Back in July, a number of our teens and a few adults went down to New Orleans. We were joined there by about 25,000 other young Lutherans. During our time down there, we got to do a lot of things. We heard great music. We saw amazingly talented artists. We sang out in praise for our great and amazing God. We even had the chance to serve a community still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Most importantly though, we heard and read the Word of God, centered around the theme “We Believe,” taken from John 20:31; “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
One thing the Bible studies and skits got me to think about again, was what it must have been like to actually be there. To actually see and hear Jesus speak. I mean, imagine what it would have been like to be there as Jesus went to see Mary and Martha. These sisters hadn’t just heard Jesus speak. They had welcomed him into their home! Jesus had actually eaten Martha’s cooking. Mary had sat at his feet, listening to her savior speak to her, close enough to reach out and touch him. They and their brother Lazarus counted him as their friend. A friend who they could laugh and talk with. And now, a friend they could cry with.
When Lazarus fell ill, the sisters sent word to their friend. They knew that more than any physician, Jesus could heal their brother. They sent word, begging him to come see his friend. But he stayed away. He stayed away as Lazarus’ health got worse and worse. He stayed away so long that by the time he did come, his friend had been dead 4 days.
But then they got to see something amazing. They heard Jesus ask for the stone to be rolled away. They heard Jesus say “Lazarus! Come out!” And then they saw the impossible. They saw their brother come out of his grave. He had been dead, but now he was alive! Can you imagine being a witness to such a sight?
We heard about a woman who went to a well. A woman with a past. A woman with a reputation. She had been married multiple times. She was currently living with a man she was not married to. Most women, respectable women, went to the well in the morning or early evening, when the temperature was cool. But this woman went in the middle of the day. Perhaps to avoid the sneers and whispered comments. Perhaps because she saw yet another man. Perhaps another husband. Or at least another lover.
Whatever she was expecting, it likely wasn’t to be Jesus of Nazareth. She wasn’t expecting a man who not only knew exactly why she was at the well that day, but about everything she had ever done. And the last thing she expected was that he would offer her, an adulterer and a Samaritan to boot, the water that leads to eternal life.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Push to the Finish (Hebrews 12:1-3)
Eric Moussambani was an Olympian who quite simply didn’t belong. Nicknamed “the Eel,” he was a swimmer who barely knew how to swim. A 22 year-old from Equatorial Guinea, he was a winner of an Olympic wild card drawing for the 2000 Olympics, held to encourage developing countries to participate when they otherwise would not be able to afford it.
At first it was reported he began to practice in January in a 20 m pool, but that wasn’t quite accurate. It was true that he only began to really swim in January. But it wasn’t in a pool. Rather, he did his practicing in a river known to be inhabited by crocodiles. Come September, he was seeing the first 50 m pool he’d ever seen, ready to compete on the world’s largest and grandest sporting stage. He was scheduled to compete in his heat of the 100 m freestyle alongside two other wild card entrants. But when they each false-started, Eric was left alone in the center of the pool, a lone contestant set to swim the race he was barely even capable of completing, much less winning, at the Olympic games.
When given the cadence, Eric dove in; a man alone in the water. It was obvious from the start that there would be no medal on the way for The Eel. The view from the underwater cameras as seen by viewers at home showed a complete lack of technique. As his arms paddled the water in choppy strokes, his legs kicked with no synchronization, offering little in terms of propulsion. As he made the turn at the halfway mark, his pace slowed even further. The effort being expended was obvious, but the gains were little. About 75 meters in, he seemed to barely be moving. His already painfully slow pace had nearly come to a complete stop. A lifeguard was ready by the side of the pool, just in case. Eric himself wondered whether he would be able to finish. But he persevered. He wasn’t moving fast, but he was moving. So he kept on pushing.
Two things helped Eric as he strove to finish. First, he had the crowd behind him. Fans are notorious for rooting for winners. People usually love the underdog as long as it looks like it could pull the upset. But once the underdog turns into a dud, people lose interest. People don’t cheer for losers. Usually they’re either jeered or ignored entirely. But for Eric, it was different.
The crowd recognized and appreciated the effort this young man was giving. They wanted to see him succeed. They wanted to see him finish the race. So they cheered. They didn’t cheer meekly or out of politeness. They stood and cheered as loudly for him as they would later on in the races that “mattered.” They couldn’t physically help him in his struggles, but they were able to make it known that they were pulling for him, helping him on the best that they could.
The other thing that helped him finish was that he could see the end. He was able to look up and see the goal he was working towards. His body and the water were fighting his efforts to get there, but he pressed on. He knew that if he could just get to the end, he would be able to rest. His goal for the race was not winning an Olympic medal, but finishing what he had started. With the finish line in sight and with the crowd urging him on, he finally finished. At 1:52, his time was nowhere close to a world-record. In fact, his time was even slower than the record for the 200 m. But he had finished. He had struggled, but he had persevered, and he had finished.
Our text for today calls for us to “run with perseverance the race set before us.” Like Eric, we are in a race we are not expected to win. In fact it’s a race we aren’t even capable of winning. Unlike Eric, we are not in this race by chance. We aren’t racing due to the luck of the draw. We are called to run this race. We have been placed here by the Father. This is more than the day-to-day “rat race” we are all familiar with. This isn’t a race as the world would have us understand it. It isn’t about fighting for prestige, promotion, or wealth. Those caught up in that race all come to the same end. Death. Eternal, painful, unending death. But by God’s almighty grace, at our baptisms we were called to run a different race.
Ours is a race of faith. It is a race that multitudes have been called to run before us. In chapter 11 the author tells us of what people like Abraham, Noah, Moses, and Rahab were able to accomplish through their faith. He shows us how they and others had similarly been chosen by God, set apart from the world around them, and endured and lived by faith. They weren’t chosen on account of their own worthiness. Like Eric, they didn’t belong. Like we don’t belong. But through baptism and by the grace of God, we all have been chosen and called to run the race.
Beyond being called to run this race, we are called to run with perseverance, with endurance. This is a perseverance of more than just the flesh. It is a perseverance of will; an endurance of the heart and spirit. It is a perseverance that withstands the trials and tribulations of both day to day life and of the faith, and comes out the other side. As I’m sure you are all aware, the life of a believer is not easy. Our faith and our beliefs are constantly put under attack.
However, as we struggle along, we are not without support. Like Eric, God provides us with different means of encouragement to help us complete the race. Like Eric, we are told we are surrounded by a crowd, or in our case a cloud, of witnesses. However, this isn’t quite the same as the crowd around the pool that day. Our cloud of witnesses is made up of all believers, past and present.
Those who have gone before are not witnesses in the sense that they are watching our comings and goings and rooting for us to succeed. Rather, by their lives we are given a testimony to the faith, examples of what it means to live the life of a Christian. By looking at those who have gone before us, we can learn from what they did right, hope to avoid what they did wrong, and take comfort in the knowledge that they were given the power to persevere through their own trials and tribulations.
At the same time, we have been surrounded by living witnesses to our race, and they are there to provide us with help and encouragement. Our families, both of the biological and Christian nature, are there to help us along our way. We aren’t running alone. Our lives as a whole might be unique to us, but we share many of the same temptations and hardships as those around us. In those situations we are provided the opportunity to help one another, comfort one another, and encourage one another to cast aside those sins that weigh us down.
This happens in a variety of ways. A friend happens to call on a day you’re feeling lonely or depressed. A neighbor asks if you’d like someone to talk to or pray with. A pastor or concerned member comes to visit you while you’re sick or awaiting surgery. Some days are easier than others, but in the long-term, it can be a challenge to not fall away and lose heart. Even so, we persevere; we keep on running, pushing forward in faith.
But we aren’t running the race without purpose or without an end in sight. Just as Eric was able to see his final goal, so are we told to cast our eyes forward. Not merely on the finish line that represents the end of the race, but rather upon Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Faith as it is described by the author of Hebrews; the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Christ has borne the burdens of the entire world, was crucified upon the cross, and rose again victorious, having defeated death once and for all. Through his works, imparted to us at our Baptisms, we are able to call ourselves saved and redeemed children of God.
The King James Bible translated the word “persevere” as “patience.” Using the idea of patience, it helps put the purpose of our race into perspective. We said earlier that this is a race we don’t deserve to be in. It’s one that we can’t win. And yet we are called to run it anyway, until we reach the end. But of course, we don’t know when that end will be. It could be today, it could be decades from now.
With that in mind, we can see how our race is one of patience. Patience because we don’t know exactly how long it will take to reach the finish line. Because there may be times we grow anxious for our Lord’s return. It’s in those times that we rejoice at what we see when do fix our eyes upon what is waiting at the finish.
Christ has already won the race. He endured the cross. The crowds jeered and mocked his efforts, but he was not swayed. They put him to death, but he conquered the grave. The victory has been won. While we are called to persevere in our race, we find strength and comfort in the fact that he already sits at the right hand of the throne of God, declaring us to be justified, declaring to the Father that ragged and haggard as we might be, the promise of salvation is ours.
As surely as we are gathered here this morning, Christ is at this moment sitting on his throne, waiting to make his triumphant and final return. Waiting to raise us up and grant us the ultimate, eternal prize of new life in the Kingdom of God. Waiting to welcome us home.
At first it was reported he began to practice in January in a 20 m pool, but that wasn’t quite accurate. It was true that he only began to really swim in January. But it wasn’t in a pool. Rather, he did his practicing in a river known to be inhabited by crocodiles. Come September, he was seeing the first 50 m pool he’d ever seen, ready to compete on the world’s largest and grandest sporting stage. He was scheduled to compete in his heat of the 100 m freestyle alongside two other wild card entrants. But when they each false-started, Eric was left alone in the center of the pool, a lone contestant set to swim the race he was barely even capable of completing, much less winning, at the Olympic games.
When given the cadence, Eric dove in; a man alone in the water. It was obvious from the start that there would be no medal on the way for The Eel. The view from the underwater cameras as seen by viewers at home showed a complete lack of technique. As his arms paddled the water in choppy strokes, his legs kicked with no synchronization, offering little in terms of propulsion. As he made the turn at the halfway mark, his pace slowed even further. The effort being expended was obvious, but the gains were little. About 75 meters in, he seemed to barely be moving. His already painfully slow pace had nearly come to a complete stop. A lifeguard was ready by the side of the pool, just in case. Eric himself wondered whether he would be able to finish. But he persevered. He wasn’t moving fast, but he was moving. So he kept on pushing.
Two things helped Eric as he strove to finish. First, he had the crowd behind him. Fans are notorious for rooting for winners. People usually love the underdog as long as it looks like it could pull the upset. But once the underdog turns into a dud, people lose interest. People don’t cheer for losers. Usually they’re either jeered or ignored entirely. But for Eric, it was different.
The crowd recognized and appreciated the effort this young man was giving. They wanted to see him succeed. They wanted to see him finish the race. So they cheered. They didn’t cheer meekly or out of politeness. They stood and cheered as loudly for him as they would later on in the races that “mattered.” They couldn’t physically help him in his struggles, but they were able to make it known that they were pulling for him, helping him on the best that they could.
The other thing that helped him finish was that he could see the end. He was able to look up and see the goal he was working towards. His body and the water were fighting his efforts to get there, but he pressed on. He knew that if he could just get to the end, he would be able to rest. His goal for the race was not winning an Olympic medal, but finishing what he had started. With the finish line in sight and with the crowd urging him on, he finally finished. At 1:52, his time was nowhere close to a world-record. In fact, his time was even slower than the record for the 200 m. But he had finished. He had struggled, but he had persevered, and he had finished.
Our text for today calls for us to “run with perseverance the race set before us.” Like Eric, we are in a race we are not expected to win. In fact it’s a race we aren’t even capable of winning. Unlike Eric, we are not in this race by chance. We aren’t racing due to the luck of the draw. We are called to run this race. We have been placed here by the Father. This is more than the day-to-day “rat race” we are all familiar with. This isn’t a race as the world would have us understand it. It isn’t about fighting for prestige, promotion, or wealth. Those caught up in that race all come to the same end. Death. Eternal, painful, unending death. But by God’s almighty grace, at our baptisms we were called to run a different race.
Ours is a race of faith. It is a race that multitudes have been called to run before us. In chapter 11 the author tells us of what people like Abraham, Noah, Moses, and Rahab were able to accomplish through their faith. He shows us how they and others had similarly been chosen by God, set apart from the world around them, and endured and lived by faith. They weren’t chosen on account of their own worthiness. Like Eric, they didn’t belong. Like we don’t belong. But through baptism and by the grace of God, we all have been chosen and called to run the race.
Beyond being called to run this race, we are called to run with perseverance, with endurance. This is a perseverance of more than just the flesh. It is a perseverance of will; an endurance of the heart and spirit. It is a perseverance that withstands the trials and tribulations of both day to day life and of the faith, and comes out the other side. As I’m sure you are all aware, the life of a believer is not easy. Our faith and our beliefs are constantly put under attack.
However, as we struggle along, we are not without support. Like Eric, God provides us with different means of encouragement to help us complete the race. Like Eric, we are told we are surrounded by a crowd, or in our case a cloud, of witnesses. However, this isn’t quite the same as the crowd around the pool that day. Our cloud of witnesses is made up of all believers, past and present.
Those who have gone before are not witnesses in the sense that they are watching our comings and goings and rooting for us to succeed. Rather, by their lives we are given a testimony to the faith, examples of what it means to live the life of a Christian. By looking at those who have gone before us, we can learn from what they did right, hope to avoid what they did wrong, and take comfort in the knowledge that they were given the power to persevere through their own trials and tribulations.
At the same time, we have been surrounded by living witnesses to our race, and they are there to provide us with help and encouragement. Our families, both of the biological and Christian nature, are there to help us along our way. We aren’t running alone. Our lives as a whole might be unique to us, but we share many of the same temptations and hardships as those around us. In those situations we are provided the opportunity to help one another, comfort one another, and encourage one another to cast aside those sins that weigh us down.
This happens in a variety of ways. A friend happens to call on a day you’re feeling lonely or depressed. A neighbor asks if you’d like someone to talk to or pray with. A pastor or concerned member comes to visit you while you’re sick or awaiting surgery. Some days are easier than others, but in the long-term, it can be a challenge to not fall away and lose heart. Even so, we persevere; we keep on running, pushing forward in faith.
But we aren’t running the race without purpose or without an end in sight. Just as Eric was able to see his final goal, so are we told to cast our eyes forward. Not merely on the finish line that represents the end of the race, but rather upon Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Faith as it is described by the author of Hebrews; the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Christ has borne the burdens of the entire world, was crucified upon the cross, and rose again victorious, having defeated death once and for all. Through his works, imparted to us at our Baptisms, we are able to call ourselves saved and redeemed children of God.
The King James Bible translated the word “persevere” as “patience.” Using the idea of patience, it helps put the purpose of our race into perspective. We said earlier that this is a race we don’t deserve to be in. It’s one that we can’t win. And yet we are called to run it anyway, until we reach the end. But of course, we don’t know when that end will be. It could be today, it could be decades from now.
With that in mind, we can see how our race is one of patience. Patience because we don’t know exactly how long it will take to reach the finish line. Because there may be times we grow anxious for our Lord’s return. It’s in those times that we rejoice at what we see when do fix our eyes upon what is waiting at the finish.
Christ has already won the race. He endured the cross. The crowds jeered and mocked his efforts, but he was not swayed. They put him to death, but he conquered the grave. The victory has been won. While we are called to persevere in our race, we find strength and comfort in the fact that he already sits at the right hand of the throne of God, declaring us to be justified, declaring to the Father that ragged and haggard as we might be, the promise of salvation is ours.
As surely as we are gathered here this morning, Christ is at this moment sitting on his throne, waiting to make his triumphant and final return. Waiting to raise us up and grant us the ultimate, eternal prize of new life in the Kingdom of God. Waiting to welcome us home.
Worry Not and Trust the Lord (Luke 12:22-34)
Last week Pastor Bender preached on the parable of the Rich Fool. A man who found his joy in the things of the world. A man who lost his soul as a result of his material idolatry. He suffered eternal damnation not because he was rich, but because he put his trust in his wealth. Because he felt as though he did not need God.
Today’s reading picks up immediately after that parable. Jesus finishes telling the parable of a man sent to hell for his idolatry of worldly possessions and says, “Therefore I tell you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.”
Don’t worry. It’s a command I’m sure we’ve all heard, and have probably even used ourselves. Of course, not worrying about those things is easier said than done. Luckily, Jesus wasn’t a just a generic motivational speaker who would encourage people to do something without providing direction on how to actually achieve it. When he made challenging statements, he provided both the reason it should be followed, and directions on how to do so.
The first bit of instruction we’re given here is “worry not - - he loves you.” Connie Mack was the legendary owner and manager of the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years. Over the course of those years he became known as one of the best managers that the game of baseball has ever seen. He oversaw some of the finest teams baseball has ever seen, winning the American League 9 times, and finishing the season as World Series champs on 5 different occasions. In fact, his 3,731 wins as manager put him nearly 1,000 wins ahead of second place. But over the course of 50 years, not every team is going to be playing in the World Series. In fact, some of Mack’s teams were flat-out terrible. So along with his wins record, he also ended up with a record 3,948 losses.
Early in his career, when he was running a new and lousy team, the constant losses were consuming him. This isn’t unusual in the world of sports. It’s common to hear veteran players and coaches talk about how every year the losses get a little bit tougher, and the wins get a little less sweet. The worry and concern over what losing means overtakes the joy and happiness that winning brings.
I don’t know if Mack was a Christian man, but he seemed to learn a lesson that many others in his field never do. Later in life he would say, “I discovered that worry was threatening to wreck my career as a baseball manager. I saw how foolish it was and I forced myself to get so busy preparing to win games that I had no time left to worry over the ones that were already lost. You can't grind grain with water that has already gone down the creek."
Jesus didn’t hang around with too many professional athletes, but he understood that when you once you start making food and money your primary focus, worrying about the qualities and quantities is inevitable. When the things of this world control your heart, the result is going to be a constant worry and quest for more. The worry can become so consuming that even acquiring what you’ve been striving after loses it’s luster, because you’re already concerned about getting something even better. But, Jesus also knew something about His Father that allowed Him to say “don’t worry.”
