Tag: LCMS deaf ministry

The Lord’s hand guides us through perils unknown

Posted on by nfuller

There is a Collect Prayer in our hymnal with the title “guidance in our calling.” It goes like this: Lord God, You have called Your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that Your hand is leading us and Your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This is a timely prayer for us today so that we can recognize that God’s hand is leading us.  No matter the uncertain outcome, no matter the danger- Jesus is leading us, and supporting us with his love. Our Old Testament reading from Ruth gives us a beautiful picture of God’s hand leading us. A picture that points us to Jesus’ steadfast and perfect love, which endures all sorrow and hardship and leads us out of the valley of tears to the way of everlasting life.

Before getting into the reading from Ruth let us also hear the words of Luther’s explanation to the Catechism about the Father’s guiding and supporting hand: Our Father who art in heaven: What does this mean? With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that we are his true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask him as dear children ask their dear Father.

Ruth is a woman from Moab.  A land that refused to give Israel bread in their wanderings to the promised land. Yet she is still God’s child too. She came from people whose family line started with incest, a people who worshipped false gods. Yet the Lord called Ruth to know Him through her marriage to Naomi’s son Chilion.

God the Father provided Ruth with a family through which she came to know God and rightly count herself as part of the nation of Israel.  The Father provided her with a family and part of her family was lost to death, her father in law, her brother in law and her husband. When Ruth and Naomi returned to Bethlehem the scripture tells us this caused quite a stir in the town.  

As the townspeople become reacquainted with Ruth and Naomi, Naomi insists that she should be called a different name: She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” 

This is the bitterness we all experience in this fallen world, we can go from being full to being empty so quickly. We  know the sorrow that losses bring.  In times of loss we can wonder if God is taking a break from caring for us as Father in such hardships. 

This is the emptiness that Naomi is describing- to have fullness at one time only to see it turn to emptiness.

Our own congregation has known losses in recent years. We have seen those once with us go before us in death, chronic illness and other unplanned for changes in life take others away. We have seen others fall away from attending with us because of spiritual warfare and the apathy and indifference for attending worship.  We see the emptiness before us and it is a bitter thing to see that the Lord’s church not filled as it is intended to be.

In her state of loss and bitterness Naomi wants to look out for her daughter in laws. By the laws of Israel a widow is only to remarry if there is a brother of the deceased who can carry on the family name.  Naomi would rather they go back to their own people in Moab where remarrying is much easier.

Orpah accepts this release, but it comes with a scary cost. She will not only be going back  to her people but she will be going back  to the gods of her people and the false worship of these gods.

Ruth shows loyalty to her mother in law, but more importantly she shows loyalty to her Lord and God. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried.     

Ruth realizes that no matter the hardship or bleak outlook for her own future she will continually call on her Heavenly Father in all times of need. Ruth was willing to follow the Lord in ventures of which she could not see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. She did this with courage knowing the Lord’s hand is guiding her and the Lord’s love supporting her.

Now we can live in faith with the same trust in our Heavenly Father to support us in an unknown future. We know that sorrow will follow us as part of our journey. Sorrow and loss remain in our lives as the consequences of sin that ever stand before us.  These hardships almost make you want to hibernate away and no longer face the things in life that can bring sorrow- as if you cannot bear anymore the pain that our callings in life bring.

Is this Naomi’s intent in insisting to be called Mara? It’s all that I can bear, I might as well just rename myself defeated and bitter, then it cannot get any worse than that.

Yet there is another way to deal with sorrow and loss and brokenness- there is the appeal to the Lord’s Mercy. We heard in the Introit: 4I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

The Lord is merciful to us even as we are on a journey through hardships or famines in life. In hardships our faith helps us to see that we are not abandoned, we are not cursed.

The ten lepers could have felt that they were cursed in their affliction, but they asked the Lord for mercy nonetheless and they were healed. Jesus healed them and forgave them their sins.

The Lord’s mercy is so abundant that no matter how great our sins there is forgiveness.  No matter how great our sense of personal failure, we are blessed in Christ with an abundant forgiveness- as our Heavenly Father freely gives to His beloved children.

We heard this exact word of forgiveness in our Confession and Absolution at the start of the service. Through the mercy of Christ we have received full pardon for our sins- a new start to life. By his forgiveness and by his perfect love our fears are stilled. Our unknown future no longer scary but instead a privileged calling given to us by the Lord.

