Second Sunday of Easter
April 19, 2009
John 20:19-31
When you look around you you see things that are fragile, as if they’re a mist that is faint, that you feel slightly but know will not last. If you examine your life you might be holding on to missed opportunities, mistakes you’ve made that you can’t change but would do almost anything if you could go back and change them. If you measure where you stand, what you’re facing, you may be wondering how you’re going to get through the challenges ahead, the unfair situations you’ve found yourself in, or the messes you’ve created for yourself.
You may be on edge, you may be on the verge of despair, you may simply feel like not caring anymore. You may look around you and wonder if it’s all real; how a good and powerful God could allow the decay, the sorrow, the pain to go on in this world He created. You might be wondering what your life has come to that God allows you to live with the hardships you face, the sins you struggle against, the pain you endure in your own life.
You might not know where you can turn to; to find some comfort, to have meaning for your life, to be at peace. You may feel like your life is simply grasping at something that’s just out of reach. It’s so close you can taste it. It’s tantalizing and depressing at the same time, because you’re not sure really what it is you’re looking for, what you need—you just know that it’s out of reach.
On the other hand, you may feel great; you may be content. You might feel like things are going on just fine and there’s nothing really that you need to be in a better position. Oh sure, you’ll take the good things that come your way, but not rocking the boat is just fine with you.
There’s an answer readily available. Everywhere you turn you will see that answer. Because there are three sources that will hold this answer up to you constantly. They will not rest in offering you hope for your struggles or confirmation of your peace of mind. What is this hope? You can be at peace with who you are. You can celebrate your humanity and not let people bring you down by insinuating that you’re the problem; that you’re too blame. Or, if you’re happy where you’re at, there you go! Isn’t that what God wants for you?
The ones who offer you this gospel of celebrating who you are and being at peace with yourself are your enemies. They seek your destruction. They seek your torment in hell. You know these enemies—even though you don’t want to think about them much: Satan, the world, and your sinful flesh. They want to present you with a hope that appeals to you so that you will die slowly, without realizing it. Like the frog in the kettle, slowly roasting to death, unaware of its doom.
Your enemies will always present you with hope in any way, of anything or anyone other than Christ. Anything to get you off of Him and onto yourself or something else. Satan wants you destroyed. The world wants you to enjoy the ride. Your sinful flesh wants you to indulge yourself. All three want you nowhere near Christ and His cross.
The one who stood before the disciples on Easter Sunday was the Crucified Lord. The one who had been nailed to the tree. The one who had died. He now stood before them in their world of fear, consisting of a locked up room, alive. Still bearing the scars of His crucifixion, Christ appeared to them in order to slap around the enemies that were against them—Satan, the world, and their sinful flesh. This is always why Christ comes. He doesn’t offer you some better way. He simply comes into your life.
And when He does, it’s not always pretty. It’s not necessarily appealing. Oftentimes we’ll do the denial act like Thomas, like the other disciples had done before him. We will end up deceiving ourselves and calling God a liar. Because who do you want to put your hope in? How do you want your salvation to come? How do you want your new life in Christ to be? Is it without hardship and struggle? Is it with peace of mind without constantly grasping at some nebulous peace that it is tantalizingly out of reach?
Do you want salvation to come in the form of a God who shows you scars on His hands and in His side, one who bears the marks of having suffered in weakness and pain? One who by His very nature prompts you to see in yourself things that aren’t pretty, that evidence your wicked and sinful heart? One that comes bringing with Him His Sword, which pierces your heart so that you must see that there is nothing within you that could bring you peace that lasts? So that the only way you could convince yourself that you are not by nature sinful and unclean is by deceiving yourself and calling God a liar?
Jesus stands before you and you must confess your sin. You must stand before Him and answer for your hope that what you’re grasping for is within your reach. When in fact it’s entirely out of your reach. When in fact there’s no hope within your sinful flesh. Confession of sin is tough stuff. We want to hold on to some part of ourselves where we can walk away with some dignity. But the apostle John was there on that Easter evening. He heard the words of Christ. Forgive those who are repentant. Withhold forgiveness from those who are unrepentant. That’s why John exhorts us as he does in the epistle reading to confess our sins. Strip away all notions of hope or peace of mind within ourselves and confess that we utterly depraved.
Jesus doesn’t get His jollies out of this. He didn’t show up to the disciples’ hideout to rub it in that they were poor miserable sinners. His joy is in the Absolution. He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. God always tells the truth. You have no hope apart from Him. God delights in showing mercy. The one who stood before them stood with scars from the suffering He bore on behalf of the world. When the nails were driven into His hands your sins were nailed to that cross. When the sword pierced His side blood and water poured out of Him to cleanse you of your sin; His righteousness poured out for you. You are absolved. Forgiven. You may go in peace. When Jesus comes that’s what He brings. Because He brings Himself.
His peace, His joy, His salvation, His forgiveness is not out of reach. It is received by you because He delivers it right to you, through your ears when you hear the Absolution spoken to you and when you hear the Gospel proclaimed to you. It is received by you when you are Baptized, cleansed of all of your sins; united to Christ in His death and resurrection. It is received by you when you eat His Body and drink His Blood in His Holy Meal. He’s not just going to stand around and show you His scars. He’s going to deliver their benefits to you, in His Gospel and in His Sacraments, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
This is what they received that day. It’s what the Christian Church has been receiving ever since that day. It’s what Luke describes in the reading from Acts: the apostles were proclaiming the Resurrection of Christ for the salvation and life of the people of God. It’s what John was telling the Christian Church of in the epistle reading when he said that they were witnesses of the Living and Resurrected Lord. It’s what you receive today and often in the hearing and the receiving and the partaking.
So you have confession. You have Absolution. You confess your sins and in being absolved you have life eternal and life in peace that is not of this world. What more is there to know? Only this: confession. There is not only confession of sins but confession of faith. Thomas blurted it out: My Lord and my God! That’s what we Christians do, we confess our faith. He had repented, he had received Absolution. We believe that our only hope is in the only God, the God of the cross and the empty tomb—so we confess it. We can’t help it! Just like Thomas, my Lord and my God!
John said that he wrote these things so that we may believe and that by believing have life in His name. You believe. You have life in His name. You have confessed your sins, you are Absolved. You confess your faith as a Baptized child of God and you receive the Body and Blood of your Lord in His Holy Supper. Far from out of reach, He comes to you right here at His Holy Table. You proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Your Lord and your God is your hope. Your Lord and your God is your your life and your salvation, now and forever. Amen.
SDG
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Glory and Humility Go Together
There are two ways to be humble. Either you are brought to your knees (humiliated, if you will) or you willingly make yourself lower. If you are basking in your own glory, God will bring you to knees. God has the corner on glory. He alone is God and He is above all. When we bask in our own glory we are pretenders. He brings us down for our own good—so that we may see that we need Him.
Which brings us to the second way: the way of Jesus Christ, who is true God, who is all-powerful, who is worthy of all honor and glory. He rises from the dead, He exerts His almighty power by conquering the grave …and what does He say? “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.” (John 20:21) Talk about humility! We would have said, “Look at me! I’m all-powerful! I’m Lord over life and death, bow down before me!” Not Jesus. He comes in humility. His glory is not in power or receiving glory. His glory is in humility. Not just the humility of suffering and dying. The humility of being sent. Thus His words, “As the Father has sent Me.”
He conquered death and it was simply a continuation of His sent-ness. His coming in humility to save sinners. He does this through His life, suffering, death, and resurrection. Not through glory. Not through proving His greatness. In humility. In being sent to save. In serving us because we need forgiveness and salvation.
So what do we do? We get on our knees and thank and praise Him. We rejoice in His saving action and in the calling He gives to us to serve Him by bringing the Gospel to others. Our Lord continues to serve us by giving us the grace to serve in humility and joy.
Which brings us to the second way: the way of Jesus Christ, who is true God, who is all-powerful, who is worthy of all honor and glory. He rises from the dead, He exerts His almighty power by conquering the grave …and what does He say? “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.” (John 20:21) Talk about humility! We would have said, “Look at me! I’m all-powerful! I’m Lord over life and death, bow down before me!” Not Jesus. He comes in humility. His glory is not in power or receiving glory. His glory is in humility. Not just the humility of suffering and dying. The humility of being sent. Thus His words, “As the Father has sent Me.”
He conquered death and it was simply a continuation of His sent-ness. His coming in humility to save sinners. He does this through His life, suffering, death, and resurrection. Not through glory. Not through proving His greatness. In humility. In being sent to save. In serving us because we need forgiveness and salvation.
So what do we do? We get on our knees and thank and praise Him. We rejoice in His saving action and in the calling He gives to us to serve Him by bringing the Gospel to others. Our Lord continues to serve us by giving us the grace to serve in humility and joy.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
God—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—Gives You Peace
The Resurrected Lord comes to His disciples in their fear. He brings them peace. But Jesus never acts alone. He works along with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The disciples were in fear after Jesus’ death. Even after receiving reports that Jesus rose from the grave, they were still holed up in fear. They did not believe Jesus—the words He had spoken to them that He would rise from the grave. So Jesus comes to them, to bring Himself to them, to bring them peace.
Three times in John 20:19-31 Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” His speaking it three times points us to the work of the Triune God—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—bringing peace. The Triune God does it in the Person and Work of Jesus. Jesus is God in the flesh. Jesus comes to give peace. He does it by giving Himself. He says to the disciples: “‘As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”
The peace the Triune God gives is peace that passes all understanding. It is peace not as the world gives but only as God can give. It is not peace of mind. It is not peace in everybody putting aside their differences and getting along. It is peace that is the answer to fear. We ought to fear being in our sins. We ought to fear if Christ remained in the grave. But the Triune God is the God of creation and the God of Resurrection. Christ is not in the grave. He is living and He brings peace. He forgives your sin and will raise you up on the Last Day.
