tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38472111490120087032024-03-14T08:38:44.174-05:00Confessional GadflyThis is where Rev. Eric J Brown posts his theological (and theo-political, that is on the politics of theology) posts.Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.comBlogger1978125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-30275813679012371282024-03-14T08:37:00.009-05:002024-03-14T08:37:48.507-05:00Lent 5<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ the Crucified +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Boy,
Jesus just seems... mean to our ears today, doesn't He? I mean,
aren't you a little bit taken aback at the vigor with which Jesus
argues? Isn't Jesus supposed to be kind and loving, isn't He
supposed to be nice and make me feel good? Part of the problem with
hearing a text like this is we are Americans, which means we all live
in a consumerist culture, where we are surrounded by salesmen and
liars. So much of our world is driven by advertisements and PR
firms, mastering the art of the deal. And, of course, if you are in
sales, you do what you have to do to close the deal. As the old
movie line goes – put that coffee down, coffee's for closers only.
Do whatever you have to do to make the sale. And so, we as Americans
are simply used to people selling us things – trying to win us
over, trying to make us purchase something, choose brand X over brand
Y. The customer is always right, right? Of course the problem with
sales is that they aren't always the most truthful. The fast food
burger in my bag at the drive thru just never quite looks like the
one on the billboard. So often the gadget might be the latest, but
the greatest is a stretch. Tin fiddles, lemons, pieces of junk. But
we're used to it, we buy, we consume, and if the truth gets massaged
or mangled a little bit on the way, so be it. </span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>But
the problem for us today isn't just false advertising out there. We
can end up importing this approach to how we view Church. There have
been countless fads for how to market the church through the decades
– movements to make it relevant or hit felt needs, attempts to make
it more exciting or “extreme”. I think the hipster pastors are
finally falling out of vogue, but I'm sure there will be some new
sales trend for the church coming down the pike. And with all of
them, if the truth is stretched or skirted around or twisted a bit,
so be it – as long as it packs people in, as long as it closes the
religious deal, it's good. If it makes you happy, it can't be that
bad. Come on, preacher, tell me what I want to hear! </span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>That's
not what Jesus does. Jesus isn't interested in sales, manipulation,
anything like that. His focus is on something else – the truth.
And the fact is quite often we can't handle the truth. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>
</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>But because I tell the truth, you do
not believe Me</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>.</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
People are terrified of the truth. We're not used to it, we're used
to the comfortable, enticing lie – and we like those lies. We like
living in our denial. But Jesus doesn't come to play up those lies;
He comes to rescue us from them. Just prior to our text, our Lord
said </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>“If you abide in My Word, you are
truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will
set you free.”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Free. Sound great, but
it's freed from our sin, our delusions, the things we are stuck in.
God's truth doesn't sell us anything, rather it confronts us, and it
attacks and shakes us. Because it deals with the blunt truth and we
don't like it. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span> </span>You
see, </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">God’s Law is an unpleasant thing.
You want an example of God’s Law being unpleasant – look at our
Old Testament lesson. Hear what God commands Abraham to do – </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Take
your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of
Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>.
. . .</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> That’s a statement of Law right
there. Isaac is going to die. And he deserves death. Abraham can’t
argue against it – Abraham knows that he himself hasn’t done
anything to earn this child –Abraham was old, so was Sarah, they
shouldn’t have even ever gotten Isaac, and if God wants Isaac back…
well, Abraham can’t gainsay God here. If God wants Isaac dead,
well, that’s the wages of sin.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>That’s
hard. That is hard to bear – that is a harsh truth. We don’t
like that truth. Think about how much work and effort people will
put into justifying themselves, into escaping the blame for something
– even when there is no punishment, even when admitting that you’ve
done wrong only might mean that someone doesn’t think as well of
you for a few days. We will duck and dance – it’s not my fault.
Oh, how we will try to sell that false image of ourselves! And what
about when something doesn’t go right in our life - We will get
angry and rail – how can you do this to me God! This is not proper
customer service, I demand to talk to a manager! I don’t deserve
this. Eh, that’s not true. Your toil in this life is nothing –
you deserve death. Apart from God rescuing you, you're toast.
That’s what the truth is, that what God says in His Word. That’s
what gets the Pharisees in our Gosepl lesson so steamed at Jesus.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Abraham
trusted the Lord, though; Abraham knew that God’s Word was more
than just a word of Law – but also a word of Gospel, a word of
mercy. That’s why he’s bold to take Isaac, that’s why he tells
the servants who stay behind that they </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><u>both</u></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
will come back down the mount – Abraham trusts in God’s mercy –
God will provide the lamb for the sacrifice. And we see that God
does do so – a ram is given to take Isaac’s place. Imagine the
joy that Abraham would have had at being stopped, at looking up and
seeing the ram and knowing that his Isaac would live. That's a real
gift, not some disposable piece of junk found on markdown. This is
the joy that Christ speaks of in the Gospel – </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Your
father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was
glad.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Of course Abraham rejoiced –
because God would spare Abraham’s son Isaac at the cost of His own
Son, Christ Jesus. This is the heart of the Gospel – not that
there are no consequences to sin, not that our sin doesn’t matter
or doesn’t deserve death – but rather this – Christ Jesus has
come and has born up the weight of sin in our place, that He suffers
and dies for us upon the Cross, that with His death and resurrection
He sets us free from sin and its burden. This is the great and
wondrous word of the Gospel – this is what the Gospel truly is –
that you are forgiven by God not on account of your works, not on
account of your effort, but on account of the precious death and
resurrection of Christ Jesus your Lord.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>And
yet – the Pharisees in the text are still angry, still reject
Christ after he explains this. People today still reject it. Why?
Because the Gospel truth is this – that Jesus is your Savior. The
Gospel makes sense only if you know and believe the Law. Jesus
doesn’t get rid of the Law, He fulfills it to be your Savior. If
Jesus is your Savior – it means that you need to be saved, it means
that you sin, that you aren’t perfectly fine as you are, that
you're not always the victim and sometimes some things actually are
your fault. And Jesus isn't going to butter you up. You can’t
preach the Gospel without preaching the Law first – because the two
go hand in hand. And the people who try to ignore reality and God's
Law will also have to reject the Gospel when they hear it. God's
word reveals the truth that we are sinners and that we need Jesus, a
Jesus who saves us, not a Jesus who placates us. So that's what
Jesus does – He does whatever is required to win salvation and take
on sin – even our sin, even the sin we like. And Jesus sticks to
the truth; He won't hedge anything just to sell us on His plan. It's
His way, not our way.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>So
what do we make of all of this? We see that all too many people
don’t like the truth of God’s Word. They don’t like the Law
rightly preached – calling their sin what it is – sin, and
pointing out that it is wrong and deserves punishment. They don’t
like the Gospel either – the truth that God and God alone is our
Savior, without any worth or merit in us. First, we need remember
that this applies to us as well. It is not just people out there who
do not like God’s truth – your own sinful flesh will rebel
against it – we like to be catered to as well. That is why we have
a focus on repentance, that is why we are to daily drown our old Adam
and our desires and instead to be focused upon Christ. That is why
we are to come here and hear preaching, hear absolution, receive
Christ’s Body and Blood for our forgiveness and the strengthening
of our faith – so that we ourselves don’t fall away.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>But
also this. We are tempted, especially in this day and age, to soft
sell God’s truth. To try and make it more appealing to sinful man,
to accommodate people's sin, to play to “their truth” rather than
God's truth. We are tempted to put what people want to hear over
what God says. We are tempted to not be proclaimers of Christ Jesus,
but rather peddlers of our own plans and programs. But let's be
honest – that's not the way. Consider you yourself – you have
been brought to faith and you have been kept in that faith by what –
by God’s Word rightly preached and rightly taught. By the truth –
the law in its sternness, the gospel in its sweetness. That’s the
same thing the people who don’t believe right now need – the same
thing your family and friends need as well. The truth is that they
are in need of God’s love – to know that God richly loves them
and offers them salvation and forgiveness – that this isn't a sales
pitch with strings attached. Speak them the Word, over and over
again, even if they don’t like it. That doesn’t mean be a jerk
about it, but be honest and truthful, even when the truth is
difficult and hard to hear, and the Holy Spirit will work faith when
and where He wills. That’s why in the Scriptures we see Christ
speak the truth. And He speaks it over and over again – and some
never like it – but because our Lord preaches again and again –
some do end up believing. Because the Apostles preach God’s Word
in its truth, some do end up believing. Because faithful Christians,
Pastors, parents, friends spoke God’s Word in truth and purity to
you, you believe. God grant that we would speak God’s Word
rightly, so that others might know what God’s truth is, so that the
Holy Spirit might work, not through the plans we dream up, but that
the Spirit might work through the Word which He places upon our lips.
</span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>The
world doesn't need another salesman. It doesn't need more deals or
discounts. It needs to be rescued and delivered from the pervasive
power of Satan, that runs lies and deceit and death and chaos all
around us. And this is what Christ Jesus does, and He does so
continually and faithfully in His Word and Sacraments. This is our
hope, and it never changes.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">In the Name of Christ the
Crucified +</span></p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-4076513328884908722024-03-07T06:13:00.006-06:002024-03-07T06:13:24.898-06:00Lent 4<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ the Crucified +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>My
sermons are short. I don’t expect that any one of you here thinks
that there is the slightest possibility that I am going to still be
in this pulpit, say, 20 minutes from now. 15 minutes is a long one
from me. And as for the Church service, if we go over an hour,
that’s a long one. You all expect to be well out of here by
6/9:30. This is how we think, this is what we are used to, so
because of this we don’t get the full setting of what is going on
in our Gospel. <i><b>After this Jesus went away to the other side of
the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberius. And a large crowd
was following Him, because they saw the signs that He was doing on
the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with
His disciples.</b></i> We aren’t referring to a short little
period of time, no longer than a tv show, but hours upon hours –
that’s what these people have spent listening to and following
Jesus. They didn’t drive to Church, rather they walked miles
following Jesus. They didn’t sit on padded pews, but would sit on
a rocky hillside to hear what He would preach.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>And
then, Jesus pauses, and He looks at His disciples and ask, “Okay,
how are we going to feed all these folks, since they’ve followed Me
out here into the middle of nowhere?” Jesus knows what He’s
going to do, but He wants to see what the disciples are thinking.
And they are stumped. Well, we’ve got a kid here with 5 rolls and
a couple of small fish – but that won’t do much good. And we
know what comes next – Jesus feeds the 5000. Has them sit down,
blesses the food, and it just doesn’t run out. In fact, there are
leftovers, 12 baskets full of leftovers, each disciple gets to lug
one around. And the people know what they’ve just seen. <i><b>When
the people saw the sign that He had done, they said, “This is the
Prophet who is to come into the world!”</b></i><b> </b> <b>**THE**
</b>Prophet – the Messiah, the promised one. That must be who this
Jesus is. And then Jesus just slinks away – <i><b>Perceiving then
that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king,
Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.</b></i><b> </b>
Jesus slides away. I’m not here to get into politics – I’m not
here to overthrow the Romans or fix the federal deficit – and so
Jesus slides away.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Dear
friends, this text is instructive. Do you see how Jesus chooses to
care for these people? He cares for them in two vital ways. The
first way is that He cares for them Spiritually. Jesus has been
preaching, Jesus has been teaching – He has been expounding the
Word of God for them – a great and wonderful thing. And they can’t
get enough. He goes to the other side of a lake and they follow Him
there – give us more, preach more, teach more. A good and
wonderful gift. Jesus provides for these people Spiritually.
However, our Lord does more than just provide Spiritually. He
provides for their physical needs as well. Jesus looks out upon them,
sees the crowd that has gathered, and He sees that they are hungry,
that their bodies are tired and sore, that stomachs are starting to
rumble. And so He provides for them. And He does so without a lot
of hoopla. Just has them sit down, blesses the food, and hands it
out. Sort of simple and straight forward – I will provide for
them. But when suddenly the crowd gets fixated on what He provides
physically – this Jesus can mean free food for life – Jesus
slides away. I’ve provided, you are taken care of, and that is
good enough.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>The
fourth Sunday in Lent is a pause, a break in the season of Lent. The
last three Sundays have seen intense Gospel lessons with Law that
comes and smacks us right upside the head. What we see today, what
we remember today, is that God indeed understands the difficulties we
face in life, understands the intensity with which we struggle
against sin and Satan, the hardships we struggle against in this
life. We look at this Gospel lesson today with this in mind. Our
focus could be on how this is a fantastic demonstration of the truth
that Jesus is True God. Our focus could be on how much those people
wanted to hear God’s Word – then asking ourselves, “do we?”
Our focus could be on the disciples’ confusion, and how often we
don’t understand what God is doing. Each of those could make a
fine basis for a sermon, but here, in the midst of Lent, we hear this
text for another purpose. Just as God cared for those people in the
midst of their hardships, we learn and know and understand that God
cares for us in the midst of our hardships, in the midst of our
trials. Let’s compare – how does God care for you in the exact
same ways in which He cared for those 5000 there?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>First,
God cares for your Spiritual needs. Lent is a season of spiritual
trial. Lent is that long look in the mirror, that time of
self-examination knowing that you aren’t going to like what you see
all time. The simple fact is that there is struggle against sin –
people that you have to love, that are sort of hard to love.
Sacrifices you have to make for the sake of your neighbor that you
don’t look forward to. As Christ will put it in the Garden of
Gethsame, bitter cups yet to be drank. And that’s the way life
always is, and sin has spilled out aplenty, and we can see it in our
lives easily – families hurting and seemingly broken, friendships
that have fallen on hard times, neighbors that scorn and mock. It’s
not easy. But know this. Christ Jesus your Lord sees your struggle,
knows what you are facing, for He Himself faced Satan’s
temptations, He Himself was mocked and scorned, in fact, His brothers
thought He was an embarrassment to the family. Jesus understands.
And Jesus provides for you what you need to endure, to conquer. He
provides you with His Word. And He does always. Has there ever been
a time where Jesus has refused to come to You in His Word? Ever
tried to open your bible and found out that God had glued it shut? I
didn’t think so. Has there been a time where Christ’s death and
resurrection for your forgiveness hasn’t been trumpeted from this
pulpit and thousands like it all over the country, where the message
of God’s salvation hasn’t resounded? Has there been a time where
God has ever said, “Eh, I’m going to ignore your baptism, your on
your own again”? No – God continually offers you spiritual care
in His Word and Sacraments. That’s what He does. We see this from
our Epistle, Acts 2, the day of Pentecost, birth of the New Testament
Church. And what do people do? <i><b>And they devoted themselves to
the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and
the prayers.</b></i> Same thing we are doing right now. John was an
apostle, and oh look, a sermon, teaching from what John taught us
about Christ in His Gospel. Check. Fellowship and the breaking of
bread – On the night when He was betrayed, our Lord took bread, and
when He had given thanks He broke it! Check. The prayers. We’ve
done the collect, those words are probably 1200 years old or so, and
then we will pray the Lord’s Prayer, we know they were saying that
one, we end with the Aaronic Benediction, they’ve been doing that
since the time of our Old Testament lesson. Check. Same thing, same
ways, God is consistent. God provides and will continue to provide
for the Spiritual needs of His people. And this He does for you,
this is His love for you.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>And
there is more. God not only provides for you Spiritually, but we see
and remember that God provides for you Physically as well. Now if
you follow the old tradition of giving up something for lent, of
fasting, you’ll be noticing it by now – so this point that God
provides physically would stand out all the greater. But it is true
– has God ever stopped providing for your physical needs? No, He
cares for you, and until the day that He calls you to eternal life,
you can be sure that He always will. Doesn’t mean that there
aren’t times where we cease to be satisfied – the 5000 wanted to
grab Jesus, make Him King and say to Him, “We want more bread.”
There are times where we want to grab on to Jesus and see if He’ll
give us more stuff – where we think clinging to Jesus means turning
Him upside down and shaking to see if any more loose change falls out
of His pockets. When we get caught up in the cares of this life,
when we are worried and frantic and nervous – which I know can
happen this time of year – time to get ready for planting so, doing
all the taxes for last year, school work is getting harder and how
are the grades, spring and storms are on their way – it can be a
mighty anxious time. And we can fret, and we can worry. But when we
pause, when we relax, we see and remember that in all times and in
all places God has indeed provided for us. Like the 5000 we follow
Him and hear His Word – and then we look up and behold, He has
provided for us. This is why in Acts the believers could day by day
attend the temple together and receive their food with gladness –
because they understood that God provides for them. Is this not true
in your life? Pause for moment – Has not God seen to it that you
are provided for, even in the times when you had no clue how things
were going to work out? This is His love for you – this is what He
reminds us of in this Gospel text.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>With
this in mind, we have confidence in Christ, even in the face of
trials in this life. We follow our Lord’s footsteps as He strides
towards Holy Week, and it’s culmination on Good Friday. We follow
our Lord to Gethsemane, we too have our trials from Satan and our
struggles and our hard times – but all of these, all of these we
face knowing God’s love for us – indeed we have seen it all of
our days, and we know that come what may, in whatever difficulty we
find ourselves in, Christ Jesus is still our Lord, still our God who
never fails to show us His love, who never fails to provide us the
forgiveness and strength which we need for matters both spiritual and
physical. This is His love for you, which endures forever. In the
Name of Christ the Crucified+ Amen. </span>
</p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-52316327217626994332024-03-02T09:00:00.001-06:002024-03-02T09:00:00.249-06:00Lent 3<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ the Crucified +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>An
interesting thing happens as Jesus goes about in His battle against
Satan. Quite often Jesus does stuff out in the open, publicly, where
everyone can see. Great things! Wondrous things! Like for today's
Gospel – we actually jump on in the middle of the action – <i><b>Now
[Jesus] was casting out a demon that was mute.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
As we first see Jesus, there He is, in the process of actually
casting out a demon, actually opening this poor man's lips, making
things better. That's pretty cool. Perhaps pretty terrifying as
well, but it's still a good thing, right? And yes, by in large the
people marvel and are amazed by this</span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">..</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
but there's also opposition. There's complaints and grousing –
there are excuses. So what happens is Jesus will turn His focus to
another fight He wages – and that is the attack on our complaints
and our excuses, because Jesus knows them for what they really are.
Listen.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><i><b><span> </span>But
some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of
demons,” while others, to test Him, kept seeking from Him a sign
from heaven.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
So let's for a moment consider these responses to Jesus' miracle.
First – oh, He's casting out demons by Beelzebul. This, of course,
strikes us as utterly absurd. They are basically saying that this is
just a hoax and that Jesus is in league with Satan. Yeah, it's a
lousy complaint – and Jesus will rip it apart in a few moments.
But really, what are they doing? I don't think this is a well
thought out, logical conclusion that they come to, nor is this just
some emotional, visceral reaction. There's something deeper going on
here. There's a bit of desperation here, they are grasping at
straws; they are trying to come up with any excuse they can think
of... to what? To not have to listen to Jesus. To be able to safely
ignore Jesus. I mean, there Jesus is, just in their face, casting
out a demon right in front of them. They have to acknowledge what is
going on, but they don't want to. They want to safely ignore Jesus,
and they are desperate to come up with an excuse, a reason, a
justification for them to ignore Jesus.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>It's
really the same thing for the people who are testing Jesus, who keep
demanding more signs from heaven... as though casting out a demon
right in front of them wasn't sign enough. This too is just an
excuse, a reason to ignore Jesus. He hasn't done enough. I asked
for a sign from heaven, one lousy peel of thunder, and He couldn't
produce it – who cares about Him now! As though Jesus' job is
cater to our whims. But there you go, more silly little reasons to
ignore Jesus, just there milling around the crowd.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
Jesus will have none of it. </span></span><i><b>But He, knowing
their thoughts, said to them, “Every Kingdom divided against itself
is laid to waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also
is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Oh, I'm doing this by the prince of demons? So you think there's a
civil war, or that Satan has just become a toothless idiot? Because
he's not. He still scowls fierce, and so on. Maybe, My friends, you
aren't reading the situation correctly. But it's not Me who will be
getting on your case for this – </span></span><i><b>And if I cast
out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Jesus points out here something that is going on – people were
casting out demons in Jesus' name. This was sometimes upsetting to
the disciples because the guys doing this weren't according to hoyle
part of the 12 disciples – Jesus doesn't mind it at all. But to
the point right now, Jesus states the obvious – if you accuse Me,
you also accuse a lot of other people, including your own sons who
are calling upon My Name for wondrous things. Do you see how Jesus
just deftly deflates their complaints, their excuses?</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
then Jesus brings out the elephant in the room. </span></span><i><b>But
if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the
Kingdom of God has come upon you.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
No, this is the kingdom of God, the power of God at work – and if
you are fighting Me, you're fighting God. There's no way around it.
Because what Jesus is doing here is destroying Satan's kingdom and
rescuing us – </span></span><i><b>When a strong man, fully armed,
guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than
he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he
trusted and divides the spoil.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Jesus is raiding Satan's kingdom, He's blasting apart Satan's
defenses, and all on a mission to rescue people, to rescue you. And
you need to be on board with this Jesus rescue mission – </span></span><i><b>Whoever
is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me
scatters.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
In or out. Come with me if you want to live. This is the
situation.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
here we really get to the heart, the theological root, the issue at
stake. The excuses, the complaints, they are all just symptoms of a
deeper problem, and that problem is self-justification. I will
justify myself – I will take my actions and I will defend them no
matter what. I will excuse the inexcusable, I will deflect from any
wrong I've done and bring up what-abouts, and if the heat ever gets
to close to me I'll start complaining and turning up the heat on
someone else. Because I'm fine. I don't have any problems, I don't
have any issues – why it's just you guys who are the problem. I
don't need a Savior, I don't need to be saved. I don't need Jesus.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Isn't
that really what these people are driving at here? I don't think I
need Jesus, I don't want to need Jesus, so I'll say He's in league
with Satan. I don't think I need Jesus, so I'll say He's not good
enough for me. Now, maybe you've not done this sort of
self-justifying dance with Jesus, but we all know the pattern of
excuse making and denial and puffing ourselves up. It happens all
the time in our relationships – at work, at home. Often we come up
with terrible excuses that we think are brilliant, and then maybe we
can laugh at them later on once we've come to our senses. And maybe,
just maybe, if we're being honest, you can think of times where
you've used excuses and complaints and self-justifications against
Jesus, against Church. Lord knows I have often enough. It's the
common move and drive of our sinful flesh – to make excuses for
ourselves, to seek to justify ourselves, to cry out that it's not our
fault. And when we get called out for this excuse making, we can get
really defensive. Why, yes, Jesus, you have caught me with my hand
in the cookie jar, but clearly I just want a cookie, and there's
nothing wrong with that, and in fact, I think I deserve a cookie! </span></span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Here's
the thing, the issue. You can't justify yourself. When you've
messed up, when you've sinned, no excuse, no fasting talking will get
you out of it. No denial will make reality go away. The problem of
our sin is real, and we can't self-justify ourselves out of it. We
can bluster, we can gripe, we can shake our heads until the cows come
home, but that doesn't fix, that doesn't address, that doesn't deal
with the problem. And for the physical things of life this is
problem enough – Tax day is coming, you've got to actually sit down
and do them. A project at school or work is coming due – you've
got to get it done, quit with the dithering. But Jesus here isn't
just giving a lecture on “adulting” and “being responsible” -
He's addressing a very important spiritual reality. </span></span><i><b>When
the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through
waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, “I will
return to my house from which I came.” And when it comes, it finds
the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven
other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there.
And the last state of that person is worse than the first. </b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">When
you start making excuses about sin, about Christ, about Church, about
these spiritual matters, bad things happen. Things will get worse.
