Tag: LCMS

The cross brings peace to us and division to the world

Posted on by nfuller

Brothers and sisters in Christ this morning our scripture reading move us to look at the betrayal and danger that those who are right in our midst can bring into our lives.

Our collect prayer asks boldly of the Lord: “Cleanse and defend Your church”  To  cleanse is to clean up that which is polluted from within. The church always needs to be reformed because the ways of the world should never loom larger than the way of Christ.  To defend the church is to protect from both dangers from the outside and dangers within. 

In the Introit we heard about a particular painful danger from within the church- from someone who has been very close to you: 

12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me—  then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me— then I could hide from him. 13 But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.

What poetic words of bittersweet lament!  An attack from an enemy would be so much more bearable, you know who the enemy is and you understand why they are attacking. An attack form an enemy has a rally effect that brings people together for the common cause.  

It is all together more disarming when the attack comes from someone you put your trust in- a family member or a close brother or sister in Christ. Such betrayal can be so discouraging that it moves people to want to abandon being a part of a church at all. Some people who have been hurt refuse to attend a church again, People say, “I am not going to get hurt like that again.”   Like the psalmist we say that we cannot bear it.

What does it mean for us in worship to join in these words of lament as they were spoken in the Introit? Is there a spiritual gain in lamenting out loud about mistrusting our friends and family and neighbors?  

 It seems the gain is our recognizing that those who are closest to us in our family and in our church can pervert God’s Word and persecute God’s people. 

Included in these ranks of those who distort God’s Word are the prophets who speak falsehood in order to be well liked. This is what the prophet Jeremiah describes.  “They say continually to those who despise the Word of the Lord, it shall be well with you.”

This betrayal theme that is not ready made for a sermon that makes people feel good about life, such as Good Shepherd Sunday, or a reflection on how God’s love for us is like the wings of an Eagle sheltering and protecting us and lifting us up. 

What is more, we are a small congregation, so if I talk about the evil from your neighbor, it is harder to just make those words into a general picture of that neighbor out there in the church who is a danger to you by false teaching- because you can see the neighbor right there beside you.  

And what is more, the one Sunday that this gospel of Luke about divisions in family is read over the three year readings cycle, is the Sunday that I have a larger contingent of family worshipping with us than usual.

Jesus does not mince words in talking about the divisions that his baptism of fire of the cross brings. “I came to cast fire on the earth and would that it were already kindled.”  An unbeliever hearing the words of Jesus in the gospel lesson might wonder, what is this division Jesus is talking about, what is this fire Jesus is coming to bring?

As the Elvis Costello song goes What’s so funny about peace love and understanding? Isn’t that what Jesus is for?  Apart from the Holy Spirit a person would think Jesus must have been having a bad day.  A person might wonder, why not just focus on other portions of the gospels where Jesus teaches about loving enemies and forgiving and paying forward to others and turning the other cheek?   

It is difficult to take that hard line of Jesus that if you are not with him you are against him, that there is a way of righteousness which is the way of life- hoping in Christ and following him and forsaking the priorities and the false idols of the world.   

It’s much easier to look at our neighbor and say, “it shall be well with you.”  It is much easier to overlook differences in a family with respect to the gospel. We can agree to disagree as a family about certain things or not talk about them for the sake of a peace within the family. But this does not bring peace in God’s kingdom.

As we heard in our reading from Jeremiah, the church just like the prophets are expected to speak God’s Word faithfully no matter what.

What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. 29Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

We cannot overlook the role of the law in serving as a hammer in condemning sin in Christian life.   

Those nearby who can lead us astray because they do not look to Jesus as their life’s foundation.  Jesus talks about division in the family..  verse 50 “I have a baptism to be baptized  with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished.”  Jesus is talking about the cross, the greatest news we can ever imagine, the message of our forgiveness because of Jesus’ punishment.  This cross also brings division and shows how helpless we are without Jesus.  So if we give up speaking the law just to avoid conflict, avoid those divisions of father against son- we avoid the cross, we avoid the law that condemns sin. Even those within our own family or in our church can be angry with us.  But this is a loving purpose, so that those who hear the law can repent of their sin and find life.

Avoiding the law will bring division as well, as those who live in Christ are betrayed and disappointed by our compromise. We who believe in the gospel will be undivided from Christ, we will be with him- regardless of what persecutions we face.

Our introit from Psalm 55 was first written by King David in the context of betrayal he experienced in an evil city. Clearly this points forward to the betrayal that Jesus experienced from his own disciple Judas. “He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heal against me.”

 Jesus was betrayed on the night he instituted the Lord’s Supper, that is how the earliest account in scripture of the Lord’s Supper describes it:  “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

The betrayal of Jesus is always mentioned as one of the essential details of the Lord’s Supper, and it is mentioned each Sunday as we celebrate the sacrament.  We can never escape that alongside the heavenly feast that joins us to Christ is the betrayal from within.

The world is never a friend to the church, as long as there is a fallen world we live in there is always betrayal.  We lament at this and sometimes it feels like we cannot bear it.  Those who have been at this church before my time have spoken of feeling abandoned by so many leaving essentially all at once.

People leaving for another church is not exactly betrayal in the sense that they are likely still Christians. But- It is still hard to bear!  When those who were with us are no longer there we feel forsaken.

Jesus was betrayed by not only Judas but many in the holy city of Jerusalem- Jerusalem the city that kills the prophets.  Jesus went through the suffering of betrayal by the very people who the LORD chose for himself.  And we have inherited the curse of this same sinful nature, the nature that considers God the enemy and want to get rid of God so that we can be as “God” for ourselves.

Jesus died for this quick to betray and quick to abandon people that our sin created.  Out of great love Jesus set his face resolute to the cross to redeem us who fail and betray Jesus.

And Jesus rose to call us as his own people so that we would not be like Judas and betray Jesus with a kiss, but instead like the thief on the cross we call to Jesus saying: ‘Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.’

We call to Jesus, not to the strength of man, because we know that He will never abandon or betray us.  In Christ we always have family and belonging according to God’s perfect will for us.