Three times in John 20:19-31 Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” His speaking it three times points us to the work of the Triune God—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—bringing peace. The Triune God does it in the Person and Work of Jesus. Jesus is God in the flesh. Jesus comes to give peace. He does it by giving Himself. He says to the disciples: “‘As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”
The peace the Triune God gives is peace that passes all understanding. It is peace not as the world gives but only as God can give. It is not peace of mind. It is not peace in everybody putting aside their differences and getting along. It is peace that is the answer to fear. We ought to fear being in our sins. We ought to fear if Christ remained in the grave. But the Triune God is the God of creation and the God of Resurrection. Christ is not in the grave. He is living and He brings peace. He forgives your sin and will raise you up on the Last Day.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Christ Has Risen from the Grave
“The same day Sadducees came to Him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked Him a question.” [Matthew 22:23]
“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” [1 Corinthians 15:12]
The Christian Church believes that Jesus rose from the dead. If a pastor got up into the pulpit and said, “the resurrection story in the Bible is just that, a story, to teach us that God has risen in our hearts,” we would conclude that he is a false teacher. If a Christian said to someone asking about Christianity, “the story of the resurrection is in the Bible to teach us that God is powerful,” we would conclude that that person is severely misguided and wrong.
It’s always surprising to hear Christians deny the Resurrection, but it’s not new. The Sadducees were religious leaders in Jesus’ day and denied the resurrection. Paul was writing to the Christians in Corinth, some of whom denied the resurrection.
Some of the religious leaders and some regular Christians were maintaining that there is no resurrection—once you die, that’s it. If you deny the resurrection of all people on the Last Day, why would there be a need to believe in the Resurrection of Christ?
We would expect non-Christians to deny the resurrection. But when Christians believe and teach that there is no resurrection, we need to make clear to them that they are holding to a belief that denies eternal salvation (even as we need to with non-Christians).
The apostle Paul goes on to say: “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” [1 Corinthians 15:14]
There is no salvation in Jesus having been raised in your heart. You have no hope in the fact that God is powerful.
Our faith is in Christ. Our hope is grounded in His death and resurrection. The story is not simply a story. The truth of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is the Gospel. That is what saves, not a notion that God is powerful. God actually conquered death in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Some maintain the resurrection of the dead and Christ’s Resurrection are not true because we can’t prove them. They’re right that we can’t prove it. But whose word do you want to go on—people who say that it’s false, or the Word of God?
When you die and are raised on the Last Day, you will know without doubt the truth of the resurrection—you will stand face to face with your Maker and Judge. Those who don’t believe in Him will be raised from the dead and judged to eternal damnation. Those who believe that Christ is their only hope from sin will be raised from the dead to eternal life.
This is why we believe as we do—we go on the Word of Christ. He said that He is the way, the truth, and the life. How He is is by dying for the sins of the world and rising from the grave.
“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” [1 Corinthians 15:12]
The Christian Church believes that Jesus rose from the dead. If a pastor got up into the pulpit and said, “the resurrection story in the Bible is just that, a story, to teach us that God has risen in our hearts,” we would conclude that he is a false teacher. If a Christian said to someone asking about Christianity, “the story of the resurrection is in the Bible to teach us that God is powerful,” we would conclude that that person is severely misguided and wrong.
It’s always surprising to hear Christians deny the Resurrection, but it’s not new. The Sadducees were religious leaders in Jesus’ day and denied the resurrection. Paul was writing to the Christians in Corinth, some of whom denied the resurrection.
Some of the religious leaders and some regular Christians were maintaining that there is no resurrection—once you die, that’s it. If you deny the resurrection of all people on the Last Day, why would there be a need to believe in the Resurrection of Christ?
We would expect non-Christians to deny the resurrection. But when Christians believe and teach that there is no resurrection, we need to make clear to them that they are holding to a belief that denies eternal salvation (even as we need to with non-Christians).
The apostle Paul goes on to say: “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” [1 Corinthians 15:14]
There is no salvation in Jesus having been raised in your heart. You have no hope in the fact that God is powerful.
Our faith is in Christ. Our hope is grounded in His death and resurrection. The story is not simply a story. The truth of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is the Gospel. That is what saves, not a notion that God is powerful. God actually conquered death in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Some maintain the resurrection of the dead and Christ’s Resurrection are not true because we can’t prove them. They’re right that we can’t prove it. But whose word do you want to go on—people who say that it’s false, or the Word of God?
When you die and are raised on the Last Day, you will know without doubt the truth of the resurrection—you will stand face to face with your Maker and Judge. Those who don’t believe in Him will be raised from the dead and judged to eternal damnation. Those who believe that Christ is their only hope from sin will be raised from the dead to eternal life.
This is why we believe as we do—we go on the Word of Christ. He said that He is the way, the truth, and the life. How He is is by dying for the sins of the world and rising from the grave.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Just as He Told You
The Resurrection of Our Lord
Easter Day
April 12, 2009
Mark 16:1-8
It was an emotional day for Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, and Salome. But we are emotional beings. Events like those that occurred to them affect us emotionally. When it comes to our interacting with God, every person is a slave to their emotions.
The three women who went to the tomb evidence this. The most striking thing that shows us this is how the Resurrection account ends: they go away from the Good News spoken by the angel and away from the empty tomb fleeing because they were seized with trembling and astonishment! They leave and say nothing to anyone because they’re afraid!
The Good News of Easter is that fear is conquered. But these women are so emotionally wrapped up in themselves that they’re in fear rather than joy.
It’s important for us to know that this is not the difference between emotion and reason. Their reason was getting them no farther than their feelings. It made sense that Jesus’ lifeless body would be in the tomb—He had died.
It’s also important to know that emotions and reason aren’t bad. They’re not wrong. They’re even good and useful. God gave them both to us and we should make use of them and even enjoy them. But what occurred at the tomb shows us that we can’t rely on them. What Jesus has told us is what we must rely on. It’s emotion and reason versus fact. It’s what makes sense or seems to be the case against what Jesus has said to us.
We don’t hear much about these women in the Gospel accounts. But we know that they were with Jesus through a lot of His Ministry. They and the disciples had been through a lot emotionally in the previous week as well as the three years of Ministry of Christ. This event on Sunday morning was kind of the topper. No wonder they were afraid. They didn’t know what was going on. The disciples were hiding out, that’s how afraid they were. All of them were overwhelmed.
We can empathize with them considering what all they had gone through, can’t we? But this response is exactly the sort of emotional response they had. The Resurrection account contrasts our emotional, and even logical, response to who Jesus is and what He did with the fact of who He is and what He did. We identify with the women and the disciples and empathize with them. But in our emotion, and even logic, we end up excusing them. We, after all, probably would have reacted in the same way.
How about Jesus? What had He gone through? If anyone had gone through an emotional whirlwind it was Jesus. What He had experienced with His agony and suffering was enough to bring Him to despair. In the Garden of Gethsemane He was distressed to the point of death. But His response and actions were never emotionally or rationally driven. They were always humbly and obediently driven. Thy will be done was His prayer to His Heavenly Father. What His Father said would happen would be what would happen, and Jesus was content to accept that.
When the women got to the tomb they didn’t find Jesus. The angel who was there spoke to them of what Jesus Himself had said. He had told His disciples on a number of occasions what would happen. Now the message at the empty tomb was that of a reminder that every one of those things had indeed happened.
We know this. The women should have known it. The disciples should have known it. But they didn’t know it. Rather, they didn’t believe it. They were wrapped up in their emotional fear, in their rational acceptance of what they saw. The simple alternative was what Jesus had told them.
When the women got to the tomb on that Sunday morning they saw that things weren’t the way they expected them to be. Instead of having to find someone to help move the stone, the stone was already moved. When they went into the tomb they were alarmed at this other-worldly being sitting there. No Jesus. What was going on? Why wasn’t Jesus there? Could their first thought be, Wait, He’s not here, He told us He wouldn’t be, He’s alive!? No, it couldn’t be because that would depart from what their emotions and reason told them. It couldn’t be because that would have meant that they had actually believed the word of Jesus. It couldn’t be because they were afraid.
What is the antidote to fear? The Word of Christ. In this instance the word of Christ was spoken by His representative, the angel. Do not be afraid, he said. I know why you’re here. You’re here because you didn’t believe what He had said. You’re here because you saw that He was buried here and you don’t believe that His death on the cross was not the end but the beginning.
Their emotions and reason got them nowhere when it came to salvation. Emotion and reason brought them to the tomb, again, expecting Jesus’ lifeless body to be there. They fled from the tomb in the same way, emotionally in a whirl about all that had happened and what the angel had now said to them.
So the question for you today is this: What does it mean what Jesus has said? Will you go away from here today relying on your feelings and what seems logical? Or will you go away believing the impossible? Will you walk away from here not caving in to what the world says and what your emotions and reason tell you to listen to? Will you wonder about God’s love and care for you when you’re struggling?
When the world scoffs at you because you believe that you are hopeless without Christ’s forgiveness for you, will you listen to the world and wrap yourself in the security blanket of good feelings about yourself; that you don’t need Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, and the forgiveness of all of your sins? If you suddenly find yourself facing mortality earlier than you expected because they’ve found a tumor on your lung, will you resist comfort from God’s perfect healing in heaven because you want to cling to life on this earth with all your might?
You will find yourself in life, daily even, going through all kinds of emotions as those women did two thousand years ago at the empty tomb. You may go through the challenges in life in fear as they did. But remember that your emotions aren’t going to bring you peace or lasting comfort. They won’t take away your sins and they can’t save you. Your intellect and reason and all the evidence in the world won’t solve all of your problems. What you do have is what those women had. What you have been given is exactly what they were given moments after the event that changed the world and that can change your life: the Word of Christ. What He has told you is what you have, no matter what you’re going through.