Ruth experienced this same new start to life as her sins were forgiven and as she was rescued from a life of poverty by Boaz her kinsmen Redeemer.  This redemption from her bondage to poverty pointed to the eternal redemption the LORD has prepared for her. We hear from Matthew chapter 1: and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.

Ruth became the great grandmother of King David and in the fulness of time her name was included in the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ruth a woman of Moabite descent who faced much sorrow and hardship and vulnerability now is remembered as a Godly woman of Israel who received  the Lord’s mercy in abundance, even to life everlasting.

 The Lord Jesus brings this same mercy to you. Go out in courage knowing your name is written in the book of life. Confess your faith with courage through the ministry of Christ Lutheran, confess your faith knowing that in the church you will always be with your people, the new Israel and the Lord Jesus will always be your God.  Live as a beloved child of our heavenly Father until the time when the Lord brings you to Himself. Amen.

Jesus came to seek the Lost- which includes us

Posted on by nfuller

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we heard the words in our Introit so clearly. “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing.”  I can’t picture more of a dramatic change than going from mourning and crying to dancing and celebration. What a joy to have one difficult outcome in place in a way that feels permanent, only to have something completely different happen instead. 

Imagine if you invested a large amount of money into a stock for a company. Over the course of a year you see the share price go down lower and lower to the point that you think you have just about lost a fortune. And then things start to change, the stock is going up and the value is twice as much as you originally invested. Things went from disaster to rejoicing. 

But a fortune lost and a fortune gained is not the reason for celebration in the setting of Psalm 30.  Money, or the outcome of a sports event, or whether who you ask out to the prom says yes or no- these are not the swings of fortune that God’s Word is referring to when it says: “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”

This joy, this dancing, this tremendous change comes for one reason and one reason alone, the salvation that Christ wins for us. The true cause of celebration in any of our lives is that Christ rescues us from death and brings us into his kingdom.

In our sinful nature we make other things more important than the cause for celebration that Christ’s victory on the cross brings to the world. We care about the outcome of things that are in our own control more than the  most important things which are in God’s control. We make risk calculations to see if one choice is safer  than another  choice.  We consider appearances, and what people will think of us as we make our decisions over the course of action in our lives.

In gospel reading from Luke, the Pharisees and scribes criticize the choice Jesus makes to eat with sinners and tax collectors. To their reasoning, why should Jesus eat with these sinners when there are plenty of righteous people to dine with? They don’t understand the choice Jesus made, and they assume it was a poor choice.  Aren’t appearances more important than showing mercy to the outcasts of the world? And if you eat with such people, does that just encourage and reward their regrettable life choices?

 Jesus answers their objections with three parables that illustrate how clear the choice is for God to seek after and rescue those who are lost.

Jesus states that it is obvious that any of them would seek after one of their 100 lost sheep and bring it safely back in the fold. A shepherd will seek after the 1 lost sheep out of 100. Likewise Jesus describes the woman seeking after the lost coin, and states that it is a given that anyone in the same position as the woman will look for the lost coin.

Finding the lost one out of 99 is a cause for celebration not because it represents a recovery of 1% of the owners assets, but because it means everything to that particular sheep which is lost.  To the world you and I are just a number.  Under difficult circumstances we are expendable in the world’s eyes. But to Jesus we are like the lost coin- we are well worth rescuing.  Jesus values you and I so greatly that he died on the cross for us. 

The cost of saving those who are lost is nothing else other than the life of Jesus on the cross. Jesus came to seek the lost, not those who consider themselves secure in their righteousness.   The cost for paying for the sins of  the lost and all of our sins was for Jesus to take on all of our sins on the cross.

 The lost are not simply those outside of the church, but can also include us.  Recall St. Paul’s confession of faith from our Epistle lesson: “”The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”

Like St. Paul we need to recognize the gravity of our sin. Every Christian must like St. Paul be able to recognize the ways in which you can see yourself as chief of sinners in need of God’s mercy.  Satan wants us to think of ourselves in the church as firmly entrenched in the ranks of the righteous 99, in no danger of falling away.

