THE GREAT BANQUET
LUKE 14:15-24
15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
In the name of Jesus:
It’s the Fourth of July Weekend, so let’s have a party! Imagine, if you will, that you have decided to throw a party for all of your closest friends, in honor of the 4th. You have spared no expense to make certain that all is in place. There are table decorations, party favors, a red white and blue theme, and the food, oh the food! You have purchased the finest of meats and the beverages are free flowing and will be unlimited! What a great time you are planning for your friends!
Everyone shows up. The food is all prepared, the barbeque and all of the fixings have been spread out, and the table service is set. You are ready to eat. Then one friend pipes up and says, “I am sorry, I have to leave. I just bought a house today and I need to go look at it so as to see what kind of house I bought and how many rooms it has!” Now, you being you, the perceptive person that you are, recognize that this is the Fourth of July. NO ONE sells homes on the 4th, NO ONE closes on a house on the 4th, in fact, you recognize that people just don’t buy homes THEN decide to look at them, the proper course of action is that the buyer looks at the house FIRST THEN decides to make a purchase or not. You see right through this person who you called a friend and realize the flimsiness of the excuse.
Soon, another person approaches you and says: “I need to go because I just purchased a car today and I need to look at it.” Immediately you wonder what is going on here, for the car dealerships are closed, no one buys a car on the 4th, no one can get financing on the 4th, and who in their right mind buys a car without first looking at it, knowing what they purchased and at least having a test drive! And so, this friend leaves with his excuse in tow but the excuse doesn’t hold water.
Immediately another friend says to you: “I need to go and be with my wife.” And you respond: “Your wife is here with you!” But that person winks and nods, and leaves. Soon, the banquet that you prepared for your friends has more than enough spaces at the table. What do you do? Probably you stew, your feelings are hurt, and you will write these so called friends off of your “friends” list.
Get the picture? Can you relate, even if this has not happened to you, anyone with feelings would feel incredulous at this type of thing happening to anyone. And yet, this situation is exactly what Jesus is describing in our text for today. Jesus is seated at a table, having a meal with the Pharisees and religious leaders of the day. The host would have gone to great expense to make certain all was in order at this meal, for Jesus was the guest. One who was eating with Jesus remarked: ““Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” And then Jesus responds by telling this parable.
In the Scriptures, a life with God is explained in terms of having a meal with God. One way to explain it would be table fellowship. In other words, just as you have Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas dinners, cookouts with family and friends which show your close relationship with your family and friends, so also those who of the family of God, who are God’s children, have friendship or fellowship with God in terms of having a feast or banquet with the Lord. This is an image, which is consistently used throughout the Scriptures. This is why one says in our text: “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” This one is remarking that whoever breaks bread with the Lord, whoever has a relationship with the Lord is truly blessed by God!
Listen to how Isaiah the prophet describes it in chapter 25 of his book: “6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
7 And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
Salvation is described in terms of a banquet. God prepares this banquet for ALL PEOPLES. On that day, God will dispose of sin, of death, and he will wipe away all tears and pain from His people so that God’s children will live with the Lord forever. On that day those who have been saved by God’s grace in Christ will sing praises to the Lord saying in effect: This is the day we have been waiting for! Praise God, let’s rejoice and celebrate God’s goodness to us forever!
Note, the Bible says that ALL ARE INVITED. But the point of Jesus’ parable is that even though all are invited, many refuse to come. Many find excuses as to why they cannot fellowship with the Lord. This is more than evident every Sunday where the Lord provides His banquet of the gifts of salvation in the Lord’s Supper, where Jesus gives us Himself, His very body to eat and blood to drink so that we might taste of God’s salvation. But how do those who are invited respond to God’s invitation to come to His house on a Sunday morning?
Sadly, with excuses such as I need my own time, it’s the only day off I have, I need to sleep in, it doesn’t interest me. What excuses have you heard, or used????
Dear friends, God has invited you to His Great Banquet. This relationship and feast has already been prepared. God’s only Son offered up Himself, giving His body and shedding His blood on the cross. God has invited and called you into a relationship with Him, not on the basis of your works, or excuses, but on account of His Son, Jesus. For you have been saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ, it is not of your own doing. He has called you by name in the waters of your Baptism. By the powerful working of the Spirit through water and the Word you possess a saving faith in Christ. Even though many today make excuses and reject God’s gracious invitation, know full well that God will not be mocked. His judgment is swift. For those who reject Christ, on the Last Day they will be rejected by Him, but those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be satisfied.
God invites all to the Banquet that He has prepared, but note that the Banquet is for only those who are hungry, who hunger and thirst after His righteousness. If you are righteous in your own eyes, don’t come to the Banquet. The Banquet is not for those who are full of themselves; it is not for those who don’t believe that they are sinners; it is not for those who don’t want what God has to offer; it is not for those who believe in Jesus; it is not for those who reject Christ; or who love the world more than God. God offers this Banquet to those who are truly hungry, who hunger for a relationship with God. God offers in this Banquet help for sinners who repent of their sins and turn to Him for salvation. God offers in this Banquet His Son who was sacrificed on the cross for your forgiveness. God offers in this Banquet the Lamb of God who takes away your sins and the sins of the world.
So God invites you and sinners who hunger for what God offers satisfaction for your hunger by giving you Jesus to be your Savior. Today in our Old Testament Lesson God issues an invitation to you: “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight” (Prov. 9:5–6). The Lord calls you to repentance and faith. Repent of your sins, turn from the wisdom and the temptations of the world and trust in Christ for all things. Today He offers Himself to you in this Holy Supper, as a foretaste of what is to come. Even though many reject His offer, as did the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, His invitation to you is to come and taste and see that the Lord is good, that His mercy lasts forever.
His offer of salvation if for you this day, and His offer of salvation proclaimed through you as your live your life for Christ. For you have been reconciled to Christ, so that by the power of His Spirit you are empowered to love one another, in keeping with God’s will. For in Baptism you have been placed in Christ, and through His Word and Meal you have been fed at His Table so that you might be strengthened to live your life in His service. For this is the good and gracious will of God: “16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (I John 3: 16-18).”
Amen
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
The End in Near
THE END IS NEAR
I PETER 4:7-11 (12-14)
7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
In the name of Jesus:
Early this year there was a billboard on the corner of Coonpath and Business Route 33, which proclaimed in no uncertain terms that Jesus was coming on May 21, 2011. At the bottom of the proclamation was a website which, when entered into the web browser, would take you to an organization called Family Radio. The owner of the radio station and the web site, Harold Camping, spent thousands of dollars warning the world that the Rapture would take place on May 21, 2011, and then, six months later, on October 21, 2011, the end of the world would take place. How did Harold Camping make just a bold announcement? It was based in large part on his “calculations” which used symbolic passages of the Bible in order to ascertain his date. Many people looked expectantly for Jesus to return on May 21, some even spent their life savings in anticipation. Well, May 21 has come and gone, and there has been no rapture. And who knows if the end of the world will take place on October 21? The fact of the matter is that no one knows, save the Holy Trinity, when the world will end. Sadly, many have mocked God and His Word in due to the false prophet Harold Camping. Now, to be certain, Camping should be branded as what he is, a false prophet. But because of this jokester, many now don’t seriously consider that the world will come to an end. For a person to have a serious discussion on the end times would provoke laughter today because of Camping’s false assertions. And yet, God warns us that the end is coming, it is near, and so we need to be prepared.
The Scripture is clear. “The end of all things is at hand.” The end IS near. In the readings for Ascension Day, that great day when Jesus returned to heaven triumphantly after accomplishing His mission of fulfilling God’s Law on our behalf, offering His life upon the cross, and rising from the grave, the angels proclaim to the onlookers: “why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”(Acts 1:10-11).
Jesus will come back. To the unbeliever it is a warning. To those who believe, it is looked forward to in anticipation. To all it is a matter of fact. The end is coming. What shall we do? How then shall we live?
The Apostle Peter in our text for today answers those questions. Just try to imagine yourself back in the days of Peter. Crucifixions took place frequently throughout the Empire. It was punishment reserved for criminals and the cursed. In those trying days, there were those who claimed to be god. So think of what it must have been like when the Apostles claimed to everyone that Jesus, the One who was crucified, cursed, despised, was true God and offered all people eternal life! Those who heard this message believed it to be so by the power of the Holy Spirit. But most who heard this message shook their heads in bewilderment. Christians were persecuted for their faith because they believed that Jesus alone was the Savior and was God, there was no other way to be saved. Some Christians were mocked, others were ostracized, and still others were put to death. It was not easy to be a Christian at that time. Peter wrote our text to comfort those of faith, to assure them of Jesus’ promise that He was coming back and the end was near.
The names and faces have changed but the times really have remained the same. In the light of Harold Camping’s false prophecies concerning the rapture and the end of the world, many do not take seriously Jesus’ words nor do they take seriously the Word of God! And it is no easier to be a Christian in these days, is it? Some Christians don’t want to talk about their faith because they live in fear of being ridiculed or having their name drug in the mud. How many times have you heard the question: “Who made you judge? Or Am I my brother’s keeper? It isn’t easy to live out your faith in Christ when it seems as if you are the only one and you are swimming upstream.