I won’t try to prove to you today that Jesus rose from the dead. It’s the very last thing I will attempt to do. What I will do is what the angel did. What Jesus Himself did. What I will do is what the apostle Paul in the epistle reading for today did: state the Resurrection as fact. You don’t need to go around and prove that Jesus rose from the dead anymore than you need to go seeking proof for it. Reason, and certainly your emotions, will tell you the opposite! Simply listen to what your Lord has told you. Simply tell others who He is and what He did. That He died and that He rose. He did this for them even as He has done it for you. People will have strong emotional and rational reactions. But you? You know it’s true—just as He told you. Amen.
SDG
Easter Day
April 12, 2009
Mark 16:1-8
It was an emotional day for Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, and Salome. But we are emotional beings. Events like those that occurred to them affect us emotionally. When it comes to our interacting with God, every person is a slave to their emotions.
The three women who went to the tomb evidence this. The most striking thing that shows us this is how the Resurrection account ends: they go away from the Good News spoken by the angel and away from the empty tomb fleeing because they were seized with trembling and astonishment! They leave and say nothing to anyone because they’re afraid!
The Good News of Easter is that fear is conquered. But these women are so emotionally wrapped up in themselves that they’re in fear rather than joy.
It’s important for us to know that this is not the difference between emotion and reason. Their reason was getting them no farther than their feelings. It made sense that Jesus’ lifeless body would be in the tomb—He had died.
It’s also important to know that emotions and reason aren’t bad. They’re not wrong. They’re even good and useful. God gave them both to us and we should make use of them and even enjoy them. But what occurred at the tomb shows us that we can’t rely on them. What Jesus has told us is what we must rely on. It’s emotion and reason versus fact. It’s what makes sense or seems to be the case against what Jesus has said to us.
We don’t hear much about these women in the Gospel accounts. But we know that they were with Jesus through a lot of His Ministry. They and the disciples had been through a lot emotionally in the previous week as well as the three years of Ministry of Christ. This event on Sunday morning was kind of the topper. No wonder they were afraid. They didn’t know what was going on. The disciples were hiding out, that’s how afraid they were. All of them were overwhelmed.
We can empathize with them considering what all they had gone through, can’t we? But this response is exactly the sort of emotional response they had. The Resurrection account contrasts our emotional, and even logical, response to who Jesus is and what He did with the fact of who He is and what He did. We identify with the women and the disciples and empathize with them. But in our emotion, and even logic, we end up excusing them. We, after all, probably would have reacted in the same way.
How about Jesus? What had He gone through? If anyone had gone through an emotional whirlwind it was Jesus. What He had experienced with His agony and suffering was enough to bring Him to despair. In the Garden of Gethsemane He was distressed to the point of death. But His response and actions were never emotionally or rationally driven. They were always humbly and obediently driven. Thy will be done was His prayer to His Heavenly Father. What His Father said would happen would be what would happen, and Jesus was content to accept that.
When the women got to the tomb they didn’t find Jesus. The angel who was there spoke to them of what Jesus Himself had said. He had told His disciples on a number of occasions what would happen. Now the message at the empty tomb was that of a reminder that every one of those things had indeed happened.
We know this. The women should have known it. The disciples should have known it. But they didn’t know it. Rather, they didn’t believe it. They were wrapped up in their emotional fear, in their rational acceptance of what they saw. The simple alternative was what Jesus had told them.
When the women got to the tomb on that Sunday morning they saw that things weren’t the way they expected them to be. Instead of having to find someone to help move the stone, the stone was already moved. When they went into the tomb they were alarmed at this other-worldly being sitting there. No Jesus. What was going on? Why wasn’t Jesus there? Could their first thought be, Wait, He’s not here, He told us He wouldn’t be, He’s alive!? No, it couldn’t be because that would depart from what their emotions and reason told them. It couldn’t be because that would have meant that they had actually believed the word of Jesus. It couldn’t be because they were afraid.
What is the antidote to fear? The Word of Christ. In this instance the word of Christ was spoken by His representative, the angel. Do not be afraid, he said. I know why you’re here. You’re here because you didn’t believe what He had said. You’re here because you saw that He was buried here and you don’t believe that His death on the cross was not the end but the beginning.
Their emotions and reason got them nowhere when it came to salvation. Emotion and reason brought them to the tomb, again, expecting Jesus’ lifeless body to be there. They fled from the tomb in the same way, emotionally in a whirl about all that had happened and what the angel had now said to them.
So the question for you today is this: What does it mean what Jesus has said? Will you go away from here today relying on your feelings and what seems logical? Or will you go away believing the impossible? Will you walk away from here not caving in to what the world says and what your emotions and reason tell you to listen to? Will you wonder about God’s love and care for you when you’re struggling?
When the world scoffs at you because you believe that you are hopeless without Christ’s forgiveness for you, will you listen to the world and wrap yourself in the security blanket of good feelings about yourself; that you don’t need Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, and the forgiveness of all of your sins? If you suddenly find yourself facing mortality earlier than you expected because they’ve found a tumor on your lung, will you resist comfort from God’s perfect healing in heaven because you want to cling to life on this earth with all your might?
You will find yourself in life, daily even, going through all kinds of emotions as those women did two thousand years ago at the empty tomb. You may go through the challenges in life in fear as they did. But remember that your emotions aren’t going to bring you peace or lasting comfort. They won’t take away your sins and they can’t save you. Your intellect and reason and all the evidence in the world won’t solve all of your problems. What you do have is what those women had. What you have been given is exactly what they were given moments after the event that changed the world and that can change your life: the Word of Christ. What He has told you is what you have, no matter what you’re going through.
I won’t try to prove to you today that Jesus rose from the dead. It’s the very last thing I will attempt to do. What I will do is what the angel did. What Jesus Himself did. What I will do is what the apostle Paul in the epistle reading for today did: state the Resurrection as fact. You don’t need to go around and prove that Jesus rose from the dead anymore than you need to go seeking proof for it. Reason, and certainly your emotions, will tell you the opposite! Simply listen to what your Lord has told you. Simply tell others who He is and what He did. That He died and that He rose. He did this for them even as He has done it for you. People will have strong emotional and rational reactions. But you? You know it’s true—just as He told you. Amen.
SDG
Friday, April 10, 2009
Drawing a Clear Difference
Good Friday
April 10, 2009
Mark 14:1—15:47
It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest Him by stealth and kill Him.
This is how it begins. With the intent of murder. Not with reverent thoughts about God’s grace in the Passover Festival. Not with preparation for the Passover worship. With a consuming desire to rid themselves of this person who was getting in their way.
We know the Passion story of our Lord well. We know the details, we know the purpose. Perhaps we know it too well as a story and not well enough as the Gospel. Jesus’ Passion is the Gospel. Who Jesus is and what He did is what saves.
How the Passion of our Lord played out we rightly call a story, as individuals acted and events unfolded. There is a difference in the people of the Passion account: those who rejected the Suffering Savior and those who saw in Him their only hope.
The unrighteous and the righteous, the unsaved and the saved, unbelievers and believers, non-Christians and Christians. But in another sense, the two kinds of people in the Passion account are Jesus Christ and everyone else. Christians and non-Christians alike are sinners. Those who believe in Christ are every bit as sinful as those who don’t. As important, Jesus died for both.
So what’s the difference? How are the “everybody else” divided into two groups? The difference is, who do you want to be your Savior? Do you want to go it alone, or place your eternal salvation in Christ alone?
The irony is rich that those very religious leaders were seeking to murder Jesus while Jesus was using that very death to bring about salvation for them. On the other hand, the woman Jesus praises actually can accept no praise of her own account because her act of worship toward Jesus is one of acknowledging that she doesn’t deserve salvation from Him.
It is remarkable that Judas betrayed Jesus to death while Jesus willingly died for Judas. On the other hand, Jesus’ other disciples were ready and willing to gather in worship with Jesus in the celebration of the Passover, submitting to Jesus’ gift to them of His body and blood for the forgiveness of their sins. They acknowledged that they were sinners and in need of the forgiveness.
It would be easy to paint the religious leaders and Judas as evil and the bad guys and the woman and the other disciples as the good guys. But what does Jesus say of the disciples? You will all fall away. The true difference here is that Jesus alone can save and He alone does. We, whether we believe in Him or not, are unable to save ourselves. But not only can we not save ourselves, we don’t deserve to be saved. We are born in sin and actively sin each day. The woman and the disciples were no different from the religious leaders and Judas in this regard. Where the difference came in is that they believed that they were utterly lost, not deserving of salvation, had no hope apart from Jesus and His suffering and death.
The sinful nature is a fighter. What is Peter’s response to Jesus? I won’t fall away! I’m faithful! Yeah, right. He was no better than the religious leaders who actively sought to murder Jesus and Judas who actively betrayed Him. Oh yeah, and all the other disciples joined in the chorus with Peter; they were no better either.
But maybe you’re not convinced. Maybe you still harbor some good feelings about yourself. That you could somehow rise above what Peter did in denying his Lord. That the praise Jesus bestows on the woman could be given to you because, well, you deserve it. The further we get into the Passion account, the further we see how utterly incapable anyone in this story is of accomplishing anything of lasting value—except, of course, Christ. In Gethsemane, He stayed awake. Not the disciples. They couldn’t even stay awake! How were they supposed to save themselves? How could they have any hope within themselves if they couldn’t even be there for their Lord?
We too easily rationalize away our sinful nature. If you think Pilate was a bad guy, you’re right. But we are just like him. He tried to rationalize his way out of condemning Jesus to death. He knew Jesus was innocent but put himself before Jesus. One of them was going down—Pilate politically, Jesus to death—Pilate chose for Jesus to go down. The Roman soldiers were just doing their job—and enjoying the perks of their job of making the pain of crucifixion even worse in brutalizing Him. Yes, these men, Pilate and the soldiers, treated our Savior awfully. But do we do any different when we willfully sin as if we can be good Christians and hold on to our sinful desires?
There were some standing beneath the cross who exemplify the proper attitude a Christian ought to have, in the same way the woman who anointed Him had: humbly looking up to the one who is suffering in their place. Knowing that they are the ones who deserve to up there, who deserve eternal separation from God. The women and the centurion who stood looking at Christ on the cross are not examples to us for anything that was good in themselves, but of their repentance and faith in the only one who could save them.