He knew that we have a God who loves us enough to give up his Son to die in our place. It’s not uncommon for a parent to be willing to give up their own life in order to save their child. But how willing would you be as a parent to intentionally put your son or daughter in the line of fire? To willingly send your own child to a certain death in order to protect others? I’m not even a parent, and I can barely imagine doing that. And yet, that is precisely what God did for us.
Jesus gives us another reason why we can live without worry. He says “worry not - - he keeps you.” Again, Jesus wasn’t foolish. He knew from history that even those who belonged to God and sought to serve him weren’t without fears and the need for reassurance. Likely the most dramatic example of this is seen in Exodus. The people see God’s hand at work in the various plagues, and in parting the waters of the Red Sea as they go across on dry ground. But within a couple days they’re overcome by fear and doubt. “Moses, where’s the food! Moses, where’s the water! We’re gonna die out here!” Even the great prophet Elijah fled in fear for his life just moments after seeing God burn up the sacrifice that had been completely drenched with water.
Jesus knew these stories, and he knew that people haven’t ever really changed. But instead of condemning us for it, he seeks to offer comfort and assurance.
Jesus points out the lilies and the grasses of the field. How beautifully are they adorned? Now, I’m not much of a gardener. I can tell the difference between a tulip and a rose, but that’s about it. But still, I appreciate the beauty that is there when you walk around town and see the flowers in bloom. Did God have to make flowers beautiful in order for nature to work properly? Of course not; but He did anyway. Jesus brings up the birds of the air. Are they not provided with food and shelter? And then he brings it back to us. If God cares for even these smallest of things, how much more will he provide for those who He created in His image?
Now, we do need to note what Jesus is actually promising. What he promises is that our most important of needs will be met. We will have food. We will have clothing. We will have shelter. What he’s not promising is that we’ll be eating filet mignon, wearing Armani, or living in a lake-side mansion. John the Baptist wore camel hair and ate locusts, but yet he was fed and clothed. Jesus himself didn’t have a bed to call his own, but yet he never lacked shelter. Where we run into problems, where the people Jesus was speaking to ran into problems, is differentiating between our perceived needs and those things that are actual necessities. Our views toward what we need to survive tend to be much greater than reality. It’s a natural result of living in a world that is sinful. Because of our sinful natures, even the most basic of necessities can be warped and twisted into a false god that becomes our master. Jesus calls us to shed those false gods, and trust His promise God will provide for our needs.
I do think we should note what else Jesus is NOT saying here. First, he’s not saying that we’ll never be in want, or that things will never be difficult. After all, even the grass and the lilies have to face droughts and non-seasonal weather. Birds face the threat of losing their homes due to storms or logging. Scripture makes it clear that we can and should expect to face persecution and challenging situations. It’s in those times that we most need to remember what kind of God we have, and find comfort in what he has promised to his people.
We know we have a loving God, and we are called to remember how he has and does care for us, not just in the good times; but in the trying. We are called to not despair, but to continue to place our trust in our Lord and Savior
That brings us to our final instruction. “Worry not - - He welcomes you.” On more than one occasion I’ve heard this reading explained to mean that worry is a sin, and that because we worry we need to confess that sin and receive God’s forgiveness. Now, that is true. Worry is ultimately a result of failing to trust and love God with all of our hearts, souls, and minds; and we do need forgiveness for that. But that’s not the message Jesus is preaching here. Jesus is talking to those who he refers to as a “little-flock.” He is speaking as the good shepherd, showing the way to His sheep; a flock full of sinful people whose faith fall short of perfect trust and understanding.
He says "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”
While we live in this world, we will always be both saint and sinner. We will be tempted to worship our things. We will be tempted to worry about protecting those things or acquiring those things. And we will fail to always resist those temptations. And when that happens, we should and feel condemned by the law, knowing that the wages of sin is death. But what a comfort it is to know that in spite of our being sinful beings, the Father has been pleased to give us the kingdom! That in his mercy he provides us eternal life in a kingdom where we will never be in want. Where we will never be without food to eat, but will eat at the wedding feast of the Lamb. Where we will be dressed in robes that will never fade or wear out. What a comfort it is to be able to come before the throne of God, confess our sins, and hear Him say “I forgive you.”
I’m not sure where this quote originated, but it’s one that I really like. “Sometimes the Lord calms the storm. Sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms his child.” We all face challenges and hardships of different types. But God promises to be with us through all of them, holding us in his loving arms and offering us comfort. He tells us not to worry. He tells us that He is our Father, and He will provide. Amen.
Today’s reading picks up immediately after that parable. Jesus finishes telling the parable of a man sent to hell for his idolatry of worldly possessions and says, “Therefore I tell you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.”
Don’t worry. It’s a command I’m sure we’ve all heard, and have probably even used ourselves. Of course, not worrying about those things is easier said than done. Luckily, Jesus wasn’t a just a generic motivational speaker who would encourage people to do something without providing direction on how to actually achieve it. When he made challenging statements, he provided both the reason it should be followed, and directions on how to do so.
The first bit of instruction we’re given here is “worry not - - he loves you.” Connie Mack was the legendary owner and manager of the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years. Over the course of those years he became known as one of the best managers that the game of baseball has ever seen. He oversaw some of the finest teams baseball has ever seen, winning the American League 9 times, and finishing the season as World Series champs on 5 different occasions. In fact, his 3,731 wins as manager put him nearly 1,000 wins ahead of second place. But over the course of 50 years, not every team is going to be playing in the World Series. In fact, some of Mack’s teams were flat-out terrible. So along with his wins record, he also ended up with a record 3,948 losses.
Early in his career, when he was running a new and lousy team, the constant losses were consuming him. This isn’t unusual in the world of sports. It’s common to hear veteran players and coaches talk about how every year the losses get a little bit tougher, and the wins get a little less sweet. The worry and concern over what losing means overtakes the joy and happiness that winning brings.
I don’t know if Mack was a Christian man, but he seemed to learn a lesson that many others in his field never do. Later in life he would say, “I discovered that worry was threatening to wreck my career as a baseball manager. I saw how foolish it was and I forced myself to get so busy preparing to win games that I had no time left to worry over the ones that were already lost. You can't grind grain with water that has already gone down the creek."
Jesus didn’t hang around with too many professional athletes, but he understood that when you once you start making food and money your primary focus, worrying about the qualities and quantities is inevitable. When the things of this world control your heart, the result is going to be a constant worry and quest for more. The worry can become so consuming that even acquiring what you’ve been striving after loses it’s luster, because you’re already concerned about getting something even better. But, Jesus also knew something about His Father that allowed Him to say “don’t worry.”
He knew that we have a God who loves us enough to give up his Son to die in our place. It’s not uncommon for a parent to be willing to give up their own life in order to save their child. But how willing would you be as a parent to intentionally put your son or daughter in the line of fire? To willingly send your own child to a certain death in order to protect others? I’m not even a parent, and I can barely imagine doing that. And yet, that is precisely what God did for us.
Jesus gives us another reason why we can live without worry. He says “worry not - - he keeps you.” Again, Jesus wasn’t foolish. He knew from history that even those who belonged to God and sought to serve him weren’t without fears and the need for reassurance. Likely the most dramatic example of this is seen in Exodus. The people see God’s hand at work in the various plagues, and in parting the waters of the Red Sea as they go across on dry ground. But within a couple days they’re overcome by fear and doubt. “Moses, where’s the food! Moses, where’s the water! We’re gonna die out here!” Even the great prophet Elijah fled in fear for his life just moments after seeing God burn up the sacrifice that had been completely drenched with water.
Jesus knew these stories, and he knew that people haven’t ever really changed. But instead of condemning us for it, he seeks to offer comfort and assurance.
Jesus points out the lilies and the grasses of the field. How beautifully are they adorned? Now, I’m not much of a gardener. I can tell the difference between a tulip and a rose, but that’s about it. But still, I appreciate the beauty that is there when you walk around town and see the flowers in bloom. Did God have to make flowers beautiful in order for nature to work properly? Of course not; but He did anyway. Jesus brings up the birds of the air. Are they not provided with food and shelter? And then he brings it back to us. If God cares for even these smallest of things, how much more will he provide for those who He created in His image?
Now, we do need to note what Jesus is actually promising. What he promises is that our most important of needs will be met. We will have food. We will have clothing. We will have shelter. What he’s not promising is that we’ll be eating filet mignon, wearing Armani, or living in a lake-side mansion. John the Baptist wore camel hair and ate locusts, but yet he was fed and clothed. Jesus himself didn’t have a bed to call his own, but yet he never lacked shelter. Where we run into problems, where the people Jesus was speaking to ran into problems, is differentiating between our perceived needs and those things that are actual necessities. Our views toward what we need to survive tend to be much greater than reality. It’s a natural result of living in a world that is sinful. Because of our sinful natures, even the most basic of necessities can be warped and twisted into a false god that becomes our master. Jesus calls us to shed those false gods, and trust His promise God will provide for our needs.
I do think we should note what else Jesus is NOT saying here. First, he’s not saying that we’ll never be in want, or that things will never be difficult. After all, even the grass and the lilies have to face droughts and non-seasonal weather. Birds face the threat of losing their homes due to storms or logging. Scripture makes it clear that we can and should expect to face persecution and challenging situations. It’s in those times that we most need to remember what kind of God we have, and find comfort in what he has promised to his people.
We know we have a loving God, and we are called to remember how he has and does care for us, not just in the good times; but in the trying. We are called to not despair, but to continue to place our trust in our Lord and Savior
That brings us to our final instruction. “Worry not - - He welcomes you.” On more than one occasion I’ve heard this reading explained to mean that worry is a sin, and that because we worry we need to confess that sin and receive God’s forgiveness. Now, that is true. Worry is ultimately a result of failing to trust and love God with all of our hearts, souls, and minds; and we do need forgiveness for that. But that’s not the message Jesus is preaching here. Jesus is talking to those who he refers to as a “little-flock.” He is speaking as the good shepherd, showing the way to His sheep; a flock full of sinful people whose faith fall short of perfect trust and understanding.
He says "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”
While we live in this world, we will always be both saint and sinner. We will be tempted to worship our things. We will be tempted to worry about protecting those things or acquiring those things. And we will fail to always resist those temptations. And when that happens, we should and feel condemned by the law, knowing that the wages of sin is death. But what a comfort it is to know that in spite of our being sinful beings, the Father has been pleased to give us the kingdom! That in his mercy he provides us eternal life in a kingdom where we will never be in want. Where we will never be without food to eat, but will eat at the wedding feast of the Lamb. Where we will be dressed in robes that will never fade or wear out. What a comfort it is to be able to come before the throne of God, confess our sins, and hear Him say “I forgive you.”
I’m not sure where this quote originated, but it’s one that I really like. “Sometimes the Lord calms the storm. Sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms his child.” We all face challenges and hardships of different types. But God promises to be with us through all of them, holding us in his loving arms and offering us comfort. He tells us not to worry. He tells us that He is our Father, and He will provide. Amen.
More Than Conquerors (Romans 8:28-39)
Today’s epistle reading ends with one of my favorite, and I think one of the most powerful passages in Scripture. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” What a fantastic and forceful statement of faith! What a comforting message about the love of God!
But what made Paul so sure? What made Paul so supremely confident in his faith and standing before God? And how can we live with that same level of supreme, undying confidence in God’s ever-present love for us? To answer that, let’s take a look at the verses at the beginning of this passage.
Paul says here, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” We hear that and it wouldn’t be hard to think about those times that weren’t so good. That Paul didn’t know what he was talking about. That he had no idea what it was like to suffer. Of course, saying that completely ignores everything that Paul went through during the course of his ministry, from receiving the 40 lashes minus one not once, not twice, but FIVE times. To being stoned. To being shipwrecked and spending a day and a night at sea. To being bitten by poisonous snakes. To being arrested time and time again.
Make no mistake, Paul knew suffering. He knew pain. He knew difficulty. Paul recognized Satan’s efforts to try and stop him from proclaiming the good news of Christ. He recognized that being shipwrecked, being imprisoned, and having a crowd of people chuck rocks at his head were NOT good things, or the ideal way to carry out a ministry. But, he was also fully aware of how God worked even through the worst of his situations. While in prison, he was able to witness to both his fellow prisoners and to the guards that kept him in chains. When shipwrecked, he was able to demonstrate God’s love and power to those who were stranded along with him. Paul saw God continue to work in even the bleakest of situations.
When Paul says that God works in all things for the good of those who love him, he’s not using it as an empty platitude, or to say that things aren’t really bad. He says it to encourage. He says it to encourage and to bring hope to people that even in the worst of times, God is at work in the lives of his people.
God doesn’t cause bad things to happen to us. Bad things are a natural result of living in a sinful world. But when bad things do happen, when suffering and struggles do happen, God promises to be there and work in those bad situations so that good may come out of them. It’s a truth that Paul came to know in his own life, and a truth he wants us to always be aware of as well. We might not immediately recognize how, but God is always there. Always working on behalf of those who he calls his own. Even in our struggles, God never abandons his children, never forgets his promises to them, and never stops working on their behalf. And as Paul says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
This is another place where it’s important to look at what Paul is actually saying. He’s not asking “who would ever dream of standing against us?” I’m sure we could all easily think of multiple answers to who or what is against us and seeking to do us harm. Addictions, disease, exhaustion, fires, floods, certain classmates or co-workers…the list could go on and on. But that’s not the question at hand. The question is, “If God is for us….SINCE God is for us, who can possibly hope to defeat us?” God is on our side. Think about that for a second. The creator of the universe, the author of all life, is on our side. Every evil, every enemy we have in the world could come at us at once, and still be no match for God. If God is for us, who can be against us?
Now, Paul wasn’t stupid. He knew what question his readers and maybe even you were going to ask next. How do we know that God is on our side? How do we know for sure that he is working for us? And even if he is on our side now, how do we know he’s going to stay there? How do we know he won’t turn against us later? To answer that, Paul points to what God has already done for us.
Since man’s creation, all we have ever done is sin against the one who created us. When you read through Scripture, it’s one example of man’s failures and falls after another. If we were each given a divine copy of the books of our lives, it would be no different. The dramatic miracles might be missing, but the theme of our constant failure to truly love God with all of our hearts, minds, and souls would still be a constant theme. And yet through it all, despite all of our innumerable shortcomings and stumbles, God’s love stayed true. Through it all, God kept his word. Through it all, God continues to be there for his people. He continues to bless his people.
There was nothing that we did that could have convinced him we were worth or worthy of being saved, but he saved us anyway. Even though we didn’t deserve it, God loved us enough to give up his own Son for our sake. He punished and killed his own perfect Son for the sins that we committed. And he did it of his own grace and mercy. We didn’t deserve it and we can’t pay him back, but still he gave up his Son so that we might have eternal salvation. And the only possible reason that he had for doing that was because of his love for us. Because even though we don’t deserve it, his is a deep and amazing love. Because despite our being sinful creatures, God is on our side. If he loves us enough to give up his Son, what wouldn’t he do for us? With a God who loves us that deeply, that unconditionally, sinful and broken as we are, what do we have to fear?
Any charge that Satan can make of us, God has already answered. Whatever sins he accuses us of and charges us with are already forgiven and wiped away. By the power of the blood of Christ, we are justified and declared innocent by the almighty God. Satan and the forces of this world see us as prey. Paul quotes Psalms and says that we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. But because of what Christ has done for us, because God is on our side, we are instead now more than conquerors. Every foe that would seek to tear us from God’s love has already been overcome. In Christ they have all been conquered for all time. They might harass us, they might seek to do us harm, but they absolutely can not separate us from his love.
Still, you might be wondering, how do I know that this promise is true for me? It’s a question that has plagued more than one believer throughout the ages. One of the myths of Christianity is that our faith is always going to be burning with a white-hot intensity. That a true Christian never has a weak moment. But that’s not just true. When you read through the Psalms, you see that David had moments of weakness. Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, had moments of weakness. Peter, Paul, the other disciples…all had moments of weakness and discouragement. Satan works constantly at causing God’s children to doubt that he does indeed love them. He works to sow seeds of doubt as to whether all the promises God makes really do apply to me.
And so it happens that even life-long Christians find themselves wondering, “How do I know that it’s talking about me?” Maybe you have even faced that question. Maybe you have had moments that the joy and passion you once felt weren’t as strong as they were before. That you were afraid that maybe God’s love for you was fading away. In those times, God has a message and a promise for you. You…are…his. In Isaiah 43 God says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.” And even more this message and this promise have been sealed for us in the waters of Holy Baptism. In our baptism we are sealed with a promise. It is a promise from our heavenly Father who has kept every promise that he has ever made to his people. And it’s a promise that is sealed with more than his already perfect words. It is a promise that God tied also to a real, physical event so that we might have supreme confidence.
We invite others to witness our baptism so that there might be no doubt that that promise was given to you. In this way even a young child who doesn’t remember their baptism can be assured that yes, you have been made a child of God. Your sins have been washed away. You have received the assured hope of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. By the power of the Water and the Word the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon you and you have been marked as one chosen to be remade in the image of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God has called you to be his child, and promises to be with you through every high, low, and in-between.
This message, this promise is the reason Paul was able to so boldly and forcefully preach the gospel. It was a message of hope, and it was a message of comfort. What in all of creation can possibly separate us from the love of God? Nothing. God is on your side, and he is far more powerful than any foe. As a called and redeemed child of God, we can along with Paul confidently proclaim “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” May it be so. Amen.
But what made Paul so sure? What made Paul so supremely confident in his faith and standing before God? And how can we live with that same level of supreme, undying confidence in God’s ever-present love for us? To answer that, let’s take a look at the verses at the beginning of this passage.