And yet, you and I are called to be faithful to Christ. His charge to us is to be faithful unto death, so that we might receive the crown of everlasting life. How does this look? I will let Peter explain: Peter writes under the inspiration of the Spirit: “7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” Seeing as the end is coming, you are not to live like the rest of the world. To paraphrase Luther, don’t live like the heathen, don’t live like a pig. Don’t covet money, don’t be a glutton, be sexually pure in what you say and do. You have been bought with a price, the price being the holy precious blood of Christ. You belong to Christ, so live as His child. Seeing as God has given to you faith in Christ in your Baptism, then live out your life as a baptized child of God. Daily confess your sinfulness to Christ, receive His forgiveness full and free, and then seek to live out your faith so that Christ is manifested in your life. To be self controlled and sober minded for the sake of your prayers means that God calls us to humbly trust in Him for all things in life. Seek the Lord in His Word; seek to serve the Lord in all you do. Root your life in Christ so that your life will bring forth abundant fruit, that your faith in Christ will be active in a life of good works.
Peter explains what these good works look like: “ 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” First and foremost seeing that you have love for God, show that love to one another. Seek to outdo one another in showing love to one another, not just to the family of faith, but also to those who do not have faith. The Scriptures state: “ If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (I John 4:20). To show love is to thank God for His love for us in Jesus Christ and to keep the commands which God gives us to follow. Love is the fulfillment of the Law. Love God above all things, and show love to your neighbor.
But Peter gets even more specific in these last days. Listen to what he says: “. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Be hospitable to others. What is hospitality? It is living your life so that you serve others. You treat others kindly despite being wronged. You forgive for the sake of Christ. Instead of seeking to show power or lording something over another, you show power by submitting yourself to help and for the betterment of the other. No greater example in the Scriptures can be found but in the account of the Good Samaritan.
You remember that story, how the Samaritan went out of his way to help a stranger. A Samaritan in those days was considered an outcast, an outsider, someone who was beneath the common Jew. Yet this one who was held in contempt went out of his way to be a friend and neighbor to one in need, even telling the hotel manager that if I can do anything else to help this one, charge it to my account and I will take care of it. He essentially gave the one in need a blank check that he would pay so as to help the one in need.
Dear friend in Christ, don’t be deceived. The end is near. Just as Jesus came down from heaven to save sinners, so too He will come again to be our Judge. You have been judged in Christ as one forgiven. By faith you possess this forgiveness. God now calls you to live out that faith, in love toward God and love toward your neighbor. It should be of no concern to any of us as to the date of Christ’s return. NO one knows that date, not Harold Camping, it is known only to Jesus. Christ will come, just as we confess in our Creed, He will come to judge the living and the dead. There will be no literal 1000-year reign of Christ. No one will be left behind; there will be no second chance. No, today is the day of salvation. God calls all to believe in Christ! So rather than being anxious for that day, God calls us to put our faith into action! Repent of your sins. Trust in Christ as your Savior. And then in thanks to God live out your faith so that your faith is active in love toward others. In this way many more will come to know God’s love in Christ. And this is God’s good and gracious will, that all be saved and come to know the truth in Christ. This is how God is glorified. And this is our mission. Until He comes, so to Him be glory forever and ever.
Amen
I PETER 4:7-11 (12-14)
7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
In the name of Jesus:
Early this year there was a billboard on the corner of Coonpath and Business Route 33, which proclaimed in no uncertain terms that Jesus was coming on May 21, 2011. At the bottom of the proclamation was a website which, when entered into the web browser, would take you to an organization called Family Radio. The owner of the radio station and the web site, Harold Camping, spent thousands of dollars warning the world that the Rapture would take place on May 21, 2011, and then, six months later, on October 21, 2011, the end of the world would take place. How did Harold Camping make just a bold announcement? It was based in large part on his “calculations” which used symbolic passages of the Bible in order to ascertain his date. Many people looked expectantly for Jesus to return on May 21, some even spent their life savings in anticipation. Well, May 21 has come and gone, and there has been no rapture. And who knows if the end of the world will take place on October 21? The fact of the matter is that no one knows, save the Holy Trinity, when the world will end. Sadly, many have mocked God and His Word in due to the false prophet Harold Camping. Now, to be certain, Camping should be branded as what he is, a false prophet. But because of this jokester, many now don’t seriously consider that the world will come to an end. For a person to have a serious discussion on the end times would provoke laughter today because of Camping’s false assertions. And yet, God warns us that the end is coming, it is near, and so we need to be prepared.
The Scripture is clear. “The end of all things is at hand.” The end IS near. In the readings for Ascension Day, that great day when Jesus returned to heaven triumphantly after accomplishing His mission of fulfilling God’s Law on our behalf, offering His life upon the cross, and rising from the grave, the angels proclaim to the onlookers: “why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”(Acts 1:10-11).
Jesus will come back. To the unbeliever it is a warning. To those who believe, it is looked forward to in anticipation. To all it is a matter of fact. The end is coming. What shall we do? How then shall we live?
The Apostle Peter in our text for today answers those questions. Just try to imagine yourself back in the days of Peter. Crucifixions took place frequently throughout the Empire. It was punishment reserved for criminals and the cursed. In those trying days, there were those who claimed to be god. So think of what it must have been like when the Apostles claimed to everyone that Jesus, the One who was crucified, cursed, despised, was true God and offered all people eternal life! Those who heard this message believed it to be so by the power of the Holy Spirit. But most who heard this message shook their heads in bewilderment. Christians were persecuted for their faith because they believed that Jesus alone was the Savior and was God, there was no other way to be saved. Some Christians were mocked, others were ostracized, and still others were put to death. It was not easy to be a Christian at that time. Peter wrote our text to comfort those of faith, to assure them of Jesus’ promise that He was coming back and the end was near.
The names and faces have changed but the times really have remained the same. In the light of Harold Camping’s false prophecies concerning the rapture and the end of the world, many do not take seriously Jesus’ words nor do they take seriously the Word of God! And it is no easier to be a Christian in these days, is it? Some Christians don’t want to talk about their faith because they live in fear of being ridiculed or having their name drug in the mud. How many times have you heard the question: “Who made you judge? Or Am I my brother’s keeper? It isn’t easy to live out your faith in Christ when it seems as if you are the only one and you are swimming upstream.
And yet, you and I are called to be faithful to Christ. His charge to us is to be faithful unto death, so that we might receive the crown of everlasting life. How does this look? I will let Peter explain: Peter writes under the inspiration of the Spirit: “7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” Seeing as the end is coming, you are not to live like the rest of the world. To paraphrase Luther, don’t live like the heathen, don’t live like a pig. Don’t covet money, don’t be a glutton, be sexually pure in what you say and do. You have been bought with a price, the price being the holy precious blood of Christ. You belong to Christ, so live as His child. Seeing as God has given to you faith in Christ in your Baptism, then live out your life as a baptized child of God. Daily confess your sinfulness to Christ, receive His forgiveness full and free, and then seek to live out your faith so that Christ is manifested in your life. To be self controlled and sober minded for the sake of your prayers means that God calls us to humbly trust in Him for all things in life. Seek the Lord in His Word; seek to serve the Lord in all you do. Root your life in Christ so that your life will bring forth abundant fruit, that your faith in Christ will be active in a life of good works.
Peter explains what these good works look like: “ 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” First and foremost seeing that you have love for God, show that love to one another. Seek to outdo one another in showing love to one another, not just to the family of faith, but also to those who do not have faith. The Scriptures state: “ If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (I John 4:20). To show love is to thank God for His love for us in Jesus Christ and to keep the commands which God gives us to follow. Love is the fulfillment of the Law. Love God above all things, and show love to your neighbor.
But Peter gets even more specific in these last days. Listen to what he says: “. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Be hospitable to others. What is hospitality? It is living your life so that you serve others. You treat others kindly despite being wronged. You forgive for the sake of Christ. Instead of seeking to show power or lording something over another, you show power by submitting yourself to help and for the betterment of the other. No greater example in the Scriptures can be found but in the account of the Good Samaritan.
You remember that story, how the Samaritan went out of his way to help a stranger. A Samaritan in those days was considered an outcast, an outsider, someone who was beneath the common Jew. Yet this one who was held in contempt went out of his way to be a friend and neighbor to one in need, even telling the hotel manager that if I can do anything else to help this one, charge it to my account and I will take care of it. He essentially gave the one in need a blank check that he would pay so as to help the one in need.
Dear friend in Christ, don’t be deceived. The end is near. Just as Jesus came down from heaven to save sinners, so too He will come again to be our Judge. You have been judged in Christ as one forgiven. By faith you possess this forgiveness. God now calls you to live out that faith, in love toward God and love toward your neighbor. It should be of no concern to any of us as to the date of Christ’s return. NO one knows that date, not Harold Camping, it is known only to Jesus. Christ will come, just as we confess in our Creed, He will come to judge the living and the dead. There will be no literal 1000-year reign of Christ. No one will be left behind; there will be no second chance. No, today is the day of salvation. God calls all to believe in Christ! So rather than being anxious for that day, God calls us to put our faith into action! Repent of your sins. Trust in Christ as your Savior. And then in thanks to God live out your faith so that your faith is active in love toward others. In this way many more will come to know God’s love in Christ. And this is God’s good and gracious will, that all be saved and come to know the truth in Christ. This is how God is glorified. And this is our mission. Until He comes, so to Him be glory forever and ever.
Amen
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
True Religion
TRUE RELIGION
JAMES 1:22-27
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
In the name of Jesus:
In my frequent travels I run across bumper stickers on the back of cars. Some are humorous, but most convey a message. One such bumper sticker that I have seen around town, in fact it is prevalent throughout the country is the sticker “Coexist” The sticker has the term coexist spelled out with the religious symbols: the crescent and star for Islam; the pentagram for Wicca; the relativity formula for science; the star of David for Judaism; the Karma Wheel dotting the i for Buddhism; the Tao symbol for Taoism; and the cross for Christianity. The message is one of religious tolerance and a proclamation that all religions are the same, so wouldn’t it be nice if we all just got along?