When we feel we cannot handle the disappointments of life in the church, God’s Word reminds us that those who fear the Lord will lack no good thing. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all.”  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.

The real work of preparation for Christmas involves John the Baptist.

Posted on by nfuller

The Christmas season is upon us. Stores have been selling Christmas items for weeks and weeks already by now.  Everyone is making preparations for the holiday. Without such preparations the holiday would not be as special or memorable to us. Just about everyone is preparing in one way or another.

But do as many people think to make spiritual preparations for Christmas? We all know Christmas has become a commercial holiday in many ways. Parents who think little of the spiritual meaning of Christmas talk about giving each child their Christmas- which means one thing, a big haul of presents. Jesus is left out entirely in such family Christmas settings. There is no thought of giving children  the gift of Jesus.

For this reason, John the Baptist’s message in our gospel lesson is of great importance for our society today. John comes to prepare the way of the Lord. Our gospel lesson gives the specific details of history in which John was born, the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

In a specific time and place in history God sent a great prophet to prepare for the coming Messiah. The promise of the Savior which began just before Adam and Eve were sent outside the gates of Eden, that promise is now coming to the people of Israel in the first century, during the reign of Tiberius Caesar.

John has been called the last Old Testament prophet. His message fits in line with all of the Old Testament prophets with their message of preparation for the coming Messiah and their message of repentance and turning from false idols.

And in fact even the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah predicted the coming of John: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight..”  Many of the prophets of old received the Word of the Lord in the wilderness. The wilderness is apart from the comforts of society, stark, desolate, without distraction.

The last book in the Old Testament is from the Prophet Malachi. As we heard from Malachi chapter 3 the coming of John the Baptist is the start of the coming of the Messiah.  “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.  

John is a Herald preparing for the New Covenant and he was sent to prepare us for the coming of Jesus. Because of this privileged role Jesus calls John the greatest of the prophets.

“Behold the kingdom of heaven is at hand, repent.” In the gospel of Matthew John says this, and then one chapter later Jesus says this.  At the moment when Jesus is about to begin his ministry John refines us with this message of repentance. The prophet Malachi described this function of refining that John played.  2But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 

John directed the people’s attention to one who is more powerful than Him, the one who is to come.  John baptizes with water, but Christ will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. 

Advent is a time for wonder at the Old Testament prophecies coming to fruition. The years of history coming together all toward one great purpose of the birth of Jesus.  What all of the messages of the prophets throughout the ages has in common is the good news that salvation is found in Christ.

As the last of the great prophets John allows us to prepare and be prepared for the way of the Lord.  We are first prepared through repentance.  Many self righteous people listening to John believed that they were saved because they were children of Abraham. They saw their salvation as a birthright and so thought repentance was beneath them.  

Yet John made clear that judgement awaits the unrepentant.  The axe is already at the root of the tree, and those who do not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.  We prepare, as we talked about in the children’s message, through repentance.  Through turning back from our wayward path of sin and destruction and seeking the Lord’s guidance in all things.

But it is not just repentance that prepares us for Christmas, even more so we are prepared through forgiveness. While John’s baptism was for repentance, in our own baptism we receive the benefits of Christ’s victory on the cross. These are the glad tiding John brings to us, the good news of the kingdom.  If Jesus calls John the greatest of prophets, it is not soley because of his call to repentance, what we call in catechism class the  preaching of the Law.  John is the greatest because he is delivering the message of good news, Your Savior is here!

The Christian celebration of Christmas is less something that we prepare for and more something that God prepares us for. He prepares us for Christmas with his boundless mercy and love for us. As we come to realize that the Savior who was promised from of old is born unto us, we respond in thanksgiving. 

As we hear the good news of the gospel through the season of Advent we can respond with fruits in keeping with repentance. True repentance and forgiveness always leads to concrete actions of love toward others. John gave the crowd examples of how good fruits look for those who are tax collectors and those who are soldiers. It is always the case that those who are truly repentant receive God’s forgiveness in full, and this forgiveness produces much fruit.

Consider Zacchaeus, the short dishonest rich tax collector who climbed up in a tree to see Jesus passing by.  Surprisingly Jesus did not pass him by. He called Zacchaeus by name, visited with him in his home. Zacchaeus, moved to repentance by Jesus’ mercy and love cried out, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham.”

Later on in history there was a man named Martin of Tours. Martin was born to a pagan family, and he later became a Christian and became a soldier in the Roman army. One afternoon, approaching the gate of the city, Martin encountered a beggar, cold and half naked.  Martin drew his sword and cut his heavy soldier’s cloak in half, wrapping it around the shivering man.

These are two examples of reactions to Jesus’ mercy.  What fruits of repentance will Jesus; mercy bring forth in your life? Perhaps selfless  care for someone else in your life? Perhaps the gift that sustained dedication and focus on a goal can bring to the church and bring to society.

Baptism and forgiveness of sins empowers us to do great things in God’s kingdom and in the world.  Are you prepared? Are you bearing fruits of repentance? Christmas is just a few weeks away. Use the time wisely to prepare your hearts for the coming of Christ this Christmas: Confessing your sins, meditating on His Word, receiving the sacrament, singing his praises. He will make the holiday everything you desire and more!

Just what are you really seeking?

Posted on by nfuller

“What are you looking for?” It’s the middle of the afternoon, and a Saturday. You have wandered into the kitchen, you have opened the pantry door, and you are staring at what is in there.  Another family member may see you standing there and ask, “what are you looking for?” You do not know exactly what you are looking for. Something sweet, something salty, something crunchy?

You probably are hungry, you might be bored too. Nothing stands out.  “What are you looking for” is a good question to present to people in the world we live in today.  What answers might you hear to this question?

“I’m looking for happiness, I’m looking for excitement, love, a place to belong, purpose, a good time or an escape from the routine. One way or another we are looking for something that makes us come alive.

In our gospel lesson we are introduced to a man who is seeking something from Jesus. Kneeling before the Lord, he asks “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life.”