Paul says here, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” We hear that and it wouldn’t be hard to think about those times that weren’t so good. That Paul didn’t know what he was talking about. That he had no idea what it was like to suffer. Of course, saying that completely ignores everything that Paul went through during the course of his ministry, from receiving the 40 lashes minus one not once, not twice, but FIVE times. To being stoned. To being shipwrecked and spending a day and a night at sea. To being bitten by poisonous snakes. To being arrested time and time again.
Make no mistake, Paul knew suffering. He knew pain. He knew difficulty. Paul recognized Satan’s efforts to try and stop him from proclaiming the good news of Christ. He recognized that being shipwrecked, being imprisoned, and having a crowd of people chuck rocks at his head were NOT good things, or the ideal way to carry out a ministry. But, he was also fully aware of how God worked even through the worst of his situations. While in prison, he was able to witness to both his fellow prisoners and to the guards that kept him in chains. When shipwrecked, he was able to demonstrate God’s love and power to those who were stranded along with him. Paul saw God continue to work in even the bleakest of situations.
When Paul says that God works in all things for the good of those who love him, he’s not using it as an empty platitude, or to say that things aren’t really bad. He says it to encourage. He says it to encourage and to bring hope to people that even in the worst of times, God is at work in the lives of his people.
God doesn’t cause bad things to happen to us. Bad things are a natural result of living in a sinful world. But when bad things do happen, when suffering and struggles do happen, God promises to be there and work in those bad situations so that good may come out of them. It’s a truth that Paul came to know in his own life, and a truth he wants us to always be aware of as well. We might not immediately recognize how, but God is always there. Always working on behalf of those who he calls his own. Even in our struggles, God never abandons his children, never forgets his promises to them, and never stops working on their behalf. And as Paul says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
This is another place where it’s important to look at what Paul is actually saying. He’s not asking “who would ever dream of standing against us?” I’m sure we could all easily think of multiple answers to who or what is against us and seeking to do us harm. Addictions, disease, exhaustion, fires, floods, certain classmates or co-workers…the list could go on and on. But that’s not the question at hand. The question is, “If God is for us….SINCE God is for us, who can possibly hope to defeat us?” God is on our side. Think about that for a second. The creator of the universe, the author of all life, is on our side. Every evil, every enemy we have in the world could come at us at once, and still be no match for God. If God is for us, who can be against us?
Now, Paul wasn’t stupid. He knew what question his readers and maybe even you were going to ask next. How do we know that God is on our side? How do we know for sure that he is working for us? And even if he is on our side now, how do we know he’s going to stay there? How do we know he won’t turn against us later? To answer that, Paul points to what God has already done for us.
Since man’s creation, all we have ever done is sin against the one who created us. When you read through Scripture, it’s one example of man’s failures and falls after another. If we were each given a divine copy of the books of our lives, it would be no different. The dramatic miracles might be missing, but the theme of our constant failure to truly love God with all of our hearts, minds, and souls would still be a constant theme. And yet through it all, despite all of our innumerable shortcomings and stumbles, God’s love stayed true. Through it all, God kept his word. Through it all, God continues to be there for his people. He continues to bless his people.
There was nothing that we did that could have convinced him we were worth or worthy of being saved, but he saved us anyway. Even though we didn’t deserve it, God loved us enough to give up his own Son for our sake. He punished and killed his own perfect Son for the sins that we committed. And he did it of his own grace and mercy. We didn’t deserve it and we can’t pay him back, but still he gave up his Son so that we might have eternal salvation. And the only possible reason that he had for doing that was because of his love for us. Because even though we don’t deserve it, his is a deep and amazing love. Because despite our being sinful creatures, God is on our side. If he loves us enough to give up his Son, what wouldn’t he do for us? With a God who loves us that deeply, that unconditionally, sinful and broken as we are, what do we have to fear?
Any charge that Satan can make of us, God has already answered. Whatever sins he accuses us of and charges us with are already forgiven and wiped away. By the power of the blood of Christ, we are justified and declared innocent by the almighty God. Satan and the forces of this world see us as prey. Paul quotes Psalms and says that we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. But because of what Christ has done for us, because God is on our side, we are instead now more than conquerors. Every foe that would seek to tear us from God’s love has already been overcome. In Christ they have all been conquered for all time. They might harass us, they might seek to do us harm, but they absolutely can not separate us from his love.
Still, you might be wondering, how do I know that this promise is true for me? It’s a question that has plagued more than one believer throughout the ages. One of the myths of Christianity is that our faith is always going to be burning with a white-hot intensity. That a true Christian never has a weak moment. But that’s not just true. When you read through the Psalms, you see that David had moments of weakness. Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, had moments of weakness. Peter, Paul, the other disciples…all had moments of weakness and discouragement. Satan works constantly at causing God’s children to doubt that he does indeed love them. He works to sow seeds of doubt as to whether all the promises God makes really do apply to me.
And so it happens that even life-long Christians find themselves wondering, “How do I know that it’s talking about me?” Maybe you have even faced that question. Maybe you have had moments that the joy and passion you once felt weren’t as strong as they were before. That you were afraid that maybe God’s love for you was fading away. In those times, God has a message and a promise for you. You…are…his. In Isaiah 43 God says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.” And even more this message and this promise have been sealed for us in the waters of Holy Baptism. In our baptism we are sealed with a promise. It is a promise from our heavenly Father who has kept every promise that he has ever made to his people. And it’s a promise that is sealed with more than his already perfect words. It is a promise that God tied also to a real, physical event so that we might have supreme confidence.
We invite others to witness our baptism so that there might be no doubt that that promise was given to you. In this way even a young child who doesn’t remember their baptism can be assured that yes, you have been made a child of God. Your sins have been washed away. You have received the assured hope of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. By the power of the Water and the Word the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon you and you have been marked as one chosen to be remade in the image of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God has called you to be his child, and promises to be with you through every high, low, and in-between.
This message, this promise is the reason Paul was able to so boldly and forcefully preach the gospel. It was a message of hope, and it was a message of comfort. What in all of creation can possibly separate us from the love of God? Nothing. God is on your side, and he is far more powerful than any foe. As a called and redeemed child of God, we can along with Paul confidently proclaim “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” May it be so. Amen.
The Cost of Discipleship (Luke 9:51-62)
I’m guessing that if I were to ask everyone in this church their favorite Bible passage, I’d get a lot of different answers. I’d probably get some references to the Psalms. I’m sure I’d get plenty of verses from Romans, Ephesians, or another of Paul’s letters. There would probably be plenty of people pointing to various parts of Matthew and John. But I’m fairly confident that no one would say Luke 9:51-62.
That’s because our Gospel reading for today isn’t Jesus at his touchy-feely finest. It’s not Jesus as his most inspiring or uplifting. In fact, Jesus doesn’t seem all that friendly or inviting at all here. In fact, some might consider Jesus to be a bit of a jerk as he lays down some pretty convicting law. In three short encounters, Jesus lays out the true cost of discipleship. There’s no bargaining. No negotiation. Just the cost.
And make no mistake, the cost is great. First, give up any hope of a permanent home in this world. And second, give up any family ties you have on this earth.
High, demanding prices indeed. A man who came to Jesus said, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." But Jesus replied, "The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” In effect, "Do you think it is easy to follow Me? I’m not going to a particular place where I’ll settle down. I’m not stopping somewhere to put down roots. No, I wander the earth, and when I die it will be as a homeless man. Are you ready for that kind of life?"
Why does Jesus make it so hard? Well, He doesn’t. Not really. But he doesn’t want anyone to try to be a disciple without first seeing how difficult it is. Being a disciple of Jesus isn’t a hobby. It’s not a recreational activity. It’s not a part-time pursuit for when it’s convenient for your schedule. No, being a disciple of Jesus means that Christ must always come first.
When you think about it, as a follower of Christ, this world can’t be your permanent home. This world is full of sin. Full of death. Your permanent home is in the new heavens and new earth that will be ushered in upon Christ’s return. Until that time that you dwell in the presence of the Almighty God, you have only places of temporary rest. Halfway houses or rest stops on the way to your eternal home.
More than that, as Christ's disciple you must put Him before the whole world. He should be everything to you. What is this world compared to the Lord? What is a nice house or a new car compared to the love of Jesus? What are the any of the riches and comforts of this temporary world compared to His glorious kingdom?
But human hearts are fickle things. As the saying goes, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. One moment your whole heart is yearning for Christ. The next moment, you are yearning for some earthly trinket or prize. The flashy allure of gold and silver idols captures our eyes. Though they may be physical idols, they don’t have to be. While these idols could be the newest and most tricked-out phone on the market, it could just as easily be the love of a friend or a sense of safety. But all love and all earthly safety must be set aside, and all your life put in constant danger for the sake of your Lord. Otherwise, he says, you are not worthy of Him.
Chances are that you’re already aware in your heart that you are not worthy of the Infinitely glorious Savior. That nothing about you deserves the love and attention of the Son of God. Though you must strive to count Him alone as your treasure, in honesty you must also confess that you have failed to do so. You have held idols in your heart that distract from true discipleship. And if Christ counted those things against you, you would not only be unworthy, but you would be cast away into eternal fire. Not a happy thought.
But what is a happy thought is knowing and believing that he won’t do that to you. That you have nothing to fear. It’s supremely reassuring to have the unshakeable hope that he has already stopped it from happening, and promises you eternal safety and rest.
Surely for such a promise, for such a gift, he is worthy of all that you have. In response, surely all should be laid at his feet in thankful offering. For being spared the fires of hell, what wouldn’t you be willing to sacrifice?
Would you be willing to sacrifice your job? Would you be willing to sacrifice your dance or sports team? What about your family? Would you be willing to sacrifice the love of your family for the love of Christ? Would you be willing to make yourself an outcast to them for the sake of following Him?
Scripture doesn’t hide the fact that if you follow the true faith, but your family does not, then there will be division between you. It may be very polite division. It might not. It may lead to open hostility. It might not. In many Muslim countries, if you converted to Christianity, your own family might put you to death. In America, you likely wouldn’t face that much hostility. But who knows what the future of this nation may bring?
There’s a common idea out there that Christ wants you to do anything and everything for your family. That family should be your first priority. But that’s not what He says or desires. Certainly you are called to love and cherish your families, but You must not sacrifice your faith for your them. If the choice must be made, then you must even surrender your ties with them for the sake of your Lord.
Hopefully God will never ask you to make that decision. Yet if we are to take his words here in Luke seriously, you must be ready to, even now, or you are not worthy of Him. How hard it surely is to sacrifice the love of your family, which you can see, for the love of Christ, which is hidden! For your flesh, like that of all men, is too easily swayed by earthly loves. Too easily, family, or even sports teams, can draw you away from worship, away from Bible Study, and thus away from Christ. What Christ demands is difficult, more than the flesh alone can achieve.
When a man came to Jesus, but wanted to delay his discipleship for the sake of his father's funeral, Christ rebuked him with harsh words. "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." Whatever the exact situation of the man, the point is clear: The kingdom of God and the preaching of the word are more important than anything.
Another man wanted to go and bid farewell to his family. Christ said that no one who looks backward is fit for the kingdom. The man would be always thinking of those he left behind, and yearning for those he loved.
Who could blame these men if they failed to follow Christ? Could you or I have done better than them? I doubt it. The demands that Christ makes go beyond our strength. They seem impossible and unrealistic. Yet that does not mean that you should simply ignore them. As a disciple, you must try and work with all your might for the Savior who gave His all for you. Truly, the cost of discipleship is great indeed.
But try as you might, you will fail. Guaranteed. The call of earthly loves, or the appeal of earthly comforts, will eventually get the better of you. Such is the life of a sinner. In your heart there cannot be perfect devotion for Christ until this sinful flesh is done away with in the new Creation. Until then, your discipleship cannot be anything other than flawed and weak.
But there is good news. There is hope for those of us who can never hope to live up to the standard that Christ sets. And that hope comes from the fact that Christ did meet that standard.
He is the One who fulfills all things for you. Who made you worthy by giving you His glory. Thanks be to God that our Lord Jesus Christ covered the cost of your discipleship. He paid the price so that you could be counted as a perfect disciple.
Jesus left the perfect House of His Father to become homeless and penniless. Though through Him all things had been brought into being, He lowered himself to be a servant so that you are lifted up on high. He made himself an outcast, being forsaken even by His Father so that you might be reconciled to Him. He suffered the fire of His Father's wrath so that you will live on in unending comfort and majesty forever.
Christ never looked back to heaven, yearning to return home rather than redeeming you. He kept on, straight and steady, as He set His face stubbornly, like rock, firm and unyielding, ever putting the mission of death and resurrection as the one and only goal of His life. He sacrificed all. He gave up all comfort, and embraced ultimate agony and torture.
So you are not a disciple because you have done enough. You have never done enough for Christ. You are His disciple because He has made you one. He did not simply show you the right path and expect you to follow it. No, He walked the path for you, and when He was done, declared you His perfect disciple.
What was the price of your discipleship? Well, to quote from Luther’s explanation of the 2nd article of the Apostles Creed, “He did this not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, so that I may be His own.”
Therefore, look in faith to your true home, the New Jerusalem, the new creation over which God will reign in glory forever. Look in faith to your new family, with the Church as your mother God as your Father. Into this family you have been adopted. Through the waters of Holy Baptism you have been brought into a household which will last forever.
God keep you in this faith until that day when worlds burn in fire, and the new creation is revealed. In His Name and to His glory. Amen.
That’s because our Gospel reading for today isn’t Jesus at his touchy-feely finest. It’s not Jesus as his most inspiring or uplifting. In fact, Jesus doesn’t seem all that friendly or inviting at all here. In fact, some might consider Jesus to be a bit of a jerk as he lays down some pretty convicting law. In three short encounters, Jesus lays out the true cost of discipleship. There’s no bargaining. No negotiation. Just the cost.
And make no mistake, the cost is great. First, give up any hope of a permanent home in this world. And second, give up any family ties you have on this earth.
High, demanding prices indeed. A man who came to Jesus said, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." But Jesus replied, "The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” In effect, "Do you think it is easy to follow Me? I’m not going to a particular place where I’ll settle down. I’m not stopping somewhere to put down roots. No, I wander the earth, and when I die it will be as a homeless man. Are you ready for that kind of life?"
Why does Jesus make it so hard? Well, He doesn’t. Not really. But he doesn’t want anyone to try to be a disciple without first seeing how difficult it is. Being a disciple of Jesus isn’t a hobby. It’s not a recreational activity. It’s not a part-time pursuit for when it’s convenient for your schedule. No, being a disciple of Jesus means that Christ must always come first.
When you think about it, as a follower of Christ, this world can’t be your permanent home. This world is full of sin. Full of death. Your permanent home is in the new heavens and new earth that will be ushered in upon Christ’s return. Until that time that you dwell in the presence of the Almighty God, you have only places of temporary rest. Halfway houses or rest stops on the way to your eternal home.
More than that, as Christ's disciple you must put Him before the whole world. He should be everything to you. What is this world compared to the Lord? What is a nice house or a new car compared to the love of Jesus? What are the any of the riches and comforts of this temporary world compared to His glorious kingdom?
But human hearts are fickle things. As the saying goes, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. One moment your whole heart is yearning for Christ. The next moment, you are yearning for some earthly trinket or prize. The flashy allure of gold and silver idols captures our eyes. Though they may be physical idols, they don’t have to be. While these idols could be the newest and most tricked-out phone on the market, it could just as easily be the love of a friend or a sense of safety. But all love and all earthly safety must be set aside, and all your life put in constant danger for the sake of your Lord. Otherwise, he says, you are not worthy of Him.
Chances are that you’re already aware in your heart that you are not worthy of the Infinitely glorious Savior. That nothing about you deserves the love and attention of the Son of God. Though you must strive to count Him alone as your treasure, in honesty you must also confess that you have failed to do so. You have held idols in your heart that distract from true discipleship. And if Christ counted those things against you, you would not only be unworthy, but you would be cast away into eternal fire. Not a happy thought.
But what is a happy thought is knowing and believing that he won’t do that to you. That you have nothing to fear. It’s supremely reassuring to have the unshakeable hope that he has already stopped it from happening, and promises you eternal safety and rest.
Surely for such a promise, for such a gift, he is worthy of all that you have. In response, surely all should be laid at his feet in thankful offering. For being spared the fires of hell, what wouldn’t you be willing to sacrifice?
Would you be willing to sacrifice your job? Would you be willing to sacrifice your dance or sports team? What about your family? Would you be willing to sacrifice the love of your family for the love of Christ? Would you be willing to make yourself an outcast to them for the sake of following Him?
Scripture doesn’t hide the fact that if you follow the true faith, but your family does not, then there will be division between you. It may be very polite division. It might not. It may lead to open hostility. It might not. In many Muslim countries, if you converted to Christianity, your own family might put you to death. In America, you likely wouldn’t face that much hostility. But who knows what the future of this nation may bring?
There’s a common idea out there that Christ wants you to do anything and everything for your family. That family should be your first priority. But that’s not what He says or desires. Certainly you are called to love and cherish your families, but You must not sacrifice your faith for your them. If the choice must be made, then you must even surrender your ties with them for the sake of your Lord.
Hopefully God will never ask you to make that decision. Yet if we are to take his words here in Luke seriously, you must be ready to, even now, or you are not worthy of Him. How hard it surely is to sacrifice the love of your family, which you can see, for the love of Christ, which is hidden! For your flesh, like that of all men, is too easily swayed by earthly loves. Too easily, family, or even sports teams, can draw you away from worship, away from Bible Study, and thus away from Christ. What Christ demands is difficult, more than the flesh alone can achieve.
When a man came to Jesus, but wanted to delay his discipleship for the sake of his father's funeral, Christ rebuked him with harsh words. "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." Whatever the exact situation of the man, the point is clear: The kingdom of God and the preaching of the word are more important than anything.
Another man wanted to go and bid farewell to his family. Christ said that no one who looks backward is fit for the kingdom. The man would be always thinking of those he left behind, and yearning for those he loved.
Who could blame these men if they failed to follow Christ? Could you or I have done better than them? I doubt it. The demands that Christ makes go beyond our strength. They seem impossible and unrealistic. Yet that does not mean that you should simply ignore them. As a disciple, you must try and work with all your might for the Savior who gave His all for you. Truly, the cost of discipleship is great indeed.
