Category: The Weekly Message Blog

He lifts us up from the ash heap

Posted on by nfuller

In the gospel of Mark the reader is immediately brought to important milestones in the  ministry of Jesus which signal the coming of God’s kingdom.  First there was the message of repentance John the Baptist gave, preparing the way of the Lord, next the baptism of Jesus when the Father’s voice was heard from heaven, and then the temptation of Jesus by Satan. 

None of these important events in Mark’s gospel allow us the opportunity to hear Jesus himself speak.  Our gospel lesson for today records those first words in the gospel of Mark Jesus speaks: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

These first words we hear from Jesus are words that have already been said by prophets before him. ‘Now is the time to repent, the kingdom is here, believe in the gospel.’  John the Baptist taught these things, and even a prophet with a small book of the Bible such as Jonah, preaching the same message of repentance.

The message of repentance is for all people. We heard in the Introit, “He raises the poor from the dust and the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, princes of his people.”  The message of repentance Jesus brings unites us all together, rich and poor alike- and the gospel brings us to positions of glory and honor in God’s kingdom.   

Although the Lord is high above all nations and His glory above the heavens, he sees us and has regard for us, even as low as we are.

In this world we live in, there are many people we might struggle to think that they deserve God’s mercy. Those who are just too low, the criminals, the pedophiles, the drug dealers and those who scoff at God. 

Jonah struggled in this way. He was not afraid for his safety that he first resisted following God’s command to go to Nineveh and preach the message the Lord gave to him.  Instead, he ran from this calling, he ran as far as he could West toward Spain- the other side of the known world from Nineveh.  He wanted nothing to do with delivering a message of mercy to a people who were known in the ancient world for their cruelty. 

Jonah knew that if he were to go to Nineveh, that God’s Word is so powerful that the people would very likely change their ways.  It sounds like a strange thing to worry about, ‘what if people repent and change their ways.’  What if the worst of our enemies become our brothers and sisters in the kingdom? 

What if everything we knew and expected about how the church should be was suddenly changed?  Those we expected to be the good influences in our life perhaps going their own way, and those who we saw as bad should become as brothers and sisters?

The worry Jonah has is probably unique in the scripture, but even in the immaturity and selfishness of Jonah not wanting to see Nineveh saved, there is still with Jonah a strong faith and belief in the power of God’s Word.

Today we as the church struggle to see this power of the Word.  We look at the culture around us and think- people do not want anything to do with the church, and that is just the way it is.  It does not even cross our minds to worry about what if the most rough around the edges people we can think of should hear God’s Word and believe. 

We don’t give much thought to the possibility that the people who lead demonstrations with billboards and signs against our church, may one day be our brothers and sisters in Christ.   

After Jonah learned the hard way how foolish it was to run away from his calling as a prophet to Nineveh, after he was cast into the sea and rescued by a great fish which spit him upon dry land, Jonah heard the Word of the Lord a second time that he was to give the message to the great city that was told to him.  The message given to Jonah to speak was very simple, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

How could this one sentence message make such a difference?  This one sentence contained the information that Nineveh faced God’s destruction, that their evil was no longer to be tolerated, and that the God of Israel cares enough about them to give the warning and time for repentance- 40 days.  This message contained law and gospel, God’s condemnation of sin and God’s mercy to all.

The power of the message was so great that the people of Nineveh believed God.  They all took the position of the needy on the ash heap, fasting and wearing sackcloth. Even the great king, when word reached him of Nineveh’s pending destruction, even he covered himself in sackcloth and ashes. 

The king made a decree for repentance throughout the land and said: “Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who know? God may turn and relent from this fierce anger so that we may not perish.” Even though they were not Jews, they repented and believed the Lord’s prophet Jonah, and they were saved from destruction.

The message Jesus gave was just as simple as the message Jonah was given to speak: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”  Jesus was saying right now is the time to repent, because he is here among them- God’s kingdom is at hand in Him.

Nineveh was given 40 days before destruction. And the time is short for us as well.  St. Paul remarks in our Epistle reading, the present form of this world is passing away.  Jesus may return on any day.  We cannot afford to put all of our importance in the things of this world, whether it is in having a wife or family, or a job, we cannot afford to let the things of this world prevent us from receiving the kingdom of God.

Jesus called Simon and Andrew, James and John to leave their fishing nets and follow Him.  The time was at hand for them to leave the things of this world, repent and follow Jesus.  They may still have fished for a living after they were called by Jesus, but no longer would the responsibilities of this world distract them or get in the way of their seeing the coming of the kingdom in Jesus.  One word from the Lord was enough to change the course of their lives.

The people of Nineveh would still go on with the same business of raising cattle, growing crops and all that occupies a city of great size.  But now they had the opportunity to turn from and abandon their evil ways, as they saw the LORD’s great mercy to them.

The people of Corinth who St. Paul wrote would continue to live in marriages and all those other activities that daily life brings. But instead of only concerning themselves with worldly things about how to provide a living for their spouses, the people may now live with the sense of urgency in their faith that the time is now at hand.

We hear the same message today that Nineveh heard, and the people of Galilee heard- the time is fulfilled, we are called to repent and believe in the gospel.

As we follow Him we will continue to manage the affairs of our daily life. But instead of putting all of our focus on how to please an employer or spouse, we can see in Jesus that the greatest need is to continue to grow and abound in God’s kingdom. 

Whether we are well organized in the affairs of our life or just scrapping by, the situation is the same for all of us, we come before Jesus with the full weight of our sin and we give it to Him.  And He promises that He will lift us out of the ash heap and exalt us to follow Him.

Jesus is the ladder who bridges Heaven and Earth

Posted on by nfuller

In recent weeks I have heard more than a few people tell me how boring life can be with it being winter and many Covid restrictions limiting which activities are still going on. 

And not just boring, but also discouraging.  Political events in recent weeks that have been nothing to feel good or hopeful about.  Alcohol and drug use, Crime rates and domestic abuse rates are all skyrocketing since the time that so much has changed in our world over a virus. The consequences of sin in the world have not made for the best of times in recent weeks.  It just seems like there is nothing good to be hopeful about in our world as of late.

Yet still many of us continue to look at the news, hoping to see something different.  Would we even know what it looks like if there was actually good news to report? What is good news?  Can we even recognize good things when they are present in our lives? I am not sure what I would even be watching for.

In our gospel lesson from John chapter 1, the account of Jesus calling of Phillip and Nathanael, Jesus tells them exactly what to watch for.  By extension Jesus is also telling us that, we are to watch for the coming of God’s kingdom in our midst.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” That is what we are to watch for.  This Sunday in particular our worship contains themes of the mysteries of God’s kingdom revealed. 

Sometimes the body language and facial expressions seen in church by people of various ages can give the impression that worship, like our everyday life, is at times boring.  But how could it possibly be boring if we see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man? Perhaps we are not always seeing the full picture!