The man seems to be seeking an easy solution to life. “What can I do to earn my way to paradise?” He must have felt that something was missing, why else would he have gone up to Jesus with this sense of urgency and kneel down before Him to ask this question.

In fact something is missing in his attitude and approach to Jesus. He tries to flatter Jesus by saying “Good teacher.” In the scripture those who desire to follow Jesus consistently call him Lord. Those who wish to test him or those who have confused motives call him ‘teacher’.

He is not seeking Jesus’ company, he is seeking information, to him Jesus represents a means to an end- someone he can consult and afterward be on track to stay in God’s favor.  Jesus rebukes this address as ‘good teacher’ “Why do you call me good, no one is good except God alone.”

Is Jesus denying that he is himself good, or denying that he is God? Obviously not.     Jesus can tell that this man only sees Jesus as a teacher of the law and does not recognize him as Lord and God. He is pointing out the man’s inconsistency in selling short the Lord of all standing before him. “If you don’t recognize me as God, then don’t use the word good in addressing me.” 

The man asked Jesus a contradictory question, “what must I do to inherit eternal life.” What is inherited is a gift and is not earned. God’s gift of salvation does not in any way involve the question of ‘what must I do’.  Instead of developing a trusting relationship with God, the man is seeking a short list of how to make himself passable to God.

Jesus recognizes that the man sees him as only a teacher of the law. Accordingly, Jesus gives a teacher of the law type of response- he summarizes the commandments that touch on our relationship with one another.   The man answers “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 

Perhaps he was not satisfied with what Jesus says as he reports he has kept these laws since his youth. If he were satisfied with what Jesus said he might have responded in thanksgiving or asked about how he could keep the commandments better.  Could it be that he was communicating, ‘teacher, what else can you tell me? Is that all ya got to say?’

Jesus looking at him loved him.  Jesus loved him enough to say something that would cut through his transactional approach to Jesus, his ‘what can you tell me that will make me in better standing attitude.’ 

“You lack one thing; go sell all that you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow me.”   Was Jesus giving him an extra piece of information about keeping the law that the casual religious person might easily miss?

No, Jesus was not instructing that if you really want to keep the law well you need to give to the poor. Jesus was breaking the man’s trust in himself and his attitude of trying to treat God’s Law as a ‘to do list’, without a loving and grateful relationship with God.

We now learn that this man had great possessions. He was secure in life with material provisions and he came to Jesus and addressed him as teacher so that he could secure some spiritual provisions as the icing on the cake of his foundation of material provisions. Does it sound like his priorities were mixed up?

But what about a relationship with God? Does this man want to walk with God, or is he only seeking to comply with God’s rules and get his reward?  

So that takes us back to my initial question, “What are you seeking?” Are you seeking a God who is just icing on the cake for the life you have secured for yourself? Is Sunday morning one last thing you try and do before the weekend is over, or is it the beginning of your week- your foundation?

The man in the gospel lesson was disheartened by Jesus’ instructions. He might have been ok if Jesus said give 10% of what you have and follow me once a week, or whenever I am in your region next. But to give all he had to the poor and leave everything that gave him security and follow Jesus? This was not in his range of expectations for life.

To the son of Adam living in the fallen world we live in, self sacrifice and blind trust in following Jesus is not appealing at all. Our sinful nature rebels against giving up control. Our sinful nature sees our possessions as essential to the point where in a manner of speaking our possessions posses and own us. We do so much in our life toward the effort to maintain them and grow in our economic security.

In Psalm 90, a psalm of Moses, written no doubt after many years of learning from the LORD, Moses writes: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”  The rich man lacked wisdom. He had the opportunity to follow Jesus and experience a freedom from the hold his possessions had over him. Instead- he calculated the cost, and went away troubled and with all his possessions.

Can you see yourself in this man’s shoes? Have you ever wanted to find a short cut to how your faith applies to your life, so that you can give up as little as possible?  When you think this way, the sacrifices of the Christian life seem hard. 

In the next chapter of Mark, chapter 11 we have the beginning of the events of Jesus’ crucifixion in the form of the Triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The choices we need to make in life to give up things don’t seem so hard compared to the betrayal, and crucifixion Jesus set his face toward without looking back.

And Jesus did this so that we would live as those who are redeemed by Him. Jesus did this so that we would know Jesus not as a teacher who shows us an easy way, but as a Savior who walks with us all the way to the hour of death and beyond.

What are you seeking in life? God is seeking so much more for us than we can find ourselves.  We heard in our Old Testament Reading: “Seek the Lord and live, Seek good and not evil, that you may live, and so the Lord, the God of hosts will be with you.” Jesus alone is able to give us this life. John 10:10 “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

With the new life we have in Christ, earthly treasures mean a different thing. As we live in thanksgiving to the Lord for all that we have, giving to others is a joy. As we grow in our awareness of heavenly treasures, material possessions just don’t mean the same thing.

He comes to us today and invites us to seek our life in Him, with the promise that we will find it. Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.” 

Jesus comes to us as we hear the words of Absolution following our confession of sins. Jesus comes as we hear the gospel communicated in our scripture readings and the sermon. Jesus comes to us when we receive His very presence to us in the Lord’s Supper. 

As we seek Jesus and find him, we are able to see people rightly, not for what they can do for us, but as people who receive God’s love and who can receive our love. Often we don’t really know what we are seeking, but we do know that God has found us in Jesus so that we might seek and know him.

God has found us. And in a world of people who don’t really know what they are looking for, we relish this opportunity to seek the God who sought us and to seek the good of others, so that they too might know the love of our God through us. May God grant this abundantly in us through His mercies which are new every morning. Amen.

Salted with the gospel, given new life in Christ

Posted on by nfuller

The gospel lesson from Mark we have before us this morning has so much in it, so much that we could talk about that it is hard to see how everything fits together. It is a challenging portion of scripture to understand and follow and learn from.

There are teachings of Jesus here that could cause confusion to the hearer- or give the impression that there are works to do such as all in self sacrifice, that we are tasked with in which to which earn our salvation.

