Advent 1 - Ad Te Lavavi - November 27, 2011

The Church Season of Advent
Advent 1 – Ad Te Levavi
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI  November 27, 2011

Readings:   
    Jeremiah 23:5-8       
    Psalm 24   
    Romans 13:8-14   
    Matthew 21:1-9       

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

The text for today’s message is as recorded in the Gospel lesson from the 21st chapter of Matthew, especially the following verses,

Matthew 21:1-9 (ESV)

Now when [Jesus and the Disciples] drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2     saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8     Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

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

The is how the very Son of Son of God came into Jerusalem for the final time way back then. Humble, riding on a donkey.  It is the same way Jesus comes to you now, humble to save you. And it is a good thing for you that He does. For when He comes the final time, in His glory and victory, the saving is over. But that is for a day yet to come, this is now.

To a sinful world, Jesus’ coming is anything but good looking, it was not understandable then, not on a war horse or chariot, but on a donkey, or in a stable.  That is how Jesus comes to you now, in ways that are not understandable, especially to the sinful world around us, for He comes to us now in water, He comes to us in Word, He comes to us in bread and wine. For, you see, Christ is the Son of God and He exists to make the Father known to us. Everything He does is about the love of His father for each and everyone of you, He comes for us sinners one and all. 

Jesus did not come to see what He could get from the world or from you. He did not come to show His superiority to everybody else. He did not come to prove Himself to you. Jesus did not come because you let Him into your heart.  Jesus did not come because you thought you found Him.  Jesus came to give His life to the world. Jesus came to serve you out of His superiority to provide for what people lack. Jesus came to sacrifice Himself for you.

That is Advent. Jesus, the Son of God, coming for you in His humbleness, to do His Father's will and be here for you. So if it is not you who discovers Him, or who allows Him into your hearts, then the next logical question is, where are I in that grand parade? Am I paving the streets with palm branches, am I singing hosanna, am I donating the donkey for the parade?  Just what part do I play?  Well, the fact of the matter is that if there were a part for us to play we would be tempted to say the donkey which Christ's disciples have loosed from sin for Jesus to ride as He reveals Himself to the rest of this sinful world. As the old saying goes when two people struggled to team up in the horse costume, to paraphrase, Jesus is the head, and all we have to do is be ourselves.  Lest you take offense at that, remember I said we.  We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, we are the sinners in need of Christ.

Remember when the Pharisees saw Jesus, and they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus answered and he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mt 9:11-13)

And so Jesus demonstrates who He is and what He has come to do for all as He rides a lowly donkey. But who has believed this report? Certainly we live in a sinful world and not many believe what Jesus has said, what He has done, or why He has come for us.  Jesus comes yet He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we and our world continue to hide our faces from Him, like the crowd in His last days; “he was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Is. 53:1-5)

In these busy days are you ready for a humble Savior, or are you looking for one who will overcome everyone who utters a false word about such a Savior? We are sinners and we are not humble, in fact we are anything but humble. We are self centered and self occupied. Life is all about us. We live in a world where people step over a dead fellow man in a shopping center in order to get a 20% discount on some personal “thing.” We want what we can get, we beat whom we must beat. We strive to prove anything about ourselves that we can to impress others or even to God. Can you imagine if Christ’s triumphant entry was into one of our Malls on Black Friday?  He would be knocked down, stripped of His robe, pushed to the side, and arrested for not being handicapped and having a non-service animal in a public place. 

And so it is, that our Lord must come to each sinner in the world in which he lives to call them to repentance. Into this kind of world, amongst less than humble sinners rides our Lord Jesus Christ He comes to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'" You must be humbled by the Word of God to recognize, receive, and believe this Jesus is here for you.

St. Paul asks, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?” As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?" So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Jesus sits upon a lowly donkey, the image of lowliness, that then is our role.  Jesus’ called and sent servants to cover the filthy rags of our self-righteousness with Christ's robe righteousness in Holy Baptism. Jesus sits upon our lowliness and rides with our sins into the true Jerusalem, His city of peace, the Church.  But Jesus did not need us as a beast of burden to carry Him to Jerusalem, our effort is nothing, rather by His body and blood He carries our sins to the cross and ultimately us to the new Jerusalem.

For if Christ were riding upon us, it would be impossible for us not to love our neighbor and do good works that serve and benefit him. And thus, as Jesus rides along with you during your daily lives speak so the multitudes may know of that, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee." What?  Can’t talk about Jesus?  Don’t know how?  Just start talking, remember God has made plenty of  other…”donkeys” talk, why not you and me?

This how God's kingdom comes to those who are not yet in it, just as it came to you and me, by the hearing of the Gospel.  Jesus comes for one, He comes for all.  Even right this very moment He is coming to the world as He rides with you in His city of peace on earth, His holy Christian Church, where good will towards all your fellow man is expected. Because only in His church does He come to you and loose you from the bonds of sin as He does this very day. Behold, your king is comes to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.  Amen.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
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Latin names for Advent Services

A repeat every year but always good to review:

In case you were wondering about those Latin words for the Sundays in Advent....

Advent I
Ad Te Levavi
from Psalm 24
in Latin = Ad te levavi animam meam
in English =Unto thee have I lifted up my soul

Advent II
Populus Sion
from Psalm 30
in Latin = Populus Sion, ecce Dominus veneit et ad salvandas gentes
in English =People of Zion behold, the Lord is coming to save all nations

Advent III
Gaudete
from Philemon 4
in Latin = Gaudete in Domino semper
in English = Rejoice in the Lord always

Advent IV
Rorate
from Isaiah 45
in Latin = Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustrum
in English = Drop down ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness

Thanksgiving Eve - November 23, 2011

The Church Season of Trinity
Thanksgiving Eve, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (November 23, 2011)

Readings:   
    Psalm 67
    Deuteronomy  8:1-10
    1 Timothy 2:1-4
    Luke 17:11-19

+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 Epistle Lesson from the 2nd chapter of 1st Timothy especially the following verses:

1 Timothy 2:1-4 (ESV)

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

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

It's very easy to give thanks for the things going our way.  But, when the "going gets tough," the tough seem to turn against God, where is He now?  The concept of actually thanking God tends to get more and more distant from our minds as the "going" gets tougher and tougher.  It's very easy to forget about all that we have, and instead get hung up on what we've lost or don't have.  It's far easier to blame God in these difficult circumstances than it is to offer Him thanks and praise. 

Think about that for a moment.  We understand what it means to give thanks to God for all that we have.  It should be a real "no-brainer" for tomorrow.  We should understand what it means to give thanks to God for all that we don't have, like the “bad" things such as terrible sickness, homelessness, bankruptcy, violence, etc.  At least we remember to give thanks to God when He spares us from these terrible tragedies.  We give thanks for those absences in our lives, and we need to be careful in doing so.  Such "thanksgiving" can be a real slippery slope into sin.  Remember: A certain Pharisee gave thanks for the absences in his life too, giving thanks that he wasn't like the tax collector.  But what about those other absences?  What about those things we really do want and ask for and don't receive?  Have you ever given thanks to God for Him saying "no" to you?  I have never heard anyone give thanks for not winning the lottery. 

This leads to another question: Why?  Why should we give thanks to the Lord, especially when the chips are down in life?  Think about the lesson again, we’re not told to give thanks unto the Lord because He has really given all we want.  There's nothing in here at all about putting our thanksgiving on some sort of sliding scale that works makes us pray more if we have more. 

It would be easy to ask how many of us here this night are thankful for "everything" God has given you.  Be truthful, and if you are you know that you’d be more thankful if you didn't have those bills coming in, or those aches and pains, or the fear and uncertainty of not knowing whether or not you're going to get a paycheck next week? 

So why do we give thanks unto the Lord?  Because, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”(v, 3-4)  It is what God desires, not what you desire that is the reason for the season, as the old saying goes. 

Jesus has seen fit to bless you with all that you have in this life.  Don’t forget to share that bountiful grace with someone else tomorrow.  Share the wonderful Gospel message of life and salvation with those who don't yet know it or believe it so that they, too, can share in our redemptive, Christ-centered joy.  God desires the death of no man.  He desires that all may believe and have life in Him, which is why He sent His one and only Son to die for the sins of the entire world.  Take a little time out of each day and simply say "thank you" to your Lord and Savior for all that you have and all that you are, from all you have received through free and unmerited gifts from Him. 

Sometime between the time you fight over the turkey leg or eat that second piece of pie, or turn on the Lions game and pull the handle back on the bark-o-lounger, remember not only to give thanks for the abundance of daily bread you have this one day per year called Thanksgiving.  Remember to also return thanks to God for Jesus Christ, because of His giving we are able to endure this life, to laugh to cry, to stuff our faces with the most awesome foods from years of family tradition.  And as the family grows the seeds and stories of tradition seem to grow too. And you know the best family traditions are the ones that are easily shared. Share your blessings from God, for you have been given much. 

Tomorrow most of us will stop at nothing to put on a feast that will satisfy us for a day.  Everyday God in Christ Jesus provides you with the feast of victory that will satisfy you for eternal life.  For you, it may appear like a simple recipe, a baptism wherein water is combined with God’s Word, a Holy Communion where bread and wine are combined with the very Words of God.  In fact, it would be simpleton’s to think these are recipes.  For these gifts did not come easily, they came from Jesus Christ who died on the cross and rose again.  Jesus Christ gave His life so that we may have the assurance of eternal life in His Name, more than just tradition, or any great recipe, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior.” Thanks be to God. Amen.

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The Last Sunday of the Church Year - November 20, 2011

The Church Season of Trinity
The Last Sunday in the Church Year, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (November 20, 2011)

Readings:  
    Psalm 149
    Isaiah 65:17:25
    1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
    Matthew  25:1-13

+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 5th chapter of St. Paul’s 1st letter to the church in Thessalonica, especially the following verses:

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4     But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5     For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6     So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7     For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8     But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9     For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10     who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11     Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

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

“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord, my soul to keep.  If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”  While some of you may be more familiar with Luther’s morning and evening prayers as written out in the catechism, you’ve almost certainly heard this very simple prayer at some point in your life.  And of course your ending to this prayer probably varied, ours generally continued with, “God bless mommy and daddy, Elizabeth, Alicia, Alexander, and all who are around me.  Amen, Stay in bed.”  I guess we said it that way so many times it just became part of the ending.  In Luther’s evening prayer the closing is, “let you holy angel watch over me, that the evil foe will have no power over me.”(SC)  Both prayers bring the close of our day to a bright focus, that is that God will watch over us at the close of our day, which for any one of us could also be the close of our lives. 

Darkness is and always has been associated with darkness, death, and evil.  We do not like to be out in the dark walking down streets alone, it’s just not safe.  So we avoid walking alone at night in strange places if at all possible. "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" It is the element of surprise that makes us fear, we can’t see as well in the dark as we can in the light. 

And so St. Paul takes this idea of darkness and light, safe and surprise and he tells the church in Thessalonica, “let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.”(v. 6)   Not as easy as it sounds.  Jesus told His disciples to do this very thing in the Garden of Gethsemane, “[Jesus] said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And shortly thereafter as He bowed to God’s will in prayer He returned and, “He came to the disciples and found them sleeping.”(Mt. 26:38&40)

“Let us not sleep.”(v. 6) Obviously an impossible task.  For the disciples in the presence of the Son of God Jesus Christ, could not stay awake for a few moments, neither could Paul’s hearer’s and we too can’t stay awake for an endless string of hours upon hours we must sleep.  So St. Paul is talking here about our lives in the world, his admonition doesn’t mean our every day need for sleep, nor is he talking about the endless sleep of death.  But, here St. Paul speaks about “a life in sin, which is a life in darkness. Those in Christ, the light of the world, are awake and sober.”  You beloved saints of God, because of the grace and faith sealed upon you in your baptism, walk in the light of the sun, so all of you who walk in the light of the Word of God, Jesus Christ, are "children of the day.”(v. 5)

Boy wouldn’t that be a great place to end, except one or two of you are thinking, “Wait a minute, didn’t I hear you say that only sinners come to church?  Something is not adding up here.”  And you would be right and St. Paul would be right too.  For all who walk in the light of the Word of God, are indeed children of the day.  But just like the seasons and the time of the year especially now, the darkness seems to come very early, in fact earlier each day.  We slip and we fall our faith wanes like daylight as we approach December days.  We sin daily, and that is taking the Light of Christ out of our lives.  In fact, we often think of sin, in kind of a mitigating way.  We want to think that we are Christian, and holy and we have all these holy lights on lives.  Wherever we go there is always light, look at me.  But we sin by not speaking kindly of our brothers and sisters.  Oh, that’s just one light that went out, I’ve got plenty more.  We sin when we curse and swear, “Oh everybody does that, if that’s all you’ve got to talk about, I’ve plenty more lights than that.”  We sin, by holding false Gods, by being so busy we can’t spend time to read God’s Word, to attend church, to share the Word of God with others.  We think our lights slowly go out as we feel the effects of sin in our bodies which are attacked and ravaged by very real aches, pains, disease.  But, how many lights do you have?  Do you have enough lights to avoid the darkness that will envelope you when the last candle goes out?  Truthfully the answer is no, we do not and we can not by our own reason or strength fight the battle of the diminishing light.  In fact, the truth is worse than you thought, for each sin, puts all your lights out, all at once, completely, dark dark, no shadows, no sounds, no touch, no taste, no smell, utter and complete separation from the world which we want to create.  Where we have all the money, no enemies, no debt, every toy, perfect health, no crying, no pain, no anguish, no fear, no darkness.”

Repent for  St. Paul said, “While people are saying, “'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”(v. 3) These are dark words which warn of sudden, utter, and hopeless ruin and despair for those who put their hope in this world, rather than in Christ. It has been said, “Do not, while present prosperity smiles upon you, forget its certain end, lest adversity without end succeed it” (St. Bernard of Clairvaux SLSB, p 56). By human reason and strength, no one can escape God’s righteous judgment and scrutiny (Ps 139:7–10). Only those sheltered in Christ will escape God’s wrath, which will come upon all those who have broken His righteous Law.  Our candles are like a heap of wax, your ability to make light is like a box of wet matches, by our actions and inactions, we are left in despair and utter darkness with no way to make light.

But you are not left in the darkness of your own despair.  Christ Jesus, is the light of the world and He has made you belong to the day.  You have put on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of the hope of salvation in the waters of your baptism.  In the light of Christ you are as a people who walk in the light of the sun, for you walk in the light of the Word of God, Jesus Christ, and you have been made the children of the day.

Let us walk in holiness and righteousness so that we may not be ashamed when our Lord appears to judge our work. The Lord who has chosen you for salvation and died for you on the cross will be on our side on the final Day of Judgment.  Recognize that there is a Day of Judgment for us a day casting to the darkness or the eternal illumination in the presence of the Son of God. The day of the Lord may come like a thief in the night but you are children of the day.  We pray the way we are taught, God’s will be done.  We share the Good News of Jesus Christ who is the light of the world.  Are prayers are answered by Jesus Christ who brings the close of our everyday even our final day into a bright focus. That is that God will watch over us at the close of our day, which for any one of us could also be the close of our lives.  And no matter when Jesus comes, He will come for you in comfort and joy, to lay you down to sleep and He your soul will ever keep, when you die you shall then awake, for Jesus died for your eternal sake.  Amen.

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The Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity - November 13, 2011

The Church Season of Trinity
The Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (November 12, 2011)

Readings:  
    Psalm 8
    Genesis 1:1 – 2:3
    Ephesians 6:10-17
    John 4:46-54

+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,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

What does it mean to believe?  Do we need to see clouds in the sky in the form of Christ?  To see a curtain move in a still room?  Do we have to have a wonderful dream or a scary nightmare in order to believe? Today we hear that Jesus talks to a man of great standing.  Royalty in fact very well to do.  This man knew of Jesus went to him because he had heard of Him.  

This royal man’s son was sick.  We don't know what illness he may have had, but it sounds that is could have been potentially fatal.  The official appeared to be completely out of options and he went to see the local miracle worker.  And so when this man came into Jesus’ presence Jesus looked inside the man and saw that there was no real, saving faith yet, just primarily desperation.

But apparently the crowd was also indifferent because Jesus speaks to them first before He speaks to this royal man, saying, "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 then Jesus’s blessing is simple, "Go your way, your son lives."  No earth shattering decrees, no thunder, no lightning.  No bone chilling voices in the dark, no palm reading, no good luck, just the Word of God proclaiming blessings and healing upon a man’s dying son, which ultimately comforts his father too.

And so, on his way home, a walking of 20 or 30 miles, his servants met him with the happy news that his son was 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 to him that his son was going to live.  And the next sentence seems kind of odd, ". . . and he himself believed, and his whole household."

How many times have you asked God, “to just show me something, anything so I know you’re hearing me.  Please just let me know that you’re hearing my prayers.”  But our faith is weak.  We want concrete signs, actions, immediate action by God.  Why doesn’t God solve my problems right after I pray?  Truth be told, most of our conversations with God, probably go something like this.

[God] “I love damn sinners.”  [Us] “Hey God this is me, I’m a damn sinner.”  [God] “I love damn sinners.”  [Us] “Yes, God I am a damn sinner.”  [God] “My child, I forgive you all your sins.”  [Us] “You would forgive me?  Even with all I’ve done?”  [God] “My child, I forgive you all your sins.”  [Us] “That’s great! I’m forgiven, I’m forgiven.”  [God] “Your salvation is secure, share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone you meet. Forgive as I have forgiven you.  Go and sin no more.”  [Us] “I’m sorry I didn’t catch that last part, ah am I still forgiven?”

The man in the reading suddenly believed, only after having heard that his son was recovering.  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.  It seems only when God proves Himself to us, so we believe. But in a biblical context belief and trust are almost synonymous words.  So we believe God when He does what we want, but do we trust Him to do what is best for us, even if it is not what we want?

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, and do you trust?  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 man really expected that Jesus could heal his son, or if it was a test to see if Jesus could or 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 God to create signs and wonders just to convince us that He hears us is really just faithlessness.  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 He 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 that God, in Christ Jesus is 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 our own actions or inactions.  The miracle is before you, take eat, take drink, you have been made well  Lean on God and trust, believe, have faith, in Him and not trust our own wisdom, or strength or understanding.  When we live in faith 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.  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, and the conversation between us and God becomes much shorter…more like this…[Us]“God, your will be done.”  [God] “I have given you my only begotten Son, your salvation is secure, and the timing of your healing is when you hear my Holy Word, when you receive the Sacraments when you know my love for you in giving my Son for your sins, you are forgiven.”  Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
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All Saints Sunday - November 6, 2011

The Church Season of Trinity
All Saints Sunday
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (November 6, 2011)

Readings:   
    Psalm 149
    Revelation 7:2-17
    1 John 3:1-
    Matthew 5:1-12

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

The text for All Saint’s Day is as recorded in the 5th chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verses:

Matthew 5:1-12

 [Jesus] 1Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when e sat down, his disciples came to him. 2And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  4"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  5"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  6"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.  7"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.  8"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  9"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.  10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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

Saint Matthew records the Gospel, that is Good News, of Jesus Christ and His salvation for us.  Saint Matthew by inspiration of the Holy Spirit gives us the words of Jesus Christ which is the Word of Life for us.  From Jesus’ incarnation to His death and resurrection, it is all in this book.  Today we hear in the Gospel reading the beginning of Jesus’ first of five discourses or sermons.  And these words are probably some of the most heard, most remembered, and most beloved of all Christ’s sermons.  How could the man Saint Matthew but be humbled to write down Christ’s words, how could a man but be humbled to preach about Christ’s sermon to His beloved people? 

Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, Blessed are those who mourn, Blessed are the meek, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst, Blessed are the merciful, Blessed are the pure in heart, Blessed are the peacemakers, Blessed are those who are persecuted”  More often than not, these words of Jesus Christ which we know as the Beatitudes are preached as Law, meaning these are only things which we must do. Some preachers have even gone so far as to call these the “Be” “Attitudes” meaning you must “Be” all these things.  Again your ears should hear the Law in that sentence, because the word “must” will always come back to bite you, to leave you uncertain.  Because “must” is always quickly followed by, “how much”?

A few years ago, a tour group was led on a path in the small town of Eisleben, Germany, headed to a tiny church, the one where Martin Luther was baptized.  That tour group was energized, and somewhere in the midst all their conversations on the way to that church, the question arose, “I wonder if we’ll see the baptismal font where Martin Luther was baptized?”  The group was led into that small church and in the front and center was indeed a baptismal font.  Quickly everyone went to take pictures but all too soon they were disappointed to find out that that particular font was almost brand new.  But, the tour guide added, there is a font in the chapel at the rear of the church.  Again the crowd moved, 43 people squeezed into a small chapel to look and see Luther’s font.  Hope rose when it was announced that this font was indeed the right age over 530 years old.  But it too was not the font the group sought, in fact the location of the font they desired to see was unknown.  Disappointment, they would not be able to see, or to touch, or to be in the presence of Luther’s baptismal font.

Oh how misguided and misdirected the thoughts of these people.  They looked for God’s grace in a carving of stone, or of eight sided hunk of wood, or some kind of image orchestrated and etched by their imagination, looking for fonts in all the wrong places.  Each of you has had that desire to seek out some kind of font which will fulfill your dreams.  Whether it be a font of money to pay your bills, or taxes.  Or maybe a font with the power to avoid paying taxes.  Or maybe a font which will provide all the medicine you need to put away your suffering from all aches or pains.  A font which will cripple your enemy or at least cause them to stumble.  A font which will cause the pastor to preach a sermon the sermon you wish, instead of the one you need.  A font to make that pastor see himself in his own words.  A font of imagination which would be a glorious spectacle before the world and make them all people come into and join this very church.  “Hope springs eternal” the poet Alexander Pope would say, but for us, it is a hope that God would give us a font, to put all that troubles us and all who trouble us away.  But that is not a font, it is a wishing well a place in which to throw the coins of our despair, but a place which would not reveal our reflection.  But that is a false hope looking for the magic of a font made wishing well.

The words taught in the Beatitudes to the disciples are the ones they and we need to hear.  The first word of the beatitudes are, “Jesus opened His mouth and He taught them saying”(v. 2)  And the Words from His mouth did not mislead, there is no false hope here.  Jesus Christ’s words are a wellspring of salvation which point to Himself, which give you faith and bring to you to the baptismal font of eternal life.  Beatitude literally means happy, fortunate, or blissful. 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” but you would not be happy if you were poor.  Like the rich man who came to Jesus, and Jesus asked him to give away all his possessions and follow Jesus.   But the rich man bowed his head in shame and walked away.  If we must be poor, just admit it, you cannot be poor, you cannot give all you have away for Jesus. What would you do, how would you survive?  But Jesus had nowhere to lay His head (Mt 8:20) except ultimately on a cross and He did so for you for the forgiveness of all your sins.

And we could go down the list, reflecting how none of these Beatitude blessings are the way we would like to be blessed.  And in a rush to find one thing we can accomplish by our own reason or might, we might overlook the fact that the first eight of these Blessed’s are directed to they, whoever “they” might be.  But the ninth talks about you and me, and the you is us and the me is Jesus Christ.  “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”(v. 11)

Jesus no longer speaks about the impossible tasks that “they” must accomplish, no Jesus says you and me.  Jesus’ suffering effects your suffering, He suffers for you, He becomes poor, for you, He becomes all things, for you.  And because Jesus Christ has given His all, including His Body and Blood, for you, you in turn will suffer for Him and not only that you will, “ Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”(v. 12)

On this All Saints day do not be misdirected as to how you will achieve Sainthood, what you must do, what you must complete.  You need not wish for a font to fulfill your dreams, rather in your baptismal font you have received life and salvation beyond your greatest whim or wish.  For the size or shape, or historical magnitude of the font does not matter.  Rather it is the Word of God, combined in and with the water which makes it a baptism.  And that baptism makes you holy, and holy is the definition of a saint. 

 God in Jesus Christ through the revelation of Holy Spirit the scriptures reveals that we are never closer to heaven on earth and our sainted loved ones than we are in the waters of holy baptism and in the Sacrament of Holy Communion and with Christ.  For in those sacraments you have a foretaste of the bliss which the saints enjoy in heaven.  Share that joy with all whom you meet, it is not only your duty, but your obligation.  For why would you who experience a foretaste of heaven not want to share that joy?  In Baptism in Holy Communion and we are in communion with all who truly believe Christ’s Words “this is” and we sup with all the blessed saints who have gone before us.  Searching for the font to solve your every dream is futile, rather Christ has found you, and brought you to faith, and gives you life eternal, and so we receive the first sermon of Jesus Christ, which speaks of the Law and ends with the His Gospel “your reward is great in heaven.”

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
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Reformation Sunday - October 30, 2011

The Church Season of Trinity
Reformation Sunday (Observed)
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (October 30, 2011)

Readings:  
    Psalm 46
    Revelation 14:1-6
    Romans 3:19-28
    Matthew 11:12-19

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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 11th chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verses:

Matthew 11:12-19 (ESV)

[Jesus said]12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, 17 “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

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

Today we note the 494th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Our banner here in the chancel reflects Luther’s Rose.  Here is what it means as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther explained it, “Grace and peace from the Lord. As you desire to know whether my painted seal, which you sent to me, has hit the mark, I shall answer most amiably and tell you my original thoughts and reason about why my seal is a symbol of my theology. The first should be a black cross in a heart, which retains its natural color, so that I myself would be reminded that faith in the Crucified saves us. "For one who believes from the heart will be justified" (Rom. 10:10). Although it is indeed a black cross, which mortifies and which should also cause pain, it leaves the heart in its natural color. It does not corrupt nature, that is, it does not kill but keeps alive. "The just shall live by faith" (Rom. 1:17) but by faith in the crucified. Such a heart should stand in the middle of a white rose, to show that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace. In other words, it places the believer into a white, joyous rose, for this faith does not give peace and joy like the world gives (John 14:27). That is why the rose should be white and not red, for white is the color of the spirits and the angels (cf. Matt. 28:3; John 20:12). Such a rose should stand in a sky-blue field, symbolizing that such joy in spirit and faith is a beginning of the heavenly future joy, which begins already, but is grasped in hope, not yet revealed. And around this field is a golden ring, symbolizing that such blessedness in Heaven lasts forever and has no end. Such blessedness is exquisite, beyond all joy and goods, just as gold is the most valuable, most precious and best metal.  May Christ, our beloved Lord, be with your spirit until the life hereafter.”

 

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly 500 years since Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk, an ordained priest of the Roman Catholic church, challenged the powers of the known world by tacking those 95 thesis to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.  There he questioned the authority of the Holy Roman Catholic church and King Charles Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.  And to this machine of churchly and governmental authority Luther’s challenge was met with words similar to that which Christ spoke in our Gospel lesson, “He is a demon.”(v. 18)

 

When Luther was confronted by excommunication which by nature included threat of death, Luther stated, "Unless I shall be convinced by the testimonies of the Scriptures or by clear reason ... I neither can nor will make any retraction, since it is neither safe nor honorable to act against conscience."  He also famously is said to have added, "Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen."  Against all odds, Luther stood on the Word of God and not the word of men.  On this day of remembering the Reformation it is all too easy to think of Luther, and to quote Him or to insult and belittle those who opposed him.  But if he were here today, that would not be Luther’s point.  Rather Luther would point to Christ just as he did in that seal. 

 

Jesus said to the crowd gathered around Him, “12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. ”(v.12)  John the Baptist preached, prayed, and pointed to Christ.  And for this proclamation John his head became a birthday bidding gift of Herod’s niece.  Herod like the crowd either did not believe the prophecy of John or he chose to ignore it.

 

And Jesus paints the people around Him in the same light, like children who want to call the tunes and feel snubbed when their partners do not want to dance with them. But we humans are quite fickle, aren’t we?  We do not want to hear about Moses and the Ten commandments.  We don’t want to hear about the destruction of all of God’s people who failed to listen to the prophets.  We do not want to hear John the Baptist say to us, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”(Mt. 3:2)  That’s Law and it’s all to stern, isn’t it?  Can’t we just have the Word of God and the Gospel the way we want to hear it, without so much pain, suffering, and violence?

Well, truthfully, if that is what we proclaimed, all Gospel and no Law, then we would be changing God’s Word in scripture to meet our needs, and we see that happen throughout scripture.  From Adam and Eve, to the church in Luther’ time, man has been quite consistent in turning from the whole of God’s Word and wanting only to hear the portions we want to hear.  And quite frankly the first desires in Garden did bring about suffering and the violence of death.  In this world we know of violence we suffer from it for we live in a fallen world and we feel the results which are pain, suffering, and ultimately we too shall one day die. 

But lest we be depressed, by all that we face, hear again what Christ said, “The kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.”(v. 12)  Jesus Christ suffered the ultimate violence for us as He died on the cross.  His suffering and death overcomes our all our pain, all our suffering, all hate and angst that we face in this world. 

 Today we celebrate the Reformation not out of party spirit nor because we hate Catholicism or because we enjoy bashing the pope.  We celebrate the Reformation in a spirit of grateful humility that God still allows His good news of forgiveness to be preached to us, and we ask that He would preserve His Church on earth for the sake of Christ, so that many more might hear the pure doctrine that God forgives sinners all by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and all that is a free gift, no strings attached.

So today, in remembering the Reformation we are reminded that we do not find salvation in the promises or works of men, traditions, or feelings.  We do not find the promise of salvation in the scribbled words written on a piece of paper tacked to a church door by a man named Martin Luther. We honor Luther for standing up against incredible forces and we stand here today to confess that our salvation is revealed in Jesus Christ nailed to a cross.  Salvation is promised by Christ, and confirmed in your Baptism, there you died to sin and now live to Christ.  Today in the Holy Sacrament of our Lord, Jesus Christ pours Himself out for you in His body and blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.  Jesus Christ is the eternal Word of God to whom all Holy Scripture points.  Today, we fondly recall the beauty and details of Luther’s seal placed on a banner and the memory of that door to the Castle Church in Wittenberg.  But even greater still, for all eternity we will recall the Gospel Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.  For Jesus Christ is for you the seal of your salvation and He alone is for you the one and only door to eternal life.  Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
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The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity - October 23, 2011

Church Season of Trinity
The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (October 23, 2011)

Readings:   
    Psalm 34:8-22
    Deuteronomy 10:12-21
    1 Corinthians 1:1-9
    Luke 7:11-17

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

The text for today’s message as recorded in the Epistle Lesson from the 1st chapter of 1st Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The thought is inescapable, if you read the Scriptures. You have to want to miss it to miss it.  Strangely, though, many people who claim to be Christians and claim to believe the Bible miss it, or ignore it.  It is one of the most comforting thoughts that the Bible teaches, and yet it is, to be quite frank, somewhat unsettling for many people. 

What is it?  By “it”, I mean to say that our faith and our lives in Christ are the work of God and not our work.  We receive them as gifts of the grace of God.  We often feel as though we are doing something, that we make choices and we make it happen, but it is the consistent witness of Scripture that our participation in Christ - in faith, in being a member of the Church, of continuing in faith - is the gift of God.

We do make choices all by ourselves.  That is the unfortunate part.  We make choices like missing worship because we think we have something more urgent to attend to.  We choose to doubt God's good will - that it is good, or that it is right.  We choose to listen to the voices of society - or family - around us and place emotion before doctrine, our sense of things before what God's Word tells us, and how things look to us before what the truth is from God.  We choose to try to justify ourselves for our sins rather than repent of them, and confess them, and allow Christ to justify us.  Yes, we do make choices, but when we do so under our own wisdom and power, we are invariably making sinful choices.  The good stuff is God at work in us, and faith is his gift.

That is why St. Paul begins this short piece of 1 Corinthians with thanksgiving.  I thank my God always concerning you.  He knows that its God's work all the way.  They are who they are because of God.  They believe because of God.  They not only are what they realize they are, but Paul wants them to know more, that there is so much more to it than it seems at first blush.  But His teaching begins with the thanksgiving.

He thanks God for the grace of God which has been poured out on them.  Since it is grace, it obviously cannot be anything but a gift.  That is so because grace is that undeserved favor of God.  It is seen first and foremost in the forgiveness of sins.  That is not the specific grace that Paul is focused on, here, but whenever we approach the idea of the grace of God it is good to remember that Grace starts with forgiveness.

Paul is thankful for the grace of God given to us in connection with Jesus Christ.  That is, of course where all grace is connected.  In our text, Paul is talking about how, by the grace of God, we have been enriched in Christ.  The specific riches of which he is writing about are in speech and knowledge.  What the grace of God has enriched us in is everything concerning Christ and salvation - not necessarily absolutely everything.  God has taught us about Christ, and taught us how to speak about Christ.  Worship and the confession of our faith is a good example.  The best worship is when we say back to God what He has said to us first.  That is why so much of our worship is drawn directly from the Bible.  We con-fess, we speak with God, and say what He has said first.

Paul talks about how the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in the Corinthians.  That confirmation is their faith.  That they believe is confirmation of the Gospel Paul preaches.  The Corinthians also seemed to have had a number of the more remarkable gifts of the Spirit as a validation of the Gospel message they had heard.  Paul directly addresses the issue of the gifts of the Spirit in later chapters of this letter, and he appears to bringing the topic up right here at the beginning of the letter.  But he is not speaking about the Corinthians having special gifts that no one else has, or that some churches lack.  Their faith, and the church among them, is the confirmation of the testimony of the Gospel concerning Christ among them - as it is for us. 

The testimony of God’s Holy Word concerning Christ is that He had died on your behalf, suffered for your sins, and has risen from the dead bringing forgiveness and life and salvation to you.  The only confirmation of that good news is the Holy Spirit at work in you, creating and sustaining your faith.  The congregation gathered around you is the confirmation of the testimony of Christ.  Nothing else would actually work.  Think about it.  The children of Israel saw the great plagues that struck Egypt, they had the pillar of cloud and fire, they heard the voice of God at Mt. Sinai, and received the gift Manna six out of every seven days for forty years, and yet they wandered.  They committed idolatry.  They refused to believe the Word of God about the promised land.  Signs and wonders can only do so much.  Even being a witness to the resurrection of Christ, as the Jews of Jerusalem were, did not make the difference for them.  For confirmation of the Word of God concerning Christ, only faith, and the church He has assembled for over two thousand years, can serve.

Paul then asserts that the Corinthians were not lacking in any gift.  That didn't mean that they had everything they could imagine.  They didn't.  They had everything they needed.  Every gift that the church needed to be the people of God and to do the things God had planned for them to do was already given to them.  They were not lacking in any gift needed to await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Likewise, we do not lack any gift needed for us to accomplish what the Lord would have us to do while we also await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.  That revelation, of which Paul writes, is what we call 'the return of Christ to sum up the ages', and to judge the quick and the dead, and to bring us all home to eternal glory with Him.  We await that revelation eagerly, as Paul says.  We want no more sin, or sorrow, or sickness and death.  We look forward to that final step in our salvation which brings us to the fullness of the promises of God.  The troubles of this life are wearying, they wear us down, they cause our minds to be distracted and we become dismayed.  We get to the point where we eagerly await that day when they are ended.

Paul also promises here, by the Word of God, that our Lord will confirm us to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  While we await His return, we have the promise of the Lord to continue to keep us in forgiveness, so that when He comes, we are found to be fit for heaven, righteous with His righteousness, and blameless in day of judgment. 

Every step of our lives our pilgrimage through life as the children of God is the work of God.  He has seen our need for rescue from sin, and worked out or salvation.  The story is older than any of us here, but the wonder of it is still the same, God conceived the plan to be both the just Judge, and the one who justified the sinner through Jesus Christ.  The soul that sins is justly condemned by divine justice, and yet, it is redeemed and forgiven and given eternal life of the righteous by the same divine justice - and the plan and the work of putting that plan into action is God's work all the way.  Now He brings that good news to us, and proclaims it to those who are powerless to respond, and so God creates the response, and gives us faith by His own power and work, forgiving us and cleansing us, and strengthening us through both Word and Sacrament, and holds us in faith, as well.  He works in us and works every good thing we do through us by His power, and rewards us as though it were our work, when, in fact, we would be utterly undone if He were not sustaining us minute by minute.  It is no wonder Paul began this passage with thanksgiving, and ends it with the confession that God is faithful.

God is faithful because He has called us into fellowship with His Son, and He sustains us in it.  It is that very faithfulness of God that we depend upon for both our physical life and blessings, and our spiritual life and well-being.  Paul writes about all of this both to give the Corinthian church a reason for thanksgiving, and to comfort them in the midst of whatever they will have to endure, for God is faithful.  They do not need to worry about the future or the challenges that it may bring.  They can and will succeed and hold fast to the faith - and we too  can and will hold fast to the faith and succeed in all that God has planned for us to accomplish - because it is God's work all the way.  Amen

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The Seventeeth Sunday after Trinity - October 16, 2011

The Church Season of Trinity
The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (October 16, 2011)

Readings:   
    Psalm 2
    Proverbs 25:6-14
    Ephesians 4:1-6
    Luke 14:1-11

+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 14th chapter of St. Luke, especially the following verse:

Luke 14:1-11 (NIV)

1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. 5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they had nothing to say. 7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

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

Jesus joins a gathering as a guest and it is He who is being carefully watched by the host who is a Pharisee, and other guests the experts in the Law all waiting to see if they could catch Jesus being ill-mannered regarding the Law of the Sabbath.  In front of Jesus was man who was very ill, “suffering from dropsy.”(v. 2) today called congestive heart failure.  The sick man had a sick heart.  The Pharisees and Lawyers had sick hearts too, today we would probably call their condition, religious hypocrites.  Meaning the Pharisees appeared outwardly very religious, but in truth they were just as sick in their hearts as the man with dropsy.

 

And seeing the sick man Jesus asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not”  Jesus anticipated the response, knowing it was unlawful to do much of anything on the Sabbath, unless of course they had checked in with the proper authorities to make sure that they were using the most precise technicality to skirt the rules and law.  So in anticipation of their tricks and questions regarding His healing on the Sabbath, Jesus asked, “If one of you has a son or a donkey or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?”(v.5)  

 

But the Pharisees and Lawyers could care less whether their son, or anybody else made it out of the well, rather they were too busy trying to take care of their own self image.  In those times you didn’t get to be called a prominent Pharisee without a little bit of hard work and a lot of chest pounding.  But, whether at that point they realized it or not, in two swift sentences Jesus had humbled them.  Because He had directly challenged these high and mighty technocrats of the world.  Because by the healing on the Sabbath He had brought them low, cut them down to size. Jesus lifted up the skirt of the Pharisees robes of prominence and exposed their arrogance.  They didn’t want work to occur on the Sabbath because it broke their laws, even if it meant helping others. 

 

So many times we look at these lessons and we want to see how our world fits into them.  What about me, how does this little bit of Bible reading help me to be better to do better?  And when we spend our time thinking about us and we we miss the whole point of the Gospel.  This is the Good News about JESUS FOR us.  So again, “If one of you has a son or a donkey or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?”(v.5)   The truth is not a single one of them, not a single one of us would hesitate to do whatever we had to do, what we had to get done no matter what day it was.  Pulling a relative out of a hole is probably the last excuse we would use for missing worship or missing an opportunity to be holy than though on the day we should be gathered with God’s people to return worship for our Lord.  Just ask anyone and out will come a long list of excuses of why they couldn’t make it to worship, even though there are so many opportunities to come to return thanks for God’s gifts.

Now if you think THAT is the point of this Gospel lesson you have been again misled.  That pointing out of our avoidance of reading God’s Word, studying God’s Word, missing the proclamation of God’s Word, is NOT the POINT!  That is only pointing out the law.  Now let me point out the Gospel, for there are two words we use in this sentence which could translate differently, and that is the word pit for well and raise up for fall into.  The Gospel is not about you, it is about Jesus For YOU.  Only God would send His Son Jesus to descend into the pit of hell for the remission of our sins, and only God would raise His Son up so that we would be forgiven.  This scripture is not about what we should do, but rather what God in Christ Jesus has done for us. The Pharisees would have saved their donkey, but in truth it was God who not only saved their …donkey… He did more than that He saved the entire world from eternal death.

 

The Pharisees were so focused on rules and laws and pointing to their own accomplishments that they could exhibit no true humility.  They were so busy watching others break the rules, finding fault with others actions, condemning others lives, pointing, cajoling, and grumbling, that they could not see that in their actions they had already broken the laws they sought to keep.  Their outward words and action really only reflected a cynical hypocrisy punctuated by the exclamation mark of sarcasm.  Yet sadly if those Pharisees of old were able, they would point right back at us because we join them each and every day, by all that we have done and all that we have left undone, we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves, and so we are called to repent.

For there is only one who exhibits true humility, and it is He who came from heaven and “being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross!”(Php 2:8)  And through the cross of Christ, ‘God who knows our sin and pride’(Prvbs 3:34) yet He, still freely gives us His grace. You who “humble yourself before the Lord, He lifts you up.”  In fact He has already lifted you up, for in the waters of your baptism all your pain, your worry, and your sins were set aside, you have been “raised from the dead so that you may live a new life.”(Rom. 6:4)  And today you have received from Jesus Christ the forgiveness of sins, which renews, refreshes, and strengthens your faith.

In pride the Pharisees would have indeed pulled their oxen or donkey from a well even if it meant breaking their rules of the Sabbath.  But God sends to you the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus Christ and through His humbleness we who are weak of heart stand in His presence.  For Jesus Christ frees us from the depths of our sin.  Jesus lifts us from a world of despair and in so doing we land on our knees, and He blesses us with His forgiveness, and with His infinite humility.  Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
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The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity - October 9, 2011

The Church Season of Trinity
The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (October 9, 2011)

Readings:   
    Psalm 30
    1 Kings 17:17-24
    Ephesians 3:13-21
    Luke 7:11-17

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

The text for today’s message as recorded in the Epistle Reading from the 3rd chapter of Ephesians:

Ephesians 3:13-21

13So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. 14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul shows his great concern for the saints that they should remain steadfast in the Gospel despite any trouble, despite any challenges they would face. In the case of the Ephesians, the temptation was to see the suffering that Paul endured, and to take offense at it, meaning the Way of the Christian was too hard.  Paul was imprisoned at Rome by order of the Emperor.  Surely some people said that if Paul were a true apostle, then Christ would not allow these calamities to fall on him, to be delivered into the hands of wicked men and at peril for his life.

Why doesn’t God just let him go?  How easy it is to fall into this kind of thinking!  Yet this thinking is not what Scripture teaches, but it is the lesson which we want to be taught.  We should know better.  After all, the very best man of all, the pure and gentle Lamb of God, was delivered to torture and death more vile than any other.  God does not work the way our reason wants to manipulate things.  He does not always outwardly and openly punish the wicked and reward the righteous.  In fact, the opposite often appears to be true.  The righteous suffer, and the wicked prosper.  This seems wrong to us, but it is the pattern of Christ, and the pattern of the Cross.

It is especially tempting when a pastor suffers to lay the blame on him.  "If he was a good man, this would not happen to him," they may say.  In this way, many people take offense. But Paul says, "Do not faint with weakness over my sufferings.  Do not be tempted to reject my teachings on account of what befalls me.  Whatever happens, whether good or evil, hold tightly to the Word of the Gospel."

This warning is necessary because satan and the wicked world desire to attack your faith.  They will do all they can to make the true religion look as shameful and undesirable as possible.  If you trust your eyes and your feelings, you will surely be driven away from Christ by the great terrors that are inflicted upon the Church. May the Holy Spirit give you courage to withstand every such attack, and faithfulness to hold to His Word, whatever else may come.

If you put your confidence in God, not in men, then it will not be as difficult.  You are not here to follow me.  I am poor, weak, and frail.  But the Word is the voice of God that you must follow no matter what happens to me.  The Word will not fail, but must always stand strong and true.

And a good lesson is to distinguish between the person of a preacher and the Word that he preaches. God is content to rule in this world, not in a visible way, with human wisdom or power, but through weakness.  At times, He seems to allow His Church to be utterly overthrown.  But we must see and confess the hidden reality, that He who established the Church will surely preserve it, no matter what your eyes may tell you.

Heed St. Paul's warning to the Ephesians.  Be encouraged by the promises of the Gospel, and hold fast to them, no matter what.

When people suffer in this Gospel ministry, it should not drive us away, but it is actually for our advantage and glory.  For God sees when you hold steadfastly to His Gospel, even in the face of great tribulation.  By His Spirit, these troubles work for the strengthening of your faith.  If your faith stumbled and fell at the least offense, then it would be no faith at all.  But God desires to forge and reinforce you, as Paul describes, in knowledge and love and power and faith.  Therefore, hold fast and do not flee from this Gospel.

More than that, in these trial filled and wicked last days, we are receiving a crown of glory in exchange for the tribulations that our faith must endure.  So, shall we cast away the promise of Christ’s glory because our eyes and ears are offended?  Shall we wander from God's truth simply because our heart does not like how His Gospel is treated?  What sense is there in that?

When it seems as if the pews are empty and the offerings are small, do not be discouraged.  Instead, remember that God has, in spite of ourselves, kept us in the true faith, in spite of our sinful flesh that wrestles against faith all the day long.  Do not worry, but give thanks to God.  We count the sufferings of this life as an honor, since we are carrying our crosses in the image of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But in the face of what our eyes perceive, let us continue to pray all the more fervently that the Lord would strengthen and defend our faith in trying times.  We are weak, but He is strong.  Let us never cease praying for one another.  God our Father, after all, is generous and loving to give us many blessings.  Every earthly father is only a pale shadow compared to the divine, gracious Fatherhood of God.  So we must not falter in prayer, but continue to believe that He listens and delights to give what we need, whatever our eyes tell us.

And the blessings God gives He pours out through the blessings of His Son and Spirit.  St. Paul calls these blessings "the riches of His glory".  For the Cross and Blood of Christ have purchased for you a greater honor and glory than any other.  God, in Christ Jesus wraps you and covers you with a robe of holiness and beauty which is without limit.  He has made you kings over the earth because you are the true sons of God. 

Jesus Christ gives you all this through the power and knowledge of His Holy Word.  The knowledge and wisdom of God has been revealed in His Son, crucified for us sinful beings.  This Gospel knowledge is not empty, useless information.  Instead, it is full of power to give you the benefits of what it says.  The Word has poured out upon you the strength of God to raise you out of the death of sin and give you the sure and certain promise of resurrection of the body to everlasting glory.

But all this power of God is not from our actions, the machinations of our minds, the nor the latest strategies of church growth and development.  If we believe in these then we are still weak and sinful.  We stumble often.  When you look upon these things in ourselves and others, you may be tempted to take offense, how can God do it better than us? Indeed, many will take offense, and there is no stopping it.  Yet the power of God is still with us in His Gospel.  As He keeps us steadfast in this Word by His Spirit, we will be filled with the power of God for salvation and life. 

Yet, even as we are sinful, we also abound in love as the Holy Spirit works in us.  There will be acts of love - for neighbor and brother and stranger alike.  We may not even notice the works of love that you or another Christian do.  Sometimes you must accept with faith alone that such fruits of faith exist.  If you notice such fruits in others, give thanks to God.  If you notice them in yourself, say, "I am only an unworthy slave," and confess your sins all the more.  For you have glory enough in Christ without seeking glory for your deeds.  Let Him glorify you in His time.

This glory of Christ for you is a great thing.  It is higher and wider and deeper than any of us can ever measure.  It passes all human knowledge and understanding. If you remain steadfast in this Word, He will open your eyes more and more by His Spirit.  He will show you the riches of His grace and strengthen you to persevere in times of trouble, so that you are not offended by what your eyes see. St. Paul wrote, “May [you] be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.”  Faith in our own actions to grow the church leads us to believe that we are god, God’s faith which gives us freely is much more abundant than that, for He leads us to the truth belief in Him alone and that leads us to the promise of eternal life. Amen.

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The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity - LWML Sunday - October 2, 2011

The Church Season of Trinity
The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
LWML Sunday
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (October 2, 2011)

Readings:   
    Psalm 146
    1 Kings 17:8-16
    Galatians 5:25 – 6:10
    Matthew 6:24 - 34

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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 the 6th chapter of Matthew, especially the following verses:

Matthew 6:24-34 (NIV)

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

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

In June, at the Lutheran Women's Missionary League convention held in Peoria, Dr. Ken Klaus, Lutheran Hour Speaker Emeritus, spoke to the assembly.  The theme was "Being with Jesus - Living on the edge" and pastor Klaus shared his first impression of the theme with these words: "When I first heard the theme, Being with Jesus - Living on the edge, for a second I imagined the LWML President bungee jumping off a mile-high bridge."

I have to confess that I myself had second thoughts about that theme - especially the "living on the edge," part.  When I first heard that phrase my immediate thoughts were of an old publicity slogan, "there is no such thing as negative attention."  I thought of all the celebrities who were constantly making headlines because they were constantly finding creatively stupid ways to be offensive.  They often say such people are living on the edge.  It seems as if such people are addicted to testing the limits of offense and shame.  I have to admit that the first thought that occurred to me was "living on the edge" meant seeing how offensive you could be without getting caught.

But you know when you think about it the story of the gospel has always been offensive.  Listen to this account from the life of Jesus: [Matthew 13:54-57] Coming to his hometown [Jesus] taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" 57 And they took offense at him.  It suddenly occurred to me that Jesus was living on the edge from the very beginning of His public ministry.  People took offense at Him.

The prophets of old knew that people would take offense at Jesus.  The Holy Spirit inspired Isaiah to write, [Isaiah 8:14-15] "[The LORD of hosts] will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken."  Through the prophet Isaiah, the Holy Spirit told Israel that their future Messiah would be a stone of offense.  He would live on the edge.

    All too often we forget that Jesus lived on the edge.  People constantly took offense at Him.  But then wouldn't you be offended if someone said you were a hypocrite; a blind fool; a blind guide; a tomb full of dead bones; a serpent; a viper; sentenced to hell; and a prophet killer? (Matthew 23) If you don't like offensive preaching, then you certainly don't want Jesus to be your preacher.  He lives on the edge.

Living on the edge with Jesus means understanding that we are actually being defensive when we find Christ offensive.  It means understanding that we are the ones who have offended God.  It means understanding that we deserve punishment both in time and in eternity.  It means understanding that our offense at Jesus is a dangerous arrogance.

Living on the edge with Jesus means understanding that [Luke 19:10] the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.  Until we understand that we are lost, we will take offense at Jesus.  We begin to understand that we are lost when the Holy Spirit works faith in us.  When the Holy Spirit works faith in us, we stop taking offense at Jesus and start confessing our offense against Jesus.  When the Holy Spirit moves us to repent of our lost condition, we are living on the edge with Jesus.

We can learn what it means to live on the edge with Jesus as we examine three special days in the life of four special women.  These women are Mary, the mother of James and Joses; Joanna, wife of Chusa, the steward of Herod; Mary Magdalene whom Jesus freed from seven devils; and Salome, the mother of James and John.

These women had lived on the edge as they stood at the foot of the cross.  Most of the people Jesus had healed were not at the cross.  Most of the apostles were missing as well.  Never the less, these four women were there.

They would keep Jesus' mother company. They would stay and hear what Jesus had to say. Others might pass by mocking and maligning Him, but they would stand fast.  They gave their widow's mite of faithfulness and loyalty. Surrounded by hatred, they showed love.

Keeping watch the women would have noted the moment of Jesus' death. As long as He lived His body would have writhed, would have gasped for air, would have struggled, strained. But when death came, His body would have grown still and silent. When one of the Roman guards thrust a spear into His heart, it was an unnecessary anticlimax.

Courageously they watched as His corpse was taken down from the cross; bravely they watched to see where He was buried; sadly they noted the preparation of His body was richly, but incompletely done. That was when they pledged: "After the Sabbath we will return and finish the burial properly."

At Sundown on Saturday, when the Sabbath was over, they gathered the spices necessary to finish Jesus' burial and, on Sunday morning, they set out toward His tomb. There they intended to offer their final respects to someone whom they had loved.

As they approached the tomb they were astonished to find Jesus' grave was open. Surprised, shocked, stunned?  Their minds must have had thousands of thoughts as they tried to cope with the fact that the body of their friend and master was gone.  The one thought that did not occur to them was the Jesus might have risen from the dead.  That was because the simple, unassailable truth is this: people who are dead for three days don't come back to life. Dead is dead. You know it; I know it; these women knew it.

Fearing the worst, the women gathered their courage and respectfully, slowly, tentatively entered Jesus' grave. The Gospel of Mark says what happened next. It tells us, "They saw a young man sitting on the right side of the walk-in tomb. He was dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed." I can understand why. Mark continues, "And he said to them, 'Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen.' " Christ has risen! For the women it meant their Friend, their Rabbi, their Master, their Teacher, was also their Savior.

A living Lord appeared to them and entrusted these women with a mission: tell the disciples Christ is risen. (He is risen, indeed!) That truth meant they would always be living with Jesus. It meant they would always live on the edge.

Today, 2,000 years later their mission is yours — their message is yours. The Savior lives and that means you who live with Him will also live on the edge.  You live on the edge because the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ still cause offense.

I say that because you, dear friends in Christ, live in a land where the U.S. Supreme Court begins every session with the words: "God save the United States and this Honorable Court!" But Erica Corder, a valedictorian in Monument, Colorado, can't speak about Jesus. Indeed, Erica was told she wouldn't get her diploma until she apologized for having said: "If you don't already know (Jesus Christ) personally I encourage you to find out more about the sacrifice He made."  The generic God mentioned on our money is OK with our culture, but the sacrifice of Christ that earned our salvation offends our culture.

You live in an age where living with Jesus means you live on the edge. Take a look at the media. If you do, it won't take too long before you realize almost every pastor or priest shown on the screen is a platitude-spouting prude or a pathetic pervert; most Christian parents are portrayed as undeniably dense and church people are intolerant, ignorant idiots. On the news the scandals of Christians are publicly paraded, repeatedly rehashed, criticized, and condemned.

You have what the world needs.  It is time to stand up and proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins to the world.  It is time to confess that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. This salvation may offend the world, but it brings comfort to those who mourn at the graveside of a loved one.  This salvation may offend the world, but it promises us that Jesus will carry us through the hard times in this life.  This salvation may offend the world, but it guarantees eternal life to all who believe in it.

It is time to ask the world, "What do you have to offer which is better than Jesus? What can provide a better foundation than the Christ?" We are God's witnesses telling any and all who would listen, the wonderful blood-bought truth which saves.  Amen.

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