It begins with those who would seek to destroy Jesus. It ends in one sense with their successful accomplishment. But really it begins with Jesus’ choice to submit to the murderous intent. It plays out with Jesus humbly suffering the attacks of His enemies and patiently bearing with the weakness of His followers. Ultimately, it ends in triumph. Not for those who wanted Jesus dead. For the world. For every sinner. The death of Jesus was what He humbly chose.
There is a clear difference between the people in the Gospel Passion account: some rejected Christ, others looked to Him as their only hope. Just as there is a clear difference today, some don’t believe in Christ and others do. But there is no difference with any of us in our sin and our need. We see in the people of the Passion account in contrast to Christ that we are utterly incapable of saving ourselves and have no eternal hope of ourselves. Our salvation is in Christ. Our hope is in Him. All are in need of salvation.
The difference our Lord draws is not between us and others but between Himself and everyone. He suffered in the place of everyone, He died for all. What those there intended was a world of difference in what Christ intended. He used the death they sought in order to save them and us and everyone. The difference is that we have no hope apart from Him while He is our hope, our life, and our salvation. Amen.
SDG
April 10, 2009
Mark 14:1—15:47
It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest Him by stealth and kill Him.
This is how it begins. With the intent of murder. Not with reverent thoughts about God’s grace in the Passover Festival. Not with preparation for the Passover worship. With a consuming desire to rid themselves of this person who was getting in their way.
We know the Passion story of our Lord well. We know the details, we know the purpose. Perhaps we know it too well as a story and not well enough as the Gospel. Jesus’ Passion is the Gospel. Who Jesus is and what He did is what saves.
How the Passion of our Lord played out we rightly call a story, as individuals acted and events unfolded. There is a difference in the people of the Passion account: those who rejected the Suffering Savior and those who saw in Him their only hope.
The unrighteous and the righteous, the unsaved and the saved, unbelievers and believers, non-Christians and Christians. But in another sense, the two kinds of people in the Passion account are Jesus Christ and everyone else. Christians and non-Christians alike are sinners. Those who believe in Christ are every bit as sinful as those who don’t. As important, Jesus died for both.
So what’s the difference? How are the “everybody else” divided into two groups? The difference is, who do you want to be your Savior? Do you want to go it alone, or place your eternal salvation in Christ alone?
The irony is rich that those very religious leaders were seeking to murder Jesus while Jesus was using that very death to bring about salvation for them. On the other hand, the woman Jesus praises actually can accept no praise of her own account because her act of worship toward Jesus is one of acknowledging that she doesn’t deserve salvation from Him.
It is remarkable that Judas betrayed Jesus to death while Jesus willingly died for Judas. On the other hand, Jesus’ other disciples were ready and willing to gather in worship with Jesus in the celebration of the Passover, submitting to Jesus’ gift to them of His body and blood for the forgiveness of their sins. They acknowledged that they were sinners and in need of the forgiveness.
It would be easy to paint the religious leaders and Judas as evil and the bad guys and the woman and the other disciples as the good guys. But what does Jesus say of the disciples? You will all fall away. The true difference here is that Jesus alone can save and He alone does. We, whether we believe in Him or not, are unable to save ourselves. But not only can we not save ourselves, we don’t deserve to be saved. We are born in sin and actively sin each day. The woman and the disciples were no different from the religious leaders and Judas in this regard. Where the difference came in is that they believed that they were utterly lost, not deserving of salvation, had no hope apart from Jesus and His suffering and death.
The sinful nature is a fighter. What is Peter’s response to Jesus? I won’t fall away! I’m faithful! Yeah, right. He was no better than the religious leaders who actively sought to murder Jesus and Judas who actively betrayed Him. Oh yeah, and all the other disciples joined in the chorus with Peter; they were no better either.
But maybe you’re not convinced. Maybe you still harbor some good feelings about yourself. That you could somehow rise above what Peter did in denying his Lord. That the praise Jesus bestows on the woman could be given to you because, well, you deserve it. The further we get into the Passion account, the further we see how utterly incapable anyone in this story is of accomplishing anything of lasting value—except, of course, Christ. In Gethsemane, He stayed awake. Not the disciples. They couldn’t even stay awake! How were they supposed to save themselves? How could they have any hope within themselves if they couldn’t even be there for their Lord?
We too easily rationalize away our sinful nature. If you think Pilate was a bad guy, you’re right. But we are just like him. He tried to rationalize his way out of condemning Jesus to death. He knew Jesus was innocent but put himself before Jesus. One of them was going down—Pilate politically, Jesus to death—Pilate chose for Jesus to go down. The Roman soldiers were just doing their job—and enjoying the perks of their job of making the pain of crucifixion even worse in brutalizing Him. Yes, these men, Pilate and the soldiers, treated our Savior awfully. But do we do any different when we willfully sin as if we can be good Christians and hold on to our sinful desires?
There were some standing beneath the cross who exemplify the proper attitude a Christian ought to have, in the same way the woman who anointed Him had: humbly looking up to the one who is suffering in their place. Knowing that they are the ones who deserve to up there, who deserve eternal separation from God. The women and the centurion who stood looking at Christ on the cross are not examples to us for anything that was good in themselves, but of their repentance and faith in the only one who could save them.
It begins with those who would seek to destroy Jesus. It ends in one sense with their successful accomplishment. But really it begins with Jesus’ choice to submit to the murderous intent. It plays out with Jesus humbly suffering the attacks of His enemies and patiently bearing with the weakness of His followers. Ultimately, it ends in triumph. Not for those who wanted Jesus dead. For the world. For every sinner. The death of Jesus was what He humbly chose.
There is a clear difference between the people in the Gospel Passion account: some rejected Christ, others looked to Him as their only hope. Just as there is a clear difference today, some don’t believe in Christ and others do. But there is no difference with any of us in our sin and our need. We see in the people of the Passion account in contrast to Christ that we are utterly incapable of saving ourselves and have no eternal hope of ourselves. Our salvation is in Christ. Our hope is in Him. All are in need of salvation.
The difference our Lord draws is not between us and others but between Himself and everyone. He suffered in the place of everyone, He died for all. What those there intended was a world of difference in what Christ intended. He used the death they sought in order to save them and us and everyone. The difference is that we have no hope apart from Him while He is our hope, our life, and our salvation. Amen.
SDG
Thursday, April 9, 2009
You Know What You’re Getting
Maundy Thursday
April 9, 2009
Mark 14:12-26
They knew what was to happen. And yet, they didn’t know what was to happen. Jesus knew what was to happen, and yet, went on through with it.
Yes, it would be easy enough to celebrate the Passover with His disciples. But to be betrayed. To be arrested and convicted and mocked and beaten and crucified. Jesus knew all this would happen. The suffering for the sin and guilt of the world. Jesus knew what was to happen. The disciples didn’t. They thought they would simply be celebrating the Passover. They didn’t know Jesus would celebrate something else. They didn’t know, although they should have, that He would be betrayed and arrested and crucified.
So though they knew what was to happen, they really didn’t know what was to happen.
And what about us? Do we know what is to happen? Do we know what happens in our celebration of the Lord’s Supper? In a few moments we will approach the Lord’s Table and partake of the Lord’s Meal. Is that something we just do, just as the disciples asked Jesus where they should prepare for the Passover meal? Or do we, unlike the disciples did that night, know exactly what is going on in the celebration of this Meal?
What Jesus did during the Passover meal must have thrown His disciples for a loop. Why did Jesus institute it? It’s for this reason: He knows what is going to happen. We don’t. Oh, we know. But not really. We know we need it. But do we know just how much? Do we know and believe that without it we will starve spiritually? Our Lord knows us better than we know ourselves.
The disciples were all ready to prepare for the Passover. They were ready to celebrate it. But Jesus knew that what they needed was not just a reminder of God’s saving acts. They needed salvation. They needed to be forgiven of their sins.
Jesus knows what you and I need. We need to be forgiven. And we know this. But perhaps we suffer from the same problem the disciples did, only from the opposite direction. They didn’t know what was going on because things were unfolding. We know exactly what happened because we’re after the fact and have it in black and white in the pages of Scripture. But whereas they were thinking they’d just be celebrating the Passover meal, we might think we’re just celebrating a sacred meal. They didn’t know exactly what Jesus was doing in giving them the bread and wine with the words “this is My body, this is My blood.” We know—but do we take it for granted? Do we just go through the motions? Is it just a remembrance?
The Lord’s Supper is most certainly a sacred meal, but it is also and especially a Sacrament. It is an actual means by which our Lord forgives us. We know the Lord’s Supper is a big deal, but it’s hard not to take it for granted. This is natural. That doesn’t mean it’s okay, it just means that we very easily slip into taking the things that are most important in our lives for granted.
Do you still get as excited after twenty years of marriage when your spouse comes home as you did after twenty days of marriage? Or do you just take him or her for granted? You know you love your husband, you know you love your wife, but do you treat him or her in a way that shows you cherish him or her? I’m not talking about having ecstatic emotional feelings for them all the time. I’m talking about being grateful for and cherishing the man or woman God has given you to love in marriage. Is this the way you see your spouse, or do you often just take your marriage for granted?
This can happen easily to us. With the people we love the most. With the things that are most important to us. Does it happen to us with the Lord’s Supper? We clearly confess and believe that in and with the bread and wine, we eat the body of Christ and the blood of Christ. But do we then just take that for granted? Do we hunger and thirst for receiving the body and blood of Christ? Do we cherish the gift our Lord gives to us in His Supper of Himself and the forgiveness of our sins and the strengthening of our faith? Do we rejoice in the unity we share in the partaking of Holy Communion?
The things we most treasure are often the things we end up not treasuring. This will happen if we don’t cherish the blessings we are given. In the Lord’s Supper our Lord has given us an eternal blessing. He gives it to us in the context of our sinful state and our need for salvation. The Passover was instituted in order for the people of God in the Old Testament to celebrate not just a festival, but the grace and salvation of God. He had rescued them from their slavery in Egypt and spared their firstborn children in the judgment of the slaying of the firstborn. It was only by the blood of a lamb that the firstborn were saved.