But try as you might, you will fail. Guaranteed. The call of earthly loves, or the appeal of earthly comforts, will eventually get the better of you. Such is the life of a sinner. In your heart there cannot be perfect devotion for Christ until this sinful flesh is done away with in the new Creation. Until then, your discipleship cannot be anything other than flawed and weak.
But there is good news. There is hope for those of us who can never hope to live up to the standard that Christ sets. And that hope comes from the fact that Christ did meet that standard.
He is the One who fulfills all things for you. Who made you worthy by giving you His glory. Thanks be to God that our Lord Jesus Christ covered the cost of your discipleship. He paid the price so that you could be counted as a perfect disciple.
Jesus left the perfect House of His Father to become homeless and penniless. Though through Him all things had been brought into being, He lowered himself to be a servant so that you are lifted up on high. He made himself an outcast, being forsaken even by His Father so that you might be reconciled to Him. He suffered the fire of His Father's wrath so that you will live on in unending comfort and majesty forever.
Christ never looked back to heaven, yearning to return home rather than redeeming you. He kept on, straight and steady, as He set His face stubbornly, like rock, firm and unyielding, ever putting the mission of death and resurrection as the one and only goal of His life. He sacrificed all. He gave up all comfort, and embraced ultimate agony and torture.
So you are not a disciple because you have done enough. You have never done enough for Christ. You are His disciple because He has made you one. He did not simply show you the right path and expect you to follow it. No, He walked the path for you, and when He was done, declared you His perfect disciple.
What was the price of your discipleship? Well, to quote from Luther’s explanation of the 2nd article of the Apostles Creed, “He did this not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, so that I may be His own.”
Therefore, look in faith to your true home, the New Jerusalem, the new creation over which God will reign in glory forever. Look in faith to your new family, with the Church as your mother God as your Father. Into this family you have been adopted. Through the waters of Holy Baptism you have been brought into a household which will last forever.
God keep you in this faith until that day when worlds burn in fire, and the new creation is revealed. In His Name and to His glory. Amen.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Just a Little While (John 16:12-22)
Grace, mercy, and peace be with you all, from God, our heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. The text for our consideration is the Gospel reading from St. John. May the Holy Spirit bless us to be patient . . . as we wait just a little while longer . . . for the coming of Jesus Christ.
It was Spring of 1993. I was working on a final paper for one of my classes at Seminary. The paper was worth at least 1/3 of my grade. My five year old son, Doug, came up to me and wanted me to do something with him. I told him, “Not right now, son. I have a paper to write. But I’ll be able to do something in just a little while.”
Not more than two minutes later, Doug came up to me to ask again for my time and attention. I said a bit more firmly, “Not now, son. I have to get this paper done. And it’s going to take more than just a few minutes.” Maybe about 5 minutes later, Doug came up one last time. This time I lost it. Stress from approaching finals, stress from having procrastinated on the paper, and my own sinful weaknesses thrown into the mix . . . and I yelled at my son. I told him how I had already told him . . . and asked him if he hadn’t listened to what I was saying. As I yelled, the tears started rolling down his cheeks . . . and I was justly humbled and convicted of my sinful failings at being a father.
I learned something from that situation, though. I learned that the definition of “just a little while” in a person’s mind varies. To an adult, a little while might be anywhere from a half an hour to maybe an hour or a little more. To a small child, anything over 5 minutes seems like a long time. Or, when a family is going on a vacation . . . mom and dad may say, “Oh my, we will be leaving in less than a month!,” while the children say, “It’s more than three weeks before we leave!”
In the Word of God before us, this morning, Jesus tells His disciples that He is going to be leaving them. He tells them that, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” The disciples are confused. Jesus says His disciples will mourn while the world rejoices. The disciples don’t understand. Among themselves the disciples asked, “What does He mean by ‘a little while’?”
There is still some theological debate regarding the answer to this question. For it could mean a couple of things. Certainly, the next day the disciples would see Jesus die. His body would be laid in a tomb. The corrupt religious leaders and the evil world would rejoice at His crucifixion; the disciples would grieve . . . deeply. Yet, on the third day they would see the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ . . . and they would rejoice . . . filled with the joy of seeing Jesus alive again . . . filled with the hope of life after death for themselves as well.
But was Jesus simply talking about the time between Good Friday and Easter morning? Or was Jesus talking about a longer “just a little while.” Two different things move me to believe that Jesus was talking about a much longer, “just a little while.” First of all, the Words that our Lord Jesus spoke prior to our text, He spoke of sending the Counselor, that is, the Holy Spirit, because Jesus was going to the Father. And the outpouring of the Holy Spirit did not happen on Easter, but 50 days later on the Day of Pentecost. Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, would guide God’s people into all truth. The sending of the Holy Spirit was a part of God’s plan precisely because Jesus was going to return to the Father. Thus, this “little while” had to be more than just the three days.
Secondly, and just as important, if Jesus was only speaking of the three days, His Words would have no application to us. Without a doubt, these words of our Lord have a huge message for us, God’s people living nearly 2000 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. So, when Jesus says, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” The little while must include all the time between Jesus’ first coming and His second coming. You and I, we are still living in that “little while” before Jesus returns in glory.
Now you might say, “but clearly, over 2000 years is not a little while.” However, I would remind you of my opening illustration regarding time when you are a child and time when you are an adult. It’s vastly different. So, what about when you are an eternal being, with no beginning or end?? What’s two thousand years to God??? A couple of days . . . just a little while. The apostle Peter proclaims this very thing in his second epistle:
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Jesus said that during this “little while,” that the world would rejoice at the very same time God’s people would be grieving. This remains true in our own generation. The world rejoices in immoral lifestyles; God’s people grieve. The world rejoices in greed and selfishness; God’s people mourn. The world rejoices in the freedom to choose to end a pregnancy; God’s people mourn the destruction of the unborn. The world actually rejoices in sinful deeds and sinful attitudes; God’s people grieve over sin . . . the world’s sin . . . and even their own.
And I’ll tell you something that grieves me to the depths of my heart and soul: young people falling away from Jesus Christ. A recent survey done by a Christian research firm reveals some startling statistics. The survey was given to 18-29 year olds; here are some of the statistics. 65% said they rarely or never pray with others. Almost 40% said they never pray at all. 65% said they rarely or never attend worship services; 67% said they don’t read the Bible at all. A full 50% said they don’t think that Jesus is the only way to God. And of those surveyed who do believe in Jesus, only 17% read their Bible daily. In another study, 70% of Christians who attended regularly growing up, quit attending church altogether in their mid-20’s.
Jesus said that our grief would turn to joy. It’s hard to be joyful faced with the spiritual challenges of living in this world and the spiritual apathy among so many of God’s people. Where is joy to be found. Jesus said that grief would be turned to joy . . . when His disciples saw Him. The grief of Jesus’ death on the cross was turned to joy when the first disciples literally saw Jesus resurrected from the dead. Joy still comes . . . only as we see Jesus . . . in His Word and in His sacraments. And spiritual resurrection still takes place in the lives of people in our generation. One reason to rejoice is that the Lord is patient. That’s why He hasn’t returned yet. There is still a “little while” left in Jesus’ “just a little while” statement. There is hope for those who have fallen away . . . to be restored to Christian fellowship.
If you know a loved one that has fallen away, write them a letter, tell them how much you love them . . . and tell them that trusting in Jesus is the only hope for this sinful world. If you know someone who has quit coming to church, invite them back . . . offer to pick them up on Sunday morning . . . share with them the joy of God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness. There is a whole world out there . . . going to hell in a hand-basket. Share with them the hope you have even in the midst of a troubled world. Let them know that Jesus came to save them . . . and that He’s coming again.
For the joy we have in our hearts is the joy of knowing that Jesus died and rose again . . . and that He’s coming again, just as He promised. And the day WE get to see HIM face to face, we will experience a joy that will be undiminished and unending. Unending joy . . . or as Jesus said, “. . . no one will take away your joy.” As John heard in the Revelation:
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
That’s all going to be ours . . . “in just a little while.” As we patiently wait for that grand day of resurrection . . . and the joys and glories that follow, let’s share our hope with others . . . because we only have . . . a little while left. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor B
It was Spring of 1993. I was working on a final paper for one of my classes at Seminary. The paper was worth at least 1/3 of my grade. My five year old son, Doug, came up to me and wanted me to do something with him. I told him, “Not right now, son. I have a paper to write. But I’ll be able to do something in just a little while.”
Not more than two minutes later, Doug came up to me to ask again for my time and attention. I said a bit more firmly, “Not now, son. I have to get this paper done. And it’s going to take more than just a few minutes.” Maybe about 5 minutes later, Doug came up one last time. This time I lost it. Stress from approaching finals, stress from having procrastinated on the paper, and my own sinful weaknesses thrown into the mix . . . and I yelled at my son. I told him how I had already told him . . . and asked him if he hadn’t listened to what I was saying. As I yelled, the tears started rolling down his cheeks . . . and I was justly humbled and convicted of my sinful failings at being a father.
I learned something from that situation, though. I learned that the definition of “just a little while” in a person’s mind varies. To an adult, a little while might be anywhere from a half an hour to maybe an hour or a little more. To a small child, anything over 5 minutes seems like a long time. Or, when a family is going on a vacation . . . mom and dad may say, “Oh my, we will be leaving in less than a month!,” while the children say, “It’s more than three weeks before we leave!”
In the Word of God before us, this morning, Jesus tells His disciples that He is going to be leaving them. He tells them that, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” The disciples are confused. Jesus says His disciples will mourn while the world rejoices. The disciples don’t understand. Among themselves the disciples asked, “What does He mean by ‘a little while’?”
There is still some theological debate regarding the answer to this question. For it could mean a couple of things. Certainly, the next day the disciples would see Jesus die. His body would be laid in a tomb. The corrupt religious leaders and the evil world would rejoice at His crucifixion; the disciples would grieve . . . deeply. Yet, on the third day they would see the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ . . . and they would rejoice . . . filled with the joy of seeing Jesus alive again . . . filled with the hope of life after death for themselves as well.
But was Jesus simply talking about the time between Good Friday and Easter morning? Or was Jesus talking about a longer “just a little while.” Two different things move me to believe that Jesus was talking about a much longer, “just a little while.” First of all, the Words that our Lord Jesus spoke prior to our text, He spoke of sending the Counselor, that is, the Holy Spirit, because Jesus was going to the Father. And the outpouring of the Holy Spirit did not happen on Easter, but 50 days later on the Day of Pentecost. Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, would guide God’s people into all truth. The sending of the Holy Spirit was a part of God’s plan precisely because Jesus was going to return to the Father. Thus, this “little while” had to be more than just the three days.
Secondly, and just as important, if Jesus was only speaking of the three days, His Words would have no application to us. Without a doubt, these words of our Lord have a huge message for us, God’s people living nearly 2000 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. So, when Jesus says, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” The little while must include all the time between Jesus’ first coming and His second coming. You and I, we are still living in that “little while” before Jesus returns in glory.
Now you might say, “but clearly, over 2000 years is not a little while.” However, I would remind you of my opening illustration regarding time when you are a child and time when you are an adult. It’s vastly different. So, what about when you are an eternal being, with no beginning or end?? What’s two thousand years to God??? A couple of days . . . just a little while. The apostle Peter proclaims this very thing in his second epistle:
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Jesus said that during this “little while,” that the world would rejoice at the very same time God’s people would be grieving. This remains true in our own generation. The world rejoices in immoral lifestyles; God’s people grieve. The world rejoices in greed and selfishness; God’s people mourn. The world rejoices in the freedom to choose to end a pregnancy; God’s people mourn the destruction of the unborn. The world actually rejoices in sinful deeds and sinful attitudes; God’s people grieve over sin . . . the world’s sin . . . and even their own.
And I’ll tell you something that grieves me to the depths of my heart and soul: young people falling away from Jesus Christ. A recent survey done by a Christian research firm reveals some startling statistics. The survey was given to 18-29 year olds; here are some of the statistics. 65% said they rarely or never pray with others. Almost 40% said they never pray at all. 65% said they rarely or never attend worship services; 67% said they don’t read the Bible at all. A full 50% said they don’t think that Jesus is the only way to God. And of those surveyed who do believe in Jesus, only 17% read their Bible daily. In another study, 70% of Christians who attended regularly growing up, quit attending church altogether in their mid-20’s.
Jesus said that our grief would turn to joy. It’s hard to be joyful faced with the spiritual challenges of living in this world and the spiritual apathy among so many of God’s people. Where is joy to be found. Jesus said that grief would be turned to joy . . . when His disciples saw Him. The grief of Jesus’ death on the cross was turned to joy when the first disciples literally saw Jesus resurrected from the dead. Joy still comes . . . only as we see Jesus . . . in His Word and in His sacraments. And spiritual resurrection still takes place in the lives of people in our generation. One reason to rejoice is that the Lord is patient. That’s why He hasn’t returned yet. There is still a “little while” left in Jesus’ “just a little while” statement. There is hope for those who have fallen away . . . to be restored to Christian fellowship.
If you know a loved one that has fallen away, write them a letter, tell them how much you love them . . . and tell them that trusting in Jesus is the only hope for this sinful world. If you know someone who has quit coming to church, invite them back . . . offer to pick them up on Sunday morning . . . share with them the joy of God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness. There is a whole world out there . . . going to hell in a hand-basket. Share with them the hope you have even in the midst of a troubled world. Let them know that Jesus came to save them . . . and that He’s coming again.
For the joy we have in our hearts is the joy of knowing that Jesus died and rose again . . . and that He’s coming again, just as He promised. And the day WE get to see HIM face to face, we will experience a joy that will be undiminished and unending. Unending joy . . . or as Jesus said, “. . . no one will take away your joy.” As John heard in the Revelation:
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
That’s all going to be ours . . . “in just a little while.” As we patiently wait for that grand day of resurrection . . . and the joys and glories that follow, let’s share our hope with others . . . because we only have . . . a little while left. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor B
Great Commission Beginnings (Acts 2:1-21)
Grace, mercy, and peace be with you all, from God, our heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen. The text for our consideration this day is the reading from the book of Acts. May the Holy Spirit bless us to rejoice in the Great Commission Beginnings of that first Pentecost day . . . and move us to continue to fulfill the Great Commission in our own day. Amen.
At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gave instructions to the apostles . . . instructions that have become known as the “Great Commission.” Jesus said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.” At the end of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus also told His disciples that they would be His witnesses to all nations . . . but to wait for the day when they would be clothed with power from on high. The power of which He spoke was the Holy Spirit.
This is the day . . . the day of Pentecost. The fiftieth day after His resurrection and ten days after the giving of the Great Commission . . . it happened. They were all together in one place . . . and suddenly the Holy Spirit came upon them . . . with the sound like the blowing of a violent wind from heaven. Tongues of fire separated and came to rest on each of them . . . tongues of the Holy Spirit’s fire . . . tongues of fire that enabled them to speak in different languages . . . tongues of fire the empowered and emboldened them to go into the public square and give the first public proclamation of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God-fearing Jewish people from all over the world were gathered in the Holy City of Jerusalem, no doubt gathered for the Old Testament feast of Pentecost, the first-fruits offering at the Holy Temple. These God-fearing Jews were amazed at hearing the apostles speak in their now native languages. Of course not all were amazed. Some mocked in unbelief. Some claimed that they were drunk, hearing the multitude of languages at the same time. Peter then clarified that they were sober . . . and that what they were witnessing was a fulfillment of prophecy . . . what the prophet Joel had foretold over six centuries earlier.
This was the day of the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit, even as Joel had prophesied. This was the day when men and women would receive the Holy Spirit of God, even as Moses had once wished for all God’s people. This was the day of entering the “lasts days,” last days that God’s people have lived in for the past nearly two-thousand years . . . days moving toward the great and glorious, great and dreadful “Day of the Lord.” For Jesus Christ will come again in glory, accompanied by wonders in the heavens above and the shedding of blood . . . and of fire . . . and billows of smoke on the troubled earth below.
Yes, this was the day of Great Commission beginnings. You know the rest of the story of that day, don’t you? Well, let me refresh your memory. Peter went on that day to proclaim Jesus to be the Messiah. Words of Holy Scripture and prophecy rolled of his tongue, proclaiming how the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of God’s promised salvation. Fiery words inspired by the tongues of fire rolled off his lips . . . as Peter convicted the people of their sin, proclaiming that they had put to death – crucified – the very Son of God, who was now enthroned at God’s right hand as both Lord and Christ.
The people felt bad . . . indeed, they were cut to the heart at the knowledge that their sins nailed Jesus to the cross. We should be cut to the heart over our sins as well. In their Holy Spirit wrought sorrow over their sins, the people asked what they should do. Peter then again proclaimed the wonderful news of the Gospel: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far off . . . for all whom the Lord our God will call.” He pleaded with the people to save themselves from this wicked and perverse generation. Three Thousand people were saved that day, through water and the word and the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. And they devoted themselves to God’s Word. They devoted themselves to each other. They devoted themselves to partaking of Christ’s Supper. And they devoted themselves to prayer.
So much for the Great Commission beginnings. Is there still a wicked and perverse generation that people need to be delivered from? There is no doubt. Does the mission of the Great Commission continue today? Do Holy Spirit inspired words still roll off the tongues of those called to share the gospel? Is the forgiveness of sins and gift of the Holy Spirit still given in baptism today? As surely as God is faithful . . . and as surely as the Word of Jesus Christ is true . . . the answer is absolutely yes. Indeed . . . the Word of the Gospel is spoken even by one pastor . . . who has no tongue.
In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the title of the article reads: “St. Charles preacher with no tongue speaks wisdom.” His name is Scott Schmieding. He was a classmate of mine at Concordia Seminary. Ordained in 1992, five years later he noticed a sore in the back of his tongue. It was cancer. The entire tongue would have to be surgically removed. This is quite a setback for a preacher. In a pamphlet Pastor Schmieding has written entitled, “Fighting Cancer with Faith,” he writes:
When I first found out I had cancer, I was afraid. But I knew that God had, has, and always will have my life in His loving hands. Still I wanted to know my possible outcomes, my prognosis . . . . When it came right down to it, I knew my fight with cancer had two possible outcomes: God would either grant me health or heaven. I simply prayed, “Dear God, restore my health or take me to heaven. Your will be done. Amen.”