Our church does not have a special effects department- sound, lighting and video. External bells and whistles, entertainment- that is not what is needed to make sure worship is not boring.   We rely on God’s Word and the gift of faith to show this amazing thing that Jesus promises to Nathanael- heaven opened as Jesus himself is Jacob’s ladder.

Genesis chapter 28, Jacob is on a journey from Beersheeba to Haran, sent by his family to find a wife for himself of their people. That night as he is dreaming the LORD appeared to him with a vision of a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven.  Jacob saw a ladder bridging the gap between heaven and earth.

How amazing that there could be something like a ladder that could bridge the divide that which was broken since the Fall into sin!  This is such a different picture than the cherubim and flaming sword set up to bar Adam and Eve from returning to the garden of Eden.

The scripture in Genesis chapter 28 records: “And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!”   This ladder was bringing the messengers of God’s kingdom, the angels up and down. What a change was present in this dream in relation to our standing before God. What could this ladder possibly represent? Some magic item that makes everything better? 

But no it was not a thing that the ladder represented, but a person. A God and a man, Jesus the Christ.  The ladder had to do with the promise made to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, a promise that the LORD would be with them and their descendants and would make them great, the fathers of a holy people set apart for the LORD. 

“Behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I promised.”

That promise sounds familiar, Jesus told the disciples, “All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  

Nathanael was impressed that Jesus knew his name and saw him under the tree.  But Jesus was only just beginning, any prophet can see extra things and know extra things as revealed by the LORD. But to die on the cross for the sin of the world, to rise again as the first fruits of our resurrection, to hold all authority on heaven and earth and to give it to His people to make disciples of all nations- that is the ladder that connects us on earth to heaven! 

And Jesus is the only ladder that connects us to the Father.  Many in the world want to believe that their own efforts and diligent life disciplines connect them to God.  People believe in countless gods of their own making and believe that these gods will give them all things desirable.

Yet the scripture is clear that Jesus alone is the Way the Truth and the life and that no one comes to know the Father except through Him.  Jesus is, as 1 Timothy declares, the only ladder that connects us to the Father:  “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.”

Like Nathanael we do not always see the full meaning of who Jesus is for us, of what it means to us that through the cross the gates of heaven are opened to us.  We would like to see heaven opened in the form of a company of radiant angels surrounded by a big flourish of colors and sounds that would amaze us and bring us joy.

But instead we see the gates of heaven opened through the ordinary activities of hearing God’s Word and receiving His gifts to us in worship, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper and the preaching of forgiveness in Christ. Just ordinary church activities many of us have seen since we were children.

But they are not ordinary at all.  These things we encounter in worship have the power to change our lives.  Every time we hear God’s Word we are participating in the putting away of our old sinful nature and the welcoming of new life in Christ. 

The results are that we are always in the position of overcoming the expectations others have of us in the world.  The world expects us to often be self centered and easily jump to conclusions of despair when things are not going well. The world expects us to be hypocrites who make decisions in our lives as if we do not believe God’s Word.

We may even put limitations on our own expectations of how well we can handle a situation in life that is challenging. We know what habits we often fall back on when we are distressed.  Often, we do not need the world to expect us to fail, when we have seen ourselves fail so often in the past and when we doubt how we can overcome challenges before us.

Whether it is the expectations of the world or our own expectations, God’s Word changes the script for us. Jesus changes the script. Where we have fallen he brings forgiveness and in that forgiveness we are freed from the temptations that have such a tight snare over us. 

Jesus knows us inside and out and sees far more potential in our lives than we ourselves can.  “O LORD you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.  You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold O LORD you know it all together.”  That is the psalm appointed for today. A psalm that helps us to see that our own bodies have been fearfully and wonderfully made.   Our own bodies are made for the Lord. 

And as our Epistle reading from 1 Corinthians emphasizes our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit.  Whether it is issues of sexual purity or other ways we need to be careful in respecting our bodies- the message is the same, our bodies belong to the Lord, and it is through our bodies that we serve in God’s kingdom.

Often people in our culture today talk about spiritual matters in a way in which our bodies are inconvenient vessels to our soul that get in the way of our enjoying a certain communion with God.  If we do not value our bodies we are losing sight of the fact that Jesus is not only the Son of God, but also true man.  Jesus connects heaven and earth because he is both man and God. 

Jesus connects us with heaven through Water and the Word.  The ordinary activities for our bodies of hearing God’s Word and eating and drinking the Lord’s Supper, is actually the way that we see heaven opened to us. In seeing our Savior crucified for us and risen from the dead, we know we are beholding something more amazing than any of the disciples first saw in Jesus. 

The events and circumstances of our lives may be difficult and unlike previous times, yet God’s Word is the same. Jesus is the same yesterday today and tomorrow.  In Jesus we see day by day through the course of our everyday walk of faith that the gates of heaven are opened to us.

And as the gates are open, we are united with a God who transcends all of the difficulties of today and tomorrow.  A God who will one day return to us in glory so that all things in heaven and earth will be united forever in the joys of eternal life. Amen.

The Baptism of our Lord: His gift to us!

Posted on by nfuller

The Old Testament Lesson for This Sunday,January 10, 2021:The Baptism of our LordGenesis1:1–5The Creation of the World1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 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.3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

The Psalm for This Sunday:The Baptism of our Lord Ascribe to the Lord Glory; A Psalm of David.29:1Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,[ a ]ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.2Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.[ b ]3The voice of the Lord is over the waters;the God of glory thunders,the Lord, over many waters.4The voice of the Lord is powerful;the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.5The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.6He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,and Sirion like a young wild ox.7The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.8The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth[ c ]and strips the forests bare,and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.11May the Lord give strength to his people!May the Lord bless[ d ] his people with peace!

The Epistle Lesson Romans6:1–11, for This Sunday:The Baptism of our Lord Dead to Sin, Alive to God6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self[ a ] was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free[ b ] from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Sermon delivered by: Rev. Channing Kearney at Christ Lutheran Church LCMS, Indianapolis In the Name of Jesus +The Gospel Lesson Mark 1:4-11 for This Sunday:The Baptism of our Lord Theme: The Baptism of Our Lord…His Gift to us!!!Mark 1:4–114John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son;[a] with you I am well pleased.”