I am all for getting along, but there is something to be said about truth and error. You see, the Scriptures do not speak of religious tolerance. God in His Holy Word does not tell us that all religions lead to heaven. NO! The Bible clearly says that there is only one name under heaven whereby man may be saved, and that name is JESUS! Jesus Himself says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life, NO ONE comes to the Father except by Me.”
It is with this understanding that James writes his epistle, and from which we read in our text the marks of true religion. Francis Pieper, one of the early presidents of the LCMS, once wrote in his book entitled Christian Dogmatics that there are only two religions in the world, one by which a person is saved by what he does, works, or one by which the person is saved by grace. Christianity is the only religion, the one true religion, whereby sinners are saved by grace, through faith in Christ, not of works, so that no one may boast. So then, what are we to think of this passage of which James writes? To be not just hearers of the word but doers as well?
James here is warning Christians against hypocrisy, of saying one thing and doing another. True religion for James, for that matter the entire Scriptures, is a matter of the heart. James warns about sitting in church and not listening to the Word. He warns of a kind of hearing that, as my moms used to accuse me of, letting things go in one ear and out the other. James is warning about the kind of hearing that deceives itself, a kind of hearing that promptly forgets after the person has heard. Being only a hearer means to hear without real faith. This is what was happening among the Christians whom James is writing to. The sinful flesh had gained control of the people. They were more concerned about their fleshly needs and living to fulfill their sinful appetites rather than living according to God’s Word. So James is calling them out, in fact, he calls out all of us who hear the Word today. James’ message is one of repentance.
Don’t fall into Satan’s trap by thinking that sitting in church merits any favor from God. Don’t think that just going through the motions in matters of your relationship with God is pleasing to God. James calls us to repentance, for this is what it means to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Do what the Word of God requires. And what does it require? God calls you to repentance, to faith, and newness of life.
Martin Luther in the first of his 95 Theses wrote: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, repent, He will the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”” God calls you to examine your life in light of the Ten Commandments. You know, the accusations of the world are right. When the world says that the church is filled with hypocrites, they are right. We are hypocrites. We have said one thing and done another. With our lips we say we love God and our fellow human beings, but in reality, we have fallen far short of God’s demands in the Law. God says to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as we do ourselves. And yet, what do our lives show? In our Confirmation vows we stated that we would live according to the Word of God throughout our lives. Have we? Have you really shown love to God when you have lived your life as if God did not matter when you have stubbornly sought your own way and not God’s way? Have you shown love to God when you have lived as if you mattered the most? How does it show love for God when you half-heartedly sing praise to God, or attend worship when it pleases you and fits your schedule? Have you shown true love for others or have selfishly lived so that others have not been helped by your apathy or indifference? Have you been so wrapped up in your life that you have not seen or neglected the needs of others?
Each of us stands condemned before God. We have sinned against God and deserve no good thing from Him. But God is good and gracious, even though we are sinners God loves the sinner with and everlasting love. God has shown His love in the Person and work of His Son, Jesus Christ, who came down from heaven to be God’s sin offering for sinners. His perfect life and innocent suffering and death are the price that Jesus has paid for the forgiveness of your sins. His shed blood cleanses you from sin. Your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God in your Baptism has changed your life so that you might lead a life of repentance every day of your life.
Repentance begins today, here and now in worship, where you hear the Word and apply it to your life. James uses an illustration, saying that if one listens to the Word in church and does not do what it says, namely, does not show the new life that he or she has in Christ, that person is like one who looks at one’s image in the mirror. Taking a good look at oneself, that person forgets what it seen and goes on living as if it doesn’t matter. Dear friend, if you look at yourself in the mirror in the morning and see your hair disheveled, you will comb your hair, and you will make a change in what you have seen so that there is a difference that is noticeable. So it is with the Christian life. Hearing God’s Word, you make it a point to change your life by the power of the Spirit. God has given to you His Spirit in your Baptism. Confessing your sin, and trusting in Christ God has changed your heart so that you will now go forth living a changed life, in accordance with God’s will. God has recreated you in Jesus Christ to abound in good works, not to save yourself, for you have been saved in Christ. Your life is to abound in good works toward others so that they will see the light of Christ in your life. You see, God in Jesus Christ has blessed you; now God wants you to go forth in your life to be a blessing and share God’s blessings with others. This is done as you abound in good works before God, sharing God’s blessings in Christ with others.
How is this done? Not by letting the Word go in one ear and out the others. Not by appearing to be religious. For in doing this, you deceive yourself and others. God says that you can’t say you love God and then show hatred toward your neighbor. True religion begins in the heart, whereby you see your life in the light of God’s law, repent of your sins, trust in Christ as your Savior, and then in joyful thanksgiving seek to share and reflect God’s love to all in Jesus.
Last week we watched in horror as a F5 tornado ripped through the heart of Joplin Missouri. Our former church members and friends, Steve and Talitha Elsea, live in Joplin. They were unaffected by the tornado, but their community looked like a nuclear weapon was dropped upon it. What does God call us to do as Christians and as a Church? Do we sit in our comfortable homes in Lancaster and say hypocritically, “I am glad that it wasn’t Lancaster?” Heaven forbid! No, the love of Christ compels us to see our neighbors in their suffering and respond to them in their need. In consultation with our congregational president, we decided to send a check to our sister congregation, Immanuel Lutheran in Joplin, to assist in their relief efforts. School teachers and other members of Immanuel have lost their homes. Many have had friends and family members who have lost their lives. The love of Christ compels us to do what we can to show the love and compassion of Christ to those in need.
But it doesn’t begin in Joplin. It begins here, at home. For we have opportunities before us to show our faith to our neighbors in need here in Lancaster and in Fairfield County, to assist those who are affected by unemployment, homelessness, and hunger. That is why we link with LSSCO (Lutheran Social Services), the Food Panty, community shelters and the like. It is why we support the work of COMA and its efforts with the Somali people to bring them the Gospel of Christ. It is why we work with other congregations in an organization like DORCAS, to bring Christ’s compassion to the people of Central and southeastern Ohio. It is why will host a servant week on the third week of June, to help a family in need in our community. We do this not to bring glory to this congregation or ourselves. We do it all to bring glory to God. We do this so that our faith might be active in love. This is what we are called to do, for God’s word is clear: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
There is only one true religion, and that truth is revealed in this: that sinners are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ. And this faith is revealed in how we treat those around us. God has touched you with His grace in Christ, so that in living lives of repentance, you might be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only, thereby giving glory to God by showing and sharing the love of Christ with others. May God grant each of us such repentance and faith, in Jesus’ name!
Amen
JAMES 1:22-27
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
In the name of Jesus:
In my frequent travels I run across bumper stickers on the back of cars. Some are humorous, but most convey a message. One such bumper sticker that I have seen around town, in fact it is prevalent throughout the country is the sticker “Coexist” The sticker has the term coexist spelled out with the religious symbols: the crescent and star for Islam; the pentagram for Wicca; the relativity formula for science; the star of David for Judaism; the Karma Wheel dotting the i for Buddhism; the Tao symbol for Taoism; and the cross for Christianity. The message is one of religious tolerance and a proclamation that all religions are the same, so wouldn’t it be nice if we all just got along?
I am all for getting along, but there is something to be said about truth and error. You see, the Scriptures do not speak of religious tolerance. God in His Holy Word does not tell us that all religions lead to heaven. NO! The Bible clearly says that there is only one name under heaven whereby man may be saved, and that name is JESUS! Jesus Himself says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life, NO ONE comes to the Father except by Me.”
It is with this understanding that James writes his epistle, and from which we read in our text the marks of true religion. Francis Pieper, one of the early presidents of the LCMS, once wrote in his book entitled Christian Dogmatics that there are only two religions in the world, one by which a person is saved by what he does, works, or one by which the person is saved by grace. Christianity is the only religion, the one true religion, whereby sinners are saved by grace, through faith in Christ, not of works, so that no one may boast. So then, what are we to think of this passage of which James writes? To be not just hearers of the word but doers as well?
James here is warning Christians against hypocrisy, of saying one thing and doing another. True religion for James, for that matter the entire Scriptures, is a matter of the heart. James warns about sitting in church and not listening to the Word. He warns of a kind of hearing that, as my moms used to accuse me of, letting things go in one ear and out the other. James is warning about the kind of hearing that deceives itself, a kind of hearing that promptly forgets after the person has heard. Being only a hearer means to hear without real faith. This is what was happening among the Christians whom James is writing to. The sinful flesh had gained control of the people. They were more concerned about their fleshly needs and living to fulfill their sinful appetites rather than living according to God’s Word. So James is calling them out, in fact, he calls out all of us who hear the Word today. James’ message is one of repentance.
Don’t fall into Satan’s trap by thinking that sitting in church merits any favor from God. Don’t think that just going through the motions in matters of your relationship with God is pleasing to God. James calls us to repentance, for this is what it means to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Do what the Word of God requires. And what does it require? God calls you to repentance, to faith, and newness of life.
Martin Luther in the first of his 95 Theses wrote: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, repent, He will the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”” God calls you to examine your life in light of the Ten Commandments. You know, the accusations of the world are right. When the world says that the church is filled with hypocrites, they are right. We are hypocrites. We have said one thing and done another. With our lips we say we love God and our fellow human beings, but in reality, we have fallen far short of God’s demands in the Law. God says to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as we do ourselves. And yet, what do our lives show? In our Confirmation vows we stated that we would live according to the Word of God throughout our lives. Have we? Have you really shown love to God when you have lived your life as if God did not matter when you have stubbornly sought your own way and not God’s way? Have you shown love to God when you have lived as if you mattered the most? How does it show love for God when you half-heartedly sing praise to God, or attend worship when it pleases you and fits your schedule? Have you shown true love for others or have selfishly lived so that others have not been helped by your apathy or indifference? Have you been so wrapped up in your life that you have not seen or neglected the needs of others?
