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3rd Sunday in Advent
December 12, 2010
Matthew 11:2-15

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning is the assigned Gospel lesson for this day from Matthew chapter 11 as previously read.  

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,  

Yes…it's true. I have "hung out" with Garrison Keillor. I met him at a banquet in 2006. We even stood and talked for awhile at a cocktail party afterwards. Garrison Keillor is very tall and his hair is always messy. I don't agree with everything he says, but I like his humor and his wonderful gifts of writing and storytelling. Garrison Keillor ends his "News from Lake Wobegon” with his trademark signoff: "where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average."

Now, as Minnesotans we know there is no such place as Lake Wobegon. However, fictitious or not, there is some truth in the last part of Keillor's catch phrase. Every parent's child, in their eyes, is "above average;" they have hidden talents waiting to be discovered. As adults we think of ourselves as average, but our children are not. Just ask any proud parent.

If there was ever a man who, as a child, had a sense of what the expectations would be of him one day, it had to be John the Baptist. When Zechariah the priest - John the Baptist's dad - learned from the angel that he and his wife were going to be parents, he fell into unbelief. As a sign to Zechariah, God deprived him of the ability to speak. He regained the ability to speak only when John was finally born. John's parents may not have been as old as 100-year-old Abraham and his 90-year-old wife, Sarah, but even conception in their seventies was miraculous. The point is that the miracle of Elizabeth - John the Baptist's mother - giving birth long past the childbearing age was God's way of saying that the child was going to be above average…special in a very special way.

From his childhood, John knew that he would go before the Lord to prepare his way. He would begin to lead the people out of darkness by bringing them to the Christ. He was not simply another child, but the one whom the prophet Isaiah called the voice crying in the wilderness. Valleys would be lifted up and mountains lowered to prepare a level road for the promised Messiah. Talk about pressure on your kid to excel! Makes taking the SAT look like child’s play.

John the Baptist, the child born to aged parents and predicted by prophecy, God's last prophet, the eloquent preacher with audiences so large that Matthew says that all Jerusalem and Judea went out to hear him, suffered what we might call a "set-back." Now in his mid-thirties, his prominence and successes have been exchanged for a prison, not because he had done anything wrong, but because he had done everything right. What a predicament. The fore-runner of the Christ thrown into prison which caused him to wonder, "Is Jesus really the one?"

You know how that feels, right? We Christians know that life can become so miserable that, like Job, we are forced to ask ourselves if God really cares for us. Perhaps we even go to the extreme and question whether God exists. John's question was a little different, but no less radical. He sent his disciples to ask whether Jesus was the Christ: ''Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" (Mt 11:3). John, who had pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God, toyed with the idea that he may have made a mistake! If Jesus was not the Christ predicted by the prophets, then John's ministry – his life - was a total waste. And there he sat in prison for what would have been no good reason whatsoever. What a shock to the system that would be!

This lesson for today is about John's struggle - OUR struggle - with unbelief and how Jesus deals with it. John's doubts do not detract from his importance or his greatness. Jesus calls him the greatest man born of woman. At the same time, he is like you and I at times, teetering on the edge of unbelief when life’s circumstances turn against us.

A large segment of the conservative Protestant population holds that believers will never lose their faith. They claim that those who lose their faith never had faith in the first place. The mantra is "once saved, always saved." That hardly seems right. Why? Because for us Christians, there is never a time when faith is very far from the edge of unbelief.  Why? Because Satan never leaves us Christians alone. Each day he works harder to take us away from Christ. John's father was no exception; John was no exception. We're no exception. The sad reality is that even preachers can lose the faith they preach to others. Preacher and hearers are not immune to unbelief.

A miracle…now that's always a good solution for unbelief…or so we think. Nearly every pastor has heard the excuse that this or that person would believe and come to church if only Jesus did a miracle – did this or that thing - for them. But for those caught between faith and unbelief, there are no miracles; there are only words but in these words we receive the most wonderful miracle promise!

For John there are only the words of Jesus: the blind see again, those who are paralyzed walk around, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are brought back to life, and the poor hear the Gospel. Consider the sequence. Straightening out crooked bones, restoring hearing and sight, and curing leprosy are difficult, and raising the dead is impossible. But these are all temporal. More important than all these physical miracles is that the poor have the Gospel preached to them. One can only imagine the smile on John's lips and in his heart when he heard this tremendous message. John knew then even from the darkness and cramped confines of his prison cell that the poor were hearing the Good News that the Kingdom of Heaven was upon them and they had heard the call to repent before their loving God and to turn away from their sinful desires.

Where do you find yourself today? Are you feeling like John the Baptist? Are you on the edge on unbelief? Are you waiting for God to provide a miracle in your life or in the life of a family member? Are you uncertain or unsure about your faith? Maybe yes…maybe no. In our times of doubt as faithful Christians our faith is confirmed not by miracles, but by words: the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness that he has won for us at the cross and over the grave; a forgiveness that is preached to us.. .the poor in spirit.

Are you feeling poor in spirit? Are you feeling downcast and forlorn? Are you bound in prison like John the Baptist - a prison of pain or anxiety or loneliness or hopelessness? Don't quite to seem to be in the "Christmas Spirit" yet? You are not alone. But as our Lord Himself said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Despite life’s ups and downs, despite the gloom in life, despite the doubt you may wrestle with, God still believes in you; he has not given up on you or abandoned you. He loves you…loves you enough to send his Son into this world to live and to die for you.    

May that truth dispel your unbelief and keep you this Advent season and always.

Amen.

2nd Sunday in Advent (A)
December 5, 2010
Isaiah 11:1-10

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you all in the name of God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning is the First Lesson for today from Isaiah 11 as was previously read in which the prophet Isaiah provides words of hope and promise to God's people at a time when they were in great peril and looking for true leadership.  

My dear friends in Christ Jesus,  

The situation on the political front is not that great these days. Officially we still don’t have an elected governor; not until the recount is done. But the recount process won’t change some things. It won’t change the fact that Republicans don't trust Democrats. Democrats don't trust Republicans. People have a general lack of faith in our leaders either because we don't like their affiliation or we don't like them as an individual.

It wasn't always that way, you know. There once was a time, a time I am sure some of you can remember, when politicians and leaders were "larger than life" and role models and heroes to the young people of our nation. John F. Kennedy. Nelson Mandela. General George Patton. Winston Churchill. Mickey Mantle. Reggie Jackson. Even Kirby Puckett could make the list here in Minnesota.

I know that our military personnel are “heroes,” but today we are really lacking any kind of person or persons who are true leaders; heroes and role models that everyone looks up to. Why is that? Why have people become so cynical when it comes to leadership and our heroes and role models? Why don't we have anyone that our children and grandchildren can look up to and emulate?

Maybe it's because so many of them have let us down. Our heroes have let us down by their conduct and disappointed us by their behavior when their private mannerisms and scandals are made public. We admired long home run blasts from Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire, but now we know that steroids influenced those homers. Bill Clinton, Pee-Wee Herman, Martha Stewart, Kobe Bryant, and too many others have all taken us to dizzying heights only to drop us face-first into the muck and mire of their scandalous behaviors.

Isaiah 11 contains a call to God's people to look for true leadership that was coming. For the people of Isaiah's day, they needed a hero or a leader or someone who would provide hope in the face of the rampant hopelessness they were experiencing. The Northern Kingdom of Israel had made an alliance with Syria in an effort to hold off the ever-growing and dangerous Assyrians. Rather than join the Israel-Syria coalition, King Ahaz of Judah, the Southern Kingdom, actually struck terms of agreement with the Assyrians. Great move, Ahaz, thanks a lot! Just another example of how the leader of the people let the people down. God used the Assyrians as His "rod of wrath" against Judah and all looked lost. Jerusalem was destroyed. The Davidic line of kings appeared broken. All hope seemed to be lost. There were no more heroes, no role models, and it appeared that any hope of a king to continue the line of David was completely gone.

But Isaiah's words here in chapter 11 tell of a king, a leader, a role model, a hero that was like no other king. There was a king coming that would make a difference. This king would not let His people down. In fact, when this king comes He brings a new, better kingdom the likes of which have never been seen. The kingdom of the new king, a leader that people can truly follow, brings perfect righteousness, perfect justice, perfect faithfulness, and perfect peace. The new king that comes to save the people rules like no other king before or since.

The new Messiah king is not swayed by the rich or the powerful unlike so many leaders in our modern world. He rules like no other king because He truly is concerned about the welfare of the poor and afflicted. The new King doesn't accept money from lobbyists and doesn't take bribes or kick-backs. And perhaps one of the most impressive aspects of the new king is that He gets results. So many politicians make campaign promises on top of promises, but they break them faster then we can change TV channels with the remote control.

The new Messiah king to come gets true results. Isaiah pointed out that under the new king "the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; the cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra…" (v. 6-8).  Um yeah, that's results. That is the kind of peace and security that the new King brings. The peace that is secured by the Messiah king produces dramatic changes in the lives of His subjects. This coming king is able to reverse the hatred and hostility that defines our world back to the harmony that prevailed in the Garden of Eden before the fall into sin. I only know of one king who can get THOSE kind of results.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our coming King, the King promised of old, the King who comes from the stump of Jesse, is a King like no other king. Unlike human kings or role modals, He is the King that makes a tremendous difference in our lives. He is a ruler, a leader, a king that we can truly have faith in for He will not disappoint us or let us down! EVER!

As King, Jesus' word defeats our every enemy and liberates us especially from the dreaded forces of sin, death, and the devil. Human kings and leaders speak and talk endlessly about what they'll do for us, but our King Jesus, the One that Isaiah foretold, does more than just talk about what He will do for us as His subjects. He takes action…action that leads Him from the manger to the cross, but by doing so he creates dramatic, eternal changes for our lives.

As our King, Jesus takes things further than any human king. He is the King who actually gives to us true righteousness and justice (v. 3-5). He is the King who gives every thing for his people. Jesus literally gave His all, for by His dying on the cross He performed "the great switch;" our sinfulness was placed on Him and His righteousness was given to us. Because of that switch, because of that sacrifice, we now have pardon and peace from God the Father. This peace provides us with hope that one day, in the splendor of God's glorious heaven, that sin will no longer sabotage our behavior and destroy our bodies. As the redeemed subjects of our King Jesus, we have faith in Him while we await His glorious return as our King when death and disease and hostility and deceit and suffering and pain will be no more - banished forever by the King of kings.

The leaders of this world will come and go. They already have and will continue to do so. There will be a time when Barack Obama is not our president. There will be a time when all the countries of the world will have different leaders because that is the nature of human existence; people come and people go no matter how popular or unpopular they are. But Isaiah told the people of his day that a leader would come one day that would not disappoint; he would bring true righteousness and justice and peace that would reign forever. The King's name was to be "Immanuel" - God with us.

The coronation of that king took place on a hill outside of Jerusalem. Surrounded by jeers and taunts from his "subjects," the promised King was crowned with a crown of thorns and He was given three nails as a coronation gift. But without the manger, without the cross, without the tomb, without His resurrection, then we would still be lacking our One and only true King, the King like no other king.

ALL HAIL KING JESUS!

Hail indeed a king like no other king.

Amen.

1st Sunday in Advent (A)
November 28, 2010
Matthew 21:1-11 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

The text that engages us this morning on the 1st Sunday in Advent and the beginning of a brand-new church year is today’s Gospel lesson from Matthew 21.  

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,  

As a pastor there are a lot of things that I read or do or try for the experience. That way I can make a somewhat educated assessment about something when someone asks. That being the case, my alarm went off one Friday at 4:00 AM. Why so early on a Friday? Because it was the day after Thanksgiving and I wanted to experience what is known as "Black Friday." I left my house at 4:15 AM to “kick off” the Christmas shopping season with insanely early shopping hours that attract massive crowds seeking significant savings on certain items. I ended up shopping until the sun came UP, not until the sun went down. I stood in line outside a certain store and felt the rush as crazed consumers surged inside not seeking warmth, but deals. When the sea of humanity finally reached our shared destination, the "hot item" was already gone; only 9 in stock in the first place.  As I listened to people in line and in the stores and watched their behavior, there was one point that was clearly made. There was a clear misunderstanding of what Christmas is truly about. This was NOT Christmas spirit; this was rampant consumerism gone horribly wrong. It was an experience I would rather not repeat if given a choice.

When it comes to expectations, what did you expect today in church? Jingle bells? Deck them halls? Not yet. Instead, today's Gospel lesson is a narrative known as the "Triumphant Entry," that is, Jesus rides into Jerusalem to begin what we know as the events of Holy Week. So what can we say about this experience for the people? Did they get it, or was the triumphant entry misunderstood? That's hard to say. There were some people who seemed to understand, while others were forced to ask, "Who is this?"

Jesus leaves the area of Bethany and Bethphage, passes the Mount of Olives, and rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. The Old Testament prophet Zechariah had forth told this event: "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey" (9:9). What an experience indeed! The Son of God rides into Jerusalem - the political and religious center of Israel - as their gentle, promised King. And yet there are people who ask, "who is this?'

On that day so long ago in Jerusalem, Jesus came to His people riding on a donkey. This is the way the prophets foretold that the peace-bringing King would come to His people. In response, the people shouted "Hosanna," which is the transliteration of a Hebrew expression that means, "O save!" This is a plea being made for this king to come and save His people. In addition, the people spread their cloaks and palm branches before Him and called Him the "Son of David." All of these words and gestures point out that some of the crowd saw the coming of Jesus as the fulfillment of the long-awaited Messiah - the King who comes to save His people once and for all.

That probably sounded pretty good to most, since Jerusalem and all of Israel was occupied by the conquering Romans who oppressed the Israelites militarily and financially. And yet, there is that segment of the crowd who hollers, "Who is this?" Can't you almost hear those doubters now? Can't you hear their voices as they misunderstand this monumental experience? "Look at that! He's riding a donkey. And just look at the color of that donkey; I wouldn't be caught dead on a donkey THAT color. And just listen to those people singing and dancing. Just what is their problem? Just listen to that racket! And look at them carrying on like that! Who is this anyway?"

The danger becomes that when we "major in minors" as I like to say, we can miss the big picture of what is going on. Perhaps some in the crowd were so busy criticizing and questioning they missed the MAN sitting on that donkey. That may sound silly but in our church today, Christians do the exact same thing. We criticize a church based on what hymnal they use and we uphold a hymnal's quality by the color of its cover. We spend our time bashing pastors and worship styles and techniques, judging that one is better than another. We become critical of people who don't look like us or act like us or talk like us or think like us or worship JUST LIKE US. And when we do this, my friends, we miss the man on the donkey. We forget who this is and why He came. We have become obsessed with the speck in our neighbor's eye and ignored the plank in our own eyes (Matthew 7:3).

Jesus comes to His people still today. He comes to us in His Word and in His Sacraments - in Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. But has our familiarity with Him over the years caused us to misunderstand the experience so that we must step back and ask like the Jerusalem crowd, "Who is this?" Christ comes to us in His Word and Sacraments to remind us again and again that our sinful rebellion against Him and others has been forgiven by virtue of what happened later that week following the triumphant entry. On Sunday Jesus arrived to shouts of joy and celebration. By Friday – the ultimate version of “Black Friday” - He was dead on the cross.

But this HAD to happen so that our sinful rebellion would be forgiven and that we as believers might live sanctified and holy lives busy with the task of making disciples, not criticizing them. Jesus came to live and die for us and even for those who don't look like us or act like us or talk like us SO THAT we can reach out to these people in order that they might love like us.

Thanks to our wonderful Lutheran heritage, we regularly confess who Jesus is through our creedal confessions. There is no confusion or misunderstanding when we confess the 2nd article of the Apostles' Creed regarding who Jesus is: "(I believe) in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead." This is who Jesus is and this is who we confess He is.

This time of year the world has a weird sense of what Christmas is about: spend more…buy more…get more. Our Lord rode into Jerusalem on a donkey so that He can model His example for us in our faith-filled lives: give more, just as Jesus Christ gave His life for you.

Who is this? This time of year you won’t find the answer to that question in a mall. It is my prayer that you will see Christ Jesus anew today coming to you righteous and having salvation so that you need not wonder who this is. It is Jesus.

Welcome to Advent.  

Amen.

Last Sunday of the Church Year

November 21, 2010

Malachi 3:13-18

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning as the Church Year comes to an end is the First Lesson read earlier this morning from the “Minor” Prophet Malachi.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,  

Well, here we are. The end of the Church year. “What’s the point,” you ask? The church year is different from the calendar year. In our calendar year, it is not even the last weekend in November! But in the church year, the first season is Advent and Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas. So, if you look ahead, you will see that four Sundays out from Christmas would include next Sunday, November 28th. Next Sunday is the First Sunday in Advent and the beginning of the brand-new Church Year making today the final Sunday of an entire church year that has already come and gone: Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Confirmation, Pentecost, Reformation Day, et all.

“Wow…today must be important, aye?” It is. “So today’s lesson must be important too.” It is. “Then why have we never heard of Malachi!” Okay, first of all…relax. Now, Malachi was one of the final prophets to Israel, if not the last of the Old Testament era. He had his ministry about 400 years before the birth of both John the Baptist and Jesus. After Malachi and before John and Jesus…nada. Zip. Zilch. No revelations from God for 400 years. Is this important stuff? You bet…it’s what God “left” His people with before He left heaven and came to earth in human flesh.

Malachi the name means “my messenger.” He had a ministry to Israel after the Temple had been rebuilt and the priesthood restored. Materially, things were looking up; spiritually, things were headed the wrong way. Tithes were being ignored, the Sabbath was being broken, and the priesthood was corrupt. Malachi rebuked the people’s doubt of God’s love (1:2-5). He rebuked the faithlessness of the priests and the people (1:6-2:9; 3:14-15). He warned them of the coming of the great and dreadful Day of the Lord in which the righteous would rejoice but the wicked would be trampled down (4:1-5). And then, words from God went quiet. For 400 years.

So, what’s the point? The point is that someone had to speak up against the situation and circumstances in which God’s people found themselves. In verse 14, the people said “It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty?” Whoa. The people wanted to know what was the point of serving God since life wasn’t fair. The complaint continued in verse 15: “now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.” The people wondered what’s the point of serving God if the wicked prosper and things are so unfair?!

Well, here we are in excess of 2400 years later…and the same complaint exists. What HAVE we gained? What’s the point? Life isn’t fair. Cheaters prosper. Hard working, honest people struggle. Someone will pay another person 10 million dollars a year because they can hit or slam dunk a ball, while you have a hard time figuring out how to pay for all of this year’s Thanksgiving meal. It just isn’t fair. Where is God in all of this? What’s the point of even believing? The “good old days” are gone; as a nation we tolerate what’s morally wrong; we call evil “good” and call good “evil.” What’s the point in worshipping an absent God?

My friends…my dear friends. “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isaiah 40:28). “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). Sure, it’s easy to question and doubt and ask “what’s the point?” But the answer to all these questions and more is in today’s lesson from…you guessed it…Malachi. “Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not” (3:16-18). Did you hear that? A day is coming when the distinction between the righteous and the wicked is made. That’s the point!

That’s exactly the point. A day is coming – the Day of the Lord – when we, our families, our friends, and all nations will have to stand and confess our saving, creedal faith in Jesus Christ, the One and Only Son of God. Amid a world that is drowning in a sea of despair and confusion and fear, we are still the Church. We confess faith in our loving, saving, merciful, gracious, forgiving and returning God. The people of Malachi’s day needed to be reassured of that fact. We do too.

This is why the Church year ends the way that it does. Did you notice that none of the lessons for today mention the angels or shepherds or wise men? No stars, no manger, no decree from Caesar Augustus. Not yet. That’s what the world wants us to do. This Friday there are many people counting on you to roll out of bed at 3 AM just to go shopping (don’t worry…I’ll be in line, too!). This time of the year is not about Christmas. Not yet. It is a reminder that God loves us and He is fair and just and He is coming again to judge because He desires that we be with Him!

The Day of the Lord will be terrible for unbelievers; for those who don’t get the point. Apart from saving faith in Christ, those people stand eternally condemned. I don’t care if they DO buy all the “right” presents this Friday. These next couple of weeks in the Church are reminders of a great truth: yes, Jesus Christ did come as a man to save us through His birth, life, death and resurrection. But He is also coming back! And when he does “you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

John 16:33 reminds believers of what the point is: (Jesus said) “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.” The world wants to draw you to Christmas; God desires to draw you to Him in faith. It is the faith we read in His Word, hear in worship, receive in the Sacraments, and confess in the public square. At times you may feel that the world is getting the best of you, so what’s the point of being a Christian and giving and coming to church? The point is that was live, move, and have our existence in the One who came and who will come again just as He promised. It is a faith that we live and die in. It is a faith that doesn’t come cheap to God, but it comes as a gift to you.

Today is the Last Sunday of the Church Year. But really, it is the end of nothing…except this sermon. Malachi’s world was filled with hurting and corrupt people who wanted to know what the point was. Our world is hurting and people still want to know. But Jesus has already told us He is coming back (John 14). He calls us to make disciples until that day (Matthew 28). It is not vain to serve the Lord. There is a point. A point that leads to eternal life in heaven. Today is the end of nothing. Today, by faith in our Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, this is the beginning of your everything.

Amen.

Veteran’s Sunday/25th Sunday after Pentecost
November 14, 2010
2 Samuel 1:19 and Romans 5:8

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The texts that engage us this morning on our celebration of Veteran’s Day are portions from both today’s First and Second Lessons from 2 Samuel 1 and Romans 5.  

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,  

Inscribed near the entrance of a cemetery in Okinawa, where many American military personnel are buried, are the words ... "We gave our todays in order that you might have your tomorrows." Veteran’s Day, which was last Thursday, is a time to remember that much of what we enjoy in life comes to us through the service and sacrifice of others. In fact, God's grace often comes to us through others without our realization. And, most certainly, God's grace is never cheap!

There is an interesting song written by David in the Old Testament that emphasizes this truth. God had chosen David as Israel's future king, and David was very popular among the people after he had killed the giant Goliath. Unfortunately, the reigning King Saul became very jealous over David and repeatedly tried to kill him. David's very close friend and Saul’s son, Jonathan, tried desperately to restore this broken relationship between Saul and David, but it was not to be. David was forced to live as a fugitive, constantly on the run and in fear for his life.

Then, in the first chapter of second Samuel, a tattered and exhausted messenger arrived at the camp where David was hiding. The messenger brought news that both Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle. As proof, he handed David a band from the king's arm, and, the most prized possession, the king's crown.

One could assume that David must have been overwhelmed with joy. After all, he was now free from danger! And, more importantly, the wicked and deranged king Saul was dead, and David’s path to the throne was finally cleared. But instead, David mourned bitterly over the news and composed a heart-wrenching song that reflected his grief. Throughout the song, a powerful phrase recurs again and again… “how the mighty have fallen....how the mighty have fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19).  These are not words of gloating, but words of deep lament. David recognized the service and sacrifice of Saul. In fact, David also wrote “O daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and finery, who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold. How the mighty have fallen in battle!” (2 Samuel 1:24-25).

How quickly have we forgotten the mighty who’ve fallen in battle? How quickly have we taken for granted the service and sacrifice of those who served our country? How many times this week have you focused on what you don’t have rather than being thankful for what you do have? Perhaps none of us fully grasps their sacrifice any more than we comprehend the total cost of God's grace in our lives. Sometimes we speak almost casually about the sacrifice of Jesus for our salvation; it’s just a “church thing.”  If we don't even notice the day-to-day sacrifices on our behalf, then how can we begin to appreciate the suffering of the Son of God for us? Remember, God's grace is never cheap!

Think about the simple graces or undeserved blessing we have already enjoy on this day. That warm cup of coffee and the banana on our cereal - how many faceless and dirt-poor people made that possible for you? Or, what about the clothing on our backs - how much of it came from the sweatshops in third-world countries? And then there are the untold hundreds who make possible the gas and oil that fuel our cars, electricity and heat for this building, and the “disappearance” of our garbage and sewage. When you think about everything in your life, the list of struggling contributors you don’t even think of becomes overwhelming. And who, fellow Americans, has made it possible for us to travel wherever we please, to speak whatever we think, to read whatever we want, to worship anyway we please, and to elect whomever we choose? Has any of that come to us without cost? Do we ever consider the many, the hundreds, perhaps the thousands of lives that have, in some way, been sacrificed for our moments of comfort today, which we take for granted?

When the movie “Saving Private Ryan” came out, there was a brief renewal of interest in the war experiences of our veterans. Many people were motivated by that movie to delve into the details of the bloody 1944 D-day Normandy landing. They discovered that by sundown on that day, 40,000 Americans had stormed the beaches, and 1 in every 19 had become a casualty.

“Saving Private Ryan” was the story of a squad of Army Rangers sent to save a man whose three brothers had been killed in battle. The squad undertakes a search for a “needle in a stack of needles.” Army officials wanted Private Ryan to be sent home to spare his mother the agony of losing all of her sons in combat The Rangers find Private Ryan but are caught in a fierce battle, and the squad's captain is mortally wounded. With his final breath, he whispers to Ryan “Earn this.” Obviously, no matter how “good” Ryan would live for all the years to come, he could never earn what those men had sacrificed. “Earn this!” We can't. We can never earn the grace under which we all live. But, may God forbid that we ever ignore the cost! 

What happened at Normandy, sadly, has been repeated again and again - at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea, at Da Nang in Vietnam, in Iraq, and in Afghanistan. Even when our nation is not at war, American servicemen and servicewomen are often killed or wounded while aiding our allies or protecting our borders.

So today we ask ourselves…are all those who die or are wounded in such service righteous? No. They are no more righteous that those who slaved to provide our coffee, bananas, clothing, fuel, or sanitation. They are no more righteous than we are. Our service doesn’t make them or any of us righteous…but faith in Jesus Christ does.

When we live in that kind of awareness, then we begin to get a faith glimpse of what Paul was talking about in Romans. “But God demonstrates his love in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (5:8). Think about that! In fact, as Paul put it, God intervened into history ... “at just the right time,” - specifically, “when we were still powerless” (5:6). His is a divine service, a divine sacrifice. The cross and empty tomb is the ultimate D-Day invasion; the eternal attack on sin, death, and the devil was announced a complete and total victory.

We are not all veteran’s but we are all fugitives like David - constantly on the run, always living under the threat of death. Try as we may, we can never appease a righteous and jealous God who seeks total allegiance and complete obedience. Then, inconceivably, we receive the most unexpected news. The King has been killed in our place, and we are now offered the crown of life! God's grace is new to us every morning - showering us with so many undeserved blessings. But nothing can compare to this: that the king of heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ, died in our place, and we have been elevated like kings, inheriting a kingdom he prepared for us from the beginning of time. God’s grace is never cheap…it cost our Lord and Savior his very life. This brings a whole demeanor and approach to life. You begin to appreciate things and others. You desire to share God’s love in Christ. Stewardship takes on a whole new meaning with God as the perfect, grace-filled stewardship example.

Veterans Day is a time to honor all our veterans for all they have done for us for which we are extremely thankful. But it is also a day of vivid reminders of God's total grace in our lives - not only in daily treasures we have but also, and especially, in the crown of life, which is ours through Jesus Christ. We can call his grace “amazing” as we do in the beloved hymn, but there really is no adjective to describe its cost. Above all, it is not now, nor has it ever been - cheap!

Thank you, veteran’s, for what you have done for our country. Thank you, God, for what you have done for us in Christ Jesus.

Amen.

All Saints’ Day 2010 (II)

November 7, 2010

Matthew 5:1-12

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning on our celebration of All Saints’ Day is the Gospel reading from Matthew 5, a text known simply as “The Beatitudes.”  

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,  

Members of the SST Youth Group and I were in New Orleans this summer, which is the home of the New Orleans Saints, the team that beat the Vikings (who hasn’t?) in the NFC championship last season. The rally cry of the Saint’s fans was and still is “Who Dat?” That implies the under-rated Saints were only recognized by their faithful fans. “Who Dat?” was shouted by their fans even after their team won the Super Bowl.