But Jesus is not teaching that salvation comes through the right amount of personal sacrifice. A closer look at the scripture helps us to see that our baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection gives us an identity of living in Jesus’ name- and a purifying role ,just like the salt that Jesus uses as an illustration of the impact of the Christian’s life in the world.

When it is hard to see the big picture our Collect Prayer comes in handy. In this prayer today we prayed to the Lord for direction and guidance to complete the works God has called us to do.  Complete the works, finish strong, get results. 

Football season has started and a big emphasis of any team at the start of a season is to make the most of opportunities when they are before you. If you are in the red zone, you need to get touchdowns for at least a good percentage of trips. Settling for field goals time after time does not get you very far.

How do we complete the works God has given us to do?  We have a big box in the narthex to play a role as one of 16 boxes which will be collected from churches in our area by Lutheran High and delivered by a semi truck, providing much needed supplies to a relief site of a sister church in Louisiana.

We also can identify the works before us in terms of teaching our young people the Christian Faith, and building the community in Christ in our congregation that will help our church to be healthy and vibrant in faith and works of love to one another and those in our neighborhood.

Completing the works God gives us to do is a challenge, but it is also a gift and a privilege. When the Lord assigns works for us to complete- we can see this as a gift. Completing the works we are given is all about God’s mercy and grace to us.

So how do we finish strong, with these gifts of works to complete?  How do we overcome the potential result of many incomplete tasks? That takes us back to our gospel reading where we hear Jesus speaks about doing things in His name. “For no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.”

In Confirmation class we have been talking about what it means to Hallow God’s name ,and the power of God’s name.  We confessed in the Introit: “Your name of LORD endures forever, Your renown O LORD throughout all ages.” We can only finish strong or find completion when we are living to do all things in the name of our God.  When we live as new creations in Christ.

I mentioned the gospel reading can be hard to follow. However, everything Jesus is teaching is all about whether someone is in His name or is fighting against His name.  The gospel reading begins with almost a repeat of our Old Testament reading from Numbers 11 where Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp but not specifically in the tent of meeting with the seventy men who were appointed as elders.  The disciples find a man casting out demons in the name of Jesus.  This man is not one of the disciples, like Eldad and Medad, he is on the outside of the immediate circle of the disciples.

The disciples reaction is to stop him, because he is an outsider.  Jesus points out that although he is not on the inside, although he may not truly understand who Jesus is, he is certainly not against Jesus. He is the farthest thing from a persecutor of the church.

Jesus then talks about temptations to sin in a way that illustrates what is against his name. Specifically causing a child or a novice in the faith to sin, that is what it looks like to be against Jesus.  Jesus points out it is better to think in terms of self limits and sacrifice than to let sin drive ourselves or others against the name of Jesus.

Whether it is what we see or covet or what ill thought through path we walk, or what we take with our hand- we are better off cutting those things out of our lives. This is like the drug addict realizing the need to throw a phone into a trash compactor, in order to leave behind all of the numbers and contacts that cause trouble.  But of course, the real root of the sin is not with the eye or the foot or the hand, but with our heart. 

We cannot remove our own heart to keep us from sinning.  We need God’s help, we need the cleansing power of God’s Word to curb the evil in our heart.

Jesus talks about the good of entering the kingdom of heaven crippled, lame, and half blind. This is a stark and unpleasant message, but it gets the point home- even if we are humbled in a way that seems unappealing, entering the kingdom of heaven is that which is of ultimate importance.

We are humbled by God’s Word so that we can be holy and pure in His Name.  Jesus summarizes this humbling process with the phrase ‘salted with fire.’  In the Concordia Commentary Dr. Voelz expounds on the meaning of being salted with fire. “These words seem to mean that everyone will have fire applied to him that functions like the application of salt.”  Specifically the purgative function of salt, stopping and limiting putrefaction. (decaying or rotting of organic material)

The force of what Jesus is saying is defined by Voelz as follows: ‘Everyone will have fire applied that will prevent the flourishing of that which is bad or destructive, that is everything that is not congruent with the reign and rule of God in Christ. In other words, whatever holds us back, whatever does not belong, God roots out and destroys for our benefit.

In 1Corinthians chapter 3:12-14  “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood , grass, straw the work of each will become manifest, for the day will make it clear, because by fire it is revealed. And the fire will test what sort of work each has done for approval. If the work of someone will remain- that which he has built- he will get reward. If the work of someone will be burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but in this way, as through fire.

It seems the fire of the law burns up what is unhelpful in us, and what is left is a person who walks with Jesus and lives in the name of Jesus.  Next Jesus directs the focus of the work of salt as not just a fire that humbles us and purifies us, but as an agent that works against the corruption and leavening of the whole world.  Only when the sin within is burned away, can the evil in the world next be addressed.  

Specifically, it is worth asking what evil in the world is the church to slow and stop- in this agent of change role as the salt of the world?  The church is to curb any teaching that leads people in the world to pride, false idolatry and false worship. 

If the fire of salt curbs all the sin in the believer that gets in the way of our following Jesus, then the role of the church in the world is to prevent people from the decay of their sin, to salt them with the protection of God’s Word and God’s truth, as they try and live as gods unto themselves. 

We as the church are called to the good works of speaking strongly and boldly against whatever are the most popular teachings of the day.  We see that there is no shortage of evil and false teaching in the world.  Only Jesus has the power to fight back the evil of the world, and we are refined in our faith to abide in Jesus, and stand as Jesus against evil. 

This is the good work prepared for us as the church. We praise the lord for all of his gifts to us, and we look to the Lord in faith as He leads us to do mighty works in His name. Amen.

No matter the affliction, Jesus has authority to restore us.

Posted on by nfuller

In our gospel lesson there is a man who has been through so much that he is not even sure if Jesus can help. After telling his story he says to Jesus: “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” His lack of certainty is insulting to the Son of God

And Jesus responded to his language of doubt: “If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.

The man had just showed the desperation of the suffering he had seen his son go through. It was not just his son’s suffering, but his whole families’ suffering and his suffering in particular as a father.  How helpless he must have felt! What father am I?

This evil spirit has taken away my son’s voice, and it seizes him- and what unspeakable torment to see your son seized to stiffness, foaming at the mouth. 

