Thursday, October 28, 2010

The Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity - October 24, 2010

The Church Season of Trinity
The Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (October 24, 2010)

“Signs and Wonders”
Readings: 
    Psalm 8
    Genesis 1:1 – 2:3
    Ephesians 6:10-17
    John 4:46-54

Sermon Form    Deductive
+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 4th chapter of St. John, especially the following verse:

John 4:46-54
46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. [Jesus said]48 “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” 49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.” 53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed. 54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Jesus addresses the royal official, and us as well.  He tells of what believing is and what is the proof required to believe.  And, the believing Jesus was speaking about is saving faith, because there are different ways of believing.

In our Gospel this morning, a royal official comes down to Cana from Capernaum.  Jesus seems to be critical of the man's need to see a sign in order to have faith.  This royal official's son was sick.  We don't know what illness he may have had, but it appears that is could have been potentially fatal.  So, the official appeared to be completely out of options and he went to see the local miracle worker.  And so when he came into Jesus’ presence Jesus looked inside the man and saw that there was no real, saving faith yet, just primarily desperation.  Jesus said, "Unless you see signs and wonders, You will not believe."  But the man was desperate, and begged, "Sir, come down before my child dies." 

And the response was immediate, Jesus said, "Go your way, your son lives."  No waving of the arms.  No mysterious chants.  No potions.  No signs and wonders.  No go say so many prayers of Jabez, just, "Go your way, your son lives."  And the very next thing we hear is that this royal official took Jesus at His word and headed home.  What faith!

On his way home, a walking of 20 or 30 miles, his servants met him with the happy news that his son was now better.  So of course he asked at what time the boy began to mend, and they said it was about the seventh hour and that it was just about at that time that Jesus had said that his son was going to live.  And the next sentence seems kind of odd, ". . . and he himself believed, and his whole household."

Now, all of a sudden, having heard that his son is recovering, the man believes.  Apparently, there’s believing, and then there's believing. And we know that’s true, we see it all the time.  There is half-believing, half-disbelieving, that is the skeptical but desperate kind of believing that brought the man to travel for two days to get to Jesus.  Kind of like saying I’m very sick and prayers might help and they sure couldn’t hurt.  Then there’s faith that kinda-sorta believes.  It’s the wait-and-see kind of thing.  You know, it goes like this, Heh God, I’ve got myself in a big fix, you get me out and I’ll believe, I really will. 

Then there’s the what am I going to do, I’m faced with something I don’t know how to fix and somehow the answer comes to us, by phone, by mail, by word, and then like the royal official we “really believe.” Just like when the official discovered that the fever broke at the moment Jesus said that his son would recover.  Now there was no doubt.  He trusted beyond a shadow of a doubt. 

Our experience of faith in Jesus Christ is often similar.  The Holy Spirit creates faith in us by the Word of God.  That is instantaneous and completely by God's power, but our experience of it, our consciousness of it often feels more like this man's path.  We start with a need and a wish and not much else - and then when all else fails, we try God.  We believe the Word of God, sort-of, when it tells us of the love of God, and we put God to the test.  We don't really expect God to keep His promises, but we try Him out in situations where we don't have too many other options anyhow.  When God proves Himself to us, then we believe.

So what does it mean to trust in God?  It means more than simply saying that the Word of God is accurate or factually true.  It means living in confidence about God and in God.  It means answering your fears with God's promises and with the knowledge that God loves you.  It means doing what you know to be right even if it doesn't seem safe or practical or popular. 

So then, do you believe?  Then you put first things - God's things - first.  Do you trust God enough to risk looking unusually religious? Do you trust God enough to find contentment in His will and His love for you, no matter how painful or troubling you may find your life to be?

We could ask if that royal official really expected that Jesus could heal his son, or that if He could, He Jesus would.  So maybe when he prayed to Jesus, he was doing a "just in case" prayer.  You know, just in case God is listening, and just in case He is interested, and just in case He wants to help, then I will pray. Do you pray like that, or do you pray with confidence that God will answer? 

Looking for signs and wonders is a theology of glory, not faith in God. Nowhere has God promised what such a faith expects and looks for, but there are a lot of teachers and preachers selling that sort of doctrine. Rather faith built on trust responds to life knowing that God is in charge, and will do everything He promised, not just the 'go to heaven' stuff that you cannot see or use in your day to day living.  Look at Communion it is prepared for you morning. What is it?  Does your hunger for it reflect a casual human sense that this is a fine thing we do in church on the second, fourth, and fifth Sunday, or does it reflect the faith that here for you is forgiveness, and that Christ is coming to you personally to transform you and give you eternal life?  Is this Sacrament the medicine of immortality for you, or just something religious that we do?  Do you count it as precious and hunger to receive it as often as you may, finding strength and refreshment for your soul here.  Are you hearing Christ’s words, “Do this often” or are you doing this Communion thing only as often as you please?

Do you hear what I saying?  In some way, we are all hurt, sick, frustrated by people, the world and even your own actions or inactions.  The miracle is before you, take eat, take drink, you have been made well  Lean on God and trust in Him and not trust our own wisdom, or strength or understanding.  If we do, we will live that faith out by doing everything in the light of that faith, ruling our actions and our words and our attitudes by our trust in God and our hope in forgiveness and the confident expectation that we will rise from the grave to live forever.

The man in the Gospel saw Jesus in action, and understood that Jesus is God — and that He cared for him and his family.  He trusted from that moment on that Jesus could and would take care of him, his family, and his needs. You, too, can let every pain, every crisis, every need rest in the hands of Jesus. You can trust Him to love you, keep you, and save you, and raise you from the dead to everlasting life at the last.  This faith is more than just believing that that it is true, it is believing that it is for you, and that God counts you precious to Himself and He watches over you, and will bring you through all things safely. And when you trust God, you won't need signs and wonders, the Word and promises of God will make you well to eternal life.  Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
+SDG+

Monday, October 18, 2010

The Twentieth Sunday after Trinity - October 17, 2010

The Church Season of Trinity
The Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (October 17, 2010)

“The Vineyard”

Readings:   
    Psalm 27:1-9
    Isaiah 55:1-9   
    Ephesians 5:15-21
    Matthew 21:33-44

Sermon Form    Deductive
+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 21st chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verse:

Matthew 21:33-44 (ESV)
33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”


In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Jesus told this parable to convict his hearers.  And before we are too quick to roll our eyes or to quip, ‘oh there go those Pharisees, Saducces, or Sanhedrin again.’   But before we’re too quick to throw those antagonists of Christ under the bus, remember we just heard that parable read to us too.  We also are the hearers who would have called to, “put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants.”(v. 41) But we too are not alone.

The image of the vineyard is also used in the book of Isaiah, in chapter five, where we hear these words, “My Well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it; so He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it?

It would seem to us to be pretty depressing, but in reality the Old and New Testament lessons as we know, are consistent.  God provides a perfect vineyard for His people, and His people turn away from Him. And this makes sense. The Lord made Israel His people; without Him, they never would have left Egypt. But by His power, He led them out of Egypt. He made a covenant with them: He told them that He was going to put them in a vineyard called the Promised Land, and that they were to supposed to abide by His laws. And, He promised to them that, He was sending them their Savior. The Lord of the Land would send His Son. Sounds a lot like today's parable, doesn't it?  The same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, the Lord abundantly provides, man willingly rejects God’s Word.  Literally rejects the Word, meaning Jesus Christ, just for the greed and gain of today.

Four days after this parable, the chief priests and Pharisees would have the Son of God arrested; setting aside the Law of God, they would unjustly condemn him to death. The next day, they would jeer Him as He was nailed to a cross. The Lord who gave them the Promised Land had sent His Son to them. With His crucifixion, they would boldly declare: "We're getting rid of the Son. But we're still planning on keeping the vineyard."  Five days before, the parable had enraged them for predicting they would kill the Son. Enraged, they fulfilled the prophecy and put the Son on the cross. The aftermath is a matter of history. Having rejected the Son, the officials turned all the more to trying to please God by their own efforts. This led, more and more, to an outright rejection of the Roman Empire and forty years later, Rome had enough, Jerusalem was leveled. The walls were destroyed and the vineyard was no more. The vinedressers rejected the rules and the son, but still wanted to keep the vineyard. This is how blinding sin is; this is how foolish unbelief becomes.

    And how does it play our in our world? Well, the sin of unbelief happens on a personal level, as Christians become involved in sins that they do not want to repent of and the sins become too attractive, too addictive, in some way too precious to lose.  It plays out in many ways, like; bearing grudges and refusing to forgive, tax evasion, gossip, etc. At such times, it is tempting to say, "I’ll be a Christian, but I’ll still indulge this sin. I can do both: I’ll believe in Jesus, and I can keep this sin. I will be a good Christian but I’ll certainly not give up this transgression", or maybe “I want to be a Christian, just without the rules."

What a contrast that vineyard is with the vineyard where people have heard the call of Jesus Christ, when He says, “Come follow me.”  And we follow by freely receiving God’s gift, seeing and admitting that our sin within and without, done and undone, and by asking forgiveness for our sins.  But it does not stop there, because of the mercy we’r given in the forgiveness of our sins, we are called to have mercy on others.

Today we celebrate Lutheran Womans’s Missionary League Sunday or better known as LWML Sunday.  The LWML is a group who helps other’s every single day of the week.  We celebrate these servants of Christ who do so much from what would seem such small sources.  For these women collect pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters, in tiny little mite boxes, yet their contributions to help others and to advance the Gospel are amazing. Today we blessed quilts made by the hands of our own Ladies Aid/LWML group. These beautiful quilts will be shipped to those who need them for their comfort for a day.  The LWML also helps to provide scholarships to Seminarians at both the St. Louis and the Fort Wayne Seminaries, to Prison ministries, Braille Bibles, and to help in places throughout the world, a few examples are listed in a bulletin insert today just to name a few. 

We thank God for all the efforts of the LWML in the past, we thank God for all that they are doing now, we thank God for all that this organization will do in the future.  This group is truly supporting the work of God here in this church, and here in this city, and here in this state, in this country, and in the world.  They have not sacrificed giving in one place over another, rather they have found ways to support Gods work throughout the world.  This is an organization which serves in humility.

The Lutheran Women’s Missionary League exist to help equip people to proclaim the love of Jesus throughout the world. Mission grants help raise money for supporting the work of those walking in the path of Jesus around the world by helping to train pastors, equipping youth to restore homes while sharing the love of Jesus, and providing medical care in the name of the great physician Jesus Christ.

The LWML theme for Michigan this year was from the verse from Isaiah 52:7 which reads, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"  How beautiful the feet, what an awesome thought, rather than to desire strike down the Word of God, to instead bow in His presence and proclaim the beauty of the feet of the Savior Jesus Christ who brings us salvation.  Quite an awesome thought, we thank God for our Ladies Aid/LWML chapter who offers comfort from this place to places throughout the world. 

We thank God for His Son Jesus Christ who was sent into the unkempt vineyard of this world, tangles by sin, a world who would twist the Word until it would literally ravel the Lord up and put Him upon the cross.  But there on the cross victory is gained, our mercy is won, Christ dies for you, He dies for me, He dies for the sin of the whole world.  And from that Son, sent to this vineyard, Christ conquers death for you and brings you to something greater than a vineyard of mankind.  In baptism and Holy Communion, He brings you a taste of a finer place than all that, for Jesus Christ gives to you His perfect Kingdom, which is the eternal Kingdom of God.  Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
+SDG+

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity - October 10, 2010

The Church Season of Trinity
The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (October 10, 2010)

“Seeing the Faith”

Readings:
    Psalm 84
    Genesis 28:10-17   
    Ephesians 4:22-28
    Matthew 9:1-8

Sermon Form    Deductive
+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 9th chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verse:

Matthew 9:1-8 (ESV)
1 And getting into a boat [Jesus] crossed over and came to his own city. 2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

    Leading up to our Gospel lesson Jesus had performed the cleansing of a leper, the healing of a Centurion’s servant, instructed a would be follower to give up all that he had, Jesus had calmed a storm, he had healed the demon possessed in Gadarenes, and now it was time for Jesus to come home.  So Jesus, “crossed over and came into His own city.”(v. 1)  And Jesus’ city was Capernaum.  Yes, He was born in Bethlehem, and He was brought up in Nazareth, but He lived in Capernaum.  Jesus had come home and as we hear in the parallel Gospels of Mark and Luke, many people knew that Jesus was home so much so that, “there was no room left, not even outside the door.”(Mk 2:2)

Upon His birth into this world, Jesus was not able to stay in the inn because it was full, Jesus became incarnate, and His humiliation had begun.  Jesus the God-man was born out of the lime-light in a lowly state in stable far away from the crowd.  But, on this day, Jesus had come home and a large crowd came out to see Him.  This time there were so many people gathered that there was no more room to get in Christ’s inn, quite a change of events.  The crowd had heard of Christ’s miracles and healings, they had heard of Christ’s mercy, and mercy was something they all very much wanted, they wanted the Lord to have mercy on them.

And so we’re told there were men who carried a paralytic man to this house. But the stretcher bearers were blocked by a sea of humanity.  Ironically, they were just like another crowd who would gather and say, “we would like to see Jesus.”(John 12:21)  So this group climbed up on the roof, removed tile and beam, mud and roofing, to make a passage to get their friend near to Jesus.  It has been said, “True love is resourceful, a roof torn apart, a mat lowered into the midst of a crowd, right into the very presence of Jesus Himself.  “A stricken man and his friends were in front of Jesus, they asked nothing of Christ, and they committed the whole thing to Him. “Seeing their faith,” Jesus turned to their sick friend and since they demonstrated such great faith, Our Lord in turn demonstrates His own power—not first by healing the body, but by using His authority to absolve sins. He did not immediately heal the visible body. Rather, He healed first that which is invisible, the soul, by forgiving his sins. And when the soul was healed, then the body was saved.” (Based on St John Chrysostom)

That Jesus looked and saw what was inside the person first, reveals for us a scary thought, or at least it should.  For the thought of Jesus peering into our inner hidden self, reveals that Jesus was and is able see us as we live each and every single day, hour, minute, second, every single moment of our lives.

Remember how scary it was when you were a child and your mother caught you doing something you shouldn’t do?  Do you ever wonder, how she did that?  Well if she were here to answer, she might say, ‘I just know’ or ‘I saw the color of your eyes change’ or ‘I have eyes in the back of my head.’  Or, probably best of all she may have just led you to confess to something she only suspected by saying, ‘Is there something you want to tell me?’ And the response was quick and predictable, the head looks down, the bottom lip comes out, and the sobbing begins in fear of what the confession might bring.

How much more our Lord Jesus Christ sees when He looks inside of us.  Jesus has seen our every sin, our every failure, our every harsh word, and our every contrary thought and deed.  St. Paul wrote that Jesus, “will bring to light what is hidden in the darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.”(1 Cor. 4:5)  And St. Mark writes too, “for from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly”(Mk 7:20-22)

Repent, for we are paralytic in our sin.  We are bound to sin by our own actions and inactions.  By the sin which we have done, and by the sin undone and for the lack of mercy we’ve had for others.  When we are honest with ourselves and with God, our heads bow, our eyes look down, and we confess that we can see no way to come to Christ by our own actions or worthiness. 

Loving serving brethren carried a paralytic man into the presence of His Savior.  It was Jesus Christ who healed the needy man by first comforting and healing his soul and then by mending the body. This man is a picture of our own selves. We, too, experience such a cure. We, too, were once lame in our soul, but the Lord healed us. This happened in our Baptism and now every Sunday, and every day, we can reflect upon our baptismal grace as a starting point.  In Baptism we were carried upon a mat weaved of freely given faith to the font filled with the blessed water combined with God’s Word, and there we died to sin, there Jesus sees life born again in us. 

But, as the world would be quick to note there is still much lameness in the soul. Our sin, the world, our natural self, our lower nature, are like weights that keep our soul from soaring to loftier heights and keep us from rising above the earth. The world, the ways of the devil, and every evil of body and soul challenge us our entire lives.  We are faced with the death of our loved ones, our ailments, and aging bodies, attacks from those who we know and from those whom we’ve never even seen. 

And for all these reasons, Christ instituted the Sacrament of Holy Communion, to give us ever new momentum and to heal us of our spiritual disability and the lameness of soul. The Eucharist is to make us ready for our heavenly home. This Holy Supper which partake of this very day, is Christ seeing His way to our very soul.  We are carried to the Supper by faith, God sees our souls, He sees what we need, He sees the healing and forgiveness which moves us forward in faith renewed and refreshed.  That is why Jesus said of Holy Communion, do this often.  We all are in need of Christ. And by your faith do not forget that you are obligated to show mercy upon your fellow man, to reach out and carry the needy.  You have been given much and much is required of you. 

Christ saw that His incarnation would lift you out of life’s sins, and that His death and resurrection would carry our sins.  And this mat is not upon a mat woven by straw men, but upon a cross woven by our sins which are carried by Christ to the cross.  Jesus Christ is the sin laden stretcher bearer of our souls.  Yes, for those who would believe and be baptized Jesus sees your inner self, a self which is no longer bound by worldly challenges or failures.  Rather Christ sees to your faith, and so He gives you the command to “Rise and walk.”  And you will rise, and you will walk in faith, and one day, in faith, Christ will see the you He made whole, forever and ever.  Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
+SDG+

Monday, October 4, 2010

The Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity - October 3, 2010


The Church Season of Trinity
The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (October 3, 2010)


“A Realistic Perspective”

Readings:    

    Psalm 34:8-22
    Deuteronomy 10:12-21
    1 Corinthians 1:1-9
    Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon Form    Deductive

+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen


The text for today is as recorded in the Old Testament Lesson from Deuteronomy the 10th chapter, especially the following verse(s):

Deuteronomy 10:12-21 (ESV)

12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? 14 Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. 15 Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. 18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. 19 Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. 21 He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.


In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit


People often try to make a deal with God when times are hard, when circumstances are frightening, or when the challenge before us is too big for us to face with confidence.  It’s just too much so we try to make a deal with God, "Oh God, if only you let me succeed, if only you help me, if only I pass this test, if only . . ., then I will be or do, whatever it takes, and I will make this bargain with you, if only."  We’re not alone, even the mighty Martin Luther groveled on his knees to St Anne if she would get him out of a lightening storm.


But, such bargaining is based on a false perspective on God. For this type of reasoning assumes that we have to bribe God for Him to be good to us or to care about us. God does not have to be bribed or coerced into doing anything that is not a realistic perspective.


So what does the Bible say about our relationship to God, and His relationship to us? It says, first of all, that God expects you to be His people. “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you. but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD's commandments and His statutes..” Those words were first written to the children of Israel, people He had chosen to be His own and He rescued them from bondage in Egypt. 


And today those same words are for you to hear today.  For God has placed you in a rich and profoundly blessed land. He has rescued you from sin and death. He quite reasonably sets before you the command to be His children. After all He bought you. And He expects you to be delighted to be His children because He has rescued you and richly blessed you. So, He commands your love. But wait, we ask, “What does the LORD our God require from us?”  You are to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him. And why?  Because Jesus said, “If love me, you will keep my commandments.”


And God doesn't make these statements to demand our love. No, He has another reason for commanding our love. The foundation for His love for you is the grace which He pours out on you, choosing you to be His own.
 
God said to the people of Israel that even though He is God of all, and has created all things, none-the-less, He has chosen them to be His people, and set particular affection upon them, rescued them and loved them. For all of that, He expected them to love Him, and willingly, even eagerly, even dare I say joyfully to serve Him by keeping the covenant and doing the things that would mark them as His holy people.

But, God could have written the same words to us today and in fact they are for us as well. God doesn't need us or anything we can bring to Him. He created all things and everyone and everything belongs to Him. 


He has revealed to us that His love for us in Jesus Christ is to be returned by our showing compassion and mercy to others. You cannot do anything for God that He needs. You cannot kiss Him or cuddle Him. You cannot give Him what He lacks, for God lacks nothing. So, He would have you pour out your love for Him on others, even those who are the most difficult to love. Serve your neighbor and the stranger among you and in so doing you show love to God and serve Him in the only way He will accept. 


Now, God knows that this is not easy or natural. He hears what we say and think, like, "take care of Number One first;" or, "There is no such thing as a free lunch.”  But given the grace God has given to us in Jesus Christ, why wouldn’t we want to live and bask in Christian joy?  If you live as God’s enemy — as one who does not know Him or love Him — He will deal with you that person as well. For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. 


God is not partial, He gave His Son Jesus Christ to the whole world. He gave His Son to the wicked and the selfish and the unbelieving all go to hell. And that is not referring to three different groups - the wicked are the selfish and they are the unbelieving. They all face His wrath because He has loved them, and purchased them, and yet they continue to pretend He does not exist, or that He does not matter. They live as if there were no God, and they blaspheme His name with every self-serving statement, with every time they mention Him without faith, with every time they refuse to believe His love or to embrace His grace. 


And we cannot buy our way out of this world nor into heaven. Salvation is a free gift. You must receive it as His gift — or do without. And just saying, "I’m a Lutheran," or "I went to church now and then," or "I know all about Jesus," isn't the way of receiving the gift.  For Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”


God’s will is for you to live in His love, and in consideration of Gods love for you, you are likewise called to treat others with Christian love, and mercy for those who are in need, or undesirable, or even your enemies. He wants you to consider how love and thanksgiving can shape your desire to give back to God by being a blessing to those whom God places around you for you to serve in His stead. This is life in the grace of God from a realistic perspective. 


And for your blessing, strength, and help, God has given us this Sacrament of Christ's body and blood, given and shed on the cross for your redemption, that by it we may be equipped to live as His children here and now - and there in eternity. This is one of those great and awesome things He has done in your sight. So come, eat and drink and be refreshed, and then walk as His people without fear and without doubt, showing forth His glory in Jesus Christ! That is life lived from a realistic perspective. 


It is life lived remembering that everything we are and everything we have and everything we hope for is from God. Our hope in life and in death is in Him. We are nothing special, except that God has loved us and chosen us to know Him and His love for us through Jesus Christ. So we live for Him just as we live from Him. And we live confident in Him, knowing that we don't have to bargain with God for His love - it is ours already in Jesus Christ and that is a realistic perspective. 


In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
+SDG+