Why is the Gift our Lord gives us in His Holy Supper surrounded by the harsh reality of sin and the slaughtering of animals and the blood of them being used? Why can’t the Passover be a celebration that is free from a history in which firstborn children were struck down and an animal had to be slaughtered? Because God comes right down into our sin-filled world, right where we’re at, in the midst of the harsh reality of our need. Nothing anyone could do would prevent Jesus from going to the cross. Remember, Jesus knew what was going to happen when He was celebrating the Passover with His disciples and planning on instituting His Holy Supper. He knew Judas was going to betray Him. He knew that He was going to lose His life.
This was the context of instituting His Supper. This shows us why He did so. He did because you and I need to be rescued from the slavery of our sin. He did so because you and I often betray our cavalier attitude toward our Lord’s Holy Supper rather than hungering for it and cherishing it.
The disciples didn’t know what they were getting that night. You do. The body and blood of Christ. Given and shed. For you. For your forgiveness. They didn’t believe that hours later Jesus would be hanging on a cross. You know that He did. And you know that it was for you. For your forgiveness. This is what you’re getting in His Holy Meal. You’re getting Him. His body. His blood. His forgiveness of your sin for your salvation, now and forever. Amen.
SDG
April 9, 2009
Mark 14:12-26
They knew what was to happen. And yet, they didn’t know what was to happen. Jesus knew what was to happen, and yet, went on through with it.
Yes, it would be easy enough to celebrate the Passover with His disciples. But to be betrayed. To be arrested and convicted and mocked and beaten and crucified. Jesus knew all this would happen. The suffering for the sin and guilt of the world. Jesus knew what was to happen. The disciples didn’t. They thought they would simply be celebrating the Passover. They didn’t know Jesus would celebrate something else. They didn’t know, although they should have, that He would be betrayed and arrested and crucified.
So though they knew what was to happen, they really didn’t know what was to happen.
And what about us? Do we know what is to happen? Do we know what happens in our celebration of the Lord’s Supper? In a few moments we will approach the Lord’s Table and partake of the Lord’s Meal. Is that something we just do, just as the disciples asked Jesus where they should prepare for the Passover meal? Or do we, unlike the disciples did that night, know exactly what is going on in the celebration of this Meal?
What Jesus did during the Passover meal must have thrown His disciples for a loop. Why did Jesus institute it? It’s for this reason: He knows what is going to happen. We don’t. Oh, we know. But not really. We know we need it. But do we know just how much? Do we know and believe that without it we will starve spiritually? Our Lord knows us better than we know ourselves.
The disciples were all ready to prepare for the Passover. They were ready to celebrate it. But Jesus knew that what they needed was not just a reminder of God’s saving acts. They needed salvation. They needed to be forgiven of their sins.
Jesus knows what you and I need. We need to be forgiven. And we know this. But perhaps we suffer from the same problem the disciples did, only from the opposite direction. They didn’t know what was going on because things were unfolding. We know exactly what happened because we’re after the fact and have it in black and white in the pages of Scripture. But whereas they were thinking they’d just be celebrating the Passover meal, we might think we’re just celebrating a sacred meal. They didn’t know exactly what Jesus was doing in giving them the bread and wine with the words “this is My body, this is My blood.” We know—but do we take it for granted? Do we just go through the motions? Is it just a remembrance?
The Lord’s Supper is most certainly a sacred meal, but it is also and especially a Sacrament. It is an actual means by which our Lord forgives us. We know the Lord’s Supper is a big deal, but it’s hard not to take it for granted. This is natural. That doesn’t mean it’s okay, it just means that we very easily slip into taking the things that are most important in our lives for granted.
Do you still get as excited after twenty years of marriage when your spouse comes home as you did after twenty days of marriage? Or do you just take him or her for granted? You know you love your husband, you know you love your wife, but do you treat him or her in a way that shows you cherish him or her? I’m not talking about having ecstatic emotional feelings for them all the time. I’m talking about being grateful for and cherishing the man or woman God has given you to love in marriage. Is this the way you see your spouse, or do you often just take your marriage for granted?
This can happen easily to us. With the people we love the most. With the things that are most important to us. Does it happen to us with the Lord’s Supper? We clearly confess and believe that in and with the bread and wine, we eat the body of Christ and the blood of Christ. But do we then just take that for granted? Do we hunger and thirst for receiving the body and blood of Christ? Do we cherish the gift our Lord gives to us in His Supper of Himself and the forgiveness of our sins and the strengthening of our faith? Do we rejoice in the unity we share in the partaking of Holy Communion?
The things we most treasure are often the things we end up not treasuring. This will happen if we don’t cherish the blessings we are given. In the Lord’s Supper our Lord has given us an eternal blessing. He gives it to us in the context of our sinful state and our need for salvation. The Passover was instituted in order for the people of God in the Old Testament to celebrate not just a festival, but the grace and salvation of God. He had rescued them from their slavery in Egypt and spared their firstborn children in the judgment of the slaying of the firstborn. It was only by the blood of a lamb that the firstborn were saved.
Why is the Gift our Lord gives us in His Holy Supper surrounded by the harsh reality of sin and the slaughtering of animals and the blood of them being used? Why can’t the Passover be a celebration that is free from a history in which firstborn children were struck down and an animal had to be slaughtered? Because God comes right down into our sin-filled world, right where we’re at, in the midst of the harsh reality of our need. Nothing anyone could do would prevent Jesus from going to the cross. Remember, Jesus knew what was going to happen when He was celebrating the Passover with His disciples and planning on instituting His Holy Supper. He knew Judas was going to betray Him. He knew that He was going to lose His life.
This was the context of instituting His Supper. This shows us why He did so. He did because you and I need to be rescued from the slavery of our sin. He did so because you and I often betray our cavalier attitude toward our Lord’s Holy Supper rather than hungering for it and cherishing it.
The disciples didn’t know what they were getting that night. You do. The body and blood of Christ. Given and shed. For you. For your forgiveness. They didn’t believe that hours later Jesus would be hanging on a cross. You know that He did. And you know that it was for you. For your forgiveness. This is what you’re getting in His Holy Meal. You’re getting Him. His body. His blood. His forgiveness of your sin for your salvation, now and forever. Amen.
SDG
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The Lord Has Need of It
Palm Sunday
Sunday of the Passion
April 5, 2009
Mark 11:1-10
We have reached Holy Week. There is no time like Holy Week. It is an intense observance of our Lord’s Passion and Resurrection. Many of the images of Holy Week come readily to our mind: Jesus riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Him clearing out the temple, the Last Supper, praying and being arrested in Gethsemane, being crucified, buried, and of course the Resurrection.
But there a lot of little details. Things we might never think about unless we took out our magnifying glasses and examined some of the words used in the Scriptures. The main thing is the cross and the empty tomb. But there’s a lot that Jesus accomplished in the little details, that led up to the cross and the empty tomb.
There’s, for example, a donkey. A donkey doesn’t seem like such a big deal. A donkey doesn’t seem like a major part of the plan of salvation of God. But a donkey is important to Jesus. He tells the disciples to go get a specific donkey and that if they encounter questions about taking it that they should say, “The Lord has need of it.” Not just any animal would do. It had to be this one. And it was needed by Jesus.
This from the God who has everything. The God who created the cattle on a thousand hills and all the animals on land and in the sea. The God who created the sea and the land and the incomprehensible number of galaxies that span the universe. This from the God who is going to take on the sins of the world. He needs a donkey.
But it’s not so different, what Jesus is doing here at the end of His incarnation in the flesh, living on the earth for thirty years as a man. God doesn’t need anything, He has created and owns all things. But He makes use of His creation. When He came out of the womb He needed a feeding trough so that He could sleep. When He made His way back home to Nazareth He needed a bed to sleep in and clothes to wear to go to school. When He began His Ministry He needed water so that He could be Baptized. When He gave sight to a certain blind man He needed mud to rub on the man’s eyes. He needed bread and wine to institute His Holy Supper on the night when He was betrayed.
It’s not that He couldn’t do without these things or couldn’t accomplish salvation except through them. It’s that He makes use of His creation. And He often does it through the ordinary things of His creation. A feeding trough, water, bread, wine, a donkey. He had need of that donkey, so He sent His disciples to go get it. They would understand later that He was making use of it in order to accomplish salvation. Just as He would make use of one of the most excruciating instruments of torture ever invented, a cross.
The God who doesn’t need anything makes use of the things in our lives to meet our needs. What we want is often more than what we need. What we want is often at the expense of what we need. God has everything, He wants to meet our needs. Whereas He makes use of the things of His creation, we’re inclined to use the things of His creation to meet our wants, rather than being content with Him meeting our needs.
You can see this just by the way you often talk about things. Do you say you really need something when in fact it’s really just what you want? Do you say that your needs aren’t met when in fact they are met but you’re not content with that? Do you find yourself longing for all the wants you have that aren’t met? You’d rather have a nice car instead of being grateful that you simply have a car. You’re discontent because you don’t eat fine cuisine when you should give thanks that you have enough to eat every day. You’re weary of the strife you endure between your spouse or your children or your siblings, when you should be at peace knowing that you have the opportunity to love and cherish them and reconcile when needed.
Jesus didn’t head to Jerusalem thinking about what He wanted. He had everything. He did go into Jerusalem thinking about what He needed. And that happened to be a donkey. Because Jesus doesn’t need anything except to make use of things for us, not for Himself. When we think about what we need we too often slip into what we want. God in His grace even gives provision for that, praying for what we want according to the third petition, “Thy will be done.” Unfortunately, we’re often so self-absorbed that our petitions meld into “My will be done.”