Each of us stands condemned before God. We have sinned against God and deserve no good thing from Him. But God is good and gracious, even though we are sinners God loves the sinner with and everlasting love. God has shown His love in the Person and work of His Son, Jesus Christ, who came down from heaven to be God’s sin offering for sinners. His perfect life and innocent suffering and death are the price that Jesus has paid for the forgiveness of your sins. His shed blood cleanses you from sin. Your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God in your Baptism has changed your life so that you might lead a life of repentance every day of your life.
Repentance begins today, here and now in worship, where you hear the Word and apply it to your life. James uses an illustration, saying that if one listens to the Word in church and does not do what it says, namely, does not show the new life that he or she has in Christ, that person is like one who looks at one’s image in the mirror. Taking a good look at oneself, that person forgets what it seen and goes on living as if it doesn’t matter. Dear friend, if you look at yourself in the mirror in the morning and see your hair disheveled, you will comb your hair, and you will make a change in what you have seen so that there is a difference that is noticeable. So it is with the Christian life. Hearing God’s Word, you make it a point to change your life by the power of the Spirit. God has given to you His Spirit in your Baptism. Confessing your sin, and trusting in Christ God has changed your heart so that you will now go forth living a changed life, in accordance with God’s will. God has recreated you in Jesus Christ to abound in good works, not to save yourself, for you have been saved in Christ. Your life is to abound in good works toward others so that they will see the light of Christ in your life. You see, God in Jesus Christ has blessed you; now God wants you to go forth in your life to be a blessing and share God’s blessings with others. This is done as you abound in good works before God, sharing God’s blessings in Christ with others.
How is this done? Not by letting the Word go in one ear and out the others. Not by appearing to be religious. For in doing this, you deceive yourself and others. God says that you can’t say you love God and then show hatred toward your neighbor. True religion begins in the heart, whereby you see your life in the light of God’s law, repent of your sins, trust in Christ as your Savior, and then in joyful thanksgiving seek to share and reflect God’s love to all in Jesus.
Last week we watched in horror as a F5 tornado ripped through the heart of Joplin Missouri. Our former church members and friends, Steve and Talitha Elsea, live in Joplin. They were unaffected by the tornado, but their community looked like a nuclear weapon was dropped upon it. What does God call us to do as Christians and as a Church? Do we sit in our comfortable homes in Lancaster and say hypocritically, “I am glad that it wasn’t Lancaster?” Heaven forbid! No, the love of Christ compels us to see our neighbors in their suffering and respond to them in their need. In consultation with our congregational president, we decided to send a check to our sister congregation, Immanuel Lutheran in Joplin, to assist in their relief efforts. School teachers and other members of Immanuel have lost their homes. Many have had friends and family members who have lost their lives. The love of Christ compels us to do what we can to show the love and compassion of Christ to those in need.
But it doesn’t begin in Joplin. It begins here, at home. For we have opportunities before us to show our faith to our neighbors in need here in Lancaster and in Fairfield County, to assist those who are affected by unemployment, homelessness, and hunger. That is why we link with LSSCO (Lutheran Social Services), the Food Panty, community shelters and the like. It is why we support the work of COMA and its efforts with the Somali people to bring them the Gospel of Christ. It is why we work with other congregations in an organization like DORCAS, to bring Christ’s compassion to the people of Central and southeastern Ohio. It is why will host a servant week on the third week of June, to help a family in need in our community. We do this not to bring glory to this congregation or ourselves. We do it all to bring glory to God. We do this so that our faith might be active in love. This is what we are called to do, for God’s word is clear: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
There is only one true religion, and that truth is revealed in this: that sinners are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ. And this faith is revealed in how we treat those around us. God has touched you with His grace in Christ, so that in living lives of repentance, you might be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only, thereby giving glory to God by showing and sharing the love of Christ with others. May God grant each of us such repentance and faith, in Jesus’ name!
Amen
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Your Helper
YOUR HELPER
JOHN 16:5-15
5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he would take what is mine and declare it to you.
In the name of Jesus:
This little card provides some peace of mind to my family and me when we are traveling. This little AAA card guarantees that whenever my car is disabled, I will receive roadside assistance. If I need a tow truck, one will be made available, within certain parameters and limitations, of course, but if I need help from a tow truck, help will be on the way. If I need a jump for a car battery, or have a flat tire, this little card provides access whereby I can get the help that my family and I need when on the road. This isn’t a commercial for AAA; it is, though, one common example available to many of us that we have within our reach a helper when we need assistance.
Spiritually we are in need of God’s help. Lost and condemned because of sin, God sent help to sinners in the person of His Son Jesus Christ. By Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection salvation has been secured forever for sinners. When Jesus spoke to His disciples in the context of the lesson for today, Jesus was preparing to depart from earth to return to heaven. His mission had been accomplished. There was nothing else left for Jesus to do. So Jesus speaks to His disciples and tells them of His impending departure. Their hearts sink when they hear this news. Their beloved Savior is about to leave them, and their hearts are filled with grief. Their lives are obsessed with grief; it would be accurate to say that they were overcome with grief. The Gospel writer John tells us: “5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.”
How is it to the disciples and our advantage that Jesus departs and goes to heaven? Jesus answers that question by telling us that if He does not go away to the Father, the Helper, the Holy Spirit will not come to help us. Why does Jesus need to go away? Because His mission is complete, He returns from whence He came. Much like a solider who in victory returns home to a hero’s welcome, so too Jesus ascends to heaven, to receive heaven’s accolades on His victory over sin, Satan, and death for sinners. But Jesus, in love for sinners, promises to send help in the Person of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, who is called the Comforter or the Helper. Jesus says that it is to our advantage, to the sinner’s advantage, that He goes to heaven so that He will send the Holy Spirit.
What an understatement by our Lord! The Holy Spirit will come to help us in our salvation. Why do we need help? Because we can’t help ourselves! We are by nature sinful; we are spiritually dead and enemies of God! We have not spark, no energy, to love for God. We are spiritually dead, lifeless before God. So the Spirit comes to give us life! He comes to give us faith! He comes to bring us Jesus in a way, which comfort and help us today.
Jesus says: “. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” The Helper comes to help the sinful world AND to help those who belong to God. He has a two-fold task. The Helper comes first of all to convict the world of sinners, which include each and everyone of us of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Helper convicts us of sin, because no one believes in Jesus of his or her own volition. By our very nature we reject God, His word, and the work of Jesus Christ. Each of us is by nature unbelievers. The sin of sins is unbelief, for in unbelief you reject Jesus. And so the work of the Helper, the Holy Spirit, is to convict us of our sin, to show us our utter sinfulness and hopelessness in the light of God’s Law. We are hopeless without God. We truly need a Savior. The Spirit works through the Law to show us that great need.
The Spirit convicts us of righteousness. He helps us in our righteousness, in that first of all, He shows us how unrighteous we are in God’s sight. Our righteousness is like filthy garments; hence the Spirit helps us by showing us and revealing to us another righteousness outside of ourselves, the righteousness of Christ, which we all need. God made sinners right with Him on account of Jesus. Even as all have sinned, all also have been made right with God on account of Jesus! The blood of Christ cleanses from all sin and by faith Jesus becomes our Righteousness. God exchanges your sinfulness and gives you Jesus’ right standing before the Father. The Spirit not only shows you this, but also actually GIVES you this. This is why He is our Helper.
The Spirit finally convicts us of judgment, by revealing that the ruler of this world, Christ has judged Satan. Even though the world lies in the tight clutches of Satan, Christ has crushed Satan’s head, and this judgment is for now and forever. It has happened and it has lasting results. The work of the Spirit bears witness to what Jesus has done and now shows us and now GIVES to all who believe in Jesus.
This is the absolute truth that Christ came to save sinners. The Spirit is our Helper to reveal to us our sinfulness and also to give us the faith we need to believe in Jesus, thereby making what Jesus has accomplished our very own possession. This is not a new truth. It is, though, divine truth. It is God’s truth. It is a truth that people do not want to hear. This is why Jesus calls the Holy Spirit, the Helper, the “Spirit of Truth” for He tells the truth about Jesus, about the world, and about Satan.
Note what the Scriptures say about Satan. He is called a liar, the father of lies, and that by his very nature no truth resides in him. And so, the Spirit, our Helper, shows Satan for what he is, and exposes his lies to us. And yet, the message of the Spirit is not to expound on the lies of Satan, but to reveal to sinners their only Hope for salvation, Jesus Christ. The Spirit’s sole message is all about Jesus. The Spirit does not point to Himself, He does not seek glory in and of Himself, and the Spirit does not speak what separately apart from the Father and the Son. No, instead the Spirit works with the Father and the Son and the Spirit point’s sinners to Jesus, who died and rose for our salvation. The Spirit only speaks what the Father and the Son tells Him to say. The Father points to His Son and says: This is my beloved Son; listen to Him, for there is salvation in no one else. The Spirit also points us to the Son and tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, and that Jesus alone is the Way, Truth, and Life, that no one can come to the Father except through faith in Jesus. The Spirit is our Guide, our Helper, leading us into the truth of Jesus as our Savior and our Lord.
But how does this happen? How does the Spirit help us in this way? He does so by giving us the very faith we need. He does so by working through definite means. He uses things in our existence whereby we may know for certain that God is at work to give us His gifts.