But the reality is that we are safe only in our faith in Christ.  It is a mistake to assume that simply belonging to a church and having an identity as a Christian is what makes us  among the 99 described in the parable.  If we are secure in our own righteousness and have no need of Jesus, then we are truly in a lost state.

 Without the mercy of Christ, we are in a manner of speaking right at the edge of a cliff, susceptible to falling off and becoming one who is lost and separated from the fold. 

When we recognize that we also can be among those who are lost, we appreciate even more the mercy of God that saves us.  When we appreciate how Jesus has given everything to go after us and find us in our state of lostness, we desire to show the same to others.

— —   —    –

It would be a mistake to think that God does not take joy in us because of our failures to live our lives in unwavering faith.  When we repent of the mistakes we make Jesus welcomes us back with great joy.  The joy is not confused with emotions, of, “well I’m glad you are found again, but you never should have ran off in the first place.” 

The Pharisees and scribes believed the tax collectors and sinners were lost causes.  Perhaps the Pharisees and scribes convinced themselves that there was nothing in God’s Word that they could have said to change or convince sinners of their need for repentance.  Jesus of course says, this is not so. It is not a thankless task to share the good news of the kingdom to the lost.   

The joy of sharing the good news of the gospel with the lost is that some people do respond in faith through the power of the Holy Spirit.  And even if we do not see people repenting in response to God’s Word, as we share God’s Word we are giving ourselves the chance to internalize in our lives the good news of the kingdom applied to us.  The good news we share to others is also good news to ourselves whenever we lose sight of the saving work of Jesus in our lives.

I wonder, who do we tend to write off as lost causes in our world today? Those who consider themselves atheists? Those who are just having a good time with life and give no thought to God?  Or what about those who say that the church is full of people who let you down, and those who say the Bible isn’t fair or God isn’t fair.  

Do we consider such people lost causes? Jesus does not.  Lost causes are His specialty. Lost causes are the ones who really give great reason for celebrating and rejoicing when they are found through repentance and new life in Christ.

Prior to our baptism, we were enemies of God on account of our sin. Jesus sought us out and called us through His Word and through the gift of new life in Holy Baptism.  We were sought after as hopelessly lost causes- with nothing but the curse of sin running through our bodies. And great was the rejoicing in heaven when we were found.  Recall the words from our Old Testament reading from Ezekiel: “I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.”

God sent his own Son to us to search for us and rescue us. Just like in the parable of the lost sheep and coin, Jesus considered us so important that he rejoiced over finding us.  

This unsurpassed worth in which God places the lost is described well in the short parable of the merchant in search of the pearl of great worth in the gospel of Matthew chapter 13: 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

We often read this parable as a lesson about valuing our relationship with God above all else, as in we should be like that merchant and recognize that our relationship with God is more valuable than any other pearls out there in the world.  But the most specific and accurate meaning of this parable Jesus told is that Jesus himself is the merchant in search of us.  The church is that pearl of great price that Jesus gave all he had to posses.   

This is the wonderful truth on how God sees us. Jesus gives all he has for us. We can let those who seem like lost causes know that in God’s eyes they are of unsurpassed worth. They are to Jesus a pearl of great worth for whom Jesus gave up everything without a moment’s hesitation.  May God grant us faith that helps us to speak about this love of Jesus and show this love in our lives.

Raised with Christ, we set our sights on higher things.

Posted on by nfuller

“If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” The scripture says “If you have been raised”, but there is no question about it, we have been raised with Christ.

The scripture says “if”, to get you to think about who you are in Christ, a new creation washed clean by the waters of Holy Baptism. If you have been raised to new life of the water and the Spirit in Christ- then old ways of living, old ways of thinking do not make sense anymore.

“What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils from beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity. The old ways of the flesh do not add up to much: sorrow, vexation, restlessness.

If you have been raised with Christ, how to live is clear. It does not matter how appealing the things of the world might be. Although sometimes if you get your sights fixed on something long enough its hard to take your eyes off what you want. Of course, you could always just temporarily forget that you have been raised with Christ.

If you forget for just a little season, why then you could get in all of the earthly pursuits that seem so important to you.  Maybe there is something new that you can do this year that you have not done before that will make you feel happy? The things above where Christ is, you can always seek those at another time. But some opportunities in this world are time sensitive- here today, gone tomorrow.