How unimaginably helpless it must feel to have a spirit you cannot grab with your hands and wrestle away, a spirit you cannot see, but for its terrible results- The evil spirit did not hesitate to try and destroy ‘let us throw the boy into the fire to burn him and then into the water to drown him.’

There is a Christian addiction recovery speaker who tells her personal life story of incredible suffering and God’s abundant grace and healing. She calls her story “Healing Neen.” Which was a nickname her family gave to her.  It starts terrible and then only gets worse. It starts with a young girl living in an apartment in Baltimore with her siblings and a drug addict mother.  From a young age she begins to care for her siblings far more than her mother, she wears clothes that are never washed, and sleeps in bedding that even if soiled, stays on the bed.  Dangerous people are in her home all of the time.  Once while going out to get some food she is noticed and she and her siblings are taken into child protective services for the first time. However, the full extent of her needs are overlooked and the period of foster care eventually ends. The abusive assaults from house guests during parties and serial boyfriends continue.

She endures assault and violation weekend after weekend and she understands that if she allows herself to be treated in the worst ways possible she can hide her younger siblings and stave off the terrible desires of those in her home so that they would not even bother looking for her siblings.

As the world brings more evil to her, you can imagine how her shame and self hatred grows. Instead of school papers and activities she learned how if she drank the alcohol left over in cups around the apartment after a party that she would not feel her troubles so much. The problem of trying to treat pain through sources besides Jesus only got worse into young adulthood for Neen.

How helpless we feel when we hear such stories. Cannot children have a better fate? 

We have our own experiences of difficult life circumstances.  In some cases, it is what others have done to us that reminds us of how helpless we are, living in this fallen world.  In the midst of the pain and dysfunction of living in a fallen world we wonder, “Jesus, do you have the power to heal me? When we are not sure if Jesus can help us with the full extent of our problems, our uncertainty is the sign of our unbelief.

Jesus told the man that indeed he has the authority to help.  “All things are possible for one who believes.”  All things are possible specifically for those who believe in Jesus. All things are possible because Jesus has the power to heal us and to save us.

The man answered Jesus, and specifically he cried out to Jesus: “I believe, help my unbelief!”

Is this your prayer as well? “Lord I believe, help my unbelief!”  Do you believe that even though life can be full of disappointments and challenges, that Jesus has the authority to save you?

Do you believe in Jesus as your Savior in all things even in the midst of the failures and struggles that bring doubt and bring unbelief? Do you believe that even though your faith is imperfect and filled with too much unbelief, that Jesus loves you and forgives you anyways?

The phrase wait for the LORD is found all throughout the Bible. We heard it in our Introit today: “Be strong and let your heart take courage, all who wait for the LORD!”  And once again in the Gradual we have been hearing this past month: Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. 

If we wait, we can see the LORD’s provision for us in time. This is part of belief, to wait in hope. To believe is to trust in faith that the LORD indeed delivers us out of all afflictions. Unbelief is to assume that God only helps in some ways and not others, to put our own human capabilities in the spotlight as far as our estimation of how many afflictions we can actually be delivered from.

When the man asks for help with unbelief, he is not talking about doubt or skepticism as to whether the events of the Bible are true or whether Christianity is a trustworthy approach to life.  Instead, he is describing unbelief as relates to the helpless situation of his son.  It is the unbelief that struggles to see how things in life can get any better.

Do you have things in your life that are so hard where you question whether they can get better, that you question whether Jesus can help? Have you ever wondered what causes you to give up so easily?  What makes the power of Jesus so lacking in your estimation?  What keeps you from being persistent in prayer? Is it a doubt as to whether Jesus has the power to make a difference?

Jesus cast out the evil spirit.  He performed what the disciples were first unable to do.

 This failure was perhaps an injury to their pride and they ask why they could not drive it out.  “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” 

Specifically, prayer to Jesus, as in only Jesus has the power to clean out the most formidable spirits. Prayer is not about having faith in yourself, as in how good you are at praying, or wondering if your prayer would be more effective if you could manage to sin less.

Have you ever concluded your prayer has not been answered because there is something wrong with you? This is not what Jesus means when he instructs us to be diligent in prayer. We are to be diligent for one reason only- because Jesus has the authority to answer our prayers.

1 Timothy 2:5 “Indeed there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”  Through our Lords crucifixion and resurrection any barriers that stood in the way of our prayers has been removed. Although we sin daily, we come before the Lord in prayer with complete righteousness, wearing the robe of Christ’s righteousness given to us in Holy Baptism.

Jesus has the authority to help us and He uses the church to give us this help.  We can know with certainty that the authority of Jesus to forgive sins is carried out by the power of the Holy Spirit through the pastoral office.  After his resurrection Jesus gave the disciples this authority because He cares for us. 

How amazing it is that right here today, as God’s Word is spoken, God’s kingdom is coming to us and changing us.  Right here in our midst the evil spirits flee from the power of Jesus.  

In the beginning of the sermon we heard a small slice of the afflictions experienced  woman called by the nickname Neen.  After going through a series of failed rehab stays she experienced something unprecedented in her life.

A counselor at a rehab clinic cared about her enough to see her, not just as another junkie from off the street, but as a person redeemed by God.  This counselor gave her hope that her life could be defined by more than one reaction after another to abuse and neglect.  

    I watched Neen tell her life story last year through a Zoom video presentation and even though the audience for the presentation was secular, she made no hesitation to talk about the hope the love of Jesus gave her, how Jesus makes all things new no matter the affliction, no matter the sin.

Although the gravity of sin coming from every direction in our fallen world seems so strong, we must never lose sight of the fact that Jesus has overcome Satan and Jesus reigns in this world. By His resurrection Jesus showed that he has authority even over the full weight of all of the sins of the world!

No matter the afflictions we face as a church, we need to keep in mind Jesus has not abandoned his Church, He has not abandoned you.  Your sin does not separate you from Jesus. Our sorrows do not reign in our lives, and they will persist only for a short season. Jesus reigns! 