Not Jesus. He went into Jerusalem praying, “Thy will be done.” Father, you want Me riding in humbly and mounted on a donkey?, then that’s what I want; then that’s what I need to do. Father, You want Me beaten and mocked and crucified?, Thy will be done.
I guess it would have been cool for Jesus to drive into Jerusalem in a limo. It would have been awesome for Him to stand on the highest point in Jerusalem and proclaim to the world that salvation is in Him. God could easily have arranged for Jesus the infant to be born in a palace. He didn’t have to use mud to give sight to that blind guy. A spectacular display would have made a much greater impression.
But Jesus came to save the world of sin. He didn’t come for what He wanted or needed—He doesn’t want or need anything. What He does is love everyone. What He does is come for everyone. What He does is die on the cross for the sin of the world.
He is the all-powerful God of creation who humbles Himself to be part of His creation. To make use of it so that we who are part of His creation may be part of His Kingdom of eternal glory. He makes use of His creation to rescue us from a world that is fallen, that is deteriorating from the effects of sin. He uses the things of this world to save us from our sin in which we often use the things of this world not for His glory but for our own selfish wants.
On Palm Sunday Jesus entered Jerusalem only to find Himself a few days later standing before the high priest. He had allowed mock witnesses to make the case against Jesus. But when Jesus declared Himself to be the Messiah, the high priest victoriously rose up with the cry: “What further witnesses do we need?” (Mark 14:63 ESV) Notice the contrast between what Jesus was doing there and what the high priest wanted. Jesus needed the donkey to get Him into Jerusalem to die for Caiaphas, the high priest who condemned Him. Caiaphas used whatever means at his disposal that he could in order to bring Jesus down.
Thank God Jesus submitted to this. The Lord had need of that donkey to bring Him into the place where He died for the sins of the world. The same Lord continues to have need of things in our lives to deliver His salvation to us: the water of our Baptism, the words spoken and preached of Absolution and proclamation, the bread and wine of His Holy Supper. The Lord has need of these things to give you Himself. The Lord has need of these things to bring you into His eternal Kingdom.
You live in this world. It’s the world your Lord came to in order to save you. You deal with the things of this world on a daily basis. What Jesus did on Palm Sunday was very practical. By having need of that donkey, you have new life. You are in the world but not of it. You may make use of the things of this world but don’t have to be slaves to them. The Apostle Paul has this very practical advice for Christians when it comes to their needs: “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” (Ephesians 4:28 ESV) What this means for you is that your life is not about you and what you want. It is about your needs and what your Lord has done to meet your needs. He has accomplished salvation for you, meeting your greatest and eternal needs. He blesses you in this life with the things of this life, including others who help you. Including you helping others.
Just when you think that there’s not much to your life in Christ, think about that donkey. He has need of it, because He had His sights set on you—saving you, giving you new life, setting you on a new path to serving Him by serving others. It’s done with the things of this life, not the pie in the sky notions of your wants. He takes ordinary things in this life and uses them as the means by which He forgives you. During this Holy Week, and throughout your life, remember that. Your needs are met in the cross and the empty tomb. The God who needs nothing brings His mercy and forgiveness to you by His Word and in His Holy Supper.
Just when you think there’s not much to those words on the page in your Bible, remember, the Lord has need of it. Daily devotions, studying the Word of God, your Lord has need of it to strengthen you. Just when your Baptism seems not all that relevant in your life, remember, the Lord has need of that water He washed you with, using it to wash away your sins. When you approach the altar and receive a small piece of bread and a small drink of wine, remember, the Lord has need of it. Just as He made use of a feeding trough, some mud, and a donkey to bring you Himself, He makes use of bread and wine to do so today and often. It’s what you need, and that’s why He has need of it. Amen.
SDG
Sunday of the Passion
April 5, 2009
Mark 11:1-10
We have reached Holy Week. There is no time like Holy Week. It is an intense observance of our Lord’s Passion and Resurrection. Many of the images of Holy Week come readily to our mind: Jesus riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Him clearing out the temple, the Last Supper, praying and being arrested in Gethsemane, being crucified, buried, and of course the Resurrection.
But there a lot of little details. Things we might never think about unless we took out our magnifying glasses and examined some of the words used in the Scriptures. The main thing is the cross and the empty tomb. But there’s a lot that Jesus accomplished in the little details, that led up to the cross and the empty tomb.
There’s, for example, a donkey. A donkey doesn’t seem like such a big deal. A donkey doesn’t seem like a major part of the plan of salvation of God. But a donkey is important to Jesus. He tells the disciples to go get a specific donkey and that if they encounter questions about taking it that they should say, “The Lord has need of it.” Not just any animal would do. It had to be this one. And it was needed by Jesus.
This from the God who has everything. The God who created the cattle on a thousand hills and all the animals on land and in the sea. The God who created the sea and the land and the incomprehensible number of galaxies that span the universe. This from the God who is going to take on the sins of the world. He needs a donkey.
But it’s not so different, what Jesus is doing here at the end of His incarnation in the flesh, living on the earth for thirty years as a man. God doesn’t need anything, He has created and owns all things. But He makes use of His creation. When He came out of the womb He needed a feeding trough so that He could sleep. When He made His way back home to Nazareth He needed a bed to sleep in and clothes to wear to go to school. When He began His Ministry He needed water so that He could be Baptized. When He gave sight to a certain blind man He needed mud to rub on the man’s eyes. He needed bread and wine to institute His Holy Supper on the night when He was betrayed.
It’s not that He couldn’t do without these things or couldn’t accomplish salvation except through them. It’s that He makes use of His creation. And He often does it through the ordinary things of His creation. A feeding trough, water, bread, wine, a donkey. He had need of that donkey, so He sent His disciples to go get it. They would understand later that He was making use of it in order to accomplish salvation. Just as He would make use of one of the most excruciating instruments of torture ever invented, a cross.
The God who doesn’t need anything makes use of the things in our lives to meet our needs. What we want is often more than what we need. What we want is often at the expense of what we need. God has everything, He wants to meet our needs. Whereas He makes use of the things of His creation, we’re inclined to use the things of His creation to meet our wants, rather than being content with Him meeting our needs.
You can see this just by the way you often talk about things. Do you say you really need something when in fact it’s really just what you want? Do you say that your needs aren’t met when in fact they are met but you’re not content with that? Do you find yourself longing for all the wants you have that aren’t met? You’d rather have a nice car instead of being grateful that you simply have a car. You’re discontent because you don’t eat fine cuisine when you should give thanks that you have enough to eat every day. You’re weary of the strife you endure between your spouse or your children or your siblings, when you should be at peace knowing that you have the opportunity to love and cherish them and reconcile when needed.
Jesus didn’t head to Jerusalem thinking about what He wanted. He had everything. He did go into Jerusalem thinking about what He needed. And that happened to be a donkey. Because Jesus doesn’t need anything except to make use of things for us, not for Himself. When we think about what we need we too often slip into what we want. God in His grace even gives provision for that, praying for what we want according to the third petition, “Thy will be done.” Unfortunately, we’re often so self-absorbed that our petitions meld into “My will be done.”
Not Jesus. He went into Jerusalem praying, “Thy will be done.” Father, you want Me riding in humbly and mounted on a donkey?, then that’s what I want; then that’s what I need to do. Father, You want Me beaten and mocked and crucified?, Thy will be done.
I guess it would have been cool for Jesus to drive into Jerusalem in a limo. It would have been awesome for Him to stand on the highest point in Jerusalem and proclaim to the world that salvation is in Him. God could easily have arranged for Jesus the infant to be born in a palace. He didn’t have to use mud to give sight to that blind guy. A spectacular display would have made a much greater impression.
But Jesus came to save the world of sin. He didn’t come for what He wanted or needed—He doesn’t want or need anything. What He does is love everyone. What He does is come for everyone. What He does is die on the cross for the sin of the world.
He is the all-powerful God of creation who humbles Himself to be part of His creation. To make use of it so that we who are part of His creation may be part of His Kingdom of eternal glory. He makes use of His creation to rescue us from a world that is fallen, that is deteriorating from the effects of sin. He uses the things of this world to save us from our sin in which we often use the things of this world not for His glory but for our own selfish wants.
On Palm Sunday Jesus entered Jerusalem only to find Himself a few days later standing before the high priest. He had allowed mock witnesses to make the case against Jesus. But when Jesus declared Himself to be the Messiah, the high priest victoriously rose up with the cry: “What further witnesses do we need?” (Mark 14:63 ESV) Notice the contrast between what Jesus was doing there and what the high priest wanted. Jesus needed the donkey to get Him into Jerusalem to die for Caiaphas, the high priest who condemned Him. Caiaphas used whatever means at his disposal that he could in order to bring Jesus down.
Thank God Jesus submitted to this. The Lord had need of that donkey to bring Him into the place where He died for the sins of the world. The same Lord continues to have need of things in our lives to deliver His salvation to us: the water of our Baptism, the words spoken and preached of Absolution and proclamation, the bread and wine of His Holy Supper. The Lord has need of these things to give you Himself. The Lord has need of these things to bring you into His eternal Kingdom.
You live in this world. It’s the world your Lord came to in order to save you. You deal with the things of this world on a daily basis. What Jesus did on Palm Sunday was very practical. By having need of that donkey, you have new life. You are in the world but not of it. You may make use of the things of this world but don’t have to be slaves to them. The Apostle Paul has this very practical advice for Christians when it comes to their needs: “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” (Ephesians 4:28 ESV) What this means for you is that your life is not about you and what you want. It is about your needs and what your Lord has done to meet your needs. He has accomplished salvation for you, meeting your greatest and eternal needs. He blesses you in this life with the things of this life, including others who help you. Including you helping others.
Just when you think that there’s not much to your life in Christ, think about that donkey. He has need of it, because He had His sights set on you—saving you, giving you new life, setting you on a new path to serving Him by serving others. It’s done with the things of this life, not the pie in the sky notions of your wants. He takes ordinary things in this life and uses them as the means by which He forgives you. During this Holy Week, and throughout your life, remember that. Your needs are met in the cross and the empty tomb. The God who needs nothing brings His mercy and forgiveness to you by His Word and in His Holy Supper.