You can covet things that are highly prized by others.  If you set your sight on what you can achieve and work hard enough, then you can get many of the things you covet. You can be proud of what you accomplish. And if you see that you are doing well getting a hold of things you want, then you can even tear down one of your barns and build a bigger barn. That way you can store up so many more things, and you can see which things you enjoy having, and see which things give you meaning and purpose. And then you can tell yourself, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years, relax, eat, drink, be merry.”

But what would be the wisdom in all that? What does Jesus say in response? These might be good words to write on paper and then tape to your checkbook or credit card if you feel you are spending too much.  “But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”

So is the one who lays up treasures for himself and is not rich toward God. Jesus warned of this importance of seeking the things that are above, where he is seated, at the right hand of God.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Colossians about things which are we are drawn to, five things that are of earthly value that are sin- sexual impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness which is idolatry.

Worshipping idols, true idolatry is to want things so much that you struggle to see anything else, that which you want becomes your god. And so Jesus warned, be on guard against all covetousness. We should be on guard against wanting a bigger house, or wanting more money saved up, more clothes, more movies and video games. A bigger budget for travel or entertainment of others. There is always more that you could use.

A church may covet a building renovation or newer things throughout the building. There are always more things you could use to keep up with the demands of the time.

Why did Jesus tell the parable of the rich fool to begin with? In Luke chapter 12 we hear Jesus teaching his disciples and interacting with the crowds who had gathered together to hear Jesus. Someone in the crowd calls out to Jesus. A man is going through a dispute with his brother over an inheritance. 

Apparently this dispute has become the most important thing in his life. It is more important than seeking the kingdom of God, more important than greeting Jesus with words of reverence such as Lord have mercy or Hosanna to the Son of David, or asking Jesus about oneness with the Father.

More important than all of these things to the man was conveying to Jesus this message: “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Tell my brother to give me what is owed and what is mine!

Have you ever seen family members quarrel over an inheritance?  This piece of jewelry is mine, it was promised to me a long time ago. Everyone knows that great Aunt Shelly wanted me to have this after her passing.  I have heard many people going through conflicts and feuds over disagreements over how property and money and possessions are to be managed, sold and divided. These are not circumstances where people are setting their hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

There is a better way. When people are in the thick of fighting for material things, it is not always easy to point this out- but there is a better way. It is a way where the truth of God’s Word reigns as the one absolute, and no promises or living will or common sense about what is right can compare to the truth of God’s Word.

When it comes to a dispute over an inheritance, nobody is right- because the dispute itself betrays far too much care over the things of this world.

There is a better way for us and a joyful way. The Lord sets aside for us a joyful work to be done on earth as in heaven.  We are to care for one another first of all, and to care for the gifts we have been given as stewards of God. There is a way to live that the scriptures give to us where to live is to be in Christ and we see that all that we have is a gift from God.

“When Christ who is your life appears, then you will appear with him in glory. Christ is our life, not our possessions.

To be rich toward God is to live in thanksgiving for all the Lord has given us. A few verses past our reading in Colossians, St. Paul writes: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

There is a way to live where we see that everything is a gift from the Lord and we are grateful for all we have. Whatever we do, we can do in the name of Jesus. This is the same conclusion King Solomon was led to in our reading from Ecclesiastes: “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat and who can have enjoyment?”

People with about the same number of gifts in life as you have can be very down on themselves and what they have in life. Instead of seeing gifts give not them by a loving God, they see what they do not have, or they see what they have as a reflection of what they are capable of earning and achieving in life.

Without seeing the hand of God in your life, you will indeed look at your life’s work and wonder, who will come along after you and mess it up.   

We are called to live a far more blessed way. The Lord blesses us to experience hard work as an opportunity not to advance ourselves, but to serve others.  Our labors are a form of worship, as we act as stewards for all of the gifts and abilities God has given us.

The warning Jesus gives about coveting is indeed sobering for us, and we do well to listen to this warning. But we must not lose sight that Jesus also gives us a way to live where our labors are not futile and self serving,

He leads us to abide in Him and to live rich toward God. We are rich toward God in seeking the kingdom and all that goes with our life of worship. And even our daily labors becomes part of our response of praise for the salvation Jesus has won for us.

In the gospel of Matthew He makes a promise about the rewards for our work: “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”