Who is John the Baptist? Is John call the Baptist because he believes the teachings of the Baptist. No. He is called the Baptist because he came not just prophesying and proclaiming God’s Word, but used water to wash people clean of their unrighteousness. To really know this John, we turn to Luke 1:39-45and see that he is the cousin of Jesus. His mother being Elizabeth,was able to recognize the savior even before he was born. Johns father was High Priest at the time and he was unable to speak until John was born. See Luke 1:63-64.So,Mary, Jesus’ mother went to visit her sister Elizabeth. Luke 1:39-45: “39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”Back to the Gospel lesson for today vs 4: “4John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”Prophet Isaiah prophesied about John in Isaiah 40:3-5 around 700 B.C.He writes about John as follows: “3 A voice cries:“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;make straight in the desert a highway for our God.4 Every valley shall be lifted up,and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level,and the rough places a plain.5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,and all flesh shall see it together,for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”Prophet Malachi also wrote about John in Malachi 3:1. Prophesied about John around 430 B.C. twice. The first: “3:1“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.”Again,Malachi prophecies about John in Malachi 4:5: “5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”

So,John fulfills the Word of God by being born before Jesus, starting his ministry just like Elijah and as you can see in the Gospel text vs. 5: “5And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”It would take you ten hours to walk from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to the Jordan river. Thus 2 days total time just to see a wild crazing looking man as described in vs 6: “6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.”Typical clothing and look for a prophet.Completely opposite of those who were the “teachers and priest of the temple”who were well dressed and well adorned.However, unlike the prophets years before him, his preaching wasn’t the prophecy of the destruction of Israel but the proclamation of theirs and our Savior. Vs 7 is his proclamation, note the word “preached:”“7And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.”Historically, prophets were sent by God to proclaim to His people their need to repent before some great calamity would occur, and when the people did repent the destruction would stop. Like Jonah to Nineveh, when the Ninevites repented, Nineveh was spared. John continues with his “preaching”with vs 8: “8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”Today Christ speaks through faithful pastors who “preaches”His word to strengthen and preserve His people. They are preserved not because of wisdom of the world but through His Word, through Jesus who is the Word God which became flesh at the time of John the Baptist.The Baptism of Jesus, our Lord…His gift to us.“9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”As Jesus is in His human body as true man,receives from the Father upon receiving the water of Baptism from His cousin John, Elijah returned, the Holy Spirit;so do we receive From God the Father the Holy Spirit when we receive the water of Holy Baptism under and with the Word of God our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We to become the Children of God through Jesus with the water and His Words.Then later upon our confession of faith, we receive His forgiveness in and through the Body and Blood of our Savior,Jesus the Christ,as the propitiation of our sins.

The Baptism of Our Lord…His Gift to us.All our readings today point to one main theme. The Word of God, and its proclamation through the preaching of the Word of God.The Old Testament lesson Genesis 1:1-5 is the beginning of creation with the first day,establishing for us, all matter and time. Psalms 29 points to the power of God Word as David proclaims the voice of the Lord is powerful and majestic. Paul’s words point to our dying and rising with Christ, with the assurance of eternal life through Jesus the Word of God.Mark gives us John the Baptist, the second Elijah who is the forerunner of Christ who declares for us through his preaching that He, Jesus the True Man is the One. And now we hear God the Father finally Preaching to us that Jesus is His son “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”None of this would have any meaning for us if God did not have has Word preached to us and finally,provide us with the written Words of God. Mark shows that John the Baptist preached God’s Word stated in vs7: “7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”The preaching of the word is very important for it is by preach that we receive faith through the hearing of God’s word which is Jesus the Christ. Stated for us by St. Paul in Romans10:14-15. When John Baptized Jesus,who is the Word made flesh, and the Father Sent the Holy Spirit, Jesus established through His body the Means of Grace through our baptism by water in, with, and under the Word of God. We receive the Holy Spirit and as Paul stated clearly,we are dead in sin with Christ’s death and raised with Him to eternal life.Can you just imagine the experience what John and others who were watching heard and saw when the heavens were torn open and the Spirit descending like a dove upon Jesus?Wow, what an awesome sight.We will experience that and more because of our Baptism with Him, in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.+ in His Name, Amen!!!

Christ grew in Wisdom and we grow in faith in Him.

Posted on by nfuller

And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. If you look at a baby or a child and only see the present state of that person without seeing the future potential for adulthood, then you are missing the full picture of who the child is.  A baby only makes sense in light of the potential for growth.  If you have ever seen artistic pictures of baby boy in a suit and bow tie, or a baby girl in a wedding dress with a veil, these pictures although they look unusual, they point forward to what young boys and girls aspire to, to be adults.

We celebrated the birth of the Savior as a baby just a little over a week ago, and now we see the connection that baby’s are not meant to stay babies- as cute as they may be. A baby cannot have all that much wisdom.  Jesus did not stay put as a child as long as possible. He grew strong, filled with wisdom.

We talked last Sunday in the sermon about how the birth of Jesus paved the way for our own birth as God’s children through the waters of Holy Baptism.  Who we are as children of God does not make sense unless we see the big picture that we were made to grow strong, to grow in wisdom- to grow in our faith. 

It does not make sense to only see ourselves as infants in the faith with no direction for growth- for then what light could we possibly have to give to the world? We prayed in our collect prayer:

“Almighty God, You have poured into our hearts the true light of Your incarnate Word. Grant that this Light may shine forth in our lives; through the same Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.”

How could people in the world out there, people without a living faith in the Lord, how could people appreciate the full meaning of the Word becoming Flesh if they do not see evidence of how the birth of Jesus makes any difference to the world?  How could people know that the light of His incarnate Word has filled our hearts, if our lives do not reflect that life- if we do not grow in strength and wisdom in our faith?

Wisdom is an interesting word for us as the church, in the world we live in today. You can scan the news and wonder where is the wisdom in our world today? God’s wisdom is something different than what we see from prominent figures of culture wars and political movements.  This wisdom is not the same as the type of things Benjamin Franklin wrote: “early to bed, early to rise helps keep a man healthy , wealthy and wise.”  “A bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush.”  “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

A person can be wise in how to live life.  But apart from faith in the living God, all this such wisdom is really only foolishness, temporary solutions to managing life predicaments.

Look at our Old testament reading: When Solomon became king he was in Gibeon making sacrifices to the LORD. And that night when he was sleeping the LORD appeared to him in a dream and offered to provide whatever was his heart’s desire: “Ask what I shall give of you?” 

Instead of asking for a mighty military or a great palace or other earthly riches, Solomon answered in humility. He reflected on the magnitude of the LORD’s gifts to him and how much of an honor it was to rule over God’s own chosen people. “Although I am but a little child.” Solomon recognized that he had not yet met his full potential. He asked the LORD to bring him to the maturity in which he was designed for.   

And Solomon indeed grew in wisdom.  He was able to govern his people justly and none who came to him were disappointed by his wisdom. He even wrote through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the book of Proverbs, where he especially gives young people direction in how to go about living life as they look toward the potential they have before them.

Solomon’s wisdom, you may recall, did not last.  Solomon was ensnared by wealth and earthly honors and alliances with the world that he formed by means of marriage to many wives who believed in false gods. Solomon fell from being so godly and wise, from pleasing the LORD to becoming a complete abomination in the LORD’s sight. He built temples for his wives of foreign gods.  Sacrifices made to foreign gods, and even child sacrifice.  For whatever reason Solomon lost the first ingredient in wisdom, the fear of the LORD. 

Solomon was not the king Israel needed, they needed a better son of David who was not only a wise king, but also able to save his people from their own self destructive nature.

Already as a boy Jesus was filled with wisdom beyond his years. In our gospel reading we have the account of when Jesus visited Jerusalem as a boy with his family.

Jesus’ parents were returning home from Jerusalem when they realized Jesus was not with them.  Naturally they were worried and rushed back to the city. And where did they find the boy Jesus?  He was in the temple with the great teachers listening to them and asking questions. “And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.” And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.”