Just when you think there’s not much to those words on the page in your Bible, remember, the Lord has need of it. Daily devotions, studying the Word of God, your Lord has need of it to strengthen you. Just when your Baptism seems not all that relevant in your life, remember, the Lord has need of that water He washed you with, using it to wash away your sins. When you approach the altar and receive a small piece of bread and a small drink of wine, remember, the Lord has need of it. Just as He made use of a feeding trough, some mud, and a donkey to bring you Himself, He makes use of bread and wine to do so today and often. It’s what you need, and that’s why He has need of it. Amen.
SDG
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Welcome to My World
Fifth Sunday in Lent
March 29, 2009
Mark 10:32-45
There’s a whole world right at your fingertips in the internet. You can know what’s going on almost anywhere in the world and about almost any subject. Added to this is a whole area on the internet where you can tell the world what you want it to know. Millions of people do this with their own blog. A blog is an online journal. You can write on things that are of interest to you, whether it’s knitting, philosophy, cars, birds, sports, your family, or about life in general. When you have your own blog there doesn’t have to be collaboration. It’s your blog, you can say what you want. Others don’t decide what you put on your blog.
If you write a book an editor will come along and make changes. If you make a movie you have to work with all kinds of people who have a say in the final production. At work we often have to collaborate with others on projects. But if you have a blog you get to decide what will go out to the world. A way some people emphasize this point when they start a blog is by introducing it with these words: “Welcome to my world.”
That’s what Jesus does in the Gospel reading for today. When He tells the disciples what will happen to Him He is saying, “Welcome to My world.” Actually, it’s not just His world He’s welcoming them to, it’s His religion. In telling them what will happen to Him, He is saying, “Welcome to My religion.”
There’s a lot of people who think nothing more of that than all the blogs out there—they’ll just go to a different one. That’s nice, Jesus, but I think I’ll just try another religion. I’ll even just do my own. You see it all the time. People will say, My religion is a mix of different religions and philosophies.
That’s what James and John were saying. Not to be left out in the cold, it’s what the other apostles were saying. They all were starting their own religion. They could have started their own blogs. “Welcome to my world” was really “Welcome to my religion.” That’s, really, what we all do. We take God, the Bible, Christianity, and we craft our own religion that suits just us. Then in the way we live and talk, we are saying, Welcome to my world; Welcome to my religion. If it’s not for you, you can start your own blog and do your own thing.
Jesus straight off says, Welcome to My world; Welcome to My religion. It’s a religion in which it’s about Me going to the cross. In which I will drink the cup of the wrath of God. In which I will be baptized with the sin of the world. This is My world. This is My religion. Welcome to it.
James and John have better ideas. Hey, that sounds great, Jesus, but we’d like some glory to go along with that suffering and death and resurrection. If it’s all going to work out for You in the end, we’d like to get in on the action. The other apostles have the same ideas, they just weren’t as quick to the punch as James and John. All twelve of them said to Jesus, That’s a nice world You’ve invited us to, there Jesus. But we have some ideas of our own—welcome to our world.
You see, we don’t we really need Your suffering, and being mocked, and dying, and rising from the grave. We’d like some glory, please. Will you take care of that for us? There’s a good God. Yes, welcome to our world. It’s all about us. Not really about You, Jesus. But you do have a nice blog, and we’ll check it out from time to time.
I don’t know about you, but I often treat the Bible the way I do some of the blogs I read. I only read a few, but I find that even with a few, I can’t keep up with them. I end up checking in to them once in a while. Since they’re just blogs, that’s not a big deal, but I find my Bible reading has a similar pattern. It’s not a blog, of course—it is God’s Words written down; Him saying, Welcome to My world; Welcome to My religion. But too often, I say, That’s nice; and treat it as I would a blog. I will check out what You have to say, of course, now and then.
But the way I live, I’m really saying, Welcome to MY world. Even, Welcome to my religion. How could the apostles take what Jesus was saying, which was all about Him, and turn it around to wanting it to be all about them? It’s because that’s who we are. We are by nature sinful. We’re in our own little world. And each of us wants to go around inviting others to our blog—welcome to MY world! You don’t have to stick around, but you’re welcome to.
But mostly, we’re not interested in making the case to others, but to God. We want to tell Him where it’s at. God, You’ve got a lot of good stuff on that blog of yours, but have you checked out mine? If you can get on board with my religion things will work out just great for me. As long as you don’t impose on me having to actually read and study Your Word on a daily and consistent basis; as long as I don’t have to suffer the embarrassment of sharing the Gospel with my non-Christian friends; as long as I can continue to keep telling white lies in order to keep the peace with my spouse; God, as long as you do as I say then You will be a great boon to my religion.
How about if, instead, we listen to Christ? We actually take His invitation and enter into His world? How about if, instead of just checking out His blog once in a while, we actually get into the Word of God and read, mark, learn, study, and inwardly digest it? How about if, when we come to those places in His Holy Word that are tough to come to terms with, we step back and listen? Take what we hear from Him and enter into the world He has welcomed us into. Take to heart His religion rather than the fantasy world we create for ourselves. Be in His world on His terms rather than ours.
What if we hear the Word of our Lord and, instead of thinking about how we can get in on the glory, we simply rest in what our Lord has given us? Simply rest in the peace that goes beyond our limited understanding. Be grateful for the eternal salvation He has brought about in His suffering, death, and resurrection. Flood our hearts and minds with thoughts not of glory or what we want but of the forgiveness He has washed us with in our Baptism. Rejoice in the lavish Feast of His Body and Blood He has prepared for us and the invitation “Welcome to My world.” Welcome to My Feast. Come to Me and receive Me; My Body and My Blood. My forgiveness and eternal salvation. Peace for all your woes, strength for all your trials.
Salvation from yourself and your world of sin that the devil, the world, and your sinful flesh keeps welcoming you into. Our sinful flesh is all too eager to rejoice in the invitation to be brought into a world that revolves around ourselves. It abhors the world Jesus invites us into, which is the world of His cross; a world of suffering and resurrection. That’s why He headed toward Jerusalem—to go the cross. That was His world. He went to the cross for the sin of the world.
When Jesus was on the cross, God was saying to the world: “Welcome to MY world.” This is how you get into heaven. This is how you obtain true and eternal glory. This is how you get what you really need. If you look to that one who was beaten and hanging on the cross, you will see God’s world; His religion; how He welcomes you into it. When you daily arise and recall that you are a Baptized child of God, you will see what the world of God is like—one in which He welcomes sinners and eats them. You will see that His world is the world of grace, inviting you into it, dining with you at His Table.
When your last hour comes, you may be at peace and rejoice, because the words of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to you when you enter into heaven will be, “Welcome to My world.” As you await that day, rejoice in the opportunity you have everyday to bring this Good News of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection to others, welcoming them not into your world, but His. Amen.
SDG
March 29, 2009
Mark 10:32-45
There’s a whole world right at your fingertips in the internet. You can know what’s going on almost anywhere in the world and about almost any subject. Added to this is a whole area on the internet where you can tell the world what you want it to know. Millions of people do this with their own blog. A blog is an online journal. You can write on things that are of interest to you, whether it’s knitting, philosophy, cars, birds, sports, your family, or about life in general. When you have your own blog there doesn’t have to be collaboration. It’s your blog, you can say what you want. Others don’t decide what you put on your blog.
If you write a book an editor will come along and make changes. If you make a movie you have to work with all kinds of people who have a say in the final production. At work we often have to collaborate with others on projects. But if you have a blog you get to decide what will go out to the world. A way some people emphasize this point when they start a blog is by introducing it with these words: “Welcome to my world.”
That’s what Jesus does in the Gospel reading for today. When He tells the disciples what will happen to Him He is saying, “Welcome to My world.” Actually, it’s not just His world He’s welcoming them to, it’s His religion. In telling them what will happen to Him, He is saying, “Welcome to My religion.”
There’s a lot of people who think nothing more of that than all the blogs out there—they’ll just go to a different one. That’s nice, Jesus, but I think I’ll just try another religion. I’ll even just do my own. You see it all the time. People will say, My religion is a mix of different religions and philosophies.
That’s what James and John were saying. Not to be left out in the cold, it’s what the other apostles were saying. They all were starting their own religion. They could have started their own blogs. “Welcome to my world” was really “Welcome to my religion.” That’s, really, what we all do. We take God, the Bible, Christianity, and we craft our own religion that suits just us. Then in the way we live and talk, we are saying, Welcome to my world; Welcome to my religion. If it’s not for you, you can start your own blog and do your own thing.
Jesus straight off says, Welcome to My world; Welcome to My religion. It’s a religion in which it’s about Me going to the cross. In which I will drink the cup of the wrath of God. In which I will be baptized with the sin of the world. This is My world. This is My religion. Welcome to it.
James and John have better ideas. Hey, that sounds great, Jesus, but we’d like some glory to go along with that suffering and death and resurrection. If it’s all going to work out for You in the end, we’d like to get in on the action. The other apostles have the same ideas, they just weren’t as quick to the punch as James and John. All twelve of them said to Jesus, That’s a nice world You’ve invited us to, there Jesus. But we have some ideas of our own—welcome to our world.
You see, we don’t we really need Your suffering, and being mocked, and dying, and rising from the grave. We’d like some glory, please. Will you take care of that for us? There’s a good God. Yes, welcome to our world. It’s all about us. Not really about You, Jesus. But you do have a nice blog, and we’ll check it out from time to time.
I don’t know about you, but I often treat the Bible the way I do some of the blogs I read. I only read a few, but I find that even with a few, I can’t keep up with them. I end up checking in to them once in a while. Since they’re just blogs, that’s not a big deal, but I find my Bible reading has a similar pattern. It’s not a blog, of course—it is God’s Words written down; Him saying, Welcome to My world; Welcome to My religion. But too often, I say, That’s nice; and treat it as I would a blog. I will check out what You have to say, of course, now and then.