God’s good and gracious Gifts are given to us in His Holy Word and Sacraments. Here we know and receive God’s truth, and THIS TRUTH AND THESE GIFTS ARE NOT TO BE DESPISED!!! We despise these gifts when we take them for granted, when we deem not going to church as important, when we minimize and trivialize God’s gifts to us. Here we need to hear once again God’s command: Remember the Sabbath Day! Luther explains that this means that we should fear and love God that we do NOT despise preaching and His Word, but rather we are called to GLADLY HEAR AND LEARN IT.
God desires that we gladly receive His gifts and gladly hear and learn His truth, the Word of God. God tells us all we need to know and we have all that we need from God in the Bible. God hides nothing from us regarding our eternal salvation, it is all revealed in the Scriptures. The Scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation for the Spirit speaks to us in and through the Word to tell us God’s truth concerning His Son, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit tells us in the Scriptures what we need to know concerning the kingdom of Satan and the Kingdom of God so that we might be forewarned and forearmed in our daily battles with the Devil.
So how can we be armed for this battle with Satan? All we need is Jesus. Jesus has defeated Satan for you and all who believe. In Baptism, God places you in Christ for the Bible says that if anyone is baptized in Christ he or she becomes a new creation, the old things have passed away and all things have now become new. Christ’s victory becomes your victory for He gives you that victory in Baptism.
Christ also speaks to you in His Word, to not only announce to you the forgiveness of your sins but also to GIVE to you that forgiveness that you need. The Spirit speaks in His Word, so we can say that Christ speaks because the Spirit speaks only words, which have been given to Him to speak through the Father and the Son, and these words give Jesus to us. The Holy Spirit is our Helper because He receives from Jesus so that He can lead us to the Father.
One of the great times we have as a family is remembering. Sitting around the dinner table after a meal, someone will recall a certain event in our lives that caused laughter. Soon there is much joy around the table, as one of the family will share their family recollection. And whenever we forget the details of the story, someone is there to help us remember, to fill in the blanks, not only so that the story is told correctly, but also to spread the joy. The Holy Spirit has been sent from God the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ, to help us remember Jesus. There are trials and difficulties in our lives, which get in the way of our remembering what Jesus has done. And so Jesus has sent to us the Holy Spirit, who points us to Jesus, that even in our trials we might have joy. The Spirit is Jesus’ gift to you, to point us to Jesus, who is our ever-present Help in our times of need. Amen
JOHN 16:5-15
5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he would take what is mine and declare it to you.
In the name of Jesus:
This little card provides some peace of mind to my family and me when we are traveling. This little AAA card guarantees that whenever my car is disabled, I will receive roadside assistance. If I need a tow truck, one will be made available, within certain parameters and limitations, of course, but if I need help from a tow truck, help will be on the way. If I need a jump for a car battery, or have a flat tire, this little card provides access whereby I can get the help that my family and I need when on the road. This isn’t a commercial for AAA; it is, though, one common example available to many of us that we have within our reach a helper when we need assistance.
Spiritually we are in need of God’s help. Lost and condemned because of sin, God sent help to sinners in the person of His Son Jesus Christ. By Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection salvation has been secured forever for sinners. When Jesus spoke to His disciples in the context of the lesson for today, Jesus was preparing to depart from earth to return to heaven. His mission had been accomplished. There was nothing else left for Jesus to do. So Jesus speaks to His disciples and tells them of His impending departure. Their hearts sink when they hear this news. Their beloved Savior is about to leave them, and their hearts are filled with grief. Their lives are obsessed with grief; it would be accurate to say that they were overcome with grief. The Gospel writer John tells us: “5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.”
How is it to the disciples and our advantage that Jesus departs and goes to heaven? Jesus answers that question by telling us that if He does not go away to the Father, the Helper, the Holy Spirit will not come to help us. Why does Jesus need to go away? Because His mission is complete, He returns from whence He came. Much like a solider who in victory returns home to a hero’s welcome, so too Jesus ascends to heaven, to receive heaven’s accolades on His victory over sin, Satan, and death for sinners. But Jesus, in love for sinners, promises to send help in the Person of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, who is called the Comforter or the Helper. Jesus says that it is to our advantage, to the sinner’s advantage, that He goes to heaven so that He will send the Holy Spirit.
What an understatement by our Lord! The Holy Spirit will come to help us in our salvation. Why do we need help? Because we can’t help ourselves! We are by nature sinful; we are spiritually dead and enemies of God! We have not spark, no energy, to love for God. We are spiritually dead, lifeless before God. So the Spirit comes to give us life! He comes to give us faith! He comes to bring us Jesus in a way, which comfort and help us today.
Jesus says: “. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” The Helper comes to help the sinful world AND to help those who belong to God. He has a two-fold task. The Helper comes first of all to convict the world of sinners, which include each and everyone of us of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Helper convicts us of sin, because no one believes in Jesus of his or her own volition. By our very nature we reject God, His word, and the work of Jesus Christ. Each of us is by nature unbelievers. The sin of sins is unbelief, for in unbelief you reject Jesus. And so the work of the Helper, the Holy Spirit, is to convict us of our sin, to show us our utter sinfulness and hopelessness in the light of God’s Law. We are hopeless without God. We truly need a Savior. The Spirit works through the Law to show us that great need.
The Spirit convicts us of righteousness. He helps us in our righteousness, in that first of all, He shows us how unrighteous we are in God’s sight. Our righteousness is like filthy garments; hence the Spirit helps us by showing us and revealing to us another righteousness outside of ourselves, the righteousness of Christ, which we all need. God made sinners right with Him on account of Jesus. Even as all have sinned, all also have been made right with God on account of Jesus! The blood of Christ cleanses from all sin and by faith Jesus becomes our Righteousness. God exchanges your sinfulness and gives you Jesus’ right standing before the Father. The Spirit not only shows you this, but also actually GIVES you this. This is why He is our Helper.
The Spirit finally convicts us of judgment, by revealing that the ruler of this world, Christ has judged Satan. Even though the world lies in the tight clutches of Satan, Christ has crushed Satan’s head, and this judgment is for now and forever. It has happened and it has lasting results. The work of the Spirit bears witness to what Jesus has done and now shows us and now GIVES to all who believe in Jesus.
This is the absolute truth that Christ came to save sinners. The Spirit is our Helper to reveal to us our sinfulness and also to give us the faith we need to believe in Jesus, thereby making what Jesus has accomplished our very own possession. This is not a new truth. It is, though, divine truth. It is God’s truth. It is a truth that people do not want to hear. This is why Jesus calls the Holy Spirit, the Helper, the “Spirit of Truth” for He tells the truth about Jesus, about the world, and about Satan.
Note what the Scriptures say about Satan. He is called a liar, the father of lies, and that by his very nature no truth resides in him. And so, the Spirit, our Helper, shows Satan for what he is, and exposes his lies to us. And yet, the message of the Spirit is not to expound on the lies of Satan, but to reveal to sinners their only Hope for salvation, Jesus Christ. The Spirit’s sole message is all about Jesus. The Spirit does not point to Himself, He does not seek glory in and of Himself, and the Spirit does not speak what separately apart from the Father and the Son. No, instead the Spirit works with the Father and the Son and the Spirit point’s sinners to Jesus, who died and rose for our salvation. The Spirit only speaks what the Father and the Son tells Him to say. The Father points to His Son and says: This is my beloved Son; listen to Him, for there is salvation in no one else. The Spirit also points us to the Son and tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, and that Jesus alone is the Way, Truth, and Life, that no one can come to the Father except through faith in Jesus. The Spirit is our Guide, our Helper, leading us into the truth of Jesus as our Savior and our Lord.
But how does this happen? How does the Spirit help us in this way? He does so by giving us the very faith we need. He does so by working through definite means. He uses things in our existence whereby we may know for certain that God is at work to give us His gifts.
God’s good and gracious Gifts are given to us in His Holy Word and Sacraments. Here we know and receive God’s truth, and THIS TRUTH AND THESE GIFTS ARE NOT TO BE DESPISED!!! We despise these gifts when we take them for granted, when we deem not going to church as important, when we minimize and trivialize God’s gifts to us. Here we need to hear once again God’s command: Remember the Sabbath Day! Luther explains that this means that we should fear and love God that we do NOT despise preaching and His Word, but rather we are called to GLADLY HEAR AND LEARN IT.
God desires that we gladly receive His gifts and gladly hear and learn His truth, the Word of God. God tells us all we need to know and we have all that we need from God in the Bible. God hides nothing from us regarding our eternal salvation, it is all revealed in the Scriptures. The Scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation for the Spirit speaks to us in and through the Word to tell us God’s truth concerning His Son, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit tells us in the Scriptures what we need to know concerning the kingdom of Satan and the Kingdom of God so that we might be forewarned and forearmed in our daily battles with the Devil.
So how can we be armed for this battle with Satan? All we need is Jesus. Jesus has defeated Satan for you and all who believe. In Baptism, God places you in Christ for the Bible says that if anyone is baptized in Christ he or she becomes a new creation, the old things have passed away and all things have now become new. Christ’s victory becomes your victory for He gives you that victory in Baptism.
Christ also speaks to you in His Word, to not only announce to you the forgiveness of your sins but also to GIVE to you that forgiveness that you need. The Spirit speaks in His Word, so we can say that Christ speaks because the Spirit speaks only words, which have been given to Him to speak through the Father and the Son, and these words give Jesus to us. The Holy Spirit is our Helper because He receives from Jesus so that He can lead us to the Father.
