Category: The Weekly Message Blog

Jesus raises you up out of bondage

Posted on by nfuller

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God’s Word for us this morning describes the bondage that sin brings in our lives. Our Introit talks about the troubles we face as if we are buried in the depth of the earth.  “You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.”

Some Christians feel guilt ridden when day after day they feel buried beneath the earth with troubles or despair or depression. They blame themselves for the bondage they find themselves in.  People think, “if I feel this bad, I must be doing something wrong. A good Christian is joyful and not sad and weighed down by grief.”

This is a mistake to feel this way, to feel this guilt over the amount of troubles present in your life. Your guilt means that you think you can free yourself from the bondage of sin. “I should do better, I have a strong faith.” 

This guilt keeps you from seeing that Jesus alone is who frees you, who brings you out of the depth of the earth. This morning God’s Word loudly proclaims that Jesus and Jesus alone has set you free!

In our gospel lesson we can see how helpless a person can be to free himself from the chains of sin.  Jesus and the disciples are in the place called Gerasanes, a land just outside of Galilee. Jesus had not yet made it into the city when already a man possessed by demons met him.  This man’s bondage to the demons and bondage to his own sin was so great that he no longer even lived in the city. He no longer took part in society at all- so great was his torment, no clothes, no interactions, using the cavernous tombs as a place to stay.

It is clear that this man is not in control of his own life, he is a slave to the demons who posses him. Even when people tried to guard him and contain him with chains and shackles he broke out of them- so great was the power of the demons within him. 

One of the signs of a demon in the New Testament is that they know who Jesus is from the start. The Legion of demons greet Jesus in this same way, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 

The demons see Jesus as the Son of God, but they do not see him as someone who can heal them or save them. It’s amazing to think about this, the demons see Jesus for who he is, and instead of worshipping him or repenting before him and asking mercy- they dig in with their defiance and scoff at Jesus. 

This is not much different than what we do in our sinful nature.  We see only the power God has over us to destroy us and we scoff at God, we do not in our human nature have the ability to come to God and trust in God’s goodness to us. That is why we confess in the explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles Creed that “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus as my Lord or come to him.”

But Jesus did not turn his back on us while we were enemies of God.  He set us free from our bondage.  He gave us new life in Him so that we could live for the first time in a freedom from the drive of our sinful human nature.  Now for the first time we are able to live to serve God instead of living to serve our sinful nature.

Sometimes you might doubt if you really are free in Christ, because all you see is your sin and how it holds you from being a child of God in your actions. If you doubt how much different your life really is because of your faith- if you feel your attempts to bear good fruit in God’s kingdom are second rate at best then how important it is that you  see there in the gospel lesson how without hesitation Jesus commanded the demon to leave the victim.

To Jesus there is no reason for a man to stay in bondage and slavery to sin and the forces of evil.  Jesus came to free us from all that would leave us chained up and buried under the earth.

The demon begged Jesus to not send him into the abyss but to enter into the pigs. It is not easy for us to understand why Jesus agreed to this, or for what purpose this served. Jesus knew that the demons would have a harmful impact on the herd of pigs, and that this attention would drive people of the town to be afraid of him.

However, for our benefit this sacrifice of the herd of pigs to the evil demons gives us a clear image of the destructive nature of the demons, that from the time of the possession they drive the pigs to jump off a cliff and destroy themselves. This is such a clear picture for us of the destruction of Satan. 

Many people today, especially younger generations are drawn to have sympathy with witchcraft or satanic arts- almost as if it is a good thing because it is the underdog type of belief that nobody would give a chance for. This is part of the lie Satan tells to our young people, that Christianity is the largest religion in the world, that it doesn’t give a fair view of witchcraft. It is the lie of Satan that the Majority will always oppress the minority.  But here the destructive nature of demons is visible for all to see.

In the same way, what destruction we can invite into our lives when we chose the chains of sin over the freedom of Jesus.  It may not be as dramatic as a herd of pigs falling off of a cliff, but without the shield of our faith the impact of Satan’s influence in our life has the same destructive results.

In our Epistle reading we heard St. Paul talk about how before Jesus was born into the world we were like children or slaves who were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. Living only for this world leads us to play right into Satan’s hands.

If you only have hope for this world, then whatever deal Satan offers can be hard to pass up.  ‘What do I have to lose, I might as well have what I want while I have the opportunity.’  

I am grateful that God’s Word has led me on a course in life where every decision I make in life is not driven by the slavery of what I think I want for myself regardless of any understanding of what good things God prepares for me in his kingdom. This is the freedom Jesus brings us from servitude of our sin.

Here at Christ Lutheran, as of late many of our members struggle with challenges of health and we struggle with building repairs and other needs to keep a congregation moving along.  It is important that we can see a bigger picture, that it is not only for this life that we live, that our church is investing in more than just managing a building and paying of a building loan, or targeting attendance numbers. We are building up treasure in heaven as our faith grows and as we seek to share the gospel- especially now with the Deaf Community.  Being a part of a church is more than just keeping up with what needs doing.  It is participating in the freedom and joy of life lived no longer as slaves to sin, but as heirs of our Heavenly Father.

By the end of our gospel reading, the man who was possessed by the demon Legion ends up in a blessed state.  He went from someone who was an outcaste to the extreme to someone who had the pleasure of sitting at the feet of Jesus. 

He wanted to follow Jesus and continue in the blessed freedom from slavery that Jesus just brought to him. Instead, Jesus tells him to stay in his home town and declare how much God has done for him.  And that is exactly what he did, he told everyone in the city what Jesus had done for him.

You also can speak about how Jesus liberated you from slavery to your sin.  You can tell people that without God’s Word living in you, that you cannot imagine where you would be in life.

You might look at your life and see ways in which Satan had his way with you and you feel like you have not met your potential in your life, that you could be such a greater servant in God’s kingdom if you made better decisions.

The man possessed by demons was healed and all of the damage was undone, he was a new creation in Christ. And in the same way you are a new creation, he heals you of the mistakes from your past, he forgives you and restores you- so that you can tell others about him.    

Brothers and sisters in Christ, know today that Jesus has set you free from bondage. He has raised you up out of the deep pit of your own sin and despair. Even as he will raise you up on the last day. Amen.

Clear speech from Jesus: First trouble then joy- but always peace

Posted on by nfuller

“Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”  What a firm promise from the LORD! There is no double talk our veiled language, instead a clear promise of how Jesus will take our burdens and carry us through.

Last week I was talking to someone about how unfortunate it is that we don’t always say what we mean in our society.  “We should get together sometime” Sometimes this is an accurate statement, other times a promise may be made, I will call you sometime and we will get together, and you are kept waiting and waiting, and you realize you have never been called. Sometimes a statement is not always followed by an action, what people say may not always be what they really intend.

Sometimes you can hear yourself making promises that you are not sure you will keep. It seems we use our words to hide the reality that we never know when our sinful human nature will dictate life priorities in such a way that we will let others down. So we settle for a temporary fantasy that we will never let others down. Perhaps it is just an innocent misdirection we use to cover harsh realities about the limitations of life

Of course, our society is adept at all kinds of words that use misdirection. Pre owned vehicles, a well loved piece of furniture, companies use words like downsizing and reducing costs as a way to say firing. I will not even get into all of the misdirection words that are used for political purposes. The end result is that the world can feel cold, uncaring and exploitive.