The tumor was spreading rapidly. Doctors thought his speech would likely be unintelligible. Pastor Schmieding wondered about his calling . . . and how he could spread the word of God if he couldn’t speak. They removed the tongue, replaced the cavity with a muscle from his abdomen. He went through months of agonizing speech therapy and returned to parish life. His first public act upon resuming his pastoral duties at a Lutheran Church in Baton Rouge was to preach and celebrate the baptism of his newborn son.
Pastor Schmieding never asked God “why” he got cancer, but rather “for what purpose.” He says he has been given an answer: “I have become an expert at adversity” having also lived through five hurricanes in Louisiana. “I know what people are feeling when they face trials and tragedy.” Quoting Paul’s letter to the Romans, he says he believes strongly that “we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us.” Another favorite passage of his: The Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Today the Great Commission continues at Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Charles, Missouri, a church of over 3,000 members with a senior pastor who has no tongue . . . but still proclaims the Good News. He believes that his affliction has allowed him to reach more people with the Gospel . . . and for his parishioners, they listen more attentively to the words he speaks . . . both because it is more difficult to understand his speech . . . but also because he has gone through so much . . . to continue to proclaim the Good News of salvation.
Today the Great Commission continues at the Lutheran Church of St. John in Quincy, Illinois, a church of over 800 members with two pastors who regularly use their tongues to preach the gospel and teach God’s Word . . . where members volunteer in caregiving ministries and Vacation Bible Schools, and serve on boards and committees for the furtherance of the Kingdom of Christ. The Great Commission continues at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, in York, Nebraska, where former vicar Tim McCall will be ordained and installed later this summer. The Great Commission continues at Old St. Gertrudes Lutheran Church in Riga, Latvia, where pastor Rinalds Grants, youth worker Ulvis Kravalis, and workers in a soup kitchen work for Christ, restoring people to faith through the gospel of Christ shared in word and deed. Isn’t it a great thing to be Pentecost people of God, working together to spread the Good News of salvation. And inspired by the adversities overcome by the grace of God active in the life of one Pastor Scott Schmeiding, what adversities or obstacles shall we overcome in the name of Christ in the years to come. God only knows . . . indeed, God already knows. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
-Pastor B
At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gave instructions to the apostles . . . instructions that have become known as the “Great Commission.” Jesus said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.” At the end of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus also told His disciples that they would be His witnesses to all nations . . . but to wait for the day when they would be clothed with power from on high. The power of which He spoke was the Holy Spirit.
This is the day . . . the day of Pentecost. The fiftieth day after His resurrection and ten days after the giving of the Great Commission . . . it happened. They were all together in one place . . . and suddenly the Holy Spirit came upon them . . . with the sound like the blowing of a violent wind from heaven. Tongues of fire separated and came to rest on each of them . . . tongues of the Holy Spirit’s fire . . . tongues of fire that enabled them to speak in different languages . . . tongues of fire the empowered and emboldened them to go into the public square and give the first public proclamation of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God-fearing Jewish people from all over the world were gathered in the Holy City of Jerusalem, no doubt gathered for the Old Testament feast of Pentecost, the first-fruits offering at the Holy Temple. These God-fearing Jews were amazed at hearing the apostles speak in their now native languages. Of course not all were amazed. Some mocked in unbelief. Some claimed that they were drunk, hearing the multitude of languages at the same time. Peter then clarified that they were sober . . . and that what they were witnessing was a fulfillment of prophecy . . . what the prophet Joel had foretold over six centuries earlier.
This was the day of the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit, even as Joel had prophesied. This was the day when men and women would receive the Holy Spirit of God, even as Moses had once wished for all God’s people. This was the day of entering the “lasts days,” last days that God’s people have lived in for the past nearly two-thousand years . . . days moving toward the great and glorious, great and dreadful “Day of the Lord.” For Jesus Christ will come again in glory, accompanied by wonders in the heavens above and the shedding of blood . . . and of fire . . . and billows of smoke on the troubled earth below.
Yes, this was the day of Great Commission beginnings. You know the rest of the story of that day, don’t you? Well, let me refresh your memory. Peter went on that day to proclaim Jesus to be the Messiah. Words of Holy Scripture and prophecy rolled of his tongue, proclaiming how the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of God’s promised salvation. Fiery words inspired by the tongues of fire rolled off his lips . . . as Peter convicted the people of their sin, proclaiming that they had put to death – crucified – the very Son of God, who was now enthroned at God’s right hand as both Lord and Christ.
The people felt bad . . . indeed, they were cut to the heart at the knowledge that their sins nailed Jesus to the cross. We should be cut to the heart over our sins as well. In their Holy Spirit wrought sorrow over their sins, the people asked what they should do. Peter then again proclaimed the wonderful news of the Gospel: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far off . . . for all whom the Lord our God will call.” He pleaded with the people to save themselves from this wicked and perverse generation. Three Thousand people were saved that day, through water and the word and the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. And they devoted themselves to God’s Word. They devoted themselves to each other. They devoted themselves to partaking of Christ’s Supper. And they devoted themselves to prayer.
So much for the Great Commission beginnings. Is there still a wicked and perverse generation that people need to be delivered from? There is no doubt. Does the mission of the Great Commission continue today? Do Holy Spirit inspired words still roll off the tongues of those called to share the gospel? Is the forgiveness of sins and gift of the Holy Spirit still given in baptism today? As surely as God is faithful . . . and as surely as the Word of Jesus Christ is true . . . the answer is absolutely yes. Indeed . . . the Word of the Gospel is spoken even by one pastor . . . who has no tongue.
In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the title of the article reads: “St. Charles preacher with no tongue speaks wisdom.” His name is Scott Schmieding. He was a classmate of mine at Concordia Seminary. Ordained in 1992, five years later he noticed a sore in the back of his tongue. It was cancer. The entire tongue would have to be surgically removed. This is quite a setback for a preacher. In a pamphlet Pastor Schmieding has written entitled, “Fighting Cancer with Faith,” he writes:
When I first found out I had cancer, I was afraid. But I knew that God had, has, and always will have my life in His loving hands. Still I wanted to know my possible outcomes, my prognosis . . . . When it came right down to it, I knew my fight with cancer had two possible outcomes: God would either grant me health or heaven. I simply prayed, “Dear God, restore my health or take me to heaven. Your will be done. Amen.”
The tumor was spreading rapidly. Doctors thought his speech would likely be unintelligible. Pastor Schmieding wondered about his calling . . . and how he could spread the word of God if he couldn’t speak. They removed the tongue, replaced the cavity with a muscle from his abdomen. He went through months of agonizing speech therapy and returned to parish life. His first public act upon resuming his pastoral duties at a Lutheran Church in Baton Rouge was to preach and celebrate the baptism of his newborn son.
Pastor Schmieding never asked God “why” he got cancer, but rather “for what purpose.” He says he has been given an answer: “I have become an expert at adversity” having also lived through five hurricanes in Louisiana. “I know what people are feeling when they face trials and tragedy.” Quoting Paul’s letter to the Romans, he says he believes strongly that “we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us.” Another favorite passage of his: The Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Today the Great Commission continues at Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Charles, Missouri, a church of over 3,000 members with a senior pastor who has no tongue . . . but still proclaims the Good News. He believes that his affliction has allowed him to reach more people with the Gospel . . . and for his parishioners, they listen more attentively to the words he speaks . . . both because it is more difficult to understand his speech . . . but also because he has gone through so much . . . to continue to proclaim the Good News of salvation.
Today the Great Commission continues at the Lutheran Church of St. John in Quincy, Illinois, a church of over 800 members with two pastors who regularly use their tongues to preach the gospel and teach God’s Word . . . where members volunteer in caregiving ministries and Vacation Bible Schools, and serve on boards and committees for the furtherance of the Kingdom of Christ. The Great Commission continues at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, in York, Nebraska, where former vicar Tim McCall will be ordained and installed later this summer. The Great Commission continues at Old St. Gertrudes Lutheran Church in Riga, Latvia, where pastor Rinalds Grants, youth worker Ulvis Kravalis, and workers in a soup kitchen work for Christ, restoring people to faith through the gospel of Christ shared in word and deed. Isn’t it a great thing to be Pentecost people of God, working together to spread the Good News of salvation. And inspired by the adversities overcome by the grace of God active in the life of one Pastor Scott Schmeiding, what adversities or obstacles shall we overcome in the name of Christ in the years to come. God only knows . . . indeed, God already knows. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
-Pastor B
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Made One in Christ (John 17:20-26)
Anyone who has ever played or watched sports knows that there is more to a successful team than talent. Now, obviously talent is important. I mean, no matter how hard they try, a team of high school kids isn’t going to a game against any major league baseball team. Though, with the way my White Sox have played this year, they might not want to risk it. But when you have a number of teams all comprised of people more skilled at what they do than over 99% of the population, the team with the most talent doesn’t always win. This fact is what allows sports movies to keep getting made. From The Longest Yard to Major League to Hoosiers, the halls of sports cinema are full of films about scrappy underdogs defeating bigger, faster, stronger, more talented opponents.
In most of these movies, an initial lack of talent and cohesiveness is overcome through the course of a long season. Usually, some big event serves as the turning point for their season, after which the team gels into a tight-knit, fun-loving group who learn to play together and maximize their respective skills. In the end, it’s the unity and all-for-one and one-for-all mentality that helps them win the day. Rick Vaughan comes out of the bullpen to strike out Clue Haywood. Paul Crewe decides he doesn’t care what the dishonest warden threatens to do to him. Jimmy Chitwood hits the shot that wins the state title for tiny Hickory High.
What rarely gets shown though, is what happens next. Few sports movies get sequels. There’s a reason for that. There’s a saying in sports that winning the first championship is easy; it’s the second one that’s hard. After winning for the first time, many teams experience a “post-championship lull.” What happens is that after winning a title or championship, many players and coaches begin to take their success for granted. They start to buy into their press clippings. They get caught up in the accolades and fame, and focus on themselves rather than the team. The chemistry, the unity that was there the year before disappears. Sometimes it can be recaptured. Often, it can’t.
It seems so obviously self-defeating. From the outside, as a fan, it’s easy to criticize. It’s easy to question how they could forget about what worked the year before so quickly and so easily. It’s so easy to think that you wouldn’t fall into the same trap if you were in their shoes.
Problem is, everyone says that. No politician promises that if you elect him, he’ll go to Washington and be as divisive and partisan as he can possibly be. Nobody tells a new girlfriend or boyfriend that they’re going to put their own wants and desires above the other persons. No one tells the person interviewing them for a new job that they’re going to back-stab and scheme their way to the interviewer’s position.
Everyone says that they want unity. Everyone says they want harmony. Everyone says they want to be a part of the team. And yet the workplace is full of resentment. The republicans and democrats in congress always seem more intent on deriding the other party’s plans than working together to find the best solutions. Families feud and rotate between hurling insults at each other and not speaking at all. Even the church of God is split into numerous denominations, to say nothing of the divisions within individual congregations.
In thermodynamics, scientists study and deal with the concept of entropy. Simplified down to the point that I can understand it, the idea behind entropy is that when left to itself, anything will decay into disorder. To see entropy in action, look at my desk a couple days after I clean it. Or your child’s room a couple hours after their last toy has been put away.
Intellectually, everyone wants unity. In our heads we know it makes sense. We know it makes life easier. We know it makes life happier. And yet we can’t help ourselves. Because of our sinful natures, because we live in a broken and sinful world…discord reigns. As much as we want unity, we can’t help ourselves. We get selfish. We put our own desires first. We put our own careers first. We resent others who are more popular or more successful. We want what they have. While we want unity and team-work, we end up with division and resentment.
All of this makes Jesus’ prayer here at the end of John 17 all the more imposing. In our gospel reading for this morning, we find ourselves again in the upper room on the night of the Last Supper. Chapter 17 of John is commonly known as Jesus’ High Priestly prayer. In the course of it, he prayed for himself, he prayed for the 12, and he prayed for those who would know him through them. That is, he prayed for us. And his prayer for those of us who would call on and believe in his name is that we might be united as he and the Father are united.
Think about that means. Jesus’ prayer is that we, flawed and sinful as we are, might be as united as he and his Father. The Father and the Son have been united since the before the beginning of time. Jesus himself says in verse 24, “You loved me since before the creation of the world.” Not only did the Father and the Son love one another, but as we confess in the Nicene Creed, they were and are of the same substance. Meaning, both are equally true God, the first two persons of the Trinity. Two distinct persons, yet one God. The level to which the Father and the Son are one, are united, goes beyond what our human minds can fully comprehend. And yet it is that level of unity that Jesus prays his followers might have.
It seems impossible. As mentioned, you probably don’t have to look far to find signs of division in your life. Even in happy, loving relationships the level of unity and oneness pales in comparison to that of the Father and the Son. And no constructs we might create, no rules we might put in place are capable of creating that level of unity.
Thankfully, we are not expected to create this unity on our own. Instead, it has already been given to us. Jesus says in verse 22, “the glory that you have given to me I have given to the, that they may be one even as we are one.” The glory that Jesus has given to us was himself. Though it didn’t look like it to the world, Christ’s glory was fulfilled and our glory was won as he hung on the cross and died. And this glory which was won through his death and resurrection has been made sure for us through the waters of Holy Baptism. Paul writes in Romans chapter 6, “Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.”
Because the Son is one with the Father, and because the Son has made himself one with us through the shedding of his body and blood, we have been united both to the Father and to one another. By the grace of God the whole church of God is united through Christ and His Word. As Ephesians 4 says, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” What Christ won through his death and resurrection was won for all believers throughout all ages.
Jesus’ desire and prayer was that his people would be united in all times, and in all places. But because of sin, that unity is not always evident. We have been given the Word of God to be the one truth around our lives and faith our built. It has been given to us to be the one truth by which the church is united and God is glorified, and yet many alter or reject it in order to suit their own desires. Of these people Paul writes in Romans, “"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator, who is forever praised." And in 2 Timothy he writes that “the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
So what are we to do when we see these false teachings make their way into the church? Paul’s instruction to Timothy, to other pastors, and to other believers in the church is “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
We in our lives and in our church must seek to not “agree to disagree”, but rather to always speak the truth in love. We must always seek to remain firm and trust in the saving power and grace of God, and pray that His will be done.
When we see division in our lives, when we see division in God’s church, our response should always be to return to God’s Word. To pray to God that he may continue to dwell in us and make his love known to us. To pray that we might have and see the unity that he desires for us. When we fail to live with the unity that Christ desires, we fall at the feet of the one who saves us, thankful that God’s grace and truth are bigger and more powerful than our imperfections. And we look forward to the day that Christ returns, when our unity with one another and with our heavenly Father will be made complete. Amen.
In most of these movies, an initial lack of talent and cohesiveness is overcome through the course of a long season. Usually, some big event serves as the turning point for their season, after which the team gels into a tight-knit, fun-loving group who learn to play together and maximize their respective skills. In the end, it’s the unity and all-for-one and one-for-all mentality that helps them win the day. Rick Vaughan comes out of the bullpen to strike out Clue Haywood. Paul Crewe decides he doesn’t care what the dishonest warden threatens to do to him. Jimmy Chitwood hits the shot that wins the state title for tiny Hickory High.
What rarely gets shown though, is what happens next. Few sports movies get sequels. There’s a reason for that. There’s a saying in sports that winning the first championship is easy; it’s the second one that’s hard. After winning for the first time, many teams experience a “post-championship lull.” What happens is that after winning a title or championship, many players and coaches begin to take their success for granted. They start to buy into their press clippings. They get caught up in the accolades and fame, and focus on themselves rather than the team. The chemistry, the unity that was there the year before disappears. Sometimes it can be recaptured. Often, it can’t.
It seems so obviously self-defeating. From the outside, as a fan, it’s easy to criticize. It’s easy to question how they could forget about what worked the year before so quickly and so easily. It’s so easy to think that you wouldn’t fall into the same trap if you were in their shoes.
Problem is, everyone says that. No politician promises that if you elect him, he’ll go to Washington and be as divisive and partisan as he can possibly be. Nobody tells a new girlfriend or boyfriend that they’re going to put their own wants and desires above the other persons. No one tells the person interviewing them for a new job that they’re going to back-stab and scheme their way to the interviewer’s position.
Everyone says that they want unity. Everyone says they want harmony. Everyone says they want to be a part of the team. And yet the workplace is full of resentment. The republicans and democrats in congress always seem more intent on deriding the other party’s plans than working together to find the best solutions. Families feud and rotate between hurling insults at each other and not speaking at all. Even the church of God is split into numerous denominations, to say nothing of the divisions within individual congregations.
In thermodynamics, scientists study and deal with the concept of entropy. Simplified down to the point that I can understand it, the idea behind entropy is that when left to itself, anything will decay into disorder. To see entropy in action, look at my desk a couple days after I clean it. Or your child’s room a couple hours after their last toy has been put away.
Intellectually, everyone wants unity. In our heads we know it makes sense. We know it makes life easier. We know it makes life happier. And yet we can’t help ourselves. Because of our sinful natures, because we live in a broken and sinful world…discord reigns. As much as we want unity, we can’t help ourselves. We get selfish. We put our own desires first. We put our own careers first. We resent others who are more popular or more successful. We want what they have. While we want unity and team-work, we end up with division and resentment.
All of this makes Jesus’ prayer here at the end of John 17 all the more imposing. In our gospel reading for this morning, we find ourselves again in the upper room on the night of the Last Supper. Chapter 17 of John is commonly known as Jesus’ High Priestly prayer. In the course of it, he prayed for himself, he prayed for the 12, and he prayed for those who would know him through them. That is, he prayed for us. And his prayer for those of us who would call on and believe in his name is that we might be united as he and the Father are united.