Maybe when you realized today was “All Saints’ Day,” you asked the same thing. Who Dat? In the Roman Catholic Church, there are specific rules to follow before declaring someone a saint. First, the person has to be dead for at least five years; that counts any of us out! Then, once the person has been dead for the requisite period, the bishop can begin an investigation to see just how virtuous the hoped-to-be saint actually was. If the investigation turns out favorably, the “application paperwork” is turned over to Rome, where select theologians take a vote on whether to proceed or not. Finally, there must be at least one miracle performed by the dead saint-to-be before the examination is completed, and one miracle performed after! As you can see, it takes quite a bit of effort to become a saint according to Rome. It’s way more difficult than stopping the Vikings offense, but then again, who hasn’t?

Those who have studied the lives of some of the people who bear the official title “saint” very quickly discover that the saints, while extraordinary in terms of their faith and life, were also regular flesh and blood people who were at heart…sinners. As Lutherans, we don’t ignore the saints; our church is named after one! We look to the saints as examples of faith and of Christian living, but we’re careful not to ascribe more than we ought. None of them merited anything before God, but were what they were because of the grace of God toward them.

There is only One who has actually merited the favor of God. There is only One who has earned the right to the title saint. That One is Christ Jesus. Today you heard the Beatitudes. Many teach that the Beatitudes are primarily rules for how you should lead your lives as Christians. Some even teach that if you try really hard, you can actually live up to them. Taken that way, the Beatitudes are pure Law; they condemn and give no hope. Instead, they are rich Gospel because they describe Believers in the One who earned the title saint.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit” (v 3). Who dat? Who is poor in spirit but him “who…did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but…humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:6–8). Christ cried out in poverty of spirit, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46).

“Blessed are those who mourn” (v 4). Who dat? Who has mourned but the One who mourned, not over his own troubles but over the troubles of his people? Christ came to comfort his people as their Savior, but he was, in the words of Isaiah, “Despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Is 53:3). “Blessed are the meek” (v 5). Who dat? Who is meek but the One who as King entered Jerusalem, “Humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech 9:9)? Christ said of himself, “I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:29); he gained that rest by enduring the Passion, meekly silent even before his executioners.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (v 6). Who dat? Who has hungered and thirsted but Him who did all things that righteousness might be fulfilled? Christ endured the cross “so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 5:21).

“Blessed are the merciful” (v 7). Who dat? Who has been merciful but the One dedicated to mercy? Christ mercifully healed so many and forgave all who called upon him in faith, even from the cross crying out, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). “Blessed are the pure in heart” (v 8). Who dat? Who has been pure in heart but the One who sacrificed himself? As Paul says, “He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21).

“Blessed are the peacemakers” (v 9). Who dat? Who has made peace but the One who made our peace with God? Christ said to the disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27); according to Paul, “He himself is our peace, . . . through the cross. . . . He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near” (Eph 2:14, 16–17).

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” (v 10). Who dat? Who has endured persecution but Him who was perfectly innocent yet condemned? Because Christ was righteous, he became the target for the world’s hatred; he was threatened with death from all sorts, from Herod to the Pharisees of the Sanhedrin to Pilate. And he still is today by those who attack his Word and his institution.

Christ’s saintliness is proven by what he has done. He meets ALL the criteria. Yes, he even did several miracles after he had died, and he still does today. He does every time a family stretches one pay check to another, when a loved one comes home from the hospital, when an addict says “no,” when a couple steps back from the brink of divorce.  And now this One who has earned the right to be called saint also calls you holy. He, by his grace, makes you a saint and that changes this life for you and how you live not just in this life, but into eternity.

We have a description of what it really means to be an eternal saint in today’s First Reading from Revelation. Note how the people are described. First of all, there are lots of them, not just those who had the right paperwork or even who led particularly commendable lives. These, we are told, are saints because they have washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. The blood of Jesus has removed their iniquities in Holy Baptism, and they have been clothed with his own sanctity and righteousness. Now, having been cleansed, they dwell in the presence of Christ. These are victorious in Christ. All that was arrayed against them in life - their sins, death, the devil - are destroyed and removed by Jesus.  This, dear Christians, is a picture not only of heaven but also of you here in the Church on earth. Already our Lord has sanctified you in the waters of Baptism, dwells among you in his Word and Sacrament, and bestows upon you the victory over your enemies even in this life.

Who Dat? You Dat! You may not feel like a saint yet, but in God’s eyes you are, for you have faith in Christ Jesus, his Son, who has saved you and made you holy. You are a forgiven sinner who has the promise of life everlasting. Come, then, with all the saints and receive His gifts prepared for you and won on the cross for your eternal forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Amen.

Reformation Sunday
 
October 31, 2010

Romans 3:19-28

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you all in the name of God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text that engages us today on our celebration of Reformation Sunday is the Second Lesson as read from Romans chapter 3.

My dear friends in Christ Jesus,
 
As you probably know, today is Halloween. Halloween actually dates back to an ancient Celtic festival; it is NOT a Christian holiday. The Celts celebrated their new year on November 1, a day that marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter; a time associated with death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. Celtic priests built huge bonfires, and the people gathered to burn sacrifices. During the celebration, the Celts wore crude costumes to “hide from the ghosts.” By the 800s AD, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In place of the pagan festival, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Hallows or All Saints' Day, a time to honor the holy (hallowed) saints and martyrs. The night before it began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. It is a day associated with costumes and candy and ghosts and trick or treating and scary things in general. So since it is Halloween, I have a scary story to tell this morning.

Once upon a time, there was a young couple named Jay and Susan. Jay and Susan were given a free place to live...can you imagine their luck! This was a lucky young couple indeed, for the free place they had to stay was a mansion that was owned by a kindly landlord. The landlord allowed Jay and Susan to stay there as long as they maintained the place and as long as they followed one simple rule. They were to never, NEVER, go into the mansion's cellar.  It was strictly forbidden to go into the cellar. But you know how people behave…especially people in a scary story who should know better! Anyway, one day curiosity finally got the best of Jay and Susan and they decided to go into the cellar anyway. Ooooohhhh...

They inched their way to the huge cellar door and turned the door knob. It turned easily...too easily? Creeaak. The couple pushed open the door and slid into the dark room. It was so dark they couldn't see their hands in front of their face. They could see nothing…but they could feel. And what they felt made their hearts pound in terror! They felt something moving around their ankles. By the time Susan found the light switch it was too late. Giant, mutant cockroaches scurried around the floor and around their legs. When they tried to turn and run both Jay and Susan were bit by the scary giant mutated bugs! Ouch!

When Jay and Susan finally made it to the ER and saw a doctor, they were given good news and bad news. The good news was that researchers would be naming a new disease after Jay and Susan. You can imagine the bad news. Their treatment was horrible; both Jay and Susan suffered misery as doctors and scientists tried to fight off the terrible disease they were infected with. They fought and they fought, but they never were cured and both died. They never set foot in the mansion, or any other place for that matter, ever again. The end.

Pretty scary story, huh? That's kind of a Halloween story. But what keeps the story from being REALLY scary is that it lacks any basis in reality. There's no such thing as giant, mutant bugs. People are not really scared by what they know is not real. For something to be really scary - something truly terrifying - is to have its basis in reality. Hollywood knows this; many modern horror films are done like a first person, eye-witness account with a camcorder: “Blair Witch Project”, “Paranormal Activity 1 & 2,” etc. If you think it’s real....it’s more scary.

Now do you want to hear a REALLY scary story - one that DOES has its basis in reality and impacts each and every one of you? Adam and Eve were given the perfect Garden of Eden and they could stay there rent free! All they had to do was keep it up and follow one, simple rule. They were not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:17). That's it. Don't eat fruit from that tree and don’t touch it. But you know what? They did, and as a result they got “infected” with sin and - here's the scary part - all of us are infected too.

Before Adam and Eve sinned, there was no sin, no disease, no pain, no suffering, no death. But once sin was unleashed on this world, there was no stopping it and no earthly cure. As a result, Adam and Eve were kicked out of that Garden and one day they died. We suffer the same fate. Because we are victims of what is called original sin, we sin, that is, we fail to do what God commands and we do what God forbids. Romans 3:19-20 said, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law (that's all of us), so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." No one has escaped this sin infection - not a one. Romans 3:23 states, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Because of our sinfulness - our breaking of God's Laws and commands - we deserve God's wrath, His punishment, and the eternal death and damnation that is the fate of all sinners. Pretty scary story, huh?

But the story doesn't end there. God knew humanity's predicament, and because He is gracious and merciful, He did something about it. The solution did not come from us and there is nothing we did or can do to deserve it. Paul went on to explain in chapter 3, "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known...This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe" (v. 21-22a). The treatment for our sin disease was that someone satisfy God's penalty for breaking His Law, and that is what Jesus did. God's own Son, Jesus Christ, came into this world for the express purpose of living and dying and rising again to "cure" our sinfulness. Christ is the One who brings forgiveness and salvation and peace and righteousness before God. It doesn't come from us.

That is a message that Martin Luther realized and proclaimed over and over: "…We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law" (v. 28). That is a truth that Luther acknowledged and spoke of over and against a church that did its best to oppress both his soul and his pocketbook. The message of the Protestant Reformation, which we commemorate today,  is the same as that of Ephesians 2:8-9: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." For a time, Luther only knew the scary story of his impending judgment from a wrathful God until he discovered and confessed and tasted the sweetness of the Gospel - the forgiveness that is ours by the sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the cross.

So, as all good Lutherans would ask, what does this mean? Simple, really. What gives our story of salvation a happy rather than scary ending is not about our works. It is not about our decision. It is not about our merit. What makes the scary story happy is not about us at all! IT IS ALL ABOUT JESUS. It is our faith in Him and the sacrifice that He has made to turn our judgment into a promise of life (John 3:16). It is our faith in Him that turns our physical death into life eternal. It is our faith in Him that sets us free from the scary story of sin. Jesus has set you free to live each day in God's grace and mercy and peace - things that sin can never offer.

Tonight you may have "trick-or-treaters" for that is also a Halloween tradition. Personally, I think there should be even more holidays that involve huge amounts of candy. But, in reality, Halloween isn't scary and now, because of Jesus, our sinful nature isn't scary either. The trick here is on sin, death, and hell. For they were defeated by the cross of Christ, which has become the ultimate treat for us all.

Amen.

22nd Sunday after Pentecost (C)

October 24, 2010

Genesis 4:1-15

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning on the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost is the First Lesson read earlier from Genesis 4; the story of Cain and Abel.  

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,  

Today’s order of worship is the Service of Prayer and Preaching. When it comes to the time in the service for the sermon, the choice of “Catechetical Instruction” is also offered (LSB pg. 265). Well, guess what? You get BOTH today…two for the price of one! What a deal!

First, let’s start with our narrative from Genesis chapter 4. Cain and Abel are two sons of Adam and Eve. Abel was a shepherd. Cain was a “worker of the ground” or we’d call him a farmer. Both of them brought an offering to the Lord God in thanksgiving for what He had provided them through their crops and fields. But God disregarded Cain’s offering. How come? Well, Hebrews 11:4 tells us “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings.” Also, the Hebrew text and its language imply that prayer accompanied Abel’s sacrifice such that God was pleased with the faith-filled efforts of Abel over and against the empty sacrifice of Cain. Cain’s face fell (4:6), that is, he was disappointed with what was happening. Despite God’s warning to not let his emotions get the best of him (4:6-7), Cain flew off the handle and murdered his brother Abel while they were in the field.

When the Lord asks Cain where Abel is, it’s a rhetorical question. Of course God knows what happened; not only is He God, but He also warned Cain that this might happen. Cain didn’t confess his sin, though. He side-stepped the issue. As a result of his sinful disobedience and homicide, Cain is forced away from his family. The mark of which he speaks (4:15) is never described for us and is not important to the narrative.

Let’s return to the issue of Cain side-stepping the issue at hand (4:9). What a coincidence, for that is the same problem that people have today when it comes to the 5th Commandment: You shall not murder. The 5th Commandment teaches us about God’s gift of life. As a result of the 5th Commandment, we are forbidden to take the life of another person – as Cain did – or take our own life. We are also called upon to not hurt or harm our neighbor, but to help our neighbor in every physical need.

But when it comes to the 5th Commandment, just like Cain, people want to side-step the real issue. When it comes to abortion, as the people of God we confess that the living but unborn are still created persons in the sight of God from the time of conception. Since abortion takes a human life, the Church has traditionally and rightly so stood up against abortion. Others side step the issue. “It’s not a life,” they contend, “it’s a mass of cells and tissue. They’re not living until they’re born. Plus, who are you to tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body. It is her right to choose.” Gee, last time I checked this “choice” of which people speak is just one in a long line of choices made prior to conception. Perhaps if better choices were made before that baby was conceived…but that’s a different sermon for a different Sunday.

Euthanasia is another side-step of the issue of God’s gift of life. Euthanasia is the act or practice of killing or causing the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a painless way for reasons of mercy. The 5th Commandment, again, teaches us “You Shall Not Murder.” But today people want to side-step the issue. “Grandma would have wanted it this way.” And yet we know that the severely handicapped, the helpless, and the aged are still people in the sight of God. He gave them life in the first place and that life is to be ended only by Him. Yes, there are times when we allow the people of God to die, but we are not to take an active hand in causing that to happen. Life is a gift from God to be ended by Him alone.

“No problem,” you might be thinking to yourself about now. “I have never done what Cain did and I’m against abortion so I’ve got the 5th Commandment covered.” Oh really? What about the other aspect of this Commandment? God calls us to also help and support our neighbor in every bodily need, to be merciful, and forgiving towards our neighbor. Not murdering our neighbor is more than just not bashing him or her in the head with a rock! We are called to help, support, and care for our neighbor is every need. That is a whole lot harder to do, and that is why everyone in this room can add the 5th Commandment to the list of Commandments they have broken at one point or another, because we know full well there have been times when we could have and should have helped our neighbor, our friend, our family, our church, our children, and those around us but we didn’t for whatever reason and we have harmed them instead.

From the time of Cain and also from the giving of the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20, God told His people “You Shall Not Murder.” And yet we are a people who have harmed our neighbor and failed to help them. We are a people who yelled “crucify” at our own Savior (Matt. 27:22-23). We are a people who would actually spit on our own God (Luke 18:32). God told His people “You Shall Not Murder” and His people responded by striking Him with our fists (Matt. 26:67) right before they murdered Him by crucifixion.

And yet our God is a God who still loves us. He forgives us. And He saves us. For every time we hurt another person with our fists, texts, or our words, Jesus Christ took our place on the cross to bring God’s forgiveness. For every time we have failed to help our neighbor in need, Christ was willing to be nailed to Calvary’s merciless tree. The blood of Abel, the blood of the aborted, and the blood of the euthanized cry out against us, but the blood of Jesus Christ forgives our sins and sets us free. God’s mercy extends to us, sinners who have broken ALL the Commandments, and He forgives and sets us free to live by faith in Him.

Cain asked God if he was his brother’s keeper, and the answer is a resounding “YES!” We are our brother’s keepers. We strive to uphold the 5th Commandment by helping our neighbor; showing love to one another because God in Christ loved us first. We are our brother’s keepers when we help and support our neighbor in every physical need. We are our brother’s keeper when we are merciful, kind and forgiving of our neighbor. We are our brother’s keeper when we help them to know of God’s love and grace and peace and mercy by sharing His Word and living by that very same Word.

I have to admit that I have had 2 fistfights in my life and I guess I would have to say that my lifetime record is 1-0-1. I’m not proud of that and that’s definitely NOT what Paul is talking about in today’s Second Lesson. Paul maintained that he had “fought the good fight” (4:7). He also wrote, “the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed” (4:17). As God’s loving and loved people, we are not to fight and quarrel with one another. Instead, we are called to help, to serve, to love, and find our strength in our Lord and God. Fight the good fight. Love your neighbor as yourself. Stand up for what is right. Do what you can to proclaim His message of love and forgiveness and everlasting salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

You shall not murder. What does this mean? It means we don’t do what Cain did! Instead, we help and support our neighbor in every bodily need. And yes, maybe today you’re angry at a spouse over something they said or did. Maybe you’re upset with someone at church over an incident. Maybe you’re irritated with your child or parent or co-worker. Maybe you’re furious over a Facebook post or email that made you angry. But never forget, my friends, your forever has been changed by Jesus and that changes how you forever deal with your neighbor in any and every situation.

Amen.

21st Sunday after Pentecost (C)

October 17, 2010

2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning as the basis for the sermon is the Second Lesson read earlier this morning from 2 Timothy chapters 3 and 4.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

Writing and preaching a sermon each week can be a daunting and time consuming task. Some Pastors will save time by jotting down a few notes during the week and then preach extemporaneously Sunday morning. Some will stay up late on Saturday night feverishly writing what is not-so-lovingly called a “Saturday Night Special” sermon. As for me, I write out a manuscript for each and every sermon. Why? So that I can not only have it posted on our website each week, but I can also give a copy of any sermon to anyone who asks.

And whether you know it or not, every sermon has a certain structure, that is, there are a variety of sermon formats to preach a Biblical truth with some variety from week to week. Last week’s sermon format was called “Story Interrupted.” I told a story about Aron Ralston throughout the sermon while weaving in Biblical truths. This week the sermon structure is called the “Lowry Loop,” for whatever that is worth to you.

What SHOULD be of value to you from today’s Second Lesson is what you can expect from me as your pastor and what I should be doing as a called and ordained minister of the Word serving in the pastoral office. St. Paul explains fairly clearly what Pastors should be doing in today’s lesson, but here’s the thing. This text is also about you too. Maybe you don’t know a “Lowry Loop” from a “Rhetorical Rope,” but the truth is that you preach a sermon every day of your life. A preacher (4:2) is a herald; someone to publically proclaim the official messages of the king. In the Church we are not in the “business” of making up our own messages or providing an abstract speculation of human opinions. We proclaim the truth of God and His Word. Our message – our “sermons” – communicates the message our Lord has given us to live by and to share with others.

So, what is our message to be and to whom are we proclaiming this message? Paul knew what people would be like. He described them to Timothy like this: “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:2-5a, NIV). Sounds like a difficult situation. Well, maybe our cell phone reception is better today, but other than that, are people fundamentally different or better now than in the 1st century? They aren’t. Sinful people are still sinful people; the immorality of the 1st century is still with us as it will be at the end of the age, but today it is just in more brightly colored and technologically-appealing formats.

I have seen a certain email forward 3-4 times now, and I don’t know if it really happened or not; it’s the stuff of urban legend by now. The email is about a pastor in Kansas that gave an opening prayer in their Senate. To paraphrase the prayer, the pastor pointed out that in our age we have exploited the poor and called it the lottery, rewarded laziness and called it welfare, killed our unborn and called it choice, and polluted our airwaves with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. Whether this prayer really happened or not is irrelevant. There is still a certain element of truth in what was said. As a society we have done these things. I don’t agree with much of the Roman Catholic Church’s theology, but when their church recently took a stand against same sex marriage and promoted traditional marriage with a DVD sent to parishioners, activists went nuts and they still are protesting the church. Excuse me…isn’t that what churches do? Stand up for the truth? If we don’t who will?

Paul told Timothy “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” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). In a religiously confused world like our own that will seemingly not put up with sound doctrine, it is so vitally important for us in the Church to do like Paul said: to remain sober, level-headed, and steadfast in not succumbing to the temptation to give in to what people want to hear rather than the truth of God’s Word…a Word that makes us wise unto eternal salvation (3:15).

The thing is, it is not only I as your Pastor who is called to preach. As the people of God we are all called to proclaim God’s goodness in our lives even amid religious pluralism and hardships and persecution and whatever else we may experience. You want to know how to preach a sermon? You already did. You did when you woke up this morning and decided you were coming to church. You preached by coming to this place today because you know the truth; the truth of your convictions in this life upon which you stand over and against the ever-shifting so-called convictions of this world around us.

In verses 16 and 17, Paul reminded Timothy “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” That’s what you came here for today…to hear the Word so that you may live and proclaim that very same Word in your own life. You didn’t come today blindly following someone else’s teaching. You didn’t come because someone pointed a gun at your head. You came because you have heard the Word of God, a Word that made YOU wise unto salvation, and you have come to equip and to be equipped for living a life of righteousness (3:16) in this unrighteous world.

Jesus said to the Jews in John 5, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me” (5:39). Both the Old and New Testaments point us to Christ Jesus, the Son of God who forgives us of our sins and provides salvation through faith in Him alone. That is the creedal faith that we confess and live: Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came to live and die for the forgiveness of our sins. It is that knowledge that changes how we live and how we treat others. The righteousness of Christ, given to us by His perfect sinless sacrifice on the cross, is now our righteousness which changes how we speak and think and act.

And how we live is the sermon that we preach. The things that you do preach a sermon. The things that you say preach a sermon. What you post on Facebook and the emails you forward, they also preach a sermon. What are you preaching each day? What does your sermon say each day about how important Jesus Christ and your faith in Him is in your daily routine? What does your sermon proclaim about Jesus to your kids or to your co-workers or to your neighbors or to your family?

Joanne always teases me that my sermons are too long, but in reality they are about 16 minutes each Sunday. The truth is, my friends, that YOUR sermons are 60 minutes an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. What does your sermon say about Jesus? How are you fulfilling your ministry? How are you being equipped for a life of righteousness? Yes, preaching can be a daunting and time consuming task, but it is a faithful discourse about God’s love in Christ in your life that daily creates an eternal impact.

Amen.

20th Sunday after Pentecost (C);

Seminary Sunday October 10, 2010

Luke 17:11-19

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you all in the name of God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning is the Gospel lesson appointed for today from Luke 17 and the familiar account of the ten lepers being healed with only one of them returning to give thanks to God.  

My dear friends in Christ Jesus,     

You may or may not know the name Aron Ralston. He is not a celebrity, or at least he wasn't, until 2003 when he had, uhm, let’s call it an unfortunate experience. In April 2003 he went hiking in Utah without leaving behind an itinerary thinking that his one-day hike out and back would be a lead-pipe cinch. During the afternoon, however, everything changed.  Aron Ralston found himself in need of help.   

In our Gospel text for today, we see not one, not two, but TEN people who need help. Some of you may be thinking, "Hey, what is the Gospel lesson for Thanksgiving Day doing here?" Luke 17:11-19 is the assigned text for Thanksgiving Day every year, but this text is so important that it could not be left out of the regular lectionary system, and so we get the same lesson twice in the next 2 months.   

In this Gospel lesson, ten lepers called out to Jesus for help or mercy. Did they want healing exactly? It is hard to say. Perhaps that is how they greeted anyone who passed by in hopes of getting some help because they needed a little help here! They had a contagious skin disease that had social ramifications. Lepers were forced to live with each other and were removed from the general population. Lepers were social outcasts; you could not go near a leper. Lepers were considered ceremonially unclean so they could not worship in the temple with everyone else. Lepers were complete and total outsiders who needed a whole lot of help. And when they called out to Jesus, He helped them…He helped them big time! You know the rest of the story; you hear it every year on Thanksgiving Day. All ten take off to show themselves to the priest; to show that they were clean and could once again worship in the temple. Only one of the lepers came back to give thanks.   

So…every year we ask where are the other nine? They too had called out to Jesus and they too had been healed. What's with the ingratitude, guys? They also cried out, "a little help here!" and when they got that help they took off. Scripture doesn't say why the 9 didn't come back to thank God, and perhaps the problem here is not so much about what they believed about Jesus, but about what they believed about themselves. Perhaps they felt that God "owed" them healing. Healing is what they deserved all along, and so why return and give thanks for something that is supposed to be yours? No reason to give thanks here if it’s owed to you. We’ll come back to that in a moment.   

Aron Ralston (remember him), while descending down into an out-of-the-way canyon back in 2003, dislodged a 500 lb. boulder that ended up pinning his right hand against the canyon wall. His repeated attempts to move the rock were unsuccessful. He could not free his hand no matter how hard he tried. He was trapped on a Saturday, and he knew that no rescue efforts would start for him for at least 3 days or until Tuesday…at the earliest. He was pinned against a canyon wall with only what he had on him: about 30 oz. of water, 2 burritos, his multi-tool, and no warm clothes to survive the cool desert nights. Aron Ralston needed a whole lot of help.   

And are not people still in the same trouble situation today? Minus the rock, of course. We often find ourselves in that same boat as the nine. No troubles for us, right? Perhaps we too believe that God owes us a big, fat bank account with plenty of financial stability. Perhaps we feel that God owes us a perfect marriage with perfect children and a perfect day to day existence. Perhaps we feel that God owes us perfect health with no complications and we expect everything to always go just the way we want it. After all, we certainly deserve it better than the way we've got it, right? Not necessarily. Our moments of ingratitude towards God are driven by our perception of not getting what we want when we want it, and then we think that's God's fault and He gets the blame, not the thanks.   

No, it is not God's fault; it is sin's fault. It is sin that causes us to be greedy and impatient and demanding and uncertain and doubtful and ungrateful. It is sin that causes us to take the gifts we receive from God for granted and to keep on walkin' when we should return and give thanks to God. It is sin that tricks us into believing that all we have is owed to us anyway. The reality is that in our sinfulness we like the lepers have to ask for a "little help here."   

Lepers needed a little help here. And Jesus gave it to them. We too are in the same condition as we are afflicted with the disease of sin. And just as we cry out "have mercy on us" from a distance, Jesus answers the call. For the ones kept at a distance, He comes near by coming to earth. But when He dies, hung on a dreadful cross, He is the one found to be at a distance from God the Father, as He cried from the cross, "My God why have You forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34).  But this act of mercy is how God forgives and cleanses us from the disease of sin. It is by the cross and empty grave of Christ Jesus that we are made whole and delivered from the sinfulness that had previously condemned us; to heal us of our sin "disease."   

As a result of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for us and for our forgiveness, God hears our prayers for mercy and pity and He answers them for the sake of Jesus. What wonderful help and amazing grace we have truly received! God does heal and provide and save and forgive out of His grace that knows no end, especially when we cry out "a little help here!"   

So whatever happened to Aron Ralston? That's why he became a celebrity. After almost 6 days with little food or water or sleep, Aron Ralston finally used his multi-tool to cut off his own right hand to free himself from the boulder. His cries for "a little help here" were answered by fellow hikers and a helicopter who found him and got him to safety. He survived the ordeal and even wrote a book about it.   

I bring it up because in our sin we are kind of like that: dazed, wounded, bleeding, and starving outcasts, but God’s Means of Grace heal those wounds for us. To accomplish this, God calls pastors; men to be shepherds to tend to wandering, hurting flocks; to bind and love and guide the wounded and confused and scared. It is my great privilege, as your seminary-educated and called pastor, to proclaim and give thanks to Jesus to you, the people of St. Stephen's week after week, for a total now of some 135 sermons (36 straight hours) over the last 2 ½ years. I have been blessed to have learned this great and glorious mystery of Christ from other pastors and seminary professors both before and after my seminary days. Today we remember our Seminaries and give thanks for what they do and accomplish in our church and in the name of Christ.    

As sinners we needed a little help here and we got it. As a result we proclaim Christ  – and I give thanks for the partnership in the Gospel with more than 6000 other congregations in our Synod, as well as our seminaries and universities and other schools and agencies and sister church bodies around the world that proclaim Him with us. In Christ alone we live and move and have our sense of meaning. May we all continue in this faith through the rocks and hard places of this life being ever so thankful and grateful for the help and salvation and the faith we have in and through our Redeemer Jesus Christ. To him alone be all thanks and praise forever and ever.   

Amen.

19th Sunday after Pentecost/LWML Sunday

October 3, 2010

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you all in the name of God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning on LWML Sunday is the assigned First Lesson for today from Habakkuk as was previously read.

My dear friends in Christ Jesus,

If you saw in the worship folder this morning, the title of this sermon is “The Big ‘W’ Question.” Maybe you’re thinking that since this is “LWML Sunday” or “Lutheran Women’s Missionary League” Sunday that the “W” means today’s sermon is all about Women. Sorry ladies. This sermon is about something bigger than male/female relationships. This sermon is about the big “W” question: “Why? Why do bad things happen? Why do people suffer? If God is still in control, then why is there still so much evil around?” These questions and many like it are being asked today…and they are questions that are as old as time itself.