Jesus does not use misdirection in his speech.  Jesus speaks plainly to his disciples in John chapter 16 to give them peace in Him. Before the departure to the cross, Jesus speaks to the disciples about the difficulties that await them. Jesus uses the truth because he cares about them and he has no sinful motivations to lift himself up by what he says.

He tells them he is leaving. Jesus knew with certainty what suffering awaited him. And he knew this from the start. It was for this purpose that Jesus came into the world.  Jesus has compassion on the disciples that even in the midst of this great suffering he will undergo, he thinks of their interests, he tells them that he will depart from them for a while- so that they are ready for the trial and do not face it as a crisis of faith.

He tells them they will fail him. Of course they protested that they would never fail Jesus, never disown him or abandon him. “They would never say, call me anytime- we will get through this together”- without really meaning it.

But Jesus knew what was in man.  He was honest with them about the extent to which the human heart fails. That no matter the good intentions we sin against God, we love ourselves first.  We gladly let Jesus suffer instead of suffering ourselves. 

And he tells the church that we will have trouble in this world. Jesus is clear to them if the world hated me, they will hate you.  The world will not encourage you to thrive in your faith, instead the world encourages you to turn inward to your own selfish desires.  While Jesus gives us peace, the world will find ways to bring division and strife and even danger.  

We know the devil, the world and our sinful flesh will try and keep us from being the disciples Jesus promises we can be.  And Jesus speaks plainly about what he has done for us in the midst of these distractions and temptations.

“I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Jesus is telling us that despite all of the challenges and difficulties we can have peace because he has surpassed all of the troubles in the world and in our lives, by who he is as the Word made flesh who resisted the temptations that we failed to resist and has overcome the world.

What does that mean to overcome the world.  Verse 28 gives a summary of all of the movements in Christ’s ministry to us. “I came from the Father.’ Jesus is sharing the truth we confess in the Nicene Creed that he is begotten of the Father before all worlds, that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

“And have come into the world.”  The Incarnation, God coming to us by taking on our flesh. “Now I am leaving the world”  The crucifixion.  “And going to the Father” the Resurrection and the Ascension.  

Jesus has overcome the world not just because he said so, but because He is God, and he has joined us in the flesh of this world in His Incarnation, and he has redeemed the fallen nature of this world on the cross.

That is why Jesus can say that he has overcome the world. Because of what he has done, no foe is too strong for us that what Jesus did for us can be undone.  No tribulation can take on a greater importance in our lives than Jesus does, no type of cancer, no type of virus can change the fact that Jesus has overcome the world.

Jesus brings this victory over the world right to us. In Word and Sacrament we receive the peace that Christ’s victory has won.  Jesus brings peace as the sin that separated us from God is forgiven.  The waters of baptism bring us this peace, and our presence at the Lord’s table reassures us of this peace. Even the sins of falling away from Jesus as the disciples did, even our falling away out of selfish pursuit, this sin is today forgiven you.

And as we live in this peace Jesus gives us, we respond in faith: “Until now you have asked nothing in my name, ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”  We can ask in the Father’s name for the strength and the support to handle any loss in life. And the promise of Jesus is that so great is the support and love of Christ mediated to us in the church that we can still have joy in the midst of the sorrows of this world.

Listen again to the words of the Introit, “Cast your burden on the LORD and he will sustain you. But I call to God and the Lord will sustain me.” This is direct, plain and simple talk to us from the Holy Spirit.  What a gift it is for we who are weary from the changes and chances of this life, that the LORD will sustain you when you seek his support and aid. 

There is no mystery of how we are to get through difficult times, the Lord spells it out for us.  We get through by the power of God’s Word, by the presence of Jesus made known to us in the Sacrament of the Altar, by the compassion of Jesus made known to us in the care of fellow Christians the body of Christ. The Lord sustains us by making it so that we are never alone.  

Our God levels with us and tells us the truth about the nature of life in this fallen world. There is no sugar coating, we will face tribulation in this world. But an even more important truth is that Jesus tells us:

“Take heart I have overcome the world.” Our God has made provision for the hardest things we can face in this life, and even provision for the threat of death itself.  His life is our hope, his life is our steady source of joy. Amen.   

Christ’s gifts to us inspire a New Song of Praise

Posted on by nfuller

Peter was praying in the city of Joppa, and an amazing new thing occurred. He saw a stunning vision of animals of all sorts, clean and unclean, lowered as a sheet by four corners by the power of the heavens. The voice of the Lord says: “Rise, Peter, kill and eat.” Essentially Peter sees a vision of a platter of potential food set before him as a gift.

Peter could not believe what he was hearing.  For thousands of years it was an undisputed truth, no Hebrew was to eat unclean food. God’s people were supposed to be holy just as God is holy.  Now a new thing had happened. Jesus is risen, and this means new life not just for Israel, but for all people who become part of the growing church, the New Israel.

The gentiles who were once unclean and separated from God, now can become part of the church through the power of Jesus. Peter was being shown that what once looked impossible is now here. Something changed, and not for an arbitrary reason, such as the law changes during the beginning of a new administration in government. Something changed because Jesus has won salvation for the whole world.

“Oh Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things.”  That was the beginning of our Introit this morning, the first message from God’s Word here in this Fifth Sunday of Easter. The new song the psalmist is calling for is a response of joy for what the LORD has done for his people.  A new song is in order- something has changed permanently. Death itself has been swallowed up by life. Now the good news is to spread to all nations.  

When each of my three children were new born, it generated an impromptu composition of songs or lullaby’s to help baby sleep. These were new songs in response to what the Lord has done for us as parents in the gift of a child. I won’t sing them here, that would be embarrassing. But I remember how the wonder of the occasion was the inspiration for the creativity.

Each Psalm, each hymn in our hymnal is a New song sung to the Lord, always in response to the Lord’s saving work to us. Most of us do not seek to write sacred music. I don’t think I will ever try to compose a hymn. But I can recognize how God’s Word changes me and moves me to approach my life with a new sense of wonder, with a new song.

The gifts of God abound and the response we have to His Word can blossom in beautiful ways and in surprising ways at different times in life.  Hearing God’s Word, sharing in the Lord’s Supper with brothers and sisters in Christ, it just moves you to a New Song. 

Today in our congregation, it is a joy to be facing new milestones in our congregation’s ministry.  Our lone eight grader right now Monika, is on track for confirmation on June 12th, and last week she offered to add one more artistic touch to the crayon mosaic project I started as part of Confirmation.

She suggested that she would like to paint the wooden frame to match the colors of the scene created by the crayons. This is a New Song of Praise in response to what has been a steady and fulfilling part of her weekly schedule, learning about God’s Word and taking in the wonder of what the life of faith means to her now and will mean for her future stages in life.

Members of our community and many of us as well are hearing the new song of praise in our Carillon.  For people in this neighborhood, the bells began to chime again out of thin air, people have told us that this was a delightful experience of grace. But we know it was the Lord’s doing. It only happened because we members of Christ Lutheran experienced generosity of gifts and time and talents from many in the congregation that gave us enough time out of a just trying to survive mindset in order to think outward on how to bless others.