Jesus who was the wisdom from on high, the eternal wisdom through whom the world was made is recorded as growing in wisdom and stature.

How did Jesus exhibit this wisdom? He did so in his preaching. He showed himself to be as wise as Solomon as he taught.  Think of the sermon on the mount where Jesus taught the same wisdom of Ecclesiastes: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.”  And again listen to the wisdom from on high: “Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Our Lord himself offers the true and lasting wisdom that evaded Solomon: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.”  When we seek first God’s kingdom, everything else will be given to us in the life to come.

Jesus said do not lay up treasures on earth, because the true treasure is not found in gold coins or ancient artifacts, but in Him.  Jesus himself is our treasure.  Remember the great Hymn “Jesus Priceless Treasure”  …..”Hence all earthly treasure! Jesus is my pleasure! , Jesus is my choice. Hence all empty glory, naught to me thy story Told with tempting voice. Pain or loss or shame or cross, shall not from my Savior move me, Since he deigns to love me.”

Our Lord offers to us a kingdom that is far better than the one Solomon ruled. For the kingdom of God, which comes through the preaching of the gospel, will never fall and can never be taken away from us. 

The world in its foolishness says that the cross is a sign of weakness, a picture of shame. The world wants a king dressed like Solomon, it mocks a ruler whose throne is a cross and whose crown is made of thorns. The word is filled with foolish scoffers who think they are so wise. With people who look in the mirror and admire their wisdom.

But the folly of the cross is greater than the wisdom of men, for in that cross of shame we find all glory and honor.

How often have we like Solomon been led astray? How often have we forgotten the wisdom handed to us by parents or by church?  Today we are once again reminded that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

And so we do well to keep hearing the words of wisdom of the Holy Scriptures.  Thanks be to God who gave us his Son, the son of David, Thanks be to Christ the true wisdom on high who in love died on the cross so that we might live. Who paid the price for our sin and foolishness so that we might live forever in his kingdom. Amen.

A Christmas Letdown?

Posted on by nfuller

Why are we here again? Weren’t we just here a few days ago? Didn’t we cover every gospel reading about the birth of Jesus and sing all of the classic Christmas hymns between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?  What more is there to say? How can you top the celebration of Christmas?

 On those years where Sunday follows Christmas fairly closely, there is perhaps an unspoken assumption that we are all going to be tired of each other, like an out of town family visit that lasts a little bit too long. 

It is normal to feel a sense of a letdown after Christmas, just like after Easter Sunday.  The larger crowd of Christmas Eve thinned out, nobody is video recording this service, the Poinsettias are gradually making their way to people’s homes.  And the radio stations, you can’t count on them to play Christmas music anymore.

The winter is only just starting and short sleep or lapses to our routine from Christmas can start to catch up with us, and we can be more irritable than usual toward people in our lives. How quickly things can go from a high to a low! How easily we can end up putting peace and goodwill toward man on a shelf, stored away in a big box with the Christmas decorations.

But as we know, Christmas is not over. We heard God’s Word celebrating the power of Christmas in the world at the start of our worship service: “The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things!”

Considering that God’s Word is the balm for all our ills and troubles, it is a good thing that Sunday is already here, and we are gathered for worship, and we can experience not a post Christmas let down, but an extension of the celebration of Christmas into our daily faith life.

“Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things!”  Although we already know the story of Christmas, when we live out the promises of our faith in the world we are singing a new song, we are alive in Him through faith. The Christmas story continues with our response of faith to the news of the birth of the Savior. We might even say it is the fulfillment of the story.

Our Epistle reading from Galatians begins with a message about fulfillment.  “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law.”

The fullness of time refers to God’s plan reaching its moment of ultimate ripeness for our salvation.  This fullness was achieved through the work of God’s Word over thousands of years in the messages of all the prophets, preparing Israel for the coming of her Savior.

And the time had also reached its fullness in the form of the growth and development of the world population. Events in history provided the rise and fall of empires to the point where the people of Israel were dispersed throughout the ancient world, connected by common languages and roads.

But this was not a spiritually prosperous time, but a time of great darkness as people throughout the ancient world looked to false gods instead of the one true God.  The fullness of time included the world’s readiness and need to hear the good news of the birth of Jesus.

It was the right time for us to hear the message.  At worship on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we heard about the events of Jesus’ birth, God’s loving action in our world- The Word becoming flesh.  Now we hear about the birth of Jesus in scripture verses that include pronouns like ‘us’ and ‘you’ , and those.  Listen in our Old Testament reading from Isaiah how often God’s people are the subject of the scripture.

“The nations shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”

What a magnificent image, we are compared to as a crown in the hand of our God. A Diadem, a band of jewels that kings and queens wear.  Fashion accessories are intended to highlight the beauty of the person wearing them.  The jewels add something to the appearance of the wearer and confirm something of importance.

We are jewels in the hand of our God because Jesus has saved us without any of our own contribution.  Our existence in the family of God is a testament to God’s greatness. It is the second part of the Christmas story- our adoption as Sons and daughters of our God.

There is so much in the short reading from Galatians.  It may not be as picturesque and descriptive as the gospel of Luke, but Paul tells all of the important details of the Christmas story, the Word becoming flesh, and includes one more purpose clause  “to redeem those under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons.  “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts.”

Through the Holy Spirit we have been born into a living faith and adopted into God’s kingdom. When Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary it was the greatest miracle in history, God became man.  This is something only the Holy Spirit could accomplish. 

This same Holy Spirit performed a miracle of much lower profile in each of our lives, giving us the gift of New life in Christ. For only through the miracle of God’s work in the waters of Holy Baptism could we have spiritual life.

It is only through this miracle of our Sonship in Christ that our lives can break out of the cycle of repetition that all of creation is destined for. The type of repetition that makes us feel periods of let down or discouragement.

  As Solomon declared in Ecclesiastes: “The sun rises and the sun goes down , and then goes back to the place where it rises.”  Inspired by the Holy Spirit Solomon wrote about how everything in life comes and goes and does not last: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”   

In Christ our lives have more than a predictable cycle of beginnings and endings. In Christ we sing a new song, our lives are entirely different than other lives in history because we have the Spirit of the God who has entered into our history, and who is living in our hearts.

We see this difference to our lives in the close of our Epistle lesson: “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying Abba Father!” Because we are sons we call on God as Abba Father.  This is the same address as Jesus uses in the Lord’s Prayer. 

We only can say “Our Father” because we have been made sons through the Holy Spirit.  Only because of the miracle of Christmas can we have the sonship with our God that we can address God as Father in our prayers and in our worship.   

We began reflecting on how easy it can be to have a post Christmas let down where we wonder what is next and feel the weight of life responsibilities outside of celebrating Christmas.  As we have looked to God’s Word in faith we see the fulfillment of the birth of Jesus on that first Christmas connects with our lives in our own birth by the Holy Spirit, our adoption as God’s children. 

This birth from above gives us a purpose in life that does not know let downs.  Because in Jesus we have everything we need, and He does not disappear from our lives as a letdown.  Like Simeon in the temple we may find in the gift of salvation a fulfillment that nothing else in the world can match.

And like Simeon we can confess “Lord now you let your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for my own eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.”  We confess that in looking upon Jesus in faith our life is without question complete and fulfilled. Amen.

The House the Lord Builds

Posted on by nfuller

We have all heard of the honey do list.  Home projects a wife may have for her husband to catch up on- big projects, little projects, usually more than a husband has the energy to visualize or conceptualize doing them all.  We all in our own way have the list of projects we want to get done in the month of December. 

Earlier this week it was refreshing to finish up the Christmas decoration in the Atrium, something we just did not get to several weeks earlier when we decorated. It is, after all a shame to leave the Christmas ornaments in a box and not get to them. Whether it is decorating or looking for gifts for others, or sending Christmas cards, there is much potential for unfinished business in the month of December.

When we went caroling last weekend it was exciting to see neighbors face to face and share the joy of Christmas carols. But it also reminded me of other things on the ministry to do list, that street sign that would tell people driving on highway 40 that the church is around the corner, or the postcards I think it would be worthwhile to send as a mass mailing to our local zip code. 

Perhaps you have your own to do list in your faith, what you would like to do for the church, or even scripture reading schedules you would like to put into practice.

 If you feel like you have some significant things on your list that you are failing to get to, consider what King David had on his list: building the temple for God to dwell in.

King David, once settled on his throne had thoughts about doing something good for God.  David had accomplished so much already in terms of conquests of enemies, building projects throughout Israel- even moving the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem.  But there was something missing. 

As we heard in our reading from 2Samuel chapter 7: Now when the king lived in his house and the LORD had given him rest from all of his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.”

David had the desire to serve God, yet on account of sin he unfortunately prioritized over the years building something for himself and others rather than building for God. 

David’s family would be racked by problems in the coming years as a result of his own sins of murder and adultery, incest among his children, rebellion from a son. David would die and be buried and his earthly accomplishments turning to dust.

David wanted to build the temple to hold the ark of the covenant, but he would not be the one to build it.  This was not the Lord’s plan for him, but instead the plan for his son Solomon to build the temple.

As is the case with all of the best laid plans in life, “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.   When it comes to the “To do lists” we have for our life and our church’s ministry, we are encouraged to look to the Lord for support.  But what is most important is not what we can do, but what he has done for us in the past and continues to do for us.

The house that God builds is what demands the most attention- especially in a busy month of December.  It is always our gracious God who constructs what is perfect and lasting.  God reminded David that it was he, the LORD who in the past had done everything for him and for all people. 

The LORD delivered them from slavery in Egypt. The LORD shepherded them through the journey to the promised land. The LORD gave them rest from their enemies.  The LORD had already provided a place for the ark in the portable tent that was the tabernacle. 

God has built the same house for us.  Like David we can look at our lives and see the same sinful insufficiency David saw in his life.  Our priorities have been displaced by God’s priorities.  Our family is marred by sin, as we break the LORD’s commandments. Like David, we will die and be buried, as everything we build will turn to dust.

But God has done everything we need.  He has delivered us from sin and it’s slavery; we have come through baptism’s water out of Egypt.  Like David, the LORD has built our house by shepherding us with his Word and Sacraments.  He has conquered Satan and all that would threaten us his lambs.  And most important of all he has built for us the ultimate temple- Jesus!

Jesus, the Word became flesh, who dwelt among us full of grace and truth, is the only one in whom the fullness of God can dwell.

Jesus fulfills all of the accomplishments that we cannot fulfill.  He does it all for us.  In verse 11 of our Old Testament reading we hear how God reverses things for David instead of laying out the plans for David constructing the temple, he promises to build David a house!

The house God promised was Jesus and the kingdom of God that he brings. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

The reading continues, verses not in our bulletin selected reading:  “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up for your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

We see what this house looked like several generations later when the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary, a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph of the house of David.  This house worthy of the name of the LORD was not found in the appearance of a famous dynasty of kings living in a palace of great wealth, but instead in the form of a young family just getting started in a small back woods town of little significance called Nazareth.

God’s ways are higher and greater than our ways. Instead of building a great temple, the house of David reached its ultimate power in the birth of a baby named Jesus.  He would be the temple that all the glory of God is contained within.

In John chapter 2 Jesus even called himself the temple, predicting that he would take the ultimate destruction, your eternal damnation, on the cross and rise victorious as your eternal king.  And Jesus spoke about how we continue in receiving the great promises of the house of David through Him, as we have been grafted into the line of David by faith.

John 14:2  “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”

Revelation 21:3  “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “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 there as their God.

You now have David’s hope that “God builds the king’s house for you.” God builds the house when you hear his Word guiding you in His grace. You are commissioned to like David was told, “Do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”

The Tabernacle and the temple of the Old Testament did not endure. The cloth tent was never intended by God to be a permanent structure. The temple built by David’s Son Solomon was eventually destroyed  after 400 years.  It’s replacements were also destroyed not all that long after they were built. God wanted His people to have lasting hope, not in earthly things or in their own accomplishments , but in His eternal king , Jesus and in His eternal kingdom. 

God’s ways are higher than our ways.  We hear this often as we read through the scriptures, and it is reflected perhaps no clearer than in the promise to the house of David.

David’s reaction to all of this news of a house being built for him is recorded in verse 18 of chapter 7  “Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I O LORD God and what is my house that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes O LORD God.  In verse 26 we hear: “Your name will be magnified forever, saying, “The Lord of hosts is God over Israel, and the house of your servant David will be established before you.”

Does this sound similar to our gospel reading? Listen as Mary hears about the same promise made to the house of David through the angel Gabriel. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant, For behold from now on all generations will call me blessed.”

And we also are called blessed, as we receive the inheritance of our faith. We began focusing on those TO DO lists in our life. As we have considered how ‘Unless the LORD builds the house those who build it, labor in vain’,  Our blessing is not in what we can accomplish, but in the House that The Lord builds for us, the kingdom He has prepared for us. Amen.  

Restoration for God’s people

Posted on by nfuller

Have you ever tried to restore something? Restoration is to bring things back to their original beauty and place of belonging in the world.  I am not the most skilled builder, but I have restored many items with sufficient sentimental value with super glue, including those items that were a causality of young children’s activity.  Some of the items you would never even know that they were ever dropped- or run through the spin cycle of the dryer.

To bring something back to its original state. There is something very appealing about restoration in our time today.  Many homes in Irvington have gone through restoration to make them closer to the original beauty and style that they were built with. 

Restoration also tends to include some modern infrastructure for improved heating and cooling efficiency.  Often an older building has more character and beauty and enjoyment than newer buildings that are more concerned with saving money or cutting corners. And there is a spirit of joy in restoring what was almost lost, not giving up on it, putting blood sweat and tears into the project.