Think about that means. Jesus’ prayer is that we, flawed and sinful as we are, might be as united as he and his Father. The Father and the Son have been united since the before the beginning of time. Jesus himself says in verse 24, “You loved me since before the creation of the world.” Not only did the Father and the Son love one another, but as we confess in the Nicene Creed, they were and are of the same substance. Meaning, both are equally true God, the first two persons of the Trinity. Two distinct persons, yet one God. The level to which the Father and the Son are one, are united, goes beyond what our human minds can fully comprehend. And yet it is that level of unity that Jesus prays his followers might have.
It seems impossible. As mentioned, you probably don’t have to look far to find signs of division in your life. Even in happy, loving relationships the level of unity and oneness pales in comparison to that of the Father and the Son. And no constructs we might create, no rules we might put in place are capable of creating that level of unity.
Thankfully, we are not expected to create this unity on our own. Instead, it has already been given to us. Jesus says in verse 22, “the glory that you have given to me I have given to the, that they may be one even as we are one.” The glory that Jesus has given to us was himself. Though it didn’t look like it to the world, Christ’s glory was fulfilled and our glory was won as he hung on the cross and died. And this glory which was won through his death and resurrection has been made sure for us through the waters of Holy Baptism. Paul writes in Romans chapter 6, “Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.”
Because the Son is one with the Father, and because the Son has made himself one with us through the shedding of his body and blood, we have been united both to the Father and to one another. By the grace of God the whole church of God is united through Christ and His Word. As Ephesians 4 says, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” What Christ won through his death and resurrection was won for all believers throughout all ages.
Jesus’ desire and prayer was that his people would be united in all times, and in all places. But because of sin, that unity is not always evident. We have been given the Word of God to be the one truth around our lives and faith our built. It has been given to us to be the one truth by which the church is united and God is glorified, and yet many alter or reject it in order to suit their own desires. Of these people Paul writes in Romans, “"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator, who is forever praised." And in 2 Timothy he writes that “the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
So what are we to do when we see these false teachings make their way into the church? Paul’s instruction to Timothy, to other pastors, and to other believers in the church is “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
We in our lives and in our church must seek to not “agree to disagree”, but rather to always speak the truth in love. We must always seek to remain firm and trust in the saving power and grace of God, and pray that His will be done.
When we see division in our lives, when we see division in God’s church, our response should always be to return to God’s Word. To pray to God that he may continue to dwell in us and make his love known to us. To pray that we might have and see the unity that he desires for us. When we fail to live with the unity that Christ desires, we fall at the feet of the one who saves us, thankful that God’s grace and truth are bigger and more powerful than our imperfections. And we look forward to the day that Christ returns, when our unity with one another and with our heavenly Father will be made complete. Amen.
The Best is Yet to Come (John 16:23-33)
There’s a story about a young boxer from Oklahoma who moved to Chicago to train. He arrived in the big city with nothing but optimism and a suitcase under each arm. Upon departing the bus, he put down his suitcases, stared up at the Sears Tower and said to himself “I am going to conquer Chicago.” When he looked back down, his suitcases were gone. I imagine we’ve all had days like that. Days or weeks were it felt like nothing goes your way. Feeling like everything was stacked against you. Those times that it feels like no matter what you do, it’s wrong. That whatever you do, you just can’t win.
I imagine that’s how the Cumberland College Bulldogs felt one October day back in 1916. Cumberland was a small Presbyterian college in Tennessee. Though they fielded a strong baseball team, the school had decided to disband the football team prior to the 1916 season. There was one small problem, however. Back when they had a team, a game had been scheduled against Georgia Tech, a team coached by John Heisman.
When Cumberland asked about cancelling the game, it was made clear to them that this was not an option. Perhaps partly as payback for Cumberland having defeated Georgia Tech 22-0 in baseball earlier that year, the Bulldogs were told that cancelling the game would require full payment of the terms agreed to when the game was scheduled. That is, it would cost Cumberland $3,000; about $60,000 in today’s prices.
So, with few options remaining, Cumberland scraped together a 14-man team and headed to Atlanta to take on their powerful foes. Were this a Disney movie, the scrappy underdogs would have fought bravely before ultimately succumbing in the end.
However, this was no Disney movie. Georgia Tech started scoring early, and didn’t stop until the clock struck zero and the scoreboard read 222-0.
Have you ever had a day like that? A day where you try and try, where you push yourself to do the best you can, for no apparent reason? Maybe you’ve had one of those days where days, weeks, or even years of work seemingly disappear in the blink of an eye. Maybe you know what it’s like to suddenly be rendered numb and speechless by a phone call bearing bad news. Perhaps you’ve found yourself weeping over the sudden loss of a loved one.
Horatio Spafford knew all about those days. In 1871 Spafford was a successful lawyer in the city of Chicago. Early that year, his only son died. Later that fall, the Chicago Fire tore through his city, burned its way through his building, and left him near financial ruin. Two years later, he planned to take a holiday with his wife and four daughters to England. When business issues came up that looked to delay their departure, he sent his family ahead of him, planning to meet up with them a couple weeks later. However, while crossing the Atlantic, the boat they were on was struck by another vessel and sank. His wife survived, but all four of his daughters were lost to the sea.
When Spafford was able to set out and join his wife in England, his ship passed over the place his children had lost their lives. In the midst of his heartbreak, he went to his cabin, and wrote these words… “When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul.” The words that Horatio Spafford wrote in the midst of profound heartache has since gone on to become a dearly beloved hymn sung by others during their own times of grief and mourning.
There are some churches, some pastors out there who will tell you that God wants you to have your best life now. That if you believe in God, good things are going to happen in your life. That being a Christian, that being a child of the heavenly Father means you are going to be blessed with a better job, better behaved kids, a bigger house, and a newer truck. The bad times, it is implied, are the result of a not fully realized trust or faith.
If that’s true, what then do we make of the apostle Paul? In 2nd Corinthians, Paul runs through the list of the trials and hardships he had faced up that point. Just a sampling of his list says, “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move.” Paul knew trial and hardship. Was it because his faith wasn’t strong enough?
What about Jesus himself? Who was ever more faithful than Jesus? Who deserved a life of comfort and peace more than him? And yet look what he endured. Three years of religious leaders trying to trap him in his words. No bed to call his own. Disciples who would deny even knowing him. Being beaten and mocked. Having nails hammered through his hands and feet, killed for sins he never committed.
Our Savior was intimately familiar with the truth that life is hard. That things aren’t always fair. And it’s going to continue to be that way. At least for a while. Jesus knew this, and told his followers to be prepared to face pressure and persecution. Sin prevails upon us every day, and in every way.
St. Peter writes, “Satan prowls like a roaring lion, seeking whom he will devour.” The evil one comes at us however he can. He wants us to be completely overwhelmed by our times of struggle. He wants us to feel overburdened. He wants us to wallow in the darkness of despair. He wants us to lose hope. He wants us to feel abandoned and alone. He operated this way in Jesus’ time, and he works that way today. And left on our own in a sinful world, he would break us. We would have no hope.
But the good news we have been given is that we aren’t alone, and we aren’t without a sure hope. The last verse of our reading for today quotes Jesus as saying “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Christ spoke these words to his disciples in the upper room a few short hours before he was betrayed by Judas into the hands of the Pharisees.
He knew what was coming, both for him and for his disciples. He knew they were going to be tested in the coming hours and days, and he knew they were going to fail. But his message to them was to take heart. That he was bigger than their trials. That he was bigger than the forces that sought to kill him. That he was bigger than death, bigger than the world. He was in control.
The reason that Horatio Spafford was able to write those words, the reason that we can hope to find peace in the midst of the chaos and tribulations of our own is because of the one to whom we look for comfort. We find peace not in the things of the world, but in Christ. Christ, who took the sins of the world upon himself. Even more, who took the punishment for those sins upon himself. So that we might have peace, he faced the full wrath of God. So that we might live with the hope of life in God’s eternal kingdom, the Son was abandoned and forsaken by the Father. By his wounds, you have been healed.
In our lives, we will face hardship. But in our trials, we are not facing the punishment of God. Jesus has forever removed from us the divine wrath. Instead, we are simply experiencing the effects of living in a sinful, imperfect world. A world in which pain , death, and struggle still exist as it waits for Christ to return again. But all things, we are assured, work out for our good. Every sorrow is used by God to benefit us. These sorrows though cannot compare to the glory that is to be revealed in Christ.
When we feel do feel beaten down by the world, Christ promises to carry us through. He tells us to remember and rejoice in knowing that he has already overcome the world. In our day to day dealings in the world, we might not always feel his presence. We might not immediately feel any less tired or beaten down. So you might wonder what that leaves us with. What we are left with is hope. We are given hope in the knowledge of Christ’s ultimate victory over death and the devil. We are given the hope that comes from knowing that even the good times in this life don’t hold a candle to what is to come.
This isn’t the hope that your request for vacation time gets accepted. This isn’t the hope that your husband remembered to stop at the store and get milk, or to put gas in the car before the price went up again. This isn’t even a hope that we do. It’s a hope that we have been given. It’s an object we can hold on to, not a feeling that may fade away. This is a hope that can only be given to us by the one who makes us and calls us his own. It’s a hope that comes from the one person who has never failed to deliver on a promise. A hope in the promise that when we feel weary, he takes our burdens off of our shoulders and takes them upon his own. A hope in the promise of eternal salvation, and in the promise of eternal peace before the throne of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
I imagine that’s how the Cumberland College Bulldogs felt one October day back in 1916. Cumberland was a small Presbyterian college in Tennessee. Though they fielded a strong baseball team, the school had decided to disband the football team prior to the 1916 season. There was one small problem, however. Back when they had a team, a game had been scheduled against Georgia Tech, a team coached by John Heisman.
When Cumberland asked about cancelling the game, it was made clear to them that this was not an option. Perhaps partly as payback for Cumberland having defeated Georgia Tech 22-0 in baseball earlier that year, the Bulldogs were told that cancelling the game would require full payment of the terms agreed to when the game was scheduled. That is, it would cost Cumberland $3,000; about $60,000 in today’s prices.
So, with few options remaining, Cumberland scraped together a 14-man team and headed to Atlanta to take on their powerful foes. Were this a Disney movie, the scrappy underdogs would have fought bravely before ultimately succumbing in the end.
However, this was no Disney movie. Georgia Tech started scoring early, and didn’t stop until the clock struck zero and the scoreboard read 222-0.
Have you ever had a day like that? A day where you try and try, where you push yourself to do the best you can, for no apparent reason? Maybe you’ve had one of those days where days, weeks, or even years of work seemingly disappear in the blink of an eye. Maybe you know what it’s like to suddenly be rendered numb and speechless by a phone call bearing bad news. Perhaps you’ve found yourself weeping over the sudden loss of a loved one.
Horatio Spafford knew all about those days. In 1871 Spafford was a successful lawyer in the city of Chicago. Early that year, his only son died. Later that fall, the Chicago Fire tore through his city, burned its way through his building, and left him near financial ruin. Two years later, he planned to take a holiday with his wife and four daughters to England. When business issues came up that looked to delay their departure, he sent his family ahead of him, planning to meet up with them a couple weeks later. However, while crossing the Atlantic, the boat they were on was struck by another vessel and sank. His wife survived, but all four of his daughters were lost to the sea.
When Spafford was able to set out and join his wife in England, his ship passed over the place his children had lost their lives. In the midst of his heartbreak, he went to his cabin, and wrote these words… “When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul.” The words that Horatio Spafford wrote in the midst of profound heartache has since gone on to become a dearly beloved hymn sung by others during their own times of grief and mourning.
There are some churches, some pastors out there who will tell you that God wants you to have your best life now. That if you believe in God, good things are going to happen in your life. That being a Christian, that being a child of the heavenly Father means you are going to be blessed with a better job, better behaved kids, a bigger house, and a newer truck. The bad times, it is implied, are the result of a not fully realized trust or faith.
If that’s true, what then do we make of the apostle Paul? In 2nd Corinthians, Paul runs through the list of the trials and hardships he had faced up that point. Just a sampling of his list says, “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move.” Paul knew trial and hardship. Was it because his faith wasn’t strong enough?
What about Jesus himself? Who was ever more faithful than Jesus? Who deserved a life of comfort and peace more than him? And yet look what he endured. Three years of religious leaders trying to trap him in his words. No bed to call his own. Disciples who would deny even knowing him. Being beaten and mocked. Having nails hammered through his hands and feet, killed for sins he never committed.
Our Savior was intimately familiar with the truth that life is hard. That things aren’t always fair. And it’s going to continue to be that way. At least for a while. Jesus knew this, and told his followers to be prepared to face pressure and persecution. Sin prevails upon us every day, and in every way.
St. Peter writes, “Satan prowls like a roaring lion, seeking whom he will devour.” The evil one comes at us however he can. He wants us to be completely overwhelmed by our times of struggle. He wants us to feel overburdened. He wants us to wallow in the darkness of despair. He wants us to lose hope. He wants us to feel abandoned and alone. He operated this way in Jesus’ time, and he works that way today. And left on our own in a sinful world, he would break us. We would have no hope.
But the good news we have been given is that we aren’t alone, and we aren’t without a sure hope. The last verse of our reading for today quotes Jesus as saying “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Christ spoke these words to his disciples in the upper room a few short hours before he was betrayed by Judas into the hands of the Pharisees.
He knew what was coming, both for him and for his disciples. He knew they were going to be tested in the coming hours and days, and he knew they were going to fail. But his message to them was to take heart. That he was bigger than their trials. That he was bigger than the forces that sought to kill him. That he was bigger than death, bigger than the world. He was in control.
The reason that Horatio Spafford was able to write those words, the reason that we can hope to find peace in the midst of the chaos and tribulations of our own is because of the one to whom we look for comfort. We find peace not in the things of the world, but in Christ. Christ, who took the sins of the world upon himself. Even more, who took the punishment for those sins upon himself. So that we might have peace, he faced the full wrath of God. So that we might live with the hope of life in God’s eternal kingdom, the Son was abandoned and forsaken by the Father. By his wounds, you have been healed.
In our lives, we will face hardship. But in our trials, we are not facing the punishment of God. Jesus has forever removed from us the divine wrath. Instead, we are simply experiencing the effects of living in a sinful, imperfect world. A world in which pain , death, and struggle still exist as it waits for Christ to return again. But all things, we are assured, work out for our good. Every sorrow is used by God to benefit us. These sorrows though cannot compare to the glory that is to be revealed in Christ.
When we feel do feel beaten down by the world, Christ promises to carry us through. He tells us to remember and rejoice in knowing that he has already overcome the world. In our day to day dealings in the world, we might not always feel his presence. We might not immediately feel any less tired or beaten down. So you might wonder what that leaves us with. What we are left with is hope. We are given hope in the knowledge of Christ’s ultimate victory over death and the devil. We are given the hope that comes from knowing that even the good times in this life don’t hold a candle to what is to come.
This isn’t the hope that your request for vacation time gets accepted. This isn’t the hope that your husband remembered to stop at the store and get milk, or to put gas in the car before the price went up again. This isn’t even a hope that we do. It’s a hope that we have been given. It’s an object we can hold on to, not a feeling that may fade away. This is a hope that can only be given to us by the one who makes us and calls us his own. It’s a hope that comes from the one person who has never failed to deliver on a promise. A hope in the promise that when we feel weary, he takes our burdens off of our shoulders and takes them upon his own. A hope in the promise of eternal salvation, and in the promise of eternal peace before the throne of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Instruments of God (Acts 9:1-22)
One thing you quickly learn when you get to the seminary is that would-be pastors come in all shapes and sizes. A lot of guys are in their early 20’s, straight out of college, with degrees that run the liberal and fine arts gamut. And then you have the 2nd career guys. Guys who have spent years, sometimes even decades in the workforce who have now decided to once again become full-time students. Teachers, mechanics, army captains, policemen, undertakers, college administrators. All successful in their previous fields, many with wives and children, all now sitting next to you in class, taking notes and writing papers.
As varied as the background of pastors and future pastors might be, as unexpected as some of their entries into the ministry might be, I doubt that any of them can hold a candle to Saul of Tarsus. We’re first introduced to Saul during the martyrdom of Stephen, guarding the clothes of those hurling the stones, approving of their actions. We know that Paul was a Pharisee. By his own definition “Pharisee of the Pharisees.” His zeal and adherence to the Law were without question. Though a Jew, he was also a citizen of Rome. He was well educated. And above all, he sought to destroy the growing group of people who followed and believed in the man known as Jesus of Nazareth.
Saul was in the Christian-hunting business, and business was good. In Acts 8:3 we read these words, “But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.” And then, at the beginning of our reading for today we’re told, “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”
Saul was not someone you would ever expect to meet on a seminary campus. Not as a student, anyway. And yet, God chose this man to be His chosen instrument. To be the evangelist to the Gentiles. To be the author of 13 books of the New Testament. To arguably be the most prolific and important witness to Jesus Christ that the world has ever known.
But why? Of all people, why Saul? Why would God even let this man continue to live, never mind be His servant? Certainly from a human perspective it was a choice that makes less than zero sense. If faced with making the decision to choose someone to be a missionary to the nations, most people would go with the well-trained, passionate Christian. At the very least they’d choose someone who wasn’t actively seeking to kill those who believed in the very message the person was going to be sent to proclaim. And if Saul had been required to apply to the seminary before being sent out, he never would have made it. Putting “Christian-hunter” as his previous occupation would have had his application tossed in the trash in no-time flat. Why would God choose him?
Of course, before we can answer that question, there’s another question that needs to be asked. Why would God choose us? After all, each of was born sinful. Each of us was born an enemy of God. This truth is highlighted for us in Romans 5. I’m going to highlight a few relevant snippets, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--...For if the many died by the trespass of the one man,...The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation,....For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man,...Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men.”
All of us were sinful. All of us are guilty of sinning each and every day. Perhaps we aren’t guilty of the same sins as Saul, but we are equally as guilty. James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” And of course the punishment for breaking God’s Law is death. So whether we want to admit it or not, we’re really no better, no more deserving of being chosen and used by God than Saul.
