When evening comes and the gentle breeze begins to blow, the farmer tosses the mixture in the air. The wind picks up the chaff and carries it away, but the heavy grain falls back to the ground. The grain is collected and moved to storage. The chaff isn’t given any further thought, the wind has disposed of it, and it has no value anymore. The way of the wicked person is just as the chaff. It ends in nothing, accomplishes nothing and easily disappears in the breeze.

The best of times, the worst of times, foolishness and wisdom, light and darkness, these are two ways of life.

It’s easy for us to think that we are the ones who are blessed ones. Look around you at all that is here around us: A wonderful building; a wonderful congregation that God has preserved through some very tough times. There are new cars in the parking lot, and young children sitting among us. For years and years even in the middle of trouble his congregation has gathered together every Sunday to sing beautiful music, and hear God’s Word proclaimed. Children are born and bring life and hope. We watch them grow and accomplish new things, and become responsible adults. I had to laugh (in a very good way) in the Christmas Eve picture tradition. We have wonderful places to live and food enough. And our community that often helps and nurtures those who are hurting. We are truly very blessed people.

But are our leaves always green? Do we bear fruit when we should? I must admit for myself, when trouble comes into my family, when I face the prospect of death and pain, I don’t feel very green. I don’t like to pick up extra duties around the house when my wife is sick. When something my children have done has upset me I don’t feel much like a green leaf. I’m sure it’s the same for you. There are struggles we all face every single day; insecurity at work, struggles with people you don’t like, questions about the future of the community; the future of the economy; the future of our country. Often what we see in the future more feels like what’s blowing away in the wind than anything else. And our fruit always seem to be tainted. Oh, we want to do the right thing, but issues always seem to come down to money and time. We don’t want to be selfish, but we’ve gotta take care of ourselves first. At least that’s the advice you get from television, and movies. At least that’s the word we get from self help books and our friends and family and our own sinful hearts. We do have fruit, but lots of time it seems kind of wormy and quite a bit rotten. And that’s the problem with rotten fruit. You can’t eat it. It’s just no good.

It seems that Psalm 1 describes our lives pretty completely. We are blessed and yet we do things that wicked people do. So where does that leave our future? Is God going to watch over us or shall we blow away like so much straw?

The truth is that the Psalm isn’t just talking about us. We really fit in the wicked category better than with the one who meditates on God’s Word day and night. An hour a week seems to be our limit. A little to long on Pastor’s sermon and we’ll threaten to drop off to sleep. No, that part of the Psalm really describes Someone else a lot better than it describes us. It describes Someone who’s fruit is never tainted. It describes Someone who always got that green leaf thing going on. It describes Someone who has God’s Word as the very nature and center of His life. He walks in God’s ways not ours. He does whatever He sets out to do. There’s that contrast again, it’s very strong in this Psalm. There’s us and there’s Him… and the Him is Jesus.

Everything Jesus did was blessed. God watched over Him and protected Him. When King Herod wanted to kill Him, God sent Jesus family to Egypt. After Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, angels came and helped Him. Jesus didn’t take the counsel of wicked people; He stood up to their lies and confronted their hypocrisy. Jesus was caring and compassionate. Everywhere He went people walked away different. He ended suffering from disease, and weakness. Just remember the reading from Mark. He cast out an unclean spirit. He gave people hope for their future, and He even gave them food when they needed that. Remember how He fed 5000 people in the wilderness with 5 loaves and 2 fish? It’s easy to see Jesus as the strong tree, His arms heavy with good fruit stretched out for the people that flocked to be with Him. He was green and growing, bearing fruit and prospering. He was blessed and watched over by God. He was everything we should be, and can’t be.

