Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
August 8, 2010
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:18-26
Everything Is Meaningless
"Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless." (Ecclesiastes 1:2)
Dear children, why do you breathe hard on a cold winter day? To see your breath.
Dear grown-ups, why did you stop... breathing hard on a cold winter day? Because it doesn't last. You see the vapor for a moment and then it's gone. To the young, seeing your breath is an amusing distraction; to grown-ups, seeing your breath means that your car seat is cold.
The idea behind the Hebrew word “meaningless” is a vanishing vapor. So King Solomon—the author of Ecclesiastes—is saying that everything under the sun is like your breath on a cold winter day. It won't last. He says that best you can do is eat and drink and work. A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. (Ecclesiastes 2:24)
Food can make you happy, but it doesn't last. You'll eat ten of thousands of meals in your life. You'll remember a few of these meals because they're a holiday tradition—mom's turkey on Thanksgiving. You'll remember a few more because they're special—anniversaries at fancy restaurants, birthday parties at the petting zoo. But when you're hungry again, the memories of turkey and cake won't fill your tummy. Those memories will only increase your feelings of emptiness.
Work can make you happy, if you are blessed to find a career that matches your gifts. But even when you find a job you like, you'll have to retire one day. You'll be too old to work. And the world will view you as useless. Carlos Helu, who runs the Mexican company Telecom and is worth over $53 billion, will have to step down from his position and someone else will take control of his economic empire. His former subordinates won't jump when he calls; the new management will listen politely when he calls them with a suggestion, but after he hangs up, they will ignore his advice. Mr. Helu may share Solomon's sentiment, “I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.” (Ecclesiastes 2:18)
Retirement can make you happy. Maybe you never liked any of your jobs and are happy to quit the rat race. You can visit your grand kids or travel to Europe. But then your body wears out and stops you from traveling. And when you are stuck at home or a nursing home, no one travels to visit you. Those who are paid to care for you treat you like a burden. And the sense of emptiness increases.
A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work or as Jesus put it, “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” (Luke 12:19)
Solomon, the third king of Israel, understood better than most that every earthly thing—everything under the sun—was meaningless. He was rich and powerful and famous. He could have any woman he desired and he did. He literally had it all. But it was all meaningless. It didn't last.
We aren't rich like Solomon, but we are rich. We have plenty to eat. Even if we don't have jobs, we still have a lot of stuff. While these many things can be amusing distractions, they won't bring lasting happiness.
Everything under the sun is meaningless because it doesn't last.
Once Jesus told someone that what He offers lasts because He doesn't offer things that are under the sun, “Everyone who drinks this [well] water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)
The water that Jesus offers is Himself. And He lasts. Everything Jesus offers means something because it brings us joy that lasts. And when our lives have meaning, everything under the sun changes.
Our food is a constant reminder of God's goodness. Our table grace will be filled with joy because the food on our table is from our Savior.
Our work becomes an opportunity to work diligently, even when our bosses aren't looking, because we aren't working for ourselves, but to provide for our families' needs and ultimately, to bring honor to our Lord with our faithfulness.
Our retirement won't be empty, because we will be that much closer to the day when our Savior calls us home to joyful delight of heaven. And while the world views us as drains on society, you know that you are a special member of Jesus' family. And while we're waiting to join Him, we wait with quiet expectation and we bring a selfless attitude and Christian words to those around us: family members, paid care takers, other residents in the nursing home.
For us in Christ, even the things under the sun have meaning, because He has given us forgiveness and joy that lasts! Christ's cross isn't a breath on a cold winter day; it is an ocean of love that refreshes us forever. And now we live for Him as Solomon says near the end of Ecclesiastes: “Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.” (Ecclesiastes 9:7)
Amen.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
St. James the Elder, Apostle
St. James the Elder, Apostle
July 25, 2010
Acts 12:1-3
James, a Sinner and a Saint
Today we are going to remember the Apostle James. Whenever we commemorate an Apostle, the central thing to remember is that Jesus took a sinner and declared him to be a saint. So as we learn about James, we will see the meaning of these words:
Where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)
The grace of Jesus overcame the sin of James. In James we see ourselves. Like James, Jesus' grace also overcomes our sin. Praise be to Christ! Amen!
James was one of the first men that Jesus called to be one of His disciples; and he was also the first one killed because of his calling. What happened between his call and his martyrdom?
First of all, we need to note that there were two men named James whom Jesus called to follow Him. The James we remember today was John's brother—John was the writer of the Gospel and of Revelation. And James was the son of Zebedee. (The other James was the son of Alphaeus.) When the Gospels speak of Peter, James, and John, that's the James were talking about. Our James didn't write the New Testament letter of James because he was already in heaven by then.
Some of the future apostles are only mentioned in the lists of disciples, like in Matthew 10. So we don't know much about them personally. But we do know James. Jesus chose him and his brother and Peter to see things that the other nine disciples weren't allowed to see.
When Jesus brought Jairus' little girl back to life, He brought along Peter, James, and John to be eyewitnesses. Same with the Transfiguration—these three men saw Jesus in His glory, as Moses and Elijah stood next to Him. And on the night Jesus was betrayed by another of His disciples, Judas, we read:
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took Peter, James and John along with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," He said to them. "Stay here and keep watch." (Mark 14:32-34)
Just a few verses later we learn that James and the others had fallen asleep. Like Peter, James talked big, but when Jesus asked him to stay awake in the Garden, he couldn't even do that. When Judas brings the armed mob to grab Jesus, James ran away with the rest of the disciples.
Also concerning is that James seemed to think that he and his brother John were better than the other disciples.
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him. "Teacher," they said, "we want You to do for us whatever we ask."
"What do you want Me to do for you?" He asked.
They replied, "Let one of us sit at Your right and the other at Your left in Your glory."
"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
"We can," they answered.
Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at My right or left is not for Me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared." (Mark 10:35-40)
James was bold. He made a bold request to sit next to Jesus in heaven; then he answers Jesus' question about drinking His cup with confidence, “We are ready to die for you,” without apparently thinking about what his answer meant. But here's what interesting: Jesus says that James is right, that James will drink the cup He drinks. And this came true about ten years later.
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. (Acts 12:1-2)
James ran away from the cross that saved him, Jesus' cross on Golgotha, but through the comfort of the resurrection and the strength of God's Word, James did not run away from Herod's sword. He was not afraid to die for the name of Jesus, his Savior.
Even though James was a sinner, he faced death with the comfort of the forgiveness of his sins. And he knew that this included the time when he ran away from Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. And when he was sure that Jesus was dead and doubted the many times when Jesus had predicted His coming back to life.
James also knew that Jesus' forgiveness extended even to his original sin, which is the condition and compulsion to go against everything God wants for us, which he inherited from Zebedee and Salome, his father and mother, which they inherited from their parents all the way back to Adam and Eve, our first parents.
And so we end where we began with Romans 5. Even though James was killed long before these words were penned by Paul, James trusted in the very same promise.
Consequently, just as the result of one trespass [Adam's sin] was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness [Christ's death on the cross] was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18-19)
James knew the righteousness of God, not because of righteousness inside of himself, but by the promise and fulfillment of the Savior's work on his behalf. This is James' salvation; it is ours as well.
Praise Christ for James, a disciple, an apostle, a martyr, and most of all, a forgiven sinner!
Amen.
July 25, 2010
Acts 12:1-3
James, a Sinner and a Saint
Today we are going to remember the Apostle James. Whenever we commemorate an Apostle, the central thing to remember is that Jesus took a sinner and declared him to be a saint. So as we learn about James, we will see the meaning of these words:
Where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)
The grace of Jesus overcame the sin of James. In James we see ourselves. Like James, Jesus' grace also overcomes our sin. Praise be to Christ! Amen!
James was one of the first men that Jesus called to be one of His disciples; and he was also the first one killed because of his calling. What happened between his call and his martyrdom?
First of all, we need to note that there were two men named James whom Jesus called to follow Him. The James we remember today was John's brother—John was the writer of the Gospel and of Revelation. And James was the son of Zebedee. (The other James was the son of Alphaeus.) When the Gospels speak of Peter, James, and John, that's the James were talking about. Our James didn't write the New Testament letter of James because he was already in heaven by then.
Some of the future apostles are only mentioned in the lists of disciples, like in Matthew 10. So we don't know much about them personally. But we do know James. Jesus chose him and his brother and Peter to see things that the other nine disciples weren't allowed to see.
When Jesus brought Jairus' little girl back to life, He brought along Peter, James, and John to be eyewitnesses. Same with the Transfiguration—these three men saw Jesus in His glory, as Moses and Elijah stood next to Him. And on the night Jesus was betrayed by another of His disciples, Judas, we read:
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took Peter, James and John along with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," He said to them. "Stay here and keep watch." (Mark 14:32-34)
Just a few verses later we learn that James and the others had fallen asleep. Like Peter, James talked big, but when Jesus asked him to stay awake in the Garden, he couldn't even do that. When Judas brings the armed mob to grab Jesus, James ran away with the rest of the disciples.
Also concerning is that James seemed to think that he and his brother John were better than the other disciples.
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him. "Teacher," they said, "we want You to do for us whatever we ask."
"What do you want Me to do for you?" He asked.
They replied, "Let one of us sit at Your right and the other at Your left in Your glory."
"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
"We can," they answered.
Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at My right or left is not for Me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared." (Mark 10:35-40)
James was bold. He made a bold request to sit next to Jesus in heaven; then he answers Jesus' question about drinking His cup with confidence, “We are ready to die for you,” without apparently thinking about what his answer meant. But here's what interesting: Jesus says that James is right, that James will drink the cup He drinks. And this came true about ten years later.
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. (Acts 12:1-2)
James ran away from the cross that saved him, Jesus' cross on Golgotha, but through the comfort of the resurrection and the strength of God's Word, James did not run away from Herod's sword. He was not afraid to die for the name of Jesus, his Savior.
Even though James was a sinner, he faced death with the comfort of the forgiveness of his sins. And he knew that this included the time when he ran away from Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. And when he was sure that Jesus was dead and doubted the many times when Jesus had predicted His coming back to life.
James also knew that Jesus' forgiveness extended even to his original sin, which is the condition and compulsion to go against everything God wants for us, which he inherited from Zebedee and Salome, his father and mother, which they inherited from their parents all the way back to Adam and Eve, our first parents.
And so we end where we began with Romans 5. Even though James was killed long before these words were penned by Paul, James trusted in the very same promise.
Consequently, just as the result of one trespass [Adam's sin] was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness [Christ's death on the cross] was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18-19)
James knew the righteousness of God, not because of righteousness inside of himself, but by the promise and fulfillment of the Savior's work on his behalf. This is James' salvation; it is ours as well.
Praise Christ for James, a disciple, an apostle, a martyr, and most of all, a forgiven sinner!
Amen.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
July 18, 2010
Romans 12:16
Live In Harmony With One Another
How do you live in harmony? And how you do that with other people? Maybe the answer is to be good for goodness' sake?
This attitude works. It gets people to be nice to other people. It gets people to take risks when helping others. Did you hear about the Ohio mailman who saved a drowned man with CPR? And this is the third life he saved while on his route... which he finished on time. We hear this news and it makes us glad. It's great to know that there are people who are eager to help when help is needed.
But we appreciate non-dramatic events and people, too. Our neighbor who shoves our walk in winter or mows our grass in the summer. The neighbor who keeps her yard so neat and clean and full of beautiful flowers. The dog-walker who makes sure his pooch doesn't ruin your sidewalk. Little stuff, sure. But it means a lot to us that there are many who are good for the sake of goodness.
They live in harmony with their neighbors because they want to be treated well as they treat others well. All of this works. It is rational. And as believers we thank our Lord for a community that, for the most part, is peaceful and united and harmonious.
But as believers we strive to live in harmony with one another for a different reason. A reason that is irrational. The world looks at what Jesus did to save us and thinks, “Irrational! That guy was crazy!” The world is correct: sacrificing the holy Son of God to save sinners is... unexpected.
Christ calls us to do unexpected things also.
He wants us to want what is best for our bullies. Pray for your bullies (remember that they come in all shapes and ages and sizes). Be kind to them. Sometimes you might need to defend yourself or someone else from their fists, but don't hit back with your words.
Don't be afraid to spend time with a rich person whom everyone else despises or a poor person whom hygiene isn't up to our standards.
And don't take yourself too seriously. If you don't, you'll much more stress and worry that you'll need to unburden on Jesus. While He'll be glad to do so, He also wants what's best for you.
This is our irrational reason for living in harmony with one another: we want what is best for others. We are able to do this because Jesus has set us loose on this selfish world and the conceited bullies who live here.
Our lives are filled with so much disharmony. Communication problems, money problems, relationship problems—and now try adding other people to the mix. If we handle our lives in the expected way, our lives may smoother than others. We might be well-liked and respected by others. That's good for now.
But as followers of Jesus our attitude will be one that the world will never understand. It will always be irrational and unexpected, just like Jesus. But He gives us the only harmony that will last, even when the world ceases to be.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another.
Amen.
July 18, 2010
Romans 12:16
Live In Harmony With One Another
How do you live in harmony? And how you do that with other people? Maybe the answer is to be good for goodness' sake?
This attitude works. It gets people to be nice to other people. It gets people to take risks when helping others. Did you hear about the Ohio mailman who saved a drowned man with CPR? And this is the third life he saved while on his route... which he finished on time. We hear this news and it makes us glad. It's great to know that there are people who are eager to help when help is needed.
But we appreciate non-dramatic events and people, too. Our neighbor who shoves our walk in winter or mows our grass in the summer. The neighbor who keeps her yard so neat and clean and full of beautiful flowers. The dog-walker who makes sure his pooch doesn't ruin your sidewalk. Little stuff, sure. But it means a lot to us that there are many who are good for the sake of goodness.
They live in harmony with their neighbors because they want to be treated well as they treat others well. All of this works. It is rational. And as believers we thank our Lord for a community that, for the most part, is peaceful and united and harmonious.
But as believers we strive to live in harmony with one another for a different reason. A reason that is irrational. The world looks at what Jesus did to save us and thinks, “Irrational! That guy was crazy!” The world is correct: sacrificing the holy Son of God to save sinners is... unexpected.
Christ calls us to do unexpected things also.
He wants us to want what is best for our bullies. Pray for your bullies (remember that they come in all shapes and ages and sizes). Be kind to them. Sometimes you might need to defend yourself or someone else from their fists, but don't hit back with your words.
Don't be afraid to spend time with a rich person whom everyone else despises or a poor person whom hygiene isn't up to our standards.
And don't take yourself too seriously. If you don't, you'll much more stress and worry that you'll need to unburden on Jesus. While He'll be glad to do so, He also wants what's best for you.
This is our irrational reason for living in harmony with one another: we want what is best for others. We are able to do this because Jesus has set us loose on this selfish world and the conceited bullies who live here.
Our lives are filled with so much disharmony. Communication problems, money problems, relationship problems—and now try adding other people to the mix. If we handle our lives in the expected way, our lives may smoother than others. We might be well-liked and respected by others. That's good for now.
But as followers of Jesus our attitude will be one that the world will never understand. It will always be irrational and unexpected, just like Jesus. But He gives us the only harmony that will last, even when the world ceases to be.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another.
Amen.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
June 27, 2010
What Does Membership Mean?
Luke 9:23-24
What does membership mean? Strictly speaking, membership in a congregation is not a requirement for salvation. Same goes with attendance at worship, Bible study, or Sunday school. Giving money to your church doesn't get you into heaven, either.
Jesus earns us a spot in heaven with His blood, sweat, and tears. He explained: "[I] must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and [I] must be killed and on the third day be raised to life" (Luke 9:22).
He did suffer. The Jews rejected Him and demanded that He be crucified. He was killed on a cross. And on the third day He came back to life. This is how He saves us.
You'll note that in His explanation of how He saves us, Jesus never said anything about church membership, attendance, or offerings. But even though these things will never save anybody, they are still important because they require self-denial.
After Jesus feed over 5,000 people with the miracle of bread and fish and just before He showed His glorious appearance to Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration, He said this: "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it." (Luke 9:22-23)
The principle that Jesus is speaking about is self-denial. To be clear, self-denial doesn't mean that you can't have fun. You can, and you should by spending time with friends and family. Have a picnic, go to the Air Show, go and see the third Toy Story—these good things do not violate Jesus' principle of self-denial.
Denying self is something that we do by placing Jesus first in our lives. Luther explains self-denial when explaining the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods.” What does this mean? “You should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.”
Self is the part of you that wants to kill you by dragging you away from Jesus, sometimes so slowly we don't ever recognize how far away you are. Self does not care about Jesus' death on the cross. It does not care about Jesus' resurrection from the empty tomb. It does not care about your salvation. It cares about itself.
In the daily decisions that you make, you will struggle with your self. Self always wants you to make choices that lead you away from following Jesus, decisions that do not fear, love, and trust in God above all things.
For example, going on vacation is a good thing. But if you plan your vacation with no thought of Sunday worship at a local Wisconsin Synod church, you are being lead away from Jesus. (Sure, I'll readily concede that there are some spots in America where there aren't any of our churches for a good long distance.)
What I'm talking about is that many of our selves plan our vacations by assuming we won't go to church. Our selves write off those Sundays as vacation days. Our selves reveal that we consider church to be work, and from time to time, we deserve time off.
Let's talk a small step toward denying self. This year let's include worship on our travel iternary, whether it's a business trip or a vacation. Pick out a WELS or ELS church before you put a hold on your mail. You can even call ahead or email the pastor to let him you are coming. Trust me, when you do that, you'll make his day.
But there are so many ways to follow Christ and deny self when we are here. One of those ways is belonging to a church and being one of its members.
Let's get a few misconceptions about membership off the table. First, membership is not a free ticket to heaven. Membership doesn't mean that you can angry when your pastor asks why you come to church once a year. Membership doesn't mean that you have the right to gossip and complain about you fellow members. Membership doesn't mean that you know everything about the Bible—trust me, you don't, and it's selfish to think that you do.
What does membership mean? It means that you voluntarily remain a part of a family of believers who hold that God comes down to us as a perfect Man who died for our sins. As a member, you are publicly confessing that the Bible is God's Word and that it does not change with time. Your membership also is public statement that you had no part in the decision that brought you into Jesus' family—He did that.
Membership also means that you consistently come to chuch for Bible study and for worship. When you aren't here, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you are on vacation and worshiping at a different WELS church. Membership means that if your job forces to work on Sunday, that you let me know and we'll set up alternative ways for you to hear God's Word and receive the Lord's Supper.
Cancer kills you. When the doctors tell you to be at the chemo clinic at such-and-such a time, you're there, whatever it's takes, to get that medicine. If you don't, your doctors, your friends, and your family are going to say something.
Jesus explained to the self-righteous religious experts that He is medicine and that all people need this medicine.
After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow Me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed Him.
Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:27-32)
We are sinners who have a daily need to feel shame over our selfishness and to trust in Jesus' forgiveness. Jesus is our Medicine. As each week begins, we gather at our “clinic” to confess our sin and to be forgiven by the words of Christ. Staying away from our clinic—church—is a public statement that says that you don't think you are selfish and that you don't need to be forgiven.
If you move away from the Quad Cities, consistent access to your “clinic” where the Medicine of Life is administered isn't possible. Unless you are a college student or serving in the military, membership means that you find a new “clinic” where you can get your Medicine.
It doesn't mean that we are no longer your family. It means that I can't take care of your soul over the phone. I can't mail you the Lord's Supper. I can't baptize your children by email.
There are 18 members of Gethsemane whom I am unable to serve because they live far away. They deserve to be taken care of. That is their God-given right as Christians. They deserve to have a home and a pastor who gives them the Medicine that we all so desparately need. They need a place where they Lord's Supper as often as possible, where they sin is forgiven, where someone will notice if they haven't been to church and will say something to them about the Medicine they need.
When you move, you need to transfer your membership to a nearby WELS or ELS church. You will always be welcome at Gethsemane whenever you visit. I've very much enjoyed meeting many of you already and I can't wait to meet the rest soon.
When you go to college, you probably keep your parents' address. But when you move away permanently, you find a new home and you get mail there. Finding a new church home is just as important, even though self says differently, “This is the perfect time to disappear from church—you're busy, maybe you got kids, you're starting a new life—who has time to be a member of anything, especially church!” What a perfect to deny self and tell it to be silent.
During the next year and more, we'll be helping our permanently moved-away members connect with their new “clinics,” where they can receive Jesus. We're not pushing them out the door; we are pointing them to the Cross and to the clinic for the Medicine. The name of the clinic might be St. Paul's, St. Matthew's, Peace, Jerusalem, Holy Cross, or Good Shepherd. Then we drive our selves, sometimes kicking and screaming, to our clinic for our medicine. Our clinic's name is Gethsemane, but the medicine is the same: Jesus, our Savior who lived and died for us.
Amen.
June 27, 2010
What Does Membership Mean?
Luke 9:23-24
What does membership mean? Strictly speaking, membership in a congregation is not a requirement for salvation. Same goes with attendance at worship, Bible study, or Sunday school. Giving money to your church doesn't get you into heaven, either.
Jesus earns us a spot in heaven with His blood, sweat, and tears. He explained: "[I] must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and [I] must be killed and on the third day be raised to life" (Luke 9:22).
He did suffer. The Jews rejected Him and demanded that He be crucified. He was killed on a cross. And on the third day He came back to life. This is how He saves us.
You'll note that in His explanation of how He saves us, Jesus never said anything about church membership, attendance, or offerings. But even though these things will never save anybody, they are still important because they require self-denial.
After Jesus feed over 5,000 people with the miracle of bread and fish and just before He showed His glorious appearance to Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration, He said this: "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it." (Luke 9:22-23)
The principle that Jesus is speaking about is self-denial. To be clear, self-denial doesn't mean that you can't have fun. You can, and you should by spending time with friends and family. Have a picnic, go to the Air Show, go and see the third Toy Story—these good things do not violate Jesus' principle of self-denial.
Denying self is something that we do by placing Jesus first in our lives. Luther explains self-denial when explaining the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods.” What does this mean? “You should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.”
Self is the part of you that wants to kill you by dragging you away from Jesus, sometimes so slowly we don't ever recognize how far away you are. Self does not care about Jesus' death on the cross. It does not care about Jesus' resurrection from the empty tomb. It does not care about your salvation. It cares about itself.
In the daily decisions that you make, you will struggle with your self. Self always wants you to make choices that lead you away from following Jesus, decisions that do not fear, love, and trust in God above all things.
For example, going on vacation is a good thing. But if you plan your vacation with no thought of Sunday worship at a local Wisconsin Synod church, you are being lead away from Jesus. (Sure, I'll readily concede that there are some spots in America where there aren't any of our churches for a good long distance.)
What I'm talking about is that many of our selves plan our vacations by assuming we won't go to church. Our selves write off those Sundays as vacation days. Our selves reveal that we consider church to be work, and from time to time, we deserve time off.
Let's talk a small step toward denying self. This year let's include worship on our travel iternary, whether it's a business trip or a vacation. Pick out a WELS or ELS church before you put a hold on your mail. You can even call ahead or email the pastor to let him you are coming. Trust me, when you do that, you'll make his day.
But there are so many ways to follow Christ and deny self when we are here. One of those ways is belonging to a church and being one of its members.
Let's get a few misconceptions about membership off the table. First, membership is not a free ticket to heaven. Membership doesn't mean that you can angry when your pastor asks why you come to church once a year. Membership doesn't mean that you have the right to gossip and complain about you fellow members. Membership doesn't mean that you know everything about the Bible—trust me, you don't, and it's selfish to think that you do.
What does membership mean? It means that you voluntarily remain a part of a family of believers who hold that God comes down to us as a perfect Man who died for our sins. As a member, you are publicly confessing that the Bible is God's Word and that it does not change with time. Your membership also is public statement that you had no part in the decision that brought you into Jesus' family—He did that.
Membership also means that you consistently come to chuch for Bible study and for worship. When you aren't here, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you are on vacation and worshiping at a different WELS church. Membership means that if your job forces to work on Sunday, that you let me know and we'll set up alternative ways for you to hear God's Word and receive the Lord's Supper.
Cancer kills you. When the doctors tell you to be at the chemo clinic at such-and-such a time, you're there, whatever it's takes, to get that medicine. If you don't, your doctors, your friends, and your family are going to say something.
Jesus explained to the self-righteous religious experts that He is medicine and that all people need this medicine.
After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow Me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed Him.
Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:27-32)
We are sinners who have a daily need to feel shame over our selfishness and to trust in Jesus' forgiveness. Jesus is our Medicine. As each week begins, we gather at our “clinic” to confess our sin and to be forgiven by the words of Christ. Staying away from our clinic—church—is a public statement that says that you don't think you are selfish and that you don't need to be forgiven.
If you move away from the Quad Cities, consistent access to your “clinic” where the Medicine of Life is administered isn't possible. Unless you are a college student or serving in the military, membership means that you find a new “clinic” where you can get your Medicine.
It doesn't mean that we are no longer your family. It means that I can't take care of your soul over the phone. I can't mail you the Lord's Supper. I can't baptize your children by email.
There are 18 members of Gethsemane whom I am unable to serve because they live far away. They deserve to be taken care of. That is their God-given right as Christians. They deserve to have a home and a pastor who gives them the Medicine that we all so desparately need. They need a place where they Lord's Supper as often as possible, where they sin is forgiven, where someone will notice if they haven't been to church and will say something to them about the Medicine they need.
When you move, you need to transfer your membership to a nearby WELS or ELS church. You will always be welcome at Gethsemane whenever you visit. I've very much enjoyed meeting many of you already and I can't wait to meet the rest soon.
When you go to college, you probably keep your parents' address. But when you move away permanently, you find a new home and you get mail there. Finding a new church home is just as important, even though self says differently, “This is the perfect time to disappear from church—you're busy, maybe you got kids, you're starting a new life—who has time to be a member of anything, especially church!” What a perfect to deny self and tell it to be silent.
During the next year and more, we'll be helping our permanently moved-away members connect with their new “clinics,” where they can receive Jesus. We're not pushing them out the door; we are pointing them to the Cross and to the clinic for the Medicine. The name of the clinic might be St. Paul's, St. Matthew's, Peace, Jerusalem, Holy Cross, or Good Shepherd. Then we drive our selves, sometimes kicking and screaming, to our clinic for our medicine. Our clinic's name is Gethsemane, but the medicine is the same: Jesus, our Savior who lived and died for us.
Amen.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
June 20, 2010
Time Doesn't Change God's Promises
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
I want to talk to you today about a trend in Lutheranism. I could say Christianity, but Jesus told us to address the plank in our own eyes first, since this trend is sinful. And it's reached its logical conclusion in many Lutheran churches.
The trend is to claim that over time, God's promises change. Something He said 6,000 years ago or 4,000 years ago or 2,000 years ago may not be as relevant or true today as it used to be back then.
Today we read some of the Apostle Paul's mail. He lists several sins. Today I want to focus on two of those sins because there are many Lutherans who are saying that those sins aren't sins. The first sin is sex outside of marriage. The second sin is homosexuality.
Many Lutherans declare that sex outside of marriage is not sin. Many say that even if you aren't married, it is okay to act like husband and wife. Teenagers having sex? Sure, kids will be kids. A divorced person having sex with another divorced person? That's fine. A widow and widower? Go for it, you old naughty hipters, you!
Many Lutheran pastors don't discipline couples who live together before they are married—they will still give them Communion and they would never dream of excommunicating them. Many pastors refuse to talk about these serious issues from their pulpits. The result is logical: many Lutherans are living with their partners before they are married.
If they don't stop living together, they are putting their souls on the path to hell.
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
Most Lutherans in the pews would say that drunks are sinners. They'd say the same about slanderers, greedy people, con artists, and thieves.
But the leadership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America says that homosexuality is okay. They spin God's promises around and say, “Well, this may have been true in Paul's time. But our society has seen the light. We now know that alternative lifestyles—unmarried households and homosexuals—are okay, as long as the partners are committed to each other. Paul doesn't speak truth to our society any longer. We are relevant and progressive and we adapt to our culture.”
On August 21, 2009, the ELCA issued a press release.
The 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted today to open the ministry of the church to gay and lesbian pastors and other professional workers living in committed relationships.
The action came by a vote of 559-451 at the highest legislative body of the 4.6 million member denomination. Earlier the assembly also approved a resolution committing the church to find ways for congregations that choose to do so to "recognize, support and hold publicly accountable life-long, monogamous, same gender relationships," though the resolution did not use the word "marriage."
The actions here change the church's policy, which previously allowed people who are gay and lesbian into the ordained ministry only if they remained celibate...
Pastor Richard Mahan of the ELCA West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod was among several speakers contending that the proposed changes are contrary to biblical teaching. "I cannot see how the church that I have known for 40 years can condone what God has condemned," Mahan said, "Nowhere does it say in scripture that homosexuality and same sex marriage is acceptable of God."
But others said a greater acceptance of people who are gay and lesbian in the church was consistent with the Bible. Bishop Gary Wollersheim [he has offices in Rockford and Rock Island—on Augustana College's campus. He was just re-elected to a third 6-year term of office a few days ago.] of the ELCA Northern Illinois Synod said, "It's a matter of justice, a matter of hospitality, it's what Jesus would have us do." Wollersheim said he had been strongly influenced by meetings with youth at youth leadership events in his synod, a regional unit of the ELCA.
(ELCA NEWS SERVICE, August 21, 2009, “ELCA Assembly Opens Ministry to Partnered Gay and Lesbian Lutherans,” http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Communication-Services/News/Releases.aspx?a=4253, accessed June 19, 2010.)
God says homosexuality is sin. The ELCA leaders, like Bishop Wollersheim, decided that they are their own gods and proclaimed that homosexuality is not sin.
The most telling aspect of this sorry affair isn't that the ELCA leadership decided to change God's Word. The ELCA has been doing that for years, decades even. That isn't news. The most revealing thing is what Bishop Wollersheim said. This so-called Lutheran pastor has the gall to claim that Jesus would be just fine with homosexuality.