And whether you know it or not, the prophet who wrote our First Lesson for today asked those same questions of God and he got an answer…kind of. But who has ever heard of Habakkuk? I mean, seriously, who knew that Habakkuk was even a book of the Bible? As a prophet he is not as well known as Isaiah and his book is not as popular as the Gospels or Romans or Revelation, but Habakkuk has a lot to say for people who are confused or wondering or hurting or anxious or concerned…people just like yourselves.

Habakkuk asked God WHY; why he has to look and see violence, injustice, and destruction. He asked God straight out why God sees violence and oppression and does nothing about it. In Habakkuk's day violence, oppression, injustice, vanity and idolatry prevailed. He had great concern why God appeared to be just sitting around allowing all these bad things happen and seeming not to care. In verse 4, Habakkuk points out that as a result of God's supposed inactivity “justice never goes forth…it is perverted” (1:4).  “It’s chaos down here, God”, Habakkuk was saying, “and you’re doing nothing about it!”

God's answer to Habakkuk was probably not what he expected to his “why” question. God let Habakkuk know that in addition to the current level of violence and suffering and oppression, he would be sending the Babylonians to pay a little visit to Israel (1:6). Habakkuk had to have been near the point of fainting at that news! That would be like having Archie Bunker teach ethnic sensitivity training; like having Lady Gaga teach you to dress properly. I know those are cross generational references…you’ll just have to ask one another what they mean. But that was still God's answer.

We don't know too much about Habakkuk the prophet, but we do know when he wrote his book and the society in which he had his ministry. Habakkuk lived in early 600 BC and wrote during a time when the Babylonian rise to power was as rapid as it was violent and brutal. The former world powers, Assyria and Egypt, formed an odd coalition to take on the rising Babylonians, and the Israelite kings in their “wisdom” aligned themselves with the Assyria/Egyptian coalition. In 605 BC these two ancient empires clashed at Carcemesh, which is in modern-day Turkey and only about 500 miles northwest of Baghdad. The Babylonians routed the coalition and chased the Egyptians all the way back to Egypt. Tiny Israel stood in the way and in 586 BC Habakkuk's prophecy and the prophecy of many other Old Testament prophets came true. The Babylonians marched into Israel, destroyed Jerusalem, and took the people into exile. God had used the swift and terrible Babylonians to bring further violence and terror and oppression and insecurity on the people, and the question was still hanging in the air…why? Why did God do this? Why do the people of God suffer?

Fast forward to 21st century America. People today are still asking the same question…why? Why are we still surrounded by trouble and violence and God is just sitting on his thumbs? Crime and drugs are everywhere. Moral decay is prevalent. Jobs and homes keep getting lost in our economy.  Every night the news is filled with high speed chases that end in disaster, break-ins, assaults, and flooding. People today still want to know why. Why isn't evil kept in check or out and out punished? Why doesn't God respond? Why doesn’t he help? Why isn't God listening or doing anything about the violence in this world? Speak, O Lord, your servants are listening!

But God never fully answers Habakkuk's why question. God doesn't need to. He doesn’t need to answer the “why” questions we pose. God owes no apology and he owes no explanation. God remains the same Lord with both unwavering justice and unwavering grace. We can't understand his ways or his thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). But we do know this. God is not a mean, uncaring, unforgiving God who watches his people squirm and burn like the mean little kid who burns bugs with a magnifying glass. God knows that we suffer. God notices evil. He saw sin introduced into his creation and the sinful perversion of his creation continues to this day.

In response to the “why” question, God answers “trust me. Watch what I'll do,” God says, “the answer will come, although it may linger, it will still most certainly come.” And then God tells Habakkuk that the righteous will live by faith. The righteous will live by faith.

God's response to Habakkuk's complaint is, “Look, don't ask me why I am using the Babylonians. Leave that to me, the all-wise God who rules every detail of life. Instead, remain faithful, trust me, and you shall live by faith!”

Of course, God made good on his promise. He did send the ultimate answer, Jesus, to bring security where there is insecurity; to bring hope where there is hopelessness, to bring life where there is death. Sin does run rampant on earth, but ultimately sin has been defeated by Jesus on the cross. When we ask “why” we are asking the wrong question because God gives us no definitive answer. Instead when we are tempted to ask “why,” we should instead ask “how.” How did God take care of sin and how is he using this in my life? Ultimately we will find that his answer did come and he did not fail; Jesus died and rose again to defeat sin and its effects. The trials and tribulations and the violence and the insecurity draw us closer to him to trust in him, for when we are weak, then we are made strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).

The message of God's deliverance of his people is not meant to be a hidden message; it was to be made clear for all to understand (2:2). The message of the hope of the Gospel is for us and for all to hear of the deliverance and salvation and forgiveness we have in God's love through Christ. We don't have to solve the “why” question, for God already answered it on the cross and as a result we live by our faith in Him. God answers “why” with 3 nails and a rolled-away stone and as a result he calls you to be in his Word; to live in his forgiveness, love and grace, to trust him by your faith in him in both this life and throughout eternity.

Don’t ask “why.” It’s the wrong question for it lacks a full answer. Instead ask “how” and trust in his purpose. He’s God…he knows what he’s doing. He always has…and he always will.

Amen.

17th Sunday after Pentecost (C)

September 19, 2010

Luke 16:1-15

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning is the assigned Gospel lesson for today read earlier from Luke chapter 16.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

I pulled out the last of the garden this week. I had two garlic plants still that had to come out. The tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, onions...all long since pulled out. But those two garlic plants, well, those were the last to go. They couldn't be pulled by hand; I had to get a garden tool to dig them out. Fighting off the last of the summer mosquitoes I dug the garlic plants out of the ground to celebrate the last of our garden produce and to see what I would be able to harvest...and nothing. Literally...nothing at the end of the plants except for dirt. The roots went deep and that's really all there was...roots. No bulbs, no cloves, no nothing. I had so looked forward to utilizing the efforts of our gardening labor, and when it was for "pay dirt," all I got was dirt. It was a total disappointment because I had nothing of value.

I told you that to tell you this. Today's Gospel lesson may be the most important lesson you'll ever hear regarding physical possessions and how we should handle them as difficult as these words are to hear and appreciate.

The parable of the unjust steward, today’s Gospel lesson from Luke 16, reminds each of us today that God always gives infinitely more than we expect, and it moves us to be good stewards with his blessings in this life so that others may share his grace.

In the previous chapter, Luke 15, Jesus has given us three of his most well-known parables: the lost sheep, lost coin (last week’s sermon), and the familiar parable of the “Prodigal Son.” In each of these, Jesus is teaching us of the Father’s great desire to do whatever is necessary to seek and save the lost. Here in Luke 16, Jesus is seeking to instruct his disciples - and each of us - what it means once we are found to fulfill the mission of the Gospel in this world.

Today’s crucially important lesson can cause a little emotional panic, a little ethical “quiver in the liver,” based on just the words, but you will be hard pressed to find a better lesson on stewardship. The steward in the parable has been unfaithful (vv 1–2). He’s squandered his master’s wealth and when confronted, he has nothing to say. He is guilty of being entrusted with great responsibility, which has brought him great honor, and he has wasted it. As a result of his unfaithfulness, he is being removed from his position as manager.

There’s a direct application to us who are here today when we realize how blessed we are to be children of our heavenly Father. We have received blessings upon blessings; gifts in abundance and often we are guilty of squandering what God has entrusted to us. The master had the option to cast the unjust steward into debtor’s prison until his debt was paid, but he chose to be gracious and let him go (vv 3–8).

Huh. Is this not the way God deals with us? We also owe a debt we could never pay. In fact, it’s impossible for us even to begin. Sin brings with it a debt far too great. Let’s face it…we deserve to be imprisoned – damned - for eternity. Yet God is merciful and chooses to be gracious and grant to us forgiveness. While forgiveness is free for us, it was not free for God. In the parable, the debtors – everyone! - received the benefit of the master’s forgiveness of their debt. In our lives, God was willing to make the sacrifice of his Son on the cross that our debt might not just be reduced but erased totally. The forgiveness won by Jesus on the cross means we are no longer eternally accountable for the sins we’ve committed, for the debt we owe. You and I can celebrate living in the freedom of the Gospel, with the assurance of eternal life.

With this freedom comes great privilege. We are placed in this world and entrusted with God’s gifts and blessings in abundance. Yet we often fall into the same materialistic trap as people who do not know Christ as Savior. We tend to fear, love, and trust in created things in place of the Creator of all things. Like the unjust steward in the parable, we’re more concerned about obtaining security for ourselves than about accomplishing the master’s will.

Jesus’ words, “I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings” (v 9), direct our attention to the purpose of our earthly blessings received from God.

The steward of the parable used physical possessions shrewdly to obtain a physical place to dwell. Jesus turns this idea around and tells us to use our physical possessions shrewdly that you may have an eternal dwelling. That’s being faithful (vv 10–12); using what we have access to for the benefit of God’s kingdom! What is the purpose of receiving abundance from God if not to use it to extend his kingdom? You can’t take it with you! The generosity of the master and the mercy he showed reveals to us what it means to be used by God to share his blessings with the people of this world so that the Spirit might have opportunity to work through us; to touch the lives of people who do not know God.

That’s the same sentiment in today’s Second Lesson. In 1 Timothy Paul reminds us that (God wants) “all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” How will that happen if we don’t live out our faith as faithful stewards? How will that happen if we don’t use the gifts of our mind, heart, lungs, and tongues to tell someone about Jesus? How will that happen if we don’t support with our time and treasures the mission and ministry God has given us to do in this place? How will that happen if when it comes to our Christian faith we are silent in both word and deed when we’re in the workplace or classroom or living room? How can YOU tell someone – show someone - the great Gospel truth? When was the last time you did tell someone about Jesus? Our resources are tools – a means – not for stockpiling, but to show others God’s love in Christ. How are you doing that?

Stuff is just stuff to be used as good and faithful stewards for the benefit of the kingdom so that all may come to know Christ. If we seek a harvest of stuff, a gathering of material wealth to use for our own benefit, we will find nothing but dirt at the end of that too. When we die, when this physical life comes to an end, our material wealth means absolutely nothing...no more than the dirt to which we return. And so, my friends, in this life USE your physical blessings as a faithful steward for the benefit of the kingdom of God that we might see an eternal result - an eternal dwelling found in the glory of heaven. Your stuff doesn't buy your way in; the purchase price was paid by Jesus on the cross. Yet how you handle your stuff is a reflection of the faith you have in him. Use your stuff wisely. Be a faithful steward. Seek to make an eternal investment in God's kingdom.

And oh ya...can I borrow some garlic?

Amen.  

16th Sunday after Pentecost (C)

September 12, 2010

Luke 15:1-10

Grace and peace be yours this day in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. The text that serves as the basis for the sermon this morning is the Gospel lesson from St. Luke as previously read.

Dear fellow redeemed brothers and sisters in Christ,

Have you ever been lost? Of course you have…we all have. No one likes to be lost. We hate that feeling of not knowing where we are or how to get back. Getting lost or losing something is a common, everyday kind of event. We can get lost while driving. We lose our car keys. We lose our patience. We lose track of time. We lose our cool. We lose our cell phone. Face it, as human beings we seem to have a real knack for losing things and/or being lost.

Anyone who has ever searched for something that is lost knows how maddening it is to look for it and not find it. In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus explains how heaven rejoices at the arrival of one lost sinner back into the house of God. In both cases, as in real life, the search takes work. Yet, recovery of what was lost leads to rejoicing with others. This, my friends, is the heart of the Christian faith in story form; those who are lost are found and restored with celebration as a result.    Let's consider for a moment those that are lost in these parables. Our Lord tells of a sheep that has been lost so the shepherd must go out and look for it. When the search is successful, the shepherd rejoices at finding his valuable sheep and he shares that joy with others just as we too feel joy when we find our missing car keys or cell phones or purses or wallets or whatever.

The same is true for the women with the lost coin. The silver coin that she lost is equal to 1 denarius or about one day’s wages for an average worker. It is a modest sum that gets lost so it seems natural that she would seek to find it. If you or I lost a nickel or dime we wouldn't lose much sleep (ah, something else we lose!), but if we lost a hundred dollars, of course we'd look! This is no easy search for this woman. The coin was small, the house was probably dark and had dirt floors...not ideal circumstances for finding lost objects. Undeterred, though, she searches until she finds that coin and shares her joy with her neighbors.

But what if that sheep and what if that coin wanted to stay lost? What if they were perfectly comfortable in their new surroundings and, if given the choice, would have opted for their new situation? Sound funny? It shouldn’t.  As sinners, we make the very same choice every day. Consider the behavior of the Israelites in the Old Testament. This people had been rescued from their bondage and slavery in Egypt by the hand of God Himself. Moses was up on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments directly from God. Yet, when Moses came back down he found them dancing around a golden idol at the very foot of Mt. Sinai!

We are no different or better than the Israelites! When we do it - dancing around whatever it is that we have chosen for the moment to trust or to love or to want or to serve more than God - we do it at the foot of Mt. Calvary. We get all wrapped up in the trappings of life and, like the Israelites, we dance. In our fast-moving and busy culture, we find it hard to engage the spiritually lost with meaningful relationships. So, rather than seeking the lost around us at work, at school, in our families, or in the neighborhood, we continue to stay lost ourselves as we listen to the pounding drum beat of our lives and dance around the idols of our day: money, television, popularity, technology, alcohol, gambling, as well as countless other idols, oblivious to the fact that one day the dance will stop.

Unlike us, Jesus forsakes all for the sake of the lost. He seeks the lost and He does so out of love. Despite our constant wandering, despite our efforts to stay lost, despite the fact that, like the silver coin, we fall on the floor again and again being covered by the dust of sin, our Lord God still seeks to find those who are lost; those in need of their Savior. Jesus was born of human flesh in order to begin that “search and rescue” mission. He lived His sinless life in an effort to find the lost, to share the good news that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. His mission took him all the way to Calvary’s tree where His blood was shed and that blood washes away the dust of our sin.

By God’s grace and mercy His search for the lost is never ending. Not only does He continue to seek the lost but He also maintains those that are “safe.” So often in these parables we overlook the 99 sheep or the other 9 coins. They remain safe and sound only by the protection and care of God who looks after them.

Sometimes, though, we wonder if any coins or sheep or anybody are ever really safe after all. We wonder if sinful people in a sinful world are ever really found. When we see another home or job lost in our economy, we wonder if God is there looking for us at all. When we let birth control in and keep God out of our schools, we wonder if anyone is looking for us anymore. When we see the young mothers streaming in to Planned Parenthood for abortions we wonder if God is there to keep the children safe. When the test results from the doctor shake your very faith to the core, you wonder if God be there to find you. When we ourselves find sin and temptation too difficult to resist and so we give in, we wonder if God is there to find us after all. In your times of trouble and distress remember that this is not some casual search by God for the lost. In fact, the effort to find you was and is so extreme that it cost our Lord His very life. He was taunted, flogged, and nailed to the cross in order that the lost could be found. Without that sacrifice, then you may have cause to wonder. But that is not the case. Christ died as the ransom price so that the lost sinners could be gathered to God.

When the lost are found, our Lord indicates that the joy is great. The lost sheep was found, returned to its master, and there was great joy. The lost coin was found, returned to its owner, and there was great joy. It is no different for us. Lost people, people lost in the sin that stains life, are found and returned to the One who created and looks after them. The lost are all around us; not conveniently laying on a “lost & found” table or in a box, but they are in our communities, they are in our workplaces, our schools, maybe they are even in our own homes. Take the time to look around and help our Lord recover those who are so precious and valuable to Him!

The college football season has started…finally. And many of you know my favorite team is the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Starting next season, Nebraska and Minnesota will play one another as members of the Big 10. They’ve played before, but MN hasn’t beaten Nebraska since 1960 and in the last 4 games Nebraska has won each game by more than an average of 50 points. Most have been routs. The Gophers know what it means to lose to the Huskers.

I say that not to brag, but the point is that the Christian life can be like that. It seems like we are always playing against an unbeatable opponent. Bad things are happening all around us and we feel powerless to stop them. We feel helpless and lost; lost in the middle of a game with no hope of winning. But Christ intervened for lost sinners like us. He found us in order to free us and give us eternal life. He died on the cross for us to snatch victory from defeat at the hands of sin and death for us so that some joyous day all believers will share in the joy of heaven!

So play on, my friends, play on to the best of your ability knowing that the game is already won. Like a pair of gloves or a favorite scarf, it is inevitable that we will get lost from time to time. But thanks be to God for loving us enough to find us when we are lost so that we may be found with Him in the eternal glory of heaven.

Amen.

15th Sunday after Pentecost (C)

September 5, 2010

Luke 14:25-33 

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you all in the name of God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning is the Gospel lesson for today from Luke 14 as was previously read.

My dear friends in Christ Jesus,  

Joanne and I recently made homemade sauerkraut. Well, we shredded cabbage and added salt. Now it’s the rotting over 5-6 weeks that actually makes it sauerkraut. One of the implements we used was an “Indianapolis Kraut Cutter” patented in 1905. It worked so well, I went on E-bay to try and purchase my own. The problem is, this kind of kraut cutter is considered an “antique” so either they are only decorations and not functional, or they cost an arm and a leg. Sure, I could have bought one but I couldn’t guarantee it would work and I’d have to pay 3 times what I wanted. So, for now, I have suspended my search for an “Indianapolis Kraut Cutter.”

Today's Gospel lesson is all about counting the cost before just doing something, and it is an important lesson for all of us to hear, no matter how harsh it sounds. In Luke 14 Jesus is being followed by a large crowd, many of whom probably desired to be His disciples but first they wanted to “check things out;” see what this Jesus guy is all about. Obviously able to determine their unenthusiastic approach to following Him, Jesus suddenly turns and verbally levels anyone who was lukewarm about following Him. What Jesus told them had to have sounded pretty harsh, because its power and its sting can still be felt even today. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (14:26-27). Wow. Those are pretty strong words! What Jesus is telling the crowd is that discipleship is an all-or-nothing deal. You want to follow? You have to evaluate the cost first. And then Jesus tells two quick parables about the man desiring to build a tower and the warring kings. Both have to first evaluate the cost before they start anything. By telling these parables Jesus is teaching people that first you have to evaluate the cost before you just jump in and do it.

Jesus indicates that there is a pretty heavy price to pay for discipleship. First he says we have to hate our own father, mother, wife, brothers, sisters, and children. That's a pretty steep price! But Jesus is not advocating hatred of our family. But He does mean that if it's a choice for us between Him and our family, we're to choose Jesus. Obviously this isn't easy. By God's grace most people are spared this kind of decision, but there are some who are forced to choose, and if that arises, we are to follow Christ.

We are also to hate our own life. Man, the price to follow keeps getting heavier and heavier! What does this mean? Does it mean that we can continue to live and exist in an individualistic culture that wants us to think of ourselves as “#1?” No. Does it mean that we can continue to live in and exist in a materialistic culture that wants us to spend our money on ourselves, to spend our time indulging ourselves? No. If we want to follow in discipleship, we have to hate that life in order to follow. The price just keeps getting higher, doesn't it?

Then Jesus tells us we have to carry our own crosses. In common usage a cross is any trouble that comes our way. But in the strict sense of the word, a cross is the trouble that comes our way precisely because we're Christians. Being a disciple means more than just joining an organization like one would join the Lions club or Kiwanis. Christianity is about more than just having your name on a membership roll somewhere or a picture in a church directory somewhere. It's about more than getting baptized, confirmed, married, and buried by the Church. Christianity is a life to take and live 100% in the shadow of the cross of Jesus. And Jesus tells us in verse 33, “you can't do it…don't be a disciple.” Anyone who cannot give up their preoccupation with family or money or pleasure or fame or greed or whatever shouldn't even begin to follow Jesus in the first place.

That is a heavy price to pay to follow Jesus. In fact, it is an impossible price. Ever since humanity fell into sin our every inclination has been to live for US, not to live for someone else. Our natural, sinful desire is diametrically opposed to what Jesus is saying is the cost of discipleship. So, is Jesus saying that we shouldn't be disciples? No. If anything is clear from Scripture, it is that Jesus does want us as His disciples. But how? How can we pay the price to follow? We counted the cost and it's too much!

But my dear friends, note what happened with the kings at war. “While the other is still a long way off (he) will ask for terms of peace” (v. 32b). In our sins we were the ones a “long way off” - a long way off from salvation and reconciliation with God…and it looked pretty bleak. “Lord, I can't build that tower. I can't fight that enemy. It's too much!” It is during those moments of helplessness that we as sinners are called to realize that God has taken the initiative to close the gap for us - the ones who were a long way off - and to bring us peace.

God closed that gap by sending the Prince of Peace - Jesus - to live, die, and rise again so that we can be forgiven, so that we can be free from the power of sin, so that we can be His disciples. God wants us - you - to let Him take over through Jesus Christ. That is discipleship! That is what it means to forsake all that we have - to give up ourselves to God. We are only able to do so because the price to follow has been paid. It was bought and paid for not with gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Jesus.

You too have to now consider what discipleship costs before you follow Him. Maybe it means you have to give up immoral behaviors or desires. Maybe it means you have to let go of selfish and greedy tendencies. Maybe it means you have to give up your control of things in your life and turn things over to God. God, through Christ, came near and closed that gap to bring us near to Himself through Jesus.

The cost to close the gap between sinful man and sinless God was the perfect, sinless, sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, which He willingly provided. The cost for us to now follow in discipleship is a heavy price to pay, but it has already been paid for us by Christ. You will not be able to pay the price of discipleship on your own, but by God's grace that price is paid which changes your life to follow in discipleship. That's the incredible thing about God. He gave up His Son so that we sinful wretches might nevertheless follow Him and one day be with Him in heaven. May it be so in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

14th Sunday after Pentecost & SST Anniversary Sunday

August 29, 2010

Luke 14:1-14

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning on our celebration of Anniversary Sunday at SST is the Gospel lesson assigned for today from Luke chapter 14.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

Would you go to the doctor if you had swollen lymph nodes that were oozing blood and pus? Yeah, I thought so. I would think you would go because the classic sign of Bubonic Plague was the appearance of painful lymph nodes which oozed pus and blood. What about if you had a bloody nose, a headache, and blurred vision? Did you know that those could be symptoms of Leukemia? Or what would you do if you were experiencing a burning sensation, toe numbness and a headache? Were you in a car accident recently? Those are all symptoms of whiplash. No... I didn't go to med school. These are symptoms of terrible and painful conditions that obviously need treatment.

In today's Gospel text, Jesus is invited to the home of a prominent Pharisee. The Pharisees were the radically strict religious leaders of Jesus' day. Well, a man is also there who had Dropsy. Dropsy? What's that? Dropsy is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in connective tissues or cavities of the body. Having Dropsy was usually symptomatic of a more serious problem like congestive heart failure. Today, we would call Dropsy "edema;" swelling in the feet and ankles or other areas from fluid build-up due to poor circulation which may point to some bigger, more significant problem.

But let's not focus too much on the disease, but instead consider this: Why is this man with Dropsy present in the first place? Jesus is invited to the home of a ruler of the Pharisees (v. 1) with other "experts of the Law" present (v. 3). What is this sick man doing here? Many scholars believe, and I am inclined to also believe, that this person with dropsy was there as a plant…a trap…to try once again to ambush Jesus. The Pharisees felt that if this afflicted person was put in front of Jesus, Jesus would heal him, and then they could accuse Him of “working” on the Sabbath, which the Pharisees strictly forbid. If this afflicted person were a real guest, why would he be sent away (v. 4) after the healing? The man with Dropsy is there to ensnare Jesus and feed the Pharisees continuing hatred of Jesus.

What today's lesson points out to us is that the Pharisees were just as sick as the man with Dropsy! Oh sure, they would deny it, but that is simple human nature. When we are sick, we deny it and put it off until it's too late. The man with Dropsy was sick literally; the Pharisees were sick figuratively. They were oblivious to their sinful piety and arrogance and rejection of God's will in favor of their own sinful desires. Sin had blinded the Pharisees as to how God can and does work in the lives of people. And then Jesus shows them in a very tangible way how God can and does work in people's lives. God is above any human Sabbath ordinance, and thus Jesus heals the "mark" and sends him away (v. 4).

The man who suffered from Dropsy had a diagnosis of a more serious condition, probably some kind of heart issue. The Pharisees also had a diagnosis of a more serious condition, and it’s also a heart condition: they loved their piety and their power and their rules more than they loved God. We also have a diagnosis of a more serious condition. Hear the words of 1 John 1...they may sound familiar to you: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us…If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” We all carry in our bodies the diagnosis of sin. It manifests itself in various ways and at various times, but the diagnosis is the same for each and every one of us.

Of course, we want to deny we're sinful just like the way we deny being sick or needing to see a doctor. “I'm not sinful” we rationalize, “I go to church every now and again and I even throw a few dollars in the ol’ plate. I'm certainly better than person X, Y or Z. I’m basically a good person and I believe in God and all…but I'm not sinful.” The Great Physician of both body and soul would beg to differ with statements like those.

Sin is more than a crime or an action or something we might think or say. Sin is a disease that needs curing. We sin because we are sinful, not the other way around. If we feel we aren't truly sinful, then we are no better than the Pharisees of Jesus' day and we make God out to be a liar. Sin is a disease that doesn't go away and no pill is going to cure it. It's a malady we suffer from at the instant of conception and doesn't go away until the moment we die.

Yet God has a cure for this terrible affliction of sin. In today's Gospel lesson, Jesus told those present at the dinner gathering “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (v. 11). Later in the New Testament, St. Paul wrote, “…(Jesus) humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:8-11). This is God's cure for sin. Jesus humbled Himself, as He hinted at that day before the Pharisees, and went to the cruel cross. Yet He did so for a reason.

Our cure for sin is the cross of Christ. Jesus giving His body and blood on the cross pays the price for sin that needed to be paid; He is the sacrificial Lamb that dies in our place, but also for our benefit. Without this cure, well, there is NO OTHER CURE for sin. That's it. Jesus Christ is the only mediator and Savior of the world. Not Buddha, not Allah, it’s not in the Book of Mormon, not any Scientology nonsense. Salvation is found in Christ and in Him alone; there is no other name given to men by which we can be saved. He is the only One who pays for the world's sins and gives us forgiveness of our sins and cures us of our sinfulness.

Granted, Sabbath issues receive less attention now then in the 1st century, but the importance of compassion is still the same. Jesus models a ministry for us that is compassionate; always ready to meet someone's needs at any moment. We are not to exalt ourselves, especially not in the area of our faith, but we are to humble ourselves and serve one another just as Jesus came not to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

Question…are we too comfortable in our "healed" state? We shouldn't be! We, as healed and redeemed believers in Christ, should be compassionate in reaching out to the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Yes, we need to reach people who have these literal conditions, but God desires we take this one more step. There are many people we encounter who are emotionally poor, financially crippled, lame in terms of their relationships and addictions, and spiritually blind. Are we reaching out to those people too? They need every bit of our help as people with these literal conditions to help them see how God can and does work in our lives every single day. You are instruments of God's compassion; you are His hands and feet in this place. For 97 years God has been working His healing and compassion through Word and Sacrament ministry here at St. Stephen's and He will continue to do so until our Lord returns. What is your role, your legacy, in how God’s will was done in this community during your life? Are you here to serve or here to been seen? Are you here to worship or are you just here?

Now, I'm no doctor and I don’t even play one on TV, but I know the cure for what ails you…what really ails you. My advice for you and your diagnosis of sin is to receive a heavy dose of the cross, follow that up with God's Word and Sacraments, and then call me on the Last Day; the resurrection of the faithful. I pray that by faith in Christ you'll be found to be all better!

Amen.

13th Sunday after Pentecost (C)

August 22, 2010

Hebrews 12:4-24

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning as the basis for the sermon is the Second Lesson read earlier from Hebrews, chapter 12.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,     

Sometimes a biblical text comes around and a pastor can’t wait to preach on it: John 3:16, the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and any of the Resurrection accounts. Other times a biblical text comes around and half a pastor’s brain says “unh uh. No way,” while the other half nags you to preach on it anyway. Today is one of those Sundays. In Hebrews 12:6 we heard the following: “the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son” (12:6, NIV). God disciplines those he loves (12:6), and since we desire that he love us, we also desire then that he lovingly discipline us. That is why today’s sermon is entitled “Desirable Discipline.”   