And yet, there’s another part of that Psalm that describes Jesus, too. He wasn’t a wicked person. He lived His life perfectly in the will of God, He never sinned, but still He suffered the death of a wicked person. Everything He did was right and yet He suffered and died, as a wicked person deserves. What happened to God watching over Him then? God was watching, in fact, Jesus whole life lived for that very moment. Someone had to be punished for the wickedness of people, someone had to be punished for the evil things that you and I do. Someone had to die for our rotten fruit. And that’s just what Jesus did. He bled and died for the wickedness of the whole world. He willingly gave His perfect life to satisfy the need for punishment… to perish for wicked people. And God was watching and approved of it and accepted the sacrifice of Jesus for you and me and all the wicked people of the whole world. And all that He did prospered. When the payment was paid in full, Jesus Christ rose from the dead again, in victory over all evil.

“Pastor,” you say, “I know what Jesus did, but my life still seems a lot more like the chaff in the wind. I don’t feel like the tree by the water.”

Look right here at this font. That’s your stream of water. That’s the one you’ve been planted by. It was at your baptism that God made promises to you to watch over you, and to make you a blessed person. It was there that you were “clothed with Christ.” You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (Galatians 3:26-27) That means that everything Jesus Christ did He did for you. Everything from the punishment He paid, to the good things that He did. The green leaves and the abundant fruit that He grew are yours. That’s what the passage means when it says, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8, ESV) That gift of God is faith in the good works of Christ. Not trusting the “good things” you’ve done to impress God, because we know that no matter how good they are they just don’t measure up. Listen again to the familiar words of Isaiah: We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. (we could replace those words with “rotten fruit”!) We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:6, ESV) Sound familiar? Sure, that’s just like the Psalm. Well then if all our “righteous deeds” are “rotten fruit” what are we to do? That’s what our faith is all about we trust in the good fruit of Someone else. The good works of Jesus are yours. That’s as true for you as the fact that right here at the “stream of living water” your head got wet. You have been transplanted by (by means of) streams of water, from the way of wicked people to the way of the blessed. You don’t need any good works, to make yourself right with God. But do you know who needs those good things you do? Your neighbors! Your family! You co-workers! Your community! Your school! That’s what changes everything. Instead of trying to impress God with our good works (they don’t anyway… remember) we can do them to serve others. We don’t need them but they do! And that too is what the Psalm is talking about.

We are blessed people, planted by streams of living water, to bear good and abundant fruit, in season. Serving the people God has placed right before us to serve. The future for us isn’t like chaff in the wind. Our future is a blessed future just as God has promised through Jesus Christ. For us it is the best of times. Time to grow and flourish where God has planted us. Time to bear fruit right here in the ways God has given us to bear it. And just as he promises, in Jesus Christ all that we do will prosper. Amen.

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

Jesus Gives Real Forgiveness for Real Sin! How Much More Relevant Can You Get!

Who says what Jesus gives isn't relevant.  We laugh because we are just as guilty as she is, and we don't really think 'this sin' needs forgiveness. 

Luther reminds us about the Sixth Commandment

You shall not commit adultery.

What does this mean?

Answer: We should fear and love God so that we may lead a pure and decent life in words and deeds, and each love and honor his spouse.

Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions. 2005 (Edited by Paul Timothy McCain) (322). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

He explains further in the Large Catechism:

²⁰² But among us there is such a shameful mess and the very dregs of all vice and lewdness. Therefore, this commandment is directed against all kinds of unchastity, whatever it may be called. ²⁰³ Not only is the outward act of adultery forbidden, but also every kind of cause, motive, and means of adultery. Then the heart, the lips, and the whole body may be chaste and offer no opportunity, help, or persuasion toward inchastity. ²⁰⁴ Not only this, but we must also resist temptation, offer protection, and rescue honor wherever there is danger and need. We must give help and counsel, so as to maintain our neighbor’s honor. For whenever you abandon this effort when you could resist unchastity, or whenever you overlook it as if it did not concern you, you are as truly guilty of adultery as the one doing the deed. ²⁰⁵ To speak in the briefest way, this much is required of you: everyone must live chastely himself and help his neighbor do the same. So by this commandment God wishes to build a hedge round about [Job 1:10] and protect every spouse so that no one trespasses against him or her.

Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions. 2005 (Edited by Paul Timothy McCain) (382). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

All that's needed is, "I forgive you all your sin in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

Jesus Christ gives real forgiveness for real sin!

John.15.9-17; Sixth Sunday in Easter, May 17, 2009

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As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another. (John 15:9-17, ESV)

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

I guess we should have sung the hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” It’s a fine hymn, but I must admit not one of my favorites. Oh, I know, that for some of you this is your favorite, it is one of the most common hymns requested at your funerals. As far as funeral hymns go, we can do so much better than this hymn (That’s a topic for another time). The problem is, this hymn doesn’t really talk about Jesus. It talks about our trials, our temptations, our load of care, etc. The only thing it says about Jesus is that he is our friend and that he is faithful. It almost makes it sound like if you pray to your friend Jesus, he’s gonna take your troubles away. That’s not really an idea you find in the bible. If you want to understand Jesus as your friend this text for today is a good place to look. Here in this text you can’t separate out being Jesus friends, what Jesus has done for us, and our doing what Jesus commands. Look what he says:

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

I had a seminary prof who once asked the question, “Does Jesus want you to keep the Ten Commandments?” We Lutherans are so often afraid of falling into salvation by works, by trying to keep God’s commandments we are sometimes afraid to say that God really does want us to keep the commandments. The answer is a definite “yes!” In fact that’s what it means for us to be a friend, to bear fruit, to keep the commandments. Specifically we can look at commandments 4-10. These are all about our relationships with other people, our friends. Luther is always careful to say in his descriptions of the commandments both what not to do, and what to do. Don’t kill but protect! Don’t commit adultery, love your spouse! Don’t covet, help you neighbor keep what is his! All this is the fruit Jesus expects from his friends. That’s what Jesus means when he talks about you and me “laying down our lives for our friends.” There is no better way to be a friend than to do all the things the commandments tell us to do for the people that God has place right in front of us; our friends; our family; our neighbors; even our enemies! There is “no greater love” Jesus says. Well, more on how to do this in a minute.

The very interesting thing in this text is that Jesus calls his disciples his friends. He describes his relationship with them very specifically.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.

God’s love flows through Jesus. He is their friend. But there’s more here than at first glance. In fact, the definition of a friend isn’t complete unless we look at Jesus who is the complete true and perfect friend. No one does it better. Just look, Jesus, the disciple’s friend, strips off his robe, kneels down on the floor and washes the disciple’s feet. You remember:

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” (John 13:1-8, ESV)

Jesus is the perfect picture of a servant. Or remember how Jesus fed the thousands from a few bites of food; or how he healed people who came to him for help; and how he even raised from the dead, his friend Lazarus. I think that’s the kind of friend you and I want to have! That’s what Jesus means by friendship. It isn’t an equal relationship. He’s the friend who is always giving. We are the friends who are always receiving.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

To help us just a bit to understand this Jesus to us friendship we need to go to another place. In John 19, where Jesus is standing before the crowds that want him dead, Pilate is trying to find a way to release Jesus. But Jesus enemies deal Jesus’ death blow on Pilate by this accusation.

From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” (John 19:12, ESV)

Now you should know, that Pilate wasn’t Ceasar’s friend because they went out and had beers together. There was an exclusive club called “Friends of Ceasar” They had special meetings and even a ring. Pilate was Ceasar’s friend because he uncovered a plot against him. He was initiated into the special club, φίλος τοῦ Καίσαρος· this was no equal friendship. Ceasar is on top, Pilate is his servant. The use of this phrase by Jesus’ enemies is a threat. If you don’t kill Jesus we’ll spoil your reputation with Ceasar. You won’t be his friend anymore. It’s all Pilate can take and he relents. Jesus is given up to the cross. Pilate is not willing to die for a man he considers beneath him.