Here in the second Sunday of Advent, Restoration is illustrated as God’s plan from the beginning. We heard in the Introit: “Restore us O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!  We know this restoration involves more than what superglue can fix. It’s more than a face lift or a new finish of paint. 

But just like the beloved home that is painstakingly preserved, just like teddy bear whose arm is carefully stitched back on- the beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  God looked in love at the vine that came out of Egypt and once filled the land with deep root and blossom, the vine that turned bad and lost all its glory and beauty – and God sought to restore His people. 

Even though the vine failed to produce good fruit, even though the people sinned and sought after false idols God set forth a righteous branch from the stump of Jesse.  The righteousness of Jesus, the Lion of Judah was sufficient to make up for the unrighteousness of all people. 

The Father set forth a master plan whereby the sin that runs as deep as every cell in our body could be cleansed. The plan was executed through His Son sent to die on the cross for us, so that we could be completely restored into the image of God as Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden before the Fall.

We who have been born of water and the Spirit, Jesus looks at us in love and says: “behold I make all things new.” Without doubt we were worth restoring. There never was any question, from the beginning the Father was willing to pay the price in blood for our restoration. 

Because of this great restoration, we have the promise of comfort, hope, and consolation.  These are the messages from God the prophet Isaiah brings to us.  Isaiah is proclaiming a redemption after destruction.  As bad as things are or have been, something has changed in a wonderful way.  “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfareis ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” 

The gospel is a double blessing, it is not just that our sins are forgiven and we are spared condemnation, but because of God’s Word, we are also brought beyond the limitations of our lives to the glory of God.  “And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

We are restored and brought back to our original state and then some.

We know who was the voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord- it is a particular person in history, John.  John the Baptist is a figure of great importance. He is a figure of prophetic fulfillment.  Jesus says Elijah has come, and he means John.  Jesus described John as in a category above all other prophets: I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Nobody born of woman is greater than John, and what does John say: “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.”

John, who is greater than all who are born of woman was born to point to the one who was born of the Spirit.  His purpose was to stir up our hearts to repentance, to prepare the way for Jesus.

And although his message of repentance is stern and urgent, although elsewhere in the gospels he calls the Pharisees a brood of vipers and talks about the coming separation of the chaff and wheat where the chaff is burnt up with unquenchable fire, although John calls us to repent, his message is indeed one of hope as he is speaking tenderly about the restoration we have in Jesus. 

John brings a message of sweet comfort, just as the prophet Isaiah foretold.  Isaiah spoke words of comfort in chapter 40 after many chapters of warnings of destruction because of sin.  The destruction was still to come for Jerusalem, in fact it was over 100 hundred years away. But even before the destruction happened in history, Isaiah already pronounced God’s Words of comfort.  Their warfare has ended, their sin has been paid for.

 God’s Word speaks comfort to us weary sinners troubled by the coming afflictions in our lives.  We know the time will come when the warfare is over, when we will rejoice in our part in the blessing of God’s kingdom. When the warfare seems to fierce, we do well to stir up our hearts toward repentance to see that no affliction is greater than God’s love.  To hear the sweeping truth about all of creation:  “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever.”

The result of this comfort from our God is that we have peace.  “Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”

We are waiting for the restoration of God’s Word to reach its completion. Right now many in our community and many in our congregation are troubled by the hardship current life circumstances bring.  Many are not in a position where attending worship works for the health interest of themselves or family members. 

Sometimes this can even be out of a matter of conscience of not wanting to bring illness to others. It is not just in this congregation, all of our sister congregations in this area report attendance is down considerably because of the virus. 

People without spiritual backgrounds are likely to be even more afraid, as it is only for this life that they have hope, and the slightest hint of danger to life is hard to bear for those who do not know Christ as Savior. 

Such people are in need of the comfort of God’s Word.  That is why, even with public concern higher right now, we are still meeting for worship, still offering comfort to our community with a grief share opportunity starting today, and now also Christmas caroling in our church’s neighborhood.

When Isaiah was called into his prophetic role as recorded in chapter 6, he asked how long he was to continue preaching God’s Word. “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people and the land is a desolate waste.”

All through the stage of trials and tribulations this side of eternity the church will continue to point people to Jesus.  Indeed we may face diseases and other trials in coming days more trying than what we face today.

Our task as God’s people is clear, to live as those who have received the perfect comfort and consolation of the good news.  As we wait in faith and behold that our God comes to us in might.   

Waiting in hope

Posted on by nfuller

Here as we begin the season of Advent we are waiting.  Our prayer is that our King would come to us.  As we wait for our king to come we are in a place of transition. We are in an in between state, a time of waiting and watching. There are a lot of ways you might think of yourself as waiting:

Not quite winter yet, not quite the end of the pandemic yet, not quite time for Christmas yet or for a new calendar year. Parents are waiting for children to grow up and grow into their future callings and places in life. Regardless of where you are in some ways you are waiting.  

Many of our hymns and songs for the season of Advent celebrate the end of waiting with the opening of gates as our King comes.  “O Savior rend the heavens wide; Come down come down with mighty stride, unlock the gates, the doors break down; unbar the way to heaven’s crown.”

“Lift up your heads, you everlasting doors, and weep no more! O Zion daughter sing, to greet your coming King: Now wave the victor’s palm and sing the ancient psalm, “Lift up your heads you everlasting gates! Your king awaits!

Psalm 24 provides to us this imagery of the king entering through opening of the everlasting gate: “Lift up your heads, o gates! And lift then up O ancient doors, that the king of glory may come in.”

The fact that doors are described as ancient and gates as everlasting implies that there has long been a chasm and division between Our God and His people, back to ancient times, back to the Fall into sin:

This world is so full of imperfection and sin, and Heaven is perfect and full of the glory of God.  How is it that the two can meet?  How is it that Jesus our king can come to us?  When there is a barrier and a chasm between heaven and earth? 

Our Old Testament Reading from Isaiah calls for this divide to be broken wide open: “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence.”  The coming of our king is no light undertaking, but something that shakes the earth.

Gates and great doors to ancient cities kept control over who could come and go.  The gates protected the city so that those who would bring harm would be kept out and those who would bring blessings and goodness to the city could be let in.

The imagery in the scripture describes all of creation as the city, and in order for the renewal of creation to occur, the gateway needs to be open to a visit from a realm beyond our creation, from heaven.

One thing is abundantly clear, we cannot open the portal, we cannot raise the gates.  We wait for God to come to us and bridge the divide.

We cannot raise the gates, but our Lord Jesus has come to burst open the chains that hold us down in sin, to open the way for God’s kingdom to come among us. Let’s look a little more closely at God’s Word for us to today in Isaiah chapter 64:  “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence- as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil- to make your name know to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence.”

The plea for the Lord to come down is made out of dire need to see deliverance from the hands of enemies. For Isaiah it was those who destroyed Israel who were the threat.

For us today there are no shortage of enemies of the church, including our own sin.

