Text:Matthew 2:13-23
A king and a baby. One with soldiers and armies available at his summoning, the other enjoying only the safety and security offered by his peasant father. One wise to the ways of the world the other still in diapers. What chance did the baby have? Yet our text shows the baby squaring off with the king as that king seeks to destroy him, to murder him as a rival and do away with the threat to his throne. The king, it would seem certainly has the advantage.
But you and I, as people of faith, know better. We how this story goes, and while we note it miraculous nature we are not surprised. For this is the way of our God. This is how he operates. His miracles never cease to amaze, they should never surprise, but they do catch us off guard when we stop to think about it.
The miracle in our text is quite miraculous. Jesus the little baby continues to evade the designs of a very wicked and a very evil man. History tells us that Herod was a paranoid king. He ruthlessly murdered anyone and everyone whom he perceived might be a threat to him and to his power. His wife, his mother in law, two of his sons, his brother in law all murdered when Herod began to suspect they had lost loyalty to him and his throne. His atrocities are well documented elsewhere in antiquity. And it is this wicked and paranoid king who turned his eye toward this helpless and humble infant. No prophesied king would have his throne. HE would see to that. When Magi from the east came with news of a newborn challenger to his power he intended to murder this child the same way he murdered his own.
But God's salvation can't be stopped. No power in heaven or on earth or under the earth can stop the salvation God has prepared from the beginning of time. This was His Son, His own and only Son whom he sent miraculously into the womb of Mary and who would not die until he had fulfilled his purpose and come to his appointed time. No King driven by the demons of his paranoia would stand in God's way once he set his plan of salvation in motion. This child had a job to do and a mission to fulfill and God would see to it that the mission was complete.
So, God made sure that the work got done. Quietly. Unobtrusively. Almost hidden from site. While Joseph slept. God sent word that the step father, the legal guardian and protector of his Christ should take this child and flee. Get up and go. To Egypt. So he did. That very night, under the cover of darkness Joseph took his family, gathered them together and left the little town of Bethlehem as it lay still that quiet night so that he might escape the soldiers of Herod.
And they came. Bethlehem was a small town, a population of only about a thousand, probably about the size of Milford Center. How many boys 2 year and younger do you suppose live in Milford Center? Imagine if the Army showed up with guns and bayonets and murdered our children in the middle of the night. One is too many. This was maybe 15 to 20. Little babies, and a feeble attempt to rid the world of the would be king.
The words of the prophet came true. The still night was suddenly interrupted with the screams of young mothers mourning the death of their children.
But not Mary. Not Joseph. Not on that night. Mary would see her son murdered but not now. On that night he was preserved because he had to survive. For your sake and mine. He had to fulfill the law. He had to fulfill God's purpose and plan. He had to live his life to earn our place. He had to do those things we could not do because we would need his acts of righteousness to count for us and to provide for us that righteousness that is not our own. He needed to live so that he could live that life of good works that would cover us in Baptism.
And he did. The Lord saved him from this moment in view of the next. God preserved him from the swords of the soldiers and spared him for the nails and the spear and the thorns. He was destined for the cross and Herod would not stand in his way. God had in mind the salvation that this baby would provide and he would not allow it to be stopped.
The significance of today is that today follows on the heels of Christmas. A day ago you were home, probably waking up to packages and paper. Wrapped with your name printed on the tag. That gift was purchased with you in mind. Before it sat under your tree, before the tag was printed with your name on it, before it was wrapped, before it was purchased, it sat on a shelf in some store until it was selected specifically for you, with you in mind and no one else. Someone saw it and thought of you. Selected it with you in mind. Picked it up, paid for it, brought it home to give it to you.
Your salvation is no different. God knew the gift he wanted to give to you. He saw it, knew the price - just how much it would cost and so he selected it purchased it paid for it and got it ready for you. Your Christmas gifts were purchased before they were given, with you in mind, and in the same way God purchased this gift, knowing you would need it on into the future. And just like the holiday shopper who braves the crowds searching high and low until the perfect gift is found God went to extreme lengths to provide this gift to you. Nothing could stand in his way. He paid the price. And today the gift is yours. Salvation has been delivered.
But while we know this to be true, in spite of that fact that our forgiveness is for real and heaven is guaranteed, there are certainly times that it might seem otherwise. Consider the experience of Joseph and Mary. Our young parents. What must it have been like to gather up your family in the middle of the night with nothing but the belonging you can carry and run away to Egypt? How would you feel? Frightened? Nervous? Anxious? Afraid? There are those times that our salvation and our hope of heaven is a lost cause. Sure it's easy to say that God's salvation is sure and certain, that his promise of heaven is sewed up and in the bag. But our actual experience of it seems to tell us something different.
Jesus had to contend with kings and soldiers and armies. He lived through their threats and assassination attempts. He lived his life as one who would be stricken smitten and afflicted. He would be despised and rejected by men. And it began as soon as he was born. Isn't that of some comfort for us? Because we struggle too. Whether it be as individuals, in our own experience of life or as families or even as a church, as a Christian congregation. We know that we have God's blessing but there are times when it seems like it has been lost.
God saw to it that Jesus was preserved. The Lord brought him through this trial and preserved him for the cross. Likewise God lays on us a cross to carry. And so we carry it, but at the end is that salvation. That promise of eternity, heaven lying in wait. Guaranteed and unstoppable. There might be things that stand in the way, obstacles and enemies to contend with, but nothing can take from you the promise of God's salvation that He went to great lengths to provide.
Amen.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Advent 4 - Isaiah 7.10-17
Did you know you could try God's patience. Ahaz did it. God gave him a command, to ask for a sign, some visible and tangible evidence that God would do what he said, that God would keep the promise that he gave and Ahaz pretended to be pious. "far be it from me O Lord to put you to the test." A pretty thin attempt to be humble and righteous. And God was not impressed. He saw through the King's attempt to brown nose and gave him a sign any ways.
"The young woman will conceive and bear a son and will call his name Immanuel. And by the time the boy is old enough to know right and wrong the kingdom would fall to the Assyrians."
You see, Ahaz was a wicked king. He worshipped false gods. He even sacrificed his own children to those gods, to the Baals. (2 Chronicles 28) He was not faithful to the Lord and therefore the Lord would give him over to his enemies in judgment for the sins he had committed. The words of Isaiah the prophet are a warning. A call to repentance. A call to turn from sin and believe. But Ahaz heard without listening. He listened without understanding. And the words of Isaiah came true. The Assyrians came and took the kingdom of Judah from Ahaz so that he received his just reward. He was punished for his sin.
That same message of warning and punishment that same plea for repentance could be spoken today. Indeed it must be spoken today.
If you go back and read the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 28 you can find out all about King Ahaz. He was a wicked king. He walked completely in the ways of the world. The world of Ahaz was an idolatrous place - all kinds of false gods that people worshiped and prayed to. 2 Chronicles tells us that Ahaz even burned his children in the fire to these false gods. A reference to the ancient practice of child sacrifice. Sounds rather barbaric, at least until we remember how many children have been killed in our own day and age as their parents peruse the gods of wealth, a career, a reputation. Our age is just as wicked as those that came before us.
But God knows. He knows the condition of His world. He sees what is going on. He sees the sin and wickedness in men's hearts. It is nothing new. And so while he sent Isaiah to speak words of repentance to King Ahaz, he sends His Christians into the world to call for repentance. And that includes you. As you go off to work, to school, to college campuses. You are called to be a witness to the truth of the word of God.
(And by the way, usually the image we have of this involves brash bible thumping or picket signs. Often Christians forget that they can make a ready defense of the Christian faith in a logical and well reasoned way with sound rational arguments. The world does not necessarily hold the intellectual high ground - we however often give it up to them.)
The world needs to hear that there is a God. That there is a creator. That the words of the Bible are true. The world needs to hear the implications of this. That if there is a creator, then it is true that there is a judge. There is a judgment day, when this creator will return to call each of us to account. We need to be ready for that day, and therefore, like King Ahaz, the world needs to repent. Turn from sin and turn to the Savior. Because God is merciful and he has provided a way of salvation.
This text that was one of warning and judgment for Ahaz, was not just warning. There was a promise tucked away in there along with that call to repentance. A promse of a savior. A promise about Jesus.
"A young woman will conceive." This was a sign for Ahaz. A woman he knew would have a son and name him Immanuel. And Ahaz would see the boy grow and could watch the Lord's promised events unfold as the child grew. But that child who served as a reminder of God's judgment was also a sign of God's mercy. That boy would point ahead to another boy who would be born years into the future. Born to another young woman, this one a virgin. And Isaiah's promise would come to roost in the life of this second child in a greater way than the first.
Matthew the author of the Gospel text for today helps us to understand that these words spoken by Isaiah find their greatest fulfillment, not in the time of Ahaz but in a future time. Matthew's ties those words to Joseph and to Mary. Mary, the virgin who conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus the boy who was Immanuel - not just by name, but by his person.
Immanuel, the name Immanuel, in hebrew literally means "God is with us". Now this is true in a general sort of way. We believe that when we worship, as we pray, as we have our devotions God is present with us. But with Jesus it was different, it was more. Jesus was literally God with us. God among us. God present in the flesh with His people. The God who is bigger that the universe and holds all power and authority reduced himself to human stature. The God who will come again to judge the living and the dead on the last day. This God, the True God. The Only God.
Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, is exactly what this world needs. Our world that is so misguided and wrong headed, our world that insists on heading in the wrong direction needs this child. Our world needs the forgiveness that he came to provide. Our world needs the salvation that is found nowhere else in all of heaven and earth. Our world needs Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life.
You see, the miraculous birth of this little baby was a precursor to the greater miracles that he would accomplish later in his life. Of course there were the healings, the walking on water, the mastery over the wind and the waves, the release of those held captive by the devil. But the greatest work of this Christ child, this God with us was his death. His vicarious atonement, where he was our substitute, where he took God's judgment for our sin so that he could pay the price for our sin. And then, to prove that this work was done, he was raised from the dead. Because he was victorious over our sin, he was also victorious over death. Death, the wages of sin, now has no power because of what Jesus has done. The boy, the baby born to a virgin, has saved us.
The Christ has come. Immanuel, God-with-us has come. He came at Christmas born to be our savior. But he is coming back. And when he returns he will come with judgment. In the days of the wicked King Ahaz God enacted judgment through the Assyrian army. When he comes again he will do the job himself. So the world needs to be ready. The world needs to be prepared. We have God's salvation. We have Jesus who died and suffered that judgment in our place. May we speak as clearly as Isaiah. Amen.
And now may the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen
"The young woman will conceive and bear a son and will call his name Immanuel. And by the time the boy is old enough to know right and wrong the kingdom would fall to the Assyrians."
You see, Ahaz was a wicked king. He worshipped false gods. He even sacrificed his own children to those gods, to the Baals. (2 Chronicles 28) He was not faithful to the Lord and therefore the Lord would give him over to his enemies in judgment for the sins he had committed. The words of Isaiah the prophet are a warning. A call to repentance. A call to turn from sin and believe. But Ahaz heard without listening. He listened without understanding. And the words of Isaiah came true. The Assyrians came and took the kingdom of Judah from Ahaz so that he received his just reward. He was punished for his sin.
That same message of warning and punishment that same plea for repentance could be spoken today. Indeed it must be spoken today.
If you go back and read the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 28 you can find out all about King Ahaz. He was a wicked king. He walked completely in the ways of the world. The world of Ahaz was an idolatrous place - all kinds of false gods that people worshiped and prayed to. 2 Chronicles tells us that Ahaz even burned his children in the fire to these false gods. A reference to the ancient practice of child sacrifice. Sounds rather barbaric, at least until we remember how many children have been killed in our own day and age as their parents peruse the gods of wealth, a career, a reputation. Our age is just as wicked as those that came before us.
But God knows. He knows the condition of His world. He sees what is going on. He sees the sin and wickedness in men's hearts. It is nothing new. And so while he sent Isaiah to speak words of repentance to King Ahaz, he sends His Christians into the world to call for repentance. And that includes you. As you go off to work, to school, to college campuses. You are called to be a witness to the truth of the word of God.
(And by the way, usually the image we have of this involves brash bible thumping or picket signs. Often Christians forget that they can make a ready defense of the Christian faith in a logical and well reasoned way with sound rational arguments. The world does not necessarily hold the intellectual high ground - we however often give it up to them.)
The world needs to hear that there is a God. That there is a creator. That the words of the Bible are true. The world needs to hear the implications of this. That if there is a creator, then it is true that there is a judge. There is a judgment day, when this creator will return to call each of us to account. We need to be ready for that day, and therefore, like King Ahaz, the world needs to repent. Turn from sin and turn to the Savior. Because God is merciful and he has provided a way of salvation.
This text that was one of warning and judgment for Ahaz, was not just warning. There was a promise tucked away in there along with that call to repentance. A promse of a savior. A promise about Jesus.
"A young woman will conceive." This was a sign for Ahaz. A woman he knew would have a son and name him Immanuel. And Ahaz would see the boy grow and could watch the Lord's promised events unfold as the child grew. But that child who served as a reminder of God's judgment was also a sign of God's mercy. That boy would point ahead to another boy who would be born years into the future. Born to another young woman, this one a virgin. And Isaiah's promise would come to roost in the life of this second child in a greater way than the first.
Matthew the author of the Gospel text for today helps us to understand that these words spoken by Isaiah find their greatest fulfillment, not in the time of Ahaz but in a future time. Matthew's ties those words to Joseph and to Mary. Mary, the virgin who conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus the boy who was Immanuel - not just by name, but by his person.
Immanuel, the name Immanuel, in hebrew literally means "God is with us". Now this is true in a general sort of way. We believe that when we worship, as we pray, as we have our devotions God is present with us. But with Jesus it was different, it was more. Jesus was literally God with us. God among us. God present in the flesh with His people. The God who is bigger that the universe and holds all power and authority reduced himself to human stature. The God who will come again to judge the living and the dead on the last day. This God, the True God. The Only God.
Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, is exactly what this world needs. Our world that is so misguided and wrong headed, our world that insists on heading in the wrong direction needs this child. Our world needs the forgiveness that he came to provide. Our world needs the salvation that is found nowhere else in all of heaven and earth. Our world needs Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life.
You see, the miraculous birth of this little baby was a precursor to the greater miracles that he would accomplish later in his life. Of course there were the healings, the walking on water, the mastery over the wind and the waves, the release of those held captive by the devil. But the greatest work of this Christ child, this God with us was his death. His vicarious atonement, where he was our substitute, where he took God's judgment for our sin so that he could pay the price for our sin. And then, to prove that this work was done, he was raised from the dead. Because he was victorious over our sin, he was also victorious over death. Death, the wages of sin, now has no power because of what Jesus has done. The boy, the baby born to a virgin, has saved us.
The Christ has come. Immanuel, God-with-us has come. He came at Christmas born to be our savior. But he is coming back. And when he returns he will come with judgment. In the days of the wicked King Ahaz God enacted judgment through the Assyrian army. When he comes again he will do the job himself. So the world needs to be ready. The world needs to be prepared. We have God's salvation. We have Jesus who died and suffered that judgment in our place. May we speak as clearly as Isaiah. Amen.
And now may the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Advent 3 Matthew 11:2-15
This past Friday, the Schlueter family woke up like it was any other Friday, another day, another full list of things to do, especially during this time of year. But then we looked out the window, the kids got up and looked out the window and during the night some snow had decided to fall.
Snow fall does imaginative things to children. while most of us big people will get up and look out that snow covered window and see shoveling and delays and slippery roads and stress, a child will look out and see sleds and snow forts and snowball fights and snow angels and fun. What you see out your window has much to do with your perspective, doesn't it? I can recall the days when I looked out my window to see hope and anticipation, these days the view can seem much more cloudy, the sky can seem more dim, less bright, how does the view look from your window?