So as Paul traveled along the road on his way to Damascus, he did so blind to the truth of Jesus Christ. But as he traveled he was brought to his knees as he was surrounded by light and heard a voice say, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul had a very natural response. “But Lord, who are you?” Imagine the shock, the dread that must have seized him when he heard the response. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” When he got up he discovered he was blind, this time literally. And for three days he was alone with his thoughts, not even eating as he considered what had happened to him, and what he had been told.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had an experience anything close to what Saul had on the Damascus road. Rather, I should say that I’ve never had an experience as dramatic as what Paul had, because at its root level, I have had a similar experience. And so have you. As many of you likely were, I didn’t have much say in the matter as I was brought to the baptismal fount. In fact, some of us might have been quite vocally against it, crying and screaming over the pastor’s words, wailing as cold water was suddenly poured over our heads. When you get right down to it, this is essentially the same thing that happened to Saul.
Saul wasn’t ready for the role God in mind for him. He was quite content doing what he was doing. He was happy going along, blind to his sin and need for forgiveness. When Jesus spoke, he didn’t give Saul any say in the matter. He didn’t make any arguments for why Saul should listen to him. He didn’t provide evidence for why Saul should believe in him. He didn’t dialog with Saul about whether he was the Christ. He simply appeared to him, made himself known, and sets him on a whole new path.
Indeed, God did essentially to us the very same thing that He did to Paul. He simply called us His own by His own very clear and straight-forward declaration. "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” It was by His work, by His grace that we have been lifted up out of the curse of sin and made his children. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are brought out of our own spiritual blindness and into faith in Jesus Christ.
In Saul’s moment of conversion and in our own, we see that there is no human action involved in coming to Christ. There is no decision of faith to be made. After all, our Lord himself says rather clearly in John 15:16, " You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit." There was no decision of faith on the part of Saul. God just simply informed him that he was His child, and that from now on, he had a new job, and a new boss.
Why did God choose a man like Saul? For the very same reason He chose us. Because He loved Saul. And he loves us. And because of that, he has called each of us not just by our own name, but by His.
The great heroes of scriptures weren’t great because they were great men and women. They were ordinary, sinful people through whom God did things. If God can take a mortal enemy like Saul and turn him into the greatest Christian evangelist in history, then there is no limit to what God can do with the likes of those who occupy these pews or this pulpit this Sunday. God can and does do amazing things!
Always and only, Saul would grow to point to the grace of God which was his in Christ Jesus. Saul of course would change his name to Paul, and he would eventually write in his letter to the Galatians, “But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man.” It was not men who empowered him, but God! And that is precisely the way it works with us. We would have no light shine on us as personal individuals as we are about the work of the kingdom of God. But always, and only like Saul, we must point to Christ. Christ who is all and who does all through the power of his grace.
Everything is done by the impetus of God. Not by decisions of human will. Just like Paul, we are the product of grace alone. Like Paul we are former enemies of God who have been washed clean in the blood of the lamb of God. Solely by his grace our sins are no longer an outstanding debt which we cannot possibly replay. Instead, the repayment has been done by the one who offered His life, and sacrifice, for our sin. And there is no sin that you have that is strong enough to overcome the power of his grace and love.
We have done nothing. Christ has done everything. It is His full payment for sin, not anything we offer, that brings us the salvation that is ours. And once more, like Paul, we shouldn’t stop talking about it. We can’t stop talking about it! Like Paul, our very lives can be nothing but instruments of God for the building up of His kingdom.
It doesn’t matter what you do for a living. I don’t care if you’re a contractor, a banker, a counselor, a homemaker, or a retiree. It makes no difference. Anything that accomplishes God’s purposes in any of those roles are things which God is working in your life in order to expand His kingdom. Because of that, everything that we do in life is sacred. Because God is at work, and he has chosen us to be instruments of making His love known.
In Paul we see how a former enemy of God was obedient. How he was a servant of Christ. An instrument at the disposal of the Almighty one through His good works and to bring about His will. Not because he was great, but because God is great.
You and I are not great, but God is great in us. And I pray that we too may be willing servants like our brother Paul. That we too may be instruments of sharing the grace and mercy we have been called to know with others, so that they too may hear and believe. Amen.
As varied as the background of pastors and future pastors might be, as unexpected as some of their entries into the ministry might be, I doubt that any of them can hold a candle to Saul of Tarsus. We’re first introduced to Saul during the martyrdom of Stephen, guarding the clothes of those hurling the stones, approving of their actions. We know that Paul was a Pharisee. By his own definition “Pharisee of the Pharisees.” His zeal and adherence to the Law were without question. Though a Jew, he was also a citizen of Rome. He was well educated. And above all, he sought to destroy the growing group of people who followed and believed in the man known as Jesus of Nazareth.
Saul was in the Christian-hunting business, and business was good. In Acts 8:3 we read these words, “But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.” And then, at the beginning of our reading for today we’re told, “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”
Saul was not someone you would ever expect to meet on a seminary campus. Not as a student, anyway. And yet, God chose this man to be His chosen instrument. To be the evangelist to the Gentiles. To be the author of 13 books of the New Testament. To arguably be the most prolific and important witness to Jesus Christ that the world has ever known.
But why? Of all people, why Saul? Why would God even let this man continue to live, never mind be His servant? Certainly from a human perspective it was a choice that makes less than zero sense. If faced with making the decision to choose someone to be a missionary to the nations, most people would go with the well-trained, passionate Christian. At the very least they’d choose someone who wasn’t actively seeking to kill those who believed in the very message the person was going to be sent to proclaim. And if Saul had been required to apply to the seminary before being sent out, he never would have made it. Putting “Christian-hunter” as his previous occupation would have had his application tossed in the trash in no-time flat. Why would God choose him?
Of course, before we can answer that question, there’s another question that needs to be asked. Why would God choose us? After all, each of was born sinful. Each of us was born an enemy of God. This truth is highlighted for us in Romans 5. I’m going to highlight a few relevant snippets, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--...For if the many died by the trespass of the one man,...The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation,....For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man,...Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men.”
All of us were sinful. All of us are guilty of sinning each and every day. Perhaps we aren’t guilty of the same sins as Saul, but we are equally as guilty. James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” And of course the punishment for breaking God’s Law is death. So whether we want to admit it or not, we’re really no better, no more deserving of being chosen and used by God than Saul.
So as Paul traveled along the road on his way to Damascus, he did so blind to the truth of Jesus Christ. But as he traveled he was brought to his knees as he was surrounded by light and heard a voice say, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul had a very natural response. “But Lord, who are you?” Imagine the shock, the dread that must have seized him when he heard the response. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” When he got up he discovered he was blind, this time literally. And for three days he was alone with his thoughts, not even eating as he considered what had happened to him, and what he had been told.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had an experience anything close to what Saul had on the Damascus road. Rather, I should say that I’ve never had an experience as dramatic as what Paul had, because at its root level, I have had a similar experience. And so have you. As many of you likely were, I didn’t have much say in the matter as I was brought to the baptismal fount. In fact, some of us might have been quite vocally against it, crying and screaming over the pastor’s words, wailing as cold water was suddenly poured over our heads. When you get right down to it, this is essentially the same thing that happened to Saul.
Saul wasn’t ready for the role God in mind for him. He was quite content doing what he was doing. He was happy going along, blind to his sin and need for forgiveness. When Jesus spoke, he didn’t give Saul any say in the matter. He didn’t make any arguments for why Saul should listen to him. He didn’t provide evidence for why Saul should believe in him. He didn’t dialog with Saul about whether he was the Christ. He simply appeared to him, made himself known, and sets him on a whole new path.
Indeed, God did essentially to us the very same thing that He did to Paul. He simply called us His own by His own very clear and straight-forward declaration. "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” It was by His work, by His grace that we have been lifted up out of the curse of sin and made his children. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are brought out of our own spiritual blindness and into faith in Jesus Christ.
In Saul’s moment of conversion and in our own, we see that there is no human action involved in coming to Christ. There is no decision of faith to be made. After all, our Lord himself says rather clearly in John 15:16, " You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit." There was no decision of faith on the part of Saul. God just simply informed him that he was His child, and that from now on, he had a new job, and a new boss.
Why did God choose a man like Saul? For the very same reason He chose us. Because He loved Saul. And he loves us. And because of that, he has called each of us not just by our own name, but by His.
The great heroes of scriptures weren’t great because they were great men and women. They were ordinary, sinful people through whom God did things. If God can take a mortal enemy like Saul and turn him into the greatest Christian evangelist in history, then there is no limit to what God can do with the likes of those who occupy these pews or this pulpit this Sunday. God can and does do amazing things!
Always and only, Saul would grow to point to the grace of God which was his in Christ Jesus. Saul of course would change his name to Paul, and he would eventually write in his letter to the Galatians, “But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man.” It was not men who empowered him, but God! And that is precisely the way it works with us. We would have no light shine on us as personal individuals as we are about the work of the kingdom of God. But always, and only like Saul, we must point to Christ. Christ who is all and who does all through the power of his grace.
Everything is done by the impetus of God. Not by decisions of human will. Just like Paul, we are the product of grace alone. Like Paul we are former enemies of God who have been washed clean in the blood of the lamb of God. Solely by his grace our sins are no longer an outstanding debt which we cannot possibly replay. Instead, the repayment has been done by the one who offered His life, and sacrifice, for our sin. And there is no sin that you have that is strong enough to overcome the power of his grace and love.
We have done nothing. Christ has done everything. It is His full payment for sin, not anything we offer, that brings us the salvation that is ours. And once more, like Paul, we shouldn’t stop talking about it. We can’t stop talking about it! Like Paul, our very lives can be nothing but instruments of God for the building up of His kingdom.
It doesn’t matter what you do for a living. I don’t care if you’re a contractor, a banker, a counselor, a homemaker, or a retiree. It makes no difference. Anything that accomplishes God’s purposes in any of those roles are things which God is working in your life in order to expand His kingdom. Because of that, everything that we do in life is sacred. Because God is at work, and he has chosen us to be instruments of making His love known.
In Paul we see how a former enemy of God was obedient. How he was a servant of Christ. An instrument at the disposal of the Almighty one through His good works and to bring about His will. Not because he was great, but because God is great.
You and I are not great, but God is great in us. And I pray that we too may be willing servants like our brother Paul. That we too may be instruments of sharing the grace and mercy we have been called to know with others, so that they too may hear and believe. Amen.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Come to the Feast! (Amos 9:11-15)- An Easter Message
“The Party ‘s Over!”
It can mean, “Wow, it’s 2:00am and I've got to go to work in six hours!” It can mean, “There’s nothing left to eat or drink. Time to go!” Or it can mean, “It’s all over, the Fat Lady has sung, the curtain has gone down, and Mighty Casey has struck out!”
It ‘s this third sense of “The Party is Over!” that coincides with the context of Amos 9:11-15, namely God’s judgment of the temple in the prophet’s fifth and final vision. Hear the word of the LORD from Amos 9:1, “I saw the LORD standing beside the altar and he said, ‘Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake.’” Make no mistake about it, the party is over!
And yet, after God’s judgment in our text from Amos 9 God states, “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old.” What God is directing Amos to proclaim to the people is that judgment will give way to mercy. Death will give way to resurrection. God’s promise is that he will raise up the falling tabernacle of David!
This blessed Easter morning we celebrate that he has done just that! You see, there is nothing dead about Jesus. John’s gospel is full of verses tying Jesus to life. In John 1:4 he writes “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” John 6:35 quotes Jesus saying “I am the Bread of Life.” Later in that chapter we find Peter saying “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Chapter 10 again quotes Jesus saying “I have come that they may have life.” And then in chapter 11 “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” And yet again in chapter 14 “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.” Even outside of the gospels we find Paul capping things off as he throws a triumphant fist up in the air while he proclaims to the people of Corinth, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
Friday night we remembered Christ’s being hung to die on the cross. For those who were there, watching as their teacher, son, and friend suffered and died, things surely seemed bleak. Things seemed hopeless. It seemed as though the party was over. But as testified to by our gathering here this morning, we know that far from being over, this party has just begun. And without a doubt, the very same Jesus of Nazareth who was put to death on Good Friday is the life of this party. He’s not some fable or fairy tale that we’ve made up inside our head. He’s God and Son, he’s risen from the dead!
But every party brings a certain set of questions. The first question is, who is invited?
John Carlson is a Lutheran pastor in Minnesota. A few years ago he noticed that in his town on the night of the Senior Prom only the preppy, powerful, and popular kids went to the party. So he came up with the idea of holding a celebration for kids who couldn’t get a date because they weren’t a part of the in-crowd and felt like they didn’t belong. This prom was for them. Now Timex gives out watches to the kids who attend, other companies have joined in, and now it's more popular than the real prom! Carlson calls it the Reject Prom.
Been rejected lately? Told you don’t belong? Feeling second rate? Do you know about partner rejection? Peer rejection? Parental rejection? Parishioner rejection? Do you know about deep running personal-rejection? All are invited.
Amos stresses this when he speaks of including “the remnant of Edom.” For the people of Israel, this would have been shocking! The people of Edom were some of Israel’s most ancient and hated enemies. Inviting Edom to the party would be like the Cardinals or White Sox inviting the Cubs to join them in celebrating a World Series victory. Nevertheless, the Lord promises that a remnant of Edom, along with peoples of all nations will be made a part of the restored kingdom and invited to the eternal celebration.
The next question, what about my appearance? Answer, come as you are. But, you say, “My face bears the marks of worry. My shoulders are stooped from burdens. My lips are dirty from slander. My heart is hardened toward my spouse and children. My fingers are stuck accusing my brother. My arteries are clogged with bitterness and resentment.”
A hen-pecked husband was advised by a psychiatrist to assert himself. “You don’t have to let your wife bully you,” he was told. “Go home and show her you’re the boss.” The husband decided to take the doctor’s advice. He went home, slammed the door, shook his fist in his wife’s face, and growled, “From now on you’re taking orders from me. I want my supper right now, and when you get it on the table, go upstairs, and lay out my clothes. I’m going out with the boys tonight, and you’re going to stay at home where you belong. Another thing, you know who’s going to tie my bow tie?” “I certainly do,” said his wife calmly. “The undertaker.”
Our sin shows up most in marriages and in families when we foolishly attempt to manipulate, bully, and control each other.
So you’re thinking, “What do you mean? Come as you are? I'm a spiritual mess!” So am I. So were Jesus’ disciples. So was Israel. Israel of Amos’ day was clothed with this same disgrace of sin. Most of Amos’ ministry, and really most of the ministry of the rest of God’s prophets, was one of judgment. Of calling for the people to repent for their sinful ways, and announcing God’s punishment on them for failing to do so. No doubt about it, Amos was preaching to a sinful, disgraceful group of people. But in spite of their sin, he is still called to proclaim that “God will restore the fortunes of his people.” His people who had rejected Him and His Word time and again. His people who would see their nation taken away from them and be taken into captivity. It was to His sinful children that he promised restoration and eternal prosperity.
What we have lost in sin, God restores in resurrection. This is what allows you to come as you are! In the parable of the prodigal son, the Father eagerly and lovingly welcomes his son home by proclaiming, “Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet let's have a feast and celebrate!” The Father, our Father provides the proper attire for prodigals and sinners. He provides us with Easter baptismal robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb. Come just as you are. By His love those who are dirty and stained are made clean and spotless.
The third question is, what about party gifts? How often are you invited to a gathering or dinner and ask the host, “What can I bring?” In every church I’ve ever been to, potlucks have been something of a way of life. It’s no secret that Lutherans love a good meal. And I have yet to attend a potluck that wasn’t bursting at the seams with tasty treats. Everyone brings something. Usually, you can count on many people providing their same signature dish. It’s a fun, delicious time in which everyone provides something for the feast. But when it comes to this feast, when we ask what it is that we can provide, God’s response is “nothing.” For this celebration we can bring nothing. He provides it all.
Luke 14:17 says, “At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited,’ Come, for everything is now ready.’” Amos speaks of a coming day when the harvest would be so plentiful that there would be no break in the cycle of plowing-seeding-and harvesting. He says that the mountains will drip sweet wine, pointing to how the blessings of the Messiah’s kingdom will be overflowing. Truly, as we celebrate the empty tomb, as we gather together to eat our Lord’s supper we celebrate that abundance is ours!
We bring nothing but ourselves because our great God puts everything on the table. These gifts which he so richly pours out on us His people were purchased at the cost of spitting, mocking, whipping, nailing, bleeding, sweating, and dying. And now the resurrected and victorious Jesus lives to give the gifts on this table. And what awesome gifts! What a magnificent feast! True body and true blood through which we receive washing, cleansing, healing, and the gift of eternal life!
It’s common to say at the end of a party something like, “All good things must come to an end.”
Not today! Not this party! This is a feast which will never end. Amos says it this way, “I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them.” God promises that his people will live securely. Though we may face fierce opposition and challenges, we shall not be moved. The prophet Isaiah writes of those who are called into a relationship with the Savior, “they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Christ our Lord was dead, but now he lives! And he is sitting at the right hand of His Father in His eternal kingdom. A kingdom which has no end. A kingdom into which he calls and welcomes all of His children, so that we may join Him in eternal glory.
The feast is ready! Come to the feast, just as you are. Come and be made clean. Come and be robed in the righteousness of God! Come and be glad. Greatest and least, come to the feast! Amen.
-Pastor L
It can mean, “Wow, it’s 2:00am and I've got to go to work in six hours!” It can mean, “There’s nothing left to eat or drink. Time to go!” Or it can mean, “It’s all over, the Fat Lady has sung, the curtain has gone down, and Mighty Casey has struck out!”
It ‘s this third sense of “The Party is Over!” that coincides with the context of Amos 9:11-15, namely God’s judgment of the temple in the prophet’s fifth and final vision. Hear the word of the LORD from Amos 9:1, “I saw the LORD standing beside the altar and he said, ‘Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake.’” Make no mistake about it, the party is over!