Hebrews 12 comes after Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11 is also called the great “Faith Chapter.” It is a list of those people of the Old Testament who persevered endured rough times through faith. The list includes Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses to name a few. In addition, the author of Hebrews writes about the collective experiences of the faithful: “Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated - the world was not worthy of them” (36-38a, NIV). Also consider the OT witness of someone like Job or many of the prophets. In the New Testament, in 1 Peter 4, we hear “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (12-12, NIV). Each week even WE advocate our own hardships and discipline! We confess “we justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment.” The Bible is FULL of examples - our lives are full of examples - of people, including Jesus Himself, who suffer as a result of faith.

God always has and always will send or bend discipline for the well-being of his children. That is what it means for him to be our Father and for us to be his children. It means, as Romans 8:28 says so well, that “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” The right reaction to God's discipline is confidence in God's love. Those whom he loves he disciplines.

Look, we’ve all been disciplined at one point or another. How did it make you feel? When that disci­pline came, perhaps at first we resented it. At the time discipline can be painful, but that is because we seldom see the outcome immediately. Like fruit on a tree or vegetables in the garden, the ripening takes time. Sinful people do sinful things and, as a result, discipline may come to us. Sin in this world leads to hardship, to injury, to sickness, and even death. But, when we know the Gospel promise – Jesus crucified and risen again for the forgiveness of and payment for sins and our eternal salvation – we find our lives changed over time and our attitude regarding God’s discipline changes. The Gospel teaches us that God disciplines in order to strengthen; he disciplines in order to show us his everlasting love. As a result, those who know this out of maturity in faith carry their crosses and put forth their best effort for themselves and for others: “strive for peace…and holiness” (12:14).

Sometimes God’s discipline comes in sharp and swift doses, almost taking our breath away. Other times it comes in slow and steady waves, almost wearing us out. When it comes, who of us hasn't asked, "Why?" Strangely enough, we can tell our children not to ask why, only to then throw that same question at our heavenly Father! Our children are expected to accept our wisdom without questioning while we feel free to question the ways of the Almighty God!

“Why” is never the right question. It’s not why but how when discipline comes. The why we have been told often enough time and time again in Scripture and the author of Hebrews has repeated it for us again today. It is because our Father loves us and wants to mature us for heaven. “These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:7). James wrote “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (1:2-4).

The how – how is God using this event in my life - he will show us if we give him time as he strengthens our faith and uses us to strengthen others. His discipline will not go on forever. The day will come when he on whom we fix our eyes in faith will return, and when he does, then we shall see face to face and know fully why we suffered through the things we did even as we are fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12).

As you know, in July I attended the national gathering in New Orleans. Each night the Super Dome was filled with shouting teens and screeching guitars and pyrotechnics. But one particular evening, the place normally filled with 24,000 screaming Lutherans (as much as Lutherans can scream), became eerily silent. The stillness was a result of the presentation by Kellie Stocker, a Minnesotan whose 18 year old daughter Makenzie was tragically killed in a car crash caused by inattention and carelessness. Reliving her pain and struggles with faith through the unbelievable and unthinkable, the crowd was moved to almost complete and total silence, until it responded with a standing ovation for her.

I don’t want to sound insensitive to her pain, but I couldn’t help but wonder where was our applause? Where was the standing ovation for all of us who have ever grieved the loss of a loved one or the long and lonely pain or the depression or the anger that knows no limit or the frustration that never ends? Where’s our ovation for enduring our discipline, which we know is for our good but difficult nonetheless?

It finally came to me later. When the tragedies of life hit us and cause us to suffer (and they do), when the unthinkable and unbelievable become our reality, it’s not because God is angry with you. When God is disciplining us for our good, when we feel like God has abandoned us or left us all alone, that’s when we know that God is right there. Our standing ovation is a heavenly one as the angels in heaven shout in joyous celebration (1 Corinthians 4:9, Hebrews 1:14) when the people of God can endure the trials and tribulations of this life and not fall away. It is easy to believe in God and profess faith when life is great and everything is going your way, but what about the hard times? The tough times? The lonely times? The times of discipline? Do we still pray, praise, and give thanks even amid the suffering and grief and discipline?  We can, because when we suffer and endure, the glory of God is manifested in our lives.   

I cannot point to any single event in your life and say whether it is God’s “desirable discipline” or the effects of living in a sin-filled world. I cannot tell you exactly why God works the way he does in our lives. But I do know this much. In John 9 a man blind from birth is brought to Jesus and they want to know who was being punished for their sins: the man or his parents. Jesus said, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned…but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (9:3). God’s discipline is not retribution against our sin; that wrath was poured out upon Christ at the cross. It is meant to make his glory manifest in our lives. How? Through our patient suffering and endurance so that all glory can be given to God that we, once again, made it through the difficult yet desirable discipline knowing that we love God and that He loves us so greatly and eternally as shown to us completely and perfectly in Jesus: our example of endurance, our Lord, our Savior, our friend.   

Amen.

12th Sunday after Pentecost (C)

August 15, 2010

Exodus 20:17

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.  Today we conclude the 2010 summer sermon series “10 for 10” as today, utilizing the First Lesson from Exodus 20, we examine the 9th and 10th Commandments which have to do with coveting.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

Now there’s a word you probably don’t use all that often…coveting.  Coveting is desiring something to which you have no right, something that belongs to someone else.  Sounds unimportant?  Wrong!  Covetousness is at the heart of sins against all the Commandments.  They are the last commandments because they deal with the inner attitude, which eventually leads to violations of all the others.  As Jesus clearly said, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Mt 15:19).

Covetousness is rooted in our basic human selfishness.  We want what we want, we want it now, and we don’t care who gets hurt or left out in the process.  Happiness is our right, and we will get it.  In the original draft of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that each person had inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of possessions.  In subsequent reviews, the wording was changed to the pursuit of happiness.  Yet our society has indeed come to identify the pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of possessions.  We think we will be happy if we have one more thing, a few more dollars, nicer stuff.  We can see this pursuit in young children, but it shows up in adults too.  Buy a child a new toy, and they are bored with it after a few hours.  The same is true with grown-ups.

Some religions try to combat this cycle by striving to shut off all human desires.  It’s the solution offered by ancient Stoicism, Buddhism, and others.  These belief systems teach that material things are evil and thus bad for you.  But God built desires into our very being.  Ambition is not evil.  Scripture urges us to “earnestly desire the higher gifts” (1 Cor 12:31).  St. Paul urges the Corinthians to “earnestly desire to prophesy” (1 Cor 14:39).  He urges the Romans to “not be slothful in zeal, [but] be fervent in spirit” (Rom 12:11).

You should have ambition – ambition is okay - no matter how young or old you are.  It gives you energy and purpose.  There’s nothing wrong with desiring to be successful, but work for it.  Don’t desire to get what you have not earned, what you have not worked for, what you have gotten in an unworthy way.

In our Lord’s parable of the rich fool (Lk 12:16–21), the farmer was not wrong to produce a huge harvest.  He was not wrong to build big barns to store them.  He was wrong to call them “my crops” (v 17), “my grain and my goods” (v 18).  As Jesus said in the parable, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully” (v 16).  God blessed him.  God entrusted the crops, the grain, and the goods to him.  God was trusting that he would use these blessings properly.  They were not given for his selfish enjoyment but were gifts to use with responsibility and accountability.

Instead, the rich man thought only of himself.  He did not think of the needs of others and of God’s kingdom.  He said to himself, “You have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry” (v 19).  He was not wrong to retire.  He was not wrong to “be merry.”  God wants us to be happy.  How do I know?  He wants to give you heaven.  He offers it to you.  Jesus said, “Everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life” (Jn 6:40).

At “Bible Boot Camp” this week on day #3 we talked about putting on the shoes of the Gospel of peace.  The ultimate gift – the ultimate blessing – is the one I point out at the end of every sermon.  Even now you have “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Phil 4:7).  Even now you have “all things” (Rom 8:32).  HOWEVER, you have no right to them (x2).  You have rebelled and failed and disobeyed and sinned.  All the Commandments have reflected this.  Yet the guilt for your sin has been nailed to Jesus’ cross.  He rose in victory, and he takes you to be his own now and for all eternity.  How awesome is that!?

Heaven is where we will have the life for which our heavenly Father created us, in all its fullness and joy.  We eagerly desire it, though we have no right to it.  He eagerly desires to have us there at his side for all eternity.  It is his joyful gift to us by grace.  The great truth is this: because Christ fulfills the law for us, we gain all things through Him.

The foolish rich man in the parable desired the wrong thing.  He coveted what was foolish and temporary and selfish.  “God said to him, ‘Fool!  This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’  ” (Lk 12:20).  He foolishly forgot that he would one day have to give an account of his life and his possessions to God.  Jesus concludes the parable by saying, “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God” (v 21).

The man was not wrong to desire wealth.  He was wrong to covet.  He was wrong to think that he had a right to it, that it was his to do with as he pleased.  His life was oriented around the wrong center, focused on the wrong goal, the wrong heart.  When our lives have the wrong center, when we are focused on the wrong goal, we are tempted to covet what belongs to our neighbor - what the Ninth and Tenth Commandments warn against.

The foolish rich man in the parable had gained the whole world but lost his own soul (Mt 16:26).  He was trying to serve God and money (Mt 6:24).  St. John wrote, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 Jn 2:15).

My friends, what do you eagerly desire in life?  Where is your focus?  What proceeds from your heart?  Where are you looking for happiness?  Whom or what are you trying to serve?  Do you live for others?  What is your ambition and passion in life?  Are your energies directed toward helping and serving others – in being rich towards God – or are you going through life just helping yourself?

There is no contentment or meaning or eternity in relationships with things.  It is only in relationships with others – our neighbors - and primarily with God, that the real purpose of life is truly found, a life of faith in Christ alone.

  Amen.  

11th Sunday after Pentecost (C)

August 8, 2010

Exodus 20:16

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning as we continue the “10 for 10” sermon series is today’s First Lesson from Exodus 20. Today we examine the 8th Commandment: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

This is either going to be a brilliant illustration regarding the 8th Commandment…or it’s going to blow up in my face. I have here a true statement of fact. I am going to ask a group of you to repeat it much like you would playing the old game “telephone operator.” You may whisper the phrase once to your neighbor who will then pass it on. You cannot clarify; you don’t get a 2nd chance. You simply repeat what you thought you heard. We’ll catch up with the message later. In the meantime, I have a few things to say about the 8th Commandment.

Perhaps the most stupid proverb in our culture is “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Words can hurt us…hurt us right to the core of our being. Child psychologists say it takes ten positive remarks to compensate for one negative remark—and I think that remains true for us as adults.

The Eighth Commandment has to do with the power of words. One of the most irreparable injuries is the loss of one’s good reputation. The Fifth Commandment protects life. The Sixth Commandment protects marriage. The Seventh Commandment protects property. The Eighth Commandment protects reputation.

But what’s the big deal? Well, one’s reputation is his or her most important legacy. You can leave behind children. You can found an organization or business. You can make a lot of money and pass on a huge inheritance. But your real value to the world is who you are, your character, your example, your influence, how people remember you. You don’t really care about Henry Ford or John D. Rockefeller or Ted Turner. Yes, you recognize their moneymaking ability, but they mean nothing personally to you.

Who does mean something to you? It’s the people of character in your life. The people who have inspired you, formed you, and supported you. Their reputation gives you strength and direction in life. Specifically, who is that in your life…a parent, an aunt, a friend, a teacher, a coach, a local public figure? What would happen to you if that person’s reputation was destroyed? You, too, would be devastated.

The 8th Commandment protects something more valuable than property or even life itself. It protects our value as a creation of God. It protects all that we are and want to be. And it is so vulnerable. How do you protect yourself from a false accusation? How do you undo your gossip against others? A reputation built up over years can be destroyed in seconds by a false accusation. It can never truly be restored. Confidence and trust are lost.

James rightly warns us, “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire” (James 3:5–6). And it burns…it burns people and stuff down. The tongue can ruin marriages and devastate children. It can destroy careers. It can cause suicide.

That’s why Luther in his explanation encourages us not only to avoid perjury in court but to actively protect reputations in society. “We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.”

Last week we came to the truth that we deal with honors generously because that is how God in Christ deals with us…generously. The same principle holds true today. God looks at us generously. He knows you and me at our worst. He’s seen us when we did the things nobody knows about, not even our spouse or best friend. But as we heard last week He does not gossip about us. He doesn’t deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities…thankfully. Jesus generously stands at our side to defend us. He tells the accuser all sins have been paid for by his death on the cross in our place. He covers us with his perfect life so we can stand in God’s presence holy and perfect. We are completely forgiven. The Father knows all we’ve done and all we’ve failed to do. Yet, in grace, he adopts us as his own children. He calls us “precious in my eyes, and honored” (Is 43:4).

No matter how badly or how often we have failed in the past, no matter how loose our tongue has been and now matter how much unwarranted wagging it has done, our heavenly Father continues to have great plans for us in his kingdom. He continually thinks well of us. He continually has hopes for us. He never gives up on us even though there are times when we have given up on Him. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer 29:11).

So, what message did manage to get around? (read message). Here is the original message that started.

There can be little doubt that the tongue is a powerful tool for both good and evil. God desires us to not only use our tongue wisely, but to also think well toward those around us - love them, forgive them, as he would - and, as Luther emphasized, “defend [them], speak well of [them], and explain everything in the kindest way” because that is how God deals with us sinners…in the kindest way!

Amen.

10th Sunday after Pentecost (C)

August 1, 2010

Exodus 20:15


Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning as we continue the "10 for 10" sermon series is today’s First Lesson from Exodus 20: "you shall not steal."

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

"You shall not steal. " That seems quite straightforward. It’s fundamental to stability in any society; you don’t steal from others…they don’t steal from you. Sounds so simple, right? But Luther’s explanation once again draws out the deeper implications of the commandment: "We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, BUT help him to improve and protect his possessions and income"

How can we carry this out in a capitalistic society? How can we commit ourselves to helping a financial competitor "improve and protect his possessions and income"? A businessman’s goal would seem to be the elimination of the competition. Does this commandment mean that we can’t try to put our competitor out of business, even through fair competition? Is it wrong to try to be successful?

Mark Twain once told a story germane to the 7th Commandment. It went like this. Once a young boy passed by a watermelon cart and, seeing how good they looked, he quickly snatched one without paying when the cart owner wasn’t looking. He ran into a dark alley and flopped down to enjoy his new possession. After a bite or two, a funny sensation overtook him, a certain queasiness in his stomach. Staring at the melon for a few moments didn’t take it away. Knowing what he must do and getting back up, he trudged back to the watermelon cart…and switched his melon for a ripe one.

I told you that to tell you this. Greed and the conscience is at the heart of the 7th commandment. The great 13th century theologian Thomas Aquinas said, "If a man steals in order to provide food for his starving family, it is no sin." How could he say that? He must know the 10 Commandments, right? The issue here is not just stealing itself. The issue is taking advantage of another for one’s advancement. The issue is making someone else’s loss your gain. The issue is false dealing, oppressive dealing, greedy dealing. The issue is one’s soul and lack of one’s conscience.

Jesus warned, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" (Mk 8:36). St. Paul warned, "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs" (1 Tim 6:10). James warned, "Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. . . . Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you" (James 5:1, 4).

Last week I challenged you with some questions for the 6th Commandment. This week I challenge you with this: Have you taken advantage of others in their desperate need for your own advantage? When someone had to sell possessions because of need, did you buy them for an unfair price? Have you hired young people for a job and paid them a paltry wage because they were willing to do it? Have you withheld a decent tip from a waitress just because you thought she, or the diner, were lower class and less deserving?

If so, you have stolen. You have oppressed the weak. You have taken advantage of their weakness for your own good. You have been greedy. That is the issue in this commandment. God is a God who revels in generosity. In Jesus’ parables, God rejoices to be generous with his servants.

Example. God gives the worker who came in at the last hour the full wage (Mt 20:1–16). Example. He cancels the huge debt of his servant, because he pleaded for mercy (Mt 18:21–35). Example. He generously entrusts ten and five and one talents to his servants and then doubles them for his faithful ones on his return (Lk 19:11–27). Thank God he is generous. He does not reward us according to our iniquities and failings. He blesses us according to his unfailing generosity. You want examples of His generosity? He died, rose, and now reigns so that he can "graciously give [you] all things" (Rom 8:32) in time and - most important - for all eternity. God generously gives every good blessing to us: at the cross, at the tomb on Easter morning, and our very salvation. But here’s the kicker…that’s not the end.

Now he sends us out just like at the end of the Parable of the Good Samaritan saying, "Go, and do likewise" (Lk 10:37). Go…help and protect your neighbor. Go…be honest with your boss on your time sheet, on your expense account, with your use of company time, and on your phone calls. Go…be honest with your teachers and classmates; don’t cheat on tests and papers and homework. Don’t cut and paste Internet information and claim it as your own. Go…be honest with authors and composers; don’t duplicate their articles and their CDs and MP3 files without their approval and financial compensation. Go…be honest with your God - do not rob him of his first fruits giving. Go…be honest with the next generation - do not take their money and their natural resources. Go…be honest with your fellow citizens - pay your fair share of taxes. This commandment calls us to go and live a life of integrity and generosity with both God and neighbor because that is the example he set for us at the cross and at the grave for the forgiveness of our sins and salvation of our souls.

The 7th Commandment: "you shall not steal." There is no stronger encouragement to keep those words than what you will find in 1 Timothy chapter 6. Had it not been for 1 Timothy chapter 6, I probably would have never quit my job and gone into ministry. 1Timothy 6 always has a special place in my heart: "Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. . . . Be rich in good works, . . . be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure . . . as a good foundation for the future, . . . [and] take hold of that which is truly life" (1 Tim 6:6–7, 18–19).

What more can I add to that than simply…Amen.

9th Sunday after Pentecost (C)

July 25, 2010

Exodus 20:14


Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning as we continue the "10 for 10" sermon series is today’s First Lesson from Exodus 20 and this morning we examine the 6th Commandment, "you shall not commit adultery."

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

Ho boy. If you’re starting to sweat a bit, it may not be just the temperature or humidity in here. The 6th Commandment is a topic that is, uhm, difficult and uncomfortable to discuss. But should it be? A sexual relationship was given by God and intended for the procreation of children; "family" is one of God’s original creations and part of the crown jewel of His creation of humanity. Yet we sometimes wonder why talking about sexual sins makes us more uncomfortable and why they should be treated more seriously than other sins.

Technically, adultery is having sex with anyone other than your marriage partner; it’s breaking the physical terms of the marriage covenant allowing someone or something else to take the place of our spouse. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that adultery in a variety of forms and formats is rampant in our society. Our media, our "entertainment," displays for us all manners of sexual arrangements and relationships as being "okay" as long as they are loving each other or, if nothing else, loving the moment. Sexual temptation is constantly on the rise and is EVERYWHERE. Recently, my cans of Diet Dr. Pepper had images of a scantily dressed, curvaceous movie actress. Is this to promote how good Diet Dr. Pepper is? No. It is just another reminder of the constant bombardment of sexually suggestive images that we have to sift through in order to keep our relationships pure as a part of the 6th Commandment.

Keeping our relationships pure is not easy. If statistics hold true even in the church, then at least half of you have looked at pornography in the last 30 days. Want some sobering statistics? The pornography industry has larger revenues than Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo, Apple and Netflix combined. It also earns more yearly then the NBA, NFL, and MLB combined. Every second $3075 is spent on pornography. (5 second pause) There, our air source heat pumps could have been fully paid for in that time. Every second more than 28,000 Internet users are viewing pornography. Every 39 minutes, a new pornographic video is created in the US (http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics). I hate to sound like "chicken little", but this moral and physical decay will doom our society, as it has every sexually decadent society before us. Anthropologists, however, have pointed out one peculiarity of our society. Never before has a morally decadent society had cultural leaders who sought to treat decadence as normal and also recognize it as legal. This is new in world history. Wow. Lucky us; we have leaders who want to excuse everything so we can use everything.

In the past, despite rampant homosexuality, adultery, and promiscuousness, the Greek and Roman societies still considered them perversions. The laws against them were never removed from the books, no matter how much they were flaunted by the people. Why? They recognized that an order of creation was at stake. They recognized that the order of creation would be undermined, and society would collapse without a moral foundation. And they did. They did.

Obviously, what we are experiencing is not only a violation of the 6th Commandment, but out-and-out disrespect for a creation of God. In the beginning, God created them male and female (Gen 1:27), capable of having sex. Sex is a beautiful gift of God. It was not good for God’s creation - men and women - to be alone (Gen 2:18). God intends for us to be happy. He created us to rejoice before him. He created us to celebrate his love. That is why he took the burden of sin from us. He paid for it, and it is over. Now he wants you to enjoy life. He wants you to enjoy the body he gave you. He wants you to enjoy your sexuality. However, the current view of sex is more like "we exist for sex, so let’s do it so long as it feels good. A person should be free to have sex anytime, anywhere, and any way - as long as we feel good."

That is what our rebellious, sinful heart tells us. It’s not peculiar to our age or society. The Greeks and Romans felt it, as did the Israelites before them. David gave in when he took Uriah’s wife, the wife of one of his own soldiers, while that man was away at war. Sadly, there is nothing new under the sun. Temptation still abounds. Satan says, "It’s just a one-night stand. I want it. He or she wants it. Nobody’s going to get hurt."

But God will be hurt. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul reminds us: "The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord" (1 Cor 6:13). You will be hurt. "Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body" (1 Cor 6:18). The other person will be hurt as well. It’s the "hat trick" of sexual sin destruction.

As if that weren’t bad enough, the heart hardens. It goes from one rebellion to another, from one defiance of God’s commandment to another. David had Uriah killed. The prophet Nathan boldly confronted David with his sin. David loved his Lord and confessed his sin. He prayed, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love. . . . Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. . . . Restore to me the joy of your salvation" (Ps 51:1, 4, 10, 12).

Ultimately, that’s the hope for us as well. Sexual sin - no matter what it is and what form it takes - is not the unforgivable sin. Sexual problems do not make us unacceptable to God. They, too, are part of our fallen nature. The homosexual, the porno user and abuser, the immoral, and the unfaithful spouse are still children of God. Jesus was the friend of tax collectors and prostitutes and sinners. He died to redeem ALL.

There will be consequences to our sexual sins, as with all sin: in our body, in our heart, in our self-respect, in our wallets, in our relationships. As Paul noted with Roman society in his time, "God gave them up to dishonorable passions, . . . receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error" (Rom 1:26–27). Our penalty may be that a spouse may not be able to forgive or to trust again. Children or parents may not be able to trust or forgive. The marriage may end in divorce. Bank accounts get much lighter.

We may not be able to forgive ourselves, but there is everlasting love and forgiveness from God. If we turn it over to God, he will take it as he has time and time again - whatever our sin. When we repent as King David did and pray for a clean heart, we will receive it. Your Savior Jesus took that sin with him to the cross. We may suffer earthly consequences of our sin, but the eternal consequences were absorbed by our Lord. We are forgiven. Our Lord is there to help us, for he loves us with all his heart. When we repent and pray for a clean heart, our lord Jesus hears our prayer and responds.

This commandment is addressed not only to married people or to young people or to people with sexual problems. Luther in his explanation put it this way: "We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do." As a result, we need to ask ourselves some questions. Do I watch the pornography and near-pornography so prevalent on the television screen and at the movies? Do I laugh at and tell dirty jokes? Do I flirt at work? Do I dress or talk provocatively? Do I lead a "pure and decent life"? Do I respect sexuality and its power for good and for evil? Am I seeking a life for God, or a life filled with fleeting moments of pleasure?

The 6th Commandment: "You shall not commit adultery." Tough to talk about? You bet. But if we don’t, if we as the people of God continue to stay silent by our words and deeds, the decline of our families, the decline of this world, will only continue. And so my encouragement to you is this: turn it off, look away, and pray. Pray to the Lord, a friend of sinners, for strength, for forgiveness, for renewal, for restoration in his salvation joy, and for guidance through sexual temptation in your life, in our country and in our age.

Amen.

7th Sunday after Pentecost/Sanctity of Life Sunday

July 11, 2010

Exodus 20:13

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning on our celebration of Sanctity of Life Sunday is the First Lesson read earlier from Exodus 20 and today we focus on the 5th Commandment: "You shall not murder."

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

Maybe you think today’s sermon is going to be a no-brainer. "5th Commandment…no problem. I haven’t punched anyone today." Well, Luther’s explanation of the Fifth Commandment is "We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need." So, which part of this commandment is easier to carry out? The positive or the negative? That is, is it easier to avoid the negative aspect of hurting or harming or killing our neighbor, or is it easier to go out there and keep the positive aspect: to "help and support someone in every physical need"? Obviously, the positive side of the commandment is much more difficult, much more demanding, much harder to keep. We can avoid hitting and killing people if we try, but how do we truly help them?

Jesus himself laid that out in his discussion with the rich young man in Matthew 19. The man came to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" (v 16). Jesus replied, "Keep the commandments. . . . You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (vv 17–19). The man replied, "All these I have kept" (v 20).

Really? How could he say this? He did so because he really thought that. He truly believed he had observed the Commandments fully. But, the man wasn’t looking at "both sides" of the Commandments. He thought he could make himself acceptable to God by his wonderful life. Yet, deep inside, he still knew something was wrong. That’s why he came to Jesus in the first place. He questioned that he could inherit eternal life this way.

Jesus pushed him to recognize the impossibility of the game he was playing, the game the Pharisees had the whole nation playing. Jesus said, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me" (v 21). Jesus in essence took the content of the Fifth Commandment and pointed out that it means more than not killing or hurting. It means going out and helping. It means sacrificing for the sake of others’ welfare. It means thinking of others’ needs, not just your own. It means "count[ing] others more significant than yourselves" (Phil 2:3). It means "look[ing] not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others" (Phil 2:4).

That’s hard. That’s demanding. That’s impossible. That’s the point.

It is impossible. The Commandments are not a game; a game that God gives us to play against impossible odds. He knows we cannot carry out his perfect will. And that’s why Jesus came and fulfilled all the Law’s demands in our place.

We admit every Sunday at the start of worship that we have sinned "by what we have done and by what we have left undone" (LSB, p. 151). In fact, 99 percent of our sins are sins of omission, not sins of commission. It’s not necessarily the obvious evil things we intentionally do. It’s the thousands of good things we fail to do. We focus so sharply on ourselves and our own life and its situation that we don’t see the opportunities to help and befriend and sacrifice for people every day in our own home and workplace and classroom and board room and break room.

In church we publically confess, "We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves." We have loved ourselves first and foremost and unfailingly. When push comes to shove we haven’t even come close to carrying out this commandment: "Sell what you possess and give to the poor." And that’s why we honestly confess, "We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment, God."

That’s also why we boldly and devoutly cling to Christ: "For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us." Because Christ fulfills the law for us, we can love our neighbor with his perfect love even if we fail to practice sacrificial giving for the behalf of others.

In spite of all our sin and rebellion and weakness, we are still forgiven and accepted. We are welcomed into God’s presence. And then he sends us out to spread his kingdom of love. He sends us to be his feet and arms of mercy in a hurting world. He teaches us to pray, "Our Father, . . . give us this day our daily bread." We pray not just for our own needs – daily bread - but for the needs of all God’s children, of all our brothers and sisters around the world, especially the poor.

There may not be tons of suffering in Braham, but there’s more than you think both here and around the world. If we shrink the earth’s population to a single village of 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, it sure wouldn’t look like Braham, MN! Of the 100, there would be 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 Americans, and 8 Africans. 50% of the entire village’s wealth would be in the hands of only 6 people, and all 6 would be citizens of the United States. 70 would be unable to read, 50 would suffer from malnutrition, and 80 would live in substandard housing. Only 1 would have a college education. Assuming 50 of those 100 villagers were women and all 50 conceived, 11 would end in an abortion (22%).

The 5th Commandment literally says "Do not murder." True, but this is a Commandment that calls upon us to recognize the value of life and other people’s needs and then respond accordingly. In America we have our own issues when it comes to the 5th Commandment, namely abortion and euthanasia. In our country, 4 out of every 10 unintentional pregnancies ends in an abortion. Worse still, of all abortions performed in 2009, 65% of the women identified themselves as Christian - either protestant or Catholic (guttmacher.org). Time doesn’t allow addressing these in all their social, political, and religious implications, but this falls into the sanctity of human life issue brought forth by the 5th Commandment. I will say this, though. Life offers us no guarantees, true, but abortion offers no choices. Life is a gift from God only to be ended by Him in His time. Enough said.

The Fifth Commandment: You shall not Murder. What does this mean? "We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need." Who is my neighbor? Jesus says everyone in your neighbor. How can I "help and support him in every physical need"? Follow the example of Jesus. Am I willing to sacrifice some of my comforts so that others can have basic necessities? Jesus did. As the people of God we are called to honor and preserve the sanctity of life, for our Creator and Sustainer gave His life at the cross for your life and then rose again triumphantly over the grave so that you might have life…that you might have all things for all eternity.

Amen.

6th Sunday after Pentecost (C)

July 4, 2010

Exodus 20:8

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning as we continue the "10 For 10" sermon series is our lesson from Exodus 20:8 or what we know as the 4th Commandment: "Honor your Father and your Mother."

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

In April 1775 tensions in the American Colonies were very high. Many of the original 13 colonies had begun to raise armies in order to defend themselves against the possibility of war with Great Britain. 2 years earlier, in 1773, in response to the Boston Tea Party Great Britain had totally closed down the Boston Harbor, crippling the Boston area economy. British troops were being sent to Boston in massive amounts. In order to house these troops, Bostonians were forced to let these troops live in their homes and eat their food.

At that time, the British army was the best trained military force on Earth. They had superior weapons, superior leaders, superior methods and training (so they thought). By way of a military response, the colonists had formed a group of soldiers known as "minutemen." These minutemen were made up of farmers, shop owners, and peasants, who could be called upon to respond with just a minute’s notice.

And respond they did. Minutemen were called to stand up against the well-organized, well-funded British troops. On April 19, 1775, the two forces faced each other at Lexington Green. Someone fired a shot. No one knows who fired it, or even which side they were on. This shot became known as "the shot heard around the world." It touched off the conflict that we know as the American Revolution and our eventual independence from Britain, an independence that we as Americans celebrate this weekend, specifically today. American independence did not come without a cost; America always has been and will be the land of the free because of the brave. Men and women have paid the ultimate price – their very lives – to keep America free.

C’mon, though! It’s the 4th of July! Why don’t we talk about hot dogs and fireworks instead? Why is this 4th Commandment so serious? We don’t mandate honor and respect in our society. It is a personal matter, not one for state involvement. It’s nice if people honor their parents, but do we shoot them if they don’t? The 4th Commandment bridges the two Tables of the Law. The First Table, Commandments 1-3, deals with our vertical relationship with God. The Second Table, Commandments 4-10, deals with humanity and their horizontal relationships. The first Commandments call us to respect and honor the authority of God; the other Commandments call us to respect and honor the authority of others—their property, their life, their reputation and so on.

The 4th Commandment is about more than your mom and dad; it deals with honoring and obeying and respecting authority. As Martin Luther writes in his explanation, "We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them." These words cover God’s representatives on earth who carry out His will: in the home, in government, at work, in schools, and in the courts. These positions are to be honored as "God’s servant[s]," as Paul described them in Romans 13:4. These authority structures prevent anarchy. These authoritative structures exist for a reason. They are to be respected and honored or all hell…literally…will break loose.

But what if they are oppressive? What if they are abusive? What if they are lazy and immoral and evil? Are they still to be respected and honored? There were many people – Christians – who initially opposed the Revolutionary War because of the 4th Commandment and the need to respect authority. There were German Christians in the 20th Century who were not sure whether to support Adolph Hitler or not. Why? 4th Commandment. So how do we know which way to go? To honor or to reject?

Okay…the answer is we honor the position even if we do not respect the person who holds the position. Sometimes Satan confiscates the office through the constant misuse and abuse by the sinful person serving in the office. Then, for the sake of the office and in obedience to God, we must oppose the one who perverts and misuses the divinely ordained authority. However, we still honor the office.

If a boss asks a salesperson to give false or partial information when making a sales pitch, should she do it? If the government drafts a young person for a war he considers unjust, should he obey? If a parent is abusive, must he or she still be kept in your life?

People may have positions we honor, but we respect them only if they are faithful to their responsibilities. Nobody has a right to hurt anyone else, especially if he or she is in a position of authority and power. For the sake of God and His order, that person must be rejected and opposed and disobeyed. As St. Peter told the Sanhedrin, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge" (Acts 4:19) and also in Acts 5:29, "we must obey God rather than men!" (NIV).

Just north of Hinckley is Banning State Park, the site of a once-prosperous logging site and rock quarry employing hundreds of men. After the Hinckley fire and a change in building techniques from stone to steel, all that remains of this once great site is a forest filled with walking trails amid the tons of broken rock. The great Roman Empire did not stand. Great Britain’s time of dominance came to an end. Hitler’s Third Reich crashed and burned. All human authority institutions rise and fall in their power. But that’s the great joy of naming God as our parent, our authority. Jesus called God "Father." So do we. We pray to our heavenly Father. He, in His divine office as heavenly Father, has all kingdom and power and glory and honor. But he also has all respect. He is the loving, obedient Father who loves and restores His disobedient children.

He loved you enough to send His Son to pay the ultimate sacrifice for you – to die to pay for your sins. Since Jesus died and rose again, God the Father says, "Your sins are forgiven." He rejects you not, but invites you to His Table, where His Son is your host—a host who gives His body and blood to fill and restore and renew you. We honor Him, for He is God. But even more, we respect and love and embrace Him for time and eternity. When we honor, love, and respect our parents and those in authority over us, we honor God, our perfect parent, our only true and everlasting authority.

Do you want to be respected and honored into your old age? Love God. Treat everyone now as you wish to be treated later. Who are we to wield authority if we don’t first learn how to obey authority? We learn from our heavenly Father to respect and love and give and serve so we can show it to others. That makes us blessed and loved and respected in the land; this land we call America and the "land" that is our heavenly home.

The 4th Commandment – "Honor your father and mother that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land." Not always the easiest to define in practice, but easier to carry out as we love and serve our ultimate authority.

Happy 4th of July everyone.

Amen.

5th Sunday after Pentecost (C)

June 27, 2010

Exodus 20:8

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning as we continue our "10 For 10" sermon series is the First Lesson read earlier from Exodus 20, specifically verse 8.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

The 3rd Commandment reads: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Ex 20:8). Martin Luther suggested that a way to keep this Lord’s Day holy was to worship. He explained "we should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it." Congratulations! You’re keeping the 3rd Commandment! Or…are you? We’ll come back to that.

Luther’s explanation focused on the worship aspect of the Sabbath Day. Originally, however, the commandment was practiced as a prohibition from work to control those who were in power. The more work they could get from their employees, servants, and slaves, and even their wives, the wealthier they became. The 3rd Commandment mandated a day of rest for the master and all his family—including servants, foreign visitors, and even animals.

Unfortunately, by Jesus’ day, this law of mercy and love had been twisted into something else…a law of oppression. Though once it was a beautiful blessing, in its practice Satan had turned it into a curse. Instead of demonstrating a merciful and loving God who desires that his people have rest, the Sabbath restrictions, in a sense, became demanding and cruel gods of their own.

How did they manage that? In defining "rest," the scribes noted 39 categories of work that must be avoided on the Sabbath. One was "the carrying of any burden." Well, what about lifting a child on the Sabbath? Isn’t that carrying a burden, yet you have to pick up your infants every day including the Sabbath. What then? Debate finally concluded that this was permissible as long as the child was not grasping a stone. I’m not making this up! But what constituted a stone? Or, what if someone fell into a hole on the Sabbath? Were you allowed to pull them out? And so it went on and on and on.

The Sabbath became perverted because of man’s attempt for self-righteousness; something man must do – observe the Sabbath - to make him right with God. The Pharisees taught that strict observance of Sabbath rest was obedience to God. Only if you observed the Sabbath perfectly would you then be acceptable to God. They said, "If all Israel would observe one Sabbath rest perfectly, the Messiah would come." What that means, big picture, is that God’s love and salvation and grace became dependent on man’s efforts and potential goodness, instead of on God’s efforts and God’s goodness.

In the New Testament, this corrupt teaching about the Sabbath is opposed by Jesus in Matthew 12 and others as well, especially by James and Paul. In Ephesians 2, St. Paul asserts that "by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Eph 2:8–9). Our Lord Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mk 2:27). In other words, the Sabbath rest was given to us as a gift, not something we make and offer back as a gift to God. Jesus would have none of that legalism. He boldly healed on the Sabbath (Luke 6; John 9). He allowed his disciples to pick and eat heads of wheat as they walked through a field on the Sabbath (Mark 2), and then he defended their actions before the Pharisees, who taught that virtually any work on the Sabbath was a major no-no, an affront to God Himself.

The Sabbath was not intended by God to help people become perfect. Perfectly keeping the Sabbath is impossible for us. But that’s okay. Why? Because God works for us. Jesus worked for us. We are saved by his work of salvation. He suffered hell in our place. He paid for our sins, so we are free. Perfection is his gift to us. As a result of Christ’s perfection, we stand before God on the Sabbath – and every day - holy and righteous and free in God’s sight because of Jesus.

By the second century, Christians were gradually giving up observing the Sabbath, which was on the sixth day, Saturday, according to Jewish rules. They changed it from a day of drudgery and fear and obligation into a day of celebration, worship, and fellowship—just as God had intended—and moved it to Sunday. By the fourth century, after Christianity had become the religion of the Roman Empire, this day of rest was officially moved to Sunday, the day of Jesus’ resurrection; the first day of the week. The Sabbath day celebration was devoted to collections for the needy and receiving tithes and offerings for the Lord. It was a day to concentrate on the Lord’s work, a day to serve him and others in his vineyard.

Okay then…how do we observe the Sabbath, Sunday, today? Are we truly keeping the 3rd Commandment just by being here? I’ll answer your question with a question. Are you happy and joyous to be here, or has a sense of obligation, duty, requirement, forced you to be here today? Luther one said that the Reformation is about the heart, and that also applies to the Sabbath. Your butt may be in the pew, but where is your heart? In keeping the 3rd Commandment, he desires that your heart be right here, right now, with him and not on a far away project or golf course or lake or job site.

On Sundays we gather with others to grow together around the Word and Sacraments. We devote the day to reflection, repentance, fellowship, and renewal. We jump off the merry-go-round, out of the rat race, and let God confront us about where we are going and what we are doing in our individual lives. We celebrate family, both biological and spiritual. The Sabbath was intended to restore those bonds of love with one another that we need in order to cope with the ups and downs of life.

The other six days we use to keep life and limb together. We work to feed our families and keep a roof over our heads. This day we concentrate on the deep and enduring parts of life, the things that last eternally. This is the day we develop our relationships and our character. This is the day we restore our spirit and feed our faith and strengthen our soul. Because Christ completed his perfect work of salvation for us, we can and should truly honor him and the day set apart for him.

The 3rd Commandment: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" (Ex 20:8). Holy means "sacred, special, set apart." It is the Lord’s Day, the day he intended to hold us close in his unfailing love. God looks forward to this all week long. (light laugh)

Do you?

Amen.

4th Sunday after Pentecost (C)

June 20, 2010

Exodus 20:7

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning is Exodus 20:7 – “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus, 

   Martin Luther’s explanation of the 2nd Commandment is that “We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.” The ESV translation of the 2nd Commandment reads, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” (Ex 20:7). The term “in vain” implies either absolute or relative absence of value; to empty of significance, to disrespect. So really, when push comes to shove, the issue of the 2nd Commandment is reverence. In your life, is God’s name holy and reverent or is it a throw-away word in your vocabulary? A way to show shock and surprise or disgust? 

   In America, by and large we are an irreverent society. We like to knock institutions and people off their pedestal. We are happy to hear about and watch the failures and eventual implosion of the rich and famous. We have an obsessive need to burst everybody’s bubble, to watch the mighty fall, to reduce everyone to our level of ordinariness. Is that also why we are so irreverent with God’s name? We don’t want even Him considered special?

   Names mean a lot. Just think of the “baggage” and meaning that goes with certain names: Osama, Oprah, OJ, Elvis, J.J. Okay, that last one doesn’t make sense to you, but to me it does. When I was in junior high school back in Nebraska, there was a kid a grade older than me that sort of “bullied” me. His name? J.J. Finnegan. He made my life in junior high, which was already miserable enough, something beyond miserable. Now, when I hear that name, that’s all I think of! That stupid greasy hair and crummy 10-speed bike, and ridiculous smirk on his face when he’d see me coming. A name, and the use of that name, means something.

   The name of Jesus is the same, yet different. That name is important in my personal faith. That is the name of the Son of God who became flesh and blood like me - who loved me enough to die on the cross in my place. That is the name through which I am saved and have forgiveness of sins, new life, the assurance of eternity in heaven, and reconciliation with God. Peter says, “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

   That is the name God exalted and revered over every name. Paul says, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:9–11). Yet people use His name so casually – so flippantly – “oh my God!” It is a common part of the American vernacular. As a result we may not literally bow our knee at the name of Jesus, but do we still bow spiritually? Do we humble ourselves and honor that name before the world?

   Just because I’m a pastor doesn’t mean I’ve never heard profanity. Growing up and as an adult in the workplace, I heard four-letter words everywhere. But today those 4 letter words don’t bother me as much as misuse of God’s name. 4 letter words are just that…4 letter words. God’s name is different…or at least it should be. The reality is that the 2nd Commandment confronts us with a personal question: how deeply and personally do we revere our Savior? What does your use of His name “say” about your faith? There is an older liturgical custom that each time the name of Jesus is mentioned in worship - in a Gospel reading, hymn, or prayer - all worshipers should slightly bow their heads. I don’t personally follow that practice, though I do bow my head whenever the name of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is mentioned.

   Some take things a bit further when it comes to reverence. A pious Jew never says Yahweh, the name God told to Moses at the burning bush, meaning “I AM who I AM” (Ex 3:14). When those letters appear in Hebrew text, a Jewish worshiper will even avoid saying the sounds, lest they somehow break the this Commandment. Instead, they will switch to Adonai, another name for God in the Old Testament. They will never say Yahweh, the real name of God. A pious Jew would not even want to risk a hint of being sacrilegious and irreverent.

   Interesting. Do you feel that way about the name of Jesus? Do you count it a privilege that you know this name and all it means for our life and salvation? Or is His name just another “J.J. Finnegan” – a name that brings forth some old, dust-covered emotions and that’s about it? Consider how your life would be different if you did not know this name? Does your use of His name reflect that relationship you have?

   Hold high the name for it is the name above all names! God’s name is not some throw-away word in our ever disposable society. When you hear the name Jesus, do you think of Him on the cross, going through hell in your place? Do you honor His name by being active in prayer, or are you just waiting for 11 AM? Do you think of Him rising on Easter morning and going to prepare a place for you at His side for all eternity? Do you honor His name by rejoicing?

   Each time you come to worship, do you relish the opportunity to join with fellow disciples to fall at Jesus’ feet and hear His words of hope and direction, or are you here because “you have ‘ta be?” Do you honor His name by listening and actively engaging in worship? Do you look forward to every opportunity to come to His Table and receive His body and blood through the bread and wine, to fill yourself with His love and forgiveness, or is it just something to make church longer?

   The next time you hear Jesus’ name misused, I pray that God’s Spirit will embolden you to say, “You know, that’s the name of my best friend and Savior.” When we honor God’s name, we honor God Himself, a loving, grace-filled God who died to save us from our sin.

   The 2nd Commandment. “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God” or “you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” It is my prayer that when His name falls forth from your lips it will do so in prayer, and praise, and in worship and not as some curse or throw-away word.

    And oh yeah…Happy Father’s Day. Perhaps the best present you can give God the Father this year is true honor, reverent honor, eternal honor, of His holy name. 

   Amen. 

3rd Sunday after Pentecost (C)

June 13, 2010

Exodus 20:4

 
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning is Exodus 20:4: "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below."

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

Today’s 1st Lesson is the same as last week. Wait a second! Didn’t Pastor preach on the 1st Commandment last week? Yes…yes I did. What I really want to focus on this morning is the 2nd half of the 1st Commandment – "you shall not make for yourself an idol." Maybe you know this from the older King James translation: "Thou shalt not make…any graven image." So what’s the deal? Is this "graven image" thing part of the 1st Commandment or is it a new 2nd Commandment, or what? Actually, this has been a matter of dispute over the centuries. Martin Luther accepted the Roman Catholic numbering of his day and included this prohibition of carved idols with the First Commandment along with the previous verse: "You shall have no other gods before me" (v 3); the topic of last week’s sermon. The earliest Hebrew traditions also had that numbering. However, later Jewish traditions made the graven image prohibition the 2nd Commandment and then combined what we know as the 9th and 10th Commandments as one commandment against coveting to maintain the total of ten.

During the first millennium, Christians also used this alternate numbering. At the time of the Reformation, non-Lutheran Protestants adopted this numbering and they still do today. "You shall not make any idols" is their 2nd commandment and what we know as the 9th and 10th commandment are rolled into the 10th Commandment concerning coveting. So today, a Protestant pro-life speaker will note that abortion is against the Sixth Commandment. Lutherans and Roman Catholics in the crowd scratch their heads trying to figure out what adultery has to do with abortion. No longer will you scratch your heads with them! You will recall from what I just said that some Protestants number the Commandments differently, and their number 6 is our number 5: "You shall not murder" (v 13).

Regardless, this graven image commandment, whatever its number, is why sometimes you will not see banners, symbols, or even crosses in many modern Protestant churches. The walls will be bare - because they believe there should be no idol, no "graven image," in their worship space. This is also true of Jewish synagogues and Muslim mosques, where only phrases and verses from the Torah or the Koran adorn the walls and you will find no "graven images" or "idols."

Martin Luther was against this different numbering system movement in the Reformation. In fact, he risked his life to preach against it. When Prince Frederick hid him in the castle at Wartburg because he was banned by the emperor, Luther heard that the reformers left in Wittenberg were preaching against graven images. They advocated removing and destroying all statues of saints and all crucifixes in their churches because they were objects of superstition and would cause people to trust in the image instead of in God. That means for us that all our stained glass windows and our crosses, my stole, the banners, all of it would all have to go; their space would be free from any potential idols.

Luther’s reaction was, and rightly so, immediate and fierce. Despite the declaration that allowed anyone to kill Luther as an outlaw, he bolted from the Wartburg Castle and stormed to the pulpit in Wittenberg. He said the Reformation was not about changing church architecture. He said, "There is only one idol that must be broken. That is the idol in the human heart. Once that idol is broken, the statues will be seen for what they are—remembrances of inspiring saints from the past. If we destroy those statues, we’ll never get to the real point of the Reformation…a change of heart" (paraphrase).

What’s the real problem here? Braham has no idols in our city square, right? And that, my friends, raises the real issue involved with graven images. This prohibition is a part of the 1st Commandment, "you shall have no other gods." These two bans are linked; they are on and the same. It is a question of whom/what do you fear, love, and trust above all? And, if you recall, the Israelites had disobeyed God, and done just that! In addition to worshipping false gods (Baal), They also made an idol…a golden calf. In retaliation, God sent a plague of poisonous snakes to chastise them. God told Moses to make a bronze serpent – something they could see Moses doing - and erect it in the center of the camp. (That, by the way, is the origin of the snake as a medical symbol. Bet you didn’t know that!) If the people looked at the serpent, they would be healed. God used the serpent to remind people to look to God’s power for healing, not some man-made object. Jesus referred to this incident in John 3 and He pointed out that just as this serpent was lifted so people could live, so also the Son of Man would be lifted up (the cross) so that all my live by believing in Him.

Again, so where’s the problem? No idols around here today, right? Wrong. Psalm 19 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork" (v 1). Nature itself – our gardens and our flowers, sunrises and sunsets, the crops growing around us – they are all reminders of God’s great creative power and loving goodness. But people today, especially in the New Age religions, turn nature into a replacement for God. We know that nature is God’s handiwork, but our schools teach that nature is a fluke of evolution; the result of the primordial ooze shaped by random chance and survival of the fittest. And yet so many people stand in awe before the handiwork and feel inspired instead of giving glory to the Maker. Nature becomes a graven image, an idol, a replacement for God, instead of a glorious reminder of God’s beauty and goodness.

Having an idol is having something that you fear, love, and trust in place of God. In America we also idolize so much stuff. What’s yours? This can be true for our unhealthy devotion to our spouse, our country, our job, a horse or pet, a cause or recreational activity. I know what you’re saying. "Practice what you preach. We’ve seen the Man Room at the parsonage." Yes, I like Nebraska football, but not in place of my devotion to God. It is NOT an idol for me. We can and should devote ourselves to good and positive things, but never at the cost of our devotion to God.

God says, "You shall not make for yourself a carved image." Why? Because an idol cannot do for you what God has, can, and will do for you. No idol created you with a vision and purpose for your life. No idol took the punishment of your sins upon Himself. No idol can do these things. Only God himself is the Creator in addition to a perfect sacrifice for sin.

No idol has ever risen from the dead and ascended to heaven to prepare a place for you for all eternity. No idol has promised to return and take you to be with him. No idol could fill you with his Spirit to inspire and direct your everyday life - to fill your days with "the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control" (Gal 5:22–23). No man-made substitute can be our god like the God who created us, loves us, and saved us from our sins. Idols are things and nothing more. They are not what we "fear, love, and trust above all things."

The 1st Commandment: "you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol." Thus says the Word of the Lord, to which we respond "thanks be to God."

Amen. 

 

2nd Sunday after Pentecost (C)

June 6, 2010

Exodus 20:3
 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning as we begin this year’s Summer Sermon Series "10 For 10" is Exodus 20:3 or what we know as the 1st Commandment: "You Shall Have No Other Gods."

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

Our summer sermon series this year for 2010, "10 For 10," focuses on the Ten Commandments. Before we start on the Commandments themselves, however, we should reflect on why they were given in the first place. We have to go way back to the Book of Exodus. The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for 430 years. Finally, through a burning bush, God called Moses to lead Israel from their slavery bondage to the Promised Land.

After nine plagues and then the death of the oldest male child in each Egyptian household, Pharaoh permitted the Israelites to leave. After a little "issue" at the Red Sea, Moses then safely led the people to Mount Sinai, and there God gave him the two tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments were engraved. In this way, God made a covenant with Israel. He said, "I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God" (Ex 6:7). God promised He would care for His people, giving them life guidelines so they could be His special people apart from all others. The Ten Commandments became part of the laws that indicated how God expected His people to live.

God said to Israel, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (v 2). Today, He says to you and to me: "I am the Lord your God, who loved you so much that I sent my one and only Son Jesus. I am the Lord your God, who loves you so much that I went to the cross to pay the price for your sins. I love you so much I make you mine at your Baptism, I fill you with spiritual gifts, I come to you often in Word and Sacrament, and I keep you in the faith unto life everlasting." That’s just the kind of God He is.

So then…what is YOUR response to this kind of commitment from God? Do you fear, love, and trust Him above all things? Do you hear and obey the First Commandment, "Have no other gods before me"? In India, different deities fulfill different purposes. If you wish to succeed in business, you become a devotee of the god Ganesh. Criminals worship the black goddess of death, Kali, and warriors worship the fierce god of combat, Skanda. We may not be that obvious in worship of false gods, yet breaking the 1st Commandment is something we don’t have to work too hard at. It kinda comes naturally.

This is not a new phenomenon. Early in their existence as God’s people, the Israelites were tempted to worship the Baal gods - fertility gods and goddesses. The Israelites were nomadic by nature. They had to learn to farm. From whom? From the Canaanites, of course, who were already farming the land. However, how did the Canaanites farm? In the spring, before the planting, they went to the nearest Ashera pole and joined with the temple prostitutes there. That would "excite" the Baal gods and goddesses, who then activated the fertility of the soil. Almost from the beginning, the Israelites broke the first and fundamental Commandment to not have other gods. Sadly, this is a trend that hasn’t gone away over time, but has simply assumed other forms in modern society.

God says in the 1st Commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me" because He wants us to be devoted to Him. That being the case, do we worship with intensity and purpose to stay close with Him, or do we worship only when it’s convenient? How many people will forego regular worship this summer because the summer is so short and they’re not willing to give even 1 hour a week in worship to draw near to God? That may not be worship of Baal, but as a motivation it certainly becomes self-serving rather than God-serving.

We are called in Romans 12 "to present (our) bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (v 1- 2). The point is this. God calls us to make Him our model so that He can transform us to be close to Him. That only happens when He is our One and only God. We already know we cannot serve 2 masters. Our God calls us to serve Him and Him alone.

Our Triune God calls us to worship, to prayer, to sacrificial giving, and to the study of Scripture so that His Spirit can fill our lives. Worship makes us different from the world around us. Worship is commitment and it’s hard work. It is constant warfare against the world, the devil, and our sinful flesh. It is a battle of God’s Spirit within us to conquer our old ways and thoughts – to transform us - and to fill us with His ways and thoughts.

But then comes the real question for us worshipers. Do we really want to be close to God? Is that why we come to His house? Or are we here basically to use Him for our purposes? Do we pray that we will be changed? Or do we pray that God will change everyone and everything around us to give us what we think we need? I can’t change any of the people or situations that aggravate me any more than I can change which way the wind blows. I don’t expect God to be a divine vending machine. But I can let God change me. I can strive to know His will for my life and have it shape my every day thoughts and activities. You can too.

Some surveys boast that 95 percent of our society believes in God. But does this truly mean they "fear, love, and trust in God above all things" (Luther’s Small Catechism)? Not likely. Rather, I think it means that 95 percent of the people believe that God exists. It does not mean that they have no other gods before Him. It doesn’t mean 95% of people worship. Case in point, if that were true, then 95% of our membership would be here each Sunday. That would be 308 people here each week; in 2009, our average worship per week was a not-even-close 120 people.

Still, because He loves us, God calls us His own that we might love, honor, fear, trust and serve Him in response. We are His people, not because we are better than the world around us, but because He chose us and called us and made us His own through His loving gifts: the Cross, His Word, Our Baptisms.

Why? Not because of us. Not because of you and me, but because of Him and who He is. God is love. Thank God that He is. He didn’t leave His people, the Israelites, when they chased after other gods in Canaan. He doesn’t leave us when we chase after the gods of contemporary America even when we forget about Him this summer. He remembers and serves and protects and blesses and upholds us each day. God does not forget His children. He rejoices to forgive and restore and renew doing so through the pain and shame of the cross. That is His nature; that’s who our God is.

The 1st Commandment: You shall have no other gods before me. Will you fear, love, and trust in God above all, and so be conformed to His image? Will you be different from the world around you?

Have no other gods before Him, for He has no other joy, no other love, before you.

Amen.

Trinity Sunday (C)

May 30, 2010

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning on Trinity Sunday is the text of the First Lesson read from Proverbs chapter 8. 

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

   I can already hear what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “What in the wide, wide world of sports is a going on here? Last week the color in church was red, but now it’s white. Why? And why are we having Communion AGAIN? And why are we using this really long Creed throughout the service? And why are you talking about Wisdom today? Shouldn’t you be talking about the Trinity? And why are you doing some ‘10 For 10’ sermon series this summer? Has the humidity melted the rationale part of your brain, Pastor?” First of all, that’s a really long thought that you strung together. Secondly, I will try and provide answers for all your “why” questions this morning, okay? Okay…let’s get started.

   I’ll start with why is the color white today and why are we having Holy Communion again. White is a color of perfection and purity. It is often used to celebrate high, holy days in church on which we focus on God and His work. The color for Christmas is white. The color for Epiphany is white. The color of Ascension Day is white. The color for All Saints’ Day and Thanksgiving is white. The color of Easter is…you guessed it…white. White is a natural choice for today’s celebration of Holy Trinity Sunday. Today we focus on our perfect and pure Triune God and what He does for us, hence the color is white. Next week, we switch to green, and right about now the SST Altar Guild wants to nail my hide to their storage closet door. Be that as it may, today is very special so we celebrate Holy Communion today to receive Him who comes to us perfectly in His body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine.

   Next - why do we say the Athanasian Creed today? Again, because it’s Trinity Sunday it’s vital for us to focus on the teaching of the Triune God. Because of its great length, I have broken up the recitation of the Creed so that we don’t stand so long. Just because it’s very long doesn’t mean it’s no good. Martin Luther called the Athanasian Creed “the most grand production of the church since the time of the apostles.”

   Why do we have this long creed in the first place? In the 4th century after Christ, a controversy broke out in the Christian churches. Focusing on Proverbs chapter 8, our lesson for today, the followers of the priest Arius argued that the Son of God was a created being and not eternal God. They argued that there was a time when the Son of God did not exist. Much of their argument rested on a faulty Greek translation of Proverbs 8:22: "The lord created Me," instead of “The lord possessed Me.” To refute the Arian controversy, the Athanasian Creed was written and adopted by the Christian Church in which the Creed taught aright all three eternal, not made persons of the Triune God.

   In our day, the Jehovah's Witnesses have taken up this ancient heresy and they contend that Jesus, the Son of God, is not true God. To support their false doctrine, they mistranslate Scripture, like Proverbs 8:22 and John 1:1. For John 1:1, their New World Translation says, “The Word was a god,” instead of, 'The Word was God." Big difference! Their false translation makes Jesus a second tier god alongside the heavenly Father. Clearly, this teaching does not fit with Holy Scripture, which teaches that there is only one God!

   “Okay then,” you may think, “if the Triune God is so important today, then why are you talking about Wisdom from Proverbs 8?” First of all, you ask a lot of questions. Secondly, when we talk about wisdom, we ARE talking about the Triune God, specifically Jesus Christ.

   According to Proverbs, Wisdom was present already in eternity, before the creation of the world and, consequently, before there even was such a thing as time. Along the same lines, Jesus said, "And now, Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed" (John 17:5). I don’t know what the Jehovah’s Witnesses do with that verse!

   John also declares, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2). Wisdom was also present with God in the beginning (Pr 8:22). At the time of creation, Wisdom said, "I was beside [God], like a master workman" (8:30).   

   Passages elsewhere in the New Testament attribute this pre-existence to Christ, like Colossians 1:15-17: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (NIV).”

   Firstborn in this passage is used in a specific sense. It does not mean the first child born into a family. Rather, it refers to the inheritance rights of the one who held the honors of a firstborn son. When Paul calls Jesus "the firstborn of all creation," he means that Jesus rules all creation, not that He was created, because "all things were created through Him and for Him."

   Faithful Christians in the Early Church, led by the great Church Father Athanasius, carefully studied Proverbs 8 and other passages of Holy Scripture. They recognized that while the Son of God is begotten, He is also co-eternal with God the Father. Out of this study of God's Word came the Nicene Creed, by which Christians still confess faith in Jesus Christ: "the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all world, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.” Later, though, as I stated earlier, further controversy would eventually warrant the writing and adoption of the Athanasian Creed.

   When we come face-to-face with the eternally begotten Son and other mysteries concerning the Triune God, don’t be shocked if you’re confused. We are in realms beyond human comprehension. We can no more capture and define our eternal, omnipotent 3-in-1 Triune God within our minds than we can hold all of Rush Lake in a 5 gallon bucket.

   But here’s what we do know. The true wonder of it all is that the almighty Creator has come to us to save us. Jesus is God; He is Immanuel. He is true God and true Man, a Savior who has suffered, died, and risen for us for the forgiveness of our sins. Without this loving sacrifice at Calvary, our God would be an unfamiliar god of wrath and anger and punishment. But that’s not who we confess Him to be. He is a God whom is Almighty, Loving, Eternal, and will return for final judgment of His created world; an event we need not fear, but is something we want to happen!

   That being the case, one final question. Why then “10 For 10?” Because He is our Triune God, and we are His people, and we are called to live by His Law which is His 10 Commandments. Maybe it’s been awhile since you’ve ruminated on or thought about the 10 Commandments and what that means for your life. This summer, that’s about to change.

   Next Sunday the color here in the chancel area changes to green and we begin the season of Pentecost. This is a time to focus not only on our Triune God, but what His Word teaches us about daily living – hence the color green for “growth.” My prayer for you this summer is that you will come to a deeper understanding of your loving and saving God and what His Word – His Wisdom - teaches you not only for the summer, but for all eternity.

   No more questions! Have a blessed Memorial Day weekend.

   Amen.

The Day of Pentecost (C)

May 23, 2010

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The basis for the sermon this morning on our celebration of Pentecost is text of the hymn “To God the Holy Spirit Let Us Pray”  which is #768 in our hymnal and partially written by Martin Luther.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

   In the 2000 film “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” little Cindy Lou Who tells the Grinch he has been chosen to be the “Christmas Holiday Cheermister.” To which, the Grinch replies, “Ah…Holiday Whovee Whatee?” The title of today’s sermon is “Holiday Whovee Holy Who?” It is called this because I think most people have the same reaction regarding the 3rd person of the Triune God – the Holy Spirit. Most Christians have a good handle on God the Father. God the Son…yeah, we get that, too. But when it comes to the Holy Spirit, the One whom was given at Pentecost, most Christians start to get a little confused. Well, today I, along with my graduating pal Allyssa, am going to try and sort some of this out for you. Today, as we observe the Day of Pentecost, I’m going to preach the sermon using the text of the hymn: “To God the Holy Spirit Let Us Pray.” We’ll look at the words of each stanza and consider how those words help us understand the person and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Allyssa, give us verse 1, and you all can follow in your worship folder.

   The words of the first line let us know that the Holy Spirit is God - a person in the triune Godhead. Proof of that is found in Genesis 1, where we’re told that the Holy Spirit was present at the time of the creation of all things. Also, Jesus’ own words shortly before he ascended back into heaven mention all three persons of the triune Godhead, when he says in Matthew 28: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19). Here the Word teaches us that the Holy Spirit is God, because he’s named along with the other two persons of the Trinity. So what that means is the Holy Spirit is God, worthy of our prayers and worship. And in the first stanza of this wonderful hymn, we’re told to pray to him, above all else, “for the true faith needed on our way.”

   But…how often is the first request in our prayer life “for the true faith needed on our way”? Oh, we’re good at asking for a new job, a new car, a dream vacation, gobs of money or whatever. But here, in this hymn, the top request, the top priority, in our prayer is for faith. Why? Faith is the greatest gift a person can have, for it’s truly the only thing that a person can take with her or him to heaven. All the other things we scratch and claw to get remain behind when the end comes. Think about it - you’ve never seen a U-Haul in a funeral procession, have you? True, abundant life is “by grace…through faith,” as St. Paul writes in Eph 2:8, that we are saved; “it is the gift of God.” And it’s God the Holy Spirit who gives us that most precious gift on the way that leads to eternal life! Okay Allyssa, verse 2 for everyone please.

    “O sweetest Love;” interesting name for the Holy Spirit. But what a beautiful name! Each of us is loved by the Holy Spirit, and we ask that by his grace “our hearts [would be] with sacred fire aglow.” We ask our God to chase the darkness of sin out of our hearts. And he answers that prayer by the fire of his love – a common image for the Holy Spirit - cleansing us through and through from the duplicity, deceit, conniving, and unholy thoughts and actions that are naturally within our hearts. What results from this work of the Spirit is that our hearts are to be united with love for God and for each other. A result of the Spirit’s work is that by faith every person to your right or left is a sister or brother.

   In Christ Jesus we are all sons of God, through faith. Paul writes in Galatians “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal 3:26–29). The Holy Spirit – God – calls us to a unity in faith that we share with our siblings in the faith by our sweetest love. Okay Allyssa, verse 3 please.

   In the first line, we again address the Holy Spirit. This time he is called “Comfort,” and that’s what he is and does! He transcends. He comes from heaven to earth and comforts us in all our needs and problems. He gives us strength so that we won’t falter or lose courage, so we can thus endure the scorn of those who are enemies of our Lord Jesus Christ. He not only brings us to faith in Christ, but keeps us strong in that very same faith as we allow him to work in our hearts and lives through the Word and Sacraments. Yet how many handcuff the Spirit, our Comfort? How many leave their Bibles to gather dust, ignore Bible study opportunities, or blow off worship? So many chances for comfort and strength, but we simply allow them to pass us by. Now who’s confused…

   Hear what St. Peter writes about the courage that the Spirit gives his people:

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. . . . Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name” (1 Pet 4:12–14, 16).

   I’ve been told in a Seminary lecture that whenever Dr. Luther felt the onslaught of the devil trying to get him to question God’s love for him and doubt his eternal salvation, Dr. Luther would simply say to himself in his thick, German accent: “I am baptized!”

   And it works! With those three simple words, Luther recalled all that the Holy Spirit had done for him and had given to him when Luther, and all Christians, for that matter, were baptized. In Baptism, the Holy Spirit has given us every good thing there is to receive. He graciously gives us faith in Christ, which gives the forgiveness of sins earned by him on the blessed cross. And with forgiveness comes reconciliation to God, so that the almighty, all loving, and all-wise Father is no longer prevented from giving his dear children every good thing he desires to give. And that is everything good, including nothing less than eternal life! God does not necessarily desire that we have a Shelby Cobra or a million dollars or perfect abs. He desires that we are with Him forever in heaven! And now, Allyssa, one final time if you would.

   In this fourth stanza, we Christians plead with the Holy Spirit to “shine in our hearts” with the “precious light” of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who is just what he says he is: “I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12). We ask the Spirit to “teach us Jesus Christ” that we would know him correctly. In this stanza, we beg the Spirit of Christ to give us greater clarity of vision as we hear the Word of God so that the purpose of the Scriptures according to St. John might be fulfilled: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn 20:31).

   This is the chief work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s chief task is to reveal to us Jesus Christ, God’s love in action for us by Jesus on the cross, suffering and dying in our place, for us, for our sins. Through the Spirit we see God’s incredible plan for our salvation: Jesus’ righteousness traded for our sins. And thus having seen, we repent and believe and know Jesus Christ aright. Preserved in our holy faith until our life’s end, we’re able to realize “the outcome of [our] faith, the salvation of [our] souls” (1 Pet 1:9)! When the end comes, we’re delivered “to our true home,” there to live in perfect peace forever!  No need to doubt or be confused, but to simply rejoice! Thanks be to God…Father, Son AND Holy Spirit!

   Amen.

Confirmation 2010

May 16, 2010

Revelation 22:12-20

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning on our celebration of Confirmation 2010 is the lesson read earlier from Revelation chapter 22.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

   Is it not fitting that the end of the Bible describes the end of the world? Our  Lesson for today and the basis of this morning's sermon comes from virtually the end of the Bible; Revelation has 22 chapters and chapter 22 has 21 verses. This is, for all intents and purposes, the end of the Bible and in the end of the Bible Jesus promises that He is coming soon. And John's response is a simple prayer: "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus."

   I can recall a time during the end of my 4th year as a student at the seminary when I had a 20-page paper due on whether or not a man should be ordained by the church that calls him. We were in the process of getting ready to move to Crosslake AND buying a house from 900 miles away. It was getting late. I was tired. There was a lot of work left to do. I remember leaning back in my chair and saying, "I wish Jesus would come back; it sure would save me a lot of work." As you can see, He didn't. But it would have been nice.

   We have all had times like that; times when it feels like the end is near or we wished it would soon come. Life gets hard for one reason or another. We remember Jesus' promise that He will come back and bring an end to all pain and suffering. He will bring all the dead out of their graves with bodies glorified -never to be subject to disease, death, and decay again. Oh, it will be incredible when Jesus comes back for those who are His people. What a glorious day that will be! And we wish He would fulfill His promise sooner rather than later. We want the end to come when we pray, "Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly."

   The church throughout the ages has prayed this simple prayer, and it has done so for two basic reasons. First, we DO want Jesus to come back soon to end this world because it is not safe here. Second, we want to go home, through the gates and into the city of God where we will live in joy and celebration forever. Two reasons. And the closer we look at these two reasons, the more we want the end to come as soon as possible.

   The first reason: it is not safe here. Jesus says that there are those who will

not go home with Him. There are those who are left outside the heavenly city when He returns. They are the unrepentant: murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who continue to practice and love falsehood, lies, deception. We all know that there are plenty of these kinds of people around, and they bump into our lives more often than we would like.Yes, there are many who will be left behind when Jesus comes back on the last day. This world is not a safe place for the church. And many of us are tempted to join those who will be left behind. Unfortunately, some will fall to the seductive power of drugs, the occult, violence, sexual immorality, greed, or living a lie. It's just not safe in this world, and so we pray for the end to come: "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly."

   The second reason we want Jesus to return so soon and bring about the end is because we want to go home. Why? Is it because the streets are paved with gold and will be beautiful beyond our wildest imagination?  That is part of the reason, but not the primary one. My mom always said that what makes a place home is the people who are there. Home is where the most important people that I know and love live. Heaven is home because Jesus is there. Heaven is being filled to the brim with the peace, contentment, joy, and love of being in God's presence.

   Have you ever been homesick? I have. On New Year's Eve 1986 I was doing my nightly radio show on KGHS while everyone else was at home or out enjoying themselves. It made me cry right there in the studio. I just wanted the show to end. I wanted to be home; to be with my family and friends on a special night like everyone else and it hurt to be away from home that night.

   The point is this. We want Jesus to come back soon because we are not really home yet. We are not in heaven. We are not with all those we love. We are not enjoying the full presence of God. We are on our way, but we are not there yet. There is a homesickness deep within our hearts as we long to be with Jesus forever. And so we pray for the end to come; "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly."

   But He hasn't. Jesus has not answered that prayer yet. We are still here. He has not come back yet. We are still on the way home. So Jesus makes us an offer while we are traveling through this life. He invites us to come to Him. "Come, whoever is thirsty," He says. "Come for the free gift of the water of life." Jesus invites us to come and stay with our sisters and brothers in this family called the church as we travel home to be with Him. Here we are welcomed, given forgiveness, given grace, given good food and a place to rest away from the dangers of this world.

   Yes, here we are welcomed. We are given robes to wear; clean clothes washed in the blood of Jesus who shed that blood on Calvary's cross. Have you been touched or dirtied by the lies, sexual immorality, violence, idolatry of this world? Of course. But here, in Christ's church, you receive the gift of forgiveness again and again and again. Here, Jesus' blood  shed on the cross is offered to you, to put an end to that worldly filth. Here, in His church, you receive the free gift of being clean and clothed and welcomed by our Savior.

   And, here you are fed good food, and I don’t mean a well-known and oft desired SST Potluck. It's the Lord's Supper. His body. His blood. It is Communion. Brothers and sisters in faith gathered around the table together with you. The church is our home away from home. We are fed and nourished here before we go back out into that unsafe world.

   And here, in Christ's church, we are given a place to rest. Yes, we will go back out into the world later today. Yes, the journey continues because Jesus has not come back yet. But, here we listen to words of care and comfort from our Lord in His holy Word. Here, we are assured that we are never alone in this life. Here, we are given hope and joy for the journey as we catch a glimpse of Jesus once again, and we know that heaven is a wonderful place, a place of glory and grace, where we will finally see Jesus face-to-face.

   Alyssa, Kelsey, Bethany, Vincent, Nathan, and Jacob. Maybe you think that today – your confirmation – is “the end” for you. You’re “done” with church. Wrong answer, for God is not done with you yet! He is still teaching, leading, providing, loving, and calling you to come home to Him someday. It has been a pleasure to teach you all over the last 2 years, and I look forward to CONTINUING to serve you God’s Word and Sacrament here at SST.

   God has answered your parents’ prayers that you would successfully finish Confirmation. He answered that prayer. But Jesus has not answered our prayer to return. But He will. Someday He will and the end will come. But until then, we keep coming to Jesus for clean robes of forgiveness, for good food at His table, for a place to rest in His Word of grace. And, of course, until He comes back, we will keep praying, "Come Lord Jesus, because this world is not safe. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, because we want to go home. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly"

   Amen.

3rd Sunday of Easter (C)

April 18, 2010

John 21:1-14

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning is the Gospel lesson assigned for today and read previously from John 21.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

   Where do new Christians come from? Okay (clear throat nervously). Well (with
hesitation), let me tell you about the "birds and the bees." Uhmm, see, there are birds, and there are ... bees. And the birds do (pause, again nervously) what birds do. And the bees do ... what bees do. The birds and the bees just do what comes naturally. Hmm.. .let's try a different approach.

   Fishermen. Now there are fishermen and there are ... fisher ... uh, fisherwomen. And fishermen and fisherwomen love…to fish. So fishermen and fisherwomen just naturally …fish. Is this making sense? I don't think so.

   Okay, then. There are Christian men and Christian women. And Christian boys and Christian girls. And Christian men and Christian women and Christian boys and Christian girls are people who know about Easter; they believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again for them. They know Jesus loves them, and they love other people, and so then they do…what comes naturally. That's what our Gospel text this morning is about. It's about what Christians, Easter people, do and what they do naturally. People who believe in the resurrection do what comes naturally, and that has everything to do with where new Christians come from. Do you follow me? Let's be more specific.

   Do you remember last week's Gospel lesson? In that lesson from John, the Easter story seemed to reach a perfect ending. Jesus appeared to his disciples - first without, then with, Thomas. He gave them the peace of forgiveness of all sins, the faith to believe it, and the power to forgive sins themselves and encouragement to share their Easter joy. They've seen Jesus; they know he's alive; even Thomas believes. And there had been that wonderful word to future generations: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (Jn 20:29). In last week's text John even wrote what seemed to be the perfect ending for his Gospel: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But 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” (Jn 20:30-31). Perfect conclusion, a naturally perfect ending of the story. But then, curiously enough, there's one more chapter in John's Gospel. What are we going to do now? We do what comes naturally.

   Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 'I'm going out to fish,' Simon Peter told them. Makes sense; Peter was a fisherman. That's what he does naturally. At this point, the disciples don't know what Jesus' next instructions for them will be, so they do what comes naturally. Fishermen fish. Think about it…Jesus was gone so what were they supposed to do? They did what came naturally; they did what they knew. They fished.

   You know what happens. “They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, 'Friends, haven't you any fish?' 'No,' they answered. He said, 'Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.' When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish” (w 3b-6).

   This happened once before. Remember? During Epiphany a few months ago we heard about the time when Jesus enabled the disciples to catch a net full of fish. They'd fished all night and caught nothing; Jesus works a miracle, and they catch more than they can handle. Remember what Peter did the last time Jesus enabled the disciples to make a great catch? He said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Lk 5:8). That was the natural reaction of a man who had not yet seen the cross. Without the forgiveness of the cross, we could never be in God's presence; the One whom we’ve wronged the most often. In fact, we wouldn't want to be; by our sinful nature, we're natural spiritual enemies of God. It’s too frightening, too scary to even think about!

   How different this time! Peter jumps into the water. He can't wait to be near Jesus. This is the natural reaction of those who have believed in the cross and resurrection. See, by this time, Easter had happened. Believing in the crucified and risen Christ created a completely new nature. Now inside is a person who knows he's forgiven and loved by God. And because he knows and believes that, there's this whole renewed nature that's eager to do something for Christ.

   So what's he going to do? What comes naturally. This, it seems, is why the Holy Spirit inspired John to add chapter 21 to his Gospel and why he records this particular miracle. It's not just another resurrection appearance of Jesus. It's an intentional reminder of what naturally follows after people have seen the risen Christ, believed in him, and been empowered by him to forgive sins! John knows we want to go and be fishers of men. It's what we naturally want to do – to be with Jesus.

   Christian men and women, boys and girls, have this natural desire to make new Christians. We have tasted the joy of Easter. We have seen that our sins are all forgiven. We have the certainty of eternal life. And now we just naturally want everybody in the world to have the same things. Now it's against our new nature to sit in the boat and do nothing. When we do nothing , we're listening to the old sinful nature that remains inside us telling us to “sit down, shut up, don’t rock the boat.” The new man or woman can't wait to share. Fishermen fish. Christians want to make new Christians ... don't we?

   Now, of course, it's not as if Christian men and Christian women, Christian boys and Christian girls, necessarily sit down and decide just how many new Christians they want to make or when they want to do it. It's not necessarily something they plan. Jesus is the one who plans and makes all this happen. Without Jesus, all our fishing for men is as fruitless. But then Jesus says, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat,” and things go very well. Jesus is the one who catches fish. In fact, Jesus does everything. Just as He did for the disciples, Jesus feeds, provides, and equips us to do what the believer in us naturally wants to do.

   From the earliest years after the Book of John was written, commentators have wondered why the Holy Spirit inspired John to record the exact number of fish. Greek zoologists of the 1st century believed that there were 153 kinds of fish in the seas. Could it be John is reminding us that we are to go to every tribe and nation with the saving Gospel, to bring all nations into God's net? The disciples didn't plan to catch exactly 153 fish. They couldn't catch one on their own! But planning how many fish we're going to catch isn't something we need to worry about. We just go about our business - fishing because we're fishermen - sharing Christ just because we're Christians, people who ourselves are loved, forgiven, going to heaven…doing what comes naturally.

   New Christians aren't made by brilliant ingenuity and church-growth theories, not by smooth administration and slick programs, not by offering used car to first-time worshippers. New Christians just naturally happen as we just naturally seize the opportunities God presents. We do have friends and family members who come and tell us they're hurting. We do have relatives and neighbors we can invite to church. We testify to Christ by the way we just naturally go about life, being teachers and farmers, carpenters, students and electricians, retirees, kids, moms, dads, and grandparents. We may not consider ourselves evangelists, but we all are, for we do just what comes naturally.

   Amen.

2nd Sunday of Easter

April 11, 2010

John 20:24-29

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you all in the name of God our Father and our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text that engages us today is a portion of our Gospel lesson for today from John 20, specifically verses 24 through 29: "Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

This is our text. My dear friends in Christ Jesus,

Last Sunday was a complete waste of our time. That would be the opinion of a group known as the "Jesus Seminar." The Jesus Seminar does not believe that the resurrection ever happened. The Jesus Seminar's founder believes that Jesus' body was placed in a shallow grave and wild dogs ate His body which explains its disappearance. The Jesus Seminar considers the resurrection, the virgin birth, all the miracle accounts, and 82% of all of Jesus teachings "legendary (additions) with no historical foundations." For example, the Jesus Seminar considers only two words of the Lord's Prayer to be authentic - "Our Father." They believe the rest of the words were made up by someone else.

The Jesus Seminar's founder, Robert Funk, calls Jesus a "secular (philosopher) who satirized the pious and championed the poor." He also added that "Jesus was perhaps the first Jewish stand-up comic…starting a new religion would have been the farthest thing from his mind." Sadly, Funk is not alone in his low opinion of Jesus and Christianity in general. It seems like these days we face more and more open attacks against Jesus and the Christian faith. The proof is in the pudding. Fewer and fewer people attend Easter morning services. European Christians are leaving the Church by the truckloads in the wake of the latest paedophilia scandal. American churches rely on the old "bait and switch," offering cars and mortgages, in order to get new worshippers in the door. Let’s face it; people are questioning. Are they right? Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

Of course, this is not a new question. It was not easy for everyone at first to have faith in the resurrected Christ. In fact, a great majority of Jesus' ministry was surrounded by unbelief, as there have always been questions about the identity and actions and authority of Jesus. Jesus came speaking and acting as the Son of God (which He was), and very few believed in Him. Even His closest followers did not totally believe in Him. Judas betrayed Him, Peter denied Him, Mary Magdalene expected to find His dead body, and Thomas, well, Thomas demanded living proof before he would believe in the resurrection of the Lord.

And so we come to Thomas, who is often called "doubting" Thomas. This brand, however, is not a fair one for Thomas and neither is it a fair branding for us. It was not so much that Thomas doubted, rather he did not believe what the disciples reported to him. Thomas heard something that caused him call into question the authenticity of what he heard and what he knew. Thomas didn't necessarily lack faith, he had concerns over what he had heard.

If this was the case in the 1st century, should we then be surprised by the disbelief in our world today? We live in a world in which the basic tenants of Christianity have had a pall of disbelief cast over them and one in which Christianity is no longer held in the high regards it once had. Just watch network television sometime; Christianity has become a stereotype, a punchline, an outdated way of thinking for a "progressive" country. As Christians we shouldn't fear tsunamis and earthquakes and floods. We would be better served being concerned about what is happening every day around us and the movements and the questions that cause disbelief in Jesus, for those are the things that can cause both the body and soul to be destroyed in hell (Matthew 10:28).

When the doubts and concerns and fears are cast aside, then the whole point of John's Gospel rings out loud and clear: "But 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" (John 20:31). As Christians we have faith, and faith always has an object. In our case, it’s Jesus of Nazareth…the Christ. Faith reveals to us that Jesus is the Son of God and the very real and historical fact that Jesus rose again from the grave on that resurrection morning which then, in fact, validates our faith in Him. Jesus is risen! He is risen just as He said He would! We know this as fact, and are confident in that undeniable truth.

Our faith in Jesus is not contingent on physical demands and proof. Thomas's faith was, but he had the luxury of waiting to see if it were true or not. Neither you nor I have that luxury. Jesus has bodily ascended into heaven and we cannot stand around waiting to see if He walks into this room today. But do you know what? We can still see Him…and we do see Him. We see Him whenever His Word is proclaimed in all its truth and purity. We see Him in the very meal that He Himself provides yet again today. We cannot see His entire physical body, and yet we believe without having to see, and because of that faith which enables us to believe, we are blessed (John 20:29).

We were not there to see when the Holy Spirit conceived Jesus inside Mary, and yet we believe it occurred. We were not there that night with the shepherds in the fields who heard the Good News proclaimed of the birth of the Savior, and yet we believe it occurred. We were not there when Jesus was crucified on the cross, and yet we believe it occurred. The reality of Easter is that we were not there when Jesus rose from the grave, and yet we know and believe it occurred. And those beliefs, the Christian faith that we possess and profess, means everything!

Our sure and certain hope, our Christian faith, is not physically confirmed like Thomas'. But, like Thomas, we can confess "My Lord and My God" (John 20:28). We have looked into the tomb of Christ through His Word and found that He has risen, we have known it and felt it in our hearts. What God has done for us in Christ is what we believe. That is our sure and certain hope - a hope that does not disappoint - for it is the hope for this life and the hope of the life to come.

Our faith in our resurrected Savior gives us conviction in the face of the disbelief of so many people today. It gives us certainty in the face of doubt by others. It gives us strength in the face of temptation. As Christians we know what we believe is true, and as a result we desire to share that truth with others! We know that Christ Jesus is the Son of God who gave Himself for us and for our forgiveness of sins. We know that because of His great love for us - His creation - that He was willing to give His life so that we would have the hope of life everlasting in heaven because of our faith in Jesus. Maybe the kid's song that we know so well says more than we realize: "Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so." As Christians we know what we believe and in whom we believe without seeing because God's Word - the Bible - tells us so. And that is the truth – the reality – of Easter.

Amen.

Palm Sunday/Sunday of the Passion (C)

March 28, 2010

Luke 22:1-23:56

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning on our celebration of Palm Sunday/Sunday of the Passion the Passion is the narrative taken from Luke chapters 22 and 23 that will be read later in the service by the Youth of SST.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

Jesus’ mother, Mary, stood at a distance, watching as his body was taken down from the cross and wrapped in a finely woven linen shroud. As the sturdy white fabric enveloped his lifeless remains, she strained to look upon her Son one last time. His head and body already covered by the cloth, all that remained visible were his once powerful hands.

Rigid and stiff, they lay folded across his chest, contorted fingers clenched tight. Just above the wrists, unbearably large gashes could be seen—the place where the nails had ripped open a hole in his flesh. The deep, dark red of his wounds looked all the more shockingly real against the impressive whiteness of the burial cloth.

Consumed with sorrow, grief, and pain, Mary turned away from that dreadful image, certain those nails had ruined her life. Life, you see, doesn’t always turn out the way you might expect.

Just a few days before, it had all been so different. So radically different. Riding confidently into town, seated on a donkey, thousands of people waved palm branches and cheered his name. With great enthusiasm, they cried aloud, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! . . . Hosanna in the highest!" (Mk 11:9–10). The excitement, the energy, the passion for her Son was like nothing she had ever seen. For the first time in her life, she dared to believe he might actually be the long-expected King. For the first time in her life, she dared to believe her deepest hopes and dreams might actually come true.

But then, suddenly, as can so often happen, everything changed. He was betrayed, arrested, put on trial, and nailed to that terrible cross. Her hopes and dreams now shattered, she had nothing left except the haunting image of his stiff and rigid hands, the unbearably large gashes, the deep, dark red of his wounds. Those nails, you see, had ruined her life. The realization crashed down on Mary’s grief-filled mind. Life doesn’t always turn out they way you might expect.

But then again, the older you and I get, the more we discover how true that statement is. Life doesn’t always turn out they way you might expect. The excitement, the energy, the wonder you experience as a child slowly fades away, leaving you with the mundane routine of bills, work, and family obligations. As you grow up, you come to learn that the hopes and dreams of your youth never quite seem to be fulfilled. We don’t become that NASCAR driver or fireman or pro athlete of our youthful dreams. It wasn’t a perfect, fairy-tale wedding to Mr. or Mrs. Right in which everyone lived happily ever after. When the reality of adulthood and parenthood crashes down on us, we come to the startling realization that life doesn’t always turn out they way you might expect.

We spend our lives thinking, if only my marriage were a little bit better; if only I could make a little more money; if only my children were a little more successful; if only I were just a little more attractive…then I would be happy. Then I would finally be content. But all too often, loving marriages grow cold, exciting careers turn dull, gifted children lose their way, and youthful bodies grow old. And then, when we least expect it, tragedy strikes. Suffering, disease, and death disrupt our monotonous lives, waking us from our slumber and causing us to cry out in despair. "Why, God, would you allow this to happen? Why, God, does life always have to be so full of sorrow and pain and hurt?" "Why" is the ultimate question we all must face.

Why is also the ultimate questions that can be answered and understood only in light of the cross of Jesus Christ. For as we will soon celebrate at the end of this Holy Week, a few days after he died, Jesus rose again from the dead and appeared before his disciples in the Upper Room where they had been hiding. Strong and full of life, Jesus raised his arms into the air; his hands opened wide, inviting all to see. Incredibly, just above both wrists, the large gashes left by the nails could still be seen, except now they looked—somehow—beautiful. Filled with wonder, joy, and awe, Mary stared at his wounds, realizing in that moment that the nails hadn’t ruined her life after all—the nails had saved her life, just as those nails have saved your lives.

And the truth is, my friends, that on the day that you stand before the Lord in glory, gazing upon his nail-scarred hands, you, too, will realize that everything you thought had ruined your life was actually used by God to save it. In this earthly life, God is not as concerned with our creature comforts as He is with our eternal character, for character produces hope in Christ and hope in Christ does not disappoint. We are called to suffer in this life, but we live and survive by faith that we would then meet our Lord in the glory of heaven. In that moment, every single thing that has caused you sorrow will not simply be forgotten, but will become for you an everlasting source of joy. Your cries of pain will one day be transformed into endless songs of praise. For now, our sufferings may seem to point to the undoing of everything we hope for. But since Christ bears those scars for us, through the cross, we can be confident that our present suffering will one day be transformed into everlasting joy.

How do I know that? Because life, you see, doesn’t always turn out the way you might expect. And for that we can boldly say "Thanks be to God." Truly, thanks be to God. Welcome to Holy Week 2010.

Amen.

5th Sunday in Lent (C)

March 21, 2010

Philippians 3:4b-14

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning is the Second Lesson read earlier from Philippians chapter 3.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

Let’s begin today with a little quiz. True or false: Jesus Christ went to the cross to destroy death and to give you the gift of eternal life. "True," you say. True or false: Because of what Jesus did for you on the cross, your sins are forgiven, you are covered in the righteousness of Christ, made holy by His blood. "True," you say. 2 for 2. True or false: On the day of resurrection you will experience never-ending joy and peace as you stand face-to-face with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. "True," you say.

Okay…so why then does criticism bother you so much? Why do you sometimes worry about the future? Why are you sometimes so unhappy with how your life has turned out? Why - if you know all about what God in Christ has done for you - are you so often dissatisfied and discontent with your life? You just scored 100 percent on the pop quiz—you got an A. Yet you seem to be failing when it comes to feeling like you’re actually living out the Christian life.

Our text for today is from the Book of Philippians. One of the major themes of that book is the power of the Gospel to make a substantial difference in your life, to give you joy and peace, no matter what. Paul also writes the well-known words: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice" (4:4).

Now, some of you might be thinking, "Come on, Pastor. Rejoice in the Lord always? No. You don’t actually expect us to take that literally, do you? You don’t actually expect us to believe that it’s possible for us to rejoice during the tough times, to rejoice during the hard times, do you? Can’t you see what my life is like?"

Okay…well, let me answer that question with a question. What was going on in Paul’s life when he wrote this specific letter to the Church at Philippi? What might have caused him to write such a remarkable thing? Was he on some sort of dream vacation? Had he just won the lottery? Not quite. As he says in the very first chapter of Philippians, Paul wrote this letter while he was a prisoner in Rome (v 13). Paul understood too well how painful life could be: "Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure" (2 Cor. 11:24–27). Sound like a fun-filled life to you? Not so much!

Paul, you see, knew how painful life could be. And yet despite all of this, as he sat there in prison about to be put on trial for his life, he was somehow able to write these astonishing words: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice."

Folks, I don’t know about you, but it really doesn’t take all that much for me not to rejoice in the Lord. I do not rejoice in the Lord when I pay $50 for a tank of gas. I don’t rejoice when the bills are long and the money is short. I do not rejoice in the Lord when I go to put a load of clothes in the washer and there are still clothes in there. I find that I do not rejoice in the Lord doing the tedious and mundane things in life. These are times when I do not rejoice in the Lord! But Paul (unlike me) was able to rejoice in the Lord always. Paul was able to rejoice in the Lord despite being repeatedly beaten and tortured and tried. How?

In just a moment I’m going to read vs. 8–11 of our text, and as I do I want you to picture in your mind’s eye Paul sitting in his prison cell writing these words: "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead."

Do you see what gave Paul strength, what gave Paul hope, even in the most hopeless of situations? He considered everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord. He considered everything rubbish (in the Greek, literally "filth") in order that he might gain Christ. In other words, Paul was given strength, courage, hope, and joy, all because he knew Christ Jesus his Lord and he knew that he would one day see him again face-to-face. As he wrote, the unshakable goal of his life was to attain, by the grace of God, the resurrection from the dead. Why? Because Paul knew in the day of resurrection he would finally be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ forever.

How was he able to write these amazing words while sitting in prison? Here is what I want you to take home with you today: knowing that he would one day be with Jesus - knowing for certain what his future would be - changed him in the present. This is what he means by those well-known words found in vv 13–14: "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Paul knew that the prize was certain. Paul knew that the prize would one day be his. That is what gave him the confidence to keep straining forward - that is what gave him the confidence to keep pressing on—no matter what. You see, what we know our future to be can actually change our present.

Let me give you an example: There were two men who were both going to be working the same job. It was a terrible, awful job that nobody wanted to do. Eighty hours a week. Backbreaking, disgusting, menial work, and they wouldn’t get paid until the end of the year. One of the men knew that at the end of the year he was going to be paid $15,000; the other knew he was going to be paid $15 million. Now, how do you think knowing that might affect the way they viewed their work? The one who knew he was going to be paid only $15,000 would probably end up quitting before the year was over. The one who knew he was going to be paid $15 million would be happy and joyful and would come to work every day whistling a happy tune! You see, what you know your future to be actually changes you in the present.

My friends, Jesus Christ went to the cross to destroy death and to give you the gift of eternal life. Because of what Jesus did for you on the cross, your sins are forgiven, you are covered in the righteousness of Christ, you are declared holy and just before the throne of God. Because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, you can be certain that you, too, will rise. And on that day of resurrection, you will experience never-ending joy and peace as you stand face-to-face with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is what your future will be! That is the prize you’ve already won! Yes, down the road some hard turns are going to shake us, but with Christ we hang on and rejoice throughout!

What does this mean for your life? How will knowing this change your life today? I leave you with the words of Paul found in Phil 4:4–7: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Those are not just words to end a sermon with, but they are words to live by each and every day.

Amen.

4th Sunday in Lent (C)

March 14, 2010

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning on the 4th Sunday in Lent is the Gospel lesson previously read from Luke 15, what you probably know and love as the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

Back in "the day" when my knees were still good and I still had some hair, I did a lot of acting. I played the role of a Bishop once in our high school's production of "See How They Run." In high school plays I also "trod the boards" with roles as a vampire hunter, a drunken Irishman, and a small-time crook. In college productions I have played the parts of a radio technician, a landlord, and a hot-to-trot real estate agent. The last role I had in a play was as an old witch…no kidding. I have had roles in cheesy high school productions, big-time college productions, and even community theatre productions. But never, NEVER, have I been a part of something as great as what we have before us today in the Gospel lesson.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is like a great play; a production that has story twists and turns and great characters and an ending so shocking that people are STILL talking about it 2000 years later! Let's remember the context before the curtain rises on the greatest play ever. Jesus was teaching publicly when he was surrounded by tax collectors and "sinners," much to the ire of the Pharisees in their midst. In response to their grumbling about the presence of these "sinners" and Jesus' association with them, Jesus tells three parables, and we have before us today the 3rd one: the greatest play ever - the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Ssshh! (whisper) It's starting...be quiet. And...lights come up.

As Act I opens, we meet the youngest son of a man who makes a wild request. He wants his portion of his inheritance. There's just one simple problem…the father is not dead yet! Talk about greed! Talk about boldness! In the 1st century Jewish culture, the oldest son got a larger share of the inheritance and the younger son had less say in the matter, but this younger one wants his share and he wants it NOW! How dare he ask for his share while his father is still living! This is deplorable behavior! There is no way the father will go for this, right? But as Act I draws to a close, we are stunned – SHOCKED - to see that the father has agreed to this ridiculous deal! As the curtain falls, we see the Prodigal Son rushing off to a distant land with money just burning a hole in his pocket.

As the curtain rises on Act II, we see that youngest son again in a far-away country. We find out later (v. 30) where much of that money went, and it wasn't for Girl Scout cookies.. .know what I mean? Anyway, the Prodigal – which means "reckless" - Son in Act II has lived up to his name. He has wasted away his inheritance. He began to be in need (v. 14), that is, he needed food and money. That's not good…but to add even more drama, a famine hits the land.

Recap: he's got no food, no money, and he's far from home. His only option was to get a job feeding pigs. One of my favorite shows on TV is "Dirty Jobs." "Dirty Jobs" is about the men and women who do the real nasty jobs that others will not do. Believe me…feeding pigs in the 1st century would have been the ultimate "dirty job." To a Jew, a pig is the dirtiest, filthiest creature there is, but the Prodigal Son spends his days feeding them and wishing he could eat their food. As Act II draws to a close, things don't look good for the "hero" of the greatest play ever thus far.

When the curtain comes up for Act III, we see that the Prodigal Son has "come to his senses." That's actually an English translation of a very awkward phrase in the Greek. Literally he "came unto himself," whatever that means. He realized that he had foolishly abandoned his family and that he had sinned against heaven by his foolish behavior. Why would he stay there and be starving? Why not go back home? Aah…but how would he be received? The plot thickens; the drama intensifies! Getting up (v. 20), he left that crummy job to go back to his father…but what would his homecoming be like? And now we stretch for the intermission.

During this little intermission break - don't worry, Act IV is coming - let's consider the bigger picture of the parable so far. Even as the prodigal son always had the option of repenting and returning home to his father, so all sinners have the option to repent and turn to God in repentance and faith. This is why Jesus had no problem being with tax collectors and "sinners." Like the prodigal son, they too need God's forgiveness and grace in the face of their foolish past behavior. Okay…the lights have gone back down. Sssshh!

Act IV opens to the moment we've been waiting for. How will the father welcome him back? Will he have to pay the price for his reckless behavior? Before we can even contemplate an answer, we get an answer. The father, upon seeing his younger son returning, takes off and RUNS - unheard of for the patriarch of a family! - in order to welcome the son back. This is amazing love and patience shown to an ungrateful child! By rights, the son should have been yelled at or punished or something! But that's not the case. The father welcomes him back as a full son giving him clothes and a ring and sandals and a feast. Talk about grace! As Act IV ends we think everything is resolved, right; "and they lived happily ever after?" Oh no…there's still one more act to go.

Like other parables, the Parable of the Prodigal Son has a higher, heavenly meaning. God the Father is yearning, looking, and eager for our return. 1 Timothy 2:4 says, "(God) wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." God is so eager to restore us that He comes to us. We don't come to Him: John 6:44 says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." The bigger picture is that we, like the Prodigal Son, have sinned and need forgiveness from our heavenly Father. He offers it because He is gracious and loving and merciful. The price for this forgiveness was the body and blood of Jesus Christ which was lovingly given and shed for us. Without that sacrifice, we'd still be stuck in the sinful mud and muck of our lives feeding pea pods to pigs. But God calls us unto Himself that we be saved and have the promise of life everlasting.

When considering the "greatest play ever," you CANNOT forget the final act. When Act V begins, we see the reaction of the oldest son, and he's furious! Why this big commotion for that loser? The oldest son was grumbling and mumbling about the whole situation…just like someone else we know. Remember how today's Gospel lesson began? "The Pharisees and the teachers of-the law grumbled, this man welcomes sinners and eats with them.'" Even as the older brother should not have begrudged his brother's reinstatement into the family but rejoiced in it, so those who claim to be God's people should be glad when He extends His grace to all. That was NOT the stance of the Pharisees. And that's why Jesus provided the plot for the "greatest play ever." Notice there is no happy ending to the parable. It was up to the Pharisees - it's up to us - to make the ending happy.

Does that ever happen here? Do we ever grumble or mumble about this or that or another person…a person that God loves and that Christ died to redeem? Do we ever resent what God has done or is doing for someone else? God loves His people and He seeks to find those who cannot find or save themselves. Are you part of the problem, or part of the solution? The curtain may have fallen on the "greatest play ever," but Act I is about to begin again, and this time YOU'RE the star in your own life production. What kind of ending can you help provide with the call and help of the Lord each day? Sssshh! It's about to begin. Break a leg, my friends!

Amen. 

3rd Sunday in Lent (C)

March 7, 2010

Luke 13:1-9


Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you all in the name of God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning on the 3rd Sunday in Lent is the Gospel lesson previously read from Luke chapter 13.

My dear friends in Christ Jesus,

The Lain phrase "Carpe Diem" is commonly translated "seize the day," though a more accurate translation might be "pluck the day." It is meant to be a cautionary term, much like "eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die." The emphasis of a phrase like "Carpe Diem" is on making the most of current opportunities because life is short. "Carpe Diem! Seize the day, lads! Make your lives extraordinary!" That is a quote used in the movie, "Dead Poets Society," a film that explores the idea of "Carpe Diem" from the viewpoint of a classroom of young men at an all-boys boarding school. "Carpe Diem" is the rally cry of the boy's teacher, Professor Keating, in the hope that the students will learn to do what they want to do over and against what the world and their parents expect.

Well, Jesus didn't speak Latin though I'm sure He could have if He wanted to. However, in today's Gospel lesson Jesus calls those around Him, and us, with a very real, very urgent message..."Carpe Diem! Seize the day and repent because judgment is coming!" Jesus' Words are a very serious wake-up call for those who refuse to repent of their wicked, sinful ways and just in case they didn't catch what He meant, Jesus tells a parable to illustrate His point.

Our text begins with those around Jesus asking Him about some Galilean Gentiles whose blood had been mixed with their sacrifices. Pontius Pilate had these Gentiles killed while they were making their sacrifices such that their "impure" blood mixed with the "pure" blood of their sacrifices. To those who asked, the unspoken assumption was that these Gentiles were getting what they deserved because, well, because they were Gentiles over and against the "holy" Jews in Jerusalem.

In response, Jesus asks them to consider the 18 residents of Jerusalem - more than likely Jews - who died when the Tower of Siloam fell. Siloam was in the southeastern section of Jerusalem's wall. The point is that whether those who died were Gentiles or Jews, the fact remains that they were all sinners who need to repent! In fact, Jesus said, "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (v. 5). Jesus grabs hold of them to shift their focus away from their incorrect beliefs that all Jews were saved and all Gentiles were damned. Jesus teaches them, and us, that nationality matters not; it's all about repentance and faith when the end comes.

Jesus' parables are earthly stories that have heavenly meanings. The parable that Jesus told in today's Gospel lesson is no different. The parable of the barren fig tree involves earthly things and it most definitely has a heavenly or spiritual meaning. The fig tree may have stood for Jerusalem, but it certainly represents any and all who sinfully rebel against God. The vineyard itself represents Israel specifically, but it can also be applied in terms of the whole creation. The fruit that is being sought is the fruit of repentance or the fruit that is borne in and out of faith in God. The vinedresser is the one who pleads before the owner of the vineyard on behalf of the tree; in other words, the vinedresser represents anyone who has falsely led the people of God astray such that they do not repent and bear the fruit of repentance. Of course, the owner of the vineyard stands for God.

What the parable means is that those who do not repent before God of their sins and bear the fruits of faith will be cast out of the God's presence. Those who do not bear the fruit of repentance, being truly sorry for their sins, deserved to be cleared away just like a fruit tree that cannot and will not produce fruit. God's expectation is that His people bear fruit as a result of faith, yet when He comes looking for that fruit He finds none. The tree is bare.

Before we are too quick to point fingers at others and their lack of producing fruits in keeping with their faith, let's take a good, hard look in the mirror. Or more specifically, take a look around you. Is every spot taken in the pews? Are there holes where there could be bodies around you to hear the same warning from Jesus? Have we done everything we can to cultivate our fellow members and neighbors to join us in worship and study of God’s Word and to hear of the necessity to repent and the opportunity to "seize the day"? Apparently not. My guess is that there are many people today, people right now, who are not producing the fruits of faith, and if our Lord were to return this morning prior to the Benediction, how many would be "cut down" and cast away forever as a result?

Yet, where God's wrath against unrepentance is severe and just, grace also abounds. God's initial reaction to those who fail to repent and produce the fruits of repentance is to "cut them down" in order to cast them away from His presence forever. The truth is, all of us at one time or another, tend to return to our same old sinful ways and do the things that we know we shouldn't do. Then what? Does this mean that we too will be cut down before God?

Just as the vinedresser pleads for the life of the tree, so Jesus pleads for us on our behalf. Hebrews 6:19-20 reminds us "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary (of the temple) behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever."

As our High Priest Jesus does intercede for us, true, but He took things one step further. In fact, He became the fig tree for us in our place. Jesus suffered the fate of the fig tree so that you and I might remain in God's "vineyard." He allowed Himself to be nailed to another fruitless, dead tree -the cross of Calvary - so that you and I and every sinner still has a sure and certain hope. We are promised that the wounds of Jesus have healed us; His sacrifice has brought to us the forgiveness of our sins before God. That great Gospel truth, that Jesus has died and risen again to save sinners from death and hell, calls us to faith so that we might produce the fruits of repentance; that we might behave as believers in Christ ought to behave.

In essence, Jesus calls His people to "Carpe Diem" - seize the day. We have been called by the Gospel, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and inspired by God's grace to daily produce the fruits of repentance and good works. What does that look like? St. Paul wrote in Galatians 5 that the fruits of the Spirit are "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (v. 22 and 23). When we bear fruits of repentance and faith we do not hate our neighbor, but we love our neighbor as ourselves in order to help them in every way we can. When we bear fruits of repentance and faith we do not get bummed out and depressed at every little thing, but we find joy…joy that is ours because of God's grace that is extended to us every day! When we bear fruits of repentance and faith we do not worry about the future or get all bothered about every little thing, but instead we exhibit patience and gentleness and self-control. When we bear fruits of repentance and faith we don’t "stick it to our neighbor" every chance we get. Instead we strive to help them to improve their lives.

Easy to do? Hardly. Bearing fruit like that is hard to do day in and day out. God knows that. Not one of us here today, and none of our neighbors, is outside of God's grace. He has called all of us by His Word of promised salvation to live every day like people who have the hope of eternal life. Jesus was very explicit in today's Gospel Lesson: "unless you repent you too will…perish." By God’s grace you can bear the fruits of repentance. By God’s grace you can bear the fruits of a faith-filled life. By God’s grace, you can help your neighbor that they too may believe, repent, and live. By God’s grace you too can "Carpe Diem"…seize the day…and my friends, that day in NOW!

Amen.

2nd Sunday in Lent (C)

February 28, 2010

Jeremiah 26:8-15

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning is the First Lesson appointed for today from Jeremiah 26 as was previously read in which the prophet Jeremiah stood in the temple proclaiming the words that God had given him to say, and was nearly killed as a result.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

   A farmer once went into his banker and announced that he had bad news and good news. Given the option, the banker wanted the bad news first. "Well," said the farmer, "I can't make my mortgage payments. And that crop loan I've taken out for the past 10 years -- I can't pay that off, either. Not only that, I won't be able to pay you the couple of hundred thousand I still have outstanding on my tractors. So I'm going to have to give up the farm and turn it all over to you for whatever you can get for it." Silence prevailed and then the banker finally said, "What's the good news?" "The good news is," said the farmer, "that I'm going to keep on banking with you."

   From the time we were little children, our parents have warned us about looking deeper into words spoken or actions performed. "You can't judge a book by its cover." "Never take something at face value." They told us these things because sometimes what seems like good news really isn't. Sometimes what seems like noble and honest intentions really aren't. Sometimes what looks like a curse is actually a blessing in disguise. The point is that often times what seems good and right really isn't, and what may seem wrong is really right after all! Confused yet?

   Take today's First Lesson as a classic example. Jeremiah has been told by God at the beginning of chapter 26 to go into the Temple and tell everyone exactly what he says and "do not omit a word" (26:2). And so Jeremiah does. He stands in the Temple and tells the people that if they do not repent of their evil ways and stop doing what is evil in the sight of God, that God would make Jerusalem to be like the house of Shiloh.

   Well, why is that so bad? Shiloh was a city north of Jerusalem about the same distance and position as Braham is from Sandstone. Shiloh was the chief northern shrine for the people of Israel before they chose Saul as their king. This was a major holy site! Upon entering the land of Canaan the Israelites sent up the Tent of Meeting at Shiloh (Jos. 18:1). Shiloh was considered to be the House of God in Israel's early days (Jud. 18:31). The Ark of the Covenant was kept there (1 Sam. 4:3). But Shiloh did not keep its status. God abandoned Shiloh (Psa. 78:60) and as a result it was destroyed; wiped clean off the map never to be used for worship of God again. I guess you really can't judge something by its appearance. Outwardly the actions of the people at Shiloh must have appeared "good and right," but due to their evilness, God's glory left that place and today it is nothing but dust and ruin.

   Now you can see why the people of the temple were so mad at Jeremiah! The fall and demise of Shiloh was a warning to Jerusalem of the fate about to befall it, and the people didn't want to hear that, so they thought it best to kill Jeremiah. And Jeremiah's defense was to tell them they should do "what seemed good and right" to them.

   That's interesting, because it was exactly what seemed "good and right" to them that brought Jeremiah to them in the first place! Jeremiah was sent to them because what they thought was "good and right" was actually "bad and wrong" in the eyes of God! Jeremiah had been sent to them to expose their sin and to declare to them God's impending wrath for their sinfulness. But that is what makes the ministry of a prophet so dangerous. No one likes to hear they are wrong. No one wants to hear that his or her ways are incorrect. The difficulty of delivering this kind of message has not diminished yet to this day! People still don't want their sins revealed; to see the error of their ways pointed out by someone else.

   What seems "good and right" to God is not that people are destroyed. That is not what God wants. Instead he wants what is truly "good and right," that is, that the evil inside of them be destroyed by and through their repentance. By this repentance they can live! And when the call to repentance is successful, then the prophet - the one bringing the message - gets to live too!

   God, in his infinite knowledge and grace, also sent another prophet - the ultimate prophet - to announce what was truly "good and right." He too stood trial before the people for things that he said. The trial of the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, was strikingly similar to the trial of Jeremiah, only with a different outcome. Jesus too was brought before the temple authorities to account for what he had said. When Jesus told the people "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Matt. 26:64), he was in essence calling them to repentance in the face of coming judgment. And the people didn't want to hear that. How dare he call himself the Son of Man! How dare he claim to be the Messiah! For this he deserves death!

   The fact is, Jesus didn't deserve death, but instead he chose death. He chose to endure suffering and death at the hands of those who didn't know what was truly "good and right;" instead they thought they knew what was "best" for themselves and for the people. Jesus, though, bore death on behalf of all the people and he did so with a very specific purpose. He submitted to punishment and death - neither of which he deserved - to bring forgiveness, renewal, and his Spirit, so that we as God's people, can gratefully know what really and truly is "good and right."

   Jeremiah was spared because of the words he spoke (Jer. 26:16-24). Jesus was not. What "seems good and right to you" may have led to death for Jesus, but by that death on the cross he brought what seems "good and right" to God for us all. Unknowingly, Caiaphas was right when he explained that it "seemed good and right" that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish (John 11:50). Jesus felt that way, too; he knew what was truly "good and right." His blood was shed for us in our place to wash away our sins, to melt away that evil within, to bring about our repentance, and the hope of everlasting life via his sacrifice.

   Thankfully, Jesus continues to offer himself to us, for he knows what is truly "good and right" while we continue to stumble on the way thinking we know what is best. For example, in the 2003 film "Bruce Almighty" the main character Bruce is given God's power for a short period. He really struggles with prayer because there are so many of them to hear and answer. Finally, out of frustration, Bruce just says "yes" to all, which results in utter chaos. People lose 50 pounds on all-doughnut diets. Tens of thousands of people win the lottery. The lowly Buffalo Sabers win the Stanley Cup! After things have been fixed, Bruce tells God that he "just gave them what they wanted" to which God replies "since when do people know what they want?"

   That's true. Even though we stand on this side of the cross and resurrection, we still think we know what is "good and right," but so often times we are wrong, dead wrong. And in those times Jesus comes again to remind us of what is truly good and right. He comes to us in his Sacraments to provide that forgiveness we so badly need. He comes to us in his Word reminding us again and again of his expectations: love our enemies, do good to our neighbor, love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind, serve him and serve him only. Our response to God's commands are done out of loving obedience, for we were first shown love by our Lord when he spread his arms wide to embrace us in love, and then had the nails of Calvary driven into his hands and feet for you.

      In Matthew 19 a rich man approached Jesus and they had the following exchange: "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments" (v. 16-17). St. Paul reminds us (Romans 7) that in and of ourselves we cannot do what is "good," for on our own we do what is "bad" in the eyes of God. But thanks be to God that we still can enter life, even if we can't keep the Commandments as Jesus said, for by his death we have forgiveness of sins and the promise of everlasting life. I challenge you to find something as "good and right" as that.

Amen.

1st Sunday in Lent (C)

February 21, 2010

Luke 4:1-13

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you all in the name of God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text that engages us today on the 1st Sunday in Lent is the Gospel lesson previously read from Luke chapter 4.

My dear friends in Christ Jesus,

I know that you've all been tempted in your life at one time or another to say or do something that you were ashamed of. It's okay to admit it. I know that there have been things that you've been tempted to do under the cover of darkness or in clear daylight. We've all felt temptation, and I am no different. I have used the story before in Bible classes I think, but when I was on vicarage I was tempted to steal a couple of sleeves of golf balls from a driving range. I didn't do it, mind you, but I was shocked at how strong the temptation was to steal those brand new, expensive golf balls.