How do you suppose the view looked from John the Baptist's window? There was a day for John when that view was unobstructed. From the house of freedom he looked out and saw a world ripe for the coming Christ, a world that needed to be warned of the impending Kingdom that would come with fire and judgment and wrath and doom. John spoke the words of a prophet, the words of warning, yet warning spoken in love.
But the view from his window changed. His window changed. At the time contemporaneous with the telling of our text, John's window had bars on it. The prophet had been free to speak God's Word of coming judgment. He had seen the Christ approaching and that judgment getting near. Suddenly that picture was o scurried by injustice. Prison bars for the innocent and the good. John's view out his window had become quite different.
John had come to preach judgment. There is safety and security in judgment. Judgment reminds us that while There is evil, evil has hell to pay. When there is judgment, Things are as they should be. The judgments keep us safe, remind us that there is someone watching.
what happens when it seems that the one who is supposed to be watching seems not to be noticing? what happens when the evil seems to get off scott free so that the evil goes on unencumbered? What happens when the good seems to be paying for the deeds of those who are evil? What happens to those feelings of safety and security? What happens when the view out your window is obscured by prison bars, as was that of John? We start to wonder, don't we? We wait for judgment. We expect judgment. I am willing to guess that John the Baptist was the same.
Some of the earlier interpreters of this text didn't want to believe that John didn't understand when he sent his disciples to ask the question. "Are you the Christ or should we wait for another?" After all, shouldn't John have known? Didn't John see the dove? Hear the voice? Didn't he even leap in his mother's womb when the incarnate Christ approached in the womb of Mary? John must have known better than to ask. But put yourself in John's shoes. Picture yourself with John's view out John's window. Imagine looking out through bars of steel to see the one who was to come with fire and wrath looking past the sins of Herod and instead welcoming sinners and eating with them. Instead of fire from heaven there is bread. Instead of fierce words of judgment there are kindly spoken words of mercy. Might cause you to question too. Perhaps the view from your window today causes you to question.
So what do you see when you look out your window? What do you expect to see? Chances are it's isn't the naive innocence of childhood. Perhaps your view is obscured by your situation. By the economy. By work or family struggles. We look out at the world hoping for some deliverance, but expecting it not to come.
Or perhaps, instead of looking out the window we look up... to heaven... Perhaps we pray for deliverance. fervently and feverishly. hoping against hope that God will save us. But, perhaps we, like John are afraid those prayers are falling on deaf ears.
Jesus tells us that the one not offended by him, the one not scandalized by him shall be blessed. Perhaps this is the scandal that he means. Mercy instead of judgment. Love instead of vengeance. Forgiveness instead of justice.
John was scandalized, offended by Jesus. And so he sent his disciples to ask. Jesus sent back a response. "Go tell John what you are seeing and hearing. The blind are seeing, the lame are walking, the lepers are clean, the deaf are hearing, the dead are raised and the poor have the Gospel preached to them."
While it is true that the Lord is a god of justice and judgment and retribution and vengeance, it is also true that he is a god of love and mercy and forgiveness. Let's not loose sight of the Old Testament text, after all. The weak made strong, the feeble made firm, the anxious given hope, springs in the desert, pools in the wilderness, God making all things new. But at the same time bringing vengeance.
I wonder if sometimes our trouble isn't that we want vengeance, just not against us. Take vengeance on those who have wronged me, but let my vengeance slide by. Show all those other sinners just how wrong they have been, but show mercy to me. God is merciful. God is merciful to us. But he is also merciful to our enemies. God loves you and me, but he also loves our enemies. God forgives my sin, and he also forgives the sins of the ones who sin against me.
And so it was with John. Jesus was merciful and good to John, but he was also merciful to Herod. Jesus was merciful to tax collectors and sinners, but he was also merciful to Pharisees and Saducees, and in our own day, Jesus is merciful to us, but he is also merciful to our enemies. Because mercy is what he does.
That's hard for us to get a hold of some times. We can't understand it and we can't imagine doing it. After all, the world needs order, it needs structure, it needs rules and morals and consequences. You start handing out mercy and forgiveness willy nilly and the whole world will go to pot.
But that's what Jesus does. Recklessly and dare we say it, carelessly he hands out forgiveness. Even to the bad people, even to the people who don't deserve it, even to those really bad people who would horde God's mercy but begrudge the same gift when its given to the people we don't prefer.
And then, with all of this mercy and forgiveness going around, with no one being held to the standard or made to give account, with no one being made an example of, well, you and I could have predicted what would happen next. Jesus, the fool, was arrested and killed, murdered. So then what? Now look what has happened to all he had worked for, everything he had accomplished, all the disciples he had accumulated and followers he had gathered. They all came to nothing.
Or did they? Hardly. Far from it. In fact, the world's biggest scandal became the worlds greatest victory. Jesus came from behind, came from death itself to defeat not just the enemy, the devil, he came to emasculate and completely disarm his enemy. With one fell swoop Jesus over took death and hell and sin and punishment and he did away with them once and for all. Jesus was killed, but on the third day he rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
In our text, Jesus made the comment, "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force." As he said those words, the violence was only just beginning; for John, but especially for Jesus. John was beheaded. Jesus was crucified. Jesus' words about the kingdom of heaven being taken by force came to their fruition. Kind of makes you wonder, though, what kind of a kingdom is it if it can be taken by force? If it's taken, doesn't that mean its no longer a kingdom?
Yes but you see, Jesus' kingdom is not of this world. It is of the next. Jesus reign in this world by hiding his power in simple places out of the sight of most people. But it's there. In the Word, the Sacraments, in the hearts and lives of believers. So, since the kingdom is not one with borders and soldiers and taxes and rules, it is a kingdom of flesh and blood or water and word. It can be attacked, but it cannot be defeated. It can be taken but it cannot be overcome. It can be killed, but it cannot be exterminated. Because it is God's kingdom. And it is heaven's kingdom. And the day is coming when the mask will be pulled back and we will see this kingdom in all its glory, not just with our hearts but even with our eyes.
Today our eyes look through the glass of clouded windows. We see clouds and snow and dreary times, but occasionally, like a ray of sun breaking through the clouds we see that future hope of eternal glory. That day is coming. don't loose heart.
Amen.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Advent 2 December 5, 2010 - Matthew 3:1-12
A favorite childhood game of virtually every child is the game of hide and seek. I imagine you know how the game is played. It begins when someone is chosen to be "it". As soon as that decision is made, that child closes her eyes and begins to count. And while she is counting, with her eyes closed, every other contestant to run like mad to find a hiding place. Meanwhile the child who is it is counting out loud to the predetermined number, getting closer and closer to the moment of anticipation... 17, 18, 19, 20! and then, when she reaches 20, she cries out that dread proclamation, "Ready or not, here I come!"
Well, according to our Gospel text for today, Jesus is coming. And just like the game of hide and seek requires a cry of warning when the seeker is coming to chase you down and make you it, that same cry comes, but not by him who is coming. The crying, the proclamation is given to another, a prophet, a herald, "Jesus is here, the Kingdom of Heaven is here. (17, 18, 19, 20...) Ready or not here He comes!" You'd better make certain you are prepared.
To get yourself ready in the game of hide and seek, what you have to do is hide. Its always the kids who are best at hiding who win. If you can fit yourself into some tight space so that you are completely concealed, so that the kid who is "IT" can't find you, if you have some super special secret spot, then you can win the game every time. It's when you are found that you get into trouble. Once you are found your only hope is to be faster than the one chasing you.
The rules of the game change a bit when it's Jesus who comes, when it's Jesus who seeks. How does the saying go? "You can run but you can't hide." When it's Jesus who comes, it doesn't matter how super secret your hiding spot, there is no hiding. It doesn't matter how far or how fast you can run, because there is no escape. When Jesus comes, you can't run and you can't hide. He will find you and he will catch you. The only thing to do is to be ready. So God, in his mercy, sends John the Baptist to ensure that everyone is ready.
Isaiah put it best when he identified John as "the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'"
And so how did John get that job done? What did he do? What did he say? What message did he proclaim?
"Repent..." "Repent" was the message, "for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." So what does it mean to repent?
The term implies a change of mind or a change of heart. To turn around, to go a different direction. Not a minor change, not a make-it-fit-into-what-you-already-believe (which is popular today) It is, instead, a complete change, a total transformation. Change your allegiance, you entire frame of reference. Something on par with, "Stop being a Buckeye and become a Spartan, or worse, a Wolverine." It's that sort of a change, but bigger. More important and significant. More meaningful and not so trivial as allegiance to a sports team. This is a complete turn around of belief and worldview and self understanding and religion and faith.
This becomes even more striking, even more offensive when we remember who John was talking to - he was talking to Jews. He was talking to people who were regulars at the temple, people who went to church. People who, at least on the surface might not have been too different from you or me. We would think them to be believers, but John says they are not. They need to change what they believe to accommodate for the one who is to come. They need to change their belief to make room for Jesus.
But then came the Pharisees and Saducees. Religious superstars. Guys who people thought were sure to make God's starting team. They were into it and knew a lot about it. They spent time living it and practicing it. Especially the Pharisees were looked up to as religious examples.
So these guys came to see what was going on down by the Jordan River and when John saw them standing there he laid in to them. Ripped them apart. Called them children of snakes. a brood of vipers. Calls to mind the words God spoke to that old snake, the Devil, back in the Garden of Eden, Enmity between Eve's offspring and his. John might as well be saying, "You are children of the devil." No middle ground there.
So John says repent. be converted, change your heart, your mind, and preserve yourself from the coming judgment. That same message needs to be proclaimed today.
The book of Revelation identified Jesus as "the One who was who is and who is to come". Jesus who came is coming again and is coming soon. If we were counting down, who knows where we would be; 17? 18? Maybe 19 1/2? Who knows, only God knows for sure, but he is coming soon. That same message of preparation and repentance needs to be preached today.
John was talking to unbelievers. Stop being unbelievers, turn to Jesus. You and I live in an unbelieving world. John's message needs to be preached today.
Think back to your days of playing hide and seek. It seemed like there was always that kid who couldn't find a good place to hide, usually a younger kid, a kid who probably wouldn't be able to run as fast or as far. You would be in your hiding spot, listening to the countdown watching that kid run around looking for a good place to hide. When the time was up, he was a sitting duck. Easy prey for the seeker. We live in a world filled with people who don't know how to hide.
Oh they think they do, they believe themselves to be well hidden. After all, they spend most of their lives hiding... from each other, from the public eye, or even at hiding from themselves. But they can't hide from God.
Of course we are not talking about literal hiding, we are talking about hiding from sin, from the devil, we are talking about making that sin go away. We are talking about justification.
After all, every one of us is a sinner. We all have sins that we seek to cover up, to hide from or hide away, to keep concealed and to keep hidden. And so people try hide them, to cover them up and keep them as secrets so that nobody finds out. We are fully engaged in our own private game of hide and seek. It's a game we play in our conscience. We commit a sin. We know we are wrong. We are convicted in our conscience, but we try to pretend we have done nothing wrong. We hide from our guilt. We hide from God's law. We hide from those we would offend. And we think we have pulled it off.
But we are fools. Have you ever played hide and seek with a toddler? They know enough to understand the rules of the game, the basic concept, but they don't quite know how to hide. They assume "If I can't see you, you can't see me." And so when she hides her eyes are concealed, but most of her body is sticking out in plain sight. Usually when we hide from God and even from each other we hide like a toddler. We cover our own eyes to our sin, but it is only all too obvious to everyone else. We have only fooled ourselves.
So our problem is that we need to learn how to hide. In order for the world to be ready and prepared, in order for true repentance to take place so that sinners are hidden from the wrath to come, so that no piece of us is sticking out when the fires of judgment start to burn, the world needs to learn how to hide.
And the ironic thing is that if we are truly going to hide, if we are truly going to be covered and concealed, before we can hide, we need to learn to be found.
The first time that Jesus came, he came to find sinners. He looked for them, sought them out. Think the woman at the well, Mary Magdalene, Matthew the tax collector, the thief on the cross, all examples of sinners who Jesus came to seek... who Jesus came to seek and to save.
When Jesus came to seek, he came seeking those who were exposed, those who couldn't find a place to hide, those who were vulnerable to be destroyed in the coming judgment.
This Advent Season we are reminded that there is a second coming, a second Advent, when he who first came to seek and to save will come to judge. Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead. At that coming there will be no more hiding. To be found it to be found in sin. And to be found in sin is to be dead. There is no hope of escape from this coming judgment. The only hope is Jesus.
When Jesus comes today to seek out those who are hiding, he comes bringing with him repentance and faith. He sends out his Spirit to find those who are hiding away, frightened sinners, unsure of where to go or what to do with their problem of sin. Jesus comes to take it from them, to find them in their sin so that they hide in him.
At his first Advent Jesus came to provide salvation. He came to provide forgiveness and a solution for that problem of sin. He came to be the one who received the judgment. He was found innocent but chose to be killed as a sinner, he was found with no guilty but chose to be counted among the guilty. So he died. And his death was for us, so that when we are found, discovered by his Spirit of grace and mercy and peace and love we might find forgiveness. To be found by Jesus is to be hidden from judgment. There is no other way. There is no other salvation. There is only Jesus.
Sinners need Jesus. The world needs repentance. All those years ago, John the Baptist came preaching repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. Get ready. Get yourself prepared, because the kingdom of heaven has come. "Ready or not..."
Today that same call needs to be made, to a world that is hiding, yet still exposed. To a world that believes its sins have been covered but are in for a rude awakening. Christ is coming. He is coming soon. 17. 18, 19, 20! Ready or not here he comes! The only preparation is to be found by Jesus.
Amen.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Advent 1 November 28, 2010
Invitations. You can get them by the hundreds. Pick them up 25 to a pack for a few dollars at Wal Mart or print them off yourself at home if you are more computer savvy. These days they come printed with all kinds of cartoon characters, movie characters, super heroes, and barbie dolls. You can get gold lettering, silver lettering, fancy paper or just plain card stock. And for those who would really show off their technical expertise, you can forgo the paper all together and send out eVites, (email invitations that don't cost a dime and save the time and the hassle of mailing things out the old fashioned way). Either way, there are lots of different types of invitations.
Now, imagine if you would an invitation that arrives, not in your email inbox, on your blackberry or iPhone, not even in your mailbox by old fashioned "snail mail". Imagine an invitation that arrives on your doorstep by a personal currier. You open it up and find that it is embossed and sealed. The weight of the paper and the quality of the printing lets you know that this invitation wasn't purchased at Wal Mart. This invitation is special, costly and important. The invitation would let you know that the party, the event was special. Important. No expense spared. And for that matter, the guest list will be somewhat exclusive. Not a party for the common man, mind you. Have you ever been to a party like that?
I have.
But before you are too impressed, let me explain. I was a part of the wait staff. I was employed by a catering company while attending seminary. There was an exclusive banquet held at the natural history museum, with all sorts of important people from the city of St Louis. They were all dressed to the 9's, pulled up in their fancy cars, got our wearing their fur coats tuxedos and evening gowns, and I was there to pour the coffee, deliver the entrees, fill the wine glasses, and point people to the rest rooms. I was there, but hardly because of how important I was.
Well, today, our Old Testament text includes an invitation. “Come,” it says, “Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.”
Talk about an invitation to an exclusive party. If princes and kings and celebrities and dignitaries find themselves on exclusive guest lists, consider for a moment an invitation, not just to the governor’s mansion, not even to the white house, imagine an invitation to God's house, to the house of him who is King of kings and Lord of Lords. Now that is an invitation. Now that is a guest list!
But here's the thing, the difference, a profound difference. The King, the host of this party, of this celebration, isn't like a regular host. He isn't like a regular king. This King comes, not in a limousine, not with an entourage or a military escort, not with red carpets and paparazzi. Instead, this King comes to you humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt on the foal of a beast of burden.