But the way I live, I’m really saying, Welcome to MY world. Even, Welcome to my religion. How could the apostles take what Jesus was saying, which was all about Him, and turn it around to wanting it to be all about them? It’s because that’s who we are. We are by nature sinful. We’re in our own little world. And each of us wants to go around inviting others to our blog—welcome to MY world! You don’t have to stick around, but you’re welcome to.
But mostly, we’re not interested in making the case to others, but to God. We want to tell Him where it’s at. God, You’ve got a lot of good stuff on that blog of yours, but have you checked out mine? If you can get on board with my religion things will work out just great for me. As long as you don’t impose on me having to actually read and study Your Word on a daily and consistent basis; as long as I don’t have to suffer the embarrassment of sharing the Gospel with my non-Christian friends; as long as I can continue to keep telling white lies in order to keep the peace with my spouse; God, as long as you do as I say then You will be a great boon to my religion.
How about if, instead, we listen to Christ? We actually take His invitation and enter into His world? How about if, instead of just checking out His blog once in a while, we actually get into the Word of God and read, mark, learn, study, and inwardly digest it? How about if, when we come to those places in His Holy Word that are tough to come to terms with, we step back and listen? Take what we hear from Him and enter into the world He has welcomed us into. Take to heart His religion rather than the fantasy world we create for ourselves. Be in His world on His terms rather than ours.
What if we hear the Word of our Lord and, instead of thinking about how we can get in on the glory, we simply rest in what our Lord has given us? Simply rest in the peace that goes beyond our limited understanding. Be grateful for the eternal salvation He has brought about in His suffering, death, and resurrection. Flood our hearts and minds with thoughts not of glory or what we want but of the forgiveness He has washed us with in our Baptism. Rejoice in the lavish Feast of His Body and Blood He has prepared for us and the invitation “Welcome to My world.” Welcome to My Feast. Come to Me and receive Me; My Body and My Blood. My forgiveness and eternal salvation. Peace for all your woes, strength for all your trials.
Salvation from yourself and your world of sin that the devil, the world, and your sinful flesh keeps welcoming you into. Our sinful flesh is all too eager to rejoice in the invitation to be brought into a world that revolves around ourselves. It abhors the world Jesus invites us into, which is the world of His cross; a world of suffering and resurrection. That’s why He headed toward Jerusalem—to go the cross. That was His world. He went to the cross for the sin of the world.
When Jesus was on the cross, God was saying to the world: “Welcome to MY world.” This is how you get into heaven. This is how you obtain true and eternal glory. This is how you get what you really need. If you look to that one who was beaten and hanging on the cross, you will see God’s world; His religion; how He welcomes you into it. When you daily arise and recall that you are a Baptized child of God, you will see what the world of God is like—one in which He welcomes sinners and eats them. You will see that His world is the world of grace, inviting you into it, dining with you at His Table.
When your last hour comes, you may be at peace and rejoice, because the words of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to you when you enter into heaven will be, “Welcome to My world.” As you await that day, rejoice in the opportunity you have everyday to bring this Good News of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection to others, welcoming them not into your world, but His. Amen.
SDG
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Life in Body and Soul
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 22, 2009
John 3:14-21
You think we got problems in our country with our economic situation? Just be glad you weren’t wandering out in the wilderness for forty years. Think things are taking a downturn? Imagine if poisonous snakes came into your house and began biting you and you died.
We have problems. And what do we do when we have problems? We complain. We murmur against God. We ask Him why things are going south. Or we question His providence or His care of us.
That’s what the Israelites did. And that was four thousand years ago. Not much has changed.
But you know what else hasn’t changed? This: God loves the world. God loved the world in this way: He sent His only Son to die for everyone. He sent His only Son so that we may have everything we have.
Everything we have is from Him. The wealthy person may come to the point where they have so much that they think they don’t need God. The poor person who has almost nothing may come to the point where simply getting food is more important to them than God.
Either way, God is not first. In both cases God is supplanted by the things of this world.
God loved the world in this way, He gave His Son. Why did He give His Son? To give us life. Life in body and soul.
So often when life brings us through rough patches in body we lose sight of the blessings to the soul. So many times when we don’t have what we think we need, or even want, for this life we place the things we need for eternity to the side.
And we complain. We question. We search for answers outside of the Word of God and in the work of salvation in God’s only-begotten Son. We too often place our trust in the things of this world. Money. A stable job. Peace of mind. Health. These things aren’t bad. They’re good—they’re blessings from God. But we too often seek them in place of God.
God is our source of life in body and soul. We know that because He has given us His Son. He loved the world in this way, He gave us His very own Son so that we may have life now and forever.
This is why we pray as we do. This is what we prayed moments ago in the Collect: “Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul.”
So we prayed that. But how do we live it out? Do we wake up each new day rejoicing that our Heavenly Father’s mercies are new every morning? Or do we grudgingly go into the new day not looking forward to having to work hard, or deal with people that make it hard to be loving to them? Or do we think about all those things we don’t have? Or think about those things we wish were different?
The truth is, we think we deserve a life free from hardship. At least, we think this when we’re going through trials. It doesn’t occur to us in those times that our problems in life are due to sin. We don’t automatically acknowledge that we don’t deserve anything from God. That we in fact deserve only punishment. The last thing we probably think to acknowledge and rejoice in is that instead of punishment our Heavenly Father receives us as His children and provides for all our needs of body and soul.
We need help. That’s why God sent His Son. We need help not just in body but in soul. We need help to pray. The Collect helps us out here by concluding this way: “Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience.”
Just because it doesn’t seem like you need God, doesn’t mean you don’t need Him. If you work hard and have gained much in this life because of it you can easily lose sight of where your blessings come from. Without God you have nothing, in body and soul. Just because you do a lot to provide for yourself doesn’t mean God is out of the picture. He is your Maker and Redeemer, without Him you have nothing.
If you don’t have much in this life you might conclude that God doesn’t provide for you, or at least not much. But rejoice that without much material goods in this life is abundant opportunity to rely on Him for all you need in body and soul.
He has given you life in body and soul. How do you know? He has given you His Son.
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. The bronze snake had the form and appearance of the poisonous snakes, just as Jesus was revealed in the form of our sinful flesh. Just as the bronze snake had no poison, so Jesus was without sin. Just as whoever looked at the bronze snake remained alive, so also every sinner that has been poisoned by sin who looks up to Jesus, the one lifted up on the cross, will not perish but have eternal life.
The Israelites were saved in body and soul. Looking to the bronze snake their physical lives were spared, even as they were saved in their souls by the very same God who spared them. God loved them in this way: He gave His only Son to die for their sins. Jesus was lifted up on the cross for the world, including those Israelites. The bronze snake being lifted up pointed to that one who was lifted up in whom we have life in body and soul.
God loved the world in this way. He loves you in this way. He gave His Son. You have life in body and soul, now and forever. Amen.
SDG
March 22, 2009
John 3:14-21
You think we got problems in our country with our economic situation? Just be glad you weren’t wandering out in the wilderness for forty years. Think things are taking a downturn? Imagine if poisonous snakes came into your house and began biting you and you died.
We have problems. And what do we do when we have problems? We complain. We murmur against God. We ask Him why things are going south. Or we question His providence or His care of us.
That’s what the Israelites did. And that was four thousand years ago. Not much has changed.
But you know what else hasn’t changed? This: God loves the world. God loved the world in this way: He sent His only Son to die for everyone. He sent His only Son so that we may have everything we have.
Everything we have is from Him. The wealthy person may come to the point where they have so much that they think they don’t need God. The poor person who has almost nothing may come to the point where simply getting food is more important to them than God.
Either way, God is not first. In both cases God is supplanted by the things of this world.
God loved the world in this way, He gave His Son. Why did He give His Son? To give us life. Life in body and soul.
So often when life brings us through rough patches in body we lose sight of the blessings to the soul. So many times when we don’t have what we think we need, or even want, for this life we place the things we need for eternity to the side.
And we complain. We question. We search for answers outside of the Word of God and in the work of salvation in God’s only-begotten Son. We too often place our trust in the things of this world. Money. A stable job. Peace of mind. Health. These things aren’t bad. They’re good—they’re blessings from God. But we too often seek them in place of God.
God is our source of life in body and soul. We know that because He has given us His Son. He loved the world in this way, He gave us His very own Son so that we may have life now and forever.
This is why we pray as we do. This is what we prayed moments ago in the Collect: “Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul.”
So we prayed that. But how do we live it out? Do we wake up each new day rejoicing that our Heavenly Father’s mercies are new every morning? Or do we grudgingly go into the new day not looking forward to having to work hard, or deal with people that make it hard to be loving to them? Or do we think about all those things we don’t have? Or think about those things we wish were different?
The truth is, we think we deserve a life free from hardship. At least, we think this when we’re going through trials. It doesn’t occur to us in those times that our problems in life are due to sin. We don’t automatically acknowledge that we don’t deserve anything from God. That we in fact deserve only punishment. The last thing we probably think to acknowledge and rejoice in is that instead of punishment our Heavenly Father receives us as His children and provides for all our needs of body and soul.
We need help. That’s why God sent His Son. We need help not just in body but in soul. We need help to pray. The Collect helps us out here by concluding this way: “Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience.”
Just because it doesn’t seem like you need God, doesn’t mean you don’t need Him. If you work hard and have gained much in this life because of it you can easily lose sight of where your blessings come from. Without God you have nothing, in body and soul. Just because you do a lot to provide for yourself doesn’t mean God is out of the picture. He is your Maker and Redeemer, without Him you have nothing.
If you don’t have much in this life you might conclude that God doesn’t provide for you, or at least not much. But rejoice that without much material goods in this life is abundant opportunity to rely on Him for all you need in body and soul.
He has given you life in body and soul. How do you know? He has given you His Son.
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. The bronze snake had the form and appearance of the poisonous snakes, just as Jesus was revealