Thursday, May 24, 2012
Rogate
An excellent sermon on the subject of prayer from Weedon’s Blog by Pastor William Weedon. Read this portion of Scripture first: John 16:23–30.
Prayer. We all know we should pray. The problem is that we don’t tend to do it very often. And when we do pray, it is usually when our back is up against a wall, and we don’t know what else to do. Then, I suspect, we feel a little bit guilty. We come to God mostly when we’re in trouble, and we know that we should be praying all the time, every day.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to his disciples and to us about prayer. He is well aware of the problem, the reluctance we· have in praying. The problem is not one of technique. It will not be solved by the countless resolutions we have made to have that daily quiet time with God – resolutions we routinely break. Jesus’ words reveal the source of the problem with prayer to be a problem of relationship, a problem of faith, of trust. Prayer, you see, arises out of relationship of trust, out of knowing God as our Father and ourselves as his dearly loved children. When we live in that relationship, prayer blossoms of its own accord. We chatter on endlessly to God then, just as children run on when they are with their parents.
With their parents. We have a problem of not seeing that we are always with the Father. He is always with us. We forget that, and that is one reason why our prayer life falters. I don’t know how many times I have read the Scripture where Jesus says: “Even the hairs of your head are numbered.” I know that I used to think that meant God, way up in heaven, far away, knew in his divine knowing even the number of my hairs – like some distant computer bank simply chocked full of information about us down here on earth. I think I was missing the point. The point Jesus was trying to get across is that the Father is not far away. The Father walks with us and we walk with him. He is so close to us that He counts our hairs. He is that near!
Prayer is talking to God the way a little one talks to mother or father. Such prayer bubbles up of its own accord when we remember that we are always walking in His sight, that He never leaves us, never forsakes us. Jesus wanted his disciples to understand that. Remember that the words that he speaks in today’s Gospel were spoken on the night of his betrayal. He is not going to be with the disciples in the same way that he had been with them before. The cross and the empty tomb, the death and resurrection of Jesus, will bring a change in the manner of His presence. He will no longer be with them in the same way. But the Father’s presence which Jesus had sought to show them, to teach them, that will not change. The Father will be by them, with them, even through the dark days and hours ahead, and He’s just waiting for them to realize it and talk to him.
You see, Jesus did many wonderful things in the presence of the disciples. Miracles. Teachings that astounded and awed them. But only one thing that Jesus did moved the disciples to ask: “Teach us to do that too. Like you do.” That one thing was prayer. “Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus prayed like no one had ever prayed before. Jesus spoke to the Father in the complete assurance of the Father’s acceptance and love. Jesus spoke to the Father not as to some absent deity, but as to a lovingly present parent. “Teach us to do that too.”
Jesus spent three years teaching them. He spoke to the Father constantly. In the middle of a conversation with them, he would lift his eyes and speak to the Father and then turn right back and speak to the disciples. He took prayer out from the temple and onto the streets; out from the synagogues and into the homes. He showed them that prayer wasn’t religious – in the sense of being something that was confined only to certain areas of our life. Prayer was a conversation with the Father that goes on wherever you happen to be. It doesn’t need a special time or a special place. All times and all places are prayer times and prayer places because the Father walks with you wherever you may go.
Think of what that means for us! Prayer is talking to God as his much loved child in the middle of your work day, as you’re driving the car, as you’re washing the dishes, as you’re plowing your fields, as you’re eating your meals, and as you’re lying down to sleep at night or waking up in the morning. Prayer is such speaking to the Father when you realize He is with you wherever you go and whatever you are doing. Prayer is the confession that you live in the presence of the Father.
And Jesus says that all talk to the Father is made in Jesus’, name. “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full.” The joy that is in the name of Jesus is that we have a confident access to His Father as our Father. He is the Only Begotten Son of the Father. He invites us into His relationship with the Father, calls us His brothers, His sisters. Makes us coheirs with Him – all that is His, He gives to us. His Father He makes our Father. His home He makes our home. His Kingdom, He makes our kingdom. That is what Baptism is all about.
When we make our prayer then, in the name of Jesus, we are acknowledging that we have a Father in heaven who loves us and who regards us as his very own children all for the sake of Jesus Christ. Jesus came forth from the Father a single Son, an only Child. He returns with joy to the Father, and through cross and resurrection brings with Him many sisters and brothers, a whole family.
When our prayer is anchored in the name of Jesus we speak to the Father with absolute confidence and boldness. We know that He loves us, that He hears us, that He answers us for sure. Our sureness is based solidly on the fact that Jesus has brought us into this relationship with His Father and has told us to make ourselves at home.
The Church as the children of the family is marked by her family rituals. We talk to our Father together at certain times and at certain times we talk to our Father alone. The catechism teaches us to remember that we are God’s children by reciting the name that made us God’s children in our Baptism and by retracing the sign of the holy cross by which we were redeemed and then to talk to Him when we get up in the morning and receive a new day of grace from His loving hand: to thank Him for keeping us safely through the night and to ask that He would keep us also through the day that our life may please Him. The catechism teaches us to remember that we are God’s beloved children and to talk to Him whenever we receive the gift of food and drink from his hand, when we sit at table and when we rise from the table, saying thank you! The catechism teaches us to remember that we are God’s beloved children by reciting the name that made us His children and by retracing the sign of the holy cross by which we were redeemed and to talk to Him at night, when we are ready to lay down our bodies and rest: then we ask for his forgiveness for all the times we have failed to live as His children during the day just past and we ask for His loving protection through the night.
That is the basic framework of each day. By framing the day with prayer and punctuating it with prayer at the moments when we receive God’s gifts, the Catechism would teach us to live our lives in the presence of a loving heavenly Father, confident of the Father’s love because of the salvation won for us by Jesus Christ. Fullness of joy will be ours indeed when we remember who we are: children of the heavenly Father, who take God up on His invitation to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear Father. Amen.
(http://cyberbrethren.com/2009/05/17/a-sermon-on-prayer-for-rogate-sunday/)
Feast of the Resurrection
Feast of the Resurrection
Easter Sunday Morning
April 8, 2012
Don't Be Afraid! He Is Risen!
Matthew 28 + Mark 16 + Luke 24 + John 20
Dear friends,
The details had started trickling out. Like most breaking news stories, the news that the tomb is empty at first produced only a few confusing details.
The evangelists—literally, the good messengers—Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—put eyes on the tomb where Jesus' dead body had lately rested.
With their words, we see through the eyes of the women at the tomb. Mark and Luke named them, Matthew named the Marys, John just Mary Magdalene. But the angelic message is the same: “Don't be afraid! He's not here! He's risen!”
From a distance of almost 2,000 years we watch this historic day unfold. We hear the first Easter sermon preached by the angelic pastors. It was a short and to the point. Again: “Don't be afraid! He's not here! He's risen!”
He's risen means that Jesus the son of Mary is truly the Son of God. He's risen means that the punishment for our sin endured by Jesus the Crucified, Dead, and Buried has been accepted by His Father. He's risen means that His Father becomes our Father in heaven.
He's risen means that Death's tombstone itself has been shoved aside—it means that Death stops being our doom and instead is now our door to life with God that lasts forever!
During these last 40 days, as we moved closer and closer to the occupied cross, the empty tomb was never far from our minds.
And during the next 50 days, as the empty tomb is slowly pushed out of our minds by the cares of this world, stay close to the occupied cross. By remembering the cross, you remember the tomb. Cross and tomb, one with Jesus and one without, cannot be separated from the other. The cross is the payment; the tomb is the receipt of payment. You can't buy a house without money; you can't own the house without the deed. Otherwise, you're homeless and simply squatting in someone else's house.
If the cross was empty or the tomb full, we would be squatters, without a home to our name, and definitely afraid and scared that we would be discovered and evicted from our temporary illusion of shelter. But Jesus finds us first and tells us that He owns us. His name is now our name—Christians.
So Mary, Salome, Mary, Peter, John, Luke, Mark, and Matthew and all of you Christians, don't be afraid! He's risen just like He promised! His home is now yours!
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Laetare
Fourth Sunday in Lent (Laetare)
March 18, 2012
Jesus Wants Us to Need Him
John 6:1-15
Why do so many believers and unbelievers think that Jesus doesn't care about them? More often than not it's because they confuse what they want with what they need in order to live.
Jesus knows what you need. Through parents, jobs, and neighbors, He gives you bread for your body, as in “Give us this day our daily bread.” Bread means food, of course, but also everything else we need, such as clothing, homes, money, family, friends, and so on.
Jesus is the ultimate cause of those good things, especially food. And to believers of earlier times, hearing about extra food in February or March before the planting and harvesting seasons focused the eyes and stomachs of believers on Jesus.
And having this Scripture read just a few weeks before His journey to the cross reminds us that Jesus is the Bread of Life. Jesus has this conversation with the crowds the day after His 5,000-man miracle:
So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:30-35)
Jesus used His divine power to feed all those people. He still uses miracles today. Perhaps He doesn't miracle what we want into our lives. But He certainly does use miracles to give us what we need in order to live.
We often don't live as though we are the result of a miracle. This is because we are sinners who constantly live with extra. This danger shows up in how we talk about getting things. The most obvious problem is when I say that I'm starving. I'm not starving. The people who are starving don't go around saying that they're starving because they're too hungry to talk. The more subtle problem is that when we talk about needing things, it is almost always the case that we don't need it in order to live. We want it.
There is a problem with our language. How you talk affects what you think and how you think affects how you talk. If you're constantly confusing wants and needs as you talk, you're going to start thinking that way, too.
The thinking and talking of the fully satisfied 5,000 was all mixed up. These people had spent their lives working or trading or farming to get food. And now Jesus had performed a miracle. Why? To show who He is. But why this miracle at this time? To allow the people to hear the Word of God!
Do you remember what Jesus said at the beginning of our Lent? “Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Jesus wants us to need Him. This means that we see how utterly starving we are for Him, the Bread of Life. He has chosen us and by faith we come to Him and He gives us what we need, body and soul.
Remember this in your table prayers. There's bread, and then there's Bread.
Let us pray.
The eyes of all look to You, O Lord,
and You give them their food at the proper time.
You open Your hand, and satisfy the desire of all living things.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
March 18, 2012
Jesus Wants Us to Need Him
John 6:1-15
Why do so many believers and unbelievers think that Jesus doesn't care about them? More often than not it's because they confuse what they want with what they need in order to live.
Jesus knows what you need. Through parents, jobs, and neighbors, He gives you bread for your body, as in “Give us this day our daily bread.” Bread means food, of course, but also everything else we need, such as clothing, homes, money, family, friends, and so on.
Jesus is the ultimate cause of those good things, especially food. And to believers of earlier times, hearing about extra food in February or March before the planting and harvesting seasons focused the eyes and stomachs of believers on Jesus.
And having this Scripture read just a few weeks before His journey to the cross reminds us that Jesus is the Bread of Life. Jesus has this conversation with the crowds the day after His 5,000-man miracle:
So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:30-35)
Jesus used His divine power to feed all those people. He still uses miracles today. Perhaps He doesn't miracle what we want into our lives. But He certainly does use miracles to give us what we need in order to live.
We often don't live as though we are the result of a miracle. This is because we are sinners who constantly live with extra. This danger shows up in how we talk about getting things. The most obvious problem is when I say that I'm starving. I'm not starving. The people who are starving don't go around saying that they're starving because they're too hungry to talk. The more subtle problem is that when we talk about needing things, it is almost always the case that we don't need it in order to live. We want it.
There is a problem with our language. How you talk affects what you think and how you think affects how you talk. If you're constantly confusing wants and needs as you talk, you're going to start thinking that way, too.
The thinking and talking of the fully satisfied 5,000 was all mixed up. These people had spent their lives working or trading or farming to get food. And now Jesus had performed a miracle. Why? To show who He is. But why this miracle at this time? To allow the people to hear the Word of God!
Do you remember what Jesus said at the beginning of our Lent? “Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Jesus wants us to need Him. This means that we see how utterly starving we are for Him, the Bread of Life. He has chosen us and by faith we come to Him and He gives us what we need, body and soul.
Remember this in your table prayers. There's bread, and then there's Bread.
Let us pray.
The eyes of all look to You, O Lord,
and You give them their food at the proper time.
You open Your hand, and satisfy the desire of all living things.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Quinquagesima
Quinquagesima
February 19, 2012
Justified by Faith Alone
Luke 18:35-43
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear friends,
I've never been blind, but I get sick once in a while. So do you. And when you're sick, you're helpless. You're weak, tired, and in pain. It's hard to think. Others have to help you. And this is just the 24-hour flu! Some of you face much more long lasting weakness where you must depend on others constantly.
Consider the blind man whom Jesus healed. (Mark tells us that his name was Bartimaeus.) His blindness made him helpless. He was able to eek out a life by begging, but in every way that mattered he was helpless. And being helpless made him bold. So when he's told that Jesus is going by, he screams out again and again, “Son of David, have mercy on me! Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Son of David was name for the Messiah of the world. Bartimaeus was confessing his faith in Jesus as his Savior by using this special name. He was able to use this special name and mean it because of his faith in Jesus. How did he come to have this faith in Jesus? Jesus gave it to him, just like He gave Bartimaeus his sight.
When Jesus said that Bartimaeus' faith had healed him, He was not saying that his faith was the cause of his healing. Faith only receives what Jesus gives. The cause of the blind man's healing was Jesus' desire to heal him and make him see.
Sickness, blindness, sin—they all have one thing in common. They make us helpless, more or less. The sick can recover, the blind can survive, but sin makes us totally helpless. The only hope against sin is faith in Jesus and His cross.
Being sick, being blind, and being sinful are all real problems, but it is much easier for many to pretend that sin isn't a big deal. It is so easy to sing the Kyrie without any real thought to it. “Lord, have mercy on us!”
Here's the thought behind the Kyrie: we totally rely on Jesus for absolutely everything that we have. Health, sight, and forgivness from our sin are all gifts from Jesus. When you sing this song, remember that you are blind and sick with sin. You are helpless. But in your helplessness, be bold! Have mercy, Lord!
Back in the Old Testament, you can read about Naaman, a foreign general who had leprosy. He went to God's prophet Elisha and asked to be healed (2 Kings 5). He brought $400,000 of silver and $4 million in gold to pay for his healing. But God through His prophet said, “I don't care about your money. Be healed.”
Being poor doesn't change a thing either. This blind Bartimaeus had nothing to offer Jesus—he didn't have a dime or denarius to his name. He was a blind beggar. But Jesus says, “I don't care about your lack of money. Be healed.”
Rich or poor doesn't matter to Jesus. His love is what makes us clean. When Paul talks about love in 1 Corinthians 13, he isn't talking about the passing love within friendship or the burning love of romance that burns out over time. He's talking about the love that God's Son has for you. His love put what is good and best for you ahead of what is good and best for Him.
In our Bible study today we'll hear about this love in Romans 5: 6 For at a time when we were still weak, Christ died for us ungodly people. 7 Hardly anyone will risk his life for the sake of what is right, although for a good cause someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God puts his own love for us on display in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This is the object of our faith, Christ's love on the cross that saves us. This alone is where our faith is founded. Listen to Jesus: 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Today you'll need to keep your distance from me because I'm still a little sick. How remarkable that while we were still deathly sick with sin, Jesus came to us like the Good Samaritan and carried us to safety.
Amen.
February 19, 2012
Justified by Faith Alone
Luke 18:35-43
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear friends,
I've never been blind, but I get sick once in a while. So do you. And when you're sick, you're helpless. You're weak, tired, and in pain. It's hard to think. Others have to help you. And this is just the 24-hour flu! Some of you face much more long lasting weakness where you must depend on others constantly.
Consider the blind man whom Jesus healed. (Mark tells us that his name was Bartimaeus.) His blindness made him helpless. He was able to eek out a life by begging, but in every way that mattered he was helpless. And being helpless made him bold. So when he's told that Jesus is going by, he screams out again and again, “Son of David, have mercy on me! Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Son of David was name for the Messiah of the world. Bartimaeus was confessing his faith in Jesus as his Savior by using this special name. He was able to use this special name and mean it because of his faith in Jesus. How did he come to have this faith in Jesus? Jesus gave it to him, just like He gave Bartimaeus his sight.
When Jesus said that Bartimaeus' faith had healed him, He was not saying that his faith was the cause of his healing. Faith only receives what Jesus gives. The cause of the blind man's healing was Jesus' desire to heal him and make him see.
Sickness, blindness, sin—they all have one thing in common. They make us helpless, more or less. The sick can recover, the blind can survive, but sin makes us totally helpless. The only hope against sin is faith in Jesus and His cross.
Being sick, being blind, and being sinful are all real problems, but it is much easier for many to pretend that sin isn't a big deal. It is so easy to sing the Kyrie without any real thought to it. “Lord, have mercy on us!”
Here's the thought behind the Kyrie: we totally rely on Jesus for absolutely everything that we have. Health, sight, and forgivness from our sin are all gifts from Jesus. When you sing this song, remember that you are blind and sick with sin. You are helpless. But in your helplessness, be bold! Have mercy, Lord!
Back in the Old Testament, you can read about Naaman, a foreign general who had leprosy. He went to God's prophet Elisha and asked to be healed (2 Kings 5). He brought $400,000 of silver and $4 million in gold to pay for his healing. But God through His prophet said, “I don't care about your money. Be healed.”
Being poor doesn't change a thing either. This blind Bartimaeus had nothing to offer Jesus—he didn't have a dime or denarius to his name. He was a blind beggar. But Jesus says, “I don't care about your lack of money. Be healed.”
Rich or poor doesn't matter to Jesus. His love is what makes us clean. When Paul talks about love in 1 Corinthians 13, he isn't talking about the passing love within friendship or the burning love of romance that burns out over time. He's talking about the love that God's Son has for you. His love put what is good and best for you ahead of what is good and best for Him.
In our Bible study today we'll hear about this love in Romans 5: 6 For at a time when we were still weak, Christ died for us ungodly people. 7 Hardly anyone will risk his life for the sake of what is right, although for a good cause someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God puts his own love for us on display in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This is the object of our faith, Christ's love on the cross that saves us. This alone is where our faith is founded. Listen to Jesus: 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Today you'll need to keep your distance from me because I'm still a little sick. How remarkable that while we were still deathly sick with sin, Jesus came to us like the Good Samaritan and carried us to safety.
Amen.
Sexagesima
Sexagesima
February 12, 2012
Justified by Word Alone
Luke 8:4-15
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear friends,
4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
When he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Whenever someone tries to tell you something by telling a story, they are trying to get across one idea. For example, when Jesus says that He is the vine and we are the branches, He's telling us a very short story to get across one idea: we totally depend on Him for everything. He's not saying that we should wear clothing made of leaves or only drink vine sap or only eat grapes.
This same principle is true today. Jesus teaches us this idea: you are justified by His word alone. But in years past Lutheran pastors in Germany saw this story as a chance to preach about sound agricultural techniques. They preached about farming for 45 minutes and ignored what Jesus was really talking about! They took an earthly story with a heavenly meaning and forced it to be a heavenly story with an earthly meaning.
These pastors who were Lutheran in name only missed the point. We are justified by God's word alone. This truth opposes any false idea that the Holy Spirit brings forgiveness directly to us. For example, many claim that they are spiritual, but not religious. What does that mean? It means that they don't go to church. Why? Because they think that their relationship with God is based on directly experiencing the divine. They scorn the truth that God has promised to come to us through His Word alone.
I'll talk about this again in April, but consider why Jesus waited all day before visiting His apostles on the evening of Easter Sunday. He did appear to the women at His empty tomb and told them to tell His men that He was alive. Why did He do that? Because He wanted them to trust His Word. He was carefully preparing them for the time when they would no longer see Him in the flesh, but would have the presence and promise of His Word alone.
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,
“‘though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they may not understand.’
Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9, “though seeing, they may not see.” What does He mean? Does this mean that He really doesn't want some people to go to heaven? Certainly not. What Jesus is teaching us is that there are some who are so set against the truth, that they make themselves blind. For example, those who are in favor of murdering babies. How can they be so blind? They see the ultrasound of a little baby, but instead of a life, they see an inconvenience.
Jesus uses parables to help those who can see—believers—see even more clearly. But those same words to those who are blind—unbelievers—make them even more blind. It is to God's credit when we see more clearly, but those who are blind are blind because of their own stubbornness.
11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
The Word is the key to this parable. The seed represents God's Word. Believers sow the seed as they confess Christ's cross to their friends and family. Preachers sow the seed as they proclaim Christ and Him crucified to their flocks. Parents and grandparents sow the seed as they teach their little children to pray before meals and bedtime; they sow the seed as they discuss our Christian faith at home in informal conversations around the dinner table with their teens. But at the end of the day, when we think over our religious conversations with them, whatever the outcome, we trust the real work of making the blind see is in the hands of the Holy Spirit.
But these sown seeds doesn't always produce the immediate result that we'd like. There are many who hear God's Word and dismiss it quickly. Many of you have told me about your conversations with your friends about religion. Sometimes they are say, “Hmm, that's interesting” or “You're rather narrow-minded, aren't you?”
There are others who have faith for a time, but fall away in a time of testing. Others overwhelm themselves with the earthly priorities. The test: how will you spend your time on Sunday morning?
This test strikes soon after Confirmation. We see that many of our young people aren't here. Why? There are many excuses, but they all come to this fact: what they want is more important than what Jesus wants.
But it's not just our young people; many of our mature memebers are missing, too. Why? Because they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.
How can we help them? We need to allow the Holy Spirit to grow roots in our homes. Parents and grandparents, we need to water the seed that was planted at Baptism. The best way to pour the water of life upon our little kids is to water ourselves first. We can have the courage to actually re-memorize the Small Catechism—I know, it's a little scary! Have hymnals at home—one for each member of the household—and spend a little time memorizing beloved hymns. When will you have time to do all this? Turn off the electricity. Shut it down. Pull the plug and open a book. Read the Bible together. Read children's books that help you develop a Christian way of looking at the world. Good examples are the books of C.S. Lewis, his Chronicles of Narnia.
For our mature members who we miss, we'll keep on sowing the seed. Sometimes the seed will be the Law and sometimes it'll be the Gospel. So I'll continue my visits and make myself available to answer their questions about God's Word. But some of our loved ones need to have their alarm bells rung. When I listen to a member blather on about how they don't need to go to church, I must rebuke this deadly attitude because Jesus doesn't want them to burn in hell. Sowing the seed. Sometimes my rebuke will fall on deaf ears, but sometimes it won't. The same is true of you when you sow.
Just two more things. First, we are not good plants ourselves because our soil was so good. Not so! Our soil was just as rocky and dead as any other soil, to extend the metaphor of the parable. But Jesus made us good soil and sowed His holy seed of His Word. Second, sowing seed isn't a one-time operation. We have been given God's Word in abundance and we sow it recklessly, and recognize that God the Holy Spirit does the real work of planting and growing and harvesting.
We stand before God as His holy plants because Jesus died on a tree. Can a plant take credit for growing and bearing fruits and flowers? No. God makes them grow. God makes us bloom and grow through His Word alone and soon He will bring in His harvest.
Amen.
February 12, 2012
Justified by Word Alone
Luke 8:4-15
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear friends,
4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
When he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Whenever someone tries to tell you something by telling a story, they are trying to get across one idea. For example, when Jesus says that He is the vine and we are the branches, He's telling us a very short story to get across one idea: we totally depend on Him for everything. He's not saying that we should wear clothing made of leaves or only drink vine sap or only eat grapes.
This same principle is true today. Jesus teaches us this idea: you are justified by His word alone. But in years past Lutheran pastors in Germany saw this story as a chance to preach about sound agricultural techniques. They preached about farming for 45 minutes and ignored what Jesus was really talking about! They took an earthly story with a heavenly meaning and forced it to be a heavenly story with an earthly meaning.
These pastors who were Lutheran in name only missed the point. We are justified by God's word alone. This truth opposes any false idea that the Holy Spirit brings forgiveness directly to us. For example, many claim that they are spiritual, but not religious. What does that mean? It means that they don't go to church. Why? Because they think that their relationship with God is based on directly experiencing the divine. They scorn the truth that God has promised to come to us through His Word alone.
I'll talk about this again in April, but consider why Jesus waited all day before visiting His apostles on the evening of Easter Sunday. He did appear to the women at His empty tomb and told them to tell His men that He was alive. Why did He do that? Because He wanted them to trust His Word. He was carefully preparing them for the time when they would no longer see Him in the flesh, but would have the presence and promise of His Word alone.
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,
“‘though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they may not understand.’
Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9, “though seeing, they may not see.” What does He mean? Does this mean that He really doesn't want some people to go to heaven? Certainly not. What Jesus is teaching us is that there are some who are so set against the truth, that they make themselves blind. For example, those who are in favor of murdering babies. How can they be so blind? They see the ultrasound of a little baby, but instead of a life, they see an inconvenience.
Jesus uses parables to help those who can see—believers—see even more clearly. But those same words to those who are blind—unbelievers—make them even more blind. It is to God's credit when we see more clearly, but those who are blind are blind because of their own stubbornness.
11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
The Word is the key to this parable. The seed represents God's Word. Believers sow the seed as they confess Christ's cross to their friends and family. Preachers sow the seed as they proclaim Christ and Him crucified to their flocks. Parents and grandparents sow the seed as they teach their little children to pray before meals and bedtime; they sow the seed as they discuss our Christian faith at home in informal conversations around the dinner table with their teens. But at the end of the day, when we think over our religious conversations with them, whatever the outcome, we trust the real work of making the blind see is in the hands of the Holy Spirit.
But these sown seeds doesn't always produce the immediate result that we'd like. There are many who hear God's Word and dismiss it quickly. Many of you have told me about your conversations with your friends about religion. Sometimes they are say, “Hmm, that's interesting” or “You're rather narrow-minded, aren't you?”
There are others who have faith for a time, but fall away in a time of testing. Others overwhelm themselves with the earthly priorities. The test: how will you spend your time on Sunday morning?
This test strikes soon after Confirmation. We see that many of our young people aren't here. Why? There are many excuses, but they all come to this fact: what they want is more important than what Jesus wants.
But it's not just our young people; many of our mature memebers are missing, too. Why? Because they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.
How can we help them? We need to allow the Holy Spirit to grow roots in our homes. Parents and grandparents, we need to water the seed that was planted at Baptism. The best way to pour the water of life upon our little kids is to water ourselves first. We can have the courage to actually re-memorize the Small Catechism—I know, it's a little scary! Have hymnals at home—one for each member of the household—and spend a little time memorizing beloved hymns. When will you have time to do all this? Turn off the electricity. Shut it down. Pull the plug and open a book. Read the Bible together. Read children's books that help you develop a Christian way of looking at the world. Good examples are the books of C.S. Lewis, his Chronicles of Narnia.
For our mature members who we miss, we'll keep on sowing the seed. Sometimes the seed will be the Law and sometimes it'll be the Gospel. So I'll continue my visits and make myself available to answer their questions about God's Word. But some of our loved ones need to have their alarm bells rung. When I listen to a member blather on about how they don't need to go to church, I must rebuke this deadly attitude because Jesus doesn't want them to burn in hell. Sowing the seed. Sometimes my rebuke will fall on deaf ears, but sometimes it won't. The same is true of you when you sow.
Just two more things. First, we are not good plants ourselves because our soil was so good. Not so! Our soil was just as rocky and dead as any other soil, to extend the metaphor of the parable. But Jesus made us good soil and sowed His holy seed of His Word. Second, sowing seed isn't a one-time operation. We have been given God's Word in abundance and we sow it recklessly, and recognize that God the Holy Spirit does the real work of planting and growing and harvesting.
We stand before God as His holy plants because Jesus died on a tree. Can a plant take credit for growing and bearing fruits and flowers? No. God makes them grow. God makes us bloom and grow through His Word alone and soon He will bring in His harvest.
Amen.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Third Sunday after the Epiphany
Third Sunday after the Epiphany
January 22, 2012
Just Say the Word
Matthew 8:8
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear friends,
Centurions weren't nice guys. Centurions were soldiers in the Roman Army who commanded 100 soldiers. And most of the time they were strict and cruel. They treated soldiers, servants, and civilians harshly. In those days using force was common and expected by everyone. You didn't want to cross a centurion.
But you might not come away with this impression if your only information about centurions comes from the Bible. In the Gospels we hear of two centurions.
One of them, the centurion who had helped to crucify Jesus, witnessed the unique events of that most remarkable day and confessed: “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39)
Today we learn of the other centurion and learn from him the basis of faith. He says to Jesus, “But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” He is certain that Christ will help his servant. He does not require Christ's personal presence or a miracle or anything visible or tangible to be certain. Jesus' word is enough.
This centurion only desires one thing: for Jesus to simply say the word. Jesus is astonished by how this man puts into words what faith is. This centurion articulates the connection between the word and faith by an example from his own life.
For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (Matthew 8:9)
His example describes the power of his words. When he tells someone to do something, he trusts that it is as good as done. Since this is true of an unreliable wretched sinner, how much more infinitely certain is the Word of God's Son, Jesus Christ.
The centurion confessed that he was unworthy to receive the promise of God when he told Jesus that he did not deserve to have Jesus in his house. So if he, a nobody, could use words to command and to cause trust—again—how much more infinitely does this apply to Jesus, who is the Word of God in the flesh and who speaks Himself to a world of nobodies.
Jesus is the Word made flesh. John introduce his Gospel by stating: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
The Word made flesh—Jesus—was astonished by this centurion's confession of his faith. Perhaps just as astonishing is what the centurion did not base his faith upon.
He doesn't mention his decision to be a devout follower of Jesus.
He doesn't mention that he has been a good husband, good soldier, and good master.
He doesn't mention that his servant is a good man and deserves to be healed.
He doesn't mention that he is risking his reputation (1) by going to Jesus, a poor Jew from backwater Galilee and (2) by doing all this for a mere slave, not his son, not his wife, but a slave.
The faith of the centurion and our faith both say the same thing: “Just say the word.” When we are troubled by our doubts, Jesus just says the word through Matthew, “I am always with you to the very end.” When we wonder if Jesus will forgive us for habitually cursing when no one else is around, Jesus just says the word through His pastor, “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” When we wonder if Jesus is truly present in the Sacrament of the Altar, Jesus just says the word through His pastor, “This is My body, given for you; this is My blood, shed for you.”
Just say the word, Lord. Not our words, just Yours. Say the word, say the word.
Amen.
January 22, 2012
Just Say the Word
Matthew 8:8
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear friends,
Centurions weren't nice guys. Centurions were soldiers in the Roman Army who commanded 100 soldiers. And most of the time they were strict and cruel. They treated soldiers, servants, and civilians harshly. In those days using force was common and expected by everyone. You didn't want to cross a centurion.
But you might not come away with this impression if your only information about centurions comes from the Bible. In the Gospels we hear of two centurions.
One of them, the centurion who had helped to crucify Jesus, witnessed the unique events of that most remarkable day and confessed: “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39)
Today we learn of the other centurion and learn from him the basis of faith. He says to Jesus, “But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” He is certain that Christ will help his servant. He does not require Christ's personal presence or a miracle or anything visible or tangible to be certain. Jesus' word is enough.
This centurion only desires one thing: for Jesus to simply say the word. Jesus is astonished by how this man puts into words what faith is. This centurion articulates the connection between the word and faith by an example from his own life.
For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (Matthew 8:9)
His example describes the power of his words. When he tells someone to do something, he trusts that it is as good as done. Since this is true of an unreliable wretched sinner, how much more infinitely certain is the Word of God's Son, Jesus Christ.
The centurion confessed that he was unworthy to receive the promise of God when he told Jesus that he did not deserve to have Jesus in his house. So if he, a nobody, could use words to command and to cause trust—again—how much more infinitely does this apply to Jesus, who is the Word of God in the flesh and who speaks Himself to a world of nobodies.
Jesus is the Word made flesh. John introduce his Gospel by stating: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
The Word made flesh—Jesus—was astonished by this centurion's confession of his faith. Perhaps just as astonishing is what the centurion did not base his faith upon.
He doesn't mention his decision to be a devout follower of Jesus.
He doesn't mention that he has been a good husband, good soldier, and good master.
He doesn't mention that his servant is a good man and deserves to be healed.
He doesn't mention that he is risking his reputation (1) by going to Jesus, a poor Jew from backwater Galilee and (2) by doing all this for a mere slave, not his son, not his wife, but a slave.
The faith of the centurion and our faith both say the same thing: “Just say the word.” When we are troubled by our doubts, Jesus just says the word through Matthew, “I am always with you to the very end.” When we wonder if Jesus will forgive us for habitually cursing when no one else is around, Jesus just says the word through His pastor, “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” When we wonder if Jesus is truly present in the Sacrament of the Altar, Jesus just says the word through His pastor, “This is My body, given for you; this is My blood, shed for you.”
Just say the word, Lord. Not our words, just Yours. Say the word, say the word.
Amen.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
The Circumcision and the Name of Jesus
The Circumcision and the Name of Jesus
January 1, 2012
The Name That Saves
Luke 2:21
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
(New King James Version)
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear friends,
Already on the eighth day of Jesus' life, His destiny is revealed in His name and in His circumcision. On this day He was given His name that His angel had delivered to His guardian:
An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21 NIV 1984)
The name of Jesus in those days was a popular name like Noah or Ethan are today. There are many examples of others named Jesus in Jesus' day. But God's Son picked Jesus to be His name not because it was popular, but because He would make His name come true. Jesus means He saves.
This saving began with His conception by the Holy Spirit in blessed Mary's virgin womb. It began there because Jesus had to become what He was going to save. He had to become a human to save humans. And the only way to save us was to offer His perfect blood to pay for our guilt and sin. God became a man so that He could bleed for us.
So on this eighth day of Jesus' life, He was circumcised. Now it might seem strange to celebrate this event in Jesus' life, since for most people these days circumcision is simply a medical procedure. But from the time of Abraham to the time of Jesus, circumcision was a symbol of the unity between God and His people.
9 God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” (Genesis 17:9-14 NIV 1984)
Based on the promise of the coming Savior, circumcision made them one with God. And in these times, baptism has replaced circumcision. St. Paul explains:
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:9-11)
Jesus Christ was both circumcised and baptized. Why? Because He is a man. And by undergoing these divine acts of unity and forgiveness, He stepped into the role of a sinful human being, even though He was without any sin. He became Adam to save Adam's race, to save us sinners.
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 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.
20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 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 NIV 1984)
This is why Paul wrote that Jesus was born under law. He joyfully and willingly obeyed His own Law. He obeyed to save us. Because He was circumcised and with His perfect obedience, His name is a saving name. Jesus saves you.
Amen.
January 1, 2012
The Name That Saves
Luke 2:21
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
(New King James Version)
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear friends,
Already on the eighth day of Jesus' life, His destiny is revealed in His name and in His circumcision. On this day He was given His name that His angel had delivered to His guardian:
An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21 NIV 1984)
The name of Jesus in those days was a popular name like Noah or Ethan are today. There are many examples of others named Jesus in Jesus' day. But God's Son picked Jesus to be His name not because it was popular, but because He would make His name come true. Jesus means He saves.
This saving began with His conception by the Holy Spirit in blessed Mary's virgin womb. It began there because Jesus had to become what He was going to save. He had to become a human to save humans. And the only way to save us was to offer His perfect blood to pay for our guilt and sin. God became a man so that He could bleed for us.
So on this eighth day of Jesus' life, He was circumcised. Now it might seem strange to celebrate this event in Jesus' life, since for most people these days circumcision is simply a medical procedure. But from the time of Abraham to the time of Jesus, circumcision was a symbol of the unity between God and His people.
9 God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” (Genesis 17:9-14 NIV 1984)
Based on the promise of the coming Savior, circumcision made them one with God. And in these times, baptism has replaced circumcision. St. Paul explains:
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:9-11)
Jesus Christ was both circumcised and baptized. Why? Because He is a man. And by undergoing these divine acts of unity and forgiveness, He stepped into the role of a sinful human being, even though He was without any sin. He became Adam to save Adam's race, to save us sinners.
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 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.
20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 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 NIV 1984)
This is why Paul wrote that Jesus was born under law. He joyfully and willingly obeyed His own Law. He obeyed to save us. Because He was circumcised and with His perfect obedience, His name is a saving name. Jesus saves you.
Amen.
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