Just watch the news and you see how people yield to temptation every day and they get into BIG trouble for it. Men like Tom Petters and Denny Hecker know what it’s like to give in to the temptation of mismanagement of someone else’s money for your own personal gain. Last week an employee of T.G.I. Fridays was arrested for "skimming," that is, using a small electronic reader to copy the information from one credit card to another then spending thousands of dollars stolen electronically. Temptation comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms and knows no limits. Why am I telling you that? You know it just as well as I do.

Martin Luther once said this about temptation: "We cannot stop the birds from flying around over our heads, but we can stop them from building nests in our hair." To again quote Luther, "what does this mean?" It means that temptation is all around us, every day. There is no way we can stop temptation and the urges that come with it any more than we can stop birds from flying over our heads.

In today's Gospel lesson we see our Lord Jesus being faced with a series of temptations. In this well-known narrative, Jesus is taken into the wilderness. Already, we should be alert and ready; anytime God and/or His people are in the wilderness, something big is going to happen. Jesus, after fasting for 40 days, is at a point where He is the hungriest and the weakest He's going to be, and this is when Satan approaches Him to tempt Him, but the old, evil foe gets nowhere. "Oh sure," you might think, "it was easy for Jesus. He is the Son of God! How am I supposed to do it?" Well, that's half right. Jesus is the Son of God, our Savior, but He was also fully human and He felt temptation just as strongly as any of us. What is really important from this is that Jesus gives us the means by which we can keep the nests out of our hair.

Satan's first temptation was to cast a question on God's provision and care. He knew Jesus was hungry. Satan tempted Jesus to use His divine powers to change stones into bread. Could Jesus have done that? Of course He could have. But this was a temptation to which Jesus would not yield; He would not allow that bird to nest in His hair.

Now I doubt that any of us have ever been tempted by the devil to try and change stones into bread, but the basic content of this temptation is one that we have given ourselves over to plenty of times. Rather than being content with our daily bread, we have given in and fed ourselves with what we thought were the basic needs of life. You know, we NEED bigger homes and more gadgets and the finest appliances and the fanciest cars and the most expensive clothes. In our sinful desire to "keep up with the Jones's," we buy more, acquire more, borrow more. Now who's turned stones into bread?

Life is not defined by stuff. Those who define their lives by their stuff find nothing at the end of this life. Life, real life, is defined by doing God's will. To follow God is to live in His grace-filled daily care and provision. While we give in to this temptation, this was a temptation to which Jesus would not yield; He would not allow that bird to nest in His hair.

In the second temptation, Satan tempted Jesus to give up on God. Jesus was challenged to completely disobey the 1st Commandment - You shall have no other gods - by worshipping Satan and listening to him instead of God the Father. Adam and Eve fell into the same temptation, and they yielded. Note the differences, though. Jesus was in the wilderness; Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. Jesus was hungry after fasting; Adam and Eve were well-fed. Jesus was suffering when He was tempted; Adam and Eve were strolling through paradise. Yet which one yielded to temptation? It wasn't Jesus. Adam and Eve did give in to Satan's great lie, and as a result they unleashed sin into the world.

What we inherited from our original parents has stained us ever since, and it is that same sinfulness that also causes us to give in to this same temptation. "What!" you may think, "I don't worship the devil." Geez, I hope not. But all of us have given in to idolatry. We have allowed someone or something to step in-between us and God. We have "worshipped" our work, our status, a website, our possessions, a slot machine, a bottle or can, our family, or whatever. We have allowed these things and so many others to come between us and God. But this was a temptation to which Jesus would not yield; He would not allow that bird to nest in His hair.

Sure, it would have been easy for Jesus to walk away from these temptations by giving in, but by doing that He would then also walk away from the triumphant entry of Palm Sunday and the crown of thorns and the cross and the grave and the resurrection. If Jesus would have allowed something or someone to interfere with His mission, then we would still be dead in our sins (1 Cor. 15:17). But that is not the case. Jesus remained faithful in the face of great adversity, and you and I have salvation as a result.

Finally, Satan unleashes the third and most dangerous temptation. Jesus was tempted to subvert the work of God the Father by testing Him. To test God is to try and verify or prove our faith. In an especially sneaky move, Satan uses Scripture to try and detract Jesus. But Jesus knows Scripture just as well, and He will not yield to this temptation…or any other, for that matter.

Sadly, again we have fallen prey to this trick. We have tried to force God to act on our behalf. "God, if you'll do this or do that for me, then I'll do X" or whatever. If God will just make things the way I want them, then I'll go to church more or I'll give more. Then, of course, if things don't go our way, we blame God. Jesus lived and died to ensure our salvation; we don't need to test God in these ways or in any way. This was a temptation to which Jesus would not yield; He would not allow that bird to nest in His hair.

The devil makes temptation look so attractive, but it is always a lie. He wants us to take spiritual short cuts in our faith, but they are truly "dead" ends. Loyalty to God is loyalty to His Word, which is how Jesus responded to all of Satan's temptations. This is the lesson for us here today. To be tempted is not bad in and of itself. All of us are tempted daily and that won't change until the day we die. But how do we keep the nests out of hair? How do we resist giving in to temptation? By faith which comes through the Word: by believing in God and His Word, by having an active prayer life, by worshipping and receiving the gifts God gives in worship, by sharing our service with our church home and our fellowship with one another, by having a steady diet of the Word of God with which to turn back Satan's tricks and lies.

If we rely on our own strength to resist temptation, we will fail. But if we follow the example set by our Lord and rely on His strength, His Word, and the hopeful salvation He gives, then we will keep the nests out of our hair. Granted, I don’t have much hair but I do have the example set by Jesus which helps me in everyday temptation struggles…and you do too. You do too.

Amen.

The Transfiguration of our Lord

February 14, 2010

Luke 9:28-36

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you all in the name of God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning on the celebration of the festival of the Transfiguration of our Lord is the Gospel lesson from Luke chapter 9 as was previously read.

My dear friends in Christ Jesus,

    A prisoner was once sentenced to solitary confinement in a pitch-black prison cell. To relieve his boredom he took his only possession - a marble - and threw it against the walls. Day in, day out, clack, clack, clack, the marble would bounce off the wall onto the floor and then roll around the room until the man could locate it. One day the man decided to do something different – he would throw the marble up and try to catch it as it came down. Of course, in the pitch black he missed and waited to hear where the marble would drop. But there was no sound. The marble never came down! The man became more and more disturbed. What had happened to his precious marble? How could it disappear into thin air like that? The question drove him to madness, and he died.

   When the guards later entered the cell to remove his body, a glint of light caught one of the guard’s eyes. He looked up toward the ceiling to see the most astonishing sight – a marble caught in the web of a spider. "Of all the crazy things," he said. "How on earth did the spider manage to get a marble up there?"

   The point is this. Sometimes our senses can play tricks on us. We hear a bump in the night, but cannot identify its source. One of those smooth cooktop stoves may look innocent enough, but its surface could still be dangerously hot to touch. A sunny day when viewed from indoors may look inviting, but the reality of sub-zero temperatures reveal themselves once the door is opened. Sometimes we see something, but misunderstand or out and out fail to comprehend what is really going on.

   Case in point. What happened in our Gospel lesson this morning must have been quite a sight, and yet three supposedly reliable witnesses sort of missed the whole point. What happened on that Mount of Transfiguration was quite remarkable and significant. Jesus' ministry was about to take a turn, as he would set his face towards Jerusalem where he would fulfill and accomplish the purposes of God. The child of Bethlehem, the boy of Nazareth, the carpenter's son, was revealed as "God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God." And the three witnesses almost missed it.

   Peter, John, and James had seen their Lord as a teacher and as someone who performed miracles, but they had never seen Jesus like this in all his glory. Luke 9 tells us that his clothes became a dazzling white and his face was somehow different. They were now seeing Jesus in all his glory, glory that he had possessed ever since his timeless existence with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Now Jesus stood with the two other men who were Israel's source of hope and trust prior to Jesus - Moses and Elijah. In this group stood the hope of Israel past and the hope of Israel future - The Word spoken of by the prophets and the Word made flesh - together in one spot on the Mount of Transfiguration. But what did the disciples see? Verse 32 tells us that the men were so impressed, so blown away by what was happening…that they were falling asleep! 

    What do we see when it comes to Jesus? This can be sort of a problem for those who depend on their sight to verify everything. What did Jesus even look like? There are several famous images of Christ handed down through time. There is DaVinci's "Last Supper" and Warner Sallman's famous 1941 portrait of Jesus entitled “Head of Christ.”  The reality is that we don't have any real pictures or photographs of Jesus, but we have something better. Maybe we can’t see Jesus, but we have the record of the Scriptures; we have the account of his miracles, his mercy, his compassion, his sacrifice, his love. Thus, with our eyes of faith, we too see the glory of Christ. We do not see them visually like the disciples did, but we "see" them with eyes and ears of faith. For you see, God has revealed himself to us in his creation handiwork. He revealed himself as our judge at Mount Sinai. He revealed himself in dreams and visions to the prophets. However, it was not until God stepped down into his own creation as a man and suffered and died on the cross of Calvary and then rose again, that we see God in all of his compassion and love - compassion and love that satisfies our desperate need in the face of sin.

   But not everyone can see this. Not everyone believes in God. Sad…but true. The god of this age - Satan - has veiled and blinded the sight of those who are perishing apart from knowing the saving work of our Lord Jesus. Satan goes to great lengths to blind unbelievers and to confuse believers to prevent the glory and light of Christ from entering or sustaining our lives together. Not until our Lord removes this veil of darkness on the Last Day, much like the way he momentarily did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus, (Luke 24) were they or are we able to say definitively, "I see clearly now!"

   There is one final aspect to our Transfiguration text, and that is what the voice of God told the disciples to do. He did not tell them to build a megachurch. He did not tell them to set up a praise band to walk behind Jesus. He told them in a very pressing way, "listen to him" (verse 35). That is what God wants. He wants us to listen to Jesus. He wants us to listen to what he has to say to us and about us sinners. He wants us to listen to what he said and not try to second-guess him. "This is my body." "I am the way, the truth, and the life." "Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you."  "I tell you the truth, your sins are forgiven." "Follow me."

   There is an old adage that says, "seeing is believing." But Jesus himself shot down that notion when he told the disciples after he had risen, "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29). If we wait to see our glorified and transfigured Lord for confirmation of our faith, that will be too late. We will not see our Lord physically with our own two eyes until the Last Day - Judgment Day. Instead, we as believers in Jesus "see" him with our eyes of faith and we live our lives believing without having to see. We live by faith, not by sight as we live in God's grace, his love, his mercy, and his forgiveness as we faithfully await the return of our Lord in his glorious splendor; just as the prisoner waited for his precious marble to drop in the dark. And when we are able to live like that, then we can faithfully echo the words of St. Peter as he too stood in awe of his Transfigured Lord and uttered "how good Lord it is to be here."

Amen.

2nd Sunday after the Epiphany (C)

January 17, 2010

John 2:1-11

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning as the basis for today’s sermon is the assigned Gospel lesson for today read earlier from John chapter 2. 

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

Did today's Gospel lesson make you feel just a little bit uneasy? It may have. This account of Jesus at the wedding at Cana in Galilee is a much-debated text and has left just a few people feeling a bit uneasy. First of all, there's all that wine, and gone so soon! Some people don't like to think of Jesus in being in such a situation or environment like this, but it's true. Jesus was at a wedding party which in His day would have typically lasted for a full week and there was, note WAS, plenty of wine consumption over that week-long celebration. But it's not just the wine. What is Jesus doing there in the first place? Why is Mary so involved and what difference does it make to her if all the wine is gone? Why is Jesus so abrupt with Mary when she approaches the subject with Him? These are good questions one and all, but you know what? The Bible does not answer them for us, and so we shall leave them as unanswered because they are not what are important about John 2:1-11 and Jesus' presence at this wedding feast for an unnamed bride and groom.

The truth is, though, the setting is vital for what Jesus is about to do. A banquet, wedding or otherwise, was an important activity in Jesus' day. Banquets not only met physical needs, but they reminded the people of the day when the Messiah would offer them a banquet that would have no end (Luke 14:16). When the Jews of Jesus' day reflected on what heaven or the arrival of the Messiah would be like, they thought about banquets, and the wedding banquet was the foremost model that came to mind. And so Jesus is here at a wedding banquet not to condone “partying hard” or to give approval of getting drunk, but He is there to establish the fact that it is "party time," that is, time to reveal His glory and to provide the first of many signs that will point to who He truly is and what He truly does for His people.

There is another problem with this text, one that comes from outside of it and it's a problem that we import to skew what this lesson is really doing. The problem is the temptation for people to look at this miracle at the wedding in Cana and we start to ask all the wrong questions. “If Jesus cared enough to make all this wine for people, why won't He fill the emptiness in my life? If Jesus can fill 6 stone jars with wine, why can't He fill my back accounts with tons of money? Why won't Jesus show Himself in my life, because heaven knows my life could use a few signs and wonders! Why is it party time for other people, but not for me?” The temptation is for us to see Jesus like some kind of blessing vending machine and all we need do is drop in the right coin or the right amount and He will transform all the emptiness and troubles in our lives.

That is not what Jesus is about, but that's the way we would like things. As sinful humans, we want things the way we want them and we want them that way NOW. We want it to be "party time" in life all the time; we want perfect health and perfect finances and perfect relationships and perfect families and perfect timing. But that is not what Jesus is about, and that's not why He was at the wedding in Cana in Galilee.

So why was He there and what possible difference could it make for us? Jesus was there to bring something quite unexpected to that banquet, and He brings the same wonderful gifts into our lives today. Specifically, in John 2:1-11, John is making a firm statement that Judaism was to see and hear: the Messiah has arrived and the messianic banquet - portrayed as a wedding feast - has begun. The Judaic vessels of purification - the 6 stone jars - were filled with new things; the old had been exhausted, but the new wine of the Christ replaces it. This transformation made a huge impact at the wedding banquet, but its impact today is even bigger.

In verse 4, Jesus told Mary that His hour had not yet come. True. Jesus is about more than signs and wonders and neat-o tricks in life. His hour was to come at the cross. His hour, His time, was at the other end of the Roman whip and the crown of thorns. His hour was His suffering and death on the cross to bring about both the forgiveness for our sins and our eternal salvation. That was Jesus' hour. That was His glory fully revealed as He rises victorious from the grave over death and hell and sin. Jesus' glory was partially revealed at the wedding at Cana in Galilee, but it was fully revealed at Calvary's cross and empty tomb.

The result of both the wedding miracle and the passion of our Lord are the same. Verse 11 said that "(Jesus) thus manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him." At the conclusion of his Gospel, John writes, “But these (things) 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” (20:31) When we see what Jesus does at Cana and at Calvary, the result is that we believe - we have faith in the Messiah - and by this faith we have life. And this is not just "party time" life…this is life everlasting by our faith in the Son of God who, yes, turned water into wine, but who also turned your sinfulness into forgiveness by His living, dying, and rising again.

 

While this is a miracle account, there is also a very practical side that we can easily miss if we aren't careful. In John 2:1-11, Jesus stepped into a wedding banquet and fixed a single problem; He provided wine when there was none so that the bride and groom wouldn't be dishonored. Let's not forget that His is a practical solution to a very real problem. The same is true today. We may spiritualize Jesus and His work and conclude that He is in the business of saving souls and renewing lives, but He has no time for our everyday crisis. Is Jesus really interested in the common activities of our everyday lives? Does He care when it seems like all our wine is about to run out? The miracle at Cana in Galilee gives us the answer…yes. We can ask Jesus to help with the everyday items of life - some major and some minor - and He cares. He cares when we don't feel good. He cares when hope seems short. He cares and, more importantly, He does something about it. Our God is not a God who is far off and aloof and is disinterested in our lives. He does intervene; He does help.

 We see signs still today of just how much He cares. Jesus revealed His glory at the wedding in Cana, and He still does in our midst today. Every time we have a Baptism, we see another sign of His saving presence in our midst. Every time we celebrate Holy Communion, we see and taste and experience His saving presence in our midst. As Lutherans we believe that Baptism and Holy Communion are more than just some outward visible sign. They are what God promises they will be; they are the means of His grace by which He brings life and salvation and forgiveness of our sins. Just as the water turned to wine was a sign at the wedding banquet, so Baptism and Holy Communion continue to be signs for us today.

 Our worship life together, our life of service together, our common Christian faith, all these things contribute to our "party time!" No, that's not a license to go and get drunk, but it is a reminder that God has done amazing things for us, and we respond with our thanks and our praise and our worship and our service. Is Jesus always going to make everything perfect in our lives? No, but He has already made all things the way that they need be to ensure our eternal life. May you live like each day is "party time" because of the revealed glory of Christ Jesus and the faith that He has given to you for both today and forever.

Amen.

The Epiphany of our Lord

January 10, 2010

Matthew 2:1-12

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning on our celebration of Epiphany is the appointed Epiphany Gospel lesson from Matthew 2.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

Things are not always as they seem. We spent most of this week looking outside at the sunshine and thinking "it’s a nice day." Then we walk outside and get frostbite it 18 seconds. The problem is that once we get a mental picture of the way things should be (a bright, sunny day), that becomes our expectation – our mental model - (it’s nice out) and as we already know and our cold bodies will attest, things are NOT always as they seem.

Case in point...today's Gospel lesson and the coming of the wise men or the magi from the east. I can imagine that you too have a mental image or an expectation about the wise men. I would be willing to guess that your mental image includes three men of mixed race and age coming to the manger late at night on Christmas Eve. But again, things are not always as they seem.

The Bible does not say how many wise men there were. It simply says "magi" in the plural form. We know there were at least 2 wise men, but it is only tradition that says there were three, based on the three gifts given to the baby Jesus. The number of wise men really isn't important…what is important, what we remember during our Epiphany celebration, is what the wise men were there to do. They had come to worship Jesus.

We also may think that these wise men whether it was 2 or 12 or 22 came on Christmas Eve and knelt down to worship newly-born Jesus as he lay in the manger. Again, things are not always as they seem. That is the picture we have in our minds, but it is not correct. It took the magi many weeks to travel over 1000 miles after they had seen the star. Matthew points out that by the time the magi got there, Mary, Jesus, and Joseph were living in a house (verse 11) and were no longer in the manger. But again, when they arrived is not as critical as why they arrived…and that was to worship the baby Jesus, the new-born King. And that is why we have come here today…to worship Jesus, our King.

Things are not always as they seem. Maybe you have heard myths about Jesus' childhood and things that He did as a boy. There are stories that Jesus turned mud into doves, brought a dead playmate back to life, and zapped another playmate who had cheated at a game. But none of these are true, for Holy Scripture does not mention ANY of these. But these are not the only misconceptions about Jesus that exist. Oh, if only they were! There are other "stories" about Jesus that exist today that are far worse than the ones previously mentioned. Some believe the myth that Jesus was only a great teacher who taught people to follow a positive example. Some believe the story that Jesus is just one religious leader who stands alongside Buddha and Muhammad and Gandhi and Confucius as their peer and their equal. Question...why would wise men go 1000 miles to worship someone like that? Why would we go 10 miles to worship someone like that? We do so only at our eternal peril. The Holy Bible teaches us that Jesus is so much more than that; He is the Holy One of Israel, the One who died on the cross and rose again to deliver us from the punishment for sin that we deserved.

Based on that fact alone, you would think that everyone would want to worship this King, but things are not always as they seem. King Herod didn't want to worship that King; Herod wanted to kill Him instead! Herod had already killed several members of his family when he suspected them of plotting against him, so he was not above having people killed in an effort to protect himself. But I am sure that Herod must have been furious when the magi politely informed him that they had come in order to worship the new-born King (verse 2). Wait a second! Wasn't Herod the king? Obviously Herod was very upset, and when Herod was upset, all of Jerusalem was upset as well (verse 3).

But that did not stop the wise men from their intent, to worship the King Jesus. Now what does that tell us about what the magi thought about Jesus? Jesus was not only the king of Israel, but the King of Heaven…and the magi knew that. They knew who Jesus really was and why He'd come. Christ was worthy to be worshipped then even as an infant, and He is worthy to be worshipped still today. Why? Because in His birth Jesus took on human flesh, and in His death he took all the sins of the human flesh to the cross. And not His sins of the flesh, but our sins - the sins that you and I commit on a regular basis. And now Christ Jesus lives, having risen from the dead and we who believe in Him are proclaimed by God to be as sinless as Christ. That's good news! For that act, and for so many other reasons, Jesus is worthy to be worshipped!

As I stated before, Herod didn't want to worship Jesus. He hated Jesus, and wanted Him dead. So do many others today who want Jesus "dead," that is, to go away and not be the only Savior of the world. The best way to achieve their goal is to make Jesus "out of sight, out of mind;" to keep Him out of our schools, out of public places, out of our pledge of allegiance, even to keep Christ out of Christmas if need be. But to worship Jesus means to acknowledge Him as God and yourself as a sinner. Herod, and many today, cannot and will not do that. Can you? Can you admit that you are a sinner, deserving death and hell on judgement day were it not for Christ?

When the wise men came to worship Jesus they brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh as a part of their worship and they laid them at His feet in recognition that Jesus would ultimately give Himself as the ultimate gift of sacrifice for humanity. What gifts do you bring to the King today? Yes, you will probably offer Him a financial gift later in the service, but what other gifts do you bring this day? Are you willing to offer Him your love, your devotion, your service, your humility, your commitment, your burdens, your pain, your worry, your prayer…your life?

Again, things are not always as they seem. You probably thought that today you were going to give Christ the Lord something in your offering envelope and by singing some hymns to Him. That is true, but whether you realize it or not, God is giving you a gift today. He gives to you today and every day the gift of forgiveness. He gives you the gift of salvation. He gives to you the gift of the promise and the hope of eternal life through faith in Christ. He gives to you the gift of the Holy Spirit who brings faith and life. He gives you Himself in His body and blood. And all these gifts He gives for free, for they are gifts that have already been paid for by Jesus' sinless death on the cross and His glorious resurrection. These may not count for much in the eyes of the world, but again things are not always as they seem, because in the eyes of God, one who was willing to sacrifice His only Son for you, they are as precious as gold, frankincense, and myrrh - the gifts given on the event we celebrate and know as Epiphany.

Amen.

2nd Sunday after Christmas

January 3, 2010

Luke 2:40-52

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The text that engages us this morning on the 2nd Sunday after Christmas is today’s assigned Gospel lesson from Luke 2.

My Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

Anyone here ever traveled on account of business? I have had the distinct "pleasure" to have traveled to the exotic locations for work like Atlanta, Philadelphia, Princeton, and Cedar Rapids. Wow. My personal trips have been a whole lot better: Mexico, Florida, remote fly-in lakes in Canada, and Portland to name a few.

At this time of year, a lot of people travel either for business or for pleasure. By now, most everyone is back from Christmas visits. College students are back on campus. We know from TV Thursday night that a whole lot of people made it to New York to see the ball drop in Times Square. Even though the economy is so bad, seems like there’s a lot of travel still going on.

We don’t think of people in the 1st century traveling so much during the holidays like we do, but if we think back to our lessons of the past weeks, we realize that Jesus really did travel in those early days. Most of our recent travel has probably been for pleasure. For Jesus, it was ALL business. And perhaps here’s the real surprise: our text this morning reminds us that for all the traveling he did on business, Jesus never really left home. Allow me to explain.

Jesus’ life was an amazing series of business trips. Truth is, Jesus has been on the go throughout this holiday season. What do I mean by that? First and foremost, of course, he left his throne in heaven to become a growing baby, inside Mary. Then, while inside his mother, there was the bouncing trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Last Sunday we saw Jesus travel to Jerusalem at forty days old, which was followed by a return to Bethlehem, then a frantic dash to Egypt, and, sometime later, back to Nazareth. Now, in today’s lesson, he takes another new trip that is all about business (vv 41-42).

Passover was the annual commemoration of the Exodus; the leaving of Egypt by the people of Israel under Moses’ leadership. To celebrate, Jews nationwide would travel to their spiritual center – Jerusalem. So, at 12 - the age of religious maturity – Jesus goes up to Jerusalem with his parents. Then, lo and behold, the trip his parents expected him to make - back home - he doesn’t take (vv 43–45)…at least not when everyone else went home.

Now there is where it gets a little "dicey." Luke 2:49 is a much discussed text because of the vagueness of what Jesus says to Mary. Looking at 10 different English translations, they either say Jesus was "about his Father’s business" or in his "Father’s house." The reason for the confusion is that, in Greek, Jesus literally says something like "did you not know that it is necessary that I am with my Father?" Neither the word "business" nor "house" appear in the original text. The familiar KJV translation says that Jesus had to be about his "Father’s business" while our translation today says "house." So which is it? I would say "business" is at least closer because every step of every trip of Jesus had been and would be about business. Jesus in the Temple discussing the Scriptures was very much a part of the business on which his Father had sent him. One thing is for sure…Jesus says that "is is necessary" and the word He used for that is a divine imperative word; a word that almost always describes Jesus’ business trip to earth which comes with the necessary "perks" of the crown of thorns, the whip, the nails, and then the cross.

Granted, today it "feels" like Christmas is over. Next Sunday it officially ends with the coming of Epiphany. Yet the end of the Christmas season is only the beginning. Jesus grew up so he could finish the Father’s business. We know how this trip ends. Jesus would travel back to Jerusalem some 21 years later to finish the business on the cross. "It is finished" would mean the work of his trip was completed…for us and our salvation.

Here’s something kind of neat. For all that travel that Jesus did, all for business, and yet Jesus never really left his Father’s house. The more widely chosen translation of verse 49 – like our ESV translation - has Jesus asking "Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?" Jesus didn’t take that trip back to Nazareth with his group just yet because it wasn’t time for him to leave the temple, which was his Father’s house.

And Jesus would often return to the temple. Particularly during the week when he would wrap-up the Father’s business, Jesus was often in God’s house in Jerusalem.

But actually he was never away from the Father’s house at all. The temple symbolized God dwelling with his people. Since Jesus is one with the Father (John 10:30), wherever Jesus is, there the Father is dwelling. In a very real sense, Jesus IS the temple, the Father’s house! He is Immanuel, God with us. He went all that way and never really left home.

Therefore, when we are here in church, we are in the Father’s house…and we are about his business. In Christ’s Word and Sacraments, he is really present. Christ is really the one baptizing. Christ really speaks through Pastor’s voice to bring and give his forgiveness. Christ’s very body and blood are really present at the altar.

That makes this truly the Father’s house—not just as a slogan ("we are in God’s house today") but in reality, for when we are in God’s house we are in Christ’s presence.

And that means all the blessings of the Father’s business, the business finished by Christ on the cross, are here for us in this house: Forgiveness, life, and salvation. But he is not just limited to our church home. God’s presence is with us in our houses, our families, our cars, our workplaces, even in our schools, though we have done our best to kick him out of our schools.

So what difference does any of this make? What difference does it make whether we use the word "house" or "business" or whatever? My friends, the point is this. Jesus Christ takes a trip that is all about business. He comes to earth to live, and to die and to rise again to defeat sin and death and hell; three enemies that otherwise have complete control over us. We believe that God in Christ has done this for us and that makes a huge difference!

As we all make our way through life we hit a number of potholes, speed bumps, and detours along the way: kids that won’t listen, addiction, divorce, pain, temptation, financial problems, death, you name it. This list is as long as it is frustrating. Those who lack faith in Jesus hit those problems and they think their journey is over or they "break down." As the redeemed, blood-bought people of God, when these same issues come up in our lives (and they do), we by faith endure these troubles giving thanks to God for his continued help. He is in your midst each day in order to help – to save – you.

Jesus’ business trip was unlike any that came before it or anything done afterwards. And he does so in order that your life trip has a beautiful ending in the glory of heaven. Be thankful today that Jesus WAS in his Father’s house AND about his Father’s business. He did so for you and for your eternal benefit. Sure the journey is rough at times, but the final destination is way better than Florida or Mexico or even Cedar Rapids. Today be thankful that Jesus was about his Father’s business which was the business of ensuring that, by faith, you will live forever in the glory of heaven.

Amen.