And yet, after God’s judgment in our text from Amos 9 God states, “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old.” What God is directing Amos to proclaim to the people is that judgment will give way to mercy. Death will give way to resurrection. God’s promise is that he will raise up the falling tabernacle of David!
This blessed Easter morning we celebrate that he has done just that! You see, there is nothing dead about Jesus. John’s gospel is full of verses tying Jesus to life. In John 1:4 he writes “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” John 6:35 quotes Jesus saying “I am the Bread of Life.” Later in that chapter we find Peter saying “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Chapter 10 again quotes Jesus saying “I have come that they may have life.” And then in chapter 11 “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” And yet again in chapter 14 “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.” Even outside of the gospels we find Paul capping things off as he throws a triumphant fist up in the air while he proclaims to the people of Corinth, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
Friday night we remembered Christ’s being hung to die on the cross. For those who were there, watching as their teacher, son, and friend suffered and died, things surely seemed bleak. Things seemed hopeless. It seemed as though the party was over. But as testified to by our gathering here this morning, we know that far from being over, this party has just begun. And without a doubt, the very same Jesus of Nazareth who was put to death on Good Friday is the life of this party. He’s not some fable or fairy tale that we’ve made up inside our head. He’s God and Son, he’s risen from the dead!
But every party brings a certain set of questions. The first question is, who is invited?
John Carlson is a Lutheran pastor in Minnesota. A few years ago he noticed that in his town on the night of the Senior Prom only the preppy, powerful, and popular kids went to the party. So he came up with the idea of holding a celebration for kids who couldn’t get a date because they weren’t a part of the in-crowd and felt like they didn’t belong. This prom was for them. Now Timex gives out watches to the kids who attend, other companies have joined in, and now it's more popular than the real prom! Carlson calls it the Reject Prom.
Been rejected lately? Told you don’t belong? Feeling second rate? Do you know about partner rejection? Peer rejection? Parental rejection? Parishioner rejection? Do you know about deep running personal-rejection? All are invited.
Amos stresses this when he speaks of including “the remnant of Edom.” For the people of Israel, this would have been shocking! The people of Edom were some of Israel’s most ancient and hated enemies. Inviting Edom to the party would be like the Cardinals or White Sox inviting the Cubs to join them in celebrating a World Series victory. Nevertheless, the Lord promises that a remnant of Edom, along with peoples of all nations will be made a part of the restored kingdom and invited to the eternal celebration.
The next question, what about my appearance? Answer, come as you are. But, you say, “My face bears the marks of worry. My shoulders are stooped from burdens. My lips are dirty from slander. My heart is hardened toward my spouse and children. My fingers are stuck accusing my brother. My arteries are clogged with bitterness and resentment.”
A hen-pecked husband was advised by a psychiatrist to assert himself. “You don’t have to let your wife bully you,” he was told. “Go home and show her you’re the boss.” The husband decided to take the doctor’s advice. He went home, slammed the door, shook his fist in his wife’s face, and growled, “From now on you’re taking orders from me. I want my supper right now, and when you get it on the table, go upstairs, and lay out my clothes. I’m going out with the boys tonight, and you’re going to stay at home where you belong. Another thing, you know who’s going to tie my bow tie?” “I certainly do,” said his wife calmly. “The undertaker.”
Our sin shows up most in marriages and in families when we foolishly attempt to manipulate, bully, and control each other.
So you’re thinking, “What do you mean? Come as you are? I'm a spiritual mess!” So am I. So were Jesus’ disciples. So was Israel. Israel of Amos’ day was clothed with this same disgrace of sin. Most of Amos’ ministry, and really most of the ministry of the rest of God’s prophets, was one of judgment. Of calling for the people to repent for their sinful ways, and announcing God’s punishment on them for failing to do so. No doubt about it, Amos was preaching to a sinful, disgraceful group of people. But in spite of their sin, he is still called to proclaim that “God will restore the fortunes of his people.” His people who had rejected Him and His Word time and again. His people who would see their nation taken away from them and be taken into captivity. It was to His sinful children that he promised restoration and eternal prosperity.
What we have lost in sin, God restores in resurrection. This is what allows you to come as you are! In the parable of the prodigal son, the Father eagerly and lovingly welcomes his son home by proclaiming, “Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet let's have a feast and celebrate!” The Father, our Father provides the proper attire for prodigals and sinners. He provides us with Easter baptismal robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb. Come just as you are. By His love those who are dirty and stained are made clean and spotless.
The third question is, what about party gifts? How often are you invited to a gathering or dinner and ask the host, “What can I bring?” In every church I’ve ever been to, potlucks have been something of a way of life. It’s no secret that Lutherans love a good meal. And I have yet to attend a potluck that wasn’t bursting at the seams with tasty treats. Everyone brings something. Usually, you can count on many people providing their same signature dish. It’s a fun, delicious time in which everyone provides something for the feast. But when it comes to this feast, when we ask what it is that we can provide, God’s response is “nothing.” For this celebration we can bring nothing. He provides it all.
Luke 14:17 says, “At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited,’ Come, for everything is now ready.’” Amos speaks of a coming day when the harvest would be so plentiful that there would be no break in the cycle of plowing-seeding-and harvesting. He says that the mountains will drip sweet wine, pointing to how the blessings of the Messiah’s kingdom will be overflowing. Truly, as we celebrate the empty tomb, as we gather together to eat our Lord’s supper we celebrate that abundance is ours!
We bring nothing but ourselves because our great God puts everything on the table. These gifts which he so richly pours out on us His people were purchased at the cost of spitting, mocking, whipping, nailing, bleeding, sweating, and dying. And now the resurrected and victorious Jesus lives to give the gifts on this table. And what awesome gifts! What a magnificent feast! True body and true blood through which we receive washing, cleansing, healing, and the gift of eternal life!
It’s common to say at the end of a party something like, “All good things must come to an end.”
Not today! Not this party! This is a feast which will never end. Amos says it this way, “I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them.” God promises that his people will live securely. Though we may face fierce opposition and challenges, we shall not be moved. The prophet Isaiah writes of those who are called into a relationship with the Savior, “they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Christ our Lord was dead, but now he lives! And he is sitting at the right hand of His Father in His eternal kingdom. A kingdom which has no end. A kingdom into which he calls and welcomes all of His children, so that we may join Him in eternal glory.
The feast is ready! Come to the feast, just as you are. Come and be made clean. Come and be robed in the righteousness of God! Come and be glad. Greatest and least, come to the feast! Amen.
-Pastor L
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Taste Test (Amos 8:11-14)
In Atlanta resides the World of Coke. As you’d imagine, it’s essentially a propaganda museum for all things Coke. Still, there are worse ways to avoid the suffocating heat of an Atlanta summer than learning about the history of one of America’s iconic brands. Especially because near the exit they have a room where you can taste-test dozens of the different products Coke sells around the world. Some are wonderful. Some…not so much. One drink for your taste-testing pleasure is called “Beverly,” and is reportedly sold in Italy. During your time at there, you hear this beverage mentioned specifically more than once. So of course, you’re intrigued. You take your little plastic cup, press the dispenser, and get ready to sip. And then…. Well, according to one reviewer with a particular gift for description, “it's as if you'd crushed a thousand Imodium AD caplets, made them into a paste, and painted your tongue with it. The bitterness seeps into parts of your throat where taste buds should not exist, but somehow do. The museum staff falls all over themselves laughing at you, and then they get a mop.” Yet as awful as that drink is, and I can assure you, it is truly awful…I’m still grateful that I wasn’t party to the taste test conducted by one gourmet cook.
It happened at an elegant reception near Denver. The hostess had just graduated from a gourmet cooking course and decided it was time to put her skills to the ultimate test. She prepared plenty of fancy-looking hors d’oeurves for her guests. Delicate little crackers served with wedges of imported cheese, bacon chips, olives, and pimento. And to top them off, a small dollop of dog food . Yep. She was serving up hors d’oeurves a la Alpo. After doctoring up those foul, miserable morsels, she put them on a couple of silver trays and sent them out to make the rounds. With a sly grin she watched them all disappear into the hands and into the mouths of her unsuspecting party guests. She noticed that one man in particular just couldn’t get enough. When the truth was finally revealed, the hostess was probably lucky to escape without him barking and biting her on the leg as punishment for her deception! More likely though, was that he and the other guests found themselves famished and longing for real food. Food that is sweet and good.
Amos also knows about people hungering for real food and finding none. Back in chapter 4, he had preached the coming of famine and drought in the land. A time when the natural world would be under destruction, and the people would struggle to find food. But now in chapter 8, Amos again speaks of a coming famine. But this time it will not be a famine of the land. It will not be a drought in terms of lacking rain or good soil. Instead, it is going to be a famine of the Word of God. The Word of God which they have rejected time and time again is going to be removed from them entirely. This was their punishment for filling the temple with idols. For turning away from God and toward the gods of the nations around them. For ignoring God’s commands to provide for the poor and widowed, and instead oppressing and mocking them. For treating God’s holy days and holy places as excuses to get drunk and stuff themselves on the fattened calves.
As punishment for their sinful and unrepentant ways, for their steady diet of foreign gods and their own pride, God’s Word would be taken away from them. And as their plight gets worse…as they suffer more and more at the hands of their enemies…as they reach their moment of deepest need, they will finally seek out the Almighty God and find that he has no word for them. Amos says that they shall wander from sea to see, running to and fro in a frantic and desperate search...but they will find nothing. For their sin, they will face hunger and thirst for the refreshing and nourishing Word of God, but will find no satisfaction.
Why do you and I experience a famine of God’s word? Why are there times when God seems to be distant and silent? Just like Amos’ audience, it is because of our diet. For breakfast, half a grapefruit, whole wheat toast with no butter, skim milk, coffee black. For lunch, four ounces of lean broiled skinless chicken breast, steamed broccoli, green tea, and one Oreo cookie. For a mid-afternoon snack…the rest of the package of Oreo cookies, washed down with a large mint-chocolate chip milkshake. For dinner, an order of cheesy bread, a large sausage, pepperoni, and extra cheese pizza, a bottomless glass of soda, and for desert, double-chocolate fudge cheesecake!
Oh, we try, don’t we? We try to stay on a spiritual diet of God’s word that brings vigor and health and strength and power. We try to stick to those things that are good for us. That help build us up in our faith. Morning prayer and devotion. Daily time set-aside to spend in Scripture. But then we slip. One Oreo cookie. One crumb of coveting. One piece of pornography. One juicy piece of gossip. One choice profanity…and then the rest of the package of Oreos. We just can’t get enough. And it’s killing us!
The enemy thrusts this junk food before us on silver trays and with a sly grin watches it all disappear. Filled to the brim with his miserable morsels our desire to regularly study God’s word becomes a chore. The plans to start every morning in private devotion quickly go by the wayside. The encouragement to memorize, learn, and defend God’s Word becomes a burden. Our eagerness to trust, believe, love, and live out His Word becomes a bore. Our passion for daily prayer fades to the point that we can barely mutter a quick word of thanks before eating a meal at home. We increasingly lose interest in the things connected to our faith until the point that it can risk being neglected entirely. Just like the lima beans your mom spooned onto your plate when you were a kid.
And the result is a famine in the hearing of God’s Word.
So God decided to serve up one more Word. One more nourishing word of hope and comfort for all people. He would offer to the world THE Word. His Son, Jesus. As a Man his appetite is defined in Hebrews 2:9, “But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
Talk about a taste test! This was it for all time! Jesus tasted the evil curse and punishment called death. The soldiers mocked and taunted him with their cheap wine. Sweat and blood ran side by side down Jesus’ cheeks. But there was more. The most dreadful, awful, bitter cup He had to drink was the cup of the Father’s wrath. The cup of wrath that was filled with the bitter punishment for each and every single sin that you and I and everyone else who has ever lived has committed. And he drank in every…last…drop. He just couldn’t get enough. And it killed him.
Yet Jesus didn’t simply taste the bitterness of death. He chewed it up. He swallowed it down. And He spit it back out! In 1 Corinthians 15 St. Paul quotes from the prophet Isaiah when he writes “Death has been swallowed up in victory!”
Through the sacrificial, saving work of Christ on the cross, death has been swallowed up! This means that our famine and hunger has ended. The feast is here! It was Luther who pounded the table at Marburg and spoke from Latin, “hoc est corpum meam.” That is he quoted Jesus’ statement at the Last Supper, “This is my body.”
The forgiveness and love and mercy and salvation that was accomplished at Calvary is now present in the bread and wine by the power of the word. By Jesus own words we are called to gather together and receive His real body and real blood at this table as we partake of His Holy Supper. Here at His table he offers us the saving, nourishing food of His grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Here in the bread and wine, we join with him in a foretaste of the feast that will never end.
The famine is ended. The feast is here! Come. Taste and see. The Lord is good.
-Pastor L
It happened at an elegant reception near Denver. The hostess had just graduated from a gourmet cooking course and decided it was time to put her skills to the ultimate test. She prepared plenty of fancy-looking hors d’oeurves for her guests. Delicate little crackers served with wedges of imported cheese, bacon chips, olives, and pimento. And to top them off, a small dollop of dog food . Yep. She was serving up hors d’oeurves a la Alpo. After doctoring up those foul, miserable morsels, she put them on a couple of silver trays and sent them out to make the rounds. With a sly grin she watched them all disappear into the hands and into the mouths of her unsuspecting party guests. She noticed that one man in particular just couldn’t get enough. When the truth was finally revealed, the hostess was probably lucky to escape without him barking and biting her on the leg as punishment for her deception! More likely though, was that he and the other guests found themselves famished and longing for real food. Food that is sweet and good.
Amos also knows about people hungering for real food and finding none. Back in chapter 4, he had preached the coming of famine and drought in the land. A time when the natural world would be under destruction, and the people would struggle to find food. But now in chapter 8, Amos again speaks of a coming famine. But this time it will not be a famine of the land. It will not be a drought in terms of lacking rain or good soil. Instead, it is going to be a famine of the Word of God. The Word of God which they have rejected time and time again is going to be removed from them entirely. This was their punishment for filling the temple with idols. For turning away from God and toward the gods of the nations around them. For ignoring God’s commands to provide for the poor and widowed, and instead oppressing and mocking them. For treating God’s holy days and holy places as excuses to get drunk and stuff themselves on the fattened calves.
As punishment for their sinful and unrepentant ways, for their steady diet of foreign gods and their own pride, God’s Word would be taken away from them. And as their plight gets worse…as they suffer more and more at the hands of their enemies…as they reach their moment of deepest need, they will finally seek out the Almighty God and find that he has no word for them. Amos says that they shall wander from sea to see, running to and fro in a frantic and desperate search...but they will find nothing. For their sin, they will face hunger and thirst for the refreshing and nourishing Word of God, but will find no satisfaction.
Why do you and I experience a famine of God’s word? Why are there times when God seems to be distant and silent? Just like Amos’ audience, it is because of our diet. For breakfast, half a grapefruit, whole wheat toast with no butter, skim milk, coffee black. For lunch, four ounces of lean broiled skinless chicken breast, steamed broccoli, green tea, and one Oreo cookie. For a mid-afternoon snack…the rest of the package of Oreo cookies, washed down with a large mint-chocolate chip milkshake. For dinner, an order of cheesy bread, a large sausage, pepperoni, and extra cheese pizza, a bottomless glass of soda, and for desert, double-chocolate fudge cheesecake!
Oh, we try, don’t we? We try to stay on a spiritual diet of God’s word that brings vigor and health and strength and power. We try to stick to those things that are good for us. That help build us up in our faith. Morning prayer and devotion. Daily time set-aside to spend in Scripture. But then we slip. One Oreo cookie. One crumb of coveting. One piece of pornography. One juicy piece of gossip. One choice profanity…and then the rest of the package of Oreos. We just can’t get enough. And it’s killing us!
The enemy thrusts this junk food before us on silver trays and with a sly grin watches it all disappear. Filled to the brim with his miserable morsels our desire to regularly study God’s word becomes a chore. The plans to start every morning in private devotion quickly go by the wayside. The encouragement to memorize, learn, and defend God’s Word becomes a burden. Our eagerness to trust, believe, love, and live out His Word becomes a bore. Our passion for daily prayer fades to the point that we can barely mutter a quick word of thanks before eating a meal at home. We increasingly lose interest in the things connected to our faith until the point that it can risk being neglected entirely. Just like the lima beans your mom spooned onto your plate when you were a kid.
And the result is a famine in the hearing of God’s Word.
So God decided to serve up one more Word. One more nourishing word of hope and comfort for all people. He would offer to the world THE Word. His Son, Jesus. As a Man his appetite is defined in Hebrews 2:9, “But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
Talk about a taste test! This was it for all time! Jesus tasted the evil curse and punishment called death. The soldiers mocked and taunted him with their cheap wine. Sweat and blood ran side by side down Jesus’ cheeks. But there was more. The most dreadful, awful, bitter cup He had to drink was the cup of the Father’s wrath. The cup of wrath that was filled with the bitter punishment for each and every single sin that you and I and everyone else who has ever lived has committed. And he drank in every…last…drop. He just couldn’t get enough. And it killed him.
Yet Jesus didn’t simply taste the bitterness of death. He chewed it up. He swallowed it down. And He spit it back out! In 1 Corinthians 15 St. Paul quotes from the prophet Isaiah when he writes “Death has been swallowed up in victory!”
Through the sacrificial, saving work of Christ on the cross, death has been swallowed up! This means that our famine and hunger has ended. The feast is here! It was Luther who pounded the table at Marburg and spoke from Latin, “hoc est corpum meam.” That is he quoted Jesus’ statement at the Last Supper, “This is my body.”
The forgiveness and love and mercy and salvation that was accomplished at Calvary is now present in the bread and wine by the power of the word. By Jesus own words we are called to gather together and receive His real body and real blood at this table as we partake of His Holy Supper. Here at His table he offers us the saving, nourishing food of His grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Here in the bread and wine, we join with him in a foretaste of the feast that will never end.
The famine is ended. The feast is here! Come. Taste and see. The Lord is good.
-Pastor L
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