“It's what Jesus would have us do,” Bishop Wollershiem says. 559 delegates to last year's ELCA convention gobbled up this lie, hook, line, and sinker. For years and decades their pastors have been telling them that time changes God's promises. What used to be true isn't true today.
This is a seductive lie, because it contains some truth. Our knowledge of God's six-day creation had increased by jumps and hops. Though we tend to overestimate the limitations of our forefathers, it is true that we have collected a great deal of facts about the universe and the atom.
But what God has revealed about Himself hasn't changed. Sin is sin. We must tell our Lutheran friends who are not in our fellowship that the truth doesn't change over time. This is true even when men try to change God's promises.
And this promise of God cannot be changed by men: Jesus washes away our wickedness and loves us. You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)
Consider the life of Mannaseh. He despised the legacy that his father, good King Hezekiah had handed down to him. He worshiped idols. He even sacrificed his sons to a pagan idol.
Yet by God's mercy he repented when he saw that he was abandoned by all human help. He was declared not guilty of his sinfulness and he will be in heaven with his father Hezekiah.
But he almost went to hell because no one stood up to him and told him the truth. Once his father was gone, Mannaseh did as he saw fit. He became his own god.
On this Father's Day remember your faithful father who spoke God's promises to you, even when you were being bad. Most father won't do this, so treasure the ones who do. A good dad calls sin a sin. He teaches you that God's promises don't change over time.
Amen.
June 20, 2010
Time Doesn't Change God's Promises
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
I want to talk to you today about a trend in Lutheranism. I could say Christianity, but Jesus told us to address the plank in our own eyes first, since this trend is sinful. And it's reached its logical conclusion in many Lutheran churches.
The trend is to claim that over time, God's promises change. Something He said 6,000 years ago or 4,000 years ago or 2,000 years ago may not be as relevant or true today as it used to be back then.
Today we read some of the Apostle Paul's mail. He lists several sins. Today I want to focus on two of those sins because there are many Lutherans who are saying that those sins aren't sins. The first sin is sex outside of marriage. The second sin is homosexuality.
Many Lutherans declare that sex outside of marriage is not sin. Many say that even if you aren't married, it is okay to act like husband and wife. Teenagers having sex? Sure, kids will be kids. A divorced person having sex with another divorced person? That's fine. A widow and widower? Go for it, you old naughty hipters, you!
Many Lutheran pastors don't discipline couples who live together before they are married—they will still give them Communion and they would never dream of excommunicating them. Many pastors refuse to talk about these serious issues from their pulpits. The result is logical: many Lutherans are living with their partners before they are married.
If they don't stop living together, they are putting their souls on the path to hell.
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
Most Lutherans in the pews would say that drunks are sinners. They'd say the same about slanderers, greedy people, con artists, and thieves.
But the leadership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America says that homosexuality is okay. They spin God's promises around and say, “Well, this may have been true in Paul's time. But our society has seen the light. We now know that alternative lifestyles—unmarried households and homosexuals—are okay, as long as the partners are committed to each other. Paul doesn't speak truth to our society any longer. We are relevant and progressive and we adapt to our culture.”
On August 21, 2009, the ELCA issued a press release.
The 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted today to open the ministry of the church to gay and lesbian pastors and other professional workers living in committed relationships.
The action came by a vote of 559-451 at the highest legislative body of the 4.6 million member denomination. Earlier the assembly also approved a resolution committing the church to find ways for congregations that choose to do so to "recognize, support and hold publicly accountable life-long, monogamous, same gender relationships," though the resolution did not use the word "marriage."
The actions here change the church's policy, which previously allowed people who are gay and lesbian into the ordained ministry only if they remained celibate...
Pastor Richard Mahan of the ELCA West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod was among several speakers contending that the proposed changes are contrary to biblical teaching. "I cannot see how the church that I have known for 40 years can condone what God has condemned," Mahan said, "Nowhere does it say in scripture that homosexuality and same sex marriage is acceptable of God."
But others said a greater acceptance of people who are gay and lesbian in the church was consistent with the Bible. Bishop Gary Wollersheim [he has offices in Rockford and Rock Island—on Augustana College's campus. He was just re-elected to a third 6-year term of office a few days ago.] of the ELCA Northern Illinois Synod said, "It's a matter of justice, a matter of hospitality, it's what Jesus would have us do." Wollersheim said he had been strongly influenced by meetings with youth at youth leadership events in his synod, a regional unit of the ELCA.
(ELCA NEWS SERVICE, August 21, 2009, “ELCA Assembly Opens Ministry to Partnered Gay and Lesbian Lutherans,” http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Communication-Services/News/Releases.aspx?a=4253, accessed June 19, 2010.)
God says homosexuality is sin. The ELCA leaders, like Bishop Wollersheim, decided that they are their own gods and proclaimed that homosexuality is not sin.
The most telling aspect of this sorry affair isn't that the ELCA leadership decided to change God's Word. The ELCA has been doing that for years, decades even. That isn't news. The most revealing thing is what Bishop Wollersheim said. This so-called Lutheran pastor has the gall to claim that Jesus would be just fine with homosexuality.
“It's what Jesus would have us do,” Bishop Wollershiem says. 559 delegates to last year's ELCA convention gobbled up this lie, hook, line, and sinker. For years and decades their pastors have been telling them that time changes God's promises. What used to be true isn't true today.
This is a seductive lie, because it contains some truth. Our knowledge of God's six-day creation had increased by jumps and hops. Though we tend to overestimate the limitations of our forefathers, it is true that we have collected a great deal of facts about the universe and the atom.
But what God has revealed about Himself hasn't changed. Sin is sin. We must tell our Lutheran friends who are not in our fellowship that the truth doesn't change over time. This is true even when men try to change God's promises.
And this promise of God cannot be changed by men: Jesus washes away our wickedness and loves us. You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)
Consider the life of Mannaseh. He despised the legacy that his father, good King Hezekiah had handed down to him. He worshiped idols. He even sacrificed his sons to a pagan idol.
Yet by God's mercy he repented when he saw that he was abandoned by all human help. He was declared not guilty of his sinfulness and he will be in heaven with his father Hezekiah.
But he almost went to hell because no one stood up to him and told him the truth. Once his father was gone, Mannaseh did as he saw fit. He became his own god.
On this Father's Day remember your faithful father who spoke God's promises to you, even when you were being bad. Most father won't do this, so treasure the ones who do. A good dad calls sin a sin. He teaches you that God's promises don't change over time.
Amen.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Second Sunday after Pentecost
Second Sunday after Pentecost
June 6, 2010
Can Pain Ever Be Good?
James 1:2-3
Pain is bad. When we hurt ourselves, our bodies will tell us that we are in pain. These pain receptors signal our brain that something bad is happening. Our senses can get us to stop hurting ourselves before the damage becomes permanent.
Hot ashpalt, bare feet. As a kid, I thought that running back to our spot on the beach for my sandals was a waste of time and that I could handle walking on a scorching parking lot. I was wrong. Pain told me to stop after two steps.
My first time playing in Wisconsin snow was awesome. But it was very cold. After a while (and after ignoring my mom's call to come inside), I started to get warm and I thought how wonderful this warm feeling was. That is until I realized later that I had gotten so cold that my pain receptors had shut down and I was experiencing freezing pain. When I went inside, the pain was like your leg falling asleep and then walking up—pins and needles—but much more intense and to your whole body.
I heard a story about a man who had been struck by lightning and who survived, but had lost his sense of sight and temperature. This poor fellow would be out in the snow in shorts and flip-flops, as his feet were bitten by frost. He kept hurting himself, until many of his limbs were permanently damaged.
With pain, we hurt ourselves plenty. Without pain, we would really mess ourselves up. So it makes sense to say that pain is good. It keeps us from really hurting ourselves.
Pain is good for believers, too. With pain, we still are selfish and sin against God and hurt ourselves and others. But if there was no pain or consequences, we would really mess up our lives.
Consider how often we secretly envy the unbelievers, who seem to feel no pain: “I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong... From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits... This is what the wicked are like—always carefree, they increase in wealth.” (Psalm 73:3-5, 7, 12 )
Most unbelievers follow the laws of the land. But they don't care about God's Word. So they spend their lives offending God with their selfish lives. Yet nothing happens to them... until the end of time. Consider Jesus' story about the weeds.
Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'
" 'An enemy did this,' he replied.
"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' " (Matthew 13:24-30)
Imagine, God forbid, that we were unbelievers again, like the man who had been struck with lightning. We start with small sins, and we'd keep pushing the envelope, until we destroy ourselves.
Using your bare hand to touch a hot pan on the stove will result in pain. That's bad. But that pain protected you from spilling boiling water on yourself. That's good. Pain is useful and keeps us from doing bad things that will hurt us.
This is why James said, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2-3).
We face trials of many kinds. But the worst trials come when our wicked selves and the devil conspire to use our pain against us. When our grandma dies, it hurts. And we ask, “Why did Jesus let this happen? Doesn't He love me anymore?” The conspirators whisper back, “No, Jesus lied. He doesn't care about you. You are all alone.” They want to turn your grief into a crisis. The devil knows that our pain is a terrible thing to waste. He wants to turn our loss into his gain.
How do we respond to this painful test? We call the devil's words and our doubts what they are: lies that were meant to destroy us. And when your dad dies, it still hurts. But we are ready for the lies that going to come flooding into our thoughts. We persevere because we trust in Jesus' promises. And everytime the devil tries to trick us with his lies, we see right through him and see Jesus' cross, where He died for us.
The longer you live, the more pain you see. As believers, we are blessed that our pain serves a purpose. It gets us ready for our storms of doubt and crises of faith. In the end it gets us ready for our own death.
So, yes, unbelievers seem to have much less pain in their lives. Our lives often seem devoted to pain and tests and trials. But rejoice in your trials and temptations, because pain is good. It opens our eyes to see that we need Jesus and that He is only thing we need. Pain hurts, but Jesus uses it to pull us back to Him.
Amen.
June 6, 2010
Can Pain Ever Be Good?
James 1:2-3
Pain is bad. When we hurt ourselves, our bodies will tell us that we are in pain. These pain receptors signal our brain that something bad is happening. Our senses can get us to stop hurting ourselves before the damage becomes permanent.
Hot ashpalt, bare feet. As a kid, I thought that running back to our spot on the beach for my sandals was a waste of time and that I could handle walking on a scorching parking lot. I was wrong. Pain told me to stop after two steps.
My first time playing in Wisconsin snow was awesome. But it was very cold. After a while (and after ignoring my mom's call to come inside), I started to get warm and I thought how wonderful this warm feeling was. That is until I realized later that I had gotten so cold that my pain receptors had shut down and I was experiencing freezing pain. When I went inside, the pain was like your leg falling asleep and then walking up—pins and needles—but much more intense and to your whole body.
I heard a story about a man who had been struck by lightning and who survived, but had lost his sense of sight and temperature. This poor fellow would be out in the snow in shorts and flip-flops, as his feet were bitten by frost. He kept hurting himself, until many of his limbs were permanently damaged.
With pain, we hurt ourselves plenty. Without pain, we would really mess ourselves up. So it makes sense to say that pain is good. It keeps us from really hurting ourselves.
Pain is good for believers, too. With pain, we still are selfish and sin against God and hurt ourselves and others. But if there was no pain or consequences, we would really mess up our lives.
Consider how often we secretly envy the unbelievers, who seem to feel no pain: “I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong... From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits... This is what the wicked are like—always carefree, they increase in wealth.” (Psalm 73:3-5, 7, 12 )
Most unbelievers follow the laws of the land. But they don't care about God's Word. So they spend their lives offending God with their selfish lives. Yet nothing happens to them... until the end of time. Consider Jesus' story about the weeds.
Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'
" 'An enemy did this,' he replied.
"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' " (Matthew 13:24-30)
Imagine, God forbid, that we were unbelievers again, like the man who had been struck with lightning. We start with small sins, and we'd keep pushing the envelope, until we destroy ourselves.