And so you are invited. Invited to the house of the Lord. Invited here in fact on this last Sunday in November, this first Sunday in Advent, to meet with this King who comes. And as you are here, he would teach you.
Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. These words and these ways that he would teach you are good words and they are good ways.
If you got an invitation in your mailbox from the governor or from the president to attend some presidential ball, as you were making preparations to attend, somewhere along the way, the question of what to wear would come to your mind. Would you wear blue jeans and a T-shirt? Would your current wardrobe have anything appropriate for an event such as the one you were preparing to attend? Men, would you need to go rent a tux? Women, would you go shopping for some sort or an evening gown? Would you make certain you had the shoes, the jewelry, the hair-do appropriate for the event? To be sure, you wouldn't put on your weak-end-working-around-the-house clothes.
In a similar sort of way, as we are preparing for the Lord's celebration, to which we have received this invitation we are mindful of how we are dressed. And thus our Lord teaches us.
“Cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” says our Epistle text, “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.”
These are words for our time. Everywhere we look in the world we see these very things. Families are known to feud and fight over silly little things. they will be torn apart by anger and bickering. Church families are split due to infighting and gossip, one member talking about another slandering another without the love appropriate for the family of God.
Likewise with the sexual immorality and sensuality. Everything these days has become about sex. From television programing, to commercial advertising, to even major political issues, right down to the emails in your in-box. These topics of sexuality and sensuality are constantly and continually before our eyes and in our attention.
These things are constant snares for us as a Christian community. They are in the world around us, everywhere we go and a part of everything that we do. We can't get away from them. But like Luther said, "You can't stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair." We can't stop temptations and we can't stop the world from its foolishness and sin but we don't have to take part in it.
Or here's another way to think of it, when you get your 5 year old dressed and ready to go, either to church or to some party, you expect him to keep himself out of the dirt and mud. When he comes back in to the house with mud all over his sunday best you are upset with him for his foolishness. Imagine then how foolish it would be if you got dressed for a black tie event and then went out to join the 5 year olds in the mud puddle. You wouldn't do that.
Yet here we are, we are dressed for eternity, wearing our Lord's garments of holiness and still we are willing to traipse through the gutters and back allies with the idolaters and fornicators. We are willing to submit to the spirit of quarreling and jealousy, of backbiting and gossip, we are willing to take part in all kinds of sin that just is not fitting for the people of God.
And so it would seem that we have gotten our party clothes dirty. We need a bath. A change of clothes. Again...
And so our host, our King comes to us. Humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, on the foal of a donkey. Jesus comes to us riding a beast of burden. Our king comes to us, again, not the way a king usually comes, no military escort, no banners and emblems, no head held high, no proud and powerful war horse. Instead a humble and lowly donkey. He rides to his throne and his coronation the same way his mother rode to his birth. Humble and on a donkey. On a beast of burden, because he himself would be our beast of burden. He himself came to carry our load of sin of suffering and shame. He came to carry our guilt and punishment.
We are not used to this sort of a ruler, to this sort of a king. Human kings are not humble. Earthly kings are not lowly. They are high and mighty. Distinguished and important. But Jesus is not. Even though He is King of kings and Lord of lords, he does not hold it over our heads. He does not pretend to be better, more righteous, more fit, more worthy, more deserving of honor and praise and glory and worship than we. He simply serves. He simply loves. He simply calls and he simply leads.
Jesus, this High and Mighty, yet humble and lowly King would be your king. He would have you follow him and so he has sent you his invitation. Won't you come, to the house of the Lord, where he would teach you his ways, that you might walk in His path. Won't you come, enjoy the blessings of heaven.
Amen.
Now, imagine if you would an invitation that arrives, not in your email inbox, on your blackberry or iPhone, not even in your mailbox by old fashioned "snail mail". Imagine an invitation that arrives on your doorstep by a personal currier. You open it up and find that it is embossed and sealed. The weight of the paper and the quality of the printing lets you know that this invitation wasn't purchased at Wal Mart. This invitation is special, costly and important. The invitation would let you know that the party, the event was special. Important. No expense spared. And for that matter, the guest list will be somewhat exclusive. Not a party for the common man, mind you. Have you ever been to a party like that?
I have.
But before you are too impressed, let me explain. I was a part of the wait staff. I was employed by a catering company while attending seminary. There was an exclusive banquet held at the natural history museum, with all sorts of important people from the city of St Louis. They were all dressed to the 9's, pulled up in their fancy cars, got our wearing their fur coats tuxedos and evening gowns, and I was there to pour the coffee, deliver the entrees, fill the wine glasses, and point people to the rest rooms. I was there, but hardly because of how important I was.
Well, today, our Old Testament text includes an invitation. “Come,” it says, “Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.”
Talk about an invitation to an exclusive party. If princes and kings and celebrities and dignitaries find themselves on exclusive guest lists, consider for a moment an invitation, not just to the governor’s mansion, not even to the white house, imagine an invitation to God's house, to the house of him who is King of kings and Lord of Lords. Now that is an invitation. Now that is a guest list!
But here's the thing, the difference, a profound difference. The King, the host of this party, of this celebration, isn't like a regular host. He isn't like a regular king. This King comes, not in a limousine, not with an entourage or a military escort, not with red carpets and paparazzi. Instead, this King comes to you humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt on the foal of a beast of burden.
And so you are invited. Invited to the house of the Lord. Invited here in fact on this last Sunday in November, this first Sunday in Advent, to meet with this King who comes. And as you are here, he would teach you.
Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. These words and these ways that he would teach you are good words and they are good ways.
If you got an invitation in your mailbox from the governor or from the president to attend some presidential ball, as you were making preparations to attend, somewhere along the way, the question of what to wear would come to your mind. Would you wear blue jeans and a T-shirt? Would your current wardrobe have anything appropriate for an event such as the one you were preparing to attend? Men, would you need to go rent a tux? Women, would you go shopping for some sort or an evening gown? Would you make certain you had the shoes, the jewelry, the hair-do appropriate for the event? To be sure, you wouldn't put on your weak-end-working-around-the-house clothes.
In a similar sort of way, as we are preparing for the Lord's celebration, to which we have received this invitation we are mindful of how we are dressed. And thus our Lord teaches us.
“Cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” says our Epistle text, “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.”
These are words for our time. Everywhere we look in the world we see these very things. Families are known to feud and fight over silly little things. they will be torn apart by anger and bickering. Church families are split due to infighting and gossip, one member talking about another slandering another without the love appropriate for the family of God.
Likewise with the sexual immorality and sensuality. Everything these days has become about sex. From television programing, to commercial advertising, to even major political issues, right down to the emails in your in-box. These topics of sexuality and sensuality are constantly and continually before our eyes and in our attention.
These things are constant snares for us as a Christian community. They are in the world around us, everywhere we go and a part of everything that we do. We can't get away from them. But like Luther said, "You can't stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair." We can't stop temptations and we can't stop the world from its foolishness and sin but we don't have to take part in it.
Or here's another way to think of it, when you get your 5 year old dressed and ready to go, either to church or to some party, you expect him to keep himself out of the dirt and mud. When he comes back in to the house with mud all over his sunday best you are upset with him for his foolishness. Imagine then how foolish it would be if you got dressed for a black tie event and then went out to join the 5 year olds in the mud puddle. You wouldn't do that.
Yet here we are, we are dressed for eternity, wearing our Lord's garments of holiness and still we are willing to traipse through the gutters and back allies with the idolaters and fornicators. We are willing to submit to the spirit of quarreling and jealousy, of backbiting and gossip, we are willing to take part in all kinds of sin that just is not fitting for the people of God.
And so it would seem that we have gotten our party clothes dirty. We need a bath. A change of clothes. Again...
And so our host, our King comes to us. Humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, on the foal of a donkey. Jesus comes to us riding a beast of burden. Our king comes to us, again, not the way a king usually comes, no military escort, no banners and emblems, no head held high, no proud and powerful war horse. Instead a humble and lowly donkey. He rides to his throne and his coronation the same way his mother rode to his birth. Humble and on a donkey. On a beast of burden, because he himself would be our beast of burden. He himself came to carry our load of sin of suffering and shame. He came to carry our guilt and punishment.
We are not used to this sort of a ruler, to this sort of a king. Human kings are not humble. Earthly kings are not lowly. They are high and mighty. Distinguished and important. But Jesus is not. Even though He is King of kings and Lord of lords, he does not hold it over our heads. He does not pretend to be better, more righteous, more fit, more worthy, more deserving of honor and praise and glory and worship than we. He simply serves. He simply loves. He simply calls and he simply leads.
Jesus, this High and Mighty, yet humble and lowly King would be your king. He would have you follow him and so he has sent you his invitation. Won't you come, to the house of the Lord, where he would teach you his ways, that you might walk in His path. Won't you come, enjoy the blessings of heaven.
Amen.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
November 21 2 Thesalonians 3:6-13
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Well, the holidays are coming, and with the holidays come people. Usually lots of them and right through the doors of the church. It started here at St Paul’s just this past Sunday. We had people in droves who came to take part in our Turkey Supper. But that is only the beginning. Thanksgiving is this week. Then comes Christmas with pageants and programs and special worship services, all favorites among even those who are not regular church goers.
Among all those who enter through our church doors during the holiday season, often mingled in with them are those who are less fortunate, less well off, those who we might consider to be among the poor. They come to church too, although often it is not on a Sunday and usually not for worship. There are many who come or call asking for some assistance.
As Christ's representatives on earth, we are given to help those who have need and so we do. We give food. We have paid rent or utility bills. We offer help where we are able. But sad to say, among those who have legitimate need, there are those who are simply looking to take advantage. They come to church with all kinds of sad, cleverly devised stories for how they are down on their luck and in need of some help. There has been more than one occasion that I have though to myself that if half the ingenuity needed to make up that story was put into earning an honest living they would be buying thanksgiving dinner for me.
Our 2 Thessalonians text speaks of those who are idle. Those who do not want to work for themselves to provide their own living, but rather are perfectly content to burden others with their upkeep and care. “We command you to keep away from them,” says Paul. I wonder if we don't too easily think of these poor when we read these passages. “Go to work”. We think. “Get a job” we say. “Earn an honest living.”
Maybe so.
But as with any scripture text, when we only see the sins of others and not our own reflected in the mirror of the law, we have likely missed the text. After all, that text is for you and for me just as much as it is for pan handlers and peddlers. The Spirit has a word for us too.
Paul writes against those members of the church who were idle. He writes against those who will not do their job or fulfill their duty. Back in those days, some were biding their time expecting Christ to return, thinking that he would come back within their lifetimes. These people thought to themselves, “what is the point of my labor? Should I invest my time and my effort in some pointless task, only to have it all come to nothing on the day that Christ returns.”
Others were just lazy. They simply took advantage of the diligence of others. We have seen in Acts how the church was generous and the Christians held everything in common. There were some who were freeloaders and were only interested in a free meal. Paul scolds each of these misguided persons and commands the church that they ought not put up with it.
You see, God has called each one of us to our work. God has called us to faith, to be Christians for sure, but God has also made us his workers, his priests, his hands serving his creation. When a Christian goes to work as a baker, an automobile manufacturer, a farmer, an executive, a house mother, he or she is going as God's representative to serve people who God loves. For us to sew the seeds of idleness and deny our work is to deny the very calling that God has given to us. Parents should parent. Students should study. Farmers should farm. Engineers should engineer. Salesmen should sell. Because through these callings God is caring for his creation.
But even those of us who go to work and earn an honest living still struggle with that sin of idleness. Sometimes we slack off or sluff off on the job. Sometimes we do a poor or a half hearted job. Sometimes we look for shortcuts. Often we make excuses.
Dear friends, we are guilty. Where God has commanded us to work we have been lazy. Where God has commanded us to diligence we have been half hearted. Even as we have judged the work done by others we have been guilty of those exact sins. Our text says that anyone who does not want to work should not eat. We probably ought to go hungry.
But we won't. This past Sunday due to the grace and the goodness of God I was fed by the fruit of somebody else's labor. You all worked diligently cooking turkeys, making stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, pies, preparing, serving, and then cleaning. I was there. I ate. I enjoyed every bite. And all I had to do was stand around and say hello to the good people that walked through the door. God fed me generously. I don't deserve an ounce of credit.
Likewise, in a few days, I will sit down around a table and enjoy the same menu all over again, with little labor of my own because of the goodness of God (not to mention the goodness of my mother in law). God provides for me and God feeds me (and you too) because he is generous and he is good.
But we know that God feeds us greater food and has in store for us greater blessings. During the Divine Service we gather here at the altar to eat the meal that he provides for us for the forgiveness of our sins. His own body and blood given to eat and to drink. We don't earn it. We don't deserve it. But we eat and are filled, with our bodies, but also and especially with our souls as God gives us the forgiveness Christ earned on the cross.
And that feast is just the beginning, a fore taste, the appetizers. God has in store for us an eternal banquet where we will eat foods we did not prepare at a table that isn't our own. It's God's table in God's house prepared by God's own hand. You will eat. You will enjoy. You will be filled because God has made it so.
This day and this season, as we confess and acknowledge that our hands have been idle. We have denied our work and set aside our vocations, but God is gracious. He hasn't punished us or given us what we deserve. Much to the contrary. He has set a place for us at his table for our good and for our blessing. In His name.
Amen.
Well, the holidays are coming, and with the holidays come people. Usually lots of them and right through the doors of the church. It started here at St Paul’s just this past Sunday. We had people in droves who came to take part in our Turkey Supper. But that is only the beginning. Thanksgiving is this week. Then comes Christmas with pageants and programs and special worship services, all favorites among even those who are not regular church goers.
Among all those who enter through our church doors during the holiday season, often mingled in with them are those who are less fortunate, less well off, those who we might consider to be among the poor. They come to church too, although often it is not on a Sunday and usually not for worship. There are many who come or call asking for some assistance.
As Christ's representatives on earth, we are given to help those who have need and so we do. We give food. We have paid rent or utility bills. We offer help where we are able. But sad to say, among those who have legitimate need, there are those who are simply looking to take advantage. They come to church with all kinds of sad, cleverly devised stories for how they are down on their luck and in need of some help. There has been more than one occasion that I have though to myself that if half the ingenuity needed to make up that story was put into earning an honest living they would be buying thanksgiving dinner for me.
Our 2 Thessalonians text speaks of those who are idle. Those who do not want to work for themselves to provide their own living, but rather are perfectly content to burden others with their upkeep and care. “We command you to keep away from them,” says Paul. I wonder if we don't too easily think of these poor when we read these passages. “Go to work”. We think. “Get a job” we say. “Earn an honest living.”
Maybe so.
But as with any scripture text, when we only see the sins of others and not our own reflected in the mirror of the law, we have likely missed the text. After all, that text is for you and for me just as much as it is for pan handlers and peddlers. The Spirit has a word for us too.
Paul writes against those members of the church who were idle. He writes against those who will not do their job or fulfill their duty. Back in those days, some were biding their time expecting Christ to return, thinking that he would come back within their lifetimes. These people thought to themselves, “what is the point of my labor? Should I invest my time and my effort in some pointless task, only to have it all come to nothing on the day that Christ returns.”
Others were just lazy. They simply took advantage of the diligence of others. We have seen in Acts how the church was generous and the Christians held everything in common. There were some who were freeloaders and were only interested in a free meal. Paul scolds each of these misguided persons and commands the church that they ought not put up with it.
You see, God has called each one of us to our work. God has called us to faith, to be Christians for sure, but God has also made us his workers, his priests, his hands serving his creation. When a Christian goes to work as a baker, an automobile manufacturer, a farmer, an executive, a house mother, he or she is going as God's representative to serve people who God loves. For us to sew the seeds of idleness and deny our work is to deny the very calling that God has given to us. Parents should parent. Students should study. Farmers should farm. Engineers should engineer. Salesmen should sell. Because through these callings God is caring for his creation.