We see this with physical things – start a diet, it goes well, but
then you gets slack, ignore the healthy routine, and you're worse off
than you were before. Jesus points out that this is true spiritually
as well – and the world is full of people who were baptized, who
were cleansed, but then cut themselves off from Christ and His Word
and they're hellions now.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Because
the reality is you need Jesus – and not just a Jesus who gives you
a little touch up – but the Jesus who is with you and you with Him
– the Jesus who is your King and the Kingdom of God is with you
Jesus – the Jesus who is your Justification, the Jesus who is your
righteousness, the Jesus who is with you and who gathers you together
with all His saints around His Word and Sacraments. And I'm not
whistling dixie here – </span></span><i><b>Whoever is not with me
is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
That word for “gather” is “synagogue” - basically the word
for church at the time. Or we here are a congregation – where we
congregate – where we are gathered together by Christ around His
Word. Because in the Church, hearing His Word, receiving His Supper,
that's where we ourselves are blessed. </span></span><i><b>As He
said these things a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said,
“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you
nursed!” But He said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the
word of God and keep it!”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Hear the Word of God. Keep it – keep it in your heart, your mind
– treasure Jesus and His forgiveness so that when Satan and his
minions comes sniffing around they don't find a neat but empty house
– rather they find one filled with Christ and His Word. They find
a temple of the Holy Spirit.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>This
is what Jesus does to you whenever He speaks His Word to you. He
comes upon you with the power of God to break down your excuses, your
silly self-justifications that everyone but you know are bunk – and
He forgives you, and He gives you strength, and remember the very
beginning – the demon that was mute. O Lord, open my lips, and my
mouth shall declare Your praise. The is the good power of Jesus.
And there are times this is fine and dandy, and there are times when
its scary because we've become aware of sin and temptations that we
don't want to deal with, or even more dangerous we want to give into
and delight in. Jesus knows the power of Satan – Satan is strong.
But Jesus is the Stronger One, and He breaks down Satan's power –
and He does this for you, for your good, even right now, to rescue
and restore you. Be in His Word, and be kept safe for now and for
all eternity. In the Name of Christ the Crucified + </span></span></span>
</p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-73234810416795429032024-02-24T08:19:00.001-06:002024-02-24T08:19:00.241-06:00Lent 2 Sermon <p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ the Crucified +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>If you
would understand the battle our Lord wages against Satan this Lent,
indeed, if you would understand the Christian faith, you must abandon
pride and be humble. This is what we see in our Gospel lesson today,
for if you view your life and the world with eyes that are proud and
self-focused, you will miss, you will fail to see your humble Lord
Jesus and the salvation He wins for you. You see, our text is the
second half of a comparison, a comparison between the pride of the
Jews, on the one hand, and the humble faith of the Canaanite woman on
the other.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Before
we look at our Gospel text, we need consider what happened before
hand – after all, our lesson starts, “</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>and
Jesus went away from there</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">…” Away
from where? Well, Jesus was in Judea, and if you read chapter 15
from the beginning, you see that Pharisees and Scribes from Jerusalem
had come up to Jesus and started grilling him about commandments and
tradition. Now, we are not going to look at the first 20 verses in
detail, but what we see in them is pride. You have this pride that
these Jewish leaders show in their heritage, in the fact that they
are Jews. You have pride in their works, how good they are, how
wondrous they are. In fact, when Jesus responds to them and teaches
them, they get offended – the disciples actually come up to Jesus
all worried because He said something that offended such good, fine
Jewish folks. The disciples too hold on to their ethnic pride a bit
too much – they too view themselves as “the good people”
because they are nice Jewish folks who try their best to follow all
the commandments and rules.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>So
Jesus leads them away from Judea, and He </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>“withdrew
to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman
from that region was crying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of
David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.’”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
So they leave the Jewish lands behind, and suddenly this foreign
woman shows up begging for mercy. First, let’s consider this. At
that time Jewish men didn’t like non-Jews, by in large. Especally
the Canaanites – the old villains of the Old Testament. Add to
this that Jewish men didn’t like women, by in large. So basically
there is no sort or type of person that a guy holding onto the old
Jewish cultural pride would disdain and despise more than a Canaanite
woman. Just would be repulsed by her. So here you have a contrast
between the “Good” Jewish folks and the despised Canaanite woman.
Bear this in mind. Now, this woman comes up and begs for Jesus to
help her daughter who is possessed. And she asks beautifully. First,
she calls Jesus “Lord” – calls Him God. Calls Him Jehovah.
She calls Him “Son of David” – not only God but also the One
who by rights should be the earthly ruler, the Ruler who should
dominate and crush her own people. When she calls Jesus the Lord,
when she calls Him Son of David, this is a powerful statement of who
Jesus is. True God, true Man. So this gal is spot on theologically.
And as Christ comes to fight Satan and destroy His power, casting out
the demon that is bothering her daughter is right up His wheelhouse –
simple, easy, knock this one out of the park.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span> </span>“But
He did not answer her a word.”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Jesus
doesn’t say anything. Now, a lot of people will make this the
focus of the text – and their sermons on this text will become
sermons on how we should be persistent in prayer, how even when it
seems like God doesn’t answer us we should keep on praying. And
that is true – be persistent in your prayer. But I’m going to
say that Christ isn’t quiet here in order to teach us to pray more
– He’s quiet to drive home a point with the disciples, with us.
So there Jesus is, just letting this woman wail at Him, and finally
the disciples intervene. “</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>And His
disciples came and begged Him saying, ‘Send her away, for she is
crying out after us.’”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> And the
disciples fail miserably. Send her away. Not “please heal her
quickly, Jesus.” Not, “Hurry Lord, and beat down Satan.” So
strong, so powerful is the disciples’ self-pride, and so powerful
is their disdain of this woman that they beg, beg Jesus to send her
away. Send her away, cast her away from us as though she herself
were a demon, not a mother pleading for aid against a demon. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Jesus
will now throw the disciples’ pride right back in their face. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>“He
answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
Note, Jesus isn’t talking to the woman here – He’s answering
the disciples. Alright disciples, you think you are so high and
mighty because you are Jews, you think you are the only ones worthy
of interacting with the Messiah – fine, I guess I can’t deal with
her since she’s not as cool as you – you’ll just have to put up
with her begging. Jesus just throws their pride and arrogance right
back at them.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Then
something wondrous happens. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>“But she
came and knelt before Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
The woman is adamant – she knows that Jesus is the One who can
help her, and so she is going to Him to seek His help. Excellent on
her part. But before He aids her, Jesus is going to have her help in
teaching the disciples. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>“And He
answered, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw
it to the dogs.’”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> His answer is true
– I mean, if any of you let your children starve because you gave
their dinner to the dogs, well, that would just be horrible. But the
answer, well, if you imply that a woman is a female dog, that was
insulting in Jesus’ day just as it is in ours. And remember what I
said earlier – the Pharisees had been offended by what Jesus had
said earlier in this chapter – if anything then we should expect
this woman to be offended, to say, “How dare you Jesus.” Her
pride would surely be thoroughly cut by this statement.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>But
it’s not. “</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet
even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’
tables.’”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Jesus says to this woman,
“you are lowly and you do not deserve My help.” And the woman
says, “You’re right, Lord, I do not deserve your help – I am a
lowly dog, but masters care for their dogs, so I know You will care
for me.” Do you see what happened? Because the woman isn’t
trying to defend her own position, because the woman isn’t
concerned with her status or how respected she is, because she does
not act in pride, she can see Christ Jesus for who He is, the
gracious master who cares even for one as lowly as her.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>And we
know what happens next. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>“Then Jesus
answered her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as
you desire.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.” </b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">The
woman understands. When it comes to her faith, to her relationship
with God – it is not determined by how wonderful she is. She can
claim no noble birth – she’s not from the right family. She
doesn’t point to her works. She doesn’t say that she’s been a
good little girl who deserves blessings. Rather this – her eyes
are focused in humility upon Christ and who He is. She simply
confesses that Jesus is God and that He is gracious – and so she
sees and understands. By faith she sees Christ.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Dear
friends, I cannot overemphasize how dangerous pride is, how dangerous
a reliance upon works is. Whenever we start thinking prideful
thoughts, be it pride in our heritage – why we were born and raised
in this Church – or pride in our works – why, I’m a pretty good
person and I do things pretty well – whenever we think along these
lines we put our faith in jeopardy. Why? Because thoughts like
these focus us upon ourselves. I was raised rightly, I’m from a
good family, I do good stuff. I, I, I. And it’s such a false
focus. Who cares if you were raised right if you are doing
wickedness and foolishness now? Who cares if you came from a good
family if you disdain God now? Who cares that you are nice – we’re
supposed to be perfect – nice doesn’t cut anything. And yet, in
sinful pride, we can want to focus on ourselves, and we can end up
forgetting God, we write Him off, we don’t see our need for His
mercy, for His forgiveness. This place, this service becomes less
and less important – we start thinking we don’t get anything out
of it… which is really saying that you think the forgiveness of
sins is worthless, that you don’t need it. That you don’t need
God, God who comes here to be present for you. And pride crushes and
kills faith.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Our
pride is a problem, and so Christ Jesus calls us to repentance, calls
us to humility. He calls us to not think highly of ourselves, but
instead to confess that we are both lowly and in need. To confess
that we do not deserve any benefits from God, that God doesn’t owe
us anything. But rather, simply because He is good, because He is
full of love, because Christ Jesus stands and pleads for us, because
of these reasons we seek forgiveness and mercy from God, and God does
give His forgiveness to us.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>It is
a beautiful contrast we will see in Lent, in our Lord’s Passion.
We can be so proud, we can struggle with this pride, we can easily
disdain folks and applaud ourselves. But in contrast to this, in
contrast to our sin and failure, consider Christ Jesus and His
passion. Where does His pride enter in? It never does. Even though
He is true God, God Almighty, the very Word which called forth all
creation into existence – He lets Himself be arrested, even though
legions of angels would come at His command. He lets Himself be
mocked and beaten and sorely abused, even though lighting or
brimstone could come at His whim and smite those who abused Him. He
is not worried about His dignity, but is instead nailed naked to a
cross, exposed to the elements and for all the world to see, and left
to die. But there, His thoughts are not about His own pride and
dignity – His thoughts are upon you, upon wining Salvation for you
and forgiveness for your sins of pride and all your sins. This is
our Lord’s great humility, His great love for you.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>With
humility, humility God brings forth in us by the power of His Word
and Spirit, we are taught to see this, taught to believe this. We
learn more and more to call out to God, “Have mercy upon us” –
knowing that He will have mercy, not because of our goodness, but
because of Christ Jesus’ goodness. We know and believe that Christ
does not hold Himself aloft and away from us, but He Himself comes
down under humble, simple elements of bread and wine, and in His
Supper He comes to give us His true Body and Blood for our
forgiveness. Pride would have us ignore these mysteries and wonders;
pride would have us complain and overlook them – but Christ Jesus
is indeed Your Lord, and He has given you the gift of faith, and He
forgives you your sin and gives you strength through His Word and
Supper so that you might learn more and more to beat down pride and
all sins, and rather to ever more see His love for you more clearly.
Lord, have mercy upon us! In the Name of Christ the Crucified +</span></p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-14799654556950352182024-02-17T07:47:00.009-06:002024-02-17T07:47:00.177-06:00Lent 1<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ the Crucified +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Let’s
start at the beginning. There it is, a garden, rich and luscious,
full of every good plant, every good fruit imaginable. And there,
into this wondrous garden, God places Adam and Eve, the pinnacle of
His creation. Adam and Eve, made in the image and likeness of God –
here is the garden, enjoy it, work in it, delight in it. But be
content with who you are, be content with being God’s servant. And
then, into that garden, slithers the serpent, bringing with him
discontent and doubt. He hisses into Eve’s ears words of doubt –
did God really say? He hisses words of envy and strife and
discontent – eat this fruit, then you won’t be the servant
anymore. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>When you eat of it, your eyes
will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
Eat this, and you won’t have to be merely the servant, merely the
caretaker, merely one who cares for others. You’ll get to be the
one in charge, you’ll be like God – because even today when we
think of God our gut instinct is to think of power and control, to
think of God as the big bully in the sky who gets to set the rules.
And so Eve takes and eats, and then she gives Adam, and he takes and
eats that most unholy meal, and it all falls apart.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>We
know what happens. Adam and Eve – ruined. They will live lives
now filled with strife and chaos and pain, son murdering son, so on
and so forth, until they die. Life turns to death. But not just for
Adam and Eve. . . life turns to death for the world. That perfect
garden dissolves, the trees and plants fail, things dry up, good
plants are replaced by weeds – the ground itself is cursed.
</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Cursed is the ground because of you; in
pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and
thistles it shall bring forth for you.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
The world falls. . . the goodness of the garden is dashed. That is
how it all starts – then this sinful globe kept on spinning and
spinning and getting worse and worse. The man and his wife whom God
placed in the garden failed. They ignored the Word of God, traded
God's good gifts for the serpent’s poison and thus unleash death,
and the world is consigned to ruin.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Now,
we move to our Gospel lesson. When we look on the setting, it is not
in a good Garden. That’s dried up, gone, swept away. Instead, it
is a wilderness, wild, untamed, unkept lands. The full effect of the
fall has its sway. Thorns and thistles are it. It is dry, it is
dreary, it is unlivable – it is a place of death, just like what in
reality this entire fallen planet had become. And then we hear this
– </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
Consider what this is. Jesus Christ, true God and yet also true
Man, strides forth into this wilderness, this wild fallen place, this
anti-garden of Eden, the precise opposite of what Eden had been.
Jesus steps into this fallen domain of Satan. And why? Led by the
Spirit, put there by God. God had put Adam in the garden, and so now
Christ Jesus, the New Adam, the New Man is put into its fallen wreck.
And why? To succeed and be victorious where Adam failed, to begin
the work of fixing the fall and restoring creation. And so, God
Himself takes up our weakness; He becomes man, stands with us –
hungers and is frail, fasts 40 days and 40 nights. God is not some
bully overlord, but He in love comes down and takes His place by our
side. But whereas we sin, our Lord will not falter. And then – </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>the
tempter came and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command
these stones to become loaves of bread.”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
Do you see the temptation? Christ is there in the wilderness to
fight Satan, to challenge the serpent and put him in his place. And
Satan saunters up and says – You know what Jesus, You’re God.
You should be taking care of yourself. You should be focusing on
what You want. . . what You need. It should be all about You. Come,
Jesus, it’s quite reasonable to be selfish here, and after all it’s
not hurting anyone.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>But
then our Lord rocks the powers of hell with His reply. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>“It
is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word
that comes from the mouth of God.’”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
Do you see what our Lord does? Satan had said, “look to yourself,
tend to your own needs.” Christ smacks the devil down. “No,
Satan, I will not look to My own wants. My belly, my stomach is not
God. Rather this – Man lives by the Word of God. That is how man
lived in the garden before you came along and tempted Him – the
Word of God called forth that garden, and man listened to God, and he
lived quite happily. And I too, as Man, will live simply by the Word
of God – away with your temptations!” These are powerful words
from Christ – of course they are powerful, they are the Word of
God.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Satan
regroups. Figures he should try a slightly different approach. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>And
the Devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of
the temple and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, throw
Yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command His angels
concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear You up lest
you strike Your foot against a stone.’”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
Alright – so You want to play nice with the Word of God, do you
Jesus? Alright, well, here it is Jesus, bona fide Word of God. You
can jump, Your Daddy will protect You. And note what Jesus says to
him. “</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Again, it is written, ‘You shall
not put the Lord your God to the test.’” </b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Do
you see what Satan was trying to get Jesus to do? Use the Word
against God! Use the Word to make God jump through hoops for you!
If you do that, if you use God’s Word like Satan suggests – it is
putting yourself in charge of God. Jesus will have none of it. No,
Satan, we do not put God to the test like that – we live by the
Word, not above it. Man is to be God’s servant, not God’s
master.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>And so
Satan tries one more trick, one more temptation. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Again,
the devil took Him to a very high mountain showed Him all the
kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All
these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
One more temptation for you Jesus – yes, I know you think God
should be the master, but really, aren’t I a better master than
Your Father? Your Father has sent You here from heaven to win these
people – to suffer and die for them. I mean, look at You Jesus,
fasting in the desert for 40 days – You’re a mess! The Father’s
way is so hard. Listen – I will give you what You want – You
can have these people, you can have this world. . . just do things my
way. And my way is much easier. There it is – the temptation –
avoid the cross and still get what you want. And our faithful Lord
says, </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>“Be gone, Satan! For it is
written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God and Him only shall
you worship.”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> And Satan flees, and the
angels come and minister to Christ.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Satan
came and he brought the three temptations that are so often our
downfall. So often, we live by our passions and desires, by our
wants. The eye sees something it wants, and we lust after it, we
crave it, we do whatever we can to satisfy our desires. Christ does
not give into that temptation. So often, we try to manipulate God,
to abuse His Word, His Church, try to make God do what we want, say
what we want. Christ does not give into that temptation. So often,
we crave power and glory, and we will do whatever it takes to have
our way. Christ does not give into that temptation. And something
wondrous happens there in that wilderness, as Christ our Lord defies
Satan. There you have Christ Jesus, true Man, turn His back upon
Satan, and rather listen simply to the Word of God. And at that
moment, the gates of hell begin to shake and tremble. Satan’s
power lies in tempting man away from God – and so what is God’s
response? Christ Jesus comes as the truly obedient Man, Man who does
what Adam and Eve should have done – tells Satan to take a hike –
and the power of the Serpent begins to crumble.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>You
see, dear friends – the wages of sin is death. When God’s Law
lies broken, there can be no life that endures. And so our Lord
Christ Jesus comes down to become Man, and in our place He takes the
Law of God, and He fulfills it, He does it. Man lives righteously
because Jesus lives righteously. And the battle is on – God
Himself invades Satan’s kingdom of death as a living Man. Jesus
starts to undo, reverse the fall, paving the way for eternal life.
This is what we see at our Lord’s Temptation – and this is what
we continue to see. Every time our Lord shows love or compassion,
every time our Lord does what is right – a bit more and bit more of
Satan’s kingdom is defied and destroyed, whittled away.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>And
our Lord Christ Jesus does this for you. The reason He defied Satan
there, the reason why He was worn and weak was so that He might stand
at your side and say to, even at your weakest and most worn, “I am
righteous and holy enough for you – and you will have life in Me.”
Christ is righteous, and by the power of His righteousness, you are
forgiven. And Christ undoes the fall in you. Consider again Genesis
– Adam and Eve ate, disobeying God, bringing death and violence and
sin into the world. Do you wish to see how God makes things right?
He says to you – “Come to My Table – and I will give you a meal
much better than what Satan offers.” Satan gave Adam and Eve a
meal of death, Christ gives you His own Body and Blood for eternal
life and salvation. Christ takes bread that we must struggle for,
the bread of death, the bread which by itself doesn’t satisfy,
which doesn’t give life – He takes this bread and adds the Word
of God to it – says, “Take and Eat, this is My Body, given for
you.” And in this meal of forgiveness you are given the bread of
life, you are given strength, His own strength to beat down Satan, to
turn away from the temptations Satan throws at you. In this Supper,
Christ undoes the Fall in you, in your life. His mercy takes hold of
you and grows in you – the fight He fought against Satan takes
place in you. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>And
indeed, our Lord continues to struggle against Satan, continues to
beat him down. The fight has started, the battle is on, and Jesus
will see it through, all the way to the finish, even unto His own
death upon the Cross, by which your life and resurrection are
ensured. This is His great love for you, this is the struggle He
wins for you. In the Name of Christ the Crucified +</span></p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-70393472437630561752024-02-08T06:55:00.009-06:002024-02-08T06:55:48.241-06:00Quinquagesima Sunday<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Lent
is at our doorstep. This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, and our Lenten
journey to our Lord's Cross will begin in earnest. And today, this
final Sunday before Lent, we get a third Gospel lesson that is
strangely uncomfortable but vital. We have heard that we are saved
by grace – that our works don't merit us anything. We have heard
that salvation relies upon the Word, and that we don't get to control
how the Word works. One final uncomfortable lesson is left to us
before we start Lent. Jesus mixes it up for us today, though. The
last two weeks were parables, where there was an image, a story –
and then an explanation that follows. Today things are reversed.
Jesus will begin with a truth that the disciples deemed utterly
inappropriate and wrong, and then we get a story, an event that show
why Jesus is right in what He says. Listen.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i><b><span> </span>Taking
the twelve, [Jesus] said to them, “See, we are going up to
Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the
prophets will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to the
Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon.
And after flogging Him, they will kill Him, and on the third day He
will rise.”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
And Jesus spells it out. Alright, this is where we are going
disciples – this is where Lent will lead to, O people of Trinity.
As the Scriptures had told us, the Messiah will suffer – He will be
the suffering servant that Isaiah said He would be, He will be the
sacrifice of atonement that all the temple worship and sacrifices
pointed to. He will be the Son that is sacrificed instead of Isaac
so that Abraham rejoices. The Serpent's head will be crushed, but
the Savior must be bruised and battered – and dying to atone for
sin, He will rise to show forth victory over Satan and eternal
salvation. This is the point, this has always been the point – the
Scriptures, the tabernacle and the temple, worship, the history of
Israel, they all drive to Good Friday and Christ Jesus there upon the
Cross. That's where it all will end, that's where it will be
finished.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
the disciples, they don't want to hear it. </span></span><i><b>But
they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from
them, and they did not grasp what was said.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
This is the third time Jesus had bluntly told them that in Jerusalem
He would suffer, die, and rise again to fulfill the scriptures. And
still they don't hear, they don't understand, they cannot yet, the
seed does not yet take root (and it won't until after the
resurrection). This isn't what the disciples want. This isn't what
the disciples think that they need. They want a Messiah who will
simply perform wonders to everyone's adulation – but not wonders
that are too powerful lest it scare them. They want a Messiah who
will be zealous and drive out the Romans – but not be too zealous
in driving our their own wickedness. They want a Messiah who will do
some good stuff – but be willing to leave them alone when there's
too much divine glory and might around. And so, now, before hand,
the disciples simply cannot tolerate or countenance or conceive of
the full Jesus, the real Savior, the die and rise again to destroy
the power of Satan and to usher in the new creation Jesus. And thus,
Jesus' plan of salvation is hidden from them, they can't see it, they
can't understand.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>This
pattern holds true even to this day. So many people who speak about
Jesus, so much of what you will hear about Jesus leading up to Easter
will be a watered down, crossless, resurrectionless Jesus. You'll
find churches where there is nary a cross. You'll hear preachers who
flat out deny the resurrection, turn it into an allegory or a fable.
You'll hear people treat Jesus as though He was just a wise teacher –
a teacher whom we are utterly free to pick and choose what we learn
from, a teacher who suddenly sounds exactly like my own personal
hobby horse. You'll hear people turn Jesus into a victim of
injustice and social oppression, and He'll be turned into a emblem or
stand in for whatever social group they want to white knight for and
defend. You'll hear so many things other than Behold the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world – who takes it away by dying
and rising. Even 2000 years later people are still desperately
trying to avoid the truth of Jesus' death and resurrection – the
truth that it is your sin and my sin that put Him on the Cross –
the truth that the only way you and I get to live is for Christ
Jesus, the spotless, holy One of God, to die and rise. We need Jesus
– and the whole Jesus, the full Jesus, the real Jesus. We don't
need just a little brush up on moral teaching and we are good. We
don't need just a little pep talk and then we'll live our best life
now. We don't need another symbol for our political movements. We
need to be rescued and redeemed from the dire and drastic problems of
sin and death and the devil – and the only way that rescue happens
is with Jesus going to the Cross and suffering and dying, and rising
on the third day – and there's no other way. Period.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>You
see, my friends, if you think you are just a little sinner, you'll
only want a little Jesus. A shoe polish Jesus, where He just covers
up a scuff mark or two and then you're good to go. But what Jesus
does, what the Cross does, it is makes us confront the utterly
uncomfortable realities of our own existence, of our own sin, that we
don't like to face. I'm stuck in sin. I don't need just moral
teaching or instruction – because </span></span><i><b>For I do not
do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on
doing... wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body
of death!</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
The problem is deeper than I can fix! And I don't just need advice,
I don't just need 7 easy hints for a happier life, because my life is
running out. Death is approaching, and all the health fads and
cosmetics and surgery can't change the fact that some years down the
road from now there's going to be a grave somewhere with my name on
it and a start date and an end date – and I can't change that.