What a gift it is to stop what you are doing or thinking about and simply listen and pray and realize the certainty and routine that God’s love to us remains the same, no matter what changes in our lives.

Within months of the start of our Carillon, the Lord has brought to us people who are not able to hear the Carillon, or our organ, or singing, or conversations. Deaf ministry by the Lord’s plan is now a significant part of our congregation’s story.  We will have a guest signing pastor, pastor Engel signing to Deaf members on June 5th during our worship as our first interpreted service for the Deaf community. The grace and love in which signs are made to speak God’s Word, will indeed be a new Song of Praise in our congregation. 

And beginning in August our Deaconess Intern Camille will carry on this song in worship and in Bible studies and even in teaching sign to Lutheran grade schools. This is exciting and this is the Lord’s work years in the making in preparing a young woman for service to the church and assistance of the pastoral office with ministries of care and mercy.

New changes can be encouraging, yet in this world we live in problems always remain.  Even the joyful change of a new baby born to a family also brings the sacrifice of much work and care and lost sleep. 

New opportunities bring more work and stress, and sometimes more than we see that we can handle. There have been times this Spring where the work appeared to be more than our small church can handle. But now the joy of the Lord here is more apparent, His mercies are new every morning.  

Brother and sister in Christ, life in the church in this fallen world contains both joys and sorrows.  In our gospel lesson Jesus prepares his disciples for being without him, and then for seeing him again one day. “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”

Jesus was preparing them for his betrayal and crucifixion in the next few days. In those hours Jesus would be taken from them and placed in the grave. And in 3 days, not 72 hours even, but parts of three different days, Jesus would return to them- how great their joy.

The disciples encountered a paradox, Jesus rose from the dead and conquered death- yet he does not remain in their physical presence, he ascended into heaven. Again, they no longer see him. And again they have the promise that in a little while- on the last day, they will again see him.  

We have faced loss and hardships as a congregation this year.  How much easier if Jesus could just return and spare us further days of struggle. Yet Jesus still gives us an easy path, we always have the promise before us, that in a little while we will be with the Lord.  If the Lord does not return first, death comes to us all in just a short while.  We may want to picture this as a impossibly far off event.  Yet the truth is we have no guarantee how long our days will be.

In a little while we will be with the Lord.  That is why we prayed in our Collect Prayer that among the many changes of this world that our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found- to love what Jesus commanded and to desire the provision he has made for us.

In a little while we will be with the Lord, we will be singing a New Song: “Behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”  There in that place the former things have passed away, no more mourning or crying or pain. “Behold I am making all things new.”  Amen.

Nothing can separate us from the care of our Good Shepherd

Posted on by nfuller

“My Sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Every year During this stage of the season of Easter we listen to words from the gospel of John as Jesus describes how he is the one true Good Shepherd of Israel.  Here in series C  of the lectionary, we focus in particular on how no one is able to snatch us out of the Lord’s hand. 

In our Collect prayer we prayed, Almighty God, merciful Father, since you have wakened from death the Shepherd of Your Sheep…  The Good Shepherd who lays down his life for His Sheep is himself raised up. Were Christ not raised from the dead he would not be powerful enough to shepherd and protect us. It would be foolish for us to ask for protection from a man who is in the grave.  

But not even the death of the Son of God could lead to our losing the protection of our Good Shepherd.  Jesus rose and now lives forever more- nothing can take us away from him.  Jesus lives to continue to shepherd us.

We are held secure.  The only way we can be lost or left behind is if we leave ourselves.  Today on Mother’s Day, we can’t help but think of the determination with which mother’s care for and protect their children.

We had a mother duck in our yard in recent weeks, she was not going to let anyone near her nest.  Early in the morning Our dog had spotted her as she was returning from an errand, while she was on the other side of our neighbors see through wrought iron fence. My dog saw her and stared and then barked at mother duck.  Mother Duck held her ground, and once I chased our dog Kayla back into the house, she flew over the fence into our yard and intentionally paced back to her nest. She was not going to let some predator dog four times her size keep her away.

And even greater can the determination of a Christian mother be, to keep away those dangers that would seek to prey upon the faith of her children. This is a gift of faith, this is the determination Jesus has for his church to keep us safe from all dangers, and to bark at any danger that is approaching.  The only way we can be lost is if we willingly leave the sheep pen, if we feel that the care and provision Jesus gives is not good enough and we want something more in life.

If we seek to go, Jesus does not lead us astray, for what a Shepherd does is protects and defends the sheep, so that not one of them is lost. The imagery of the shepherd is found throughout the scripture.

It seems the Lord wanted us to understand what it would mean that Jesus is our Good Shepherd.  Already in Genesis chapter four, Abel was a shepherd, a keeper of sheep.  The LORD had regard for Abel’s sacrifice of the firstborn of his flocks. Cain rose up against his brother in envy and killed him.  The sheep lost their shepherd and the Lord heard the cries of Abel’s blood from the ground.  Death could not silence Abel. 

King David tended sheep when he was a boy on Jesse’s farm.  As a shepherd he saw that although he cared for sheep and was like God to them- he was not the one who made life safe and pleasant for the sheep- he saw it was all in the Lord’s hands.

We know from the scriptures that David experienced the very poetic scenes used in Psalm 23, the green pastures and still waters of the pastoral life caring for sheep. The experience of oil running down his head as the prophet Samuel anointed David as king. And the experience of persecution and danger as foes sought his life.

As David was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write Psalm 23, he put into words the meaning of a Shepherd in terms of God’s care for his people. David firsthand the hardships we face in life, just as Jesus would know first hand as he took on our human nature beginning at his birth.   

In the first three verses David refers to the LORD in the third person, describing what YHWH does for him and all of His people in this dangerous and fallen world where scarcity and want, and danger are all around us. 

But then as David reflects on the valley of the shadow of death He switches to the second person, “I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”  David is no longer just talking about what God does for him, he is talking to the God who is near to Him and with him.

We can look at Jesus in the same way, the Savior who is with us in the time of difficulty. The Lord who we can call to in our greatest time of need- the Shepherd who has overcome death.

In our Introit the words of Jesus surround the words of Psalm 23- Jesus is the shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep.  Jesus is David’s greater son who was anointed with oil as the Messiah. Jesus is the true Shepherd who seeks after all the lost sheep. Who seeks even the sheep who are not of his fold- a reference to the Gentiles who are brought into God’s family through His unending love.

Hearing God’s Word for us this morning around the theme of Jesus as our Shepherd, reminds us of the gift of life in Christ we have in Holy Baptism- these are the still waters the Lord leads us to comfort in. The paths of righteousness we are led on come from hearing Jesus’ forgiveness and undying love to us shown on the cross.

And by that cross he gathers us all together, Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for my the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd.     

Jesus alone can gather us all together as divided as our hearts are with sin. And the amazing thing is that as we listen to His voice we become one body so that there is one voice and one Shepherd over us all.