One of the great times we have as a family is remembering. Sitting around the dinner table after a meal, someone will recall a certain event in our lives that caused laughter. Soon there is much joy around the table, as one of the family will share their family recollection. And whenever we forget the details of the story, someone is there to help us remember, to fill in the blanks, not only so that the story is told correctly, but also to spread the joy. The Holy Spirit has been sent from God the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ, to help us remember Jesus. There are trials and difficulties in our lives, which get in the way of our remembering what Jesus has done. And so Jesus has sent to us the Holy Spirit, who points us to Jesus, that even in our trials we might have joy. The Spirit is Jesus’ gift to you, to point us to Jesus, who is our ever-present Help in our times of need. Amen
Sunday, May 8, 2011
A reminder of the ancestral homeland
Thanks to Rachel, the blog has a little bit of a new look. The picture in the background looks a great deal like the landscape of Scotland. And so, in a tip of the cap to my ancestors, I have changed the background to give the look of the Scottish coast. The cliff reminds me of the cliffs outside of Arbroath.
Dogs, Children, and God
DOGS, CHILDREN, AND GOD
EZEKIEL 34:11-16
11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.
In the name of Jesus:
How does one in our society explain this text? We know little of shepherds and sheep, who of us have owned a sheep or have been a shepherd? Okay, the Pohlods are exempt, but besides the Pohlods, who else know what God is talking about, who has experienced this relationship? Well, if you are a dog owner, you might be able to relate.
Many of you who have stopped by our home have seen our two dogs. Oreo, who we had put to sleep last year, was notorious for getting lost. Even though we have the invisible fence, Oreo twice, not once, but twice, wandered off through the electric fence and was no where to be found. We were frantic, looking all over the house and all over the neighborhood trying to find her. We called friends, neighbors, and we had a search party looking all over the neighborhood, up and down streets, in back yards searching for the blind, hard of hearing cocker spaniel named Oreo. The one time we found her hiding underneath the big pine tree in our next-door neighbor’s front yard. A huge winter storm was approaching so time was of the essence. Being hard of hearing she couldn’t hear the warning signal, so we reckoned that she was shocked and decided to settle down under the tree.
The second time Oreo wandered off we found her in the neighbor’s back yard. She had crossed the street and, not being able to see, was waiting, sitting under the neighbor’s back window, waiting to be let in, not knowing she was at the window and not a door and also not knowing she was not in her own yard. Both times we are frantic, and uttered a big sigh of relief and said a prayer of thanks to God.
Our other dog, Katie, also was recently lost. I was at church attending a meeting when I got a frantic call from Luann pleading me to come home, that they could not find Katie. Mark had searched the house to no avail; Luann was patrolling the neighborhood by car calling out Katie’s name. Luann found her, by the swing set over at Sanderson School across the street. How she got away, we still don’t know because she has an electronic collar. We surmised that Katie must have seen a cat or squirrel and in her thrill of the chase, Katie sprinted across the fence line chasing whatever it was to Sanderson. Yes, I know that some of you are thinking, Pastor, you need to up the amps on that electric fence. That isn’t the point. We had lost our beloved dog and we rejoiced when she was found.
There is something to be said about the love between an owner and its pet. But there is nothing stronger than a mother’s love for her child. If you have ever had a missing child, you know the heartache, you know the pain, you know that your world STOPS and time is frozen. Your only purpose in life is to find that lost child and bring that loved one home. At King’s Island one year Mark wandered off at the water park. We couldn’t find him through the crowd of people. Fanning out through the crowd, well, yes, we did find him, but we did all we could to search every space of that area to find our son. If you have ever experienced what I have shared today, you know the emotional toll, the physical pain and sickness you feel until that which was lost is found.
In our text for today Ezekiel writes of how Israel wandered from their relationship with God. God had called them to be His people. He made them a nation, brought them out of Egypt, led them to the Promised Land, gave them everything they needed including kings and prophets to lead and guide them in the way that God had desired. But through it all, Israel was unfaithful. Israel wandered off. God’s people ran away from God and sought other gods. God was their Shepherd but they acted like sheep that were led astray.
God is our Shepherd, but we have strayed from Him. The Scripture tells us that all of us are like sheep that have gone astray, we are lost, and we seek our own way. Each one of us has made messes of situations in our life because we have sought our own way. We have not let God be Master or have total control of our lives. We do not trust God, as we ought, we seek to make our own decisions, we do what we think it right, even if that goes against God and His will. We have acted like gods in our own lives, loving our self more than God, fearing what others think instead of what God wills, and trusting in our own reason and strength instead of God. We have tried to live lives separated from God, which really shows that we ARE separated from God. We would be like lost sheep, if not for the love that God has for us.
But God has loved us and still loves us. God is merciful. He is full of love and mercy for each and every one of us. Though we have run from Him, He seeks us out and searches for us. He searches for all who have run from Him and continue to run from Him. No matter if sinners continue to deny Him, God will not deny them. If the sinner runs from God God runs and seeks the sinner. For whoever is lost, God loves enough to seek out and find those who are lost, that they might know of His love and care for them. And we see God’s mercy, and love, and grace in the person and work of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
God has come to a sinful world to seek out the lost in Jesus. Jesus has come into our very existence and into our world to seek and find us. In the Gospel lesson for today, Jesus describes His love for sinners in terms of a Shepherd. Jesus is not like one who is hired out to do a job, which cares for the sheep as if he is paid for it, and then whenever some difficulty comes the one who is hired will pick up and leave. No, rather Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd of the sheep. He seeks out those who have fled from Him, who are scattered and not of the sheepfold. He gave His life in love for all. By Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection He has purchased and won each and every sinner from sin, Satan, and death, so that sinners no longer belong to themselves but they belong to Him! He has laid down His life for all who have wandered and gone astray. On the cross Jesus has endured all that sinners might be saved.
Salvation is for sinners. God’s salvation is for you! Like a shepherd who seeks out the sheep who are lost, who are broken or are sick, so Christ seeks out you! He offers to you His help and salvation for He is our ever-present Help in time of trouble. To those who are broken by the events of life Jesus offers His help and promises to work things out to your good. To those who are burdened by guilt and sin Jesus offers forgiveness and salvation. To those who are frightened by death and despair Jesus offers eternal life and Hope for He is the Resurrection and the Life. Jesus lives for you today and promises to give you sinners an overwhelming victory over sin, death, and the devil by a free gift of His love. He offers this to you and faith claims and lays hold of what Jesus gives.
This faith has been given in your Baptism. You are His new creation by water and the Word. He has restored your soul in Baptism; He leads you in the paths of everlasting life through His Word, the Gospel. He this very day prepares for you and offers to you Himself in the Table of the Lord, His Supper, for the forgiveness of your sins and for the strengthening of your faith, so that you might live in His presence today and so that you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
God is good and gracious. Peter writes: “For you were straying like sheep but now have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (I Peter 2:25). The Good Shepherd has sought us out when we are lost that we might live in His presence. And the Good Shepherd so sends us out, into our families, neighborhoods, nation and world, to seek those who are lost, that they might find God’s love for them in Christ.
There was much joy in our home when we found our lost dogs. Even so, there is a greater joy in heaven over one sinner who repents and believes in Christ. Even as owners seek out their lost pets, and parents seek out their lost children, so too God wishes to seek and save the lost, to bring back those who have strayed. He has called you by name in Christ. You belong to Him and now His mission has become your calling and mission, that many more will come faith and belong to Jesus, for He is the Good Shepherd.
Amen
EZEKIEL 34:11-16
11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.
In the name of Jesus:
How does one in our society explain this text? We know little of shepherds and sheep, who of us have owned a sheep or have been a shepherd? Okay, the Pohlods are exempt, but besides the Pohlods, who else know what God is talking about, who has experienced this relationship? Well, if you are a dog owner, you might be able to relate.
Many of you who have stopped by our home have seen our two dogs. Oreo, who we had put to sleep last year, was notorious for getting lost. Even though we have the invisible fence, Oreo twice, not once, but twice, wandered off through the electric fence and was no where to be found. We were frantic, looking all over the house and all over the neighborhood trying to find her. We called friends, neighbors, and we had a search party looking all over the neighborhood, up and down streets, in back yards searching for the blind, hard of hearing cocker spaniel named Oreo. The one time we found her hiding underneath the big pine tree in our next-door neighbor’s front yard. A huge winter storm was approaching so time was of the essence. Being hard of hearing she couldn’t hear the warning signal, so we reckoned that she was shocked and decided to settle down under the tree.
The second time Oreo wandered off we found her in the neighbor’s back yard. She had crossed the street and, not being able to see, was waiting, sitting under the neighbor’s back window, waiting to be let in, not knowing she was at the window and not a door and also not knowing she was not in her own yard. Both times we are frantic, and uttered a big sigh of relief and said a prayer of thanks to God.
Our other dog, Katie, also was recently lost. I was at church attending a meeting when I got a frantic call from Luann pleading me to come home, that they could not find Katie. Mark had searched the house to no avail; Luann was patrolling the neighborhood by car calling out Katie’s name. Luann found her, by the swing set over at Sanderson School across the street. How she got away, we still don’t know because she has an electronic collar. We surmised that Katie must have seen a cat or squirrel and in her thrill of the chase, Katie sprinted across the fence line chasing whatever it was to Sanderson. Yes, I know that some of you are thinking, Pastor, you need to up the amps on that electric fence. That isn’t the point. We had lost our beloved dog and we rejoiced when she was found.