When we pray for God’s kingdom to come this is not just asking for Jesus’ coming in judgement of the unbelieving world, but also this includes Jesus coming to judge us, bringing us the consequences of our sin.

This would be a frightening thing if not for the work of Jesus for us on the cross where he has covered our sin with his righteousness.  We pray for the Lord to continue to curb our sin and with His mighty Word that cleaves down to bone and joint, to cleanse us of our sin and make us a new creation in Christ.

It seems impossible that the chasm between heaven and earth could ever be bridged.  Many scientists claim that there is no way to measure the existence of God, as they claim that we can only know what we can observe and see in the created realm and everything else is not possible.

We continue reading in Isaiah chapter 64 with the next verse, 3  “When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.”

Nowhere in the world has it ever been heard of where a God who acts for those who wait on Him- except for the God of Israel.  Who parted the Red Sea, who opened the flood gates of the waters to deliver His people from pharaoh’s army.  

When Jesus returned to Capernaum it was discovered that he was at home and many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door.  And he preaching the word to them.  And they came bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay, And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “My Son, your sins are forgiven.”

The scribes questioned in their hearts: “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Indeed never since the beginning has anyone ever had the authority to forgive sins- to speak words and change someone’s standing from separation with God to peace, from condemnation to salvation.  “But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins- he said to the paralytic, “I say to you rise, pick up your bed and go home.”  As he picked up his bed and walked before them all in plain sight, they said: “We never saw anything like this!”  The heavens were opened and God’s kingdom was coming.

We all need this healing for our sins. The reading from Isaiah continues: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” It is because of our sin that we need Jesus to come, not because of what we have done to build His kingdom on earth. As we recognize how unclean all of our deeds are we see there is nothing to look forward to our hope in through what we accomplish.

The American dream is to earn prosperity and make something of your life through your career. It may sound appealing in early years of life to see how far you can make it in life, and which dreams you can make true. But in the end what we accomplish cannot bring lasting joy, we are still in the in between state in life, waiting for His kingdom to come among us in fullness.

Isaiah continues: “There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.” 

Our actions and accomplishments do not bring God’s kingdom closer to us- they do not life the gate even an inch. Only Jesus has the authority to forgive our sins and bring us to His kingdom.

“But now, O LORD, you are our Father, we are the clay, and you are the potter, we are all the work of your hand.” Jesus has given His authority to us. Through Christ our hands can serve as the hands of Christ. In Christ we can create beautiful things in the kingdom.

A pastor was once out visiting a woman who was a shut in:  “God can’t take me yet.” Stella said, and her pastor was surprised.  He had been visiting shut ins for years and was accustomed to their prayers.  Many of his congregants were ready to die.  But not Stella. This afternoon she said just the opposite, “God can’t take me yet.” She said.  Why? Her pastor asked.  She responded, “Because there are just too many people I need to pray for.” 

Stella’s hands were weak and frail.  Some days she had trouble even holding a cup.  But she knew that when folded in prayer her hands were mighty.  They could even move mountains.  And there were so many mountains to be moved.  She had children and grandchildren, friends and former neighbors, the prayer list she saw in the bulletin at church. All of these people were in Stella’s prayers.  She did not know if they prayed for themselves, but she knew that God had given her time and given her the gift of prayer. Day after day Stella was fervent in prayer that God would come into people’s lives and assure them of his care.  

Jesus comes to us, He opens the gates of heaven to shape us as His own.  In this time of transition in our lives, we pray shape us Lord in this difficult time, even at the summit of darkness create anew as vessels for your glory.  Come to us in our time of waiting so that we see that even on the journey as we wait for the gate to open- you are already with us.

Christmas decoration are a good thing and may bring joy to young and old alike.  But the decorations are not just there to give us a sense of awe over the moment of the birth of Jesus.  We need more than moments of feeling good and cheerful.  We need the presence of Jesus with us, the presence of the Savior who rends down the heavens and comes down.  Whose death on the cross brought the mountains and the whole earth to quake. 

Open the gates we pray. And as we wait for the gates to open we do not give up, we do not grow weary if we shall be delivered- for we have a God who acts in love. None of the rulers of this age understand this, as they say ‘where is your god’  “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” We wait in hope for his coming.

Why should we give thanks this year?

Posted on by nfuller

With voices united our praises we offer and gladly our songs of thanksgiving we raise.  With You, Lord, beside us, Your strong arm will guide us. To You our great Redeemer forever we praise.  Why are we here this evening? Why have we come to join praises and songs of thanksgiving? There are a lot of reason why people could not come to such a service as tonight. Driving in the dark is a barrier for many. There are ongoing fears about infection rates of Covid 19.  Why should we gather for thanksgiving when the fallen world we live in has been a bit trying as of late? Perhaps it would have been practical to not meet and give thanks.

A new strain of virus has changed the course of many aspects of our everyday lives. Some people have lost loved ones.  We are praying for the health of one of our members who is now hospitalized because of this virus. Coinciding with this virus we have seen significant efforts in our land to use the virus as an opportunity to seize power and control, whether within families where domestic abuse and child abuse rates have soared. Not much to give thanks about.

In our media and news industry which has sought to increase fear of the virus and has sought to undermine those in leadership in our land in order to advance their social agendas.  Without getting lost in a conspiracy theory direction we are observing that many in positions of government themselves appear to have taken the opportunity of the virus to condemn and limit religious gatherings or exercise new levels of control over people beyond what is necessary for our protection. We are seeing spiritual warfare in growing intensity in our land, where the truth is obscured and can be bought with a price, whether in elections or in other contexts.

In our own lives hardships of the virus have often impacted our ability to maintain our health through limits to recreation opportunities, gyms, or even gatherings such as occasions for fellowship at our church. And let’s not forget the realistic fear of how we might inadvertently spread a virus to friends or loved ones without intending.  Our quality of sleep and quality of life and our peace of mind has been tested in this past year.

So again I ask why should we gather for thanksgiving this year? 

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.  9 God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places  Habakkuk chapter 3.

Our cause for Thanksgiving is not conditional on how our year has gone. Because we know that in this fallen world there will be times of draught, the crops may fail and our very livelihood may appear to be in ruin.  We know from God’s Word that although things around us may fail, God’s Love is unconditional, His grace is sufficient for all of our needs- including many difficult events of 2020. 

This is the essence of faith, that regardless of appearances we know that our Redeemer lives. Listen to the complaints Job lists and how he responds: I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;  I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy. 17 My breath is strange to my wife,  and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.
18 Even young children despise me; when I rise they talk against me.
19 All my intimate friends abhor me,  and those whom I loved have turned against me.
20 My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,  and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. 21 Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me! 22 Why do you, like God, pursue me?  Why are you not satisfied with my flesh?

Like Job, we can look at suffering and difficulties we have faced, cancer diagnoses that have separated us from loved ones, times when we have been humiliated and hurt by this fallen world and we can conclude “the hand of God has touched me! We are scorched by the trials of this world and there is a large scar.  And yet Job looked in faith to the promise of the Savior:

23 “Oh that my words were written!  Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
24 Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth,
26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed,  yet inmy flesh I shall see God,
27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
    My heart faints within me!

When we look to the cross we see that despite appearances of betrayal, and scourging, whipping and mocking and humiliation and untold suffering, God’s love shines through unbounded. The love Jesus gives us in willingly laying his life on the cross is always there for us. We do not look to the world around us for evidence that God is good or for reasons to be thankful , and yes there are many reasons, but we look to the cross and there without doubt is the evidence, Jesus loves us.

And even as I describe the hardships of this fallen world we know the good and plenty the lord provides for us. We have been training ourselves to notice these things every Thanksgiving season, the imagery of the horn of plenty is familiar to us. The blessing pour out abundantly.

Our gospel lesson helps us to see that it is good to ask for these blessings.., and these blessings are especially known to us in the form of the good things of the kingdom, and the gifts of the church.  If we ask in faith to hear more of God’s Word, and be comforted and guided by God’s Word, the Lord will grant this prayer. The Holy Spirit will fill us with abundance.  Though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,3 though its waters roar and foam,  though the mountains tremble at its swelling.  No matter what hardship we face, even the very earth itself shaking, God is in our midst.

 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

No matter the obstacle, when we pray for the good things of the kingdom God is in our midst, present with us.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Our Heavenly Father indeed gives good things to us as we ask.  We can give thanks that as we seek to grow in our faith, we will be rewarded with this end. As we cry out as beggars for Jesus to fill us and carry us through the hour of trial- we know Jesus is there granting us our greatest need, his presence. Amen.

Jesus makes all things new

Posted on by nfuller

The Last Sunday of the Church Year. As we observe the end it is a time to prepare for a new beginning.  We are ending a church year this morning.  For those who are looking forward to the year 2020 being over with the superstitious hope of relief from a difficult year, perhaps there is some comfort in ending a church year. It may not be 2021 yet, but it is a new start for Christ’s church, it is a new start for Christ Lutheran church as well.

We are also celebrating a new start in music in our congregation.  Jessica Brandt, Music Director of Christ Lutheran Church, to be installed in a short while.  Jessica you are starting a calling of service as a commissioned church worker in a church body with a tradition of music that goes back hundreds of years, the Lutheran heritage of music is rich and full of hope. Full of hope because of our faith in God’s Word.  For many generations music has served the purpose of communicating God’s Word in our church. 

Music is often the way in which people can most easily relate to the law and gospel message of hope in our worship service.  I took a poll of our confirmation youth about the favorite part of worship and for all four the answer had to do with our hymns and songs of the liturgy. 

One of my earliest memories of applying worship and church to my life at home as child was playing with toys in what was called the toy room in my parents home, and finding myself drawn to rehearse in my mind the chorus of the Hymn “This is the Feast”. 

And I remember thinking at this age it is a good thing that people gather for worship and sing these hymns, and thinking that everybody should be a part of this, how sad if people are not attending worship, and not hearing these words about  ‘The Lamb who was slain who has begun His reign. Alleluia.’ 

God’s kingdom is all about new beginnings.  When we struggle with the weight of our sin. When our failures are so heavy and weigh us down almost more than we can bear. Jesus tells us, “Behold I make all things new.” Each and every one of us here can use a new beginning.  And what is new in God’s kingdom is not new or strange, but instead a continuation of what God has promised all along: “They shall be my people and I shall be their God.”

Our Epistle reading from 1 Corinthians provides us with an in depth survey of what is marvelously new in God’s kingdom because of what Jesus has done.  Because he is risen from the dead, we too shall rise. His resurrection as the first fruits of all who believe.

“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”  Here in the late fall, we celebrate first fruits. When the leaves are dying, when the death of sin appears all around us, we see in God’s Word there is life through Jesus’ resurrection.  His resurrection is just the beginning, the first fruits.

“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”

We are looking forward. A lot of self help books talk about the merit of living in the present moment, so that you do not worry too much about the future or fret about the past.  These books are half right. 

It is good to live in the moment, because in the moment Jesus is in control and reigns at the Right hand of the Father.  In the present Jesus is with us, now is the time of salvation, Jesus has won the victory already. We know this joy, we live in these fruits of his victory on the cross.

And we also look to the future where our joy will be complete, when the New Heaven and Earth is here. It is always important as God’s people that we are forward looking, because God’s Word speaks so often of the future, of the great Day of the LORD.

Our gospel reading also provides a look into this future.  “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.” From this throne we hear an imagery of a shepherd separating sheep and goats.  Sheep and goats are both useful animals and very important to those people who depend on animals for milk and meat. Sheep are not intrinsically good, and goats are not in any way associated as wicked or evil.   They are similar in the size they are and similar in value to people.  And yet there is no difficulty telling them apart.

Those who are sheep are those who God has called to be His people.  They are in many ways the same as those who are called goats, except for the difference of their faith and the works their faith produces. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, that the sheep may inherit the kingdom prepared for them since the foundation of the world. 

From God’s perspective the works of the sheep look very different than the goats. This is because the works of the sheep are a response to God’s love.   In the compassion toward those in need the sheep have embodied God’s love. 

The sheep had no way of knowing that as they were helping those in need- it was as if they were taking in Jesus in a time of need and caring for Him.  This is the work of faith that great things are accomplished through the work of God’s Word. 

Works of faith have an appearance and a quality that touches many in the world and draws them to want to know more about life in God’s kingdom.  This is the same as how sacred music works, it is inspired by faith and love, and not hate or anger.  The presence of God’s love and truth in our hymns and instrumental tunes shows through as a fruit of faith.

Jesus designed His church with a purpose.  All of these works of faith are for a purpose, our worship services, the rhythms of the church year have the purpose of pointing us to the Last Day when Jesus returns as judge. When Jesus returns, he will raise all believers, he will come to collect the rest of the fruits of his resurrection, our resurrection.   

The heritage of the past of Lutheran music is not the only reason why we sing these hymns and maintain our organ and choirs and other instrumental contributions. We are not Installing Jessica as music Director because it is what Lutheran congregations have always done. Instead we are valuing music because it points us to the joy we will know when Jesus returns.  Everything we do in church is for a reason, and that reason is so that we see Jesus.

Our congregation is installing Jessica as music Director because we know that God’s Word does not return without result, and we will connect with people in our community with music, whether those who visit worship, an organ concert, a community gospel song festival or Christmas caroling. 

We ourselves , the congregation need to hear the music, so that whatever we are going through in life, whatever the strife or hardship, that music can help draw out our emotions, let go of our tensions and bring us to a focus and contemplation on eternal things, so that we may follow the lesson of Psalm 46, “Be Still and Know that I am God.”  And as we are still, we are ready to hear God’s Word proclaimed to us that Jesus’ love transcends all things.  

My first hope is that it will be a short stay here at Christ Lutheran, as in something far more important will come up- the return of Jesus.  But my second hope is that the music ministry of Christ Lutheran Church will be a great blessing for you Jessica and your family and the family of Christ Lutheran for countless years. Amen.