The voice of the Jews who questioned Jesus demanded that Jesus tell them plainly if he really was the Christ.  They were not going to just believe, their attitude was that they would only believe with a lot of convincing.  Jesus clarifies that not only has he told them, but his actions, his works in the Father’s name also bear witness about him. Jesus spells it out plainly, “you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.”

People who do not belong to Jesus are not going to see Jesus’ church in a very favorable light.  Indeed, a common criticism of churches is that they do not do much to show they care about the community or the needs of the world. It would be a blessing if churches were more capable of caring for the needs of communities in which we are located.

However, people will still reject the gospel if they are not among Jesus’ sheep. We should not be so surprised at those who reject Jesus’ teaching that we ourselves become discouraged that we are not more effective or that the church is too much of a shell of its former health and glory.

Instead, we should rejoice that we are counted among the Lord’s Sheep, that we are protected, cared for, and raised to know God’s Word as that which is everything we need in this life and in the life of the world to come. We can rejoice that no matter the disappointment in life, there is a Great Shepherd who care for us, who will not let anyone or anything snatch us away.

Why do you seek the living among the dead?

Posted on by nfuller

How wonderfully faithful were the women who went to the tomb on the first Easter morning. They faced a difficult task. On Friday they witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion.  They knew the nature of the job that awaited them, they knew how terribly bloody and gored they would find Jesus’ body. 

They got up early in the morning to take on this important task.  They knew it would not be an easy experience, but it was something they were willing to do out of love. And so they gathered together the spices and ointments and things necessary for preparing a body. 

And then as they approached the tomb, very early in the morning they found the stone rolled away. And as they entered to investigate, they did not find the body of Jesus. The very thing they were bracing for could not happen.  Within moments of this confusion two men in dazzling apparel stood beside them.  They are so scared that they bow down with their faces to the ground, and they hear the first words from these men: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”

As faithful as these women were in their duty and love toward Jesus, they had missed something of incredible importance, they missed Jesus’ promise that he would rise again. As a result they were seeking the living among the dead, they were looking for Jesus in the wrong place.

Today we also see this mistake. How often it happens, people overlook what Jesus says about life in him, and so they seek the living among the dead. They look for life in the wrong places.

In efforts to fit in with the world, people will make fools of themselves trying to make a name for themselves or win popularity.  They overlook the fact that friendship with this world that is passing away cannot bring life.

Others seek fulfillment in life from the pleasures of the senses.  Why do some people drink too much? Why do some people use illegal drugs? For many people pleasure seeking or thrill seeking can become the ultimate goal of life.  But they are seeking the living among the dead.

Others may seek financial abundance. People seek after the promise that life has more value with more treasures and possessions. But all lives whether wealthy or poor- end with a tomb that is filled with a body. Seeking the living among the dead just punches your ticket for death.

Even religious commitment and fervor can lead to seeking the living among the dead. Think of all of those religions out there that require certain specific rituals to be in good favor to an unknown god. During the showdown at Mt. Carmel the prophet Elijah mocked those who followed god’s who cannot save or act, who are mere idol creations of man.

People who turn to false gods are seeking the living among the dead.  If you are focusing on how you can keep the law better than those around you, if you see only your works and your sin, and do not see a Savior, then even in your faith you can be seeking the living among the dead.

Martin Luther described his early days as a monk produced just this result. He feared God’s wrath and believed he was eternally lost, believing his works could never be enough to save him. During this period as he looked within himself, and looked at the depth of his sin, he could not see Jesus his living Savior.

In the same way, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James went to the tomb with love in their hearts for Jesus. They loved him greatly and deeply mourned losing him. But they were lacking faith. They had not believed Jesus’ words that on the third day he would rise. They expected to find the tomb with Jesus’ body, not empty. 

In 1 Corinthians chapter 15 Paul shares about this faith in what Jesus says that the women at the tomb did not yet posses. “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you- unless you believed in vain.”

What is this gospel? “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.” This is what happened on Good Friday when Jesus died on the cross. St. Paul passes on to us the message of first importance: that Christ died for our sins.  For our sins! The cross had not been a failure of God’s plan or a triumph of Satan.  It was the plan, the plan for us.

In accordance with the scriptures, Jesus was buried, he was raised on the third day, and he appeared to Peter and then the twelve.  Jesus’ death and resurrection is for you!  This is the gospel, this is what gives life! 

Had the women on that first Easter morning understood this, that Jesus’ death was God’s plan for saving them, they would have expected Jesus to rise, rather than look for the living among the dead.

This is true life for all who believe.  Fame and fortune and pleasure are fleeting, but faith gives eternal life. Just as Christ’s tomb was empty on Easter, so also in the resurrection of the dead shall we be raised- and our tombs will be empty.

It wasn’t until Luther became thoroughly acquainted with the scriptures that he discovered the wonderful message of salvation that he shares in his catechisms.  After years of studying the Bible, he finally discovered what it meant all along- this for you, for our sins which is the Gospel. 

Luther realized Jesus had died for his sins and granted him forgiveness through faith. Luther wrote: “I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith.” This was such wonderful news for Luther that he writes: “I felt that I was all together born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates.”

Luther’s Easter Hymn Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands shares this joy Luther found in understanding what Christ’s death and resurrection meant for us.

“Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands For our offenses given; But now at God’s right hand He stands and brings us life from heaven. Therefore let us joyful be and sing to God right thankfully loud songs of alleluia! Alleluia.”

No son of man could conquer death such ruin sin had wrought us. No innocence was found on earth, and therefore death had brought us into bondage from of old and ever grew more strong and bold and held us as its captive. Alleluia!

Christ Jesus, God’s own Son came down, His people to deliver; destroying sin he took the crown from death’s pale brow forever: Stripped of power, no more it reigns; and empty form alone remains; its sting is lost forever. Alleluia

It was a strange and dreadful strife When life and death contended; the victory remained with life, the reign of death was ended. Holy Scripture plainly saith that death is swallowed up by death. It’s sting is lost forever. Alleluia.

Here our true Paschal Lamb we see whom God so freely gave us, He died on the accursed tree- So strong His love to save us.  See his blood now marks our door. Faith points to it, death passes oe’r, and Satan cannot harm us. Alleluia!

So let us keep the festival To which the Lord invites us; Christ is himself the joy of all, the sun that warms and lights us. Now his grace to us imparts Eternal sunshine to our hearts; the night of sin is ended. Alleluia!

Then let us feast this Easter day on Christ the bread of Heaven; the Word of grace has purged away the old and evil leaven. Christ alone our souls will feed, he is our meat and drink indeed; faith lives upon no other! Alleluia!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us feast this Easter Day on Christ! Let us rejoice that he lay in death’s strong bonds for us. Know this day that Jesus is our true source of life, who is risen from the dead and will die no more. 

There is joy to live with the mind of Christ

Posted on by nfuller

Two friends grew up in the same town and went to the same school.  They were such good friends they stayed in touch through the years, of marriage and children and moves into new homes. One friend Mary knew and confessed Jesus as Lord.  The other friend Jamie did not. 