There is something to be said about the love between an owner and its pet. But there is nothing stronger than a mother’s love for her child. If you have ever had a missing child, you know the heartache, you know the pain, you know that your world STOPS and time is frozen. Your only purpose in life is to find that lost child and bring that loved one home. At King’s Island one year Mark wandered off at the water park. We couldn’t find him through the crowd of people. Fanning out through the crowd, well, yes, we did find him, but we did all we could to search every space of that area to find our son. If you have ever experienced what I have shared today, you know the emotional toll, the physical pain and sickness you feel until that which was lost is found.
In our text for today Ezekiel writes of how Israel wandered from their relationship with God. God had called them to be His people. He made them a nation, brought them out of Egypt, led them to the Promised Land, gave them everything they needed including kings and prophets to lead and guide them in the way that God had desired. But through it all, Israel was unfaithful. Israel wandered off. God’s people ran away from God and sought other gods. God was their Shepherd but they acted like sheep that were led astray.
God is our Shepherd, but we have strayed from Him. The Scripture tells us that all of us are like sheep that have gone astray, we are lost, and we seek our own way. Each one of us has made messes of situations in our life because we have sought our own way. We have not let God be Master or have total control of our lives. We do not trust God, as we ought, we seek to make our own decisions, we do what we think it right, even if that goes against God and His will. We have acted like gods in our own lives, loving our self more than God, fearing what others think instead of what God wills, and trusting in our own reason and strength instead of God. We have tried to live lives separated from God, which really shows that we ARE separated from God. We would be like lost sheep, if not for the love that God has for us.
But God has loved us and still loves us. God is merciful. He is full of love and mercy for each and every one of us. Though we have run from Him, He seeks us out and searches for us. He searches for all who have run from Him and continue to run from Him. No matter if sinners continue to deny Him, God will not deny them. If the sinner runs from God God runs and seeks the sinner. For whoever is lost, God loves enough to seek out and find those who are lost, that they might know of His love and care for them. And we see God’s mercy, and love, and grace in the person and work of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
God has come to a sinful world to seek out the lost in Jesus. Jesus has come into our very existence and into our world to seek and find us. In the Gospel lesson for today, Jesus describes His love for sinners in terms of a Shepherd. Jesus is not like one who is hired out to do a job, which cares for the sheep as if he is paid for it, and then whenever some difficulty comes the one who is hired will pick up and leave. No, rather Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd of the sheep. He seeks out those who have fled from Him, who are scattered and not of the sheepfold. He gave His life in love for all. By Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection He has purchased and won each and every sinner from sin, Satan, and death, so that sinners no longer belong to themselves but they belong to Him! He has laid down His life for all who have wandered and gone astray. On the cross Jesus has endured all that sinners might be saved.
Salvation is for sinners. God’s salvation is for you! Like a shepherd who seeks out the sheep who are lost, who are broken or are sick, so Christ seeks out you! He offers to you His help and salvation for He is our ever-present Help in time of trouble. To those who are broken by the events of life Jesus offers His help and promises to work things out to your good. To those who are burdened by guilt and sin Jesus offers forgiveness and salvation. To those who are frightened by death and despair Jesus offers eternal life and Hope for He is the Resurrection and the Life. Jesus lives for you today and promises to give you sinners an overwhelming victory over sin, death, and the devil by a free gift of His love. He offers this to you and faith claims and lays hold of what Jesus gives.
This faith has been given in your Baptism. You are His new creation by water and the Word. He has restored your soul in Baptism; He leads you in the paths of everlasting life through His Word, the Gospel. He this very day prepares for you and offers to you Himself in the Table of the Lord, His Supper, for the forgiveness of your sins and for the strengthening of your faith, so that you might live in His presence today and so that you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
God is good and gracious. Peter writes: “For you were straying like sheep but now have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (I Peter 2:25). The Good Shepherd has sought us out when we are lost that we might live in His presence. And the Good Shepherd so sends us out, into our families, neighborhoods, nation and world, to seek those who are lost, that they might find God’s love for them in Christ.
There was much joy in our home when we found our lost dogs. Even so, there is a greater joy in heaven over one sinner who repents and believes in Christ. Even as owners seek out their lost pets, and parents seek out their lost children, so too God wishes to seek and save the lost, to bring back those who have strayed. He has called you by name in Christ. You belong to Him and now His mission has become your calling and mission, that many more will come faith and belong to Jesus, for He is the Good Shepherd.
Amen
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Peace
PEACE
JOHN 20:19-31
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
In the name of Jesus:
Fear robs you of the things most precious in your life. Sit down some time and try to add up the costs that fear produces. When you think of fear and its cost in the world and in our lives, you can begin by adding up the costs of penitentiaries, prisons and jails. Then to that total, add the costs of lawyers, courtrooms and security forces. But the cost doesn’t stop there. Begin to take into account the cost of the locks on your doors, your windows, the security system that you have in your home, and then consider also the cost of insurance, and those who care for those who have been victims of a crime. The cost is staggering, when you think about it. Fear grips us and it is costly. Not only in terms of money, but also when you consider how fear affects each of us. How do we calm our fears?
Do you know how a lot of people handle their fears? They run from them or ignore them. When I was little, I had a fear of the dark. I still vividly remember at the old house on Hillside Ave. in East Cleveland my mom telling me to go to bed and me scurrying up the stairs. Why did I flee up the stairway? It was less of obedience to my parents, and more due to my fear of the dark! I ran up the stairs because I didn’t want whatever there was that was lurking in the dark to get me. As I grew older, my fears of the dark dissipated as I learned to ignore my fears and not let them get the best of me.
But a lot of good that does for any of us who have fears today. We can either ignore our fears of the dark, or make certain we have security systems up to date, or a gun in the drawer by our bedside. But ignoring our fears, even trying to handle our fears by ourselves won’t make them go away.
If you have a fear of being alone, no security system is going to fill that hole in your heart or in your life. There is still that uneasiness that lives in your life. That what fear does, it continues to lurk in our lives so that fear robs us of our peace. FDR said that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. It is a great line, but when you are afraid, when you have fear, you have neither peace of mind nor peace in your soul.
Fear grips us and robs us of tranquility. Estrangement among members of families takes its toll on spouses, parents and children, and siblings. Whatever it is that separates people and causes rancor and strife certainly doesn’t bring peace.
We have a need for peace in our families, and yes, even among ourselves. Individually we need to be a peace. Sickness not only causes us distress on a physical level, illness robs us of peace. We question, why am I sick? How long will it last? How much will this health care cost? And if we are sick enough, we wonder if this sickness will lead to death?
Look around and you see that there is no peace in the world. The World is at war again, the only thing missing is the title World War Three! There is war in Afghanistan, war in Libya, war in Syria, in Yemen, there is the war on terror, and we even see Americans at war with one another! There is no peace, only fear. Ignore it, but it won’t go away. You can run but you can’t hide from it.
The greatest problem we face, though, is that we have no peace within ourselves. Our consciences are in need of peace. But our lives are laden with guilt, filled with appointments to be kept, we are exhausted from running to get here and there, and still we have no peace. When we look at our text for today, we see that Thomas and the other disciples lacked peace. They lived in fear. What did they do? They did what they could, but the fear was still there.
Note our text:” On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors are locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews.” The disciples were afraid of the Jews. They feared those who put Jesus to death. They were afraid of what might happen to them. How did they handle this fear? They locked the doors! They figured if they would lock themselves in the room, no one could get in to get them. Of course, no one could get out of the room, and the fear was still prevalent.
The only remedy for their fear was Jesus! The Risen Christ entered through their locked doors in order to reveal Himself as the Risen One, who lived, died, and now lives forever. He defeated the fearful three of sin, Satan, and death and gives victory over fear to all who believe. He lives to silence all of your fears; He lives to wipe away your tears. Your Redeemer Jesus lives to grant to you peace in the midst of the turmoil in your life, He lives to grant to you His perfect peace.
Thomas needed this peace, He needed the joy that only Jesus can give. Thomas is called the doubting one, Doubting Thomas for a reason. While others witnessed the Risen Christ with their own eyes, Thomas did not. You remember what he said, unless I place my hands in those open wounds, I will not believe. But Thomas in saying that did not have peace. He may have sounded confident, but like each of us, he had questions that he needed answered. His life was in turmoil for a week. Did the others see Jesus? If so, why wouldn’t Jesus show Himself to him? If Jesus was alive, what would that mean. These and other thoughts went through his mind, because Thomas is like us and we are just like Thomas. His heart and mind were racked with questions. Just like you and me when we have questions or are puzzled over a series of events, Thomas had no peace.
And so Jesus, knowing this, appears again to the disciples, only this time with Thomas present. The same doors were locked, not because of fear, but so that the same physical conditions existed to show Thomas and all who doubt that Jesus has indeed risen from the grave. This time Christ appears and approaches Thomas gently, as a Friend, not condemning, but offerings His hands and side as proof of Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus’ words to Thomas encourage him and each of us who are racked with fears today: Doubt no more, only believe!
Jesus says to Thomas and to us: Blessed are they who believe and have not yet seen. Blessed are those who hear God’s Word and believe. Those who take God at His Word and trust God and His Word, believing what the Scriptures says about Jesus, are blessed by God. Those who hear God’s Good News and trust in Gods’ Good News have as their possession what God gives, namely Jesus and salvation.
The Risen Christ casts out fear in our hearts for the Good News is that He is risen. Not has, which is the past tense and would imply that this is something that happened in the past with no effect for us today. And the news is not that He will rise, for that would mean that the Scripture did NOT come true in Jesus and that He has no meaning for us today. No, instead the greeting is He IS Risen, which means that Christ has rose from the grave, He continues to live for He has risen from the grave, and He always will live because of the resurrection. Jesus lives today and His life in a continuing reality for us today. This is why the Bible says what it says, that by believing in Jesus, that is, by CONTINUALLY BELEIVING IN JESUS we will have life in His name. He has given us faith in Baptism and by His Word. He feeds our faith in Word and Sacrament. Today God gives peace in Jesus. Believe it. It is yours. Claim it, trust in Him, for He gives that peace to you today without measure.