That problem is beyond me! And in the world, if you look, you will
see the powers of evil at work, you will see Satan stirring up strife
and chaos and hatred that claims to be love and every sort of disdain
– and I can't change the world, I can't free it, I can't stop the
swirl out there. It's beyond me. The answer, the solution, has to
be Jesus – it has to be Jesus taking away sin and dying and rising
and giving new life and bringing about the last day and ushering in a
New Heavens and a New Earth where Satan and sin and death are utterly
gone and destroyed, and to do that, Jesus has to have Good Friday and
He has to have Easter, just like He's told us from the beginning in
His Word.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>But
the disciples didn't see that yet, and so many today don't see it,
and even we ourselves sometime get distracted and forget it. So,
Jesus enacts a parable, a real, living parable to illustrate the
point. Listen. </span></span><i><b>As He drew near to Jericho</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
– pause. If you hear Jericho, you might well think of the wall
that comes tumbling down. Yes – because Joshua leads the children
of Israel by Jericho on their way to the promised land, and now Jesus
is on His way to the Cross to ensure that we get to the true promised
land of the resurrection. And Jesus is goin gto break down some
walls. </span></span><i><b>As He drew near to Jericho, a blind man
was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by,
he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is
passing by.” And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy
on me!” And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be
silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy
on me!”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
As Jesus gets to Jericho, there's a contrast. There's the crowd who
wants to see Jesus – but they want a nice, quiet viewing of Jesus.
They don't think they really need anything from Jesus – but He's
nice, He's a spectacle. And their entertainment is interrupted by a
blind man. And this blind man, he NEEDS Jesus. He calls out for
mercy. Why? Because he knows that he has a problem that he cannot
fix. He's blind. He cannot see. And he'll never see unless Jesus
does something. He doesn't need a wise teacher Jesus, he doesn't
need a good advice Jesus – He needs a mercying Jesus, a Jesus who
undoes the effects of sin and death – who takes dead eyes and makes
them live again. And the crowd hates this, tells the blind beggar to
be silent.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>That
doesn't stop Jesus from being Jesus. </span></span><i><b>And Jesus
stopped and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he came
near, He asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He
said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Here's my problem – I want to see again. I would see again. And
You're the One who can do that. </span></span><i><b>And Jesus said,
“Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Not just made you well – your faith has saved you. You're going
to see again now, but even more wondrously, because I'm on the road
to Jerusalem and the Cross, even when your eyes close in death you
will see again because you have been saved by grace through faith. I
see your needs now, and I see your eternal needs – and I see them
better than you, and I do what I need to do in order to take care of
you both now and eternally.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>This
is what Jesus does for you. Jesus knows your needs – He knows your
needs right now and He tends to them. He gives you both your daily
bread and He gives you His Body and blood under bread and wine for
forgiveness, life, and salvation. And by His Word and Spirit He
brings your attention to His Cross, to His death, to His
resurrection, so that no matter what you encounter this week, no
matter what comes, you know what He has done for you – that He has
won you forgiveness and life everlasting, and there's not a thing
that can undo what He has done. The world might try to ignore the
Cross, or sell Jesus short, and our own sinful flesh will often
wander off into the weeds wanting something else, but Jesus stays
focused. Jesus stays Jesus, the real Jesus, the full Jesus, the Son
of Man must go to Jerusalem and suffer and die and rise again Jesus,
because that's the Jesus you need, we all need. And so Jesus will do
all things well, and He will finish what needs to be finished, for He
is True God and True Man, and He has come to work your salvation.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
soon we will enter upon the battle season of Lent. In the Sundays in
Lent we will hear Gospel lessons of Jesus taking the battle to Satan,
as Jesus enters into this fallen world and wrecks havoc on Satan's
kingdom, even as He marches to the Cross where He will destroy sin
and death. In our midweek lessons, we will be focused on the whole
armor of God, because Jesus knows this world is a dangerous place,
and we will see how Jesus keeps you safe. And Jesus does it all for
you, as He had promised He would in the Scriptures. Have mercy on us,
O Jesus, and open our blind eyes that we would see this all our days!
Grant this Lord, unto us all. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light
of the World. </span></span></span>
</p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-30187775909346556372024-02-01T07:07:00.006-06:002024-02-01T07:07:46.803-06:00Sexagesima Sunday Sermon <p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Again
this week, as we continue our preparations for Lent, we get another
frustrating parable. Last week was the workers in the vineyard,
where the master makes everyone equal – for salvation is based upon
God's grace and generosity, not our works or efforts. And then
today, we get the parable of the sower, and this one again can be
frustrating, as it seems like so much of the seed is wasted. Between
these two weeks I'm surprised our farmers don't have full blown
conniption-fits over how poorly run this agricultural business seems
to be by the Lord! 75% of the seed doesn't even end up in the good
soil, what is the Lord doing? Well, in a parable demonstrating again
His almost reckless generosity, Jesus reminds us that salvation comes
about by the Word alone. Let's listen again.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i><b><span> </span>When
a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to
[Jesus], He said in a parable...</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Pause here. There's a great crowd listening to Jesus, following
Him. You do realize that this parable is describing this crowd,
describing the very preaching that Jesus is going to engage in. By
the time we get to Good Friday and Easter, how many are still
following Jesus? How many are still interested? How many, by that
time, have left and forgotten Jesus because the spectacle was gone,
or they just got caught up in something else, or they got ground
down. It's not just a strange parable, but it's a sad one, a sad
commentary on what happened in Jesus' own ministry. </span></span><i><b>A
sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the
path and was trampled 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 the thorns, and the
thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil
and grew and yielded a hundredfold.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
And there it is – there is the parable – the seed gets sown, but
there are four distinct endings, and only 1 is the happy one that you
would hope for. </span></span><i><b>He who has ears to hear, let him
hear.</b></i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And,
of course, no one understands. Even the disciples have to go ask
Jesus to explain it to them – and even then Jesus' explanation,
while it connects the dots, leaves a lot to be desired. We find out
what the soils represent. The path – </span></span><i><b>the ones
along the path are those who have heard. Then the devil comes along
and takes the word away from their hearts, so that they may not
believe and be saved.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Sometimes, disciples, when you preach, people just aren't going to
really hear a lick. Satan will snatch away the Word, it will be in
one ear and out the other, you will be dismissed and blown off. And
not to put too fine a point on it, we probably all know times and
places where we've shared the Gospel, proclaimed God's Word, and it
just got thrown back in our face. And none of us like that at all,
and often it can be heart rending. But Jesus is honest here – it
happens, and whenever you proclaim the Word of Jesus, it will happen.
That's the way it is.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
then we hear about the 2</span></span><sup><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nd</span></span></sup><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
type of soil. </span></span><i><b>The ones along 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 time of testing fall away.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Sometimes people seem really excited, really all in on this Jesus
thing, but then they just... fall out. Move on to the next thing,
and then on to the next. The root doesn't grow, and they wither away
and the wind sweeps them on to the next thing. And again, this is
something we are familiar with. We all know people we love who have
done this – where'd so and so go? And to put even a finer point on
it – some of us have been here. If we went back to the days of our
youth, I'd bet many of us could find times where we were really
gung-ho and then just faded out, immature passion and excitement
waning away and replaced by some other hip thing. Again, Jesus is
honest here – it happens, and whenever you proclaim the Word of
Jesus, it will happen. That's the way it is.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Oh,
and then we get to the third type of soil. </span></span><i><b>As
for those that 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.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
And there are those who know, who should be solid and mature, and
yet... just too busy. Got this going on and then that. And then
time for the Word, for hearing the Word and proclaiming and the Word
and being in the Word just gets... squeezed out. Again, we all know
plenty of people like this... and to put an even finer point on it,
I'd reckon that quite a few of us in this room know all entirely too
well what Jesus is describing here – where right now we feel that
pressure, that press, that pull of being busy and there's this and
there's that, and some of it good and some of it bad – and perhaps
many of those new years' resolutions we made about reading our bible
have already been squeezed out and forgotten? And this isn't me
picking on you guys here – a pastor has plenty of busywork task
that can occupy his time and strangle out his time for study.
There's a reason that room over there is called the Pastor's Study –
and to let you in on a secret that I don't think too many pastors
would be too scandalized over me sharing – every pastor's study is
filled with books they have wanted to read and learn from, to dive on
into the Word, but somehow just got too busy to get to it. Once
more, Jesus is honest here – uncomfortably honest. It happens, and
whenever you proclaim the Word of Jesus, it will happen. That's the
way it is.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Now,
if Jesus had ended the parable here, and if we were to end the sermon
here, it would be quite dour, wouldn't it? And this is the thing, we
don't like the dour, we don't like the down, the fizzles and
failures. And we certainly don't like them when they are close to
home, when they start to describe my family and friends, when they
start to describe me. But the simple fact is that we are sinners in
a sinful world, and Satan is prowling around like a roaring lion, and
there is no shortage of trouble and hardship. And we can't pretend
that there isn't, otherwise we will be caught terribly off guard.
Not only will false hopes and dreams come crashing down, but we
ourselves will fall swiftly into the same pitfalls and traps. But,
my friends, I will assert that this parable is not meant to be dour
or depressing, but defiant and hopeful. Now, it's depressing if we
look at it like we sinful humans do, with our expectations, and our
greed that puts limits on what we will do, what we will give. That's
not how God operates – that's not how your wondrous Lord works.
He's never scanty. </span></span><i><b>A sower went out to sow his
seed – now the parable is this: the seed is the Word of God.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
If there is to be any growth, any success, any harvest – the seed
must be sown. And that happens – and a harvest comes. </span></span><i><b>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.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Sometimes the Word is heard, and it grows, and there is fruit –
there is more seed, 30, 60, 100 fold of the fruit, the seed, the Word
to be proclaimed, and then the Sower sows it out again.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>God
keeps sowing the Word. And God keeps producing a harvest. And He
does so even in you. The fear, the worry, the anxiety about failures
that we have – they don't stop Jesus from sowing His Word. He
keeps sending the Word forth into the world, and the Word does its
job, and it reaches people and creates faith and forgives and people
proclaim the Word and forgiveness again. And while we get
frustrated, because this process isn't as smooth or successful as we
want it or because this church isn't packed the way I might want it
to be packed – that doesn't stop God at all. The Gospel of Christ
Jesus – that He has died for your sin so that you are forgiven and
there is no more guilt tied to you, and that He has risen, showing
that Satan and death actually are defeated and you will rise again –
this is proclaimed still! To this place, right here, right now –
to you, this day, whatever the story of your life had looked like.
The Sower still sows His seed.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
you know what? I have no idea how this seed will play out. For some
of you, this sermon might resonate; for some it might be in one ear
and out the other. It happens, and whenever one proclaims the Word
of Jesus, it will happen. That's the way it is. And as frustrating
as you and I might find this – Jesus just takes it in stride as a
matter of course. Jesus understands the power of sin and Satan –
and Jesus neither downplays it nor overblows it. Jesus understands
hardships and trials, but He is not so scared of them that He doesn't
even start. He simply sees His Word sown, again and again and again.
And we're in a rural community – we should get this. Our farmers
could probably tell us a dozen ways this summer's crop could be
devastated, things they'd have no control over. Still, you've got to
go out and sow the seed otherwise there will be no harvest – and if
one field fails, or one section goes bad – the seed still has to go
into the ground or nothing good will happen.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>So
God sends the seed into the ground. The Father sends the Son, and
the Son is buried and planted in the ground on Good Friday so that
His harvest of life and salvation would arise and bear fruit on
Easter – and that fruit, that seed is proclaimed to you – and
proclaimed to you over and over and over. And God is diligent in
seeing His Word proclaimed, and He has it proclaimed even when many
people would simply assume it does no good, when they'd focus on
failures and the like. That's not God's approach, and it's not His
approach to you. You hear His Word, He proclaims His Word to you,
because He is persistent, and He is persistent to save you. He knows
what is He doing. </span></span><i><b>A sower went out to sow his
seed – now the parable is this: the seed is the Word of God. </b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit + </span></span></span>
</p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-45637659976174345982024-01-27T08:25:00.001-06:002024-01-27T08:25:00.142-06:00Septuagesima Sunday <p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Grace
alone. One of the touch points of theology is that we are saved by
Grace Alone – that our salvation is due entirely to God's grace and
mercy towards us. We do not earn forgiveness, though works will
follow after grace. And historically in the Church this is an idea
that gets so confused and muddled, but today, Christ lays this out so
beautifully in our parable from Matthew 20 – the workers in the
Vineyard. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i><b><span> </span>For
the Kingdom of Heaven is like a master of a house who went out early
in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. And after agreeing
with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them out into his
vineyard.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Now, I want you to understand the point, the impact of this parable.
Jesus is not telling this parable in a union friendly state. There
are no government benefits, nothing like that. The rule was simple –
if a man shall not work, he shall not eat. And who are these people
standing there in the market place? They are the unfortunate souls
who have no job. They have no income, no back up plan, nothing. And
more than that – they are just “workers”. They don't have a
specific trade to where they can try to latch on at some place
already established – these are the bottom rung workers. And
unless someone hires them, tonight they go hungry. That's their
situation. And into the market comes this master of the house, and
he hires these folks for a denarius a day. A Denarius was a good
wage for a day-laborer; it was fair and generous. The master isn't
playing hard ball, he doesn't negotiate them down. Just simply –
let's do this fair and square. And they agree. Happily. In Greek,
the word is “symphony” - that's how beautiful and harmonious this
agreement is. And off they go.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><i><b><span> </span>And
going about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the
marketplace, and to them he said, “You go into the vineyard too,
and whatever is right I will give you.” So they went. Going out
again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Now, he hires three more groups of workers – but do you see the
sense of desperation these workers would have been having? Think
about it – how desperate do you have to be to go and work for
someone who says, “wages, we don't need to set up any wages –
just trust me, I'll pay you something.” But there they go. The
day is wasting, and as that sun creeps higher and higher without them
being hired, that's just a reminder that they will probably starve
tonight – so take what you can get. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Finally,
at the 11</span></span><sup><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">th</span></span></sup><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
hour, 5 O'clock, an hour before quitting time, the master goes out
again. </span></span><i><b>And about the 11</b></i><sup><i><b>th</b></i></sup><i><b>
hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them,
“Why do you stand here idle all day?” They said to him, “Because
no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You go into the vineyard
too.”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
We can hear this wrong. We can hear these workers say “because no
one has hired us” and think, “Bums, get on out there and look for
a job.” No – they've been there, where the jobs would be, all
day. And nothing. The “idle” doesn't mean that they were
loafing, it means that they hadn't found work... or more accurately,
work hadn't found them. And so the master sends them into the
vineyard. What happens next is wondrous. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><i><b><span> </span>And
when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
“Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the
last, up to the first.” And when those hired about the eleventh
hour came, each of them received a denarius.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
This is mindblowingly generous. This would be utterly unexpected.
This is bad business sense. But that's what the master likes to do.
He shows over-abundant compassion. However, it does end up ruffling
some feathers. </span></span><i><b>Now when those hired first came,
they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also
received a deniarius. 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.”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
That harmonious agreement, not so harmonious anymore, is it? You've
made us equal – how dare you say that we are equal to them when
we've done more, we've suffered more! The master responds gently.
</span></span><i><b>But he replied to them, “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 my generosity?”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
That last line in the Greek is literally: “Or is your eye evil
because I am good?” Look pal, I've dealt with you fairly, kindly –
everything's been above the board. Why do you gripe? If I choose to
show kindness to those poor schlubs who thought they were going to
starve, that's no skin off of your back. Why does my kindness build
up your resentment?</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>This, dear friends in Christ, is the picture of
Christ's grace to us, and also a warning of how and why we can end up
hating God's grace. By the end the first workers are indignant –
You have made them equal to us! We're so different than them! We
deserve more! They view everything on the basis of what they
themselves have done, and they become angry. Yet, the master is
right. All of them were equal – they were all the same thing.
Workers. Day-laborers. Folks who would have starved that day with
nothing if the master hadn't gone and found them and put them to
work. These first could have easily been the last if the master had
hit different parts of the market in a different order. These angry
workers failed to see that they were in the same boat as all the
other workers, regardless of when they entered the vineyard. Yet
they rage.</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>What do you see when you look at your fellow
Christians, your fellow sinners? How do you judge them, how do you
size them up? Do you see them as folks who are in the same boat as
you are – sinners struggling against sin who receive Jesus'
forgiveness... or do you size them up on the basis of what you do,
how hard you work, how much you've done for God, how much more in
order your life is than theirs? Do you see them as the same as you,
as equal to you – or do you find a way to see them as less than
you, so that you really ought to deserve more than them?</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>It was a false, misleading dream that God His law had
given, that sinners could themselves redeem, and by their works gain
heaven. The opening of the third verse of my favorite hymn. Do you
judge, do you evaluate people on the basis of what they have done?
If so, my friends, you have forgotten grace, and we are indeed saved
by grace alone. Grace refers to a gift of God, freely given, without
any merit or worthiness in me. And the simple fact is none of us
deserve anything from God. We are born sinful, born in opposition to
God, born at war with Him. And yet, simply and solely out of His
great love, He calls us out of darkness into His marvelous light,
gives us forgiveness, gives us life, gives us meaning and purpose to
our lives. And this is not because of how great we are – no, it is
how great, how good He is, in spite of our own jealous wickedness.</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Here's the thing. We know this. This is a Lutheran
Church full of Lutherans. If I said “grace alone, grace alone”
you all would smile and nod your heads, yes pastor, grace alone. But
here's the thing; this is where Satan will attack you. We still like
to check our works, we still like to get out the ruler and measure
ourselves and compare ourselves to each other and get all prideful.
When we do that, we forget truly what great gifts from God we have
received. Or do you not know that even your works aren't “yours”
in the sense that you created them – they are gifts from God to
you. </span>
</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Consider again the workers from the parable. The very
first group, the ones that so quickly become prideful in their own
accomplishments. If the master of the house hadn't walked up to them
and sent them into the vineyard, where would they have been at the
third hour, or the sixth hour, or the ninth? Standing idle, waiting,
fearing for the future, wondering if they were going to starve. This
is why they rejoiced in the morning, this is why they gladly went
into the fields. Even working itself was a gift – now they knew
that they would be provided for, their day had certainty instead of
doubt. And even though the work was hard it was still a great
blessing to them. And if they had never looked at what anyone else
got, they would have taken their denarius with joy and satisfaction
and gone home glad.</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>God gives us our bodies, clothing and shoes, food and
drink, house and home, wife and children, all that I need to support
this body and life. Our vocations, our ability to work at all is a
gift from God. We now live under Christ in His kingdom and serve
Him! What a gift! Now, if this is all a gift from God, where do I
get off thinking that I should look at what I do, my life, which is a
gift from God gift from God, and then start jawjacking at God about
how He's not giving me enough because I do more than that person over
there? How dare You, God! You give me talents and opportunity that
others don't have – but then You dare to not give me more on top of
that! Kind of stupid, ain't it? All sin is when we step back and
think about it.</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>God is a giver. He is gracious – that's what grace
is, it is a gift that is given. And God gives you good things. Left
to our own, we would only earn death – because the wages of sin is
death. But instead God chooses to give you good things – the free
gift, the grace, is eternal life in Christ Jesus. And yes, there are
works that you do – but these are given to you by God, and He
doesn't judge you based upon them. Rather, you are judged righteous
and forgiven in Christ – your sin and failures are crucified with
Christ; your life you live in Christ. And God has promised to keep
giving you good things - <span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">it's
what He's promised you, it's the deal He gave you at Holy Baptism
when you were called away from standing idly in this world and
brought into His kingdom. His grace for you is freely given, and it
never fails. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the world +</span></span></span></p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-66921418513317804052024-01-18T14:57:00.007-06:002024-01-18T14:57:28.597-06:00Transfiguration Sermon<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>The
transfiguration of our Lord – where Jesus takes only three of the
disciples with Him – Peter, James, and John – and there on the
mount Jesus is transfigured – He starts shining, His divine glory
begins to radiate forth, no longer hidden or obscured. And Moses and
Elijah are there talking with Jesus! Ah, glory, glory Hallelujah!
What could be a better thing to see, what could be a better
experience? In fact, in modern parlance we will talk about the
incredible emotional highs of having a “mountaintop” experience,
where everything is just so awesome and wonderful, but alas, you
can't stay on the mountaintop all the time, you've got to come back
down. And we can hear this text and think wistfully, “Oh, to have
seen that, oh that we were there! How awesome would have have been.”</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Before
we continue with the sermon, I would like to just remind everyone of
a simple fact. You and I – we're sinners. We are sinful people,
and as we are sinful, we are prone to delusions and prone to
overestimating what we would do in a situation. “Why, if I was
there when those villains came in, I'd have shown them what for!”
We tend to think of ourselves as braver or bolder than we are – we
forget the andrenaline rush as fight or flight kicks in, the fast
talking terror where we are slightly out of our mind, racing along,
and our plans go flying out the window. That's reality. And it's
reality for Peter, James, and John. They are not just disciples, not
even just the top disciples, but they are also sinful men, and they
see something strange.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i><b><span> </span>And
[Jesus] 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!</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
It is a fantastic scene. It is wondrously awesome. Jesus is
glowing, and two of the greatest heroes of Scripture are there –
Moses and the Elijah, the prophet par excellence. This would be a
lot to take in, would it not? This would be rather overwhelming.
This is not something that anyone, especially not people like you or
I, would ever plan for. And as such, we hear and see that Peter is
overwhelmed.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><i><b><span> </span>And
Peter said to Jesus, “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.”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Well, Pastor, Peter doesn't sound too overwhelmed. He says it's
good and then he's quite willing to help. Sometimes we take the
conversations in Scripture too much at face value – we forget how
people talk. What Peter is doing right here is he is giving a polite
excuse to get out of dodge and run away. You know what this is –
“Oh, dear, your sister is here – how wonderful that she's here...
um, you know, I should go get some stuff done in the garage.”
Except Peter, and here I will give him great credit, is really sharp,
and his plan is fantastic.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Fantastic!?
How is “let me pitch three tents” a great plan? Well, here you
need to think Old Testamentally. What is a tent? The tent is the
place of sojourn in the wilderness – when Israel was wandering
around in the desert, they all dwelt in tents. There was even the
festival of booths, where Israel would camp out for a few days to
remember and celebrate how God was with them even in the 40 years in
the wilderness. And in those forty years, when God dwelt with the
Israelites, He didn't just wander around in the midst of them – the
LORD stayed in the tabernacle, in the big tent. That's where His
glory was safely kept – and Moses would be the one who would talk
to Him – and in fact, Moses' face glowed with reflected glory, and
it freaked the Israelites out, so they made Moses wear a veil –
they made Moses wear a head tent. So what is Peter saying? It's
great to be here and see all this glory – now if you will, please
let me go off, find stuff to make some tents, and then come up here
where I can stuff You and Moses and Elijah safely in tents so I don't
have to see your glory here. “Dear, it's great that your sister is
here – you know, why don't I get her and you and nice room at that
spa resort an hour away so you can have a wonderful time with each
other.”</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Do
you understand? Peter doesn't say, “It's great to be here –
Moses, tell me about the burning bush!” “Elijah, what was it
like when the prophets of Ba'al were crying out?” Peter's not
asking questions of Moses or Elijah; he's not intensely listening.
He's finding a way out. And the thing is – Jesus didn't bring
Peter up on that mountain so Peter could come up with brilliant ways
to duck out – Jesus brought Peter there to see, to listen, to hear.
And in fact, to emphasize that point, while Peter is still speaking,
as Peter is making his pitch, </span></span><i><b>“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.'”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
The glory of the LORD, the cloud that covered the tabernacle, arrives
– and the voice of God booms forth – the voice that only Moses
during the Exodus could bear – and that voice says, “Listen to
Jesus. Pay attention to Jesus.” You aren't here for tents or busy
work – you are here to listen to Jesus.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
the disciples do the only sensible thing. </span></span><i><b>When
the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were
terrified.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Well, I know personally, that when I'm dreaming about having my own
mountaintop experience, I always want it to end with me hitting the
dirt in abject terror. But the disciples are, face down in the dirt.
Duck, cover, close your eyes until it's all over so you don't have
your face melted off by the glory of God. Utterly sensible. And the
disciples would have laid there for a long time, except something
happens. </span></span><i><b>But Jesus came and touched them,
saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their
eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Now, imagine the relief, the deep sigh as the fear and worry just
leaves your body. They saw just Jesus – and just the normal Jesus
they were used to. The Jesus they were used to walking around with
and listening too, just as the Father had told them to.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Don't
misunderstand me – the transfiguration was an incredible,
astonishing experience. Peter is even willing to point out how
amazing it was – </span></span><i><b>We ourselves heard this very
voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Yeah, if it's a contest about who has had the most amazing religious
experience, Peter points out that his experiences will top your
experiences. But here's the thing – it's not about our religious
experiences (which often are much more terrifying than glamorous) or
even about our emotions or our reactions. No, as Peter points out –
</span></span><i><b>And we have something more sure, the prophetic
Word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining
in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in
your hearts.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
It was something else to see Jesus in His glory face to face – but
in this life time, while we are still sinful folk, we aren't ready
for that. So God has given us something more sure – the Prophetic
Word – the Scriptures and the preaching there upon. While we are
in this dark place, while we are sinners in a sinful world, it is by
the Word of God and preaching that we can hear Jesus, listen to
Jesus, receive Jesus in a safe way.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>This
sets the stage for everything that Christ Jesus is getting ready to
do – this sets the stage for Lent and for Holy Week. Because here
we see the base problem of sin laid out for us. Sinful man just
cannot bear being in the presence of a Holy God and His glory... and
the thing is, that's what we had been created for. To be with God –
to enjoy the gifts God gives, but also to be able to pause and talk
with God in the cool of the day whenever He comes around. And as
sinners, we can't. And so the whole program, the whole plan of what
Jesus is doing throughout the entirety of Scriptures is that He will
come to you in ways that you can handle – through the Word, through
preaching – through the Word tied to water, through the Word tied
to bread and wine. But He will come to make it to where there will
be a restoration of sinful man, where we will be rescued from our
sin, from the debilitating impact of sin, where we are less than what
we were created to be... and Jesus will rescue us and restore us and
make us new to where we can be with Him in His glory and talk with
Him and enjoy His presence fully and unabated.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>And do to that, Jesus is going to have to defeat sin
and death. Jesus is going to have to veil His power and come into
this world, and He's going to have to face down temptation, and He's
going to have dive on into death to pull us out of death. That's the
purpose of the Cross. And as for us – we're to watch Jesus, to
listen to Him, to be focused on Jesus and what Jesus is saying and
doing. We see Christ the Crucified – we hear Him in the prophetic
word, and our sins are forgiven. And all of this is to build our
faith, to make us ready for that time when we will see Jesus face to
face, when we will pass through death unto everlasting life with
Christ Jesus. And Jesus is patient, and He prepares you, and He
gives you growth – and in ways typically that you can handle, here
in His Church. The wild, mountaintop experiences are thankfully few
and far between, and most of us will never see them – and that's a
good thing, actually. Because Jesus works for you in the Word
through the Holy Spirit, working forgiveness, life, and salvation in
you. And you will see it – you will see Jesus chatting with Moses
and Elijah and Peter and James and John – but you'll see it in the
life of the world to come, when Christ has made you ready for it, to
be part of it, to enjoy it for all eternity. This is what Jesus is
doing, and the Father is well pleased that He is. Listen to Jesus.
In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World + </span>
</p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-54303051499912066622024-01-11T06:04:00.006-06:002024-01-11T06:04:32.097-06:00Epiphany 2 Sermon <p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>So
this year, because Easter is so early, in March, we are only going to
get one normal Epiphany text. Next week it's already the
Transfiguration – it's going to be a short season. So here we are
– one weekend, one Gospel lesson. And in this lesson Jesus will be
revealed, who He is will shine forth. So, that's going to be our
approach this morning – we are going to look at this text and see
what we learn about Jesus. Who actually is this Jesus, this true God
and true Man. What's He like?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Before
we look at the text, I want to explain why it's so important that we
see from the Scriptures who Jesus actually is. In the next few
months, especially on various shows, you will hear all sorts of junk
about what Jesus would do, who He was, all sorts of baseless
conjecture from all over the place. Back when I was in college, they
released those “What Would Jesus Do” braclets – they were
supposed to help one think about the love that Jesus would show.
Except in the following years people seem to have taken that as a
challenge to just make stuff up, to fabricate their own head cannon
Jesus – where my Jesus would vote for my political party, and He'd
give me a pony, and so on and so forth. And the discussions on Jesus
have become less and less tethered, less and less tied to the Word of
God. No – we can't do that, we dare not treat Jesus like our
imaginary dream boyfriend – we're not children playing with dolls
or action figures here. If you want to know what Christ Jesus, the
Word of God, is really like, you have to look at the Word of God.
So, let's dive in.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i><b><span> </span>On
the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother
of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with His
disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him,
“They have no more wine.”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
So John gives us the setting. This is shortly after Jesus' baptism,
and He's just gathered the first disciples. And Jesus shows up at a
wedding – probably the wedding of a cousin, as Mary is helping out
in the back to run the thing, and that's what your aunts did back in
the day, and they run out of wine. This would be an embarrassment, a
sadness – a sign of bad luck, as it were. And Mary does something
interesting – she drops a motherly hint to Jesus. You know those,
right – if mom says, “Boy, the trash can is pretty full” she's
not just stating a fact, there's an implied, “so you better go take
it out.” Mary sees a problem – and she knows that her son has
started His ministry, that He's gathering disciples. Mary thinks
it's go time, and she's eager!</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
here we get to see Jesus in action. </span></span><i><b>And Jesus
said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour
has not yet come.”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Okay, so what do we see from Jesus? First, He is polite. We hear
that “woman” and it can throw us off – Jesus is saying “ma'am”.
He's being very polite, this is a very prim response. But this
response is also a denial. Mom, if you are hoping for pyrotechnics
and loud flashes and everyone fawning over your Son, it's not going
to happen right now. It's not the time for it. This wedding day is
about cousin Sal – it's not My great day. So do you see Jesus?
He's polite, but He's also grounded and level. He's not seeking
glory. He doesn't seek to throw His power around – He doesn't want
to steal anyone's thunder. And He is patient. Jesus is ready to
wait for the proper time and the proper way to do things.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>One of the things that sin does, one of the way that
sin attacks us, is we can be tempted towards self-aggrandizement –
where we want to make a big deal of ourselves. Where we want to
steal the spotlight, where we want everything to be about us. And it
never goes well, and it ruins things, sucks the joy right out of
them. But Jesus doesn't get wrapped up in that sinful attention
grabbing circus. Rather, He remains focused. This celebration isn't
to be about Me, so I'm not going to muscle on in. It's not my time
yet, so I'm going to wait, I'm not going to jump the gun. Jesus is
patient, and He is not a glory hound.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>But
that doesn't mean that Jesus won't do anything, and Mary knows it.
</span></span><i><b>His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever
He tells you.”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Mary knows her Son. If there is a problem, Jesus will solve it. He
won't draw attention to Himself; He won't throw a parade or toot His
own horn – but He will show love, He will solve the problem, He
will fix things. And how? </span></span><i><b>Now there were six
stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each
holding 20 or 30 gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the
jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He
said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the
feast.” So they took it.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
And here's the miracle. The water is changed, at some point, into
wine. When the master tastes it, it will be wine. When was the
change– don't know. It just happens – quietly. Without a lot of
fuss. These stone jars were probably off out back, out of the way
(because they weren't going to be used at the party), and Jesus has
the servants fill them, then Jesus has the servants take the wine –
no one sees Jesus doing anything. In fact, Jesus is quite hands off.
It's subtle, it's quiet. Other than the servants (and the disciples
who would have been hanging out with Jesus), no one at the wedding
would have a clue that Jesus is involved.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Do you see who Jesus is? He is humble. He is focused
on the task at hand. What does this wedding need – well, it needs
more wine, and this is how We will do it. Quietly, simply, no body
has to know, when you give, give so that your left hand does not know
what your right hand is doing. And Jesus works through the servants.
He doesn't sigh loudly, roll His eyes at Mary and say, “You were
supposed to handle the supplies, but I guess if you want something
done right, do it yourself.” Nope – servants, here's your job.
It's work, but it's simple – fill up jars with 150 gallons of water
– quite a bit of lugging water but not too hard. Now go give some
to the master. You'll do this – you're the servants, your job is
handling the wine and food, and I'll let you do that. Jesus
understands vocation – that people have jobs, callings,
responsibilities that He has given to them, and He has them do their
jobs.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>You
do realize that Jesus works through you in your various vocations.
Paul will even claim that in reality it is no longer Paul who lives,
but Christ who lives in him. Jesus accomplishes good and great
things in your life, in your home, in your community, through you.
You're His servant, and He's placed you were you are to love the
neighbors He has given you. If you're a parent, love your kids. If
you're a kid, honor your father and mother. And in these simple
relationships of service and love, great things get accomplished. We
often think of Jesus doing miracles, but we can forget or neglect how
wondrously Jesus works good things through us, through the normal
things of life. That Jesus uses us to accomplish good things for our
neighbors, and Jesus uses our neighbors to give us good things and
provide for us. All very simple, and Jesus is content to remain in
the background. Jesus works through means, He uses people and places
and things to accomplish His good and gracious will, even when we
don't particularly notice what He is doing.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><i><b><span> </span>When
the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not
know where it came from (though the servants who drew the water
knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him,
“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.” </b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Jesus
makes all things good. Of course He does – that's literally lesson
one from Genesis 1 – and it was good. And this master of the
feast, who runs things, who oversees how food and drink would be
served to the crowd, is a bit flummoxed. What's with this good wine
now – you do good first, then the... poor, eh – the lesser wine.
The weaker, the not so strong wine. Let people have a nice strong
drink or two, and then you water things down. The master sees that
the party continues on without getting too messy. And Groom, come
here – you have to talk to your family serving staff – we're
going to have to cut this wine, water it down. This was the stuff
you should have started with.</span></span> </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Do you
see, it's an overflowing blessing. It's wine to last for days. It's
not just Jesus makes 150 gallons of wine... really He's made wine
that will be cut into 450 gallons of tasty beverage for the folks at
that wedding to enjoy. They most certainly will not run out now, and
it all will be good. And very few people know what's going on –
servants, disciples, that's it.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a name="en-ESV-31040"></a><a name="en-ESV-31041"></a>
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>And you, you are a servant of Christ Jesus. You are a
disciple – and this is a reminder to you. You follow Jesus, you
see what He's doing... and so you'll know what is going on, how
Christ is at work in the world, for the world... and the world won't
understand. So be it, you pay attention to Jesus, you watch Jesus,
you listen to Jesus, and see what He does. Because this humble
Jesus, who isn't showy, who is patient and kind – you will see Him
journey to the Cross. You will see Him fix the problems not just of
a simple wedding, but you will see Him address and deal with the
problems of sin and death – you'll see Him win salvation with His
death upon the Cross and you'll see Him rise again to establish the
wedding feast of the Lamb in the life of the world to come. That's
why this first sign Jesus does happens at a wedding – that's the
through-line image of the Scriptures. Creation – it's a wedding
feast. Adam and Eve, you've been joined together by God, enjoy your
wedding present of all creation. The End, Revelation - </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b> And
I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. </b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
A wedding feast, a reception and party without end is the biblical
image of what eternal life will be like. And Jesus has come, not to
garner praise, not to toot His own horn, not to throw His weight
around. He's come simply for this – to see that the everlasting
celebration where God gives you blessing upon blessing, grace upon
grace, carries on. And it will be good – good like it was in the
beginning, and because Jesus saves, good it shall ever be.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>That is who Jesus is, and we will watch Jesus in the
weeks to come as He makes His way to the Cross to win, to establish,
to secure your everlasting life. And it will be good. In the Name
of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World + </span>
</p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-10336793293211273642024-01-04T07:19:00.004-06:002024-01-04T07:19:13.629-06:00Baptism of our Lord Sermon<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Baptism
of our Lord – January 6<sup>th</sup> and 7<sup>th</sup>, 2024 –
Matthew 3</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the world +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> The
week after Epiphany the church traditionally observes the Baptism of
our Lord with the texts we have heard today. This is quite fitting.
In every single Gospel, Jesus begins His preaching, His teaching
after His Baptism. And there is a point to this – because it is
here, at His Baptism, where Christ Jesus begins in earnest the work
that He was sent by His Father to do – the work of winning your
salvation. This is the point where it all begins. So then, without
further ado, let us examine our Gospel text.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>“Then
Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.
John would have prevented Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by
You, and do You come to me?’”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> So
here we see Jesus come to John to be Baptized, and John is out where
he normally is, the Jordan river, off at the edge of the wilderness.
Yet, when Jesus comes to John to be baptized, John is confused. I
suppose it is an understandable confusion, as John was baptizing
sinners – and Jesus is no sinner. Indeed, Jesus has no sin of His
own, Jesus is the promised Messiah, True God and True Man. John even
admits that he himself is poor and lowly and needs to repent himself,
but Jesus doesn't “need” to. So far, so pious. But John goes a
bit beyond just confusion. John would have “prevented Him.”
John would have stopped Jesus from doing what Jesus wanted to do.
Now, think on that for a moment – Jesus, whom John acknowledges as
the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, comes up to
John and says, “I’m here to be baptized,” and John says, “Now,
just wait here one minute. That’s not how you’re supposed to do
it.” It is a bit arrogant, isn’t it – to tell Jesus that He
must be mistaken, simply because John doesn’t understand.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yet,
how often do we read God’s Word, see what our Lord says or
instructs us, and then are tempted to think, “Oh, surely Jesus
didn’t mean that”? That’s the heart of every false doctrine
you can think of – it comes where someone sees what our Lord
declares in His Word about who He is and the forgiveness He brings
and then says, “Oh, that can’t be it - surely there is something
else going on here.” It makes sense, because the very essence of
sin is to doubt God’s Word – in the Garden, the temptation is
“Did God really say”. And when it boils to it, every sin,
including yours and mine, is an attempt to prevent God from doing
what He wills through you; every sin is just trying to get in His
way. God tells me that I should love my neighbor; indeed that I
have been created to love my neighbor, placed into this world so to
care for him – yet what happens? I get angry, upset, annoyed –
and suddenly, no, I don’t want to show *him* love. Surely that
whole “love your neighbor thing” doesn’t apply to someone like
*him*. Our sinful flesh wants to ignore God, to contradict God, to
correct God. Surely You didn’t mean what You said about sin, about
love. Sadly, some say this about God’s forgiveness, or even as we
see John in the text, surely, Jesus, You don’t mean to be baptized
here this day.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yet
Jesus corrects John with words of wonder and beauty. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>“But
Jesus answered Him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for
us to fulfill all righteousness.’” </b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">This
is a big, big thing that Jesus says. Actually, if you wanted to you
could probably call this the Gospel in a nutshell – because this is
what we proclaim week in and week out – that Jesus Christ is our
righteousness, and that He has fulfilled it all. Since the fall,
righteousness has been a bit of a sticky wicket for us folk, because
we do not have it. There is not one of us who is righteous – that
is, who does what he or she ought to do. There isn’t a one of us
who is perfect, who shows the love that we ought. Instead, we are
sinners, and even us here, we Christians who know better, we still
keep on sinning. Our old Adam, our sinful nature keeps on popping
out, and we do not do what we ought. What does this mean? It means
that we, of ourselves leave righteousness unfulfilled. We are not
righteous, we don’t do what God in His law demands – in fact, we
seem to have made a hobby of sinning and breaking God’s Law.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">John
knows this – that is why he had been preaching repentance and
baptizing for repentance. To repent is to admit and confess that you
are not righteous, that you in and of yourself aren’t all that
great. Indeed, it is to say that you are a sinner. And not a little
sinner, not a “but at least I’m not as bad as *he* is” sort of
sinner – but a poor, miserable sinner, who can do nothing to make
yourself righteous. That is what those people being baptized by John
were saying – that they were poor miserable sinners, that they were
stuck in a pit and unable to get out of it, that their only hope was
to receive salvation from the Lord.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And
suddenly, in the midst of those sinners strides Christ Jesus our
Lord, and He walks right on up with them, and He comes to John to be
baptized. Why? Not because Jesus is a sinner, but because they are,
because you and I are sinners. He comes to fulfill all
righteousness. You and I – we’re not righteous. We aren’t
filling anything. But then you have Jesus – and who is Jesus? He
is true God and true Man. He is Man, perfect, without sin. He is
Man who is righteous. But more that than – He is the righteous Man
sent by God in order to fulfill all righteousness. All – Jesus
comes to fulfill all righteousness – He comes to fulfill your
righteousness. Where as you had a lack, Jesus comes to be with you,
to not only take away your sin, but to give you His own
righteousness. This is what Paul is referring to when he says in our
Epistle that Jesus is our righteousness. When He is baptized, Jesus
takes His place at your side and He says to you, “I will cover your
sin, take it away, and in its place I will give you My
righteousness, so that you are accounted righteous because of Me.”</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let
me give an example. Let us say that you are on a basketball team,
playing for the state championship. And let’s say you are utterly
lousy – you turn the ball over 20 times, you miss every shot you
take, you don’t get any rebounds or steals or blocks. Indeed, you
are so bad that every moment you are on the floor it hurts your team.
Yet, what if one of your teammates is brilliant, makes every shot he
takes, rebounds, steals the ball from the other team, blocks their
shots, dominates the game completely, and your team wins – what are
you? What do they call you? They call you State Champion. You’re
a State Champion, not because of how awesome you are, but because
your teammate’s greatness is applied, is given, is shared with you.
</span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When
Christ Jesus is baptized, He says that He is One of us – that He
will be on your side, and that even though you lack righteousness,
even though you're a horrible sinner, He will take up the burden of
your sin, and He will give you His own righteousness and holiness.
And everything you see Jesus doing in the Gospels after His baptism
is simply Jesus fulfilling your righteousness. While you don’t
show love – He shows love perfectly for you. While you don’t
always like the Word of God – He does nothing but preach it,
calling all to repentance and instructing you in truth. While you
deserve to die for your sin, He goes to the cross in your place,
dying so that you would have life everlasting in Him. Because Jesus
takes up your sin and gives you His righteousness, you are called,
you are declared righteous – you are Justified. That’s what that
word Justification means – it means that on account of Christ
Jesus, you are forgiven and declared righteous. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And
this is why Baptism is so important. When Jesus was Baptized, He
took His place with mankind, said that He would be with the sinners
in order to fulfill righteousness for them, in order to justify them.
When you were baptized, when God poured water and His Word, His
Spirit upon you, you were joined to Christ, Jesus brought you to His
side by your baptism, and through your Baptism He declared that all
of His righteousness, everything that He does, is yours. Everything
that Jesus does, He has done for you, and you know this, because you
are baptized, because He has joined Himself to you. You are
justified by Christ. And all this gets its start, all of this is
shown and revealed to us when Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan
to fulfill all righteousness.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So,
did it work? Did Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan do what He said it
would, does your Baptism now save you, as Peter teaches in his
Epistle? I ask only because there are those who deny that Baptism
really does anything, who say that it’s just a symbol, that it
doesn’t really accomplish anything. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>“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.’”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Well, let’s see –
does the Baptism of Jesus accomplish anything? Well, the heavens
open, and the Holy Spirit comes, and the Father says that He is well
pleased. Well, I’d certainly say that when Jesus is baptized a lot
happens. It’s not just a symbol, symbols don’t cause the heavens
to open or the Spirit to come or the Father to declare His pleasure.
Jesus’ baptism accomplished what He said it would, it fulfilled all
righteousness.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
is why you know that your baptism accomplished something in you.
When you were baptized, heaven was opened unto you, for you were no
longer just a sinner, but you were a forgiven, justified sinner. You
were no longer a stranger to God, in rebellion against Him, but the
Holy Spirit came to rest upon you in your Baptism, indeed, where you
can now say that you body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit. And God
the Father, now, when He sees you, He too sees you as His own
Baptized Child, and because Christ Jesus has given you His
righteousness – the Father is well pleased with you, you are the
beloved child of the Father. It is all done by Christ Jesus for you,
and it is given to you in His gift of Baptism.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Does
this gift of Baptism mean we are perfect now? No – we are still
sinners, we are still in these fallen bodies. This is why we look
forward to the resurrection, to the life of the world to come when we
will be perfect. But until then, even now, we have life and
salvation, we have our righteousness fulfilled in Christ. This was
given to us at our baptism, it is given again whenever the Word of
God is proclaimed, whenever we receive the Supper. It is always
about Christ Jesus, who shows Himself to be our Savior, our Redeemer
– the One who fulfills all righteousness for us, all praise and
glory be to Christ Jesus our Lord. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the
Light of the World +</span></p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-90086693013412460692023-12-25T06:43:00.001-06:002023-12-25T06:43:00.134-06:00Christmas Day Sermon<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span> </span>In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and [God was
the Word.]</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
John would have us return to Genesis 1 as he begins his Gospel,
because if you want to understand Jesus, if you want to understand
this Babe lying in the manager, if you want to understand this Man
who preaches and heals and performs signs, if you want to understand
the Cross and what it means, you have to understand the beginning.
We, like any good pious Christian who would have heard John preach,
know how Genesis starts. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>In
the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was
without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Yes, God creates, and then He takes His creation and He speaks, and
in His speaking He creates order. Light is separated from darkness,
earth from the wider realms of space, land from sea, the sea
creatures brought forth from the waters, the land producing plants
and animals – and all by God speaking, all by the Word of God going
forth as the Spirit moves through it all.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
John knows that it is hard enough to wrap our minds around the idea
of “God” - and John knows that it is even harder and more
mysterious to wrap your mind around the fact that God is One and
Three at the same time – when the Gospel of John is written the
term “Trinity” that is our namesake here hadn't even been coined
yet. But if you are going to understand who Jesus is and what He is
doing, you have to understand something. So, remember the beginning?
Remember that Word that created – well, that Word is God and God
is that Word – there a mysterious unity and distinction – but the
Word is with God and God also is the Word. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>He
was in the beginning with God.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
And God and the Word and the Word and God (and the Spirit too, but
that's another conversation) have always been together, since the
beginning, since before anything existed, before anything was
created.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
this Word is vital – </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>All
things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made
that was made.</b></span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Creation happens this way. God creates via the Word. It is the
Word who takes creation and imposes order, reason, logic, clarity on
it. And this stands out more if you under that the word for Word
here in Greek is “Logos” - from which we get “logic” or
“-ology” as in the “study of something” - or “logo” as in
the sign that lets you know what something is. The Word, the Logos
creates creation in an orderly fashion – Thy Strong Word did cleave
the darkness, at Thy speaking it was done. Everything that is made,
everything that is good, every sense of order and stability in the
entire cosmos comes about by the Word working.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a name="en-NKJV-38"></a>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b><span> </span>In
Him was life, and the life was the light of men.</b></span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
And the pinnacle of creation, the pinnacle of all that the Word had
spoken and ordered into being was man. Why? Because life, real
life, living life – </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>And
the </b></span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>Lord</b></span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>
God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. </b></span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">That
life was in the Word, and the Spirit was sent, proceeded from the
Word, and then you have man – made in the image, the likeness of
God. You have order put forth and woman brought about – both male
and female in the image and likeness of God – the Glory of God was
shown to all creation in the life that was Adam and Eve – who would
care for all that the Word had created, who would themselves
participate in creation with the two becoming one flesh and then new
life, new people, in the image and likeness of God coming forth.
This was the working of the Word – and it was good, very good. And
the Word who was with God and God who was the Word would come and
walk amongst His creation and talk to His Adam and Eve in the cool of
the day.<br /> That was the point. The point of all creation, the
goal, the reason was so that God Himself would make man and be able
to give man blessing upon blessing and chat with man, be with man.
That is what the Word did, that was what all of that Creative
Speaking of the Word was driving at – Immanuel. God with us.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a name="en-ESV-71"></a>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Yet
we know how the story goes. One day – we don't know when, instead
of listening to the Word of God, instead of delighting in His Order
and how He had created, Adam and Eve listened to Satan, and sin and
darkness and death came crashing in. Man started making divisions
that the Word hadn't made, and all that order that God had spoken
began to fall apart. Terror where there had been nothing to be
terrified of. Shame where there had been nothing to be ashamed of.
A giant pall cast over creation. And the Word walks in the garden
and calls out, “Adam, where are you?” And the conversation that
follows is utterly sad – like speaking to small children trying to
pretend that they hadn't broken the cookie jar. This is Adam – the
LORD God had brought all the animals to Adam and Adam had named them,
organized them – of course he had because He was made in the image
and likeness of the Word, the Logos, the ordering-speaking reality of
God. And now, Adam is reduced to a blame casting blithering idiot.
That's the fall, that's the wreck and ruin. That's the darkness of
that day. But it was not complete darkness. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>The
Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall
bruise his heel. </b></span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And
there was the promise, the promise that the Word would not abandon
His creation now corrupted, not abandon Adam and Eve, not leave
mankind to drift. No, there would be a day where one of this woman's
offspring would be God Himself, the Word made Flesh, and He would
come and fix things. He'd defeat and crush Satan and remake and
restore His creation, His Adam, His Eve.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a name="en-ESV-17775"></a><a name="en-ESV-17797"></a>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Years
passed. Countless lives and histories unfolded. But through all of
them sin and death ran. The genealogies ended with, “and he died.”
And wickedness spread and grew worse. Even a flood doesn't fix it.
Even confusing the language doesn't fix it – it only limits the
wickedness we can get up to – like a parent sending kids to
different rooms so they don't get into more trouble together. And
God would come and He would be with people – He would visit His
friend Abraham – but it wasn't like it was in the beginning. He
couldn't be with people fully – sinful man couldn't bear it.
Abraham couldn't, Moses couldn't, Elijah couldn't. Isaiah the
prophet saw Him in a vision and was sure he was a dead man - </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>Woe
is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in
the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the
King, the </b></span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>Lord</b></span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>
of hosts! </b></span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Do
not worry, Isaiah, the LORD will cover you, and through you He would
proclaim His coming. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>Behold,
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel. </b></span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
would come a day when the LORD would come, when we would have
Immanuel, God with us, but God with us in a way that we could stand,
that we could endure. The Word would become one of us so as to be
able to be with us.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b><span> </span>And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.</b></span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
John tells us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Of
course John did... Jesus was John's friend. They ate together, they
laughed and joked together – half the time I think John writes his
Gospel because he just wanted to tell fun stories of his time with
his friend Jesus – the camaraderie and joshing that goes on amongst
Jesus and the disciples in John is fantastic. And real. And
beautiful, because it is God with man, God with His creation. But
the Word didn't come just to have some friends for a short time –
no, John sees His Glory – and whenever John speaks of Glory in His
Gospel it drives to the Cross. Jesus says, </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>“The
hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I
say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it
remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”</b></span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
And again, Jesus says, “</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>Now
is the judgment of the this world; now will the ruler of this world
be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth will draw all
people to Myself.”</b></span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
This is Christ's Glory – that He goes to the Cross to redeem, to
rescue, to fix, to restore His people. To rescue you. It is
finished, hear Him cry.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b><span> </span>And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.</b></span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
God does not abandon you on account of your sin. Instead, He
becomes man and suffers and dies and rises to rescue and restore and
forgive and redeem you. Because He had created the whole universe
just to give it to you, and to be with you, and to delight in it with
you. And man, doesn't sin just tarnish and twist and tear apart
everything. That's what Jesus came to fix, to undo. That's what
this celebration today is all about. Jesus, the Word made Flesh, to
redeem you. Oh, my friends, we know what is coming, but we really
have no idea – we can't comprehend what the resurrection, what the
new heavens will be like – but Jesus came, and He will come again
to ensure that you will, that you will know and talk and eat and
dwell with the Lord for all eternity. On account of this, a hearty
and merry Christmas to you all. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our
Newborn King +</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-39714813259925405722023-12-24T18:00:00.001-06:002023-12-24T18:00:00.151-06:00Christmas Eve Sermon<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Christmas
Eve, 2023</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i><b><span> </span>Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is
well pleased.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
We miss the irony, we miss the shocking turn of events that arise
with the angels singing this song. We have become used to the angels
– they adorn our decorations, our trees. We even think of them as
“pretty”. “Why you look like an angel” is a compliment given
to say that someone looks lovely and sweet.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>That's
not how those shepherds had thought of angels as they started their
evening. That's not how anyone thought of angels. Angels were
understood first and formost as warriors, as God's soldiers. The
first angel we see in the bible is the one from Genesis 3 – a
Cherubim with a flaming sword – not just a sword, but a flaming
sword, to keep sinful man from messing with the tree of life. Or the
Angels show up to Sodom and Gamorrah – and then there's fire and
brimstone. Or Balaam's Donkey who sees the Angel with the sword
ready to strike Balaam dead. Ask Pharoah after the Passover, ask
Sennacherib after his army is decimated what they think of angelic
appearances, and they would respond only with terror. Angels are
God's Army. “But aren't they messengers, Pastor Brown” - yes.
But I come from a family of marines, and as my Uncle Major Nordgren
liked to point out, if the US wants to send a message there's no
better way to send a message than a battalion of US Marines. Gets
the point across.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>So
this is why, when one angel appears to these shepherds who were just
minding their business, that his first words are, </span></span><i><b>Fear
not!</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Since the fall, the angels had been stuck with the sad task of
combat. Generally, if you saw an angel, you were going to die. But
no, not tonight Shepherds! Something different. Now this angel gets
to be a messenger of good news. The Messiah has come – He has been
born in Bethlehem. And instead of having a flaming sword to keep you
away, I give to give directions! How wonderful for this angel –
finally getting to praise! It's not an angel of death, it's an angel
of joy. It's not Marines loaded for battle, it's Toys for Tots
Marines loaded with gifts! What a better job!</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>But
the whole battalion wants to get in on it. </span></span><i><b>And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">...
host. We forget this, but “host” is the Latin word for “Army”.
Like “hostile”. A whole army of angels shows up, and they're
singing with joy and delight because there doesn't need to be any
death today – no! </span></span><i><b>Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom He is well pleased.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
No, there's peace. Why? Because God is once again pleased with
man. Once again, finally, after so long there is a man, Christ Jesus,
who is without sin, who is holy and righteous. And this Jesus will
grow, and He will take His righteousness and pour it out upon the
whole earth, even to you here, so that now when God sees you, He sees
you not as an enemy but as His forgiven child, robed in the clothes
of Christ's righteousness (a far better gift than any pair of
Christmas socks) – and God is well pleased with you. And the
angels delight at this, because they finally get to sing a song of
victory, and we get to sing with them, because Jesus Christ is born.
A hearty and merry Christmas to you all. In the Name of Christ Jesus
our Newborn King! </span></span></span>
</p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-87831409094635002452023-12-19T06:44:00.004-06:002023-12-19T06:44:15.393-06:00Advent 4 Sermon<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>For
the 4</span><sup><span style="font-size: medium;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: medium;"> Sunday in
Advent, the Sunday immediately preceding Christmas, a pastor has two
options in the lectionary for what Gospel lesson he can read. He can
read Luke and the account of Mary and the Magnificat, or he can read
from John chapter 1, John pointing toward the Messiah. It’s an
interesting choice. You have Mary, whom all women will call blessed,
and you have John, who is by Jesus’ own words one of the greatest
of men – and yet, in both readings there is a wonderful point of
connection – neither Mary nor John focus on themselves or how
wonderful they are; instead they both point to Jesus and what He
does. John – he points to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins
of the world – we sing this whenever we celebrate communion. But
Mary's song, the Magnificat, that's part of Vespers, which we don't
so often here. So let's hear Mary's song again and learn. But
first, the set up.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span> </span>In
those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a
town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted
Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby
leaped in her womb.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Well, I guess John
shows up in this text too, but he’s not talking, he’s just
leaping for joy when Mary brings Jesus by. And it’s not just John
who gets excited, even Elizabeth joins in.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with
a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit
of your womb! For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my
ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who
believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her
from the Lord.”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> What the angel told
Zechariah was all coming true – Elizabeth was pregnant despite her
age, and indeed, it looks like her son will be preparing the way for
the Messiah who has just shown up. And there’s Mary – standing
there. Probably around 13 years old. Easily she could have been
overwhelmed, easily she could have let this all go to her head.
Easily she could have bragged about herself – because let’s face
it, if for some stupid reason ever we are sitting down and bragging
about who we are and what’ve done for the Lord, being able to say,
“Yeah, I gave birth to Him” would be win. But what does Mary do?
She stops talking about herself, and instead she points to God.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mary
says, </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my
spirit rejoices in God my Savior.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>”</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
We don’t often use the word “magnify” this way, but it means
to make great, to make a big deal of, to focus upon. Your magnifying
glass lets you focus upon something and see it clearly – and praise
does this – it focuses us upon God and what He has done. This
serves as a reminder of what all Christian praise must do if it is to
be called praise – it has to focus upon God – it has to be about
what God does. It has to rejoice in God and in His salvation.
Christian praise is always tied, always points to the fact that God
Himself acts on our behalf and saves us. This is what we praise God
for – and Mary will continue to expand aspects of this in her song.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span> </span>“for
He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. For behold, from
now on all generations will call me blessed, for He who is mighty has
done great things for me.”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Mary
recognizes something about herself. She sees that she is blessed,
but that she herself is lowly, that there is nothing in her that
demands success or praise or glory. It’s not about her. And yet,
God has beheld her, God has seen her, and God is the One who has
elevated her – in fact, all generations, even to our day, learn of
the Blessed Virgin Mary – her words will echo throughout churches,
children will want to be her in Christmas programs – and why? Not
because she herself is wonderful, but because God, the Mighty One,
has done great things for her. If she were not the mother of our
Lord, not a one of us would have ever heard of her. Mary is acutely
aware of God’s blessings given to her, precisely because she knows
that she does not deserve them. She is humble.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>I
reckon that in the next 36/24 hours we'll see a lot of gifts. And
sometimes we can be tricked into thinking the gifts we receive are
about us – what a good boy am I, see I'm on the nice list, not the
naughty one. The gifts we recieve really tell us about the giver –
and Mary reminds us of this. She's not received this gift, this
favor from God, because she's just all that – but rather because
God is good, and He does great things. Knowing this she's ready to
receive this gift with humility and thankfulness. Perhaps this is a
good reminder for us all. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Mary
continues. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>“and Holy is His Name. And
His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation.”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
Let's talk more about the Giver, about God. God’s Name, the God
who does all this for you, His Name is holy, and He is full of mercy.
And in His mercy, He ties Mary into His own Name. Mary sees that –
and her name will ever be associated with God’s Name. She will
forever be remembered as Mary, the Mother of God. And she sees the
great mercy that she has received, that she, a sinful being, receives
such wonderful things from God.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Now,
dear friends, consider the fact that you are Baptized. You have been
joined into God’s own Name, His own holiness has been applied to
you. You are made to be part of God’s Family as assuredly as Mary,
Jesus’ own mother, is part of His family – for you have been
Baptized, you have been adopted as sons and daughters of the Father,
you now have Christ for your brother, you are His family – and as
such, you receive His Mercy. The greatest and mightiest thing that
God has done for you has nothing to do with the presents under the
tree, or the size of your home or your bank account, or how talented
you are – those are wonderful, but they aren’t the greatest. You
have been forgiven on account of Christ – you have been given the
gift of faith and welcomed into the family of God. God in His great
mercy and love for you has called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light, and this is something that is for eternity – and
it’s not dependent upon you, but flows totally from Him. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span> </span>“</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>He
has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the
thoughts of their hearts; He has brought down the mighty from their
thrones and exalted those of humble estate.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>”</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
Mary brings out another thing that God does that we know yet often
forget. We do not need to look very hard to see the mighty and
powerful abuse and harm others, indeed, even harm us. But Mary’s
words remind us of a truth that we can forget when confronted with
wickedness and oppression in this world – there is so much more
that God prevents, there is so much that God brings to an end. The
proud are scattered, their plans fall apart and so often do not come
to fruition. The tyrants on their thrones fall, the powers crumble –
evil doesn’t endure because God brings an end to it. And this is a
comfort to us, it gives us a new perspective – for even when evil
is done to us, even when we are getting it heaped upon us – we know
that God does not let it last, that it will crumble and fail sooner
or later, and that He will deliver us. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Indeed,
the great example of this is the very fact that Mary is pregnant with
the Christ Child as she says this. No more will God be content to
have fallen king after fallen king come and rule on this earth – no
more will He let this world’s prince have His sway – no, God
Himself comes to be our king, to be our Lord, to defeat Satan – and
because He has come we have victory assured. The brief battles we
face now in this life will give way and yield to the eternal victory
celebration of heaven, because God’s strong arm wins the victory by
being nailed to the cross and rising again on the third day.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span> </span>“</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>He
has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent
empty away. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His
mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His offspring
forever.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>”</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
The coming of Christ changes things; things will be different because
of Christ. Wickedness will be overcome, the powerful will be cast
down. The failings and the disappointments that we face in this life
eventually will go away. And instead, God fills us with all joy and
blessedness. And as those of the New Testament, we see these words
of Mary and the promises they point all gathered in to the Lord’s
Supper. If you believe that you are of yourself spiritually rich,
that you need no forgiveness, that you have no need for God’s mercy
– you will remain as empty and shallow as you were. But for you,
dear friends, you who see and know your own sin, who know your own
struggles, who feel the pressures of life in this world and who are
burdened – you who are hungry for righteousness – behold what God
does for you. He calls you to His own table, and here He fills you
with not merely good things, but the very best thing – He fills you
with Himself – Christ Jesus gives Himself unto you, in a way most
wondrous and amazing – He forgives your sins in His Supper, He
gives you His own strength – He helps you face down the fears of
the past and prepares you to face the trials of the future, because
in His Supper we see the proof that He is with us.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Dear
friends, Christ Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, is here, and because He
is Here, because He has called us unto His family through the waters
of Baptism, because He gives Himself to us in His Supper, we see and
understand His great love for us – we see and understand all that
He has done and accomplished for us. For indeed, while we were
humble and lowly, while we were weak – He is the one who is strong
for us, strong to save – who comes to rescue us and free us, not
merely for the brief span of our lives, but for all ages, even unto
life everlasting. This, dear friends, is why we magnify the Lord,
this is why we focus our eyes upon Him and in thanksgiving sing His
praise – because we see all that He has done for us, freely and
without worth or merit in us. Christ Jesus came to be our Savior,
and He shall come again to bring us unto heaven, and so we say again,
Come quickly, Lord Jesus. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent
King +</span></p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-56385189811328481222023-12-19T06:33:00.004-06:002023-12-19T06:33:10.637-06:00Advent Midweek 3<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>So,
how do you get that forgiveness that Jesus has won? That is our
question for tonight. How does all that stuff that Jesus has done
for you, actually get to you. It's a question of delivery. It's
December; you've all dealt with cards or gifts – how do they get
where they need to go? If you found a lovely frock for your aunt
Betina in Beloit, but you can't find her address it doesn't do anyone
any good. The goods have to be delivered. And the question that
forms the basis for the third article of the Creed – I believe in
the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints –
it's really this: how does the forgiveness of sins get delivered?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Luther
starts his explanation with one of the more shocking and humble
statements – <i>I believe that by my own reason or strength I
cannot believe. </i><span style="font-style: normal;">Pause there. I
believe that I cannot believe. That if it were left up to me, if I
were on my own – I'd not believe at all. If I were simply up to
me, I'd not have faith. And this is an idea that shocks so many
today – especially Americans where we love our choice and decision
making. But it's true – St. Paul says you were dead in your
trespasses, and dead people don't make decisions. We need the Holy
Spirit to be the one to give us faith, to work in us the rebirth unto
faith in Christ. And remember – your life, your physical life to
you is a gift from God to you, established by God. None of us exist
by our own reason or strength – if your birth was brought about by
the will of God, why would you ever think that your rebirth, your
being born, again wouldn't be brought about by the will of God, too?</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> <span> </span>But
here we are. We are all tainted and corrupted by sin – and because
of that sin, neither our reason or strength have either the ability
or desire to believe in God. Apart from the gift of faith human
beings are quite content to ignore God. But God, in His love and
wisdom, has chosen not to ignore you – and thus He has given you
the gift of faith. And how? “</span><i>The Holy Spirit has called
me by the Gospel”</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> The Holy
Spirit calls you by the Gospel. There's the delivery method. The
Holy Spirit takes the Word, the Good News, the Gospel – and by that
Gospel the Holy Spirit comes to you and calls you, speaks to you,
connects you to Christ. The Holy Spirit does this by the Word
proclaimed, by the Word attached to Water in Baptism, even the Word
attached to the bread and wine in the Supper. In all these places
where the Word of God is present, there the Holy Spirit is also
present, working, calling people – calling you.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> <span> </span>And
with this Gospel the Holy Spirit </span><i>“enlightened me with His
gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
The Holy Spirit enlightens you – the Spirit turns the light bulb
on so you understand. If you understand something about the
Christian faith, it's not because you are just that smart and the
person over there is dumb. No, it's because it has been revealed to
you by God. The Holy Spirit connects the dots for you. And more
than that – the Holy Spirit “sanctifies” you – that is the
Holy Spirit makes you Holy. Your holiness isn't a result of what you
do; it isn't a commentary on how spiffy and wonderful you are.
Rather, God has taken you, and He has made you Holy – He has set
you apart for His service (because that's what being holy is – if
it's holy it's set apart for special use). And indeed, the Holy
Spirit keeps you enlightened and holy; He keeps you in the faith.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> <span> </span>So
– how does the Holy Spirit keep you in the Faith? What does He
use? </span><i>In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and
sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with
Jesus Christ in the one true faith.</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
Well, the Holy Spirit gathers you into the Church, and in this
Church is Jesus and His Word. The whole point of this place, this
building, this service, is the Word of Jesus. The point is the
Gospel of Christ. And everything here revolves around the Word, and
the Holy Spirit uses that Word to work faith and enlighten and
sanctify and keep people in the faith. That's why everything in this
service revolves around the Word, because the Holy Spirit is active
in the Word of God. And not just the readings – obviously, and not
just the sermon (hopefully) – but everything in this service. Our
Liturgy and hymns – they're quoting scripture or based on it.
That's why the hymns have little tiny Scripture citations on the
bottom of the page. It's all being in the Word because the Holy
Spirit gathers us together and has us proclaim God's Word back and
forth to each other and that's where He works.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> <span> </span>And
the chief work of the Spirit is this: </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>In
this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and
the sins of all believers.</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
In and by that Word of God, the Holy Spirit brings you forgiveness –
Jesus says in John 16 </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>He will take
what is mine and declare it to you. </b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Jesus'
forgiveness is delivered to you. The Church is a forgiveness place,
where the Holy Spirit works through the Word to see that forgiveness
abounds.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
with that being said, we can address the elephant in the room that
was brought up in our Gospel lesson – Pastor, what about the
“unforgivable sin” - the sin against the Holy Spirit? Okay,
first off – everyone calls it the “unforgivable” - and the
problem with that is we think it's unforgivable because it's so big,
so bad, so terrible. No, that misses the point. Listen again to the
verse. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>And everyone who
speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one
who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Jesus had been speaking of times of trial – when you are supposed
to be bold and confess Jesus before the world, before rulers and
powerful people. And what if you fail, what if you bail, what if you
weasel out? Well, there's forgiveness for that. But how is that
forgiveness given? How does Jesus' forgiveness get delivered to you?
By the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God in His Church.
So when someone is blaspheming the Holy Spirit, when someone is
blowing off the Spirit and the Word and the Church... how is
forgiveness going to be given to him? It's not, because the delivery
system of forgiveness is ignored. This warning Jesus gives isn't
about how big a sin is (because all sins are damnable and vile) –
but rather it is about how forgiveness is delivered. Without the
Holy Spirit, without the Word, one is simply unable to get
forgiveness. And thus simply - “will not be forgiven.”
Undeliverable mail isn't normally referring to a giant package, but
rather just a return to sender, address unknown. Likewise here –
the image is that when one cuts himself off from the Spirit, from
where the Spirit works (in the Word, in the Church), he cuts off
forgiveness.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>So,
don't do that. Don't try to cut yourself off from the Spirit, from
the Word, from the Church. Rather, remember that the Holy Spirit has
called you by the Gospel, indeed that the Holy Spirit </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>helps
us in our weakness</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
as Paul teaches us in Romans. Know what the Spirit is doing when He
keeps you in the Word, when He brings to your remembrance what Jesus
has said, when He opens your lips. He's working forgiveness and
faith in you – and the only way you'll get forgiveness or faith is
from the Holy Spirit working in the Word. So, be in the Word now and
your entire life, for in the end the Spirit </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">will
raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all
believers in Christ.</span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
The Spirit is the Lord, the Giver of Life – and He gives you the
new life in Christ now, and He shall see you raised to eternal life.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Thus
we have this Advent reviewed the great love the Triune God has for
us. God Almighty has created you, won you redemption and
forgiveness, and delivered that forgiveness to you, even until He
will restore you to true and everlasting life. It's all revolves
around what God has done and continues to do for you – because God
is active for you and in you and through you in wondrous ways, ways
we don't always see or notice because they just happen all the time.
So be it – God loves you, and He delights in giving you blessings
of body and soul. This is why Christ Jesus came – so that your sin
wouldn't get in the way of God giving you wondrous things. We know
this now, we receive this now – and we shall see it full and
unhindered when Jesus comes again. Amen. In the Name of Christ
Jesus, our Advent King +</span></span></span></p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-41293223027367898882023-12-14T06:36:00.002-06:002023-12-14T06:36:05.871-06:00Advent 3 Sermon<p>
</p><h2 class="western" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In the Name of Christ
Jesus our Advent King +</span></h2>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>How do
you know Who to look for? When looking for the coming Messiah, how
do you know who He is? John – John knew. John knew the Messiah
before he was even born – </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>For behold,
when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb
leaped for joy.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> This is John. John saw
Christ and cried out </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Behold the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world!</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;">–
words which we will echo here in a few moments. This is John, who
when Jesus comes to him to be baptized boldly proclaims, </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>I
need to be baptized by you, and do You come to me?</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
This is who John is – of those born of women none is greater than
he. This is John, Christ’s own messenger. But now, John is in
prison, never to get out again. John is on his way to the chopping
block, literally. Was this the way it was supposed to go? I mean,
we are talking about John, the forerunner of the Messiah. If there’s
anyone that God should get out of nasty messes like this, you'd think
it would be John. And yet, there he is. A dark prison cell. Time
slowly passing until an ax-man with a silver platter will come. This
isn’t what I thought the time of the Messiah was supposed to look
like – this isn’t the powerful Christian life I envisioned.
Locust and wild honey – sure. Camel hair and wild clothing –
sure. Mighty preaching – sure. But isolation in a prison, a
preacher left with no one to preach to, and just looming despair and
death. Is this really what this was all about?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>So
John calls for his disciples, and he sets them on a task. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Now,
when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word
by his disciples and said to Him, “</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Are
you to the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
Did I mess up? Was I wrong, was I mistaken? Right now everything
is broken and has gone to pot; where’s the time where everything is
fixed?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Jesus
has a fantastic answer which He gives. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Jesus
answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind
receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the
deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news
preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>”
</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">A wonderful answer. John baptized, John
preached – Jesus does everything better. Jesus heals – washes
way even leprosy. Jesus preaches even to the poor – the lowest
people are gladdened by the news they hear. This is a wonderful
thing – and it shows that Jesus is the right One. See the signs
that He is doing – He is indeed the Lamb of God, the One that we
are to follow. John’s disciples learn that they themselves are to
follow this Jesus and no other. Yes, He is the One who was promised;
He is the Messiah.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Now,
go and tell John. Jesus remembers John, even in the midst of his
suffering and trials and tribulations. Is it dark in that prison
John – remember that the blind receive their sight. Are you bound
and unable to leave – those crippled and bound now walk. Is it
dank and dirty – even the lepers are cleansed by me – those
isolated by deafness hear – and yes John, even the dead are raised.
Yes, death is coming for you, a wicked little dance will do you in
John, but it will not be the end – the dead are raised. This is
the good news that is preached to the poor – even to those rotting
away in a prison cell. Go and tell John – tell John that he will
be supported in his time of trial by Christ’s own Word. And so
John, his disciples, everyone there is prepared for what is coming
because they have been focused upon Christ, because Christ has shown
Himself to them.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>So,
what do we take and learn from this? First thing, right off – even
for Christians, even for the best of us, life in this world will
sometimes be scary and terrifying. This is what Satan wants to do –
he wants us isolated and to make us see just how rotten and bad
things are. Because, it’s true, things are rotten and bad. John’s
story didn’t turn out like he probably hoped. How many hopes and
dreams do we have that never happen or fall apart? And whenever that
happens Satan will jump up and down and say, “look at this, look at
these horrible things – is this what your life as a Christian
amounts to?” And there are many ways that we in our sin will try
poorly to deal with this. We can try denial, just pretend things
aren’t bad, ignore the elephant in the room. We can just try to
keep ourselves too busy to care, too drunk notice, we can close our
selves off more and more to keep all that bad stuff away. But it
doesn’t fix it. And then, Jesus speaks. And does Jesus do? He
points us to Himself. Yes, this world is messed up, but look at Me.
The blind are healed, the lame are made to walk. I have come to fix
things – not just now, not just for a day, not to make sure that
your tomorrow is joyous – no, I come to suffer and die and rise so
that your forever is fixed, so that your life is eternal and will
last past the moments of this day.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>This
is how Christ prepares us today to face whatever we end up facing in
our lives; this is how we are prepared this Advent season for the
celebration of Christmas. We may not see so much the blind seeing or
the lame walking, but there is one thing from that list that Jesus
gives that we here in this room see and hear and experience. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>The
poor have good news preached to them.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>
</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Does that not continue on unto this very day
– do we not gather here, together in this house as the poor in
spirit, as poor, miserable sinners who have the Good News preached to
us? Think on what we receive in preaching, in this service. Is
there a time you are sent out those doors left to wonder whether God
actually loves you – or rather is Christ continually proclaimed to
you – is not the Cross of our Crucified Lord continually held
before you – See what Jesus has done for you with His death and
resurrection – you are forgiven. He is risen, and no matter what
happens to you in your life, you will rise to new life because of
Him. This is the good news given to poor, miserable sinners – this
is your windfall, a windfall of mercy and grace. And does this not
color our lives – does not the Lord’s forgiveness shape us and
how we see the world? Thus we are prepared for the Lord’s Coming,
be it the celebration of His first coming at Christmas or His second
coming whenever that will be.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>But
Jesus gives you even more than just preaching. When he was
Baptizing, John said, “</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>I baptize you with
water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than
I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and with fire.” </b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Do you
not realize that you have this – that you have the very Baptism
that even John the Baptist looked longingly towards. Advent is the
time of preparation for Christmas – and how are you prepared for
Christ’s coming, how are to you keep your watch for Christmas?
Think on what a gift you have received in Your Baptism. Not only
were you washed clean of your sin, but you were joined to Christ –
you were made part of His Body – Your Body became His temple. If
this is true, if God’s Word on the wonders of Baptism are right –
do you see what this means? You are baptized and joined to Christ –
I would say that prepares you for Christ’s coming. Think on whom
He has made you to be – you are now God’s own child – this is
real and true. God prepares you by Baptism. As Luther puts it in
the Large Catechism, “</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Thus it appears what a
great, excellent thing Baptism is, which delivers us from the jaws of
the devil and makes us God's own, suppresses and takes away sin, and
then daily strengthens the new man, and is and remains ever
efficacious until we pass from this estate of misery to eternal
glory</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">.” With this gift, you are prepared –
remember it daily – this is why Luther recommends starting and
ending each day with the Invocation and the sign of the Cross – the
sign given to you as your own at your Baptism.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Again,
we have another treasure for our preparation in the Lord’s own
Supper. Think on what the Lord does – He gives us His own Body and
Blood – and with it forgiveness, salvation, and life. Do you wish
to be prepared, do you wish your watch for Christ to be right –
then make use of the Supper! Hear again the Large Catechism, “</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>On
this account [the Supper] is indeed called a food of souls, which
nourishes and strengthens the new man. For by Baptism we are first
born anew; but (as we said before) there still remains, besides, the
old vicious nature of flesh and blood in man, and there are so many
hindrances and temptations of the devil and of the world that we
often become weary and faint, and sometimes also stumble. Therefore
[the Supper] is given for a daily pasture and sustenance, that faith
may refresh and strengthen itself so as not to fall back in such a
battle, but become ever stronger and stronger.”</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
Everything you need, everything that is required for your life in
Christ is given to you here; you receive from Him all that you need.
Just as John and his disciples were pointed to Christ, we are pointed
to Christ, indeed, we receive Him so that we are strengthened.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cling
to Christ, dear friends – trust in Him and His strength – receive
the gifts He gives you. In this way, dear friends, you will be kept
strong and prepared what whatever befalls you in this life – and
you will be able to welcome Christ with gladness come the last day.
You are not left alone, you are not forsaken, and even in the midst
of your sorrows, Christ is with you, for you are Baptized, you are
fed on His own Body and Blood. In this world, Satan will show you
sin and terror and troubles – but there is a greater truth, a more
wondrous truth. Christ Jesus came, was born, suffered, died, and was
buried, and He rose again – and He did all this for you, for your
salvation. You belong to Christ, and He will defend you ever more –
even until He comes again on the Last Day. Come Quickly, Lord Jesus.
In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King + </span>
</p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-44167276788722136422023-12-13T07:20:00.005-06:002023-12-13T07:20:13.450-06:00Advent Midweek 2 - 2nd Article<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Advent
Midweek 2 – The Second Article<br /><br />In the Name of Christ Jesus
our Advent King +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>So
last midweek in the Gospel lesson we had the rich young ruler who
didn't want to give up his stuff. In response, the ever cheerful
Peter says, “Oh, look at what we've given up to follow you, Jesus!”
And here we see the patience of Jesus, the wisdom, the love –
because Jesus doesn't lay into Peter here for his pride or bragging –
that's what Peter is doing here. If you tell someone to do something,
and they fail, and then I pop up with a “well, I've done all that
already” - I'm being a brown-nosing braggart. But Jesus doesn't
rebuke Peter directly. Instead, Jesus teaches. Jesus teaches us
what precisely He is doing by becoming incarnate and living and
preaching. <i><b>Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left
house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the
kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time,
and in the age to come.</b></i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Now
on the one hand, this is simply speaking to the church. We are
called to follow Christ, even when our families and friends don't
like this – and we gain the church. I have far more brothers in
Christ than I do human brothers. But there's a weight, an impact to
what Jesus is saying that slides on by the disciples, and it can
slide on by us. Who for us men and for our salvation – left His
Home in heaven, left the right hand of the Father, and was made Man.
What you have here is Jesus describing what He Himself is doing, what
the point of His coming was and is. Jesus leaves heaven and comes to
earth to win salvation for the Kingdom of God, to fill it with many
brothers and sisters, including you and me, both for now and for the
life of the world to come.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>This
is the beauty, the wonder of the fact that Jesus is both True God,
begotten of the Father from all eternity, and True Man, born of the
Virgin Mary. When Christ comes at Christmas, He gives things up. He
sets aside His power, His glory... and He takes on weakness and
frailty and hardship. Hear how Philippians 2, the text we hear read
on Palm Sunday, puts it - </span></span><i><b>“though He was in the
form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be
grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant and
being born in the likeness of men.”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
This passage has one of my favorite little Greek-isms in it that's
so hard to put simply into English – He did not count equality with
God a thing to be grasped. He didn't hold on to the fact that He was
God; He didn't go around like some spoiled brat saying, “Don't you
know who My Father is” - He doesn't call upon His identity, His
privileged His status – although He is God – in the shape and
form and reality of being God (again, more Greek-isms) – Jesus lets
that all be ignored. He doesn't cling to it – because for Jesus as
He comes to earth all His own power and mighty and glory isn't
important. You are. You are more important to Jesus than His own
respect and power and praise and heaven itself. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Jesus
left all that behind, and He made Himself nothing – He emptied
Himself of all His power and glory, and was born just like we are.
Jesus doesn't just appear as a fully formed adult – He comes as one
of us. He is an infant, too weak to lift His head. He comes, and He
has to learn how to walk. He comes, and He has to grow. The stained
glass there doesn't show it, but boy Jesus in the temple probably had
acne and I wouldn't be surprised if His voice cracked a few times
when He was talking to the Rabbis. And all this is to gain you
salvation, to rescue you from the powers of sin and death. Jesus is
True God, but He becomes True Man... and for a time, Jesus sets all
the rights, powers, and privileges of being God aside – because His
focus is on saving you.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
how does that happen? Note what Jesus does in the Gospel lesson.
There's been all this talk about giving things away and following
Jesus, and leave family but gain the kingdom, and Jesus pulls the 12
aside. Whenever Jesus pulls the 12 disciples aside, He's going to
explain something to them, to spell things out more clearly. I'm
really diving into how Salvation will be accomplished – and He
says, “</span></span><i><b>See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and
everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will
be accomplished. For He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and
will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after
flogging Him, they will kill Him, and on the third day He will rise.”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
As we say in the Catechism, Jesus purchases and redeems us not with
gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His
innocent suffering and death. There's a very practical reason why to
be the Savior Jesus can't hold on to His divine power. He has to
suffer to save you. He has to take up the weight, the burden, the
punishment for sin – your sin – and that means all the events of
Holy Week, the shame trial, the beatings, the mockery, the Cross.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
of course the disciples don't get it yet – they are still a bit
full of themselves, how great they are because they're following
Jesus – and they've been doing it longer than so many of all you
Johnny-come-latelys and they've been in the club longer and so on and
so forth. </span></span><i><b>But they understood none of these
things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp
what was said.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
While Jesus doesn't grasp, doesn't hold on to His power – the
disciples don't grasp the idea of His suffering; they are still
clinging on to their own dreams of earthly power and pomp – the
very things Jesus tosses away to save them. Of course they couldn't
understand – they hadn't seen it yet – they hadn't see the Cross
yet. It made no sense to them, not until after Easter.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Everything
Jesus does in the Gospels, He does to save you, to redeem you, to
rescue you. Everything He does drives Him, pushes Him towards the
Cross, where your sin will be paid for, where the power of Sin and
Death over you will be shattered. And He dies. And on the third
day, He rises – as He and Moses and the Prophets had said He would.
And after the resurrection, there's something different about Jesus.
Oh, He is indeed still really and truly Man – you can touch Him,
He eats some fish with the disciples in John 21. But after Easter,
all that divine power and majesty that He had to abandon for the sake
of salvation – He doesn't have to ignore that any more. After the
resurrection, we see Jesus in His fully True God and True Man glory
and majesty. A door is locked in the upper room on Easter night –
doesn't stop Jesus. He had just been with the disciples on the road
to Emmaus, and now He wants to be in the Upper Room – so He can and
will. Doesn't have to walk, He just goes now – because He's God,
and there's no need, no need for your salvation, for Him to not use
His power. And for 40 days after Easter He comes and goes and shows
Himself to people and teaches and prepares the disciples, and then of
His own accord He ascends to Heaven. He's prepared and is preparing
a place for you there, but even in the meantime, He will be with you
always – literally coming to you in His Body and Blood in the
Supper because Jesus is True God and True Man and He can do that if
He wants to thank you very much.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>But there is a shift that comes with the Ascension,
that is revealed even more fully come Pentecost. The Church as we
know it comes about. Whereas the saints of the Old Testament looked
forward to the coming of the Messiah, and whereas the disciples
followed Christ wherever He went, now in the days of the Church the
disciples and apostles would be scattered around the globe, and
wherever they went the Holy Spirit would cause the Church to grow –
but that is really for next week when we consider the Third Article
of the Creed. But for tonight, let it suffice that we remember what
it is we are preparing to celebrate this Christmas – that Christ
Jesus our Lord would step aside from heaven and its glory to win you
forgiveness and life, so that you would be able to enjoy heaven with
Him. This is His love for you. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our
Advent King +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-43684713499451443842023-12-09T05:54:00.001-06:002023-12-09T05:54:00.134-06:00Advent 2 Sermon<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Advent
2 – Luke 21:25-36 – December 9<sup>th</sup> and 10<sup>th</sup>,
2023</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>There
is a spiritual battle that is taking place, that takes place all
around us constantly. While it's not common to speak of the Devil –
seems too old fashioned or medieval, Satan is prowling around seeking
your downfall. But even when I say that, there's still a tendency to
not get the full picture. We think of Satan's temptations mainly as
temptations to do bad, wicked, mean things – what's the image, the
little devil on your shoulder saying, “Do it, do it!” That's
part of it, but the Serpent is more crafty than any other creature in
Creation. There's a larger game that is being played; a wider war is
being leveled against you. Satan's chief goal isn't to get you to do
bad things; we're all by nature sinful, we're going to do bad things
anyway. Rather this; Satan's goal is to get you to forget about
Jesus and the redemption He has won for you – and so the warfare
that Satan engages in is this: by whatever means necessary, by hook
or by crook, by fear or worry or anger or lust or greed or whatever,
Satan tries to get you to ignore Christ and Him crucified. In our
Gospel lesson we see Satan's attacks, the devil's use of fear or
foreboding or busyness as tools used to distract you away from Jesus.
The counter to this that Jesus teaches you is this: <i><b>Now when
these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads,
because your redemption is drawing near.</b></i> Listen.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i><b><span> </span>There
will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of
nations because of the roaring of the sea and waves, people fainting
with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For
the powers of the heaven will be shaken.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
It never fails – whenever this text comes up, I can look at the
news, and I can find more people telling me of impending disasters
and troubles in the world. Last Sunday morning, CNN had an article
about how coastal cities will be flooded in 100 years (because people
apparently can't move), and then Monday morning I saw an article with
someone lamenting extra cool zones in the sun, what's going on? And
we've got an election coming up, so let's not even talk about the
anger and the opinions painted as facts thrown out there - and then I
just stopped looking at the news because it's the same thing, all the
time. Look at what's happening – you need to be afraid! And so
often it's the same fear mongers who were shouting the exact same
things years ago – only the dates of destruction and doom are
shifted. And as annoyed as I get at all this, it's easy to forget or
ignore that there is a spiritual aspect to this. What does all this
fear and anger do? It changes the way we look, the way we love, the
way we care – or more to the point the way we stop loving or stop
caring for people. And it shifts our focus to wild plans of what we
need to do – if we just win this election or if we just stop eating
so much tasty, yummy beef the world will be fixed. Now, O Christian,
do you see the Spiritual shift there? We just had Thanksgiving a few
weeks ago – see what God gives, see what our great Creator
provides! And yet, we slide past Thanksgiving and suddenly
everything in the world hinges on me – on what I do, what I
support, how I change the world as though I'm the one actually in
charge of things rather than God. Do you see what that move does to
us Spiritually?</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span> </span>Over
and against the fears, the panics, the god-absent man focused plans
to fix everything, Jesus says something else. No, no, no – it's
not about how you fix things. In fact, one of these days, these dire
predictions and warnings will come true. The world, someday, will
end. Dun dun duuuunnnnn. And when that day comes, it doesn't matter
what choices I've made or what I've started eating – it's going to
end. It might end for everyone as the Last Day, or it might just be
my own personal end as my own death approaches. And you know what
Jesus says to that? </span></span><i><b>And then they will see the
Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
All these things that people tell you will be the “end” - the
dire and terrible thing... well, they are an end, but there's more.
Jesus Christ, who once came humble and lowly as an infant, will come
again. There is more to come even after these dire things – and
you will see Him. You will see Jesus. Doesn't matter how the story
of your life or this world turns out – you will see Jesus. Let's
say you die – well, that's the end but not the end, because Jesus
will raise you from the dead and you will see His second coming.
Let's say it's the sweet meteor of doom that somes and smacks into
the planet like a horrific celestial game of billards – well,
that's an end, but you will also see Jesus, and He will come and He
won't be bothered by any of this in the slightest because He's told
you already this earth will be destroyed and He's going to make you a
new one. And we could come up with countless other disaster
scenarios to our hearts' content – but they all will and must
resolve into what Jesus has promised – that He will come again, and
His Kingdom will have no end.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Therefore,
since this is the reality – that Jesus will come again - Jesus
tells you, O Christian, to do something the world would never expect.
</span></span><i><b>Now, when these things begin to take place</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
– when the worst of the worst predictions actually start happening
– </span></span><i><b>straighten up and raise your heads, because
your redemption is drawing near.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Don't cower in fear. Don't let Satan terrorize you with fear.
Let's say the worst thing happens – so what – it just means
you're closer to seeing Jesus return. Straighten up, raise your
head, chin up and grin, because Satan can do his worst but it can't
do a thing to Jesus, and Jesus always comes to redeem you. He came
to win you salvation there on the Cross, and He's going to come again
so that you see that salvation eternally – and there's not a thing
Satan can do to stop Jesus.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>So
since Satan can't stop Jesus, the only trick he has left is to get
you to try to forget Jesus. To pull your eyes off of Jesus. And
Jesus tells you not to fall for that bait and switch, for that
sleight of hand. Don't let Satan distract you – remember, Jesus
has told you what things mean. </span></span><i><b>Look at the fig
tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see
for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also,
when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of
God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away
until all has taken place. </b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Satan
tries, Satan tries to distract and terrify us, to make us forget that
Jesus is our God and Savior. Nope – Jesus wins. And Jesus points
this out to us because it will be hard for us to remember that Jesus
wins. Fear and trouble will drive us. We don't recognize the
kingdom of God like we ought. Jesus speaks this parable during Holy
Week – and when Jesus goes to the Cross, what happens? Well, there
were signs and distresses, sun blotted out and hours of darkness, the
world shaken... and Christ winning redemption. And yet, on that Good
Friday, so few saw or understood. Wicked crowds jeered thinking they
had won political victories; other people cowered in fear of the day,
disciples hid, Mary and John looked on in sorrow and heart break.
Yet what was Good Friday? The soldier got it in part – truly this
was the Son of God. But more than that – look, here is the
promised redemption - S</span></span><i><b>traighten up and raise
your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
The tree of the Cross has a most wondrous leaf on it – Christ
Jesus the life of the world! Redemption is near. Yet it was only
later that the disciples saw and understood, only after the
resurrection. Then they were ready to understand. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>As
Christians we learn to see all things through the Cross. We learn to
see things through Easter. We learn to know that Christ will come
again, as we confess every week in the Creed. And this is all
driving and teaching us, in whatever situation we find ourselves, to
</span></span><i><b>straighten up and raise your heads, because your
redemption is drawing near.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
This is the reality, this is the truth – this is what Christ Jesus
has won already. And all Satan can do is distract you. </span></span><i><b>But
watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation
and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you
suddenly like a trap.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Oh, the Devil is crafty. If simple fear won't distract you from
Jesus, maybe dissipation will – maybe you will be spread so thin by
so many things to do – because that's what dissipation is; fog
dissipates when it spreads on out and goes away – maybe Satan can
stretch you with so much busyness that you just don't think you have
time for Jesus, for His Word. Or maybe a bit of drunkenness, party
hard, enjoy life to the so called fullest – too much so called fun
to pay attention to Jesus. Or maybe just the cares of this life, the
humdrum every day slog. Whether they are opportunities or joys or
sorrows or boredom, Satan will try to use them all to distract you
from Jesus. Nope. In all those situations, when any of those things
come around – </span></span><i><b>But stay awake at all times,
praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that
are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Don't get bogged down by this – pray for strength, pray to be
ready for Jesus to return. But Pastor – what if I see my weakness,
but what if I fail? Well, you will be weak and you will fail. Oh
well - </span></span><i><b> straighten up and raise your heads,
because your redemption is drawing near. </b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Yeah,
you are weak, but He is strong, and yes, He loves you – remember
the song? Yeah, you fail – that's why you need to be redeemed –
good thing that you know that your redeemer lives, what comfort this
sweet sentence gives.</span></span></span><span> </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Jesus
is coming, and He is coming to rescue you. The rescue has been done
already with His birth, His death, His resurrection. Satan might try
to terrify and distract you, but it doesn't change the fact that
Jesus has already won – we're just waiting to see it. Therefore,
this week, whatever you see - </span></span><i><b>straighten up and
raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King + </span></span></span>
</p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-71368418616441312902023-12-06T06:30:00.007-06:002023-12-06T06:30:38.022-06:00Advent Midweek 1<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Last
week I had a really cute moment in Preschool Chapel. One of the kids
said, “Christmas is Jesus' birthday, so why do we get presents?”
And I gave an answer – God gave Jesus to us as a gift, so we give
gifts to each other. But this is really a profound truth, and it's
going to be what we focus on today while we ponder the 1<sup>st</sup>
Article of the Creed. God, your Heavenly Father, is first and
foremost a Giver.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Now,
most of the time, when we discuss the first article of the Creed, we
look at it from the angle of Creation – and understandably so. “I
believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth.”
However, for the past 175 years or so since Charles Darwin printed
his book, discussions on creation have been... warped a bit. Now, if
I say “creation” - we all think “the past”. We all think way
back when, in the beginning. And that's fine, that's part of what we
are confessing in the Creed, but it's not the fullness of it.
Consider how the explanation begins: <i>I believe that God has made
me and all creatures.</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> This
isn't just a past tense, way back when thing – God's creation is a
here and now thing. He has made me; even right now God creates, He
still takes care of me. When we say that God is the Creator, we need
to remember that He is our Creator – that right now, God the Father
is our Maker – that we live, we exist simply and solely because He
wills it. The discussion over creation isn't merely a debate ofver
history – but the move that the world has been trying to make is to
push God out of the present and bury Him firmly in the past. The
academics of the 19</span><sup><span style="font-style: normal;">th</span></sup><span style="font-style: normal;">
Century were fine having a God who wound up all of creation and let
'er rip a long time ago but then stayed firmly and squarely hands
off. But that's not what the Scriptures teach – our Old Testament
lesson says, “</span><i><b>Lift up your eyes on high and see: who
created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them
all by name.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">”
Do you hear the past creation but also the present activity of God,
the present, on-going care and sustaining of Creation that is
ascribed to God. Without God actively willing it, without God
actively preserving and continuing His creation, we don't exist.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>That's
more than we think of today when we hear the world creation. And we
as Christians do need to learn to hear the word more fully, to
remember the fullness of God's creative work, how God is intimately
involved with all of His creation, from the smallest particle to the
most distant galaxy. God has made, God knows, and God still
preserves it all. Creation is the giant symphony that God not only
conducts but plays.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>To
aid in this fuller, Scriptural, understanding of God being The
Creator, it is useful to remember that first and foremost God is a
giver. And this isn't something that Pastor Brown just whipped out
out of no where. Luther's explanation to the first article of the
Creed is a litany of all that God gives. </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
gives me my body and soul – He also gives me clothing and shoes –
He richly and daily provides me with all that I need.</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Do you hear the repetition, the focus on giving? How all the things
God provides get echoed in the 4</span></span><sup><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">th</span></span></sup><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Petition on “Give us this day our daily bread”? Your God is
first and foremost a Giver.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>So,
what precisely does God give? </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my
reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. </span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
first and most basic thing to remember is that God has given you –
you. God has given you your life, your existence, and this is a
precious gift. Your body is a gift to you from God. God in His
wisdom and wonder, made you you – and that's a fantastic thing.
But we don't think it is today. In fact, the world tells us to hate
everything about our bodies. A lot of this is couched in advertising
– you're not fill in the blank enough, so buy our product, talk to
your doctor about our pill, and then you'll be so much better. Maybe
she's born with it as a gift from God, but come on, we all know that
maybe it's maybelline? Do you get the disdain, the just go tinker
with your body, modify it, change it? And it's getting more and more
drastic and dire – and all of it forgets that God has given you
your body – given you a wondrous body that He wants you to have.
God, in His wisdom, did not choose to have me be 6 feet tall; I don't
need to get leg extension surgery, which is actually becoming a
thing. The world disdains the body – but your body is a great gift
to you. In fact, the Father sends Jesus to go to the Cross and die
and rise so that you too will be raised and so that you will get to
have your body as it was meant to be for all eternity.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
God gives you more. </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home,
wife and children, land, animals, and all that I have. </span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
God gives you countless blessings. He has put you here on this
planet, surrounded you by neighbors who all work together to see that
you are provided with all that you need for life. And it's
wonderful. And yet, how often the world twists and disdains this
gift. How often do we have greed and covetousness unleashed, where
we no longer are happy with what we have, with what God gives, and we
are told instead to want and desire and lust after more and more?
And it makes us miserable, because it teaches us to disdain God's
gifts. And how many people look at the world itself wrongly? The
world is a gift to you from God, for your care, for your benefit; oh
no no no, if you eat too many hamburgers you're going to kill the
planet. Do you see how that approach disdains God's gift? Yes, we
manage things, but the earth is a gift to us to care for and use for
our neighbor's good; it's not our mother, it doesn't get to steal
God's creative thunder. And yet, you listen and there are people
calling for so many sacrifices to appease an angry earth... all of
this is a direct attack on the idea that God the Father is our
Creator and that He is a Giver.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>No
– God gives. He gives you good things. Indeed, </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">“He
defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all
evil.” </span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Over
and against all the sin that we have unleashed in God's creation –
the sin that makes </span></span><i><b>the whole of creation [groan]
together in the pains of child birth</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
as Paul describes it in Romans – God still defends. He still
provides and still protects us. This is His wondrous love. And why?
Not because of any merit or worthiness is me – God doesn't owe me
any of this – but He does it </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">only
out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
Or in other words, God is the Creator because He's a giver. Because
He is good and He loves to give. Because He delights in giving good
things. So if you don't understand that God gives, that God delights
in giving – you don't get God. That whole “God loves a cheerful
giver” thing is because fundamentally God IS the cheerful giver,
who gladly and lovingly blesses all creation and works His creatures
to be blessings to each other.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
this is the tragedy we heard in Luke. </span></span><i><b>[Jesus]
said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and
distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and
come, follow Me.” But when [the ruler] heard these things, he
became very sad, for he was extremely rich.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
See and understand how much God has given you, how freely and
joyously the Father provides for you. But don't worship the gift,
don't serve the gift – worship God the Giver and give freely as He
does. God's a giver – He's going to give you more. And this is
one of the temptations Satan will tempt you with – Satan will try
either to make you hate the gift – I don't like my body, I hate
this worthless food, our house isn't big enough, so on and so forth,
or as the ruler in the text, Satan will tempt you to turn the gifts
into an idol, where you have to hold on to them, where you cannot
share them, where you cannot give them... and thus the image and
likeness of God the Giver gets shattered and broken in us again.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>No,
remember my friends that God is and always remains a Giver. We see
this in all creation – your life and your time is a gift from God
to you. And to see that you get to keep your life and to live for
all eternity, the Father gives His most precious gift – He sends
His Son, Christ Jesus to rescue and redeem you from sin. And that
will be our particular focus next week as we look at the second
article of the Creed... and of course our focus on Christmas, and
really pretty much every weekend. Of course it is, because God the
Father is a giver, and we can always ponder His blessings to us of
both Body and Soul. Thanks be to God for His generous love towards
us. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King + </span></span></span>
</p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-79216018394399045052023-12-02T10:53:00.001-06:002023-12-02T10:53:00.143-06:00Advent 1<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Advent
is the season where we focus on Christ Jesus' first coming – where
we prepare for Christmas and the celebrations of God becoming Man to
save us – who for us men and for our salvation came down from
heaven. And we begin Advent by looking at Palm Sunday, at the
Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. It's a popular event in Jesus' life
– it's easy to find paintings and pictures, in a few month's we
will have palms and processions, and we like the praise, the triumph.
Pastors and hymn writers love pointing out Christ's humility – in
lowly pomp ride on to die. But for today, with this sermon, we will
focus on what St. Paul sets up in the epistle today: <i><b>Owe no one
anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another
has fulfilled the law.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
When you see Jesus come down from heaven, when you see Jesus in any
Gospel lesson, indeed, when you see Him ride into Jerusalem, what you
are actually seeing is Jesus fulfilling the law by loving His
neighbor, Jesus loving you.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a name="en-ESV-29381"></a>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Before
we consider Jesus' love, how He fulfills the law for you, we need to
discuss what the Scriptures mean by “love”. To love in the
Scriptures doesn't mean to have a strong emotional attachment to
something, nor is it describing how you feel about someone. To love
someone is to serve them, to act for their benefit. To give of
yourself so that they benefit. To decide how to act with the impact
upon them in mind. And that is what Christ Jesus does – constantly
and continually – He shows love. He acts for His neighbor's
benefit, for their good; He acts for you, for your good. This whole
season of Advent, of Christmas – it only happens for your good, for
your benefit. Jesus didn't need to become man for His own good; it
wasn't as though He was there in heaven and said, “You know what –
I think I'd really like to be an infant and soil some diapers, won't
that be fun?” In Philippians Paul notes that Jesus, “</span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>though
He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to
be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men.”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Or in other words, Jesus gave up power and glory and instead came to
serve and suffer for your good. That is what love looks like.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
I will assert that everything Jesus does, everything you see Him
doing in the Gospel is in fact love for His neighbor and fulfilling
the law. “Oh really, Pastor – even calling people morons last
week?” Yep. If I'm getting ready to do something that is grade A
stupid and my wife pulls me aside and says, “Dear, please, don't be
an idiot” it's one of the most loving things she can do. I mean,
is it loving to just let someone plow on into something dangerous and
harmful without saying something? No. So my friends, every thing
you see Jesus do, any Gospel lesson we will come across this church
year, is replete with Jesus showing love – but not love as we tend
to think of it. Love as God defines love , love that fulfills the
law and serves the neighbor.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>So
ponder Jesus there on that Donkey as He rides into Jerusalem – what
do you see? What is actually going on? Well, one of the things
Matthew points out is that what you see is the fulfilling of
Scripture. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>This took place
to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Behold, your
king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a
colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Or we could even consider what our Old Testament Lesson said –
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Behold, the days are coming,
declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
and He shall reign as King and deal wisely, and shall execute justice
and righteousness in the land.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Throughout the Old Testament, God had in His Word given us images
and pictures of what the Messiah would do, things He would do –
that way we would recognize Him. Because when God comes to save,
when God comes to rescue and redeem you – it doesn't exactly go
according to worldly, sinful expectations. We would think of a
savior or a hero being bold and brash – not humble. We think of the
hero killing the bad guy – not going to the Cross and His own
death. And so the Old Testament continually gave us things to look
for – don't look for some studly hero on a nice Arabian charger
sweeping in like Lawrence of Arabia – He's going to be humble,
coming on a donkey. He's not going to be focused on glory, but
seeing justice and righteousness executed.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Because
this really drives the point home of what Jesus is doing. Jesus is
never self-serving. Jesus is never blowing His own horn. He doesn't
need a hype man or a PR agent setting up press conferences to
increase His polling numbers. Jesus' focus is on loving, on
fulfilling the law for you – and not just “for you” in the
sense of “for your benefit” but rather “for you” in the sense
of in your place. You see, God had created man to be righteous, to
tend the garden, to love one another. And we fail, we have fallen,
we sin. There is a drastic lack of righteousness and justice in the
world. And the lousy, dire consequences of this spill out now before
us – but there are also eternal consequences to this. If left to
our own devices this sin would mean eternal separation from God and
ever increasing suffering with selfishness and blame spiraling ever
more and more grotesque. Jesus comes to execute justice and
righteousness – to actually, actively love His neighbor. And thus,
finally, once again the Father can look at a man, look at a human
being – God become Man Jesus – and say that He is well pleased.
And we will get many examples of Jesus actively loving, actively
caring for people over the course of this year.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>But
there is another side to fulfilling righteousness, of executing
justice. And that's punishment. There's always two ways a law can
play out – you can obey the speed limit and just drive along
happily, or the cop can pull you over, give you a ticket, and you pay
the fine. Both of these paths fulfill the law – the later one is
just more dangerous and expensive. Jesus actively obeys the Law,
does what is right, actively loves His neighbor. However, there is
still the question of what is to be done with those who have broken
the law. And it's not set up to be good. The wages of sin is death.
There are consequences to be had. Humanity is broken, and someone's
got to buy it. And this is what we see Christ preparing to do in
this text. We see Jesus entering Jerusalem not for fun, not for
merriment, not even with the joy that these crowds are showing forth.
Jesus comes to fulfill the punishment of the law in your place. The
sinner must die – and so Jesus comes to take up your sin and die
upon the Cross. That's why He's entering Jerusalem – but that's
been the plan from the beginning – behold the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world... and He takes it away by dying. The Lamb
gets sacrificed – again, taught all throughout the Old Testament.
And this is what Jesus comes to do. The wood of the manger must lead
to the wood of the cross. The Christmas tree with it's lights leads
to the tree on Calvary where Christ, the Light of the world, hangs.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
Palm Sunday, this triumphal entry, it captures all of this – the
joy, the fulfillment of prophecy, but also the humility, the
expectation of the Cross. And it's all for you, to see that you are
saved, to see that you are rescued and redeemed from sin. And it's
why we will echo the song of Palm Sunday in just a few moments in the
Sanctus – </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Blessed is He who
comes in the Name of the LORD –</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sing
hosanna in the highest, sing Hosanna to the Lord; truly blest is He
who comes in the name of the Lord. </span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Christ
comes to you to save you, even this day. He comes in His Word, He
comes bodily in His Supper – indeed, every time we celebrate the
Lord's Supper it is a celebration of Christmas – Christ Mass,
that's where it gets its name. Christ became man, took on a body, to
die and rise and give you life – and in this Supper He gives you
His Body and blood to give you forgiveness, salvation, and life once
again. And we sing His praises and He enters this place in His
Supper – do you see the parallels?</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>But
its good to be us, to be people of the New Testament, post-Easter
people. Because we also see clearly the resurrection of Jesus, that
His Suffering is completed and yields to victory, to joy, to
celebration. It's good to be the baptized, to be those washed in
water and the word, to be those baptized in the Name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit – which is how we start our
service, how we come here – oh yes, truly blest are you, you
baptized people, for you come here in the Name of the Lord, quite
literally. Even the children who aren't yet prepared and trained for
right reception of the Supper get a blessing at the rail – a
remembrance and declaration of their baptismal gifts – we start the
service with that blessing, and you all get one at the end in the
benediction because as you go out this week you go as those truly
blest in the name of the Lord.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Behold
the wondrous reality. God loves you. And though your own love will
fall short and fail because of sin, God shows love for you. Christ
Jesus comes down, and He fulfills all love, fulfills all the law, and
He does this for you, taking away sin and death, and giving you
forgiveness and life and strength. And this is what He always does –
because He came down from heaven to win you salvation by going to
Jerusalem and dying and rising for you. And this He has done, it is
finished. In the Name of Christ Jesus our Advent King + <br /><br /></span></span></span><br />
</p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-11906311707091761352023-11-25T08:45:00.001-06:002023-11-25T08:45:00.141-06:00Last Sunday of the Church Year<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Imagine
if you will that you are getting ready to go on the trip of a
lifetime – one of those things you've always wanted to do. Let's
say you and your best friend are going to travel to Egypt to see the
Pyramids. And you've got a great trip planned – Cheryl Brutlag
found you great hotels at fantastic rates, it's wonderful. Now, it's
happening a bit later than you thought, because the trip was
originally going to be back in the fall of 2020, and we all know what
happened then, so there's a delay, and you've had to wait, but
finally everything is set up and ready to go. And there you are,
with your friend, in line at O'Hare, waiting to check on in, and
you're talking with your friend about all the things you're going to
do... and you pull out your passport, and your friend looks at you
and says, “Why did you bring your passport?” “Because we need
a passport to get on the plane, we are going to a different country.
Didn't you bring yours?” “Eh, never bothered getting one.”
“What do you mean, did it expire last year and you just forgot to
renew it?” “Nah, never bothered to get one. I just figured I
could borrow yours when we get up to the security check point.”
What would your reaction to your friend be there? What would you
call them – what term would describe what they are in the moment.
I mean, it's not an accident, it's not I left my passport on the
table or we slept through the alarm and left Kevin at home a la Home
Alone... it's just rank disdain and a lack of seriousness or
understanding reality. What would you call a person like that?
Well, Jesus calls them morons.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>We
have arrived at the end of the Church year, we get the parable of the
wise and foolish virgins – literally “morons” in Greek, and
it's such an odd day. There is a tendency to want to treat the end
of the church year as such a solemn, serious day. It's dark, it's
dire – maybe there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth, and a
barn burning sermon that peels the paint off the walls and scares us
straight for the year to come. But we're Christians, and we're saved
by Christ, we've been redeemed and forgiven, and we're looking
forward to heaven and eternal life and the joys of the resurrection.
And the parable for today – it's not a dire set up, it's joyous –
<i><b>Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took
their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. </b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
approach a wedding day with joy and excitement – there's going to
be a fantastic reception. You don't approach it like it's the worst
day in the history of the world – or if you do there's something
catastrophically wrong. This is a good thing – and these 10
virgins all know it's a good thing – they want to meet the
bridegroom, they want to head to the wedding party – they are
looking forward to kicking up their heels and cutting a rug and
having the time of their life. That's the setting. All these gals
know something great is coming, and there ought not be a drop of
direness or sorrow in this story at all.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>You
do realize that Jesus has won? Though your sins are many and varied
and they attack you in a variety of ways – Jesus has died and
risen, and you are thoroughly forgiven. Nothing could be better.
The world around you gets nuts and crazy – eh, Jesus is coming and
He will fix it. Your body falls apart – eh, don't worry, Jesus is
going to raise you from the dead and your new body won't fall apart,
won't get wrinkly, your ears and eyes will work – it's fabulous
because of Jesus. That's the setting, that's the set up for this
parable, that's where we are going.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
the only thing that gets is the way is utter, abject stupidity and
buffoonery. </span></span><i><b>Five of them were foolish, and five
were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil
with them.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Understand how foolish, how idiotic this is – how utterly bizarre
and absurd this would sound to anyone hearing it. A lamp with no oil
for one of these gals is as nonsensical as going to the airport
having never gotten a passport – it would be like a groomsman not
bringing his outfit but rather wearing Pjs to the wedding – it
would be trying to go shopping for a thanksgiving dinner and buying a
frozen turkey at 2:30 Thursday afternoon. It's actually really hard
to think of anything that is just as utterly moronic as what these
foolish virgins do.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
all the gals fall asleep. A lot of hay gets made of that – it
really heighten the absurd tragedy – there would have been time for
them to have been prepared, to get things set up, but they waste it.
And then the day is here, the moment arrives, the bridegroom not only
soon will call us but has – </span></span><i><b>Then all those
virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the
wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Loan me your passport. I forgot my suit pants, can I borrow yours.
Hey Siri, how do you thaw and cook a 20 pound turkey in 30 minutes?
We can't, you've simply got to go get your oil, you've got to get
your act in gear... but it ends up being too late. They run out of
time. </span></span><i><b>And while they were going to buy, the
bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the
marriage feast, and the doors were shut. </b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And
they miss it, simply because of their folly.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Jesus speaks this parable in the temple during holy
week, just before He is crucified. And the idea is simple – God's
great plan of salvation is being enacted – in just hours Jesus will
go to the Cross, the atonement will happen, it is finished,
everything the Scriptures had been pointing to will be accomplished.
It's all good, it's all in the bag. And you, O hearer – you who
know the Word and promises of God, you who know of God's mercy and
salvation... just don't be stupid. Don't be so stubbornly stupid and
idiotic that you literally drag yourself away from Christ and His
salvation, because you have to go through feats of extraordinary
stupidity to get yourself out of the Kingdom, to miss this party.
And yet, many of those hearing Jesus preach this parable did just
that. They ignored and rejected Christ, they ignored reality, they
choose something else as more important in the most stupid and silly
of fashions, and they missed it. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
this really is the warning, the reminder to you today, my dear
friends. You know who Jesus is – you know that He is True God and
True Man, come from heaven to win you salvation by His death and His
resurrection. You know that He is the Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world. You know that there is forgiveness, you know that
you are baptized and have new life in Jesus. Don't be moronic and
ignore this, or forget this, or pretend that it doesn't matter.
Because that would be dumb. And the sad, simple truth that we can
want to ignore, is that we are surrounded by stupidity and calls for
us to be stupid. How many stupid fights are there in the world that
try to pull you in? Not to put too dour a point on it, but how many
family gatherings this past week saw utterly loveless stupid fights
break out over the silliest things? That anger, that rage – that's
just Satan trying to get you to become a moron and ignore Christ and
His forgiveness, to not see all things in view of Christ, to forget
that these people are people for whom Christ died.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Think of the world and what it trumpets as important,
as vital, as just what you need to do. And think of how much of it
is stupid. Think of how much the world will try to distract and
delude you by fashion, by trends, by faction. By busy-ness and oh
this current thing and current issue is just so important and I have
to pay attention to it and serve it... and Christ and His Church and
the forgiveness that you receive and the forgiveness that you give to
others in Jesus' name is forgotten. That's the world trying to make
you foolish, trying to turn you into an oil lamp with absolutely no
oil, dried out, worn, and empty.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Question
time. What is the first commandment? (You shall have no other
gods.) And what does this mean? (We should fear, love, and trust in
God above all things.) Do you see how Satan is trying to make you
moronic – how the world tries to twist your fears and your angers
and your rage against people and how things turn out so that you
forget wonders of Christ Jesus and His forgiveness? Do you see how
Satan sets up so many stupid loves in front of you, where you run
after them and chase after them and utterly forget Christ's Word of
forgiveness and life? We all know those temptations, we all face
them over and over. That's what sin is. But you know the solution
to sin, you know the counter – you know who Christ Jesus is, what
He has done. You know He is coming and ready to take you to the life
of the world to come, and that this will be a good thing, the
greatest thing ever – literally better than anything in the world.
Don't be a moron and act like you don't know this. Because faith can
wither and die when it's cut off from the Word. Faith comes by
hearing; don't let Satan's use of rage or lust separate you from the
Word of God. Because Jesus is coming, and it's good for you, and you
need to be ready for that – and Jesus makes you ready by His Word,
by His forgiveness.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Christ
is coming. He will come again. And if He tarries and we get to
carry on as normal, we're going to going to start a new church year,
and we'll spend time hearing again God's plan of salvation, how Jesus
first came, born in Bethleham, God with us, God here to save us. And
we will see Him take on the powers of sin and death and Satan, and
show Himself to be True God and our Savior, and we'll see His Lenten
journey to the Cross and we'll see Him rise again on Easter. And all
of it, to make sure you are ready, that you remember and know, in the
face of all the idiotic sin in the world, that Christ Jesus is your
Savior, and His eternal feast is coming. And it's going to be
fantastic – enjoy it in Christ Jesus. In the Name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +</span></span></span></p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-14452401524473191282023-11-23T08:39:00.001-06:002023-11-23T08:39:00.143-06:00Thanksgiving Day Sermon<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i><span> </span>God
certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to
all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us
to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
How will you receive the blessings that God gives you? In some
ways, this is the central question of our time, of the world today –
even though the world out there would never phrase the question this
way. How do you receive what you have, what God has given to you?
How do we handle our stuff, our things that we have in this world,
even our bodies? Think for a moment on all the fights and wrangling
that goes on in the world. Pretty much every political fight is a
fight over “</span><i>everything that has to do with the support
and needs of the body.”</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> There
are economic and ideological debates about how wealth is generated or
who is oppressing who and how advantage gets taken and who owes what
money to this person and I have a right to free health care and a
pony and it's my body, I can do what I want and on and on and on. And
there's no joy, no contentment anywhere, even though we're as wealthy
as any society in history and global poverty rates are dropping.
Instead there's anger, fighting, blame, and aspersions, and all of it
swirling around what Jesus simply sums up as daily bread.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> <span> </span>So
ponder this. Over and against all the endless blather in the world,
whenever you pray the Lord's Prayer, not just this Thanksgiving Day
but every day, you are reminded, you are grounded, you are centered
in a most wondrous truth. God gives you daily the things you need;
you receive them from God as a gift, and thus are able to receive
them with thankfulness, joy, and delight. The first part of this is
that God gives, that God provides. In the face of sin and
wickedness, God provides. God oversees the world, oversees society
so that in spite of sin and corruption and fights people are pretty
well provided for. With all the complaining about injustice or what
have you... people pretty well get what they need. Even with
problems like Homelessness in the US – the issue seems to be more
that the homeless are making cities unsafe and dirty, not that people
are starving to death everywhere. God provides, even in the midst of
radically destructive approaches to life, even in the midst of
conflicts and war. Evil people unleash the worst sorts of evil –
and yet God continues to provide daily bread, to give good things.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>The
Lepers are an example of this in our Gospel lesson. They are
banished from society – they can't work, they can't produce, they
can't even really beg because they have to be isolated and alone...
yet they were provided for even before Jesus shows up to heal them.
This is a wondrously gracious thing – something that folks then and
even we today would simply over look. God provides – we have to
work really hard at wickedness and stupidity to break apart God's
providence. And we as individuals and societies will try our hardest
to break down this daily bread, and sometimes for a bit it goes
lacking, but God still keeps providing, keeps giving... even to all
evil people.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> <span> </span>Do
you see how this is a different approach from the resentful arguments
over scarcity or from the greedy arguments about possession and
what's mine? Instead of seeing a lack, instead of seeing a scramble,
there is simply massive, wondrous abundance, given by God in spite of
our sinfulness. God is good. And God gives you good earthly
blessings... even if you aren't aware of them, even if you presume
upon them.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Most
of the time daily bread is given is ways that we grow so accustomed
to that we don't even think about the wonder of them. Think of all
the work, all the coordination that had to go on for that turkey in
the oven to be in your oven. The farming, the transportation of
supplies to the farmer, of the bird to the plant, from the plant to
the store, the store to your house – all the things required for
you to have an oven and electricity or gas for that oven to work, for
you to have access to resources to pay for these things. It's all an
astounding symphony of care that God oversees and keeps moving along,
even as sinful people mess things up. Daily bread is given
wondrously indeed, even often without anyone's thanks or praise.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> <span> </span>But
as the Gospel lesson points out, even if that daily bread is given in
an abnormal way, in a miraculous way – still the awareness of it,
still thanks and praise is lacking. </span><i><b>Then Jesus
answered, “Were not 10 cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one
found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
10 received a miracle; only one returned to praise. And before we
shake our heads at that too much – it's the same thing today. Here
we have a national holiday – schools and banks are closed – go
and give thanks to God! Do we think 10 percent of the US population
is at church today? Is 10 percent of our congregation at church
today? Or to put a finer point on it – across our land will there
be more people attending a service today or people shopping tonight
(not that there's anything wrong with shopping per se)? The world,
and even we ourselves so often forget and overlook God's astounding
generosity and care in giving us daily bread.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a name="en-ESV-29437"></a><a name="en-ESV-29438"></a><a name="en-ESV-29439"></a>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>So,
what is the point of all this? Well, remember – </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">God
certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to
all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us
to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.</span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
God is good, and He blesses people. He blesses you. But point of
these blessings aren't the blessings themselves. Daily bread is here
today and gone tomorrow to be replaced by tomorrow's daily bread, and
so on and so forth. But rather this – there's something more
profound going on. God provides for you so that you would see and
understand what He has done for you, so that you would thank and
praise, so that you would grow in faith. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>And
[Jesus] said to the [Samaritan], “Rise and go your way; your faith
has made you well.”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Go and enjoy your blessings, but go in faith. Go as one who sees
Jesus, sees His blessings not only of Body but also of soul – of
the care now and the eternal care that is forgiveness and life.
Because then you will be well. Whatever happens, whatever comes down
the pike, whatever troubles, whatever successes, whatever the
reaction and terrors of the world may be – by faith you will be
well, because you will see that Jesus still cares for you and in Him
it is all good. By faith, you can enjoy whatever comes. Or as Paul
puts in Philippians: </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Not that
I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever
situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and
I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned
the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do
all things through Him who strengthens me. </b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Or
in other words – Paul goes along thankfully, for by faith it all is
well. And that peace, that joy, that confidence – oh, the world
lacks it. And the powers of sin and Satan and evil in the world,
they will try to rob you of it. But look and see – your Lord
provides you your daily bread. He forgives you your trespasses. He
leads you away from temptation and back to His House where by His
Word He delivers you from Evil and promises to do so eternally. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">For
all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.</span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
God's done it all for you, and you get to see that, to understand
that, and to be confident in Him. What a fantastic gift. In the
Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +</span></span></span></p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-17889948548431849322023-11-15T09:16:00.010-06:002023-11-15T09:16:58.746-06:002nd to Last Sunday of the Church Year<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Ah, we
continue our November sweep through topics that are weighty and heavy
and can sound really scary. Last week we had “The End of the
World” and this week we get “Judgment Day”. Oh, there's a term
that still gets bandied about in society to ratchet up the tension
and nerves. There's apprehension and fear... and in our text in
Matthew Jesus describes Judgment Day... except there's not a lot of
tension or drama in the text. There's no peels of thunder described,
no keeping anyone in suspense. There's confusion, and there's some
surprise – but it reminds you, O Baptized child of God, that for
you, Judgment Day is a good thing. Let's just dive on into the text.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i><b><span> </span>When
the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then
He will sit on His glorious throne.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Now, this is why we call this judgment day – this is date of royal
decision making. The scene parallels what we have even today in a
court room. Everyone rises, the judge enters in... and when the
judge sits down, that's when things will get down to business. And
who is before the heavenly court here in Matthew – </span></span><i><b>Before
Him will be gathered all the nations.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Everyone is there – the whole throng of humanity that has ever
existed, from all times and from all places. But then something
happens that we might not have expected. See, we think of a
judgment, a court case, and we expect there to be a trial. That's
the image the world has, right? That God or St. Peter's going to go
over all the things you've done, then look you over, and then you get
a thumbs up or a thumbs down? Nope. Not what Jesus says. Not at
all. Listen.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><i><b><span> </span>[And]
He will separate people one from another, as a shepherd separates the
sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on His right, but
the goats on His left. </b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">No
trial. No examination. No lawyers making anyone sweat on the witness
stand. Just – oh, you're one of My sheep. You're my baptized,
redeemed brother or sister – over here on My right please. Oh, I
know you, you've been in My house plenty of times, over here please.
No trial, no drama, no surprise witnesses. Just Jesus the Good
Shepherd knows His sheep and His sheep know Him. As easy peasy as
the 23</span></span><sup><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rd</span></span></sup><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Psalm – the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want – He makes me
lie down on these green pastures right over here at His right.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
then, in fact, it's the opposite of a trial. It's a gift giving
session – </span></span><i><b>Then the King will say to those on
His right, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Here you go. Great things for you – an everlasting and eternal
kingdom is yours. And you simply inherit it – you receive it as a
gift. No probate court ever ran so smoothly with so rich an
inheritance! Do you see how smoothly this is running? This is all
the stuff that we know we're going to get because Christ Jesus is our
Savior and He has won us salvation. This is what Jesus' Cross wins
for you – simple as pie.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>But
here's where the confusion sets in, and here's where people, even
Christians, can get tripped up. In addition to just giving the gift
of eternal life – Jesus starts heaping on praise. </span></span><i><b>For
I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me
drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you
clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you
came to Me.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Jesus just starts gushing. There's not a trial, not a harsh cross
examination – instead, the King starts praising the sheep to high
heaven – quite literally. And the response from the sheep, as is
appropriate, is confusion: </span></span><i><b>Lord, when did we see
You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? And when did
we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And
when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
What are you talking about Jesus? You're praising me for a bunch of
stuff and I don't have a clue. Then we get the famous phrase: </span></span><i><b>And
the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to
one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”</b></i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b> </b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span> </span>Alright
– there's a lot to talk about here. We're going to talk about Good
Works. Good works are things that you do that God delights in,
rejoices in, is utterly pleased with. And Good works confuse us.
See, if we hear the phrase “good work” we tend to think that they
are bonus works, extra credit, things that we do that get us more
stuff. We think in terms of exchange, in terms of reward – except
that's not the point. We can hear that “For” in the text - “for
I was hungry and you gave Me drink” and think that our works CAUSE
God to bless us or give us the kingdom – that we're suppose to earn
it somehow. Nope, that's not the image here. That “for” isn't a
“because”. It's not “you're getting the kingdom </span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">because</span></u></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
you did x, y, and z. No, it's an exclamation and an explanation of
what God's blessings and what His Kingdom looks like.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Consider
– you are blessed by God. You're part of His Kingdom, His rule.
God's reign of love and mercy rules in your life. You are forgiven
and a forgiver – and you've got that now even in the face of sin
and death – God's love and mercy has spilled over into your life
and through you in countless ways... and you're just going to get
that more and more for all eternity but then untarnished by sin.
It's fantastic now, and it's going to be even more fantastic. You've
shown the love of God and His mercy to countless people in ways that
you hadn't even noticed because that's how simply and wondrously
God's love and His kingdom came through you, O forgiven child of God.
And now, for eternity – you get that in full splendor and power.
That's what Jesus is saying. And this confuses us – because we
still live in the world, surrounded by sin, hounded by temptation,
struggling against our own flesh. We don't notice, we don't
understand the fullness of what God does for us and through us even
now – we don't understand the joy and delight God has in us right
now even over the smallest and simplest things. And that might be
for the best, actually, because in my own sinfulness I'd get a
massively big head if I heard or understood God's praise. But this
is the reality. You are a baptized, forgiven child of God. God is
well pleased with you. He looks at you and delights in you. Prouder
of you than the proudest parent. You are accounted and made
righteous in Christ – God doesn't see your sin when He looks at you
– that's on the Cross. All He sees when He sees you is His child
who does simple and awesome things that He rejoices in. It's
fantastic. No tension, no drama, just heavenly joy.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Do
you see? Good works aren't something that get you closer to God.
Good works aren't even something I need to stand up here and wag a
finger at you to get to do more of them. No – you're forgiven, so
you'll do good. God's love will work in you and through you in ways
that you won't even notice. And I don't need to give you the ideas;
you've got the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, and He'll move you and
urge you to wondrous things that I'd never even think of. You and I,
we simply struggle against sin, beat down our own sinfulness that
would try to get in the way of who we are in Christ. We receive
forgiveness and are thus strengthened in faith towards God and in
love towards our neighbor – and God is tickled pink with this. In
fact, when you love your neighbor, even in the most simplest, mundane
ways, you are in fact showing love to Christ Jesus Himself. You
always serve God by and through serving your neighbor – and you
actually do this all the time in ways you don't even notice or are
aware of. How cool is that!</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>So,
not very terrifying or scary, is it? Then why all the falderol
around judgment day? Well, Jesus does continue – </span></span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>Then
He will say to those on His left, “Depart from me, you cursed, into
the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was
hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no
drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did
not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.</b></span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
You goats, you folks who want to live outside of Christ, outside of
forgiveness and mercy – well, have it your way. You want to be
grade A jerks, so go hang out with the grade A jerks forever in hell.
Again, note – this isn't really a trial. Jesus isn't trying to
discover anything – He is simply saying what is. You've rejected
My love, you rejected My mercy – there's a place for you as that's
how you want to be. And then there's protestations – </span></span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>Lord,
when did we see You hungry or thirsty</b></span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">”...
yaddy yaddy ya, excuse excuse excuse. </span></span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>And
He will answer them saying, “Truly, I say to you, as you did not do
it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.” </b></span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And
there you go. There are those for whom judgment day will be a
terror, a bad day. The goats, those who live right now apart from
Christ Jesus and His Word of forgiveness. And the thing is, apart
from God's love and mercy, they're already stuck in a world of hurt
and pain and anger and disdain – and they might not even notice.
They might not care what gets dumped on the “little people”, not
understanding who they are or the impact of sin. And come the day of
judgment, that's where they're stuck. Fast bound in Satan's kingdom
now – stuck with him for eternity. God grant that many of these
goats hear the Gospel and be brought to faith – God grant that
their hearts be turned and they become sheep! But some won't, and
that's just how it is. And that's simply what Jesus points out here,
without much drama or fuss. That's just the way it is.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>So
then, what to make of all this. Well, there will be a judgment day –
although it's not really a trial or an examination of whether we've
done so much good or so much bad. The end will come, and Jesus will
openly declare what He's said to you over and over in His Church.
That you are forgiven on account of Christ, that you are His beloved
child, that you are forgiven, that you are welcomed to the feast for
all eternity, and it's all good. I mean, in many ways this service
is practice and preparation for “judgment day”. Judgment Day
will be no more scary than hearing the Absolution. It will be less
scary than hearing a sermon, because I might preach a lousy one but
Jesus certainly isn't going to. It's all good for you, for you are
in Christ. May God bring more people to His house and kingdom before
the Last Day! In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit +</span></span></span></span></p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-37289052995856123492023-11-11T08:35:00.001-06:002023-11-11T08:35:00.163-06:003rd Last Sunday<span style="font-size: medium;">In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +</span><br /><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>The
end. Sounds dark and dire, doesn't it? Sounds like something we
should be afraid of, right? That's the image we have in society –
there are all those “end of the world” disaster movies. We even
have the phrase, “It's not the end of the world” - which means,
“it's not so bad.” The idea is that the end of the world will be
a bad thing. Except, that's not at all what Christ Jesus teaches us.
The end of the world is marked by Christ Jesus returning, giving you
everlasting life, and taking you to the new world, the life of the
world to come. This is why we confess every week in the Nicene
Creed, “I look forward to the resurrection of the body and the life
of the world to come.” We look forward to it; we pray, “Come,
Lord Jesus” before we eat. Thy Kingdom come – and deliver us
from evil.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> The problem that we face as Christians
isn't the idea that the world will end... the problem is that it's
just taking so stinking long.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span> </span>And
He said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire
to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
And they will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look here!’ Do
not go out or follow them.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Did you hear
what Jesus warns the disciples of – what Jesus warns us of? Jesus’
warning isn’t you that you better watch out because the scary end
times are coming – oooOOOOooo. No. The warning is it’s going to
take too long – and you will have the days where you sit and think,
“I am tired Lord, I’m fed up with all the sin and wickedness and
vice I see, I’m tired of my hurts and agonies and sufferings and I
miss my loved ones and I want to go home.” And Jesus warns the
disciples that they are going to have days like this – and He won’t
have come yet.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Isn’t
this so completely the opposite of how we in America tend to think of
the end times? We in America have been taught and trained to fear
the end times. In many ways we are no better off than the monks in
Luther’s day, terrified that God might actually come back. The end
is nothing to fear. What is hard, what is difficult is living as a
Christian in a sinful world. This world, with all its vaunted
pleasures, can indeed be nice sometimes – but it can be mean and
nasty and rough and painful the rest of the time. And Christ doesn’t
pretend that it isn’t this way. God doesn’t play pretend with
you – He is always honest. And yes, this life is rough – and you
do have the days where you think, “Lord, just come back already”.
You will, because as a Christian you will see the world for what it
is. You'll see sin pop out, you'll see Satan and wickedness at work
messing with things, you'll see death breaking things down and
destroying things – and it will wear on you.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>And
when you are hitting those points of struggle, when things seem long
and weary – what do you do? You wait on the Lord – you don’t
go running off after every fly-by-night scam artist with the latest
and greatest heresy or false teaching designed to give you everything
your heart desires right now. You don’t go running after the cult
in Jonestown or Waco, you don’t buy into what the quacks are
shouting. You simply pray “Thy Kingdom come,” and wait for
Jesus. Why? Because when Christ delivers you, it’s going to be
obvious that He is here to deliver you. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>For
as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the
other, so will the Son of Man be in His day.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>
</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;">When Christ comes back – it won’t be
hidden, there won’t be a little secret coming where Jesus sort of
sneaks around and talks to a few people to give them the secret
decoder ring. No, when Christ comes again – He will come again and
it will be right then and there. It's going to be simple and open –
and you're right here where you need to be; in the church, hearing
His Word, celebrating the Supper – </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">for
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>as often as we eat this bread
and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">.
If you're worried, don't worry – you're right where you need to be.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>And
now we will get to some verses that I think can cause some
consternation. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Just as it was in the days
of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They will be
eating and drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage, until the
day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them
all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot – they were
eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but
on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from
heaven and destroyed them all – so will it be on the day when the
Son of Man is revealed.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> We hear this,
and man, it sounds bad. The end times will be like the flood – who
wants that! The end times will be like Sodom and Gamorrah – I
don’t ever want to see that, I don’t want God to wipe me away in
a flood or smite me with fire and brimstone. We hear the
punishments, we get panicky and nervous and scared.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>But
let’s take a moment and listen to what Jesus says. Jesus doesn’t
say it will be like the flood, He says it will be like in the days of
Noah. So what happened to Noah? He was surrounded by a wicked, evil
world, so wicked God couldn’t stand it. And what does God do for
Noah – alright, here you go Noah, I will rescue you, I will save
you. You will be preserved and these fools who do you such harm
won’t even know what hit them, even though you warn them. Come
into the ark, you and your family, and you will be saved. That
doesn’t sound so bad – being saved, being rescued from evil.
What is Christ saying here? I’m going to do for you, o Disciple,
what I did for Noah – and that’s a good thing, that’s a
comfort.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>Again,
Jesus doesn’t say that the end times will be like Sodom – He says
that they will be like it was in the days of Lot. So what happened
to Lot? He was stuck in Sodom. He was stuck in a horrible place,
people wanting to break down the doors of his house and abuse his
guests, where there’s a real chance that his daughters will be
brutalized. And so, what does God do? Alright Lot, it’s time to
go, it’s time to get you out of there, let’s get you to someplace
better. God rescues Lot from a wicked place. And even though Lot
tries to warn the folks, tries to get them to repent – they never
see it coming. What is Christ saying? I’m going to do for you, o
Disciple, what I did for Lot – and I will rescue you. Be patient,
endure wickedness, and know that I will deliver you. Don’t you
see? The end times are not a curse. They aren’t something to
scare you. Jesus is not the boogey-man or the monster in the closet;
we shouldn’t be scared of His coming. Rather this – when Christ
comes again He will do so to rescue you, to take you from this vale
of tears unto the joys of heaven – and that’s not a bad thing. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>And
yet, we are nervous about it. So was Lot. He dragged his feet in
leaving Sodom – the angels had to pretty much drag him out of
there. But what Christ is saying, what Christ is teaching us is
this. Don’t fret, don’t worry about the end of times – indeed,
don’t even worry about your own death – because I am your God,
and I will deliver you, for I am with you always.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>That
is Christ’s promise. Listen to the beginning of the Gospel lesson.
</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Being asked by the Pharisees when the
Kingdom of God would come, He answered them, ‘The Kingdom of God is
not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘look,
here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in
the midst of you.”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Do you hear what
Christ is saying? The Pharisees ask Christ – so just when is the
Kingdom going to come, when are we going to get the good stuff? And
Jesus says, “Quit looking for signs, the Kingdom of God is here in
your midst, I am here, what more are you looking for?” This, dear
friends, establishes for us how we as Christians approach all things.
This shows why we can be bold and confident even as life grows long
and we become weary and things in the world just keep getting worse.
While we wait for Christ’s second coming, we remember that we
aren’t waiting alone. Christ is already here in our midst. What
is the Psalm that we all know – Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death – which is precisely the kinds of
fears and trials this text talks about – yea though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil – and why?
For Thou art with me.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>This
is what Christ proclaims to you. Fear nothing, for Christ is with
you – and Christ is bigger than anything that you might face in
your life. Christ is with you now – for you are Baptized, you were
joined to Him by water and the Word. Christ is with you now – He
continues to speak His comfort to You through His Word. Christ is
with you now – He comes to you in His holy Supper. Christ is
always with you – and what does this mean? It means you will be
rescued from every evil, every danger that this world can throw at
you and you shall obtain the eternal life that Christ has won for you
with His death upon the cross and His resurrection.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>That’s
how we approach the end times as Christians. Not with fear, not with
trepidation. We approach all these things remembering that we are
God’s own children, that we are united to Christ. As we await the
end times – we are simply waiting for God to show to everyone, to
show to the entire world what we already know, what we already have.
That He is our God who saves us, who protects us, who guides us, and
who ultimately delivers us from wickedness unto His eternal life. So
dear friends – fear not any talk of the end – for you know what
happens, and it ends well for you. Christ Jesus is your Lord, and He
lives, and He has won the victory for you – let not death, let not
talk of the end appall you any longer. Be confident in Christ Jesus
your Lord. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit + Amen.</span></p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3847211149012008703.post-17171879812388412082023-11-01T08:52:00.006-05:002023-11-01T08:52:37.803-05:00All Saints' Sermon (to be Observed)<p>
</p><p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>So
what is Jesus doing with the Beatitudes here in our Gospel this
evening/morning? I mean, Jesus is starting the famous Sermon on the
Mount – why start here? Why start with the Beatitudes? What is
Jesus doing here? And why do we bring this up on All Saints' Day –
the day of the Church Year where we remember those Christians who
have died in the faith before us, whose number we one day will
eventually join? What's the point? Well, there's a common theme
running through all the beatitudes – “Blessed are”. 9 times,
in 9 places and ways, Jesus points out people who are blessed, that
you are blessed. And Jesus has to do that for a simple reason –
you don't realize how blessed you are.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span>What
do you think of first and foremost if I say, “blessed”? What
pops into your mind? Probably one of the varied good things in your
life that you enjoy, that you are thankful for – that you expect me
to bring up in a few weeks come Thanksgiving. We equate “blessing”
with “good right now.” I had one dear old lady back in Oklahoma,
who if you asked how she was doing would all ways, “I'm blessed.”
Never, “I'm good” - always “Blessed.” And yet, the
situations in the Beatitudes don't seem to mesh with our normal
depiction of being blessed. <i><b>Blessed are the poor in spirit.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span><i><b>Blessed are those who mourn.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Um, did any of you think, “Man, I'm so fortunate that I'm down
trodden and poor in Spirit. Man, I'm so blessed that I'm in mourning
right now.” That's not what any of us think of when we think of
what it is to be blessed.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>And
hence, Jesus makes several wild assertions in these 9 beatitudes.
Over and over, in the face of all sorts of lousy situations Jesus
says, “No, even if you are poor in spirit, even if you mourn –
you are in fact, in truth, blessed.” Because the issue at hand is
we don't see everything. We don't see, not the big picture, but
rather we don't see the full picture. We don't see and understand
the Spiritual and Eternal realities all around us. Consider –
</span></span><i><b>Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
So, let's say you are poor in spirit, that life has got you down for
whatever reason – whatever very real reason. There's lots of
things that are heavy, that weigh upon us. And we can see them
easily. Jesus says to you that nonetheless the kingdom of heaven is
yours. And that's what we can forget in the moment, what we fail to
see. We can see easily the things that crush us; we can overlook the
kingdom of heaven. Right now, this moment, the Kingdom of Heaven is
yours. You are a baptized child of God, forgiven, redeemed, bound
for everlasting life. Right here, around you is all the host of
heaven (including the names I'll be reading off in a few minutes).
We claim this all the time – therefore WITH angels and archangels
and the whole company of heaven WE laud and magnify You. OUR Father.
But we forget it, we don't see it, we overlook it. So Jesus tells
us again – it's good, you're good. The kingdom of heaven is yours.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>But
I'm mourning, Jesus. Well, of course you are – you're in the
sinful world surrounded by death. Even Jesus weeps when Lazarus
dies. </span></span><i><b>Blessed are those who mourn, for they
shall be comforted.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
You know how Jesus was comforted when Lazarus died? Jesus raised
Lazarus from the dead. You know what is Jesus' plan is to be
comforted over all the deaths of His people who have died? To raise
them from the dead. All these names – Jesus is going to raise
them. You yourself, Jesus is going to raise you from the dead. It's
good, you're good, because of Jesus.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>But
there's so many fights swirling around me, Jesus – and I know I
shouldn't dive in, and I feel pathetic when I don't, but if I jump in
and try to put someone in their place I just get dumped on, and
people are nasty, and I can't fight back with their same nastiness,
and it's lousy. </span></span><i><b>Blessed are the meek, for they
shall inherit the earth.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Jesus gets it. How often does Jesus get dumped on, how often does
Jesus just take it? And while we can't always fight back well or
have to worry about repercussions – Jesus can call on legions of
angels. He wouldn't have to worry about any blacklash. Yet –
Jesus was meek – that is, inclined to simply put up with stuff
instead of making the fight worse. That's what it is to be meek.
And you can be meek. You don't have to fight, you don't have to win
everything for yourself. Why? Because you're already going to
inherit everything. Jesus won you salvation by His meekness, by
going to the Cross and dying meekly – and He rose victorious, and
you know what? When He raises you from the dead, He's going to just
up and give you a new heavens and a new earth. Jesus will fix it –
you don't have to. You might think you do, that might be what you
see, but Jesus reminds you here that because of Him you're already
blessed. It's good, you're good – Jesus has it in the bag for you.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Do
you see the pattern? We get caught up in the problems, we see sin
breaking out in the world, in ourselves. We see the consequences,
dire and terrible, falling out all around us. And they are serious,
and they are big, and they are nasty. But Jesus says to you that
they aren't the whole picture. There's more going on that you might
be missing, that you might not be seeing. Don't forget that Jesus is
at work, doing things, fixing things, forgiving, saving you – and
in Jesus it's all in the bag. Why? Well – </span></span><i><b>Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be
satisfied.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Oh, Jesus wants righteousness, and He wants it a plenty – and He
came to be righteous for you. Jesus not only takes away your sin,
not only forgives you, but He gives you His righteousness, He makes
you to hunger for it and He fills you with His righteousness – He
fills you with righteousness by His Word and Spirit and then works in
you and through</span></span> you and for you... and He forgives you
again and fills you again, and will do so until you are eternally
satisfied. <i><b>Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive
mercy.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Jesus gathers you here to His house of mercy, over and against all
the sin and junk in the world, because you are His people of mercy
and forgiveness – and indeed here the Lord has mercy upon you.
</span></span><i><b>Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see
God. </b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Oh,
are your hearts not pure – well, that's why Jesus forgives you,
that's why He speaks His Word you, that's why He proclaims these
beatitudes – because He actually wants you to see Him, to be with
Him for all eternity. And while we struggle now, there's a whole
host who see Jesus face to face right now because Jesus has forgiven
and purified them.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Do
you see, O Baptized child of God? Do you remember again? </span></span><i><b>Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
There, at the font, at your baptism, God made peace with you. The
rebellion of sin and death – the Triune God said it was over. This
isn't just a sinful rebel, this is My baptized child – and the
Peace of the Lord be with you always. And as you are a child of God
now, you are set upon a path of making peace – of being a forgiver,
of being one who takes the peace that Jesus has won and given to you
and taking it and giving it to other people. I forgive you in the
name of Christ the Crucified. He has died and risen for you. That's
not only the message you hear, that's the message you proclaim and
thus make peace.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>Hold
up, hold up, hold up. Are you sure about that Pastor? Because if I
go tell people they are forgiven because Jesus died for their sin,
some might like it... but a whole heap of people are going to get
really ticked off. Yeah, so what, Peacemaker child of God? </span></span><i><b>Blessed
are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Sinners in a sinful world are going to be mad at you for something.
Haters are gonna hate. Might as well have them hate you for
righteousness' sake, might as well let them be mad because you
proclaim that Jesus has died and risen and all the sins of the world
are forgiven. Their rage can't do a cotton picking thing to you,
because heaven is yours right now. So yes, Jesus is in fact right
when He says, “</span></span><i><b>Blessed are you when others
revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you
falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great
in heaven.”</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
The world can rage and complain and be all bitter and nasty. And I
mean that seriously – wretched, horrible things get unleashed.
Doesn't change the fact that Jesus died and rose for you. Doesn't
change the fact that God Himself is present here today for you –
doesn't change the fact that Jesus brings with Him all of heaven and
we join in with all the Saints as we worship today. And your reward,
the stuff that Jesus gives you in heaven in great. You get it now,
in fact. Forgiveness. Christ's Body and Blood, given and shed for
you. Singing with the saints. Life now in the face of sin as
preparation for the resurrection of the body and the life of the
world to come. It's all good because of Jesus. Jesus has it all in
the bag for you.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span> </span>So
yes, you are blessed. And not merely with the typical things we all
normally think of as blessings – and note, I'm not downplaying
those things – we'll talk about all those great earthly and
temporal blessings from God in just a few weeks. Rather this –
remember the blessings that you don't always see in this life, that
Satan and sin would hide from you and distract you from. You are a
baptized child of God, forgiven and bound for eternal life. God has
declared you to be His holy child – to be His saint – and nothing
can trump that or wrest you out of God's hand. And those we love
whom we mourn and are with the Lord – they see it all face to face
without distraction, which is wondrous for them. For you, well, you
get to be here now, in Jesus' house, with Jesus and with all the
saints, hearing Jesus, being reminded of the things you don't see,
even until you see them clearly when you see Jesus face to face. And
you will. Amen. </span></span></span>
</p>
Rev. Eric J Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747919365522145094noreply@blogger.com0