And that brings us to Jesus’ cross. Here’s the thing about Jesus’ friendship. We are Jesus friends, but not because Jesus is our buddy. We are not on that kind of familiar terms with Jesus like you are with the friends you hang out with. Jesus is God, himself, in human flesh. Jesus is our friend as he gives his life for us. This is the amazing thing. We are not equals. It’s like Ceasar giving his life for Pilate. Pilate giving his life for one of the servants. You giving your life for the illegal immigrant working for sub-minimum wage in the factory. Jesus dies for his friends. He gives everything, we give nothing. He gives it to those who don’t deserve anything from him. Jesus is the one who lays down his life for his friends. The God of the universe, the creator of everything, dies for the sake of those he created. It is the greatest love there is.

What about our love? Well, it’s conditional. We give it when we get something out of it. We give it to those who we think deserve it. We don’t give it to those who we think are below us, unless it makes us look good. We don’t want to waste our love on the unwashed masses. “If I give them money, I want to make sure they don’t drink it away.” “I’m not going to help them anymore; they didn’t even send me a thank you!” “I’ll help them if they cleanup their act.” What we are doing is putting ourselves in God’s place, at least what we think God’s place would be. We look down on people who need help and give it as we think will benefit us the most. It certainly isn’t the love of God flowing through Christ to us and us to our neighbors. Our giving isn’t described by the Commandments, for the sake of our neighbors. What we deserve is to be NOT God’s friends. In our sin, that’s exactly what our conditional love is, we are God’s enemies instead. We deserve his anger. We deserve his punishment. We deserve to die. We deserve Hell!

But our Friend, Jesus, suffers and dies on the cross for the forgiveness of our sin! That anger of God, that punishment is poured out on Jesus. Jesus in his ultimate love for his friends dies like no other person can ever do. When he gives up his life for his friends it is more than just death, it is the eternal punishment for our selfish sin. Jesus is our friend, the true friend that gives up his life for his friends. Next time you want to talk about, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, don’t leave out the forgiveness of sins we get from our friend, Jesus by his death on the cross.

But Jesus doesn’t leave it there, does he. Isn’t it amazing that Jesus gives everything and then there’s still more to give? He says it here.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

We bear fruit. Just like I said last week, we bear fruit because we are in the vine. Jesus says that God’s love flows through him, to us and from us to… our friends. How does it work? Where does it begin? Jesus says ask for anything, he’ll give it. Ask for fruit. Ask to be a friend. Ask to be able to give of yourself like Jesus does. Ask… pray… it’s the same thing. There’s that old movie about baseball, “build it and they will come.” Jesus says, pray for it and it will come. “Lord, make me a better father.” “Jesus, help me to serve my neighbor.” “God I can’t stand the way that person wants everything their way, help me to serve them.” “Let me be Jesus to my family, children, husband, and church.” “Give me a giving heart to give and expect nothing in return.” “Help me to see the needs around me, in my community, in my country, in the world.” That puts a whole new perspective on prayer doesn’t it? “Ask anything you need for serving your neighbor, your friend, and I’ll give it.” So be it!

Jesus is our friend. He gives us everything; forgiveness through his life, death and resurrection. And everything we need to be friends with those who are all around us. What a Friend We Have in Jesus, indeed! Amen.

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

Where are the Women's Groups On This Topic. Surely Murder is the Highest Form of Discrimination!

 

Sweden has approved gender-specific abortions, allowing parents to rid themselves of an unwanted daughter in a closely-watched ethics case:

Swedish women will be permitted to abort their children based on the sex of the fetus, according to a ruling by Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare.

The ruling was spurred by a request from Kai Wedenberg, head of the clinic where a woman twice requested, and received, an abortion based on sex.

Mr. Wedenberg asked for clarification from health officials after a woman, who already had two girls, requested amniocentesis and to be told the sex of her unborn child. She found out she was pregnant with another girl and asked for an abortion six days later.

The woman then became pregnant again, returned to the clinic and asked for another amniocentesis, which was not performed. Later, at her ultrasound, she asked the nurse to reveal the sex of her fetus, which was a girl. After learning this, the mother requested an abortion later that day and received it later that week.

ht:http://stevenjcamp.blogspot.com/

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