Remember Revelation chapter 21:4 “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, , neither shall there be mourning or crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”  Jesus has the power to help us, and He does and he will help us in all our afflictions. Amen.

Pentecost is good news for us.

Posted on by nfuller

The Day of Pentecost is an historical event we celebrate. But it is not about the one day in history that our focus is on today. The details may be important to learn about the divided tongues of fire resting on each disciple and people speaking in other languages as the Spirit gave voice to, and Peter’s interpretation to the assembly of people that this is a fulfillment of the scripture: “In the last days I will pour out my Spirit to all flesh”

What is most important about our celebration of Pentecost is that we celebrate that this day is for us.  On Christmas we celebrate a Savior is born onto us. On Easter we rejoice that Jesus has overcome death for us. Today we celebrate that we as the church have life through God’s Spirit.

Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Helper.  The Greek word used in the scripture is Paracletos , the one who stands along side us, and advocates for us and comforts us.

The role of the Helper is to testify about Jesus “When the Paracletos comes, He will bear witness to me.”

Throughout the Old Testament the Spirit inspired prophets to speak about the coming of the Savior. Now instead of speaking through one prophet at a time or one king at a time such as David- The Holy Spirit has been poured out on all flesh.

We heard from the reading from Acts: “In the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams.”

 The coming of the Holy Spirit to the church makes visible the reign of God’s kingdom among us in Jesus. It is not just Moses or Elijah, or Isaiah that now point to God’s salvation to the world- it is now us as well.  Not just in Jerusalem is the Lord present, but in Indianapolis too- because Jesus has ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to us.

And not just here in this building, but in our very hearts. Consider what Romans chapter 8 teaches about the Holy Spirit in or life…

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

 Through Holy Baptism we have the gift of new life in Christ, where the Spirit dwells in us instead of the flesh which brings only sin and death. With the Spirit we walk in newness of life.  We are given life from the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead.

And as a result we have the ability to do something that is truly amazing. We as the church can bring life to others. The Holy Spirit that dwells in your heart can work in your life in such a way that what you do and what you say to others can give them this gift of life.

It is like you have a superpower- not one that lets you turn to goop and ooze through the cracks in the floor to get somewhere else- but one that lets you share the light of Christ to others through the gift of the Holy Spirit in you.

Because of the day of Pentecost you have the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Helper that Jesus sent, who has come to us to convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgement.

The Spirit helps us to see the truth of our sin and the need for judgement to the false idolatry and evil of this world. The Spirit helps us to understand through the scriptures that in Christ alone is our Righteousness.  

Although Pentecost is the day when the church received the Holy Spirit in full as Jesus promised, the Spirit was already present and working in the world from the start. We might say the seeds were already planted.

The Spirit was there at creation and there as the first promise of the Savior was made,  The Spirit was present as Jesus was born unto us, and when Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River and the Spirit descended on Him.

It was the Spirit who drove Jesus out to be tempted so that Jesus could fulfill righteousness where we failed.  The Holy Spirit was there as Jesus was betrayed and scourged and nailed to the cross, and finally it was the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. In the birth, life and ministry of Jesus, the seeds were already laid for the Spirit of God to be poured out on all flesh. 

Our Old testament Reading represents a ready made sermon for our church. In fact a powerful sermon- Ezekiel is transported to a valley of dry bones in the middle of a valley and asked the question:  “Son of man can these bones live?” 

The answer to the question is a resounding yes- after the breath of the Lord enters them.  I have based sermons on this reading before and the sermon really writes itself- as you reflect on how dry the bones of the church can come together, and through the Lord’s breath have life.   

But here in this day of Pentecost, the focus of our worship is not so much how the Lord brings life out of the ruins of our fallen world. Instead, we can see a bigger picture of how the life the Lord brings to His church has been there all along. The Spirit of God has been at work in the church since the beginning of creation, and since Adam and Eve received the promise of the Savior.  And Pentecost is the icing on the cake where the Holy Spirit became specifically present in the church gathered that day in Jerusalem.

The reason for the long vision of resurrection is not simply to amaze the hearts of us who are slow to believe- not only to change to outlook for the people of Israel from despair to hope. In fact the most important reason of all for this miraculous vision shown first to Ezekiel and shared to the church in God’s Word- is that we would know that Jesus is our Lord.  Verse 6, “..and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Verse 13 You shall know that I am the LORD, and then to close the reading:  “And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.”

The purpose of the great sign is to help us to know that Jesus is Lord. Everything the Holy Spirit does, points to Jesus. The Day of Pentecost was so that we would know that Jesus is not only Lord of the world, but my Lord as well. Amen.

In the church we are a new creation in Christ.

Posted on by nfuller

So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every situation everyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”  Peter opened his mouth and spoke God’s truth. Peter who on many occasions was known to act before thinking, Peter who was so often impulsive.  Who said he would die with Jesus and then days later denied Jesus three times, who even at the Transfiguration interrupted the holy conversation Jesus was having with Moses, and Elijah. This same Peter spoke after the resurrection of Jesus about God’s love for all people- Jews and Gentiles alike.

Something changed in Peter’s life. How he saw things, what life meant to him, and how God’s mercy is manifested in the world- all of these looked different to Peter. 

The month of May is for some a month that is rich with emotion. There is mother’s day, which we celebrate today, which brings awareness of change and relationships we are grateful for. 

In the month of May High school and college students typically close out their school year and about a quarter of college students are finishing a degree program. From first steps to first day of school.  First lost teeth, to first day with a driver’s license. And now walking across the stage a young man has graduated high school and is now starting a new direction in life – leaving behind the years of life with family. 

So much changes when a young man or woman goes off to college.  From mom’s kitchen to a college dorm cafeteria. New routines in life abound in this context, when you sleep and when you rise, who you spend your time with, new friends and social settings, novel class subjects and many possibilities for change in identity.

Many college students must chose for themselves to continue attending a church and abiding in Jesus. Going along with what your family does is no longer an option. How can you really know what you believe until you can choose things for yourself?