As Jamie is over visiting Mary on a Saturday evening and they are talking about the stress of daily life.  Mary shares that she is blessed to have her family but she sometimes struggles with how different things are than the imagined ideal of family life. Jamie says, what you need is a night out each week with your husband for dinner and a movie. Mary says that would be nice, but they don’t have enough money, they can’t afford that. Mary is also hanging up laundry in the utility room and Jamie says what you need is to buy a dryer.

Later that evening Jamie sees Mary put three twenty dollar bills in her church offering envelope for the next day. She knows this is a significant portion of their expendable income. As she left that evening she was wondering if Mary was out of her mind.

In a sense Mary was. She was not thinking with the mind she once had. That is the kind of transformation Paul is talking about for all of us. It’s a whole new mindset, a whole new way of thinking. Paul calls us all to have the mindset of Christ. 

Paul knew well the mindset of human beings: He warns against this way of thinking: 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others

Our natural mindset is to want things our way.  We think of ourselves first, it’s our human nature.  We think about what can put us ahead so often instead of what could put others ahead. 

The natural human mindset is characterized by sin- it doesn’t fear love and trust in God above all things.  It doesn’t love our neighbor as ourselves.  Instead the fruit of sin can lead to the destruction of the unity of faith in a congregation.  The natural mindset also destroys personal and family relationships.  Any circumstance of destroyed families you can think of relates to the human mindset at full force and as a result selflessness and kindness is replaced by strife and exploitation.

Paul was aware of this when he encouraged the Philippian congregation to live in a new mindset. He desired that they could be free from the same cycles of envy and strife that were evident in any other institution in the ancient world.  And most importantly that he  church in Philippi could be free from the human mindset that thinks, I can be my own god. The human mindset says, I don’t need God directing how I live my life, I have lived enough years where I know how to get by quite well on my own.  Along with these thoughts is the delusion that I am so much better than the average person, I can practically punch my own ticket to heaven- without a Savior.

Fortunately for us, Christ brings us to his mindset. In order to transform this mindset Jesus lived in a way that was the complete opposite of how we would do things.  Where Adam and Eve were tempted by the prospect of being like God in knowing good and evil, Jesus resisted all such temptations to advance himself, to the point of taking on the form of a servant. He took our flesh so that he could help with the very thing that we needed, to have our human flesh redeemed and made right with God again for the first time since the Fall into sin.

Christ calls us to serve as he served us.  Our mindset is to serve no matter how undesirable it may feel to our human nature. Of course we cannot serve as he did.  No one ever has served as he served! He left the glory from eternity of his place at the Father’s right hand.  He left it out of love and service to us.  He left this place knowing he would be poor, rejected, mocked, and hated. 

The full extent of this service was his death on the cross.  Paul writes about how Jesus humbled himself to death on a cross.   Death on the cross was for criminals, and Jesus humbled himself to even experience the very suffering of a slow painful death on the cross. 

And then the magnitude of his servant love for us changed the world.  With his blood shed on the  cross, Christ paid for all of our sins- including the sin of being self centered.  The new mindset is seeing this- that we stand forgiven, possesors of eternal life by Jesus paying the full price for us.

And the new mindset worships the God we didn’t think we needed.  As Paul celebrates every knee will bow before Jesus. Next week as we celebrate Christ’s resurrection on Easter we will be joining with those in heaven and earth who now confess Jesus as Lord and celebrate Christ exalted above heaven and earth.   

Listen again to the wording St. Paul uses inspired by the Holy Spirit: “Have this mind among yourselves.”  We look to Jesus to enable us to live humbly, to live different than what is natural for us.  Living in the world we live in, it is natural for us to seek recognition, attention and validation of what we have accomplished.  But as we have the mind of Christ we see that Jesus forgives us day after day- and this very day through the gospel and through the sacrament of the altar.  And as a result of this forgiveness, we see that instead of recognition we can afford to care for others.

This is what it means to count others as more significant than yourselves, to realize since Christ has given you everything, you have no need to promote yourself, but instead you can share the love of Jesus with others.

In your daily prayers you can seek God’s Will to see ways to help the people who God puts in your life. It may not be apparent from one day to the next how to help someone in your life, but by talking with others in your life not with pride and not seeking recognition, by talking with others with a servant heart you are likely to see new opportunities for how to help people in your life very often.

Since we as a congregation are smaller in number than in past periods, it can be intimidating thinking how to serve as a congregation,  Running a food pantry or an after school program is beyond what we are equipped to handle right now.  But we can be caring and serving individuals, serving one another and serving others in our lives as we have opportunity. 

The most important service we can do for the people we encounter in our life is to be able to clearly speak the hope we have in Jesus and the hope that is available to those we have opportunity to witness our faith to.

Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday with the people singing Hosannas to him.  He was welcomed as king.  We live our lives to his glory and praise as we uses our voices to sing our hymns and as we use our voices to speak the words of our liturgy, the Lord’s Prayer, the Creeds and all the other parts e have to respond.

This week we respond to Jesus with words of Hosanna in particular with our gathering for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday , and then Easter. 

Jesus showed his humility as he rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  Though he is the King of Kings, he rides in on a donkey.  On a lowly donkey, awkward step by step he came as a servant all of us and to save us. Thus we can sing “All Glory laud and honor to You Redeemer King.”   

We are blessed to serve in Jesus’ Vineyard

Posted on by nfuller

In our readings from God’s Word this week we see that there is an old way of doing things, shaped and formed by the ways of man; and there is a new way created by the Lord.  Our Old Testament reading from Isaiah sums it up well:

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

This remarkable change of how things work was instituted by God and God alone. As Jesus was born into this world and as he gave his life for us, a new order came into the world, as dramatic as a cleared path through the wilderness and as rivers of water in the desert.

St. Paul experienced this new way.  He was on the road to Damascus preparing to persecute Christians in the first generation of the church and Jesus appeared to him with a new way. “Saul why are you persecuting me?” Jesus implored Paul to abandon his old ways, Jesus changed the life of this man of devotion to the law who proudly traced his lineage from the line of Benjamin.

In our Epistle reading from Philippians Paul writes: “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more.”

Paul could see what efforts he had made, he could see his background in the faith, and he had from a human point of view a blameless record.  Like straight A’s and perfect attendance in school. Never getting a cavity, never even coming close to a speeding ticket, never missing a worship service or a Bible study, or a board meeting. 

We could look to our own record in life and wish we had the discipline to make it better, to make it more perfect.  We could focus on and count on all of the accomplishments in life we have to be proud of, times serving in church, times of rejoicing in our identity as God’s people.  But what does Paul teach us?

“But whatever gain I had I count as loss for the sake of Christ.”  Paul saw that it is not his works that save him, but the Lord Jesus. Paul saw that the things he felt pride about in life were misleading to him. In the long run it did not matter so much how many scripture verses he meditated on each morning, or how many traditions of the pharisees he followed in a manner of devotion- if these things only led him to look inward at his self righteousness.  And if they took him away from knowing Christ as his Savior, he was ready to cast them aside from his win column and his source of pride, and count them instead as all a loss. 

Are you ready to count your sources of pride as loss? Consider how you will feel at the end of your life, what difference will your accomplishments make to you?  In the light of the place Christ prepared for you in eternity, our accomplishments are just momentary distractions from the time we will be with Jesus. 