This Sunday is called Quasimodo Geniti Sunday. The good old Lutheran question is what does this mean? This Sunday’s name has the meaning which comes from I Peter: Be like newborn babies. In the shadow of Easter God’s call to you as His child is to trust in Christ, so much so that you will live and act like a new born baby. Just as babies yearn for milk, so yearn and hunger for the Word, for the Word brings Christ and the Word brings peace.
So, dear fellow believer, yearn for Jesus and the peace that He alone gives in the forgiveness of your sins. That peace is given to you in your Baptism, where your sins have been washed away and Christ has claimed you as His own. Yearn to come to church to hear God’s forgiveness pronounced to you in the words of the Absolution, for when the Pastor states: As a called servant I forgive you all of your sins in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God gives forgiveness and grants peace to your troubled soul. And yearn to attend church so that you may gather around the Altar of the Lord to receive His true Body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins. For where there is forgiveness of sins, God gives to you peace that surpasses all understanding.
Jesus greeted His disciples in the locked room with the words: "Peace be unto you." In Hebrew, Jesus would have used only one word: Shalom. The Hebrew word shalom, for "peace," is a most comprehensive word, covering the full realm of relationships in daily life and expressing an ideal state of life. The word suggests the fullness of well being and harmony untouched by ill fortune. This is the absolute best that God can give to a sinner, that is, through the forgiveness of sins the sinner trusts in Christ so that you have wholeness and completeness with God. This is what God has given to you in Christ. Through the forgiveness of your sins God has given to you shalom, perfect forgiveness, reconciliation with God, perfect peace. It is no light hearted greeting, but one that comes with God’s divine blessing. This is what God gives in Christ, and as His disciples today, this is what we are called to share with others. God’s peace, His perfect peace in Christ, for Christ, you have the peace that surpasses all understanding.
Shalom!
Amen
JOHN 20:19-31
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
In the name of Jesus:
Fear robs you of the things most precious in your life. Sit down some time and try to add up the costs that fear produces. When you think of fear and its cost in the world and in our lives, you can begin by adding up the costs of penitentiaries, prisons and jails. Then to that total, add the costs of lawyers, courtrooms and security forces. But the cost doesn’t stop there. Begin to take into account the cost of the locks on your doors, your windows, the security system that you have in your home, and then consider also the cost of insurance, and those who care for those who have been victims of a crime. The cost is staggering, when you think about it. Fear grips us and it is costly. Not only in terms of money, but also when you consider how fear affects each of us. How do we calm our fears?
Do you know how a lot of people handle their fears? They run from them or ignore them. When I was little, I had a fear of the dark. I still vividly remember at the old house on Hillside Ave. in East Cleveland my mom telling me to go to bed and me scurrying up the stairs. Why did I flee up the stairway? It was less of obedience to my parents, and more due to my fear of the dark! I ran up the stairs because I didn’t want whatever there was that was lurking in the dark to get me. As I grew older, my fears of the dark dissipated as I learned to ignore my fears and not let them get the best of me.
But a lot of good that does for any of us who have fears today. We can either ignore our fears of the dark, or make certain we have security systems up to date, or a gun in the drawer by our bedside. But ignoring our fears, even trying to handle our fears by ourselves won’t make them go away.
If you have a fear of being alone, no security system is going to fill that hole in your heart or in your life. There is still that uneasiness that lives in your life. That what fear does, it continues to lurk in our lives so that fear robs us of our peace. FDR said that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. It is a great line, but when you are afraid, when you have fear, you have neither peace of mind nor peace in your soul.
Fear grips us and robs us of tranquility. Estrangement among members of families takes its toll on spouses, parents and children, and siblings. Whatever it is that separates people and causes rancor and strife certainly doesn’t bring peace.
We have a need for peace in our families, and yes, even among ourselves. Individually we need to be a peace. Sickness not only causes us distress on a physical level, illness robs us of peace. We question, why am I sick? How long will it last? How much will this health care cost? And if we are sick enough, we wonder if this sickness will lead to death?
Look around and you see that there is no peace in the world. The World is at war again, the only thing missing is the title World War Three! There is war in Afghanistan, war in Libya, war in Syria, in Yemen, there is the war on terror, and we even see Americans at war with one another! There is no peace, only fear. Ignore it, but it won’t go away. You can run but you can’t hide from it.
The greatest problem we face, though, is that we have no peace within ourselves. Our consciences are in need of peace. But our lives are laden with guilt, filled with appointments to be kept, we are exhausted from running to get here and there, and still we have no peace. When we look at our text for today, we see that Thomas and the other disciples lacked peace. They lived in fear. What did they do? They did what they could, but the fear was still there.
Note our text:” On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors are locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews.” The disciples were afraid of the Jews. They feared those who put Jesus to death. They were afraid of what might happen to them. How did they handle this fear? They locked the doors! They figured if they would lock themselves in the room, no one could get in to get them. Of course, no one could get out of the room, and the fear was still prevalent.
The only remedy for their fear was Jesus! The Risen Christ entered through their locked doors in order to reveal Himself as the Risen One, who lived, died, and now lives forever. He defeated the fearful three of sin, Satan, and death and gives victory over fear to all who believe. He lives to silence all of your fears; He lives to wipe away your tears. Your Redeemer Jesus lives to grant to you peace in the midst of the turmoil in your life, He lives to grant to you His perfect peace.
Thomas needed this peace, He needed the joy that only Jesus can give. Thomas is called the doubting one, Doubting Thomas for a reason. While others witnessed the Risen Christ with their own eyes, Thomas did not. You remember what he said, unless I place my hands in those open wounds, I will not believe. But Thomas in saying that did not have peace. He may have sounded confident, but like each of us, he had questions that he needed answered. His life was in turmoil for a week. Did the others see Jesus? If so, why wouldn’t Jesus show Himself to him? If Jesus was alive, what would that mean. These and other thoughts went through his mind, because Thomas is like us and we are just like Thomas. His heart and mind were racked with questions. Just like you and me when we have questions or are puzzled over a series of events, Thomas had no peace.
And so Jesus, knowing this, appears again to the disciples, only this time with Thomas present. The same doors were locked, not because of fear, but so that the same physical conditions existed to show Thomas and all who doubt that Jesus has indeed risen from the grave. This time Christ appears and approaches Thomas gently, as a Friend, not condemning, but offerings His hands and side as proof of Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus’ words to Thomas encourage him and each of us who are racked with fears today: Doubt no more, only believe!
Jesus says to Thomas and to us: Blessed are they who believe and have not yet seen. Blessed are those who hear God’s Word and believe. Those who take God at His Word and trust God and His Word, believing what the Scriptures says about Jesus, are blessed by God. Those who hear God’s Good News and trust in Gods’ Good News have as their possession what God gives, namely Jesus and salvation.
The Risen Christ casts out fear in our hearts for the Good News is that He is risen. Not has, which is the past tense and would imply that this is something that happened in the past with no effect for us today. And the news is not that He will rise, for that would mean that the Scripture did NOT come true in Jesus and that He has no meaning for us today. No, instead the greeting is He IS Risen, which means that Christ has rose from the grave, He continues to live for He has risen from the grave, and He always will live because of the resurrection. Jesus lives today and His life in a continuing reality for us today. This is why the Bible says what it says, that by believing in Jesus, that is, by CONTINUALLY BELEIVING IN JESUS we will have life in His name. He has given us faith in Baptism and by His Word. He feeds our faith in Word and Sacrament. Today God gives peace in Jesus. Believe it. It is yours. Claim it, trust in Him, for He gives that peace to you today without measure.
This Sunday is called Quasimodo Geniti Sunday. The good old Lutheran question is what does this mean? This Sunday’s name has the meaning which comes from I Peter: Be like newborn babies. In the shadow of Easter God’s call to you as His child is to trust in Christ, so much so that you will live and act like a new born baby. Just as babies yearn for milk, so yearn and hunger for the Word, for the Word brings Christ and the Word brings peace.
So, dear fellow believer, yearn for Jesus and the peace that He alone gives in the forgiveness of your sins. That peace is given to you in your Baptism, where your sins have been washed away and Christ has claimed you as His own. Yearn to come to church to hear God’s forgiveness pronounced to you in the words of the Absolution, for when the Pastor states: As a called servant I forgive you all of your sins in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God gives forgiveness and grants peace to your troubled soul. And yearn to attend church so that you may gather around the Altar of the Lord to receive His true Body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins. For where there is forgiveness of sins, God gives to you peace that surpasses all understanding.
Jesus greeted His disciples in the locked room with the words: "Peace be unto you." In Hebrew, Jesus would have used only one word: Shalom. The Hebrew word shalom, for "peace," is a most comprehensive word, covering the full realm of relationships in daily life and expressing an ideal state of life. The word suggests the fullness of well being and harmony untouched by ill fortune. This is the absolute best that God can give to a sinner, that is, through the forgiveness of sins the sinner trusts in Christ so that you have wholeness and completeness with God. This is what God has given to you in Christ. Through the forgiveness of your sins God has given to you shalom, perfect forgiveness, reconciliation with God, perfect peace. It is no light hearted greeting, but one that comes with God’s divine blessing. This is what God gives in Christ, and as His disciples today, this is what we are called to share with others. God’s peace, His perfect peace in Christ, for Christ, you have the peace that surpasses all understanding.
Shalom!
Amen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)