But even those of us who go to work and earn an honest living still struggle with that sin of idleness. Sometimes we slack off or sluff off on the job. Sometimes we do a poor or a half hearted job. Sometimes we look for shortcuts. Often we make excuses.
Dear friends, we are guilty. Where God has commanded us to work we have been lazy. Where God has commanded us to diligence we have been half hearted. Even as we have judged the work done by others we have been guilty of those exact sins. Our text says that anyone who does not want to work should not eat. We probably ought to go hungry.
But we won't. This past Sunday due to the grace and the goodness of God I was fed by the fruit of somebody else's labor. You all worked diligently cooking turkeys, making stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, pies, preparing, serving, and then cleaning. I was there. I ate. I enjoyed every bite. And all I had to do was stand around and say hello to the good people that walked through the door. God fed me generously. I don't deserve an ounce of credit.
Likewise, in a few days, I will sit down around a table and enjoy the same menu all over again, with little labor of my own because of the goodness of God (not to mention the goodness of my mother in law). God provides for me and God feeds me (and you too) because he is generous and he is good.
But we know that God feeds us greater food and has in store for us greater blessings. During the Divine Service we gather here at the altar to eat the meal that he provides for us for the forgiveness of our sins. His own body and blood given to eat and to drink. We don't earn it. We don't deserve it. But we eat and are filled, with our bodies, but also and especially with our souls as God gives us the forgiveness Christ earned on the cross.
And that feast is just the beginning, a fore taste, the appetizers. God has in store for us an eternal banquet where we will eat foods we did not prepare at a table that isn't our own. It's God's table in God's house prepared by God's own hand. You will eat. You will enjoy. You will be filled because God has made it so.
This day and this season, as we confess and acknowledge that our hands have been idle. We have denied our work and set aside our vocations, but God is gracious. He hasn't punished us or given us what we deserve. Much to the contrary. He has set a place for us at his table for our good and for our blessing. In His name.
Amen.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
November 14. Pentecost 25
I have added a new feature to my blog; there is a media player below from podbean.com with the audio of the sermon. You can now listen as you read, or perhaps just listen.
Malachi 4:1-6
The Day of the Lord is coming. So says our text. And it is coming with fire and wrath. It is coming to set fire to the wicked, to turn them to ash and stubble. It is coming so that the wicked are burned up and trampled under foot. But what is the Day of the Lord? What does it mean that it is coming? When will it come? And what does that have to do with us?
All good questions. All important questions. All questions that Christians should be able to answer.
Our Bible readings today look toward the end. They look forward into those last times, those days leading up to the very last day when our Lord returns. On that last day he will come in judgment and wrath to destroy the wicked. But for those who fear the name of the Lord, that day will be a day of freedom and joy. It will be a day for healing and for celebration. For the Christian the Day of the Lord is a day to look forward to. But there are days to endure before it comes...
In the Old Testament, the phrase “Day of the Lord” is a common term. The Old Testament prophets use this phrase frequently as they are describing a coming day of judgment. For the Israelites who disobeyed the Lord and followed the false gods of their neighbors, the prophets warned that the day of judgment, the Day of the Lord was coming for them so that they would receive God's judgment for their unfaithfulness.
But, the true prophets of the Almighty God are always more skilled than what we often give them credit for. They see further. They see more. There is this temptation to reduce the visions of the prophets to only one day or only one event. Kind of like a weather man who pops up every now and again to give us a prediction for one particular storm that's brewing on the horizon. God's prophets have a much greater purpose because God has a much greater goal. Our Lord is constantly working on our salvation. He is constantly working out our rescue from this evil world so every prophecy and every prediction always relates to the work that he is doing for us in Christ. The day of the Lord is a day of judgment, but it is also and especially the day of salvation for those who believe on His name.
And so the day of the Lord comes. It is coming soon. And on that day we will be saved!
There are two things in our text that are worth noticing, especially in the last few verses.
The first thing we should notice is that the prophet says that the Lord will send Elijah. If you are familiar with the Old Testament and especially with the Old Testament prophets you will know that Elijah was one of these prophets. And while Elijah never wrote any books, he was certainly very busy. Elijah was a mighty and a powerful prophet. He caused a famine as a warning to the faithless Israelites and their king, King Ahab. He defeated the prophets of the false god Baal at Mt Carmel. He raised a dead child back to life by praying for him and interceding before God on behalf of the mother. So God says he will send Elijah. He is promising to send a mighty prophet.
When the Angel Gabriel came to visit Zechariah as he was serving in the temple, Gabriel told Zechariah that his son John, John the Baptist, would receive the spirit of Elijah. That John would come before Christ to fulfill the words of our text. Our Lord, speaking through the Angel, informs us that John was this prophet. That John came to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers and the hearts of the fathers toward their children in preparation for the coming of Jesus.
This is important for you and for me. It means for us that the Day of the Lord has come. The day of wrath and the day of salvation has come in Jesus. The wrath and the anger of God that will come to consume the wicked like grass in a bonfire has already been set ablaze. And Jesus is the one who was consumed. Jesus is the one who got burned. Jesus is the one who was turned to ash and stubble.
Therefore belief in Jesus, fearing him as the resurrected Son of the Almighty sets us free to leap for joy like calves released from the barn in spring. We can jump for joy because the Lord has set us free from his anger and his wrath, because the Lord has paid for our sin.
The second thing for us to notice, and this is of some importance, is that the coming of Elijah the prophet is to turn the hearts of the children to their father and the hearts of fathers to their children.
Now, this is true on a generational scale. We always talk about the “faith of our fathers”, and the need to return to the faithfulness of previous generations. This is certainly true and there is much to be learned from going back and revisiting the example left for us by those previous generations.
But there is also much to be said for this generation. Our own generation and our own families. Today's dads and today's children. Today's families are under attack. Our world doesn't respect fathers or fatherhood. We are told that dads aren't necessary. No dad is no problem. And two moms is probably ideal. This is nonsense. Children need their father.
And in your home, with your children and with your father, there needs to be strength and love. Dads need to have their hearts turned to their kids. Their hearts, not just their wallets, but also not just the back of their hand. Their kids need their hearts. It is easy for dads to become disengaged from the family, to pursue work, a career, a hobby, whatever. Dads need to put their hearts into their homes.
And likewise with kids. Kids these days have so many distractions. iPods and cellphones and sports and school and extracurricular fun. None of these things has to be bad, but often they are because often they get in the way of relationship with dad. Often the only way Dad can get the attention of his teen is if he send her a text. Teens, and in fact children of all ages need to turn their heart to their fathers.
Jesus does this. He does this in us. He turns our hearts outside of ourselves, away from being stuck in the rut of our careers, our goals or our aspirations; away from being stuck in the rut of our peer groups or friends or electronic gadgets. He turns us.
And the first turning is the most important. It is the turning of repentance and the turning of faith. God our heavenly father has turned his heart toward us by giving us his Son to die for us and then He has also turned our heart to him by sending us his Spirit to call us to faith to cause our hearts to love him and to fear him.
And then he turns us toward each other. In the commandments we learn to love one another and this love begins in the family. Between father and children. Between dad and the little ones God has given to him to cherish.
Amen. Now may the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Malachi 4:1-6
The Day of the Lord is coming. So says our text. And it is coming with fire and wrath. It is coming to set fire to the wicked, to turn them to ash and stubble. It is coming so that the wicked are burned up and trampled under foot. But what is the Day of the Lord? What does it mean that it is coming? When will it come? And what does that have to do with us?
All good questions. All important questions. All questions that Christians should be able to answer.
Our Bible readings today look toward the end. They look forward into those last times, those days leading up to the very last day when our Lord returns. On that last day he will come in judgment and wrath to destroy the wicked. But for those who fear the name of the Lord, that day will be a day of freedom and joy. It will be a day for healing and for celebration. For the Christian the Day of the Lord is a day to look forward to. But there are days to endure before it comes...
In the Old Testament, the phrase “Day of the Lord” is a common term. The Old Testament prophets use this phrase frequently as they are describing a coming day of judgment. For the Israelites who disobeyed the Lord and followed the false gods of their neighbors, the prophets warned that the day of judgment, the Day of the Lord was coming for them so that they would receive God's judgment for their unfaithfulness.
But, the true prophets of the Almighty God are always more skilled than what we often give them credit for. They see further. They see more. There is this temptation to reduce the visions of the prophets to only one day or only one event. Kind of like a weather man who pops up every now and again to give us a prediction for one particular storm that's brewing on the horizon. God's prophets have a much greater purpose because God has a much greater goal. Our Lord is constantly working on our salvation. He is constantly working out our rescue from this evil world so every prophecy and every prediction always relates to the work that he is doing for us in Christ. The day of the Lord is a day of judgment, but it is also and especially the day of salvation for those who believe on His name.
And so the day of the Lord comes. It is coming soon. And on that day we will be saved!
There are two things in our text that are worth noticing, especially in the last few verses.
The first thing we should notice is that the prophet says that the Lord will send Elijah. If you are familiar with the Old Testament and especially with the Old Testament prophets you will know that Elijah was one of these prophets. And while Elijah never wrote any books, he was certainly very busy. Elijah was a mighty and a powerful prophet. He caused a famine as a warning to the faithless Israelites and their king, King Ahab. He defeated the prophets of the false god Baal at Mt Carmel. He raised a dead child back to life by praying for him and interceding before God on behalf of the mother. So God says he will send Elijah. He is promising to send a mighty prophet.
When the Angel Gabriel came to visit Zechariah as he was serving in the temple, Gabriel told Zechariah that his son John, John the Baptist, would receive the spirit of Elijah. That John would come before Christ to fulfill the words of our text. Our Lord, speaking through the Angel, informs us that John was this prophet. That John came to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers and the hearts of the fathers toward their children in preparation for the coming of Jesus.
This is important for you and for me. It means for us that the Day of the Lord has come. The day of wrath and the day of salvation has come in Jesus. The wrath and the anger of God that will come to consume the wicked like grass in a bonfire has already been set ablaze. And Jesus is the one who was consumed. Jesus is the one who got burned. Jesus is the one who was turned to ash and stubble.
Therefore belief in Jesus, fearing him as the resurrected Son of the Almighty sets us free to leap for joy like calves released from the barn in spring. We can jump for joy because the Lord has set us free from his anger and his wrath, because the Lord has paid for our sin.
The second thing for us to notice, and this is of some importance, is that the coming of Elijah the prophet is to turn the hearts of the children to their father and the hearts of fathers to their children.
Now, this is true on a generational scale. We always talk about the “faith of our fathers”, and the need to return to the faithfulness of previous generations. This is certainly true and there is much to be learned from going back and revisiting the example left for us by those previous generations.
But there is also much to be said for this generation. Our own generation and our own families. Today's dads and today's children. Today's families are under attack. Our world doesn't respect fathers or fatherhood. We are told that dads aren't necessary. No dad is no problem. And two moms is probably ideal. This is nonsense. Children need their father.
And in your home, with your children and with your father, there needs to be strength and love. Dads need to have their hearts turned to their kids. Their hearts, not just their wallets, but also not just the back of their hand. Their kids need their hearts. It is easy for dads to become disengaged from the family, to pursue work, a career, a hobby, whatever. Dads need to put their hearts into their homes.
And likewise with kids. Kids these days have so many distractions. iPods and cellphones and sports and school and extracurricular fun. None of these things has to be bad, but often they are because often they get in the way of relationship with dad. Often the only way Dad can get the attention of his teen is if he send her a text. Teens, and in fact children of all ages need to turn their heart to their fathers.
Jesus does this. He does this in us. He turns our hearts outside of ourselves, away from being stuck in the rut of our careers, our goals or our aspirations; away from being stuck in the rut of our peer groups or friends or electronic gadgets. He turns us.
And the first turning is the most important. It is the turning of repentance and the turning of faith. God our heavenly father has turned his heart toward us by giving us his Son to die for us and then He has also turned our heart to him by sending us his Spirit to call us to faith to cause our hearts to love him and to fear him.
And then he turns us toward each other. In the commandments we learn to love one another and this love begins in the family. Between father and children. Between dad and the little ones God has given to him to cherish.
Amen. Now may the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
November 7 Matthew 5:1-12
The balance of power has shifted yet again in our schizophrenic political climate. This past Tuesday was election day and with this election cycle we witnessed a bit of a house cleaning in both the state and federal government. Dissatisfied voters went to the polls to elect replacements for many of the incumbent political leaders. Only 2 years ago we saw a wide swath of change as many democratic candidates rode the wave of popularity stirred up by now-president Obama; it would seem that with Tuesday's election results, that tide has already receded and a new tide is making its way in to our political shore line.
While we are citizens of this world, because we are believers in Christ our primary citizenship is in heaven. Our faith helps us to understand that the struggles for power in this world are far less important than the world would have us believe; after all, as the Psalms remind us, “The earth is the Lord's and everything in it” (Ps. 24:1) and “Kingship belongs to the Lord and He rules over it.” (Ps. 22:28) But still this world competes for power.
The world makes so much of political power. It is almost a religion; there is an assumption that when you have worldly power you must have God's favor. After all, you can influence the direction of cultures and countries and societies. You can make headlines. You can even make history. And so in the world, elections, and the quest for power are a big deal.
But that is the way of the world. It is not the way of the church, it is not the way of the Christian. Christ has not called us to power, political or otherwise. Christ has called us to faith.And in that call is his command; his command that we have before us here in our Gospel for today.
Those who are poor in spirit are blessed, because to them is the kingdom of heaven.
Those who mourn are blessed, because they will be comforted
Those who are meek are blessed, because they will inherit the earth.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed, because they will be filled.
The merciful are blessed, because they will receive mercy.
Those who are pure in heart are blessed, for the will see God
The peace makers are blessed, because they will be called sons of God.
Those who are persecuted for righteousness sake will be blessed for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
While Tuesday was election day, Monday, November the first, was All Saints Day. The history of this church celebration is rooted in the early centuries of the church when persecution and martyrdom were more common place. Many faithful believers were routinely arrested and murdered. These Christians stood firm in the face of persecution and even death, they would not back down and they would not let go of their faith. Their stories became inspirational examples for the church that were worth celebrating. And so they would set aside days for their remembrance. Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Origen of Alexandria, Pollycarp, Perpetua and Felicity. Their stories became examples of Christ's victory over Satan and the World. These Christians were sent to Glory making bold testimony to the truth of the Gospel. All Saints Day is the commemoration of these faithful departed.
But their voices are not alone. They are not the only ones testifying to the victory of Christ over sin and Satan. Every Christian who dies, faithful to the Gospel is a witness of Christ's power over the devil.
Very foolishly, I think, we overlook this, we discount this daily battle that we fight. St Peter tells us that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. It is his purpose to devour you. If he could only lure one of you away from the fold of Christ's flock he would consider that a great and precious victory. He desires you death and destruction in hell.
And so he attacks you. There are times that he attacks as he attacked the Christian martyrs of old through worldly forces, through death and the threat of physical harm. But we are more used to his subtle attacks. He disguises his attacks in temptations to sin. He lies to you and tells you that these temptations are for your good, for your enjoyment. He tells you they won't hurt you and that they will even be good for you. He tells you that you deserve the happiness it will bring. And so you give in. You indulge the sin.
But that is only the first step. Once you have given in, he then attacks you with guilt or bitterness or anger. He turns you against yourself, against your brothers and sisters in Christ, against God and he stirs that pot of bitterness hoping that it will cause you to loose your faith.
Dear friends, do not give in to these battles. Do not pretend to have the strength and the where with all to fight these battles. You cannot. The devil is too strong for you. Don't consider yourself to be a spiritual crusader and mighty warrior, you are not powerful or strong, not the way the world views power and strength. Instead you are poor.