This is what St. Paul is teaching: “not having a righteousness of my own, but through faith in Christ.” To have our righteousness in Christ alone is to have the humility to see that I am no better than other people, I am full of sin, I am only a beggar before the Lord, a beggar seeking and trusting in the Lord’s promises to me. 

We sang in our sermon hymn: “My song is love unknown, love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be.”  We are empty compared to Jesus, we are essentially without pure love, because of sin we are loveless. Perhaps we don’t even understand what pure and perfect love is. 

This perfect love is the new way Jesus shows us.  We leave behind the way that seeks to earn our way and look out for ourselves first.  We come forward with a new way, as the hymn says Jesus showed love to us so that we would lovely be.  In other words, so that we would live with the love Jesus rejoices to give to us.  Jesus changes us from loveless to lovely! That is the new way.

And yet we live in a world where the old ways and the old order of things dies hard.  Self righteousness rules the day in our society.  We live in a time of outrage, people are blaming one another for everything they can find.  Whether it is over traffic slights or something someone writes on social media, people are always looking to call others wrong and themselves right and desiring for others to pay.

You may have heard how in the state of Florida the governor signed a law that protects families from indoctrination of young children in schools from teachers and school boards from topics that are both developmentally in appropriate for ages like 5 and 6, and are of values the vast majority of parents do not want taught to their children. We know from God’s Word that Government has been established by God for the order and safety of society.    

And the response by our culture: a high profile corporation such as Disney calls the government in Florida evil for seeking to protect the safety of children. In an expression of self righteousness, social activists and upper level producers within Disney have pledged to continue to do all they can to indoctrinate young children into their anti Biblical beliefs, believing they are doing a good thing by attacking traditional values about marriage and God’s design for family on the foundation of the union of man and woman. 

The way of self righteousness is a way that says I am right and God is wrong. In our gospel lesson Jesus describes the violence in which the tenants of the Vineyard meet the owner’s contact with them. This violence is symbolic of the violence that Israel has met Old Testament Prophets with. “I am right  and God is wrong”  Jesus understood how the leaders of Israel did not want to hear from a prophet when they felt sufficiently righteous in themselves.

This parable is remarkable in its turn of events.  The tenant owner goes from a desire to collect goods from a vineyard to losing his son and destroying the tenants in response and giving it to others.

 The parable does not account for the resurrection of the Son. Jesus tells this parable to address the hardness of hearts of the Scribes and Pharisees he is talking to. It is an unusual parable because of how tragic it sounds. There is destruction done first to the servants, then the owner’s son and then the wicked tenants. It is clear as Jesus teaches this parable that the son who is killed represents Jesus, the Son of God who is soon to be killed by Israel on the cross.

But Jesus makes a marvelous connection, The Stone the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone.  The Son may be murdered and rejected by Israel, but He has been raised to be the cornerstone of the New Israel, the church.  Even though the parable does not talk about the vineyard owner’s son coming back to life Jesus does teach about his resurrection. As Jesus is talking with the leaders about the destruction of the tenants, they say ‘surely not!’

Jesus looks directly at them and asks: “What then is this that is written?” The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

Vineyards are used in the Old Testament as imagery for representing Israel, as in God is the gardener and Israel is the grape vine which produces good or bad fruit.  Amazingly, Jesus connects himself with Israel as the vineyard when he uses a vineyard to tell a story about the violence of Israel toward the prophets.

Although the original vineyard tenants were destroyed, although the self righteous of Israel are destroyed, there is a new vineyard being built upon which Jesus is the cornerstone.  

Although Israel so often has disobeyed the Lord, a new thing has happened where God’s own son has joined us in the vineyard.  He is our Cornerstone and he makes an entirely new thing possible, to abide in him and bear much fruit.  “I am the vine you are the branches.”  

Today take hold of the good news that Jesus firmly establishes a new thing in your life.  Jesus allows you to walk with God in righteousness and in love. 

If you find you struggle to feel the most comfortable in the various social situations of our society and even in our church, see today that the Lord has brought a new thing into your life, the ability to like St. Paul count all things of pride and accomplishment and self righteousness as loss but for the unsurpassing worth of knowing Christ as your Lord. 

Today you can relate with brothers and sisters in Christ with the freedom of the gospel where the old things are forgotten. It no longer matters who left the coffee machine for you to clean, or if you left it for someone else to clean more than you would like. In Christ we are a community of believers that values more forgiveness and hope and prayer, than grudges, slights or misgivings.      

In Christ we live in a new creation where the things of God’s kingdom stand immovable, and where even the violence of the world cannot separate us from God’s love.  Rejoice today, that there is indeed a new thing here, our blessed life in God’s vineyard, the church.

At home with our Heavenly Father

Posted on by nfuller

The gospel lesson for the fourth Sunday in Lent:

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable: 11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. 17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.32It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

The parable of the prodigal son can provide much for us to talk about and think about. Our first Bible Study for the season of Lent held in the pastor’s office was as simple as reading through the parable and discussing the applications for our lives that it teaches, including the state of lostness of the son, the unconditional love of the Father, and the resentment of the older brother.  Now here in the fourth Sunday of Lent, we have this same parable as our gospel lesson. A reading specifically chosen by the lectionary to lead and inform our worship here in the heart of Lent.

Jesus is present with us in worship, and as we meditate on the gospel lesson, his nearness to us is especially important.  Life in this fallen world has been difficult for us as of late, we see it all around us.  We need the nearness of Jesus found in his Word.

I have introduced the theme of targeting the false idols of our world, and the false idol of “Above all I just want to be happy” How fitting this parable is in addressing the lostness that comes from seeking personal happiness instead of the joy of the Lord.

Lostness.  The younger son went to a far away country, and he was lost already before he left.  He left his family, his faith, his identity as a child of God. The moment he planned in his heart to ask his father prematurely for his share of the inheritance- he was already lost.  Why did Jesus give these details about the son leaving in this public manner and living in a far away country and losing everything on reckless living?

Is this not the state of our lives when we live in a reckless indulgence of our sins? Sin separates us from God, so that we depart from who He created us to be. When sin takes ahold of us enough, the result is Lostness. When you are living in a state of lostness, it is like you are in a far away country.

Living to serve our sin can be a shocking turn of events where who you are is no longer the same. In a state of lostness things have changed and you cannot recognize who you are in the mirror in the same way, and you cannot picture how good things like your self image and your reputation could possibly go back to where they were in the first place.

Lostness is an exceedingly lonely state, because when you are lost in sin, you may feel you cannot connect with anyone else, or you may preemptively shut others out and think they will just condemn you for your sin and cast you out. Lostness is indeed like leaving  home, and seeing no way to ever find your way back.

Another cause of loneliness is when your sin puts you in the frame of mind that you are higher than others. Resentment and envy bring lostness.  When we are focused on what others have or what others have done to us, we experience a unique type of lostness because we can become consumed with the focus on others and lose focus on what God is doing through us in Christ. 

Henri Nouwen writes in his reflection on the prodigal son:

“Discipline is the human effort to create the space in which God can be generous and give you what you need. When you are fearful, worried or anxious, you want to control your life and hold onto the reigns. You want to do it your own way, whether its like the younger son or its like the older son. The practice of discipline is to let the Father touch you, let the Father forgive you, let the Father receive you. And for that you need to be available; you have to be home. You have to have an address  if you want to be addressed.”

It seems Nouwen knew firsthand that the desire of our human nature to take control over things apart from the Lord is a sin that takes us away from our home as God’s people. He goes on to write:

“The first discipline is listening. The word listening in Latin is audire And if you listen with great attention the words are ob audire. That is the word for “obedience.”  The word obedience means listening.

If you are not listening you are deaf.  The Latin word for deaf is surdus, and if you’re actually deaf ab surdus.  The absurd life is a life in which you’re not listening. An obedient life is a life in which you are listening.”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, when we are not listening to God’s Word, are we not in a state of lostness, going our own way in an absurd and tragic manner?   Are we not far from home, even if we are still living right at home?

It seems almost too easy to become lost. However, the Lord does not give up on us in our state of lostness.  When we feel we are separated from everyone else, our Lord Jesus who for our sake himself assumed the loneliest journey, far from home on the cross, our Lord Jesus seeks after us when we are lost.

There has been talk in the news about how with the war in the Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin of Russia needs to have an off ramp that Western countries can offer, where he could save face and gain some concessions and agree to end the occupation. Without an off ramp, the prospect is for more and more of a needless war.

Without an off ramp in our lives, we could dig our heels in and stay at war with God, in our pursuit of sin, in our pride or in our anger, our refusal to back down. 

Jesus gives us this off ramp from our state of lostness.  He forgives and restores us when we are lost.  And there is no need for us to worry about saving face. Before the Lord, our repentance is always welcome, and our repentance never makes us look weak or puts our social political standing in jeopardy.

God’s Word works in our hearts and brings us to repentance. When we are in a state of lostness, the sweet relief of our return- it is the Lord’s work. And this is a good thing, because it means we are in good hands. This is the Father’s provision for us, to bring us back home.

Think about what is the belonging that we have, what do we take for granted about our community in Christ?  What is the homecoming that we can find here in the body of Christ at Christ Lutheran? To be at home here in God’s kingdom is to be like the younger son embraced by the Father with celebration and dancing. 

There may not be a party every time we come into church.  There may not be the most expensive food and entertainment as in the parable, but there is still celebration in heaven as we come before the Lord in faith and in hope.    

Our Lord rejoices to see us turn to Him in faith, our Lord is glad to see us listen to words of absolution and hear the scripture read, sing hymns, listen to sermons, and take into our bodies the body and blood of Our Savior.  Time after time Our Lord rejoices to welcome us home.  

And now we may follow the example of our Heavenly Father who runs to meet us and embraces us with forgiveness and love. We may follow the example of our God as we

We welcome others back home.  May we see that those who are lost are really no different than we have all been at one time or another in our lives!  We can relate to the lost with the reservoir of hope and joy that the Father has shown to us.

Above all else it is not to be happy that is best, but above all else to be at home with our Heavenly Father, to be safe and delighted with the Son’s embrace, to be inspired and lifted up with the Spirit’s Power! Above all else, I want to be home with the Lord.

Love and Forgiveness to our enemies

Posted on by nfuller

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, this morning God’s Word speak to us about forgiveness of our enemies.  We are called to be still before the LORD, wait patiently for him, and not fret ourselves over those who prosper in the way, carrying out evil devices. 

Our Epistle reading  from 1 Corinthians continued from where it left off last Sunday, speaking about Christ’s work of redemption and his resurrection. The reason for forgiving our enemies is wrapped up with Christ’s resurrection and the renewal of the world that we await. 24Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

St. Paul writes about the order of things, first Christ’s resurrection came, then ours will come, and then part of God’s plan is the destruction of all of the enemies of God’s kingdom. There is nothing in this order about us destroying the enemies of God’s kingdom. In fact, those we think are enemies, by the power of the Holy Spirit can become people like Paul, former enemies of Christ Jesus who have been called to God’s kingdom.    

We all have been enemies of God.  On account of our human nature, before Baptism our condition was enmity with God. Because of the power of Christ’s resurrection, we have been reconciled to God, we have been brought near to God through the cross. By the power of Christ’s Resurrection God’s Word can change us and change the lives of our enemies.

Without Christ’s Resurrection, there would be no point in loving our enemies. If Christ is not raised then loving your enemies is only a character virtue so that you can feel good about yourself. But if it is only for this life that we have hope, we might as well get even with enemies instead of loving them.

We know that it is not only for this live that we have hope. We know that God will vindicate us against those who do evil to us. But it is still difficult for us to grasp how long term plans of the Lord to triumph over evil apply to us today. It is hard to be patient, it is honestly against our human nature to want to love our enemies.

We may struggle to love our enemies, thinking to ourselves that the evil will be punished in time, so why does it matter about how we live now? ‘So what’ if we find distaste for enemies. What if I hold hate in my heart toward enemies? We are already sinners anyways- right?

27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 

Jesus speaks these words to his followers and to us. We could hear this as a condemnation of the hate we hold in our hearts. These could be heard as words of law that cut us down. Indeed, one of he costs of hatred toward enemies is that it leads us on a path of self righteousness. If we are so convinced of how bad our enemies are, then we are also going to be convincing ourselves about how good and righteous we are by contrast- and then we are like pharisees- trusting in ourselves and thanking God we are not like those people who violate God’s law.

 To us who struggle with the temptation to lift ourselves up by putting others down, Jesus’ teaching can also be heard as words of life. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

There is a reward in living with love toward your enemies. This way of love releases you from bitterness and envy and the sorrow of accusing your brother of wrongdoing. Freedom is found in forgiveness of enemies because our forgiveness of enemies aligns us with the loving heart of our merciful Father. We are sons of the Most High not through righteous indignation of evils in the world, but through forgiveness, through the freedom of the gospel.  

Our Old testament Reading from Genesis illustrates the freedom there is in forgiving our enemies. At the time of our reading Joseph has the power to either give food to his brothers who betrayed him or the power to make them go hungry.  Joseph was second in power only to Pharaoh, so that at his word his brothers could either live or die.   

Joseph was not only living for this life. With his brothers arrival in Egypt seeking food reserves in a time of draught, Joseph could see God’s plan for him more clearly than ever. Through his position of power earned through misfortune after misfortune, he was now able to bless the family that would give rise to the Lord’s chosen people.  He was able to see firsthand how the actions of enemies were used by the Lord for good.

Joseph was his father’s favorite son, and this contributed to his brothers envy and hatred of him. And things became worse because Joseph shared with his brothers a dream about them decreasing and even his brothers bowing down to him. His dream was correct about his future power, but it was not an easy thing for his brothers to accept, on account of the lord’s blessing to Joseph, his enemies grew.

After his bondage to slavery Joseph was working as a servant in an Egyptian’s home, Potiphar. On account of his righteousness and favor with God, Joseph caught the attention of Potiphar’s wife. He did not return the attention, choosing honor and character over comfort or desires. Because she did not like being turned down, she lied and destroyed Joseph’s reputation and had him imprisoned.  Joseph could easily identify her as his enemy.

