"Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations." - 1 Samuel 8:4-5.
This, I think, is maybe the most descriptive depictions of the common temptations that we as Christians can face. Here we are in God's Church (or nation, if you are Old Testament) and we look up, and man, do we see problems. Everyone's getting old - the kids aren't showing up like they should. What shall we do?
The elders of Israel made a demand of Samuel - give us a king. . . just like everyone else. This is the temptation of human nature - to run with the crowd. When we are off on our own, apart from the rest of the people, and things look rough, our first instinct is to jump back in the crowd.
And so, even today, the temptation for the Church is to do what everyone else in the world is doing. Church ought to look, sound, and feel just like the rest of the world - or so many clamor. And yet, in doing this we forget one simple thing.
It is not our church; it is God's. It is not grown by our effort or wisdom; it is grown by the Word of God. It does not stand upon our abilities to fit in; it stands upon Christ.
When things go bad, we want to duck our head and fit in. This is sad - for we should seek to be faithful.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Sudden Bravery of Oklahoma
It is snowing out -- we are supposed to get snow, then rain/snow mix in the morning, and then turning to more snow in the afternoon - 2-4 inches (more, if the cold gets here quickly) plus a bunch of wind. It is a pretty snow now. . . but here's the thing.
There's only three school delays. People are just buzzing around.
Boy, you have snow on the ground for 10 days, and then some little flurries don't seem like much.
There's a parable in there somewhere, but I've got a sermon to write.
+ + + + + Addendum + + + + +
The point of the story is don't worry about snow if it ain't on the ground. Day heated up to 35 - all that snow melted, and we got nothing.
There's only three school delays. People are just buzzing around.
Boy, you have snow on the ground for 10 days, and then some little flurries don't seem like much.
There's a parable in there somewhere, but I've got a sermon to write.
+ + + + + Addendum + + + + +
The point of the story is don't worry about snow if it ain't on the ground. Day heated up to 35 - all that snow melted, and we got nothing.
Sexagesima Sermon
(Sorry, forgot to post this yesterday. . .)
Sexagesima – Luke 8:4-15 – February 7th, 2010
In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
We are now in the season of Pre-Lent, the Gesima Sundays – Sundays that begin to focus us, prepare us for the season of intense repentance that is Lent. The Gospel lessons of these three weeks remind us of important truths about the Christian faith that we need to bear in mind as we ponder our Lord’s struggles against Satan and Sin and Death on our behalf. Last week, with the parable of the workers in the vineyard, we were reminded that we are saved by Grace alone. It is only because our good and gracious God generously calls us to His Kingdom that we have salvation. Today, we are taught another truth – that this power of salvation, that this calling out to us by God is done, is accomplished through His Word alone. This is the point of the parable of the Sower – and we are reminded again today what a precious gift God’s Word is and its proclamation, and the ways in which the world, Satan, and our sinful nature will attempt to make us despise and forego this gift.
We are familiar with the parable. A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled down underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold. Now, let us consider the actions of this sower. They seem foolhardy at best. Now, I’m not a farmer, but I’ve done enough gardening at least to know that one doesn’t generally cast seed onto the path. If I want to grow green beans this summer I’m not going to throw seeds on my driveway – or if I want to try and grow some sweet corn I’m not going to just throw seed out back there in the brush. And yet, what does this sower do? Seed flung everywhere. Just casting it out wildly, not caring where it goes – just cover the ground with seed, and we will see what grows. This would have been strange to hear even in Jesus day – the thought would be, “What sower sows upon the path? Or into the rocks?” Seed is to valuable for that – why waste seed in a place where you know it isn’t going to grow?
But our Lord explains this parable, explains the actions of the sower very simply. He says, Now, the parable is this: The Seed is the Word of God. And now we begin to see and understand. The way in which God handles His Word is beyond what we would expect. When something is precious, our instinct is to horde it, to be very careful and cunning before we put it to use. That’s not what our generous God does – He simply scatters the Word all over the place – even to places, even to people we wouldn’t expect. There is no place where God hesitates to have His Word proclaimed, to have His Word preached. Let this be a lesson to us. There are times when we are. . . hesitant. . . concerning God’s Word. We can see someone, someone hurtful, someone foolish, someone mean – and we can basically write them off – assume that they are beyond all hope. God would have His Word scattered even unto them. We do not need to try to judge the hearts of men before we proclaim Christ’s Word – we do not need to sit and try and decide who is worthy to hear. Rather this – God’s Word is to be cast everywhere and to everyone. There is not a person who shouldn’t hear the Word – it is for everyone. And if a person rejects, ignores, spurns it – so what? For you see, God’s Word is limitless. If I am planting crops, I can run out of seed. We will never, though, run out of the Word of God – He has placed His Word upon our minds and upon our hearts and upon our lips – and it doesn’t run out – so we can be confident and bold and free in proclaiming the Word. And why? Because the only way that people will be saved, the only way that you yourself have received salvation is because someone else brought God’s Word of life and salvation unto you. This is the utter power and wonder of God’s Word – His Word of life and forgiveness that is to be proclaimed everywhere.
Our Lord goes on to explain the rest of the parable. The ones along the path are those who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the Word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Now here is what we are going to do this morning. We aren’t going to try to figure out if someone we know is a “path” sort of person. I can’t see the hearts of men and neither can you, so any such thoughts and speculations along those lines would simply be arrogant and in vain. But rather this – what do we learn from this example? We see one of the ways in which Satan attacks people who have heard the Word. He takes it away from their hearts – or in other words, Satan tries to build up a distance between you and God’s Word – Satan tries to keep God’s Word as far away from your heart as possible. This is how Satan attacks you. When we talk about our heart, the things we hold in our heart, we talk about the things that are important and dear to us, things that we treasure. Satan will try to make you think the Word is worthless – to make you think that time spent in the Word, hearing it preached, receiving it in the Supper, studying it, that all this is worthless, he’ll try to make it seem distasteful. There are times we don’t always like what the Word of God says. The Word says, “You are a sinner and you deserve to die.” We don’t like hearing that – and so Satan slithers in, just like he did in the beginning, and he says, “Eh, you aren’t that bad, and you sure won’t die – just go ignore what God has said and do what you will.” Same old trick from Satan. So my friends in Christ, I encourage you – consider your own life and the ways in which Satan is tempting you to despise God’s Word. I can’t tell you specifically how he attacks you this way – but this is what the Devil does – be wary of it.
In addition to just general disdain for the Word, we hear another way in which Christians are attacked. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the Word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in a time of testing fall away. The key phrase there is “time of testing.” Life in this sinful world is hard – and often, being a Christian makes it harder. Consider the Christians in Muslim controlled parts of the World – consider the Christians in Indonesia who have their churches bombed, or in parts of Northern India or Pakistan, or in Nigeria where Christians are in danger of being killed. Being a Christian makes their life in this world harder – but this should be no surprise. Christianity is not merely a balm for this life, it isn’t some worldly insurance plan, but rather it is a faith that confesses that this world is evil and full of sin and that God sent His Son to the Cross to suffer and die that we might have eternal life enduring well past this world’s end. But this is not the only testing that Christians might face. I don’t think any of us here are going to have to worry about being killed for our faith in the immediate future, but what of your own testing? Scripture calls you to love your neighbor? Do you – even when that neighbor is a nice collection of choice swear words? Scripture calls you to be bold in your faith. Are you, even when your friends, when people you like and respect mock your faith, brush it aside, treat it as unimportant? Consider the ways in which being a Christian, trying to live as a Christian, makes your life in this world difficult. And again, this will impact each of us differently – but consider this – and know that Satan will try to use that discomfort, that awkwardness as a wedge to drive you away from God, to dry up your faith and make you brittle, make you broken and fit only for the fire. Be on guard against his wiles this way.
However, Satan doesn’t merely use a stick to try and beat the faith out of us. Sometimes he uses a carrot as well. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. So now the question becomes, how busy are you? Are you too busy for God? Whether you are running around with problems, or running around with good things and riches and pleasures – Satan will try to use them as a wedge between you and God’s Word. And in many ways, I think this may be the one we get the most of here in America. We are a busy nation, always on the go-go-go. We are always out to make more money, get better stuff, keep up with the Jones, be “successful” – so on and so forth. And what Satan will do is he will play up this attitude. Why come to Church when there’s something more profitable to do – work waiting to be done? Or why come to Church when there is great fun to be had Saturday night? Or why not just rest and relax and enjoy all the fruits of your labor? And then of course, time for the Word during the week is right out! So again, let me ask the question – what are the ways in which Satan attacks you along these lines? How does he try to weasel you away from God in this way? Be on guard for it, and know if for what it is when it happens.
Now, there is one more thing in this parable, something which stands out over and above these wiles of Satan. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. This is what God desires for you, and this is what God accomplishes and brings about in You by the power of His Word. The only reason any fruit is born, any crop grows, is because of the seed planted in the ground. Likewise, consider our Lord, and how often He gives you His Word over and over again. Have you been a bit hard hearted – have you been a bit rocky or thorny? Our Lord doesn’t write you off, but rather instead His Word is cast, is proclaimed to you, is given to you, so that you might grow, that you might learn to hold fast to the Word ever more and more, that you might find joy in living out your faith. This is why our Lord gives His Word to you in so many fashions. His Word is given to you in Scripture, His Word is washed into you by Baptism, His Word is proclaimed to you, His Word is spoken to you in the Words of Absolution, His Word takes root in bread and wine and thereby His gives you His own Body and Blood in His Supper – and all of these many ways are so that you might always hear the Word, be in the Word, that you might grasp it and hold fast to it and bear fruit in love. For know this, dear friends in Christ. Our Lord knows the wiles of Satan, He knows what the old serpent is up to – and our Lord attacks Him now in your life through His Word, just as assuredly as He attacked Satan when Christ Himself went to the Cross to win us life and salvation. And thus, we have life in His name. Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy Word. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the world +
Sexagesima – Luke 8:4-15 – February 7th, 2010
In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
We are now in the season of Pre-Lent, the Gesima Sundays – Sundays that begin to focus us, prepare us for the season of intense repentance that is Lent. The Gospel lessons of these three weeks remind us of important truths about the Christian faith that we need to bear in mind as we ponder our Lord’s struggles against Satan and Sin and Death on our behalf. Last week, with the parable of the workers in the vineyard, we were reminded that we are saved by Grace alone. It is only because our good and gracious God generously calls us to His Kingdom that we have salvation. Today, we are taught another truth – that this power of salvation, that this calling out to us by God is done, is accomplished through His Word alone. This is the point of the parable of the Sower – and we are reminded again today what a precious gift God’s Word is and its proclamation, and the ways in which the world, Satan, and our sinful nature will attempt to make us despise and forego this gift.
We are familiar with the parable. A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled down underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold. Now, let us consider the actions of this sower. They seem foolhardy at best. Now, I’m not a farmer, but I’ve done enough gardening at least to know that one doesn’t generally cast seed onto the path. If I want to grow green beans this summer I’m not going to throw seeds on my driveway – or if I want to try and grow some sweet corn I’m not going to just throw seed out back there in the brush. And yet, what does this sower do? Seed flung everywhere. Just casting it out wildly, not caring where it goes – just cover the ground with seed, and we will see what grows. This would have been strange to hear even in Jesus day – the thought would be, “What sower sows upon the path? Or into the rocks?” Seed is to valuable for that – why waste seed in a place where you know it isn’t going to grow?
But our Lord explains this parable, explains the actions of the sower very simply. He says, Now, the parable is this: The Seed is the Word of God. And now we begin to see and understand. The way in which God handles His Word is beyond what we would expect. When something is precious, our instinct is to horde it, to be very careful and cunning before we put it to use. That’s not what our generous God does – He simply scatters the Word all over the place – even to places, even to people we wouldn’t expect. There is no place where God hesitates to have His Word proclaimed, to have His Word preached. Let this be a lesson to us. There are times when we are. . . hesitant. . . concerning God’s Word. We can see someone, someone hurtful, someone foolish, someone mean – and we can basically write them off – assume that they are beyond all hope. God would have His Word scattered even unto them. We do not need to try to judge the hearts of men before we proclaim Christ’s Word – we do not need to sit and try and decide who is worthy to hear. Rather this – God’s Word is to be cast everywhere and to everyone. There is not a person who shouldn’t hear the Word – it is for everyone. And if a person rejects, ignores, spurns it – so what? For you see, God’s Word is limitless. If I am planting crops, I can run out of seed. We will never, though, run out of the Word of God – He has placed His Word upon our minds and upon our hearts and upon our lips – and it doesn’t run out – so we can be confident and bold and free in proclaiming the Word. And why? Because the only way that people will be saved, the only way that you yourself have received salvation is because someone else brought God’s Word of life and salvation unto you. This is the utter power and wonder of God’s Word – His Word of life and forgiveness that is to be proclaimed everywhere.
Our Lord goes on to explain the rest of the parable. The ones along the path are those who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the Word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Now here is what we are going to do this morning. We aren’t going to try to figure out if someone we know is a “path” sort of person. I can’t see the hearts of men and neither can you, so any such thoughts and speculations along those lines would simply be arrogant and in vain. But rather this – what do we learn from this example? We see one of the ways in which Satan attacks people who have heard the Word. He takes it away from their hearts – or in other words, Satan tries to build up a distance between you and God’s Word – Satan tries to keep God’s Word as far away from your heart as possible. This is how Satan attacks you. When we talk about our heart, the things we hold in our heart, we talk about the things that are important and dear to us, things that we treasure. Satan will try to make you think the Word is worthless – to make you think that time spent in the Word, hearing it preached, receiving it in the Supper, studying it, that all this is worthless, he’ll try to make it seem distasteful. There are times we don’t always like what the Word of God says. The Word says, “You are a sinner and you deserve to die.” We don’t like hearing that – and so Satan slithers in, just like he did in the beginning, and he says, “Eh, you aren’t that bad, and you sure won’t die – just go ignore what God has said and do what you will.” Same old trick from Satan. So my friends in Christ, I encourage you – consider your own life and the ways in which Satan is tempting you to despise God’s Word. I can’t tell you specifically how he attacks you this way – but this is what the Devil does – be wary of it.
In addition to just general disdain for the Word, we hear another way in which Christians are attacked. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the Word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in a time of testing fall away. The key phrase there is “time of testing.” Life in this sinful world is hard – and often, being a Christian makes it harder. Consider the Christians in Muslim controlled parts of the World – consider the Christians in Indonesia who have their churches bombed, or in parts of Northern India or Pakistan, or in Nigeria where Christians are in danger of being killed. Being a Christian makes their life in this world harder – but this should be no surprise. Christianity is not merely a balm for this life, it isn’t some worldly insurance plan, but rather it is a faith that confesses that this world is evil and full of sin and that God sent His Son to the Cross to suffer and die that we might have eternal life enduring well past this world’s end. But this is not the only testing that Christians might face. I don’t think any of us here are going to have to worry about being killed for our faith in the immediate future, but what of your own testing? Scripture calls you to love your neighbor? Do you – even when that neighbor is a nice collection of choice swear words? Scripture calls you to be bold in your faith. Are you, even when your friends, when people you like and respect mock your faith, brush it aside, treat it as unimportant? Consider the ways in which being a Christian, trying to live as a Christian, makes your life in this world difficult. And again, this will impact each of us differently – but consider this – and know that Satan will try to use that discomfort, that awkwardness as a wedge to drive you away from God, to dry up your faith and make you brittle, make you broken and fit only for the fire. Be on guard against his wiles this way.
However, Satan doesn’t merely use a stick to try and beat the faith out of us. Sometimes he uses a carrot as well. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. So now the question becomes, how busy are you? Are you too busy for God? Whether you are running around with problems, or running around with good things and riches and pleasures – Satan will try to use them as a wedge between you and God’s Word. And in many ways, I think this may be the one we get the most of here in America. We are a busy nation, always on the go-go-go. We are always out to make more money, get better stuff, keep up with the Jones, be “successful” – so on and so forth. And what Satan will do is he will play up this attitude. Why come to Church when there’s something more profitable to do – work waiting to be done? Or why come to Church when there is great fun to be had Saturday night? Or why not just rest and relax and enjoy all the fruits of your labor? And then of course, time for the Word during the week is right out! So again, let me ask the question – what are the ways in which Satan attacks you along these lines? How does he try to weasel you away from God in this way? Be on guard for it, and know if for what it is when it happens.
Now, there is one more thing in this parable, something which stands out over and above these wiles of Satan. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. This is what God desires for you, and this is what God accomplishes and brings about in You by the power of His Word. The only reason any fruit is born, any crop grows, is because of the seed planted in the ground. Likewise, consider our Lord, and how often He gives you His Word over and over again. Have you been a bit hard hearted – have you been a bit rocky or thorny? Our Lord doesn’t write you off, but rather instead His Word is cast, is proclaimed to you, is given to you, so that you might grow, that you might learn to hold fast to the Word ever more and more, that you might find joy in living out your faith. This is why our Lord gives His Word to you in so many fashions. His Word is given to you in Scripture, His Word is washed into you by Baptism, His Word is proclaimed to you, His Word is spoken to you in the Words of Absolution, His Word takes root in bread and wine and thereby His gives you His own Body and Blood in His Supper – and all of these many ways are so that you might always hear the Word, be in the Word, that you might grasp it and hold fast to it and bear fruit in love. For know this, dear friends in Christ. Our Lord knows the wiles of Satan, He knows what the old serpent is up to – and our Lord attacks Him now in your life through His Word, just as assuredly as He attacked Satan when Christ Himself went to the Cross to win us life and salvation. And thus, we have life in His name. Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy Word. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the world +
Saturday, February 6, 2010
The Church and man's ego
I think one of the most profound gems that Luther gave us was the notion that it is quite simple to identify the Church - that a mere child could do so -- it is where the Gospel is rightly preached and the Sacraments are rightly administered.
Something has happened, though, to us sinful men who dwell both in the Church and here on earth. We rightly understand that one must see to it that the Gospel is "rightly" preached, that the Sacraments are "rightly" administered. And that is good - we must mark out those who would cause division and teach others to choose error. But yet, we move beyond this.
In our ego, in our desire to categorize those beneath us and to have ourselves stand upon mounds of errorists we have defeated (ah, what an elevation that is!), we have let Ego come in. We will snipe and pick at others. . . and we loose all humility. We become more studious and diligent in finding the wrongs of others than of studying the Word and being diligent in our own preaching.
Let one preach rightly, let one administer rightly. Show what is wrong and why it is wrong. Be people focused upon the Word - be the Church, and let the light of Christ shine so that even those in error might see it and repent.
Repentance - that is what the Word proclaimed desires - not victory over a heretical foe. Repentance. And in our ego and pride in our own rightness, we forget righteousness, the righteousness of God which seeks the lost. Lord have mercy upon us, and restore us, that we might continue to grow ever more in the faith into which You have placed us1
Something has happened, though, to us sinful men who dwell both in the Church and here on earth. We rightly understand that one must see to it that the Gospel is "rightly" preached, that the Sacraments are "rightly" administered. And that is good - we must mark out those who would cause division and teach others to choose error. But yet, we move beyond this.
In our ego, in our desire to categorize those beneath us and to have ourselves stand upon mounds of errorists we have defeated (ah, what an elevation that is!), we have let Ego come in. We will snipe and pick at others. . . and we loose all humility. We become more studious and diligent in finding the wrongs of others than of studying the Word and being diligent in our own preaching.
Let one preach rightly, let one administer rightly. Show what is wrong and why it is wrong. Be people focused upon the Word - be the Church, and let the light of Christ shine so that even those in error might see it and repent.
Repentance - that is what the Word proclaimed desires - not victory over a heretical foe. Repentance. And in our ego and pride in our own rightness, we forget righteousness, the righteousness of God which seeks the lost. Lord have mercy upon us, and restore us, that we might continue to grow ever more in the faith into which You have placed us1
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Not quite an "Ethics Person"
I am not an Ethics Person. Note: I did not say that I am not an "ethical" person - just that I am not a person who really enjoys the deep and strong discussions on ethics where right and wrong on each specific point are attempted to be preemptively nailed down. It bores me. . . and it also strikes me as somewhat egotistical especially when I think I can write it down so that I can apply myself to others.
And partially, it's simple. Do the Law. Show love. There it is -- that is Christian ethics. . . Love God, Love your neighbor. That's it.
Too often ethics becomes either a vain attempt to get out of loving God and neighbor (the liberal twist) where love is redefined with indifference to Scripture and the Law or ethics becomes a descent into moral handwringing about how horrid the world is.
The Christian Ethic is simple - show love. Period. You must show love. The Christian Ethic is the law of God.
Now - how do I best show love in a situation? That can be a sticky wicket - and there are tons of variables, and there will be conflicts and nastiness. . . and no matter what you do, it won't be ideal. In these cases neither shirk your duty denying God's law as the liberals do, nor wring your hands and hide behind some complex ethical code of your own devising. Go and show love the best you can, make the best use of the talents God has given you, be His workmanship and walk in the paths that He has set up for you.
And know that whatever you do. . . you will sin. You will fall short. It will not be perfect. Strive for perfection - but be bold, not in your own righteousness, but in Christ and His righteousness and love for you as the source of your salvation (ah, Luther's lovely "Sin Boldly, yet Believe More Boldly). Do what you think is best, but know that not only will your plans and actions always fall short and miss the mark, but know that Christ is your Savior who has redeemed you and who gives you strength to live.
You know, that's why I'm not an ethicist. It's how people relate to that Luther quote. The liberals read only "Sin boldly", stop there, and decide that they can party. The conservatives read "Sin boldly", stop there, and are shocked (Shocked, I say!) and must fix all these problems. Ethics seemingly never moves to Believe More Boldly Still. And as such, vanity of vanities, all is vanity!
And partially, it's simple. Do the Law. Show love. There it is -- that is Christian ethics. . . Love God, Love your neighbor. That's it.
Too often ethics becomes either a vain attempt to get out of loving God and neighbor (the liberal twist) where love is redefined with indifference to Scripture and the Law or ethics becomes a descent into moral handwringing about how horrid the world is.
The Christian Ethic is simple - show love. Period. You must show love. The Christian Ethic is the law of God.
Now - how do I best show love in a situation? That can be a sticky wicket - and there are tons of variables, and there will be conflicts and nastiness. . . and no matter what you do, it won't be ideal. In these cases neither shirk your duty denying God's law as the liberals do, nor wring your hands and hide behind some complex ethical code of your own devising. Go and show love the best you can, make the best use of the talents God has given you, be His workmanship and walk in the paths that He has set up for you.
And know that whatever you do. . . you will sin. You will fall short. It will not be perfect. Strive for perfection - but be bold, not in your own righteousness, but in Christ and His righteousness and love for you as the source of your salvation (ah, Luther's lovely "Sin Boldly, yet Believe More Boldly). Do what you think is best, but know that not only will your plans and actions always fall short and miss the mark, but know that Christ is your Savior who has redeemed you and who gives you strength to live.
You know, that's why I'm not an ethicist. It's how people relate to that Luther quote. The liberals read only "Sin boldly", stop there, and decide that they can party. The conservatives read "Sin boldly", stop there, and are shocked (Shocked, I say!) and must fix all these problems. Ethics seemingly never moves to Believe More Boldly Still. And as such, vanity of vanities, all is vanity!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Septuagesima Sunday
Septuagesima Sunday – Janaury 31st, 2010 – Matthew 20:1-16
In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
Let us consider our parable for this morning, the parable of the workers in the Vineyard. Imagine yourself, standing in the town square. You have no job, no wealth. You have the clothes on your back, a place to sleep, and that is it. The food you ate for breakfast was the last bit of bread you had. And you have no prospects, no future, no hope. And then, while you stand around, into the square comes a man of wealth, a man of property. And he looks at you, and he says to you, “Come, work in my field.” After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. Do you hear what that mean? A denarius a day. A denarius is a good wage, a solid wage, more than livable. And he said a denarius a day – a day, that means tomorrow, and the day after that. You have been pulled up from squalor, from insecurity and now you have a solid job, a good job – and you head on out early this morning to work. There is nothing better that could have happened to you on that day.
In the midmorning the master goes out – and there are other people standing about. Their prospects are looking grim. 3 hours of daylight wasted, and no work for them. But their stomachs still need to be filled – they need to work. And then the master comes to them – “You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.” So they go, not knowing what they will receive, but they go in hope that maybe, just maybe it will be enough to skirt by on. Likewise, the master finds more and more people at noon, in the afternoon as well, and he gives them hope, a chance to be more than just a bum. Come, work in my fields. Even an hour before sunset, the master still calls. And about the 11th hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, “Why do you stand here idle all day?” Why have you not be doing anything? And their answer – “Because no one has hired us.” Why? Because we have nothing, and no one will give us a job, and so we stand here, and we wait to starve to death, for if a man does not work, he will not eat. He said to them, “You go into the vineyard too.”
Do you see the hope that the master of this house is giving? Do you see how he has improved everyone’s life? All these people are without hope, without prospects, are destitute. And the master comes, and they have work, and by the end of the day, there is hope for their lives. And we know what the master does – he pays everyone, whether there the full day or just a bare hour, he pays them a full day’s wage, a full denarius – go, eat your fill, bring back bread for your family that they might live too, be strong and ready for the morrow. It’s wondrous love, wondrous generosity. But – When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also received a Denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” While these workers are well aware of what they have been doing the past 12 hours, they forgot where they were a mere 13 hours ago. They complain about the wage that they were ecstatic about in the morning. And the master responds to them gently – Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a Denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge me my generosity? Do you hear what the master is saying? I have been generous to you – I have given you a job, I’ve given you hope and support – and all out of my generosity. Do you see how many other people I pulled in, how many other people want to work here gladly – I don’t NEED you – but I am generous, and I will gladly give you work – do you really want to begrudge my generosity when you yourself benefit from it?
With this parable, Christ not only describes what salvation and the Christian life is, but He also warns us of the ways in which Satan can come and lead us into senseless and pointless grumbling. Salvation is something that comes completely and solely from God – it isn’t something we can take up ourselves. Consider these workers. They all have nothing, and the only reason they have any hope, any support is that the master comes and gives it to them. Likewise, dear friends, consider yourself. What is there in you that would MAKE God love you? You yourself just confessed that you are a poor miserable sinner. And don’t go running to how you are better than the next guy – is there anything in you that God NEEDS, is there anything you can give to God that He doesn’t already have? Will you give Him stuff? He made it, He can make more. Does God need your praise? God’s in heaven, surrounded by angels who are better servants than you and sing and praise Him much better than you – there isn’t anything in you that God needs. And yet – what does God do? Because He loves you, He sends His Son to you, His Son Christ Jesus who takes up human flesh and suffers and dies so that you might have salvation – and this Christ says to you, Come, receive forgiveness and live your life in My kingdom – and this is all totally, completely free, from the grace of God.
For some of you, this call came before you can even remember, when God claimed you in the waters of Holy Baptism as an infant. Some of you may have been called later – some of you can probably remember the first time you heard the sweet Gospel of Christ Jesus and knew that your sins were forgiven on His account. And may God grant that even more, young or old are called! But whenever God came to you and brought you into His kingdom by the power of His Word – He promised you life and salvation, the full denarius giving and providing for you everything for life everlasting that you could ever need. We know this, we delight in this, we rejoice in it and celebrate this week in and week out here in God’s house, as we focus once again on Christ Jesus and His love and His salvation.
And yet, there is a problem. Aren’t there times where this salvation, this forgiveness stuff seems less than satisfying? And don’t put up some false pious front because you know the answer should be that you are content. . . but seriously, haven’t there been times when you hear forgiveness preached, and you think – “It’s not fair. I try and be a good Christian – and look at that person over there. They get it too, when I work so much harder than them.” Or perhaps in comparing temporal blessings – the fact that someone else gets the long end of the stick when you are getting the short end? There’s not a one of us here who doesn’t know someone who does less but has more than us. Or even someone’s past – “I remember what they used to do. . . and here they just come sauntering in here.” There are times, dear friends, when we are not content, when the promise of life and salvation in Christ doesn’t seem right enough, when we want more. I’m a good person, why should I be struggling like this! Look at them, why do they have it so easy! You know what that is, right? That is Satan messing with you – it is Satan trying to pull your eyes off of Christ and kill your faith. Satan wants you to forget just how graciously and generously God has loved you, how rich and thoroughly blessed you are – sustained through this wild and dangerous life on this fallen planet and promised the joys of heaven. And so Satan starts whispering words of grumbling in your ear, so that you might turn away, grouse and complain, look for something better and more, and forget God.
When those thoughts come near, remember what our Lord says to you. Friend, I am doing you no wrong. . . Take what belongs to you. . . I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. It’s always, always about our Lord’s generosity. He has loved you generously – just as He shows generous love to your neighbor. And when you grumble, when you grouse, when you complain about them – you forget, you ignore what He has done for you. And by this, I don’t mean simply salvation, I don’t mean simply the promise of heaven, but I mean your life right now as a Christian, the fact that you know what is God pleasing and strive to do it. Sanctification, holy living, is a gift from God. Do you really wish to complain about the work of Christian living that God sets before you? You are a Christian, you know that God has a purpose for your life, that God accomplishes good through you, that your service actually helps other people and has meaning. Would you really rather have no point to your life? Do you really think that being selfish and self-centered and doing nothing but living for yourself and wasting everything is better, where your life is nothing but a futile attempt to satiate your greed, your lust, your passions? You’ve been called out of that to a life of meaning and service! You don’t stand idle in the world, but you get to work in God’s kingdom! Rejoice in the work and tasks that the Lord gives you! And yet, when Satan comes around and tells us that the grass is greener, so often we foolishly let him keep talking. Repent dear friends, and remember again the love that God has for you, the grace with which He loves you!
And know this, dear friends. God knows the temptations that Satan brings about – God knows the ways the old serpent will weasel in pride and contempt. God doesn’t abandon you, but rather He comes to you and speaks to you gently and lovingly. When those workers grumble in the text – the master doesn’t fire them. The master doesn’t kick them out – he calls them friend and consoles them so that they might be ready and prepared for the work of the next day. Likewise – look at what God does for you this day, this morning. He comes to you, literally, He gives His own Body and Blood to you, says “Let ME be with you, let ME give you forgiveness for your sins, even for that grumbling, and let ME give you strength so that you might go forth this week and show love, that you might relish and live out the new life that I give you.” Do you see the generosity of God? And it doesn’t matter how often you’ve spurned it in the past, how often you’ve treated this House and Christ’s Supper as though they were unimportant, not worth your time. He is Here for you now, and He offers forgiveness and life and strength so that you might grow in the Christian faith and learn more and more to live in Him. This is Christ’s gift to you, freely given out of His great generosity. Rejoice in His love and His life given to you. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
Let us consider our parable for this morning, the parable of the workers in the Vineyard. Imagine yourself, standing in the town square. You have no job, no wealth. You have the clothes on your back, a place to sleep, and that is it. The food you ate for breakfast was the last bit of bread you had. And you have no prospects, no future, no hope. And then, while you stand around, into the square comes a man of wealth, a man of property. And he looks at you, and he says to you, “Come, work in my field.” After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. Do you hear what that mean? A denarius a day. A denarius is a good wage, a solid wage, more than livable. And he said a denarius a day – a day, that means tomorrow, and the day after that. You have been pulled up from squalor, from insecurity and now you have a solid job, a good job – and you head on out early this morning to work. There is nothing better that could have happened to you on that day.
In the midmorning the master goes out – and there are other people standing about. Their prospects are looking grim. 3 hours of daylight wasted, and no work for them. But their stomachs still need to be filled – they need to work. And then the master comes to them – “You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.” So they go, not knowing what they will receive, but they go in hope that maybe, just maybe it will be enough to skirt by on. Likewise, the master finds more and more people at noon, in the afternoon as well, and he gives them hope, a chance to be more than just a bum. Come, work in my fields. Even an hour before sunset, the master still calls. And about the 11th hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, “Why do you stand here idle all day?” Why have you not be doing anything? And their answer – “Because no one has hired us.” Why? Because we have nothing, and no one will give us a job, and so we stand here, and we wait to starve to death, for if a man does not work, he will not eat. He said to them, “You go into the vineyard too.”
Do you see the hope that the master of this house is giving? Do you see how he has improved everyone’s life? All these people are without hope, without prospects, are destitute. And the master comes, and they have work, and by the end of the day, there is hope for their lives. And we know what the master does – he pays everyone, whether there the full day or just a bare hour, he pays them a full day’s wage, a full denarius – go, eat your fill, bring back bread for your family that they might live too, be strong and ready for the morrow. It’s wondrous love, wondrous generosity. But – When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also received a Denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” While these workers are well aware of what they have been doing the past 12 hours, they forgot where they were a mere 13 hours ago. They complain about the wage that they were ecstatic about in the morning. And the master responds to them gently – Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a Denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge me my generosity? Do you hear what the master is saying? I have been generous to you – I have given you a job, I’ve given you hope and support – and all out of my generosity. Do you see how many other people I pulled in, how many other people want to work here gladly – I don’t NEED you – but I am generous, and I will gladly give you work – do you really want to begrudge my generosity when you yourself benefit from it?
With this parable, Christ not only describes what salvation and the Christian life is, but He also warns us of the ways in which Satan can come and lead us into senseless and pointless grumbling. Salvation is something that comes completely and solely from God – it isn’t something we can take up ourselves. Consider these workers. They all have nothing, and the only reason they have any hope, any support is that the master comes and gives it to them. Likewise, dear friends, consider yourself. What is there in you that would MAKE God love you? You yourself just confessed that you are a poor miserable sinner. And don’t go running to how you are better than the next guy – is there anything in you that God NEEDS, is there anything you can give to God that He doesn’t already have? Will you give Him stuff? He made it, He can make more. Does God need your praise? God’s in heaven, surrounded by angels who are better servants than you and sing and praise Him much better than you – there isn’t anything in you that God needs. And yet – what does God do? Because He loves you, He sends His Son to you, His Son Christ Jesus who takes up human flesh and suffers and dies so that you might have salvation – and this Christ says to you, Come, receive forgiveness and live your life in My kingdom – and this is all totally, completely free, from the grace of God.
For some of you, this call came before you can even remember, when God claimed you in the waters of Holy Baptism as an infant. Some of you may have been called later – some of you can probably remember the first time you heard the sweet Gospel of Christ Jesus and knew that your sins were forgiven on His account. And may God grant that even more, young or old are called! But whenever God came to you and brought you into His kingdom by the power of His Word – He promised you life and salvation, the full denarius giving and providing for you everything for life everlasting that you could ever need. We know this, we delight in this, we rejoice in it and celebrate this week in and week out here in God’s house, as we focus once again on Christ Jesus and His love and His salvation.
And yet, there is a problem. Aren’t there times where this salvation, this forgiveness stuff seems less than satisfying? And don’t put up some false pious front because you know the answer should be that you are content. . . but seriously, haven’t there been times when you hear forgiveness preached, and you think – “It’s not fair. I try and be a good Christian – and look at that person over there. They get it too, when I work so much harder than them.” Or perhaps in comparing temporal blessings – the fact that someone else gets the long end of the stick when you are getting the short end? There’s not a one of us here who doesn’t know someone who does less but has more than us. Or even someone’s past – “I remember what they used to do. . . and here they just come sauntering in here.” There are times, dear friends, when we are not content, when the promise of life and salvation in Christ doesn’t seem right enough, when we want more. I’m a good person, why should I be struggling like this! Look at them, why do they have it so easy! You know what that is, right? That is Satan messing with you – it is Satan trying to pull your eyes off of Christ and kill your faith. Satan wants you to forget just how graciously and generously God has loved you, how rich and thoroughly blessed you are – sustained through this wild and dangerous life on this fallen planet and promised the joys of heaven. And so Satan starts whispering words of grumbling in your ear, so that you might turn away, grouse and complain, look for something better and more, and forget God.
When those thoughts come near, remember what our Lord says to you. Friend, I am doing you no wrong. . . Take what belongs to you. . . I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. It’s always, always about our Lord’s generosity. He has loved you generously – just as He shows generous love to your neighbor. And when you grumble, when you grouse, when you complain about them – you forget, you ignore what He has done for you. And by this, I don’t mean simply salvation, I don’t mean simply the promise of heaven, but I mean your life right now as a Christian, the fact that you know what is God pleasing and strive to do it. Sanctification, holy living, is a gift from God. Do you really wish to complain about the work of Christian living that God sets before you? You are a Christian, you know that God has a purpose for your life, that God accomplishes good through you, that your service actually helps other people and has meaning. Would you really rather have no point to your life? Do you really think that being selfish and self-centered and doing nothing but living for yourself and wasting everything is better, where your life is nothing but a futile attempt to satiate your greed, your lust, your passions? You’ve been called out of that to a life of meaning and service! You don’t stand idle in the world, but you get to work in God’s kingdom! Rejoice in the work and tasks that the Lord gives you! And yet, when Satan comes around and tells us that the grass is greener, so often we foolishly let him keep talking. Repent dear friends, and remember again the love that God has for you, the grace with which He loves you!
And know this, dear friends. God knows the temptations that Satan brings about – God knows the ways the old serpent will weasel in pride and contempt. God doesn’t abandon you, but rather He comes to you and speaks to you gently and lovingly. When those workers grumble in the text – the master doesn’t fire them. The master doesn’t kick them out – he calls them friend and consoles them so that they might be ready and prepared for the work of the next day. Likewise – look at what God does for you this day, this morning. He comes to you, literally, He gives His own Body and Blood to you, says “Let ME be with you, let ME give you forgiveness for your sins, even for that grumbling, and let ME give you strength so that you might go forth this week and show love, that you might relish and live out the new life that I give you.” Do you see the generosity of God? And it doesn’t matter how often you’ve spurned it in the past, how often you’ve treated this House and Christ’s Supper as though they were unimportant, not worth your time. He is Here for you now, and He offers forgiveness and life and strength so that you might grow in the Christian faith and learn more and more to live in Him. This is Christ’s gift to you, freely given out of His great generosity. Rejoice in His love and His life given to you. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Today's Sermon for Transfiguration
Transfiguration Sunday – January 24th, 2010 – Matthew 17:1-9
In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
We have come to the apex of the Epiphany season, the day of Transfiguration – where Jesus goes up on the mountain with Peter, James, and John, and suddenly, there appears Moses and Elijah, and Christ is transfigured; He begins to shine with His own, radiant, glorious light – His holiness, His God-hood begins to be openly and brightly revealed. It is a wondrous text, a glorious text. Peter is most right when he says, “Lord, it is good that we are here!” But I think that sometimes we miss the main points, the things that are more wondrous than simply Christ's transfiguration. Let us look at this text, pay attention to it, and see what we learn.
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. So now, we see Jesus with basically His three top disciples. Consider what this means. This would be a honor to them – to have your Teacher pull you aside for special teaching was an honor. You were going to gain more insight, you were going to gain more wisdom. Many of the best things which I learned at the Seminary weren't in the classroom, but outside of class when a prof was talking to just a couple of us. So the simple fact that Jesus is just there with Peter, James, and John means that we should be expecting Jesus to teach. And then, suddenly Jesus' glory begins to shine forth, and then, there is Moses, and then, there is Elijah. Now, let's consider who these two are. There really are no more important, no more powerful teachers in the Old Testament than these two. Moses is Moses, the author of the first five books of the bible, the giver of the Law from Sinai, the one who himself glowed with glory reflected from God. Elijah is the greatest prophet – the one who defeated the prophets of Ba'al, the one who doesn't die, but rather is taken up into heaven by the chariots of fire. These are the guys, these are the top of the top when it comes to teaching, to preaching. The Jews basically referred to the Scriptures as “Moses and the Prophets” and right there you have Moses and Elijah, the greatest prophet. This would be a mindboggling awesome thing to see.
And so Peter speaks up. "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." It was the time of the festival of booths, a Jewish holiday where the children of Israel would remember their sojourn in the desert. And Peter thinks this is just wonderful – let's have Moses and Elijah stay the whole holiday. The excitement here would be hard for us to imagine – it would be like the four presidents from Mount Rushmore suddenly showing up to your Fourth of July party, it would be the same giddiness that we'd have if suddenly our favorite musician knocked on our door this afternoon. Do you get how excited, how overjoyed, Peter, James, and John would be right here. It's a glimpse of heaven for them, it is the most wondrous and awesome thing that any Jew has seen probably in 1500 years – this is even better than what Joshua had with Moses or Elisha had with Elijah, because Peter, James, and John get not only Jesus, but also Moses, and also Elijah.
And then. . . all that joy stops on a dime. Comes to a crashing halt. He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. The voice of the Father thunders from heaven, and suddenly, the disciples drop like they've been shot. Down on the ground, faces in the dirt, we don't want to see anything any more. So, why? Why did the disciples suddenly become afraid? Because they remember something that we so often forget – a holy and righteous God cannot abide sin – a Just God has to punish sin. Sin has consequences. Sin has impact! Sin means that by rights they are good as smitten right then and there, because sinners don't do well in the presence of God. From the Fall in the garden, sinful man has known that his sin, his rebellion means that when the Father comes by, you probably ought to just go and hide – and that's what Peter, James, and John do – they stick their heads into the ground.
But then, the voice no longer speaks – and then, But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear." Jesus walks up to them, taps them on the shoulder, pulls them up off the ground, and tell them to have no fear. Do you see comfort and care that Jesus shows them? Jesus knows why they are freaked out. Jesus understands – and so gently and lovingly Jesus lets them know that it is safe for them to look up. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. And looking up, they only see Jesus.
That was the lesson. For all the wonders and delights that the disciples would see with Jesus, for all the miracles, even with this transfiguration and getting to see Moses and Elijah, even though they were the best disciples – when it boiled down to it, they were still sinners. Nothing more, nothing less. And when the Father starts speaking, there would be nothing for them to do but to hit the ground. But then something happens. Jesus comes to them, and He touches them – physical contact, flesh touching flesh, and Jesus says rise and have no fear. I am here, I have become Man, so you do not need to fear the consequence of your sin any more. Because I live, you will not die. And they look up, and they see Jesus – and it clicks. Because Jesus is here, because True God, glorious and wondrous, has become True Man, they will be saved, they will live. Indeed, there is no other name under heaven by which we are to be saved than Jesus – because He is the One who becomes man, and He is the One who strides to the Cross and takes up the punishment for sin in our place. Because of His love for us, He takes upon Himself the fullness of the punishment of sin – and His perfect love for us casts out our fear. This is the lesson of the transfiguration – that because of Christ, we have no more fear.
Now, dear friends, let us ask the difficult question. Have we learned this lesson ourselves in our own lives? There are two sorts of problems that us sinful folk run into when we live our lives. The first is that we can be burdened with fear. So let me ask you – how much did you fear this past week? How much did you worry? How many times came up where you just wished you could run and hide? Guilt over what you have done – did that come popping up? Anxiety over what was to come? Daunting difficulties looming ever closer and closer? All these involve being fearful. To you I say, have no fear, for Christ has come. Do you feel guilt and sorrow over what you have done? Christ Jesus has taken your guilt away from you and carried it to the cross. The sin of your past is done away with. Do you worry about what is to come? Christ who has died has risen and is seated at the right hand of the Father. If Christ is victorious, how will you, who have been touched by Him, who are united to Him by virtue of your baptism, not be victorious? Whatever trials and struggles you face, they will pass, they will fade, they will be endured. Do you wonder if you will have the strength to go on? Christ Jesus is your strength, and He will carry you through all the days of your life. This is what Christ has done – He has won your forgiveness and salvation and life.
There is another sort of problem that we as Christians run into – and that's when we forget fear, but not because of Christ. Rather, when we are bold and confident in ourselves and become callous and unloving. Did you ignore the need of your neighbor this past week, spurning the Words of Christ commanding you to love Him? Did you loudly lament the speck in your neighbor's eye, forgetting the log in your own? Did you ignore the voice from heaven telling you to listen to Christ, and instead keep Christ and His Word out of sight, out of mind? To you, I say repent. These things are not the things of Christian living, are not the things of Christian peace, but rather they are pride, and arrogance, and hatred. Turn away from these things, and rather turn to Christ, be focused on Him alone, and trust in Him alone for your forgiveness, for He has won it and gives it gladly to those who crave it.
Whether the problem is our guilt and shame and fear, or the fact that we live indecently without guilt or shame or fear (and to be honest – it’s a bit of both for all of us) – Christ Jesus is the solution, the cure, the way in which we are made perfect. These things, these temptations we face are nothing new – the people of God have swung back and forth between crippling fear and idiotic foolishness since the fall. And the solution is the very one that Peter, James, and John learned in the Gospel today – it is only when we are focused upon Christ Jesus, the God who became Man for our sake, that we are safe. It is only when Christ comes to us, touches us, and tells us to have no fear that we can truly live now, truly live eternally. And this is what Christ Jesus did for you at your Baptism – He came and put His Name upon you and claimed you as His own, put His hand upon you. And this is what Christ Jesus does for you here in His house, week in, week out. When Satan burdens you with sin and guilt, here in His Word Christ forgives you, pulls that guilt off of you. When Satan has led you to wandering and forgetting Christ, the Word preached here draws you back to Christ, that you might remain in Him. And our Lord even physically touches you – puts His Body upon Your lips, His Blood upon your tongue in His Most Holy Supper, so that you might not only delight in forgiveness but have strength to live your life without fear, to live your life in service to God and in fervent love towards the neighbor – so that Christ might make you to grow ever more and more in this life, until He calls you to heaven.
This is the joy and wonder that has been revealed to us – that Christ has come, that Moses and the Prophets have been fulfilled, that our Lord has suffered and died that we might live both now and eternally in Him. All thanks be to Christ Jesus for this. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the light of the world. +
In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
We have come to the apex of the Epiphany season, the day of Transfiguration – where Jesus goes up on the mountain with Peter, James, and John, and suddenly, there appears Moses and Elijah, and Christ is transfigured; He begins to shine with His own, radiant, glorious light – His holiness, His God-hood begins to be openly and brightly revealed. It is a wondrous text, a glorious text. Peter is most right when he says, “Lord, it is good that we are here!” But I think that sometimes we miss the main points, the things that are more wondrous than simply Christ's transfiguration. Let us look at this text, pay attention to it, and see what we learn.
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. So now, we see Jesus with basically His three top disciples. Consider what this means. This would be a honor to them – to have your Teacher pull you aside for special teaching was an honor. You were going to gain more insight, you were going to gain more wisdom. Many of the best things which I learned at the Seminary weren't in the classroom, but outside of class when a prof was talking to just a couple of us. So the simple fact that Jesus is just there with Peter, James, and John means that we should be expecting Jesus to teach. And then, suddenly Jesus' glory begins to shine forth, and then, there is Moses, and then, there is Elijah. Now, let's consider who these two are. There really are no more important, no more powerful teachers in the Old Testament than these two. Moses is Moses, the author of the first five books of the bible, the giver of the Law from Sinai, the one who himself glowed with glory reflected from God. Elijah is the greatest prophet – the one who defeated the prophets of Ba'al, the one who doesn't die, but rather is taken up into heaven by the chariots of fire. These are the guys, these are the top of the top when it comes to teaching, to preaching. The Jews basically referred to the Scriptures as “Moses and the Prophets” and right there you have Moses and Elijah, the greatest prophet. This would be a mindboggling awesome thing to see.
And so Peter speaks up. "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." It was the time of the festival of booths, a Jewish holiday where the children of Israel would remember their sojourn in the desert. And Peter thinks this is just wonderful – let's have Moses and Elijah stay the whole holiday. The excitement here would be hard for us to imagine – it would be like the four presidents from Mount Rushmore suddenly showing up to your Fourth of July party, it would be the same giddiness that we'd have if suddenly our favorite musician knocked on our door this afternoon. Do you get how excited, how overjoyed, Peter, James, and John would be right here. It's a glimpse of heaven for them, it is the most wondrous and awesome thing that any Jew has seen probably in 1500 years – this is even better than what Joshua had with Moses or Elisha had with Elijah, because Peter, James, and John get not only Jesus, but also Moses, and also Elijah.
And then. . . all that joy stops on a dime. Comes to a crashing halt. He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. The voice of the Father thunders from heaven, and suddenly, the disciples drop like they've been shot. Down on the ground, faces in the dirt, we don't want to see anything any more. So, why? Why did the disciples suddenly become afraid? Because they remember something that we so often forget – a holy and righteous God cannot abide sin – a Just God has to punish sin. Sin has consequences. Sin has impact! Sin means that by rights they are good as smitten right then and there, because sinners don't do well in the presence of God. From the Fall in the garden, sinful man has known that his sin, his rebellion means that when the Father comes by, you probably ought to just go and hide – and that's what Peter, James, and John do – they stick their heads into the ground.
But then, the voice no longer speaks – and then, But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear." Jesus walks up to them, taps them on the shoulder, pulls them up off the ground, and tell them to have no fear. Do you see comfort and care that Jesus shows them? Jesus knows why they are freaked out. Jesus understands – and so gently and lovingly Jesus lets them know that it is safe for them to look up. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. And looking up, they only see Jesus.
That was the lesson. For all the wonders and delights that the disciples would see with Jesus, for all the miracles, even with this transfiguration and getting to see Moses and Elijah, even though they were the best disciples – when it boiled down to it, they were still sinners. Nothing more, nothing less. And when the Father starts speaking, there would be nothing for them to do but to hit the ground. But then something happens. Jesus comes to them, and He touches them – physical contact, flesh touching flesh, and Jesus says rise and have no fear. I am here, I have become Man, so you do not need to fear the consequence of your sin any more. Because I live, you will not die. And they look up, and they see Jesus – and it clicks. Because Jesus is here, because True God, glorious and wondrous, has become True Man, they will be saved, they will live. Indeed, there is no other name under heaven by which we are to be saved than Jesus – because He is the One who becomes man, and He is the One who strides to the Cross and takes up the punishment for sin in our place. Because of His love for us, He takes upon Himself the fullness of the punishment of sin – and His perfect love for us casts out our fear. This is the lesson of the transfiguration – that because of Christ, we have no more fear.
Now, dear friends, let us ask the difficult question. Have we learned this lesson ourselves in our own lives? There are two sorts of problems that us sinful folk run into when we live our lives. The first is that we can be burdened with fear. So let me ask you – how much did you fear this past week? How much did you worry? How many times came up where you just wished you could run and hide? Guilt over what you have done – did that come popping up? Anxiety over what was to come? Daunting difficulties looming ever closer and closer? All these involve being fearful. To you I say, have no fear, for Christ has come. Do you feel guilt and sorrow over what you have done? Christ Jesus has taken your guilt away from you and carried it to the cross. The sin of your past is done away with. Do you worry about what is to come? Christ who has died has risen and is seated at the right hand of the Father. If Christ is victorious, how will you, who have been touched by Him, who are united to Him by virtue of your baptism, not be victorious? Whatever trials and struggles you face, they will pass, they will fade, they will be endured. Do you wonder if you will have the strength to go on? Christ Jesus is your strength, and He will carry you through all the days of your life. This is what Christ has done – He has won your forgiveness and salvation and life.
There is another sort of problem that we as Christians run into – and that's when we forget fear, but not because of Christ. Rather, when we are bold and confident in ourselves and become callous and unloving. Did you ignore the need of your neighbor this past week, spurning the Words of Christ commanding you to love Him? Did you loudly lament the speck in your neighbor's eye, forgetting the log in your own? Did you ignore the voice from heaven telling you to listen to Christ, and instead keep Christ and His Word out of sight, out of mind? To you, I say repent. These things are not the things of Christian living, are not the things of Christian peace, but rather they are pride, and arrogance, and hatred. Turn away from these things, and rather turn to Christ, be focused on Him alone, and trust in Him alone for your forgiveness, for He has won it and gives it gladly to those who crave it.
Whether the problem is our guilt and shame and fear, or the fact that we live indecently without guilt or shame or fear (and to be honest – it’s a bit of both for all of us) – Christ Jesus is the solution, the cure, the way in which we are made perfect. These things, these temptations we face are nothing new – the people of God have swung back and forth between crippling fear and idiotic foolishness since the fall. And the solution is the very one that Peter, James, and John learned in the Gospel today – it is only when we are focused upon Christ Jesus, the God who became Man for our sake, that we are safe. It is only when Christ comes to us, touches us, and tells us to have no fear that we can truly live now, truly live eternally. And this is what Christ Jesus did for you at your Baptism – He came and put His Name upon you and claimed you as His own, put His hand upon you. And this is what Christ Jesus does for you here in His house, week in, week out. When Satan burdens you with sin and guilt, here in His Word Christ forgives you, pulls that guilt off of you. When Satan has led you to wandering and forgetting Christ, the Word preached here draws you back to Christ, that you might remain in Him. And our Lord even physically touches you – puts His Body upon Your lips, His Blood upon your tongue in His Most Holy Supper, so that you might not only delight in forgiveness but have strength to live your life without fear, to live your life in service to God and in fervent love towards the neighbor – so that Christ might make you to grow ever more and more in this life, until He calls you to heaven.
This is the joy and wonder that has been revealed to us – that Christ has come, that Moses and the Prophets have been fulfilled, that our Lord has suffered and died that we might live both now and eternally in Him. All thanks be to Christ Jesus for this. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the light of the world. +
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Epiphany 2 sermon
2nd Sunday after Epiphany – January 17th, 2010 – John 2:1-11
In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
John records for us in His Gospel, the first miracle that Jesus performs, or as John phrases it, the first sign that Jesus did. This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. John uses this language of signs throughout His Gospel – so this morning, let us consider what a sign is. A sign lets you know what something is – it identifies a thing. And John records multiple signs – counts to three and then just keeps going. This is because in Jewish law you needed three people to identify someone – once you had three witnesses, the truthfulness of something was confirmed. So, John is going to show in his Gospel the signs, the proofs that show that Jesus is the Messiah, True God. These are going to be things that manifest His Glory.
Well, how in the world does the Wedding at Cana manifest Christ’s Glory? It’s not very spectacular to our way of thinking – I mean, the miracle is nice – but only the servants see it. The master of the feast, he doesn’t see the miracle. The Bridegroom, he doesn’t know where the wine came from. Only the servants – the hired help, they are the only ones who see. It’s not as though Jesus strides into the middle of the room and says, “Behold, where there was no wine, now – Let there be wine” and massive jugs of wine appear. Just very quietly, very simply, without drawing attention to Himself, Jesus tells the servants to fill jars with water, and then take to the master of the feast. There’s not even any hand wave – no mud rubbed on the jars. Just quiet and simple. And Jesus even seemed quiet about doing this. When His mother came to Him and told Him that they were out of wine, Jesus said, “Woman, what does this have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” Now, just as a note – this isn’t harsh sounding in the Greek. If I walk up to someone today and say, “Woman,” – I’m probably fixing to say something rude, and quite possibly get myself slapped. It doesn’t come off that way in Greek – it would be more like, “Dear Woman”, or even just saying, “Mother” in English. Dear woman, I know you want Me to get this preaching and healing stuff on the road, but it really isn’t time for that. Be patient. And yet, Jesus is never One to turn down those in need. So very quietly, water is changed into wine.
And not only wine, but good wine, full wine, strong wine. The master of the feast is confused – Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now. This makes sense – you serve the good, strong wine when people are first there – when they can appreciate the taste – and then, when they are well pleased and enjoying themselves – you go to the lower quality stuff, the watered down stuff – because it’s harder to get things moving than to keep them moving. But Jesus doesn’t make anything poor, and if He makes wine, by gum He is going to make wine, good wine. And in the midst of the confusion, only the servants know, and His disciples see, and they believe.
So why do the Disciples “believe”. It says believe, it’s not just a simple matter of being amazed, or marveling, but they believe. Why is a simple, quiet, miracle, where no one but the servants and the disciples, who would have been following Jesus around, suddenly bring forth belief, why is it a manifestation of Christ’s Glory as True God? Because it’s wine. Let’s face it, today in Oklahoma, wine doesn’t have all that good of a reputation. Most of you here probably don’t even like wine all that much – in fact, during the lesson when it said that Jesus made good wine some of you probably thought, “Is any wine really good.” Moreover, what do we call a bum who’s drunk? We call him a wino. Wine isn’t well respected in our culture today. But in Jesus’ day, wine was important, wine was life. You would mix a little wine into the water you got from the well, and any of the nasty little bugs in the water would be killed off, so you could drink the water and live. And more over, wine was a vital part of celebration, of rejoicing – wine to gladden the heart of man – that’s Psalm 104. Wine was something worthy of sacrifice to God, it was the drink offering with a pleasing aroma. It was one of the three major blessings of agriculture – Israel was promised that God would bless their grain and their wine and their olive oil. And more than just that, wine was a sign of the coming Messiah, of what things would be like when the Messiah comes. We ourselves heard in Amos 9 The mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. That’s what’s going to happen when the Messiah comes! Good wine is a good thing! And then, there the disciples see Jesus, and there they are, up in Cana, in hill country of Galilee, and what do you know – sweet, good wine everywhere. Jesus is the Messiah! The disciples see this sign, they see this and it identifies Jesus as the Messiah. And they believe in Him.
But it’s not just significant that there is wine; it’s also of note that this miracle happens at a wedding. If Jesus had wanted simply to have wine, that could have happened whenever. But they are at a wedding. We think of weddings as wondrous, beautiful times – and they are, but they are more than just the sentimental ideas we normally think of. Weddings hearken back to the Garden of Eden. There was a wedding, there was marriage before there was any sin. Before the Fall God took Adam and Eve and joined them together. Marriage points back to the Garden of Eden, to perfection – which is why there is to be a party and celebration and rejoicing. And then. . . the wine is gone. That’s a reminder of the fall, of sin. Adam gets told he’s going to have to wrest food from the soil – and the Bridegroom’s wrestings weren’t enough to provide wine for all. Lack, sorrow, sin and it’s damage all showing up. And into this party about ready to be ruined by the impact of sin strides Christ Jesus – and very quietly, the celebration is restored before anyone really knew it was in danger. Do you see how this is a God-thing, a restoring of what gets lost at the Fall? That is something the Messiah does!
But more than just pointing to paradise – as we heard in Ephesians, marriage is a picture of the holy and perfect love that Christ has for the Church, His Bride. Christ cleanses His Church by the washing of water with the Word, with Baptism, and why – so that He might present the Church to Himself in splendor, without spot or blemish or wrinkle or any such thing. The image, the picture of God’s love is the Bridegroom making sure that everything is perfect for His Bride – that’s how Christ loves us. At Cana, this earthly bridegroom, he couldn’t – his wine had run out. So Christ steps in, and He makes all things good – good like they were in the Garden of Eden. And it was good. This is precisely what Christ does to His Church. We in the Church, we are sinful folk, filled with more spots and blemishes and scars and disfigurements than we care to think about. But into our lives comes Christ Jesus, and He looks upon us with utter, perfect love, and He strides to the Cross and suffers and dies so that we might be forgiven, He rises so that He might claim us as His own to live with Him forever, and He washes us in His own Holy Baptism, so that we are clean and forgiven and spotless and without blemish in His sight. Jesus makes all things perfect, not just at a wedding in small town Galilee, but in you, by virtue of your Baptism, you have been washed clean, restored to God, claimed as God’s own. This is what the Messiah does – He rescues, He saves, He redeems His Bride the Church so that He might have her for all eternity. It is the picture of heaven, of our eternity with God, where He has come and saved us and made us to be with Him for all eternity – the bliss of Eden restored and surpassed in the glories and wonders of heaven.
And indeed, there is one more bit of significance that we see in this text, that comes out even for us today. It was no accident that our Lord turned water into wine there in Cana, and it was no accident that on the night when He was betrayed our Lord took the wine in the cup and said, Drink of it all of you, this cup is the New Testament in My Blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of your sin. Here in the Supper, we are joined to Christ, we share in, we are made partakers of His Body and Blood, we are joined to Him in a way beyond anything that we experience in this life – we join in the mystery of the ages – This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church. Here, in the Church’s great feast – we get a taste, a glimpse, a participation in Heaven, for we are joined now to Christ, and indeed, in heaven we will ever be at the feast of the Christ Jesus – the eternal celebration of glory and wonder that heaven shall be. Christ our Lord forgives you your sin, joins Himself to you, gives you His own Body as a pledge and token, indeed, a sign that you yourself shall rise even as He has risen, gives you His blood as proof, as a sign that it was shed for you, so you know that you are forgiven and redeemed. This is the wonder of this gift.
This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him. Christ Jesus restores all things – we see this begun in John’s Gospel as that little wedding in Cana gets a taste of Eden restored. We see Christ Jesus accomplish this for the world by His death and resurrection. And indeed, our Lord continually shows that He is God, makes us to share in His Glory in that most precious sign and gift – His Holy Supper. And we, beholding His love for us, communing with Him and with all the Church and the hosts of heaven, we like His disciples believe in Him. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
John records for us in His Gospel, the first miracle that Jesus performs, or as John phrases it, the first sign that Jesus did. This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. John uses this language of signs throughout His Gospel – so this morning, let us consider what a sign is. A sign lets you know what something is – it identifies a thing. And John records multiple signs – counts to three and then just keeps going. This is because in Jewish law you needed three people to identify someone – once you had three witnesses, the truthfulness of something was confirmed. So, John is going to show in his Gospel the signs, the proofs that show that Jesus is the Messiah, True God. These are going to be things that manifest His Glory.
Well, how in the world does the Wedding at Cana manifest Christ’s Glory? It’s not very spectacular to our way of thinking – I mean, the miracle is nice – but only the servants see it. The master of the feast, he doesn’t see the miracle. The Bridegroom, he doesn’t know where the wine came from. Only the servants – the hired help, they are the only ones who see. It’s not as though Jesus strides into the middle of the room and says, “Behold, where there was no wine, now – Let there be wine” and massive jugs of wine appear. Just very quietly, very simply, without drawing attention to Himself, Jesus tells the servants to fill jars with water, and then take to the master of the feast. There’s not even any hand wave – no mud rubbed on the jars. Just quiet and simple. And Jesus even seemed quiet about doing this. When His mother came to Him and told Him that they were out of wine, Jesus said, “Woman, what does this have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” Now, just as a note – this isn’t harsh sounding in the Greek. If I walk up to someone today and say, “Woman,” – I’m probably fixing to say something rude, and quite possibly get myself slapped. It doesn’t come off that way in Greek – it would be more like, “Dear Woman”, or even just saying, “Mother” in English. Dear woman, I know you want Me to get this preaching and healing stuff on the road, but it really isn’t time for that. Be patient. And yet, Jesus is never One to turn down those in need. So very quietly, water is changed into wine.
And not only wine, but good wine, full wine, strong wine. The master of the feast is confused – Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now. This makes sense – you serve the good, strong wine when people are first there – when they can appreciate the taste – and then, when they are well pleased and enjoying themselves – you go to the lower quality stuff, the watered down stuff – because it’s harder to get things moving than to keep them moving. But Jesus doesn’t make anything poor, and if He makes wine, by gum He is going to make wine, good wine. And in the midst of the confusion, only the servants know, and His disciples see, and they believe.
So why do the Disciples “believe”. It says believe, it’s not just a simple matter of being amazed, or marveling, but they believe. Why is a simple, quiet, miracle, where no one but the servants and the disciples, who would have been following Jesus around, suddenly bring forth belief, why is it a manifestation of Christ’s Glory as True God? Because it’s wine. Let’s face it, today in Oklahoma, wine doesn’t have all that good of a reputation. Most of you here probably don’t even like wine all that much – in fact, during the lesson when it said that Jesus made good wine some of you probably thought, “Is any wine really good.” Moreover, what do we call a bum who’s drunk? We call him a wino. Wine isn’t well respected in our culture today. But in Jesus’ day, wine was important, wine was life. You would mix a little wine into the water you got from the well, and any of the nasty little bugs in the water would be killed off, so you could drink the water and live. And more over, wine was a vital part of celebration, of rejoicing – wine to gladden the heart of man – that’s Psalm 104. Wine was something worthy of sacrifice to God, it was the drink offering with a pleasing aroma. It was one of the three major blessings of agriculture – Israel was promised that God would bless their grain and their wine and their olive oil. And more than just that, wine was a sign of the coming Messiah, of what things would be like when the Messiah comes. We ourselves heard in Amos 9 The mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. That’s what’s going to happen when the Messiah comes! Good wine is a good thing! And then, there the disciples see Jesus, and there they are, up in Cana, in hill country of Galilee, and what do you know – sweet, good wine everywhere. Jesus is the Messiah! The disciples see this sign, they see this and it identifies Jesus as the Messiah. And they believe in Him.
But it’s not just significant that there is wine; it’s also of note that this miracle happens at a wedding. If Jesus had wanted simply to have wine, that could have happened whenever. But they are at a wedding. We think of weddings as wondrous, beautiful times – and they are, but they are more than just the sentimental ideas we normally think of. Weddings hearken back to the Garden of Eden. There was a wedding, there was marriage before there was any sin. Before the Fall God took Adam and Eve and joined them together. Marriage points back to the Garden of Eden, to perfection – which is why there is to be a party and celebration and rejoicing. And then. . . the wine is gone. That’s a reminder of the fall, of sin. Adam gets told he’s going to have to wrest food from the soil – and the Bridegroom’s wrestings weren’t enough to provide wine for all. Lack, sorrow, sin and it’s damage all showing up. And into this party about ready to be ruined by the impact of sin strides Christ Jesus – and very quietly, the celebration is restored before anyone really knew it was in danger. Do you see how this is a God-thing, a restoring of what gets lost at the Fall? That is something the Messiah does!
But more than just pointing to paradise – as we heard in Ephesians, marriage is a picture of the holy and perfect love that Christ has for the Church, His Bride. Christ cleanses His Church by the washing of water with the Word, with Baptism, and why – so that He might present the Church to Himself in splendor, without spot or blemish or wrinkle or any such thing. The image, the picture of God’s love is the Bridegroom making sure that everything is perfect for His Bride – that’s how Christ loves us. At Cana, this earthly bridegroom, he couldn’t – his wine had run out. So Christ steps in, and He makes all things good – good like they were in the Garden of Eden. And it was good. This is precisely what Christ does to His Church. We in the Church, we are sinful folk, filled with more spots and blemishes and scars and disfigurements than we care to think about. But into our lives comes Christ Jesus, and He looks upon us with utter, perfect love, and He strides to the Cross and suffers and dies so that we might be forgiven, He rises so that He might claim us as His own to live with Him forever, and He washes us in His own Holy Baptism, so that we are clean and forgiven and spotless and without blemish in His sight. Jesus makes all things perfect, not just at a wedding in small town Galilee, but in you, by virtue of your Baptism, you have been washed clean, restored to God, claimed as God’s own. This is what the Messiah does – He rescues, He saves, He redeems His Bride the Church so that He might have her for all eternity. It is the picture of heaven, of our eternity with God, where He has come and saved us and made us to be with Him for all eternity – the bliss of Eden restored and surpassed in the glories and wonders of heaven.
And indeed, there is one more bit of significance that we see in this text, that comes out even for us today. It was no accident that our Lord turned water into wine there in Cana, and it was no accident that on the night when He was betrayed our Lord took the wine in the cup and said, Drink of it all of you, this cup is the New Testament in My Blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of your sin. Here in the Supper, we are joined to Christ, we share in, we are made partakers of His Body and Blood, we are joined to Him in a way beyond anything that we experience in this life – we join in the mystery of the ages – This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church. Here, in the Church’s great feast – we get a taste, a glimpse, a participation in Heaven, for we are joined now to Christ, and indeed, in heaven we will ever be at the feast of the Christ Jesus – the eternal celebration of glory and wonder that heaven shall be. Christ our Lord forgives you your sin, joins Himself to you, gives you His own Body as a pledge and token, indeed, a sign that you yourself shall rise even as He has risen, gives you His blood as proof, as a sign that it was shed for you, so you know that you are forgiven and redeemed. This is the wonder of this gift.
This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him. Christ Jesus restores all things – we see this begun in John’s Gospel as that little wedding in Cana gets a taste of Eden restored. We see Christ Jesus accomplish this for the world by His death and resurrection. And indeed, our Lord continually shows that He is God, makes us to share in His Glory in that most precious sign and gift – His Holy Supper. And we, beholding His love for us, communing with Him and with all the Church and the hosts of heaven, we like His disciples believe in Him. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
Thursday, January 14, 2010
But is it the LAST question?
I am often asked questions that begin with the word "could". Could one do. . . ? This is an important question - it is vitally important to ask because we need to know if something is within the realm of possibility. But "could" ought not be the last question asked -- it should be always followed up by "should". It isn't just a matter of whether we can do something (if something is in the pall of Christian freedom), but rather whether or not it is good and beneficial, not just for us, but for our neighboring congregations, our Synod, and the Church.
Could I on my own start having first communion at 6-8 years of age? Sure. Should I. . . well, that's a much, much sticker wicket. What of the 9 year old who can commune here and approaches the altar at St. John in the cornfield?
There are also the "why not" and "why couldn't we" questions. Those need to be followed up with a "why should" question, and unless that one get answered properly, it's a bad idea. Why couldn't we move church to 5:45 AM? Nothing forbids it. . . but why should we? Whom would this serve, how would this show love?
Permission or possibility is never to be the last question. The last question must be, "Is this the best thing to do; does this best show love?"
Could I on my own start having first communion at 6-8 years of age? Sure. Should I. . . well, that's a much, much sticker wicket. What of the 9 year old who can commune here and approaches the altar at St. John in the cornfield?
There are also the "why not" and "why couldn't we" questions. Those need to be followed up with a "why should" question, and unless that one get answered properly, it's a bad idea. Why couldn't we move church to 5:45 AM? Nothing forbids it. . . but why should we? Whom would this serve, how would this show love?
Permission or possibility is never to be the last question. The last question must be, "Is this the best thing to do; does this best show love?"
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Baptism of Jesus 2010 sermon
Baptism of Jesus – Matthew 3:13-17 – January 10th, 2009
In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
We have now entered into the season of Epiphany – and Epiphany is a season of wonder and revelation. Epiphany literally means “to shine upon” - to have a revealing light shine forth into the night so that we can truly see – and our Gospel lessons for the next few weeks will deal with Christ Jesus revealing the most wondrous truth – that He is true God. Christmastime focused on the fact that Jesus is true Man, but in Epiphany we see that He is true God as well. This is a revelation that we all need to see, a wonder that brings joy whenever we ponder it. And so, this day, in our Gospel text, we see Jesus head to the river Jordan to be baptized by John.
Now, I almost feel bad for John here, and probably more so because I am a preacher. I'm sure this will come as no surprise, but generally preachers like to know stuff. They like to know what is going on and why. To be a preacher is to be a teacher, and if you are teaching it certainly helps if you know what you are teaching, if you have your preparation all done and complete. Same reason why teachers have plan periods and the like – preparation and knowing your material is key. And as for surprises, those are right out – don't want those. You don’t want too much unexpected happening. And so John prepared – and He studied and trained, and then He shows up in the desert – and he preaches. He preaches a baptism of repentance, preaches as powerfully as anyone in centuries. And all his ducks are in a row – he can answer every question – even the Scribes and the Pharisees can't knock him off his game – John can even dress them down them when they approach – You brood of vipers, who told you to flee the wrath that is to come. Great stuff – makes my pastor-heart go all pitter patter. Fantastic. And then, Jesus comes down to the Jordan to be baptized, and John is thrown for a complete loop. We hear, John would have prevented Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” John is completely thrown off, completely caught off guard.
Do you understand John's confusion? He has been preaching a baptism of “repentance”. Repentance. Turning away from your sin and focusing yourself upon God and His mercy, upon forgiveness. And up comes Jesus – and John knows who Jesus is, John leaped in the womb when Jesus approach him still unborn. John knows his Cousin is the Messiah, knows that He is sinless and has no need of repentance. John doesn't see how what he is preaching does anything for Jesus. Jesus doesn’t need repentance! It would be like a college professor showing up on the first day of 2nd grade with notebooks and folders and asking where he should sit – it would be utterly confusing. In fact, John says, “Wait – you don't need me, Jesus – I need You. I need to be baptized by You – I'm one of those sinners who needs your forgiveness.” John sees his own lack, his own sinfulness, and he doesn't understand the whole picture yet.
So Jesus shows him. But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” These are some beautiful words that our Lord speaks here. You see, John is thinking just in terms of sinfulness and repentance – repent, turn away from your sinfulness, and start focusing on God. John is wanting people to face the right way – which is good. Indeed, that is what we ourselves are to do, we are to be about the business of repenting daily, daily struggling against our sin, daily confessing our sin. Repentance is that struggle against sin which we all face. Jesus, though, is thinking in terms of fulfilling righteousness, which is, unsurprisingly, a more full approach. Let's discuss what it means to fulfill all righteousness. Celia and I went to Tulsa after Christmas to visit her family, and with the storms there, huge potholes had opened up all over the place – and some roads were just horrible. There's a section of 244 that I don't know how anyone drives upon. And so we swerved around the potholes, and we learned to avoid certain streets. That's what repentance is like – it's that struggle to avoid the potholes – and try as hard as I might, I still hit some, but then I drove off, determined to do better. No matter how well I drive, how well I plan out routes, no matter how hard I try to avoid them – those potholes are still there. The road needs to be fixed – those holes need to be filled in – and that's something that I'm not going to do, the highway crews are going to have to do it. John was teaching about people's need to repent, to avoid the moral potholes of life. Jesus comes to fulfill all righteousness, which means He has to fix the problem. Jesus comes to fulfill all righteousness.
You see, sin, our sin, rips holes in creation. Tears vile gashes. Pain, suffering, anger, death, toil. All these things – these are the gashes upon creation, upon us, that sin has left in its wake. These all need to be fixed. The holes left in our heart by sin need to be healed, need to be filled. There needs to be perfection on earth again – but the problem is none of us here can do it. We've already dropped the ball, so even if we lived perfectly from now on, which we can't – still wouldn't mend the sin of our past. And so God Himself comes down to live perfectly, to be completely and totally righteous, so that He Himself can fulfill all righteousness, that He can fill up the holes in creation, the holes in us that sin tore open.
This is what Jesus does throughout His ministry – in the love He shows, in the miracles and wonders He does – and most especially when He fills that largest of sin's holes – the gaping hole of death. When our Lord Jesus is nailed to the Cross, what He is in reality doing is filling up death with Himself, with His own righteous death, so that there is no more room for death at all. This is how He fulfills, He makes things righteous, makes us righteous, so that we are new creations in Him, forgiven and clean. And the particular wonder of this text, this Gospel lesson today, is that our Lord is baptized.
How does Jesus being baptized fulfill all righteousness? In His life, we see that our Lord's righteousness is completely full, that it is filled to the brim, it is overflowing, that one could not be more righteous than Him. But how does that do us any good – it does us good because Jesus is baptized. Consider John's baptism – repentant sinner after repentant sinner had stepped down into that water, confessing their lack of righteousness – and into that same water steps Christ Jesus, who is overflowing with righteousness. Jesus' baptism ties Himself and His righteousness to us sinners – and so that all that He has done, all that goodness and righteousness overflows from Him and onto us, washing away our blemishes, filling up the pockmarks and holes in our life with His own love. When you were baptized, you were united to Christ and His righteousness because Jesus strides to the Jordan, because Jesus tells John that they are going to do this to fulfill all righteousness, to fulfill your righteousness. This is why Jesus is baptized – John was partially right – Jesus didn't need to be baptized for Himself – but we needed Jesus to be baptized. And so He is.
There is a final bit to this text, a wondrous part of revelation that we hear in this text. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is My Beloved Son, with Whom I Am well pleased.” When Jesus is baptized, the Holy Spirit descends upon Him, and the Father speaks from heaven saying that He is well pleased with His beloved Son. This is a revelation of the Trinity. The points where we get to see, to hear the Three Persons of the Trinity at the same time are rare – but here we see it – Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It is a wonderful sign of assurance that Jesus truly is God, full God – total and complete God – indeed the Triune God rejoices at His Baptism and His work to save mankind. The Father is well pleased, the Spirit is present – everything is in the right order – and we receive this wondrous glimpse of God. This is the reason why our Lord instructs us to baptize in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Because in your baptism, it is not just that you are forgiven, it's not just that your sins are washed away or that the holes in your life are filled – you are united to God – you are united to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And why? Because baptism unites you to Christ. Christ is the Son of the Father – so now the Father sees you and says, “You are my beloved son, my beloved daughter” - because when He sees you He sees all of Christ's righteousness. Your baptism united you with the Holy Spirit. And why? Because wherever Christ is the Holy Spirit is as well, the Holy Spirit rests upon Him, the two go hand and hand, and because you have been united to Christ, you know that the Holy Spirit has made you His dwelling place, His temple as well. This is but a glimpse of the fullness, the wonders of baptism that we receive all because Christ Jesus was Baptized.
And so my dear friends, indeed, more than that, my fellow baptized, my brothers and sisters in Christ – rejoice this day at the wonders God has performed in your life through His gift of Baptism, because Christ Jesus has fulfilled all righteousness, He has filled your righteousness, and indeed, now your cup overfloweth because of Him. He is your light and your salvation, and He has shown upon you and revealed His love unto you. Rejoice. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the world +
In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
We have now entered into the season of Epiphany – and Epiphany is a season of wonder and revelation. Epiphany literally means “to shine upon” - to have a revealing light shine forth into the night so that we can truly see – and our Gospel lessons for the next few weeks will deal with Christ Jesus revealing the most wondrous truth – that He is true God. Christmastime focused on the fact that Jesus is true Man, but in Epiphany we see that He is true God as well. This is a revelation that we all need to see, a wonder that brings joy whenever we ponder it. And so, this day, in our Gospel text, we see Jesus head to the river Jordan to be baptized by John.
Now, I almost feel bad for John here, and probably more so because I am a preacher. I'm sure this will come as no surprise, but generally preachers like to know stuff. They like to know what is going on and why. To be a preacher is to be a teacher, and if you are teaching it certainly helps if you know what you are teaching, if you have your preparation all done and complete. Same reason why teachers have plan periods and the like – preparation and knowing your material is key. And as for surprises, those are right out – don't want those. You don’t want too much unexpected happening. And so John prepared – and He studied and trained, and then He shows up in the desert – and he preaches. He preaches a baptism of repentance, preaches as powerfully as anyone in centuries. And all his ducks are in a row – he can answer every question – even the Scribes and the Pharisees can't knock him off his game – John can even dress them down them when they approach – You brood of vipers, who told you to flee the wrath that is to come. Great stuff – makes my pastor-heart go all pitter patter. Fantastic. And then, Jesus comes down to the Jordan to be baptized, and John is thrown for a complete loop. We hear, John would have prevented Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” John is completely thrown off, completely caught off guard.
Do you understand John's confusion? He has been preaching a baptism of “repentance”. Repentance. Turning away from your sin and focusing yourself upon God and His mercy, upon forgiveness. And up comes Jesus – and John knows who Jesus is, John leaped in the womb when Jesus approach him still unborn. John knows his Cousin is the Messiah, knows that He is sinless and has no need of repentance. John doesn't see how what he is preaching does anything for Jesus. Jesus doesn’t need repentance! It would be like a college professor showing up on the first day of 2nd grade with notebooks and folders and asking where he should sit – it would be utterly confusing. In fact, John says, “Wait – you don't need me, Jesus – I need You. I need to be baptized by You – I'm one of those sinners who needs your forgiveness.” John sees his own lack, his own sinfulness, and he doesn't understand the whole picture yet.
So Jesus shows him. But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” These are some beautiful words that our Lord speaks here. You see, John is thinking just in terms of sinfulness and repentance – repent, turn away from your sinfulness, and start focusing on God. John is wanting people to face the right way – which is good. Indeed, that is what we ourselves are to do, we are to be about the business of repenting daily, daily struggling against our sin, daily confessing our sin. Repentance is that struggle against sin which we all face. Jesus, though, is thinking in terms of fulfilling righteousness, which is, unsurprisingly, a more full approach. Let's discuss what it means to fulfill all righteousness. Celia and I went to Tulsa after Christmas to visit her family, and with the storms there, huge potholes had opened up all over the place – and some roads were just horrible. There's a section of 244 that I don't know how anyone drives upon. And so we swerved around the potholes, and we learned to avoid certain streets. That's what repentance is like – it's that struggle to avoid the potholes – and try as hard as I might, I still hit some, but then I drove off, determined to do better. No matter how well I drive, how well I plan out routes, no matter how hard I try to avoid them – those potholes are still there. The road needs to be fixed – those holes need to be filled in – and that's something that I'm not going to do, the highway crews are going to have to do it. John was teaching about people's need to repent, to avoid the moral potholes of life. Jesus comes to fulfill all righteousness, which means He has to fix the problem. Jesus comes to fulfill all righteousness.
You see, sin, our sin, rips holes in creation. Tears vile gashes. Pain, suffering, anger, death, toil. All these things – these are the gashes upon creation, upon us, that sin has left in its wake. These all need to be fixed. The holes left in our heart by sin need to be healed, need to be filled. There needs to be perfection on earth again – but the problem is none of us here can do it. We've already dropped the ball, so even if we lived perfectly from now on, which we can't – still wouldn't mend the sin of our past. And so God Himself comes down to live perfectly, to be completely and totally righteous, so that He Himself can fulfill all righteousness, that He can fill up the holes in creation, the holes in us that sin tore open.
This is what Jesus does throughout His ministry – in the love He shows, in the miracles and wonders He does – and most especially when He fills that largest of sin's holes – the gaping hole of death. When our Lord Jesus is nailed to the Cross, what He is in reality doing is filling up death with Himself, with His own righteous death, so that there is no more room for death at all. This is how He fulfills, He makes things righteous, makes us righteous, so that we are new creations in Him, forgiven and clean. And the particular wonder of this text, this Gospel lesson today, is that our Lord is baptized.
How does Jesus being baptized fulfill all righteousness? In His life, we see that our Lord's righteousness is completely full, that it is filled to the brim, it is overflowing, that one could not be more righteous than Him. But how does that do us any good – it does us good because Jesus is baptized. Consider John's baptism – repentant sinner after repentant sinner had stepped down into that water, confessing their lack of righteousness – and into that same water steps Christ Jesus, who is overflowing with righteousness. Jesus' baptism ties Himself and His righteousness to us sinners – and so that all that He has done, all that goodness and righteousness overflows from Him and onto us, washing away our blemishes, filling up the pockmarks and holes in our life with His own love. When you were baptized, you were united to Christ and His righteousness because Jesus strides to the Jordan, because Jesus tells John that they are going to do this to fulfill all righteousness, to fulfill your righteousness. This is why Jesus is baptized – John was partially right – Jesus didn't need to be baptized for Himself – but we needed Jesus to be baptized. And so He is.
There is a final bit to this text, a wondrous part of revelation that we hear in this text. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is My Beloved Son, with Whom I Am well pleased.” When Jesus is baptized, the Holy Spirit descends upon Him, and the Father speaks from heaven saying that He is well pleased with His beloved Son. This is a revelation of the Trinity. The points where we get to see, to hear the Three Persons of the Trinity at the same time are rare – but here we see it – Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It is a wonderful sign of assurance that Jesus truly is God, full God – total and complete God – indeed the Triune God rejoices at His Baptism and His work to save mankind. The Father is well pleased, the Spirit is present – everything is in the right order – and we receive this wondrous glimpse of God. This is the reason why our Lord instructs us to baptize in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Because in your baptism, it is not just that you are forgiven, it's not just that your sins are washed away or that the holes in your life are filled – you are united to God – you are united to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And why? Because baptism unites you to Christ. Christ is the Son of the Father – so now the Father sees you and says, “You are my beloved son, my beloved daughter” - because when He sees you He sees all of Christ's righteousness. Your baptism united you with the Holy Spirit. And why? Because wherever Christ is the Holy Spirit is as well, the Holy Spirit rests upon Him, the two go hand and hand, and because you have been united to Christ, you know that the Holy Spirit has made you His dwelling place, His temple as well. This is but a glimpse of the fullness, the wonders of baptism that we receive all because Christ Jesus was Baptized.
And so my dear friends, indeed, more than that, my fellow baptized, my brothers and sisters in Christ – rejoice this day at the wonders God has performed in your life through His gift of Baptism, because Christ Jesus has fulfilled all righteousness, He has filled your righteousness, and indeed, now your cup overfloweth because of Him. He is your light and your salvation, and He has shown upon you and revealed His love unto you. Rejoice. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the world +
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