Family loyalty can be a strong thing. Yet Jesus teaches that following his commands is a choice a person needs to make apart from the tradition of family: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Apart from the tradition of Israel, Peter learned to welcome Gentiles.  Earlier in Acts chapter 10 Peter is on a roof top praying and the Lord put him into a trance where he sees the heavens opened and a great sheet being let down by four corners. The sheet holds and abundant array of animals that are not part of the designated clean foods outlined in the law- including birds and reptiles.  Accompanying this great sight Peter receives a voice that says: “Rise Peter, Kill and Eat.” Right on cue Peter answers with the obedience of one who follows God’s law: “By no means, Lord: for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” Now Peter receives a more clear statement with the same message: “What God has made clean do not call common.”

Peter grew up knowing the difference between what was clean and what was unclean. He knew well what things you can eat and who you can eat with.   What once Peter knew and experienced about life is now changing rapidly before Peter’s eyes.  Next Peter has a gentile visitor, Cornelius. Peter catches on that where in the past it would be unlawful for him to receive him in his home- now this is God’s good and perfect will.  Peter learned a lesson about God’s love to all people. Jesus has made everything clean. Jesus has made everything new.  On the cross as Jesus paid for the sin of the world all of the old distinctions between clean and unclean no longer mattered- for in Christ all is made clean.

Ephesians chapter 2 talks about the change Jesus brought to the world: “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands- remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise , having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

Peter experienced this change- where the separation from God was bridged, and hope now abounded.

Peter preached this change to all who would hear, including the gentiles he is addressing in our reading from Acts.  He could never go back again to the old way of seeing everyone as either clean or unclean, Jew of Gentile- all he could see instead was the righteousness of Christ adorning his people with gladness and joy.

When you have reached the next step in your life- when the movie posters come off your walls and Ramen noodles are no longer a staple-  you move on to the next things the Lord has planned for you. 

It is amazing how much you can accomplish in a new role in life. Whether you had that experience of change in going away to college or if there have been other milestones of change that have come to your mind- in either case, the novelty of a new place in life has a way of bringing clarity of purpose in life. Good intentions abound, and motivation is usually in a good place.

Sure you may look at the past and remember how things used to be- and the past does shape the person you have become, but you do not find the same purpose in the past because you have changed. In Christ you are a new creation.

Jesus knew ahead of time the changes that were coming in our lives and in the lives of the twelve disciples. In our gospel lesson Jesus is speaking with the twelve at length for the last time before his arrest and crucifixion. Jesus knew it was time to prepare them for this change where their lives would never be the same again.

“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Jesus asked them to remain in His love and to keep his commandments- these are one and the same things. To remain in Jesus’ love is to forsake old family loyalties for the sake of following Jesus, it is to remain as a new creation in Christ, leaving behind our sinful nature, leaving behind all of those old outdated and useless ways. Keeping Jesus’ commandments requires that we accept that he is one with the Father’s commandments.

And Jesus gives on specific example of following his commandments- of walking in the way of His love. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

  The love of Jesus changes us to the point where the meaning of love is much different than we may have been raised to think living in our culture. Love is no longer a feeling of infatuation that comes and goes, but instead it is an enduring commitment to sacrifice for one another- to look for the good of the other even to the point of laying down your life to protect another.

One of the most enduring instances of sacrificial love described in the scripture is that of marriage. “Husbands love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,”  This calling to love so selflessly is not done of our own power, but through the power of Christ.

Marriage changes us to where we leave mother and father and the two become one flesh. And this change St. Paul teaches us, is a change that points to an even more profound mystery – the marriage between Christ and the church- a relationship we are all in whether single, widowed or divorced. We are the church, we are the bride of Christ, and thanks be to God, our lives will never be the same. 

The One Shepherd Strong Enough to Protect Us

Posted on by nfuller

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.” 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.  In recent weeks I have been emphasizing how the resurrection of Jesus changes our lives. 

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.  Our lives are changed as we look to our resurrected Lord Jesus to be our Good Shepherd. The God who lives and has the power to give us life.

My son Isaac had his first little league baseball game yesterday. One of the players on the other team was big and strong for his age, and he threw the ball fast as a pitcher for the first inning. That is a little scary to be seven years old and face a pitcher who throws like he is 9 or 10 years old.  

It reminded me of my freshmen year in High School when a stocky teammate of mine named Jason ______ was a linebacker. His name even sounded scary. When he was going to make a tackle, he hit hard. I wished he was not on our team during the first few weeks of practices as we scrimmaged against each other.  But then I realized it is good if he is on my team, someone you can count on to scare the players on the other side. You want people on your side who have shown that they can accomplish a lot in practice.

The time to play little league sports comes and goes, and then there is instead the game of life to focus on. Who do you put your trust in? Who do you want on your team? Who can really save you when your life is in the balance?

The imagery of the shepherd is found throughout the scripture. Already in Genesis chapter 4 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.    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. 

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.

Christians all over the world pray Psalm 23. It is the most popular Psalm.  Sometimes even 3 and 4 year old children may memorize this Psalm.  But often people may miss that this is a Psalm that is fulfilled in Christ.  Jesus is the Shepherd who the Psalm speaks to and clings to. 

Earlier this week I was filling in for Religion class in my family and the appointed lesson covered how David was called to play the harp for King Saul to relieve his tortured Spirit. The harp or lyre was played by David and then King Saul would have relief from his personal torment. But it was not the music alone that helped King Saul, but the faith of David and the message of God’s Word that accompanied this music, the Psalms David would sing.  

Hearing God’s Word makes everything better for us. Singing Hymns of Faith makes everything better. If only it were simpler for us to have an Evening Worship service during the middle of the week to hear God’s Word and sing hymns of faith- how much easier would our weeks be.

Hearing God’s Word, being reminded 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.

How different is the fruit that listening to the theater of our current world brings!  We live in a time where Cultural Marxism is fast becoming one of the most prominent world views of our nation.  The messages we are hearing all of the time on the news is that our country is built to oppress the weak, that there is a systemic racism that explains everything about our daily life, and that the only salvation so to speak is to tear down the system.