And then after interpreting a dream in prison and helping someone return to Pharoah’s service, is help is forgotten. And so he sat in the dark prison day after day month after month, year after year. All because of his brothers and because of Potiphar’s wife, and even because of the neglect of someone who could have told Pharaoh about his gift for seeing the future.

And then one day hope is restored. Pharaoh is standing before him, needing his gift to interpret a disturbing dream.  And then Joseph is in charge of managing the abundance of the present in preparation for the hardship to come that he has seen in a dream.

And soon the day comes when Joseph is face to face with his brothers and after time has passed they have seen how God has rescued Joseph from the evil that they did to him. They wonder if they now will be punished for their past sins. It is what they deserve after all. Instead Joseph assures them he will take care of them. “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” God sent Joseph to preserve life, not take it away.

God has a plan for you as well.  Just like Joseph forgave his brothers and did not choose to punish them, so also does he withhold the punishment we deserve, but instead forgives and blesses eternally.

And because he blesses us with this life giving forgiveness You have the opportunity to turn evil into good.

Today more than ever we face much evil in the world we live in.  Public discourse today speaks a dividing line between those who follow Christian values and those who do not. We are scoffed at and held in derision in the public forum for our beliefs. Standing up for the cause of the unborn, affirming God’s design for marriage and the creation of male and female as distinctly different and complementary to one another are Biblical teachings that are met with hatred and scoffing.

You have the opportunity to be like Joseph and wait in hope for the Lord’s promises to come to fruition, you have the opportunity to be like Jesus who prayed, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”   

God’s plan for you is to be merciful as the Father is merciful. Seek opportunities to be merciful to those in your life, to those who pit themselves against you or who have wronged you or hurt you or hurt someone close to you. Show this love and mercy because this is Jesus’ good and perfect will for you. Amen.  

The Blessed life or the cursed life?

Posted on by nfuller

What makes a person blessed? Is it the good fortune to be skilled at many things and make a good living? Is being blessed about how much money you have and how many choices you have in life on account of your wealth?

Is a person blessed through having many friends, or being part of a church that is large and growing and filled with energy? We covered in confirmation class this past week the question of ‘why do some people face more sufferings than others?’ Are people blessed when they dodge many areas of suffering? And if you don’t have things come easy in your life, if suffering is a regular occurrence, does that mean that you are probably just cursed?

It is a design of Satan that a Christian who has been given all of the blessings of God’s kingdom, should at times feel cursed, or feel that bad things just happen to me more often. Because if you feel things just aren’t likely to go  well for you in life, then God’s love and goodness may just feel far away and inaccessible.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, what really makes a person blessed or cursed? Is it life circumstances and life history, or is it instead the Lord of Life, and the history of his ministry on earth that makes all of the difference! Indeed, Jesus alone is the one who determines the course of our lives. A living faith in Jesus makes us blessed- and regardless of what you might experience in life, as you look to the cross, as you look to your Savior you can know you are blessed. 

If you are feeling cursed, how much can you say to others about the goodness of the Lord? Our memory verse for this week from 1Peter talks about always being ready to share the reason for the hope that is in you. So it is important not only for yourself but for others to know how much you are blessed in the Lord.

In our Old testament reading from Jeremiah we hear about the contrast between the man who is cursed and the man who is blessed.  The single factor that makes someone either blessed or cursed is not the results they get in life, but who they put their trust in.  To the world, my life might look like a failure or look unremarkable- but in the hidden form of God’s kingdom I have great blessing. What makes the difference in how we interpret our lives? The answer is God’s Word, the answer is Jesus the very Word of God.

Ancient Greek historian Herodotus once said of Egypt that it was the gift of the Nile.  Without the Nile river, there would be no pyramids, no tombs, no treasures, no Pharaohs like Ramsey.  Egypt would be like any other place in the Sahara Desert of Northern Africa. But since the Nile flows year round, and since Egypt was not dependent on rain, droughts were no issue in Egypt.  The Nile flooded every year from the snowmelts thousands of miles upstream in the highlands of Ethiopia and Uganda.  Those floods deposited silt to enrich the soil of Egypt. 

But go just a mile away from the Nile, beyond the reach of floods and irrigation, and the desert and brown sand are what you have.  The choice where to plant your crop is obvious. The Nile will give life and the Desert will dry everything out. In our Old testament reading the prophet Jeremiah is describing the choice between the desert of our own strength and the life given in the Lord, who waters us so we may prosper and grow in his green pastures. This is the work of God’s Word to make us fruitful.

Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength,
 whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

The difference between blessed or cursed is whether we receive God’s Word and put our trust in the Lord. It does not matter about how much money we have or how successful we are in the world. If we seek God’s kingdom, we are blessed because the kingdom gives us a key to see differently everything that happens to us in the world.

The choice seems clear, the benefits of trusting the Lord far outweigh what we can provide for ourselves. But do we always at first nature trust the Lord?  Or do we trust ourselves first, and when all else fails we say to ourselves, “Jesus take the wheel.” In this sense it is like the Lord is our second or third choice. “If need be, if things are hard enough, I can always fall back on the Lord.”

God rightly judges those who trust in themselves and is right to condemn them. We deserve what we would get, we deserve to be like those in the desert without water, to be parched, to wither and to die because we have not trusted in God who says to us, “Come unto me and I will give you rest.”

We have failed to trust in the Lord; we have failed to seek him first. But there is one who did all things well, who trusted in the Lord with all of his heart, soul and mind.  That is our Lord Jesus Christ. He trusted his Heavenly Father with all of his life.

In the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus trusted the Word of the Lord to take care of him and his life. And when he died on the cross, parched and thirsty, not because of any sin in him, but rather for us and for our salvation, Jesus still said even then: “Father into your hands I commit my spirit.”

How do we become blessed? Does Jesus give us a list of things to do to be blessed? Do we earn rewards when we are poor instead of rich, when we learn to be pure in heart and learn to be peacemakers?  Do our good works make us blessed?

The truth is we do not earn our state of blessing. It is all a gift from the Lord.  We are blessed with richness in the Lord because we are made to know the Lord and seek him and follow his laws and decrees. 

The difference between blessing and curse in our lives is the grace of God given to us in Jesus. In Christ the things we do in our lives may seem ordinary, but they are hallowed by Jesus. Everyday activities like caring for family and brothers and sister in Christ in our congregation are activities that are blessed in Christ.

Our Epistle reading from 1 Corinthians chapter 15 reflects on our Lord’s Resurrection from the grave. If Jesus were not risen, if we only had hope in Christ for this life only, we truly would be those who are cursed. “We are of all people most to be pitied.”

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. The fact of Christ’s resurrection means we are blessed beyond compare.  For this means that the blessings we see in this life and in this world are only a tip of the iceberg, the best is yet to come.

Listen again to the close of our reading from Jeremiah: He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Because Christ is raised, we are not anxious when drought comes. In Christ we have deep roots of faith, that keep us bearing fruit even when we feel much in life is barren and hopeless.  The winter can amplify our feelings of the barrenness of life.  But in Christ we have a deep reservoir of joy to hold onto and drink from. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning. Amen.