Using your bare hand to touch a hot pan on the stove will result in pain. That's bad. But that pain protected you from spilling boiling water on yourself. That's good. Pain is useful and keeps us from doing bad things that will hurt us.
This is why James said, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2-3).
We face trials of many kinds. But the worst trials come when our wicked selves and the devil conspire to use our pain against us. When our grandma dies, it hurts. And we ask, “Why did Jesus let this happen? Doesn't He love me anymore?” The conspirators whisper back, “No, Jesus lied. He doesn't care about you. You are all alone.” They want to turn your grief into a crisis. The devil knows that our pain is a terrible thing to waste. He wants to turn our loss into his gain.
How do we respond to this painful test? We call the devil's words and our doubts what they are: lies that were meant to destroy us. And when your dad dies, it still hurts. But we are ready for the lies that going to come flooding into our thoughts. We persevere because we trust in Jesus' promises. And everytime the devil tries to trick us with his lies, we see right through him and see Jesus' cross, where He died for us.
The longer you live, the more pain you see. As believers, we are blessed that our pain serves a purpose. It gets us ready for our storms of doubt and crises of faith. In the end it gets us ready for our own death.
So, yes, unbelievers seem to have much less pain in their lives. Our lives often seem devoted to pain and tests and trials. But rejoice in your trials and temptations, because pain is good. It opens our eyes to see that we need Jesus and that He is only thing we need. Pain hurts, but Jesus uses it to pull us back to Him.
Amen.
Trinity Sunday
The Holy Trinity
May 30, 2010
What Is God Like?
Romans 11:33-36
Have you ever trapped a grasshopper in your hands? You peer at the green bug with his alien face and maybe you wonder if he knows anything about you. He's just an insect, but it seems like he knows at least one thing about you—that you could smush him at anytime. So the minute you open your hand, he zooms away.
Grasshoppers know that we can smush them. So they stay away from us. They'll never understand that we are so much more than grasshopper smashers. They'll never understand how we think or how we do things.
In the Old Testament Isaiah wrote this: “[God] sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers” (Isaiah 40:22). We are grasshoppers. We are in God's hands, but we know so little about Him. But we do know that He is powerful.
“Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40:26)
Type in “scale of the universe” on Google or YouTube and you can watch any number of videos that detail the massive scale of the universe and its stars. The best wild guesses that we currently have put the number of stars in the universe at about 70 sextillion or 7 with 22 zeros.
Humans can't understand who God is or what He is like, unless He comes down to us and tells us. If you wanted to tell grasshoppers about your name and the things that you like, you would have to become a grasshopper so that you could explain who you are in ways that they could understand.
This is what God did when He sent Jesus into the world. The God who created trillions and and trillions and trillions of stars became a man. He did this so that He could explain who He is and what He does for us. So when someone asks what God is like, Jesus is a great answer.
In Jesus we see the Trinity at work. God the Father sends the Son on His holy mission. God the Son is punished for our sinfulness. God the Holy Spirit communicates Jesus' rescue mission through the Gospel.
Think of it this way: what has caused you to be saved? There are three good answers to this question and they are all from the Bible and they are all correct.
1.You are saved by God's love for you, which set the Gospel into motion.
2.You are saved by Jesus' death for you, which is the climax of the Gospel.
3.You are saved by Baptism, which is the Gospel in visible form.
All three answers are different, but they are all correct. The Father's love set our salvation into motion. God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus' death paid for our salvation. We know this from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Spirit proclaims salvation through the Gospel. We know this because Jesus said, “When the Counselor [Holy Spirit] comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about Me” (John 15:26).
What is God like? He loves you. He died for you. He forgives you. This is probably the best way to understand the Trinity, our God who is three Persons in one God. Our language can't properly express how the Trinity works and our minds can't grasp the inner working of the Trinity, but because of our faith in Jesus, we know that our Triune God works for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
May 30, 2010
What Is God Like?
Romans 11:33-36
Have you ever trapped a grasshopper in your hands? You peer at the green bug with his alien face and maybe you wonder if he knows anything about you. He's just an insect, but it seems like he knows at least one thing about you—that you could smush him at anytime. So the minute you open your hand, he zooms away.
Grasshoppers know that we can smush them. So they stay away from us. They'll never understand that we are so much more than grasshopper smashers. They'll never understand how we think or how we do things.
In the Old Testament Isaiah wrote this: “[God] sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers” (Isaiah 40:22). We are grasshoppers. We are in God's hands, but we know so little about Him. But we do know that He is powerful.
“Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40:26)
Type in “scale of the universe” on Google or YouTube and you can watch any number of videos that detail the massive scale of the universe and its stars. The best wild guesses that we currently have put the number of stars in the universe at about 70 sextillion or 7 with 22 zeros.
Humans can't understand who God is or what He is like, unless He comes down to us and tells us. If you wanted to tell grasshoppers about your name and the things that you like, you would have to become a grasshopper so that you could explain who you are in ways that they could understand.
This is what God did when He sent Jesus into the world. The God who created trillions and and trillions and trillions of stars became a man. He did this so that He could explain who He is and what He does for us. So when someone asks what God is like, Jesus is a great answer.
In Jesus we see the Trinity at work. God the Father sends the Son on His holy mission. God the Son is punished for our sinfulness. God the Holy Spirit communicates Jesus' rescue mission through the Gospel.
Think of it this way: what has caused you to be saved? There are three good answers to this question and they are all from the Bible and they are all correct.
1.You are saved by God's love for you, which set the Gospel into motion.
2.You are saved by Jesus' death for you, which is the climax of the Gospel.
3.You are saved by Baptism, which is the Gospel in visible form.
All three answers are different, but they are all correct. The Father's love set our salvation into motion. God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus' death paid for our salvation. We know this from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Spirit proclaims salvation through the Gospel. We know this because Jesus said, “When the Counselor [Holy Spirit] comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about Me” (John 15:26).
What is God like? He loves you. He died for you. He forgives you. This is probably the best way to understand the Trinity, our God who is three Persons in one God. Our language can't properly express how the Trinity works and our minds can't grasp the inner working of the Trinity, but because of our faith in Jesus, we know that our Triune God works for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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