Poor in spirit, but to you is the kingdom of heaven. You mourn, but you will be comforted. You are meek and humble, like a lamb hunted by lions, but you will inherit the earth, you thirst for righteousness (like a deer panting for water) and your thirst will be satisfied. Your are merciful because you have received mercy. You make peace because you are God's children. And therefore you are persecuted, you are reviled and lied about and cursed by the world and by the devil. But still you are blessed.
You are blessed because of the power, the strength, the honor and the glory of the one who fights for you. Christ is you captain. Christ is your champion. He fights your battles. He defeats your enemies. He vanquishes your foes. He gives you honor. He gives you his glory.
And so we are poor. The world hates poverty, looks down on those who are poor, pities those who are poor. The church revels in it.
Now, there were those in the medieval church who mistakenly believed that there was some blessing in going without worldly possessions, that it was somehow better or more pious to be poor. And so they would give away everything they owned, take a vow of poverty and live as a beggar. Jesus doesn't mean to have us believe that we are somehow closer to God when we have fewer possessions or less wealth. Jesus says that it is those who are poor in spirit who are blessed. To be poor in spirit is to be spiritually poor. Elsewhere Jesus used the comparison of a tax collector and a pharisee. One who seemed to be have personal righteousness in spades compared to one who was despised as a sinner. One boasted, the other repented. One claimed his own power, the other begged God of His. The beggar received blessing, the boaster when home without. Ironically, each one received what he came seeking.
But the promise is this, those who are poor are promised that they will be rich. Those who have nothing, no spiritual strength, no spiritual power, no honor or glory of their own, they receive the Kingdom of Heaven. The receive from God a heavenly inheritance. They receive the crown of glory.
The world rejoices in power and wealth and worldly strength. Is there a greater defeat in the eyes of the world than to be defeated and to have your earthly life taken from you? The world thought it had defeated the Christian Martyrs of old. Even today, the world despises the weakness of Christians who are killed as they gather to pray or to worship. But the church knows the difference. Death is no defeat for the Christian. Death is victory because Christ has won. That Christian is with Jesus. That Christian is before God's throne. That Christian can never suffer again.
Our Revelation text tells us of what happens to the saints after they are taken to heaven.
[15] “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
[16] They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
[17] For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
(Revelation 7:15-17 ESV)
The Christian Martyrs are there. They are in heaven with God. They were called upon to testify to Christ's victory over death by surrendering their life to the devil and this sinful world. But there are others who are there with them, others who suffered as well, although not with the same martyrdom. They might not have been murdered for their faith or beaten or tortured. But they suffered still the same. They were attacked daily by Satan and in testimony to their faith they stood firm. The Lord was with them and he gained the victory in them over sin. They too are there in heaven with him preserved for all eternity. Your friends, your family members who died in the faith are a part of that community of the victorious in heaven with Jesus.
The Lord has Won! He himself has risen and has defeated sin and death. And that resurrection and that defeat of Satan has transferred over into the life of your friend, your loved one. The victory of Jesus is made real in the life and even in the death of the saints. Today is All Saints day. All the saints. Even our own.
Jesus has died, he has risen and he is alive. He life, his resurrected life gives life to all those who believe. We celebrate His victory in them and his victory in you.
Amen.
While we are citizens of this world, because we are believers in Christ our primary citizenship is in heaven. Our faith helps us to understand that the struggles for power in this world are far less important than the world would have us believe; after all, as the Psalms remind us, “The earth is the Lord's and everything in it” (Ps. 24:1) and “Kingship belongs to the Lord and He rules over it.” (Ps. 22:28) But still this world competes for power.
The world makes so much of political power. It is almost a religion; there is an assumption that when you have worldly power you must have God's favor. After all, you can influence the direction of cultures and countries and societies. You can make headlines. You can even make history. And so in the world, elections, and the quest for power are a big deal.
But that is the way of the world. It is not the way of the church, it is not the way of the Christian. Christ has not called us to power, political or otherwise. Christ has called us to faith.And in that call is his command; his command that we have before us here in our Gospel for today.
Those who are poor in spirit are blessed, because to them is the kingdom of heaven.
Those who mourn are blessed, because they will be comforted
Those who are meek are blessed, because they will inherit the earth.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed, because they will be filled.
The merciful are blessed, because they will receive mercy.
Those who are pure in heart are blessed, for the will see God
The peace makers are blessed, because they will be called sons of God.
Those who are persecuted for righteousness sake will be blessed for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
While Tuesday was election day, Monday, November the first, was All Saints Day. The history of this church celebration is rooted in the early centuries of the church when persecution and martyrdom were more common place. Many faithful believers were routinely arrested and murdered. These Christians stood firm in the face of persecution and even death, they would not back down and they would not let go of their faith. Their stories became inspirational examples for the church that were worth celebrating. And so they would set aside days for their remembrance. Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Origen of Alexandria, Pollycarp, Perpetua and Felicity. Their stories became examples of Christ's victory over Satan and the World. These Christians were sent to Glory making bold testimony to the truth of the Gospel. All Saints Day is the commemoration of these faithful departed.
But their voices are not alone. They are not the only ones testifying to the victory of Christ over sin and Satan. Every Christian who dies, faithful to the Gospel is a witness of Christ's power over the devil.
Very foolishly, I think, we overlook this, we discount this daily battle that we fight. St Peter tells us that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. It is his purpose to devour you. If he could only lure one of you away from the fold of Christ's flock he would consider that a great and precious victory. He desires you death and destruction in hell.
And so he attacks you. There are times that he attacks as he attacked the Christian martyrs of old through worldly forces, through death and the threat of physical harm. But we are more used to his subtle attacks. He disguises his attacks in temptations to sin. He lies to you and tells you that these temptations are for your good, for your enjoyment. He tells you they won't hurt you and that they will even be good for you. He tells you that you deserve the happiness it will bring. And so you give in. You indulge the sin.
But that is only the first step. Once you have given in, he then attacks you with guilt or bitterness or anger. He turns you against yourself, against your brothers and sisters in Christ, against God and he stirs that pot of bitterness hoping that it will cause you to loose your faith.
Dear friends, do not give in to these battles. Do not pretend to have the strength and the where with all to fight these battles. You cannot. The devil is too strong for you. Don't consider yourself to be a spiritual crusader and mighty warrior, you are not powerful or strong, not the way the world views power and strength. Instead you are poor.
Poor in spirit, but to you is the kingdom of heaven. You mourn, but you will be comforted. You are meek and humble, like a lamb hunted by lions, but you will inherit the earth, you thirst for righteousness (like a deer panting for water) and your thirst will be satisfied. Your are merciful because you have received mercy. You make peace because you are God's children. And therefore you are persecuted, you are reviled and lied about and cursed by the world and by the devil. But still you are blessed.
You are blessed because of the power, the strength, the honor and the glory of the one who fights for you. Christ is you captain. Christ is your champion. He fights your battles. He defeats your enemies. He vanquishes your foes. He gives you honor. He gives you his glory.
And so we are poor. The world hates poverty, looks down on those who are poor, pities those who are poor. The church revels in it.
Now, there were those in the medieval church who mistakenly believed that there was some blessing in going without worldly possessions, that it was somehow better or more pious to be poor. And so they would give away everything they owned, take a vow of poverty and live as a beggar. Jesus doesn't mean to have us believe that we are somehow closer to God when we have fewer possessions or less wealth. Jesus says that it is those who are poor in spirit who are blessed. To be poor in spirit is to be spiritually poor. Elsewhere Jesus used the comparison of a tax collector and a pharisee. One who seemed to be have personal righteousness in spades compared to one who was despised as a sinner. One boasted, the other repented. One claimed his own power, the other begged God of His. The beggar received blessing, the boaster when home without. Ironically, each one received what he came seeking.
But the promise is this, those who are poor are promised that they will be rich. Those who have nothing, no spiritual strength, no spiritual power, no honor or glory of their own, they receive the Kingdom of Heaven. The receive from God a heavenly inheritance. They receive the crown of glory.
The world rejoices in power and wealth and worldly strength. Is there a greater defeat in the eyes of the world than to be defeated and to have your earthly life taken from you? The world thought it had defeated the Christian Martyrs of old. Even today, the world despises the weakness of Christians who are killed as they gather to pray or to worship. But the church knows the difference. Death is no defeat for the Christian. Death is victory because Christ has won. That Christian is with Jesus. That Christian is before God's throne. That Christian can never suffer again.
Our Revelation text tells us of what happens to the saints after they are taken to heaven.
[15] “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
[16] They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
[17] For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
(Revelation 7:15-17 ESV)
The Christian Martyrs are there. They are in heaven with God. They were called upon to testify to Christ's victory over death by surrendering their life to the devil and this sinful world. But there are others who are there with them, others who suffered as well, although not with the same martyrdom. They might not have been murdered for their faith or beaten or tortured. But they suffered still the same. They were attacked daily by Satan and in testimony to their faith they stood firm. The Lord was with them and he gained the victory in them over sin. They too are there in heaven with him preserved for all eternity. Your friends, your family members who died in the faith are a part of that community of the victorious in heaven with Jesus.
The Lord has Won! He himself has risen and has defeated sin and death. And that resurrection and that defeat of Satan has transferred over into the life of your friend, your loved one. The victory of Jesus is made real in the life and even in the death of the saints. Today is All Saints day. All the saints. Even our own.
Jesus has died, he has risen and he is alive. He life, his resurrected life gives life to all those who believe. We celebrate His victory in them and his victory in you.
Amen.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
October 31 - Romans 3:19-28
These days, people think it is fun to be scared. Around this season, around the fall, as we get closer to the date of Halloween, people like to entertain themselves with feelings of fear. They wear scary costumes, go to scary movies, take tours of haunted houses or a maze or even amusement park so that people dressed in costumes can jump out at unexpected times to give them a little bit of a fright. People think it's fun, it's a diversion from the every day for the sake of pure entertainment.
While we like to dabble in fear and experience a contrived and “put on” fear, I would venture to guess that this is a far cry from real fear, from genuine terror, from actual fright. We can sit through a movie or walk through a corn maze knowing that what we are experiencing isn't real, that it will soon be over and life will be back to normal. But to know true fear, a genuine fear that we will suffer harm, destruction or even death, that is much less entertaining and much more serious.
While we dabble in fear for the fun of it, prior to the reformation, and prior to his discovery of the Gospel, Marin Luther lived with real, with actual fear. Martin Luther lived in mortal terror. And not of ghosts, not of some bogey man with a chain saw, not even of the devil. Luther lived in fear, in terror of God. Luther lived with a real genuine terror of the judgment of a righteous God who would judge all those who were unrighteous and all those who were sinners. He was afraid that God was going to judge him for his sin, and that he was going to spend not just an hour, not just an evening, but that he was going to spend an eternity in God's judgment and torment in hell. The reformation set him free from that fear and introduced him to the loving and merciful and gracious nature of God's character. Luther came to know Jesus and the forgiveness that he brings to sinners on the cross.
In some ways, Martin Luther was right to fear God. After all, Jesus even said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Jesus is telling us that it is right for us to be afraid... to be afraid of God.
These days people are afraid of lots of things. Aside from the ghosts and goblins of Halloween, people are afraid of terrorists or the economy or joblessness or ridicule or loneliness. Most people are not afraid of God. Most people don't have room in their personal theologies for God's judgment and wrath over sin. Most people think that God doesn't really care what you do or what you think, he will just love you anyways. Scripture paints a much different picture; a much different picture of you and me and our sin and a much different picture of the character of God. We are sinners. He is just and holy. We deserve his punishment. He doesn't ever overlook sin. These truths should cause us fear.
The Medieval church understood the severity of sin and the justice of God. Therefor Luther was afraid. He was terrified. When Luther looked into his heart he saw sin. When he looked into the Word he saw God's righteousness. He knew he did not measure up and so he was afraid.
What the medieval Church did not understand was God's mercy. They did not understand God's generosity. They did not understand God's kindly and forgiving heart that shows itself in the gift of God's only Son to die for the sins of the world. This message is clearly taught in our Epistle lesson for today.
Our text for today is Romans 3. Verse 21 talks about the Righteousness of God that is manifested apart from the law. The righteousness of God that is manifested apart from the law, separate from it. The law is the commandments, those things that we do and do not do that condemn us for our sin. The law points us to our disobedience and hard heartedness. We look into the ten commandments and we will see countless ways that we have not measured up to God's expectations for us. But there is another righteousness, a new righteousness that God has revealed to us.
Through the old righteousness we come to realize our sin. We realize that we and everyone else in God's creation aught to be terrified and frightened of our Lord and Creator, but... BUT!!!! But we are justified!!! This word, this “justified” is an important word. It is a glorious word. To be justified means nothing other than to be made righteous. We need to be righteous. We are not righteous. So God makes us righteous. God does the work, gives the righteousness. Accomplishes the righteousness for us, on our behalf, freely by His grace. There is a new righteousness, a righteousness apart from the law. Luther understood the old righteousness that was earned through obedience. God gave a new righteousness given by grace, given through his Son, given as a gift. Given for the sake of Jesus.
But now, the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it – the Righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. (Rom. 3:21-25)
It all hinges on this word “propitiation”. We don't use that word much so it is good to take a moment to remember what it means.
In ancient pagan religions, when the people offended their gods they believed that there was a debt that they had to pay so that they could make things right. They thought of their gods as not too different from a mafia boss. When you cross him you owe him. And depending on how big the offense, you might owe him a greater debt. And if the debt was too big to pay, sometimes the the only way to make him happy was to pay with your life. Mafia bosses are notorious for exacting revenge. They always get their man. Pagan worshipers thought of their gods in the same way. Strict code of justice. Obey or else. Disobey and you pay up. One way or another, you will pay up. The word propitiation was the term for the payment rendered to satisfy the god's sense of justice.
But that was the remarkable thing about Paul's use of that word in connection with the true God. Because there was a strict code of justice, obey and live, disobey and die, but what happens when you disobey? God in his grace sent his own son Jesus to be that propitiation, to be that sacrifice, to be that blood offering and to die in our place.
God in his justice was angry at our sin. But God in his grace paid the debt for us. He sent Jesus to be the propitiation. To be the satisfaction of the blood debt that we owed to God, but that God didn't make us pay. We owed God but he paid the debt by himself to himself to satisfy his anger at our sin all for the sake of his grace and his joy. We are set free, given this new righteousness, manifested apart from the law and given freely as a gift for the sake of Jesus.
Luther had been living his life in fear. He saw the old righteousness that demanded his perfect life, but he hadn't yet discovered the new righteousness given by God's grace. And therefore he was afraid. He was truly, mortally and legitimately afraid of the wrath of God over his sin.
Psalm 46 identifies God as our refuge and strength, our ever present help in times of trouble. Therefore, it says, we will not fear, even though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.
Hebrews 13 says The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me.
1 John 4 says, “There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out all fear. For fear has to do with punishment and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
In God's love he has made us perfect. He has paid the debt for our sin and he has given to us his son as the propitiation for our sin. Therefore there is no need to fear. The fear is gone. The question is, what remains?
What remains is God's grace. Now this in not immediately apparent in reading the English text, but if you were familiar with the Greek language you would understand that the words “grace” and “joy” share the same root. They are from the same word. If fear is gone, if the fear has been taken away, then what remain? What is left in its place? Joy. God perfect joy. God's everlasting joy. God's joy that won't ever be taken away, that can't be taken away.
Ironically, on October 31 most of the world celebrates fear by dressing up to mimic death. Today the Lutheran Church understands that fear, and specifically the fear of death has been taken away because of what God has done for us in Jesus on the cross. There is no fear, not even fear of death. There is only joy. May the joy of Christ Jesus given to you in God's grace be yours this Reformation Day.
Amen.
While we like to dabble in fear and experience a contrived and “put on” fear, I would venture to guess that this is a far cry from real fear, from genuine terror, from actual fright. We can sit through a movie or walk through a corn maze knowing that what we are experiencing isn't real, that it will soon be over and life will be back to normal. But to know true fear, a genuine fear that we will suffer harm, destruction or even death, that is much less entertaining and much more serious.
While we dabble in fear for the fun of it, prior to the reformation, and prior to his discovery of the Gospel, Marin Luther lived with real, with actual fear. Martin Luther lived in mortal terror. And not of ghosts, not of some bogey man with a chain saw, not even of the devil. Luther lived in fear, in terror of God. Luther lived with a real genuine terror of the judgment of a righteous God who would judge all those who were unrighteous and all those who were sinners. He was afraid that God was going to judge him for his sin, and that he was going to spend not just an hour, not just an evening, but that he was going to spend an eternity in God's judgment and torment in hell. The reformation set him free from that fear and introduced him to the loving and merciful and gracious nature of God's character. Luther came to know Jesus and the forgiveness that he brings to sinners on the cross.
In some ways, Martin Luther was right to fear God. After all, Jesus even said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Jesus is telling us that it is right for us to be afraid... to be afraid of God.
These days people are afraid of lots of things. Aside from the ghosts and goblins of Halloween, people are afraid of terrorists or the economy or joblessness or ridicule or loneliness. Most people are not afraid of God. Most people don't have room in their personal theologies for God's judgment and wrath over sin. Most people think that God doesn't really care what you do or what you think, he will just love you anyways. Scripture paints a much different picture; a much different picture of you and me and our sin and a much different picture of the character of God. We are sinners. He is just and holy. We deserve his punishment. He doesn't ever overlook sin. These truths should cause us fear.
The Medieval church understood the severity of sin and the justice of God. Therefor Luther was afraid. He was terrified. When Luther looked into his heart he saw sin. When he looked into the Word he saw God's righteousness. He knew he did not measure up and so he was afraid.
What the medieval Church did not understand was God's mercy. They did not understand God's generosity. They did not understand God's kindly and forgiving heart that shows itself in the gift of God's only Son to die for the sins of the world. This message is clearly taught in our Epistle lesson for today.
Our text for today is Romans 3. Verse 21 talks about the Righteousness of God that is manifested apart from the law. The righteousness of God that is manifested apart from the law, separate from it. The law is the commandments, those things that we do and do not do that condemn us for our sin. The law points us to our disobedience and hard heartedness. We look into the ten commandments and we will see countless ways that we have not measured up to God's expectations for us. But there is another righteousness, a new righteousness that God has revealed to us.
Through the old righteousness we come to realize our sin. We realize that we and everyone else in God's creation aught to be terrified and frightened of our Lord and Creator, but... BUT!!!! But we are justified!!! This word, this “justified” is an important word. It is a glorious word. To be justified means nothing other than to be made righteous. We need to be righteous. We are not righteous. So God makes us righteous. God does the work, gives the righteousness. Accomplishes the righteousness for us, on our behalf, freely by His grace. There is a new righteousness, a righteousness apart from the law. Luther understood the old righteousness that was earned through obedience. God gave a new righteousness given by grace, given through his Son, given as a gift. Given for the sake of Jesus.
But now, the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it – the Righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. (Rom. 3:21-25)
It all hinges on this word “propitiation”. We don't use that word much so it is good to take a moment to remember what it means.
In ancient pagan religions, when the people offended their gods they believed that there was a debt that they had to pay so that they could make things right. They thought of their gods as not too different from a mafia boss. When you cross him you owe him. And depending on how big the offense, you might owe him a greater debt. And if the debt was too big to pay, sometimes the the only way to make him happy was to pay with your life. Mafia bosses are notorious for exacting revenge. They always get their man. Pagan worshipers thought of their gods in the same way. Strict code of justice. Obey or else. Disobey and you pay up. One way or another, you will pay up. The word propitiation was the term for the payment rendered to satisfy the god's sense of justice.
But that was the remarkable thing about Paul's use of that word in connection with the true God. Because there was a strict code of justice, obey and live, disobey and die, but what happens when you disobey? God in his grace sent his own son Jesus to be that propitiation, to be that sacrifice, to be that blood offering and to die in our place.
God in his justice was angry at our sin. But God in his grace paid the debt for us. He sent Jesus to be the propitiation. To be the satisfaction of the blood debt that we owed to God, but that God didn't make us pay. We owed God but he paid the debt by himself to himself to satisfy his anger at our sin all for the sake of his grace and his joy. We are set free, given this new righteousness, manifested apart from the law and given freely as a gift for the sake of Jesus.
Luther had been living his life in fear. He saw the old righteousness that demanded his perfect life, but he hadn't yet discovered the new righteousness given by God's grace. And therefore he was afraid. He was truly, mortally and legitimately afraid of the wrath of God over his sin.
Psalm 46 identifies God as our refuge and strength, our ever present help in times of trouble. Therefore, it says, we will not fear, even though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.
Hebrews 13 says The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me.
1 John 4 says, “There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out all fear. For fear has to do with punishment and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
In God's love he has made us perfect. He has paid the debt for our sin and he has given to us his son as the propitiation for our sin. Therefore there is no need to fear. The fear is gone. The question is, what remains?
What remains is God's grace. Now this in not immediately apparent in reading the English text, but if you were familiar with the Greek language you would understand that the words “grace” and “joy” share the same root. They are from the same word. If fear is gone, if the fear has been taken away, then what remain? What is left in its place? Joy. God perfect joy. God's everlasting joy. God's joy that won't ever be taken away, that can't be taken away.
Ironically, on October 31 most of the world celebrates fear by dressing up to mimic death. Today the Lutheran Church understands that fear, and specifically the fear of death has been taken away because of what God has done for us in Jesus on the cross. There is no fear, not even fear of death. There is only joy. May the joy of Christ Jesus given to you in God's grace be yours this Reformation Day.
Amen.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
October 24 2010 - Pentecost 22
People these days have become obsessed with the environment. We are constantly hearing about deadly greenhouse gases and the effect they are having on the climate. We are also hearing about how our high level of consumption is leaving behind a residue of trash and harmful substances that need to be eliminated. To curb the problem people have begun to chant the mantra, reduce, reuse recycle. And so people are recycling. They are recycling their shampoo bottles and empty cereal boxes and soup cans. They are buying their clothes at consignment shops to reuse old clothes instead of buying new. They are driving low emission hybrid vehicles, or zero emission electric vehicles. All in the hope to reverse the trend and preserve the environment.
So how did this happen? What lead to this concern for the care of the environment? A fear that our planet has become polluted, that we have filled it with deadly substances. A fear that the natural pristine order of this good world has become corrupted and corroded with our various byproducts. This environmental craze is built off of a fear that irresponsible use of the planet has polluted and poisoned the world so that it wont be a suitable place for us to live.
And so people recycle. They take shorter showers, they buy organic, they pay a little extra for a hybrid, they car pool. They buy high efficiency light bulbs. They turn off the lights, the tv, the computer all in the hope that they can help save the planet. All in the hope that they can help to return our planet to its natural, pristine and optimally habitable state. It's hip to be an environmentalist.
But with all this concern for the planet and pollution and the land and the environment, with all the reducing, reusing and recycling that is going in cities and urban centers all over the place, there is a pollution that is continuing unchecked. There are industries that are turning out destructive and corrosive materials and substances that will kill the planet, that will create a living environment that is utterly uninhabitable, that will be the death of all of us. And it's not smoke, its not greenhouse gases or automobile emissions, it's not oil spills or chemical spills. Instead the pollution that is destroying our planet and making unfit for people to live is the pollution of sin.
And it is a pollution. Pollution occurs when an un-natural substance is introduced into the natural environment that mixes and mingles with the natural so that it becomes corrupted and unstable. Sin does just that. Sin adds a foreign substance into God's good created order. It introduces things that do not belong. We think of chemical sludge dumped into streams and rivers and are concerned for the danger to the environment and for the health and well being of our children, but sin and the world's sin factories introduce the foreign and corrupting substances into the human experience every single day.
In our Old Testament text, this morning we see an act of pollution. We see that the actions of men interrupt the natural order of God's good world so that the environment was desecrated. Cain had become jealous of his brother Abel because the Lord accepted his sacrifice while Cain's had been rejected. And so Cain murdered Abel.
Life and death is in God's hands. It is not given to men to decide when life begins or when it ends. This is God's work. It happens according to the natural unfolding of God's creation. But then Cain took life into his own hands. In a fit of jealous rage he introduced something foreign into God's pristine world. He corrupted God's world and cursed God's world when he murdered his brother. He introduced something in to God's creation that did not belong and the result was that the ground itself was tainted.
Notice what God says, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground which has opened its mouth to receive your brothers blood from your hand.”
Life is God's gift. It belong to God to give life it belongs to God to take it away. Cain interrupted the natural ecology of God's world so that the ground itself was polluted.
God says as much in Numbers 35:33-34, “You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 34 You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.”
Or else, consider Psalm 106. 38 they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.
So sin, and specifically murder, pollutes the land and affects not just the people, but it affects all of God's creation.
But that is not all, murder is not the only sin that pollutes. In Leviticus 18 God gives commands about all kinds of sexual sins, sins that his people are not to commit. They are sins that violate and defile the nation, the people, and even the land. God says, “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, 25 and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. Murder and sexual sins are a pollution. These sins introduce a foreign substance into the natural order of God's world so that it becomes disordered and harmed.
Lets consider our own day and our own time. Think of the murders that continue on each and every day. There are murders that go on that are publicly sanctioned. Murders of the unborn that are legally protected and even funded. There is an increasing disdain for the life of the aged and infirm. Make no mistake, the sins of abortion and euthanasia are sins that have stained the land with the blood of our innocents.
But that is not all. The indecent and lewd acts that were condemned by the Lord in Leviticus are more and more becoming common place. These relationships, that are contrary to God's created order, and are violations of his creation are becoming also publicly sanctioned and even protected by legislative or judicial decree. Make no mistake, these acts pollute and defile the land.
In the Old Testament, this pollution of sin required that those living in the land be destroyed. God said that the land would vomit out the people who committed those acts. God judged them in their sin so that they were destroyed.
My Christian friends, we live in a land that is polluted. If God judged the Canaanites and Perizites and the Hittites and Jebusites so that they land spewed them out, than certainly our land is poised to do the same. This pollution needs to be cleaned up. The environment needs a good spring cleaning.
There's nothing you or I could do about it, to be sure. After all to say that I had to change or that you had to change and that together we could make a change would be ludicrous. It would be like trying to clean up the smog in LA with a glade plug in. We are just not up to the task. So we can't fix it. But God can. God can clean up the sin that has corrupted our world. And God can return the world to order and cleanliness.
There is kind of a weird little thing that occurs in our text this morning that you can't really see in the translation. Sometimes there are phrases or comments that are made that could be possibly understood more than one way, and we seem to have one of those instances here in our text. When Eve gave birth to Cain, our translation tells us that she said, “Behold I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” The Hebrew grammar leaves us guessing a little bit as to exactly what she intended to say; it allows us to wonder if Eve didn't think The Lord had just sent the Messiah. A few verses prior God gave the first Messianic promise, the first promise of a savior. God promised a son of hers would crush the head of the serpent. And then Eve God pregnant and had a boy and she said, “Behold I have gotten a man, the Lord.” Apparently, Eve thought that Cain was the Messiah. Eve thought that this boy would clean up the pollution and mess that she and her husband had made.
Eve was wrong. Cain was not the Messiah. In fact, he turned out to be a murderer. And a polluter of the world. A man, yes. But the man who first spilled a man's blood and thus polluted the earth with death at the hands of men. And so Abel's blood cried out from the recently polluted ground for God's vengeance.
But time went on. Adams son and Eve's daughters gave birth to generations of men. And to generations of sinners. And the pollution on God's planted continued. But the Lord kept his promise and sent that man that Eve was looking for from her womb. The Lord sent Jesus; a man and the Lord all at once. God sent Jesus, to be born of a woman, born under the law, the same law that condemns Cain and also condemns us.
What Cain was not, Jesus was. Cain coveted. Jesus loved. Cain took life from his brother. Jesus healed those who were injured and even raised the dead back to life. Cain polluted the earth with the blood of his brother, Jesus came to clean up that pollution.
The Old Testament tells us that anyone who murders another, who spills the blood of his brother on the ground, that murderer will be cursed. The Lord cursed Cain because of the blood of Abel. If Cain was cursed because of the blood of his brother, imagine the curse for murdering the very Son of God. Imagine the world wide pollution that would ensue from the death of God's own Son after his murder. Imagine the curse. Imagine the death that would swallow up those guilty of his murder.
You would think, wouldn't you?
But the blood of Jesus did not bring about a curse. It did not bring about death and destruction on the earth. It was, if you would, a counter pollution. The blood of Jesus was spilled out on the ground, but not for our curse, not for our judgment. Instead, it became our blessing. We were blessed by God because of this blood of Jesus.
The curse of the law was too great a judgment for Cain to endure so God gave him a mark, an identifier that he should not be touched. The Lord has given the same thing to us. He has marked us and identified us as His own through baptism. We have been marked and set aside and preserved from Judgment because of what God has done for us.
The world is certainly polluted, filled with sin and cursed because of it. Yet Jesus has the antidote for that pollution. He has cleaned and cleansed the world when his blood was spilled on the earth so that we could be forgiven.
Amen.
So how did this happen? What lead to this concern for the care of the environment? A fear that our planet has become polluted, that we have filled it with deadly substances. A fear that the natural pristine order of this good world has become corrupted and corroded with our various byproducts. This environmental craze is built off of a fear that irresponsible use of the planet has polluted and poisoned the world so that it wont be a suitable place for us to live.
And so people recycle. They take shorter showers, they buy organic, they pay a little extra for a hybrid, they car pool. They buy high efficiency light bulbs. They turn off the lights, the tv, the computer all in the hope that they can help save the planet. All in the hope that they can help to return our planet to its natural, pristine and optimally habitable state. It's hip to be an environmentalist.
But with all this concern for the planet and pollution and the land and the environment, with all the reducing, reusing and recycling that is going in cities and urban centers all over the place, there is a pollution that is continuing unchecked. There are industries that are turning out destructive and corrosive materials and substances that will kill the planet, that will create a living environment that is utterly uninhabitable, that will be the death of all of us. And it's not smoke, its not greenhouse gases or automobile emissions, it's not oil spills or chemical spills. Instead the pollution that is destroying our planet and making unfit for people to live is the pollution of sin.
And it is a pollution. Pollution occurs when an un-natural substance is introduced into the natural environment that mixes and mingles with the natural so that it becomes corrupted and unstable. Sin does just that. Sin adds a foreign substance into God's good created order. It introduces things that do not belong. We think of chemical sludge dumped into streams and rivers and are concerned for the danger to the environment and for the health and well being of our children, but sin and the world's sin factories introduce the foreign and corrupting substances into the human experience every single day.
In our Old Testament text, this morning we see an act of pollution. We see that the actions of men interrupt the natural order of God's good world so that the environment was desecrated. Cain had become jealous of his brother Abel because the Lord accepted his sacrifice while Cain's had been rejected. And so Cain murdered Abel.
Life and death is in God's hands. It is not given to men to decide when life begins or when it ends. This is God's work. It happens according to the natural unfolding of God's creation. But then Cain took life into his own hands. In a fit of jealous rage he introduced something foreign into God's pristine world. He corrupted God's world and cursed God's world when he murdered his brother. He introduced something in to God's creation that did not belong and the result was that the ground itself was tainted.
Notice what God says, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground which has opened its mouth to receive your brothers blood from your hand.”
Life is God's gift. It belong to God to give life it belongs to God to take it away. Cain interrupted the natural ecology of God's world so that the ground itself was polluted.
God says as much in Numbers 35:33-34, “You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 34 You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.”
Or else, consider Psalm 106. 38 they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.
So sin, and specifically murder, pollutes the land and affects not just the people, but it affects all of God's creation.
But that is not all, murder is not the only sin that pollutes. In Leviticus 18 God gives commands about all kinds of sexual sins, sins that his people are not to commit. They are sins that violate and defile the nation, the people, and even the land. God says, “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, 25 and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. Murder and sexual sins are a pollution. These sins introduce a foreign substance into the natural order of God's world so that it becomes disordered and harmed.
Lets consider our own day and our own time. Think of the murders that continue on each and every day. There are murders that go on that are publicly sanctioned. Murders of the unborn that are legally protected and even funded. There is an increasing disdain for the life of the aged and infirm. Make no mistake, the sins of abortion and euthanasia are sins that have stained the land with the blood of our innocents.
But that is not all. The indecent and lewd acts that were condemned by the Lord in Leviticus are more and more becoming common place. These relationships, that are contrary to God's created order, and are violations of his creation are becoming also publicly sanctioned and even protected by legislative or judicial decree. Make no mistake, these acts pollute and defile the land.
In the Old Testament, this pollution of sin required that those living in the land be destroyed. God said that the land would vomit out the people who committed those acts. God judged them in their sin so that they were destroyed.
My Christian friends, we live in a land that is polluted. If God judged the Canaanites and Perizites and the Hittites and Jebusites so that they land spewed them out, than certainly our land is poised to do the same. This pollution needs to be cleaned up. The environment needs a good spring cleaning.
There's nothing you or I could do about it, to be sure. After all to say that I had to change or that you had to change and that together we could make a change would be ludicrous. It would be like trying to clean up the smog in LA with a glade plug in. We are just not up to the task. So we can't fix it. But God can. God can clean up the sin that has corrupted our world. And God can return the world to order and cleanliness.
There is kind of a weird little thing that occurs in our text this morning that you can't really see in the translation. Sometimes there are phrases or comments that are made that could be possibly understood more than one way, and we seem to have one of those instances here in our text. When Eve gave birth to Cain, our translation tells us that she said, “Behold I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” The Hebrew grammar leaves us guessing a little bit as to exactly what she intended to say; it allows us to wonder if Eve didn't think The Lord had just sent the Messiah. A few verses prior God gave the first Messianic promise, the first promise of a savior. God promised a son of hers would crush the head of the serpent. And then Eve God pregnant and had a boy and she said, “Behold I have gotten a man, the Lord.” Apparently, Eve thought that Cain was the Messiah. Eve thought that this boy would clean up the pollution and mess that she and her husband had made.
Eve was wrong. Cain was not the Messiah. In fact, he turned out to be a murderer. And a polluter of the world. A man, yes. But the man who first spilled a man's blood and thus polluted the earth with death at the hands of men. And so Abel's blood cried out from the recently polluted ground for God's vengeance.
But time went on. Adams son and Eve's daughters gave birth to generations of men. And to generations of sinners. And the pollution on God's planted continued. But the Lord kept his promise and sent that man that Eve was looking for from her womb. The Lord sent Jesus; a man and the Lord all at once. God sent Jesus, to be born of a woman, born under the law, the same law that condemns Cain and also condemns us.
What Cain was not, Jesus was. Cain coveted. Jesus loved. Cain took life from his brother. Jesus healed those who were injured and even raised the dead back to life. Cain polluted the earth with the blood of his brother, Jesus came to clean up that pollution.
The Old Testament tells us that anyone who murders another, who spills the blood of his brother on the ground, that murderer will be cursed. The Lord cursed Cain because of the blood of Abel. If Cain was cursed because of the blood of his brother, imagine the curse for murdering the very Son of God. Imagine the world wide pollution that would ensue from the death of God's own Son after his murder. Imagine the curse. Imagine the death that would swallow up those guilty of his murder.
You would think, wouldn't you?
But the blood of Jesus did not bring about a curse. It did not bring about death and destruction on the earth. It was, if you would, a counter pollution. The blood of Jesus was spilled out on the ground, but not for our curse, not for our judgment. Instead, it became our blessing. We were blessed by God because of this blood of Jesus.
The curse of the law was too great a judgment for Cain to endure so God gave him a mark, an identifier that he should not be touched. The Lord has given the same thing to us. He has marked us and identified us as His own through baptism. We have been marked and set aside and preserved from Judgment because of what God has done for us.
The world is certainly polluted, filled with sin and cursed because of it. Yet Jesus has the antidote for that pollution. He has cleaned and cleansed the world when his blood was spilled on the earth so that we could be forgiven.
Amen.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
October 17, 2010 - Luke 18:1-8
A group of Christians had gathered together to pray recently in a school in New Delhi, in India when a radical Hindu group broke into the school and began to beat the pastors who were leading the prayer service. When the local authorities arrived, the attacks were permitted to continue. When arrests were finally made, it was the Christians who were taken to jail while their attackers were set free.
A Lutheran pastor in Africa decided to break off from his church's ties to a more liberal world wide Lutheran church body. When he purposed to ordain a pastor without the support of this liberal church organization he was told that there would be an attempt on his life. He performed the ordination in a private and unpublicized church service.
God will give justice, but there are certainly times when it seems like he is taking his time in administering it. And as it seems to us like we are up to our necks with injustice, that can be a real challenge.
We don't always stop to take notice. After all, in our corner of the world Christians have a lot of freedom to practice our faith. We look around us and sure, we can see evidence of sin. It's not always easy for us to express our faith and come right out and say what we believe. Our way of life is different and our priorities and lifestyle are different. But we no one is threatening to kill us or harm us. Not like they do in other places around the world.
But Corinthians says that when one member of the body of Christ suffers, all suffer together with him. Those Christians in New Delhi, those Christians in Africa, not to mention, Bangladesh and Ethiopia, and Indonesia, and elsewhere around the world, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. As they suffer the brunt of this persecution, we suffer with them. We mourn with them. We pray for them and we cry out with them, How Long O Lord.
Psalm 13, this prayer of David sums it up pretty well:
“13:1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
As a believer in Christ, you don't have to live in some remote corner of the world to suffer at the hands of sin and evil in the world. You might suffer in some way or some means in your own neighborhood, in your own life and right here where you live. You might find yourself praying that same prayer and asking yourself that same question. Where is God? Is He still there? Is He concerned about what is happening to us down here on this planet? Or has he forgotten?
Dear friends, he has not forgotten. Jesus would have us to know that He is here with us. He is not far away, distant, or removed from our problems and our struggles, but he is right here in the middle of them. He is close beside us and he will not leave us. He sees what his people are enduring and he wouldn't have us despair. No. He does not want us to loose heart. Instead he wants us to stand up and stand tall and be confident that he hears us and that he is with us. He wants us to know that he is close beside us and here, in our text, in this parable, he urges us to pray.
Jesus tells a parable. Of an unjust judge. And judge who is unrighteous and who doesn't care what people think or what God thinks. And a widow. A poor, helpless woman who has no husband and few rights, if any at all. And this judge, who doesn't care about anyone, isn't really all that interested in hearing this widow's problems. He's too busy, too preoccupied and would really rather that she just went away.
Don't we sometimes feel like that is how God treats us, like he is preoccupied or busy or distant or unconcerned. Don't we feel like we at times have to work extra hard just to get an audience with our Lord when he should be on top of those problems that we are having.
Lord, how could you let this happen? How could you allow something like this to go on? Where were you when I needed you? Why didn't you step in to save me? Why didn't you stop this from happening? And we think we've got a pretty legitimate complaint.
But notice what this poor, helpless woman does, this woman in need of justice, this woman who has no where else to turn. Notice what she does. She doesn't quit. She doesn't allow herself to be ignored. She keeps coming. Keeps asking. Keeps urging. The squeaky wheel gets the oil and this woman made herself a nuisance in the ears of this wicked and lazy judge. The woman was tarnishing his reputation and making him look bad so he gave in. He heard the widow's case and he gave her the justice she demanded.
So is this God? Would Jesus have us understand God to be like this wicked judge? Unjust? Preoccupied? Only willing to dole out justice when we pester him to it? No! This parable is a study in contrast. God is good. He hears your prayers. He knows your needs even before you know them. He knows what you have suffered and how you have suffered. He knows how severely you have been wronged and he will give you justice.
Will not God give justice to the elect? Says Jesus. To those who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.
The Lord will provide justice. He will give you what you need. He hears your prayer. He knows your need and He will respond. He will not leave you to suffer. Instead he will answer the prayers of His faithful people. Take heart and keep praying.
In this sin-filled world Christians will suffer. With our enemy the Devil such an ever present foe, we can count on the fact that he will target God's people to test them and to see if he can have some success in drawing them away from their faith. And God permits him to do so. But when this happens God wants you to pray. That is the whole reason Jesus told this parable. Our text said that Jesus told the parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not loose heart.
Our Lord knew what we would suffer. He knew what we would endure. He knew that there would be evil and sin in the world. He knew that this sin would affect us and harm us. He knew that we would struggle against temptation and sin. He knew that we would battle with the lies of the Devil. So our Lord gave a parable to encourage us always to pray.
My friends, God wants you to pray. Always.
When you are in your car. When you are riding the bus to school. When you are about to eat a meal. When you are sitting at your desk. When you are facing some challenge. When you are about to undergo surgery. When someone has sinned against you. When you are afraid, nervous, joyful, glad, overwhelmed, grieved, excited, terrified, any time and every time. God wants you to pray. Always.
Our Sunday Morning adult Bible study has just begun a study on a book entitled Grace Upon Grace, Spirituality for Today by John Kleinig. In this book, Dr Kleinig likens prayer to being included in God's cabinet. It is like God is a ruler or king and his plan and agenda for His kingdom is laid out for us. When we pray, it's like we are participating in the work that God is doing on earth.
Dr Kleinig also talks about prayer as guard duty. We are soldiers in the army of the Lord, but we are not offensive soldiers. Jesus has already won the war. We are like sentries, manning our look out posts. Watching for the attacks of the devil on our children, our brothers or sisters, our friends, our parents. And this is an important point. Sometimes we can be self-centered in our prayers; we pray for our own needs or when we feel our own attacks. But we can pray for each other. If Satan is leaving you alone for a time, that means he is spending that time harassing someone else. Pray for that person. Whoever it may be. If you can't think of someone to pray for or someone who is suffering pray for Christians around the world. Join with them in their suffering by lifting them up in prayer before your Heavenly Father. Call in for support for them from Jesus who has defeated Satan and who has sent him running.
Jesus will help. He is far from preoccupied, He is ready and waiting. Willing and eager to help. And help he does. Because of his great love for us. He does not delay. He comes to chase away our adversary.
So don't despair. God is with you. He has not left you, indeed he is near by. Take heart. Take courage and pray to the God who has promised to hear. Who has promised to save. Who has promised to deliver you from whatever you might be suffering. In His Name.
Amen.
A Lutheran pastor in Africa decided to break off from his church's ties to a more liberal world wide Lutheran church body. When he purposed to ordain a pastor without the support of this liberal church organization he was told that there would be an attempt on his life. He performed the ordination in a private and unpublicized church service.
God will give justice, but there are certainly times when it seems like he is taking his time in administering it. And as it seems to us like we are up to our necks with injustice, that can be a real challenge.
We don't always stop to take notice. After all, in our corner of the world Christians have a lot of freedom to practice our faith. We look around us and sure, we can see evidence of sin. It's not always easy for us to express our faith and come right out and say what we believe. Our way of life is different and our priorities and lifestyle are different. But we no one is threatening to kill us or harm us. Not like they do in other places around the world.
But Corinthians says that when one member of the body of Christ suffers, all suffer together with him. Those Christians in New Delhi, those Christians in Africa, not to mention, Bangladesh and Ethiopia, and Indonesia, and elsewhere around the world, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. As they suffer the brunt of this persecution, we suffer with them. We mourn with them. We pray for them and we cry out with them, How Long O Lord.
Psalm 13, this prayer of David sums it up pretty well:
“13:1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
As a believer in Christ, you don't have to live in some remote corner of the world to suffer at the hands of sin and evil in the world. You might suffer in some way or some means in your own neighborhood, in your own life and right here where you live. You might find yourself praying that same prayer and asking yourself that same question. Where is God? Is He still there? Is He concerned about what is happening to us down here on this planet? Or has he forgotten?
Dear friends, he has not forgotten. Jesus would have us to know that He is here with us. He is not far away, distant, or removed from our problems and our struggles, but he is right here in the middle of them. He is close beside us and he will not leave us. He sees what his people are enduring and he wouldn't have us despair. No. He does not want us to loose heart. Instead he wants us to stand up and stand tall and be confident that he hears us and that he is with us. He wants us to know that he is close beside us and here, in our text, in this parable, he urges us to pray.
Jesus tells a parable. Of an unjust judge. And judge who is unrighteous and who doesn't care what people think or what God thinks. And a widow. A poor, helpless woman who has no husband and few rights, if any at all. And this judge, who doesn't care about anyone, isn't really all that interested in hearing this widow's problems. He's too busy, too preoccupied and would really rather that she just went away.
Don't we sometimes feel like that is how God treats us, like he is preoccupied or busy or distant or unconcerned. Don't we feel like we at times have to work extra hard just to get an audience with our Lord when he should be on top of those problems that we are having.
Lord, how could you let this happen? How could you allow something like this to go on? Where were you when I needed you? Why didn't you step in to save me? Why didn't you stop this from happening? And we think we've got a pretty legitimate complaint.
But notice what this poor, helpless woman does, this woman in need of justice, this woman who has no where else to turn. Notice what she does. She doesn't quit. She doesn't allow herself to be ignored. She keeps coming. Keeps asking. Keeps urging. The squeaky wheel gets the oil and this woman made herself a nuisance in the ears of this wicked and lazy judge. The woman was tarnishing his reputation and making him look bad so he gave in. He heard the widow's case and he gave her the justice she demanded.
So is this God? Would Jesus have us understand God to be like this wicked judge? Unjust? Preoccupied? Only willing to dole out justice when we pester him to it? No! This parable is a study in contrast. God is good. He hears your prayers. He knows your needs even before you know them. He knows what you have suffered and how you have suffered. He knows how severely you have been wronged and he will give you justice.
Will not God give justice to the elect? Says Jesus. To those who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.
The Lord will provide justice. He will give you what you need. He hears your prayer. He knows your need and He will respond. He will not leave you to suffer. Instead he will answer the prayers of His faithful people. Take heart and keep praying.
In this sin-filled world Christians will suffer. With our enemy the Devil such an ever present foe, we can count on the fact that he will target God's people to test them and to see if he can have some success in drawing them away from their faith. And God permits him to do so. But when this happens God wants you to pray. That is the whole reason Jesus told this parable. Our text said that Jesus told the parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not loose heart.
Our Lord knew what we would suffer. He knew what we would endure. He knew that there would be evil and sin in the world. He knew that this sin would affect us and harm us. He knew that we would struggle against temptation and sin. He knew that we would battle with the lies of the Devil. So our Lord gave a parable to encourage us always to pray.
My friends, God wants you to pray. Always.
When you are in your car. When you are riding the bus to school. When you are about to eat a meal. When you are sitting at your desk. When you are facing some challenge. When you are about to undergo surgery. When someone has sinned against you. When you are afraid, nervous, joyful, glad, overwhelmed, grieved, excited, terrified, any time and every time. God wants you to pray. Always.
Our Sunday Morning adult Bible study has just begun a study on a book entitled Grace Upon Grace, Spirituality for Today by John Kleinig. In this book, Dr Kleinig likens prayer to being included in God's cabinet. It is like God is a ruler or king and his plan and agenda for His kingdom is laid out for us. When we pray, it's like we are participating in the work that God is doing on earth.
Dr Kleinig also talks about prayer as guard duty. We are soldiers in the army of the Lord, but we are not offensive soldiers. Jesus has already won the war. We are like sentries, manning our look out posts. Watching for the attacks of the devil on our children, our brothers or sisters, our friends, our parents. And this is an important point. Sometimes we can be self-centered in our prayers; we pray for our own needs or when we feel our own attacks. But we can pray for each other. If Satan is leaving you alone for a time, that means he is spending that time harassing someone else. Pray for that person. Whoever it may be. If you can't think of someone to pray for or someone who is suffering pray for Christians around the world. Join with them in their suffering by lifting them up in prayer before your Heavenly Father. Call in for support for them from Jesus who has defeated Satan and who has sent him running.
Jesus will help. He is far from preoccupied, He is ready and waiting. Willing and eager to help. And help he does. Because of his great love for us. He does not delay. He comes to chase away our adversary.
So don't despair. God is with you. He has not left you, indeed he is near by. Take heart. Take courage and pray to the God who has promised to hear. Who has promised to save. Who has promised to deliver you from whatever you might be suffering. In His Name.
Amen.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Pentecost 20 - Ruth 1:1-19
In our Epistle text for today, the Apostle Paul encouraged young Pastor Timothy to work hard at his charge as the pastor over the church in Ephesus. He wrote to his young protege “An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard working farmer who should have the first share of the crops.” In other words, “do your work. Do your best. Be honest, play by the rules, and trust the Lord to bless your efforts.”
That same advice could apply to us, here at St Paul Chuckery.
Over this past week, in the Confirmation class that I teach here at the day school, we have been talking about the Kingdoms of God. Lutheran Theology talks about 3 Kingdoms, 2 on earth and one in eternity; the two on earth are the Kingdom of Power and the Kingdom of Grace, and then, God's heavenly kingdom where he will reign supreme for all eternity is the Kingdom of Glory. If you have the time and the opportunity, I would encourage you to take one of them aside and have them define each of those kingdoms for you. See what they come up with.
For our discussion this morning, those first two kingdoms, those Kingdoms where Christ is Lord and King here on earth are important, the Kingdom of Power and the Kingdom of Grace, we also refer to them as the “Right Hand Kingdom” and the “Left Hand Kingdom”. The kingdom of Grace (The Right Hand Kingdom) is the church, where Christ rules with love and forgiveness, where he gives out salvation for free and where the only thing we have to offer is our sin. The second kingdom, the Left Hand Kingdom is the Kingdom of Power. It is where God rules on earth through the earthly authorities, through our parents, but also through presidents and governors and teachers and employers. Here we have obligations and deadlines to fulfill and we also have work to do. According to the Kingdom of Grace, God has done everything for us. According to the Kingdom of Power, there is work that God wants us to do. And when we do our work and when we apply ourselves, we are rewarded.
In the Epistle Text for today, Paul was telling Timothy, as a pastor in the Church to get to work and get the job done. In the Church, in the Right Hand Kingdom, Christ had done everything. But that Church, you and I, we find ourselves living in the Left Hand Kingdom where there is work for us to do, where God blesses our work and our effort. We can't earn a spot in the church, We can't earn a spot in God's heart, that is done for us by Jesus. But by our own work, we can earn a spot in men's hearts, we can play according the man's rules, we can build up this spot in the Left Hand Kingdom and then use it for Christ to build up His Church.
Our Old Testament Lesson brings these two things together for us this morning. The Book of Ruth is an example for us of one who applied herself in the kingdom of the left, and one who was then blessed by the Lord, and because of her work and through her work, the Lord accomplished our salvation.
Ruth was a Moabite girl. A pagan and an unbeliever. She grew up with parents and friends who prayed to false gods and who did not know the true God. She happened into the Scriptures and into the people of God and the community of faith almost what might seem by accident. There was a famine in Israel and the Israelites went where the food was. You might compare her situation to our own. These days the economy is bad, people are out of work so they go where the jobs are. The same thing happened with Ruth's husband. His family moved to Moab in the midst of a down economy in Israel. They got married and all of a sudden Ruth's story coincided with God's salvation story.
It wasn't too long after, that Ruth's father in law died. Her Mother In Law, Naomi, stayed in Moab, however, because her sons where there. Their jobs where there. But soon her sons died also. And Naomi was left with no husband, no sons, and no relatives, a stranger in a strange land. She heard the local economy back home was better, she figured there were better chances for her with her family so she set off to move back home. We could probably read that same story or one a lot like it in the Columbus Dispatch, couldn't we?
So here's Ruth. Her husband is dead, her mother in law is moving away, to only God knows where, but she decided to go. She had nothing in Israel, no-one familiar waiting for her, no friends, no relatives, no house, no employment, not a whole lot to look forward to, but she devoted herself to the care of her mother in law. They both lost everything, she would make sure they didn't loose each other.
Now there was another sister in law in the picture, Orpah. Orpah, like Ruth, had married one of Naomi's sons. Orpah, like Ruth and Naomi had her husband die. When Naomi set about returning home Orpah went with her. But Naomi protested. The girls should stay with their families and with what was familiar. Orpah consented and stayed. She went back to the home of her family. Could you blame her? Isn’t' that what you would have done? I know I would have. But not Ruth. She stayed with Naomi. To put this back into our previous conversation, she saw work to be done in the Kingdom of the Left, to help and to serve her mother in law, she devoted herself to that work, and the Lord blessed her.
What work has the Lord placed before you? Are you like Ruth, one who has been challenged with service to your neighbor, to someone that you certainly are not obliged to serve, you aren't required to help, but still, if you did The Lord might work through your efforts for good.
Consider the work of the LWML. Today is LWML Sunday, for those of you not familiar with our Lutheran Acronyms, that stands for the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. The LWML does Ruth's work, of finding those who have needs and supporting them, and caring for them, and providing for them. They support the seminaries and the training of future pastors, here in the United States but also around the world. They provide clothing for the needy, humanitarian aid for the destitute, the support missionaries in countries all over the world. Between 2009 and 2011 they have plans to distribute $1.8 million to all of these projects, one mite box at a time.
And guess what, through their hard work and their willing service doing projects few people even bother to notice, God works for the good of his Kingdom. The LWML works hard in the Kingdom of the Left to take care of those who have need and through that work God builds up the Kingdom of the Right, the Church on earth. It grows, it is fed, it is encouraged, it continues its fight and its battle with sin death and the devil through little card board boxes filled with pennies and dimes and quarters.
God does the same through you. You, people of St Paul Chuckery, God works through you. As you do your work and dedicate yourself like Ruth did, like the LWML does, as you do your work in the Kingdom of the Left, God blesses that work and He works through those efforts to build up his church. You might not think about it, you might not realize it, but God makes things happen, God continues to write chapters in his salvation story.
That's what he did through Ruth. Like we said, her story was pretty common, one we might read in our own newspapers, tragic? Yes. Special or out of the ordinary? Not terribly. But God worked through her.
If you skip ahead to Matthew chapter 1 we are given a genealogy, a family history of Jesus. Where he came from and who his ancestors were. In that list is mentioned one, Ruth, a girl who grew up a pagan, an unbeliever, but one who He called to faith, one who he called to be his own, one who willingly received the gifts that God gave and then set about using those gifts to serve her mother-in-law when she was needed. And the Lord worked through her efforts and her faithfulness. She became a piece of the story of Salvation that God wrote for you and me. Jesus was born to be our King, the King of the Jews and the King of the heavens and the earth. He earned that crown and that throne when He died and paid for our sin and when His Heavenly Father accepted his sacrifice and raised him from the dead and seated him as King over every king and Lord over every lord. Jesus is Lord of Heaven and Earth, in the Kingdom of Power, but also and especially in the Kingdom of Grace.
And as he was writing that story, as he was making that happen, God used Ruth. And maybe God will use you as well. When all of His Salvation history has been written at the end of time and we are together in Eternity, perhaps your name will be mentioned as one God worked through to call someone else to faith. Maybe a word that you spoke encouraged someone to go to church, to pick up their Bible, to get to know Jesus, maybe that little work you did, that little mite that you donated had a profound and eternal impact on the life of another person. You might never know. Ruth probably didn't, at least not at the time, but here she is in our Scriptures as an ancestor of Jesus.
The Lord worked through her. Through Ruth and because of Ruth, Jesus was born.
Ruth worked. She did her part in the left hand kingdom, and God used it for good in his Right hand Kingdom. God's ultimate purpose is heaven and salvation and eternal glory in the new heaven and the new earth. And He made that happen through Jesus. Jesus is lord and Jesus is king. And Jesus is powerful. He uses that power over this world and he uses that power in you.
May you, like Ruth and like the LWML be a willing servant in the Kingdom of God.
Amen.
That same advice could apply to us, here at St Paul Chuckery.
Over this past week, in the Confirmation class that I teach here at the day school, we have been talking about the Kingdoms of God. Lutheran Theology talks about 3 Kingdoms, 2 on earth and one in eternity; the two on earth are the Kingdom of Power and the Kingdom of Grace, and then, God's heavenly kingdom where he will reign supreme for all eternity is the Kingdom of Glory. If you have the time and the opportunity, I would encourage you to take one of them aside and have them define each of those kingdoms for you. See what they come up with.
For our discussion this morning, those first two kingdoms, those Kingdoms where Christ is Lord and King here on earth are important, the Kingdom of Power and the Kingdom of Grace, we also refer to them as the “Right Hand Kingdom” and the “Left Hand Kingdom”. The kingdom of Grace (The Right Hand Kingdom) is the church, where Christ rules with love and forgiveness, where he gives out salvation for free and where the only thing we have to offer is our sin. The second kingdom, the Left Hand Kingdom is the Kingdom of Power. It is where God rules on earth through the earthly authorities, through our parents, but also through presidents and governors and teachers and employers. Here we have obligations and deadlines to fulfill and we also have work to do. According to the Kingdom of Grace, God has done everything for us. According to the Kingdom of Power, there is work that God wants us to do. And when we do our work and when we apply ourselves, we are rewarded.
In the Epistle Text for today, Paul was telling Timothy, as a pastor in the Church to get to work and get the job done. In the Church, in the Right Hand Kingdom, Christ had done everything. But that Church, you and I, we find ourselves living in the Left Hand Kingdom where there is work for us to do, where God blesses our work and our effort. We can't earn a spot in the church, We can't earn a spot in God's heart, that is done for us by Jesus. But by our own work, we can earn a spot in men's hearts, we can play according the man's rules, we can build up this spot in the Left Hand Kingdom and then use it for Christ to build up His Church.
Our Old Testament Lesson brings these two things together for us this morning. The Book of Ruth is an example for us of one who applied herself in the kingdom of the left, and one who was then blessed by the Lord, and because of her work and through her work, the Lord accomplished our salvation.
Ruth was a Moabite girl. A pagan and an unbeliever. She grew up with parents and friends who prayed to false gods and who did not know the true God. She happened into the Scriptures and into the people of God and the community of faith almost what might seem by accident. There was a famine in Israel and the Israelites went where the food was. You might compare her situation to our own. These days the economy is bad, people are out of work so they go where the jobs are. The same thing happened with Ruth's husband. His family moved to Moab in the midst of a down economy in Israel. They got married and all of a sudden Ruth's story coincided with God's salvation story.
It wasn't too long after, that Ruth's father in law died. Her Mother In Law, Naomi, stayed in Moab, however, because her sons where there. Their jobs where there. But soon her sons died also. And Naomi was left with no husband, no sons, and no relatives, a stranger in a strange land. She heard the local economy back home was better, she figured there were better chances for her with her family so she set off to move back home. We could probably read that same story or one a lot like it in the Columbus Dispatch, couldn't we?
So here's Ruth. Her husband is dead, her mother in law is moving away, to only God knows where, but she decided to go. She had nothing in Israel, no-one familiar waiting for her, no friends, no relatives, no house, no employment, not a whole lot to look forward to, but she devoted herself to the care of her mother in law. They both lost everything, she would make sure they didn't loose each other.
Now there was another sister in law in the picture, Orpah. Orpah, like Ruth, had married one of Naomi's sons. Orpah, like Ruth and Naomi had her husband die. When Naomi set about returning home Orpah went with her. But Naomi protested. The girls should stay with their families and with what was familiar. Orpah consented and stayed. She went back to the home of her family. Could you blame her? Isn’t' that what you would have done? I know I would have. But not Ruth. She stayed with Naomi. To put this back into our previous conversation, she saw work to be done in the Kingdom of the Left, to help and to serve her mother in law, she devoted herself to that work, and the Lord blessed her.
What work has the Lord placed before you? Are you like Ruth, one who has been challenged with service to your neighbor, to someone that you certainly are not obliged to serve, you aren't required to help, but still, if you did The Lord might work through your efforts for good.
Consider the work of the LWML. Today is LWML Sunday, for those of you not familiar with our Lutheran Acronyms, that stands for the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. The LWML does Ruth's work, of finding those who have needs and supporting them, and caring for them, and providing for them. They support the seminaries and the training of future pastors, here in the United States but also around the world. They provide clothing for the needy, humanitarian aid for the destitute, the support missionaries in countries all over the world. Between 2009 and 2011 they have plans to distribute $1.8 million to all of these projects, one mite box at a time.
And guess what, through their hard work and their willing service doing projects few people even bother to notice, God works for the good of his Kingdom. The LWML works hard in the Kingdom of the Left to take care of those who have need and through that work God builds up the Kingdom of the Right, the Church on earth. It grows, it is fed, it is encouraged, it continues its fight and its battle with sin death and the devil through little card board boxes filled with pennies and dimes and quarters.
God does the same through you. You, people of St Paul Chuckery, God works through you. As you do your work and dedicate yourself like Ruth did, like the LWML does, as you do your work in the Kingdom of the Left, God blesses that work and He works through those efforts to build up his church. You might not think about it, you might not realize it, but God makes things happen, God continues to write chapters in his salvation story.
That's what he did through Ruth. Like we said, her story was pretty common, one we might read in our own newspapers, tragic? Yes. Special or out of the ordinary? Not terribly. But God worked through her.
If you skip ahead to Matthew chapter 1 we are given a genealogy, a family history of Jesus. Where he came from and who his ancestors were. In that list is mentioned one, Ruth, a girl who grew up a pagan, an unbeliever, but one who He called to faith, one who he called to be his own, one who willingly received the gifts that God gave and then set about using those gifts to serve her mother-in-law when she was needed. And the Lord worked through her efforts and her faithfulness. She became a piece of the story of Salvation that God wrote for you and me. Jesus was born to be our King, the King of the Jews and the King of the heavens and the earth. He earned that crown and that throne when He died and paid for our sin and when His Heavenly Father accepted his sacrifice and raised him from the dead and seated him as King over every king and Lord over every lord. Jesus is Lord of Heaven and Earth, in the Kingdom of Power, but also and especially in the Kingdom of Grace.
And as he was writing that story, as he was making that happen, God used Ruth. And maybe God will use you as well. When all of His Salvation history has been written at the end of time and we are together in Eternity, perhaps your name will be mentioned as one God worked through to call someone else to faith. Maybe a word that you spoke encouraged someone to go to church, to pick up their Bible, to get to know Jesus, maybe that little work you did, that little mite that you donated had a profound and eternal impact on the life of another person. You might never know. Ruth probably didn't, at least not at the time, but here she is in our Scriptures as an ancestor of Jesus.
The Lord worked through her. Through Ruth and because of Ruth, Jesus was born.
Ruth worked. She did her part in the left hand kingdom, and God used it for good in his Right hand Kingdom. God's ultimate purpose is heaven and salvation and eternal glory in the new heaven and the new earth. And He made that happen through Jesus. Jesus is lord and Jesus is king. And Jesus is powerful. He uses that power over this world and he uses that power in you.
May you, like Ruth and like the LWML be a willing servant in the Kingdom of God.
Amen.
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