The goal of all of this rhetoric is to pit one citizen against another and create not unity, but division. From the Christian perspective the evil in this is that cultural Marxism requires people to reject the teaching of scripture that all people are created by God, that we are one human family- what I also learned in public school when I was a child- that there is one human race. Now the message we hear in society is that we are different races and one race will always subject the other.

Would that people who live in such torment to want to see in everything cause for division, could hear God’s Word as balm to their troubled spirits! Would that people would hear the message of the gospel of John that Jesus did not come to exploit us or divide us, or to advance racism- but instead to lay down his life for us 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 this is that as we listen to His voice we become one body so that there is one voice and one Shepherd over us all.

We are not going to get very far talking about explosive issues with people in this day and age. But talking about how Jesus unites us in love is a different thing. There we have the promise that God’s Word does not return without result. Regardless of the persecution we face, we know there is great profit to confess the words of our First reading today from Acts chapter 4 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

In an uncertain time in this post lock down world we live in, who can you put your trust in? Who can shepherd you through uncertain times. Who can stand by you even when all else is falling apart around you? Who do you want to be your Shepherd at the hour of death? Lord to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life. Amen.

Christ our Servant, our Friend, our Savior

Posted on by nfuller

“He came from His blest throne salvation to bestow; but men made strange and none the longed for Christ would know. But Oh My friend, My friend indeed, Who at my need His life did spend!”

We are already looking forward to Easter. We have a general idea of who is making which breakfast casserole. The choir has started practicing, the Easter egg hunt supplies are hidden away ready for the big day. Yet we are still in Lent.

The hymn “My Song is Love Unknown” is the perfect Lent hymn. It calls us to reflection, repentance, sorrow and wonder at this unheard of love to the loveless shown.  We are still in Lent, and the rich color purple is at the focal point of our altar. It is good to look forward to Easter and the joy of celebrating Christ’s resurrection, but there is much gain when we are able to live in the moment here of Lenten preparation.

“He came from His blest throne salvation to bestow.”  We do not have a king in our nation. We have a division of leadership between congress and the presidency.  Part of the American character is to view kings and royalty as a system of privilege that excludes the common person and probably also involves injustice.

Even in the scripture, when the people of Israel asked for a king to lead them and fight  for them like the other nations, the LORD warned the people of the cost to have a king over them instead of YHWH as their king. 1Samuel chapter 8: The prophet Samuel was given this message from the LORD to the people .

“These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants….18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

 These are cautions about the earthly nature of kings. History is full of stories of imperfect kings who tragically lead others astray because of their selfishness.  Yet during the season of Lent, the royal color of purple means something different.  The richness and honor of a king comes from the authority that is given to him from God.  

     Western culture contains a rich heritage of seeing kings as noble and selfless and honorable- such as the stories of King Arthur who alone was worthy to pull the sword out of the stone.

Psalm 45 uses imagery of Christ the Son of God as king: “My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.”     

From this throne which last forever Jesus our king came to us.  The purple paraments remind us of this unheard of love of a king who left his throne for us. The Son of God took on our flesh, Jesus born to serve us and to die for us.

Our Epistle reading from Hebrews records this work of Jesus:

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him

Jesus entered into our world in the days of His flesh. Although the King, he experienced pain and suffering as we do. He entered into what the church has called the sate of humiliation, where although the Son of God he took on our limitations and turned off his divine nature so as to serve us as a man.

Hebrews chapter 5 describes the loud cries and tears that Jesus underwent as he faced His betrayal and arrest and suffering on the cross. Jesus would not have felt such deep emotions of desperation if he were relying on his divine nature all throughout. These emotions are the experiences Jesus could only have through his human nature.

In our gospel reading from Mark we get a preview of the suffering according to His human nature that Jesus faced, as Jesus predicts his death on the cross with great detail.  In fact this is the most lengthy prediction Jesus makes in all four of the gospels: 

“See we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

It was just as the prologue to the gospel of John described: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” Or as we sang:

“But men made strange, and none the longed- for Christ would know”

Even after Jesus spoke of his upcoming destiny the disciples did not know him as he was revealing himself as a servant to all. Instead they knew him as a ticket to power and greatness. They had not yet learned: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

“Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” James and John were looking for recognition and glory. They were not ready to know Jesus as a man of sorrows, and as Jesus warns them, they were certainly not ready to drink the cup of suffering or the baptism of fire that awaited Jesus.

And if we are honest we realize we are not ready to drink such a cup either.  We would rather have people recognize us for what we have accomplished, we would rather feel proud of who we are than to empty ourselves and consider ourselves as a servant to all.  Although we wanted something else from Jesus, although we did not know him, He still continued unwavering in His love for us. Jesus said greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.”

 “But oh my friend, My friend indeed, Who at my need His life did spend.”

Jesus saw our need all the way to the cross. And now as He reigns at the right Hand of the Father he guides and directs His church, He is a friend to all who are lowly and heavy laden. As we come before him as a servant to all- he will continue to bless us.

It is a difficult thing for us as a congregation to deal with the loss of so many loved ones in the church over the years and to experience some of the diminished community as Christ Lutheran has gradually transitioned from 2 Sunday services and attendance numbers that would always be over 100 if not 200.  It seems so hard to live up to the past and carry on a ministry potential with so much less right now.

Yet Jesus still reigns as King over the world and over our congregation. Nothing about His servant love for us has changed.  With greater challenges as a congregation, there are greater opportunities for growth for each one of us as a servant to one another and a servant to the unbelieving world that we live in. 

There were 27 in attendance last Sunday and the average age for all of us who attended. I wrote down from memory everyone who was here last Sunday and approximate age and by my rough estimate calculation the average age was 43. We are getting younger as a congregation.

There was a time a few years ago I understand that there were no children on many a Sunday. How much greater now is our potential to serve the least among us, the youngest among us, and in our community the neediest among us- those who do not know the life giving good news of Jesus crucified for them.

Today we celebrate in worship that Jesus is our servant. He came from His blest throne, salvation to bestow.  There is no better example for us in our life as servant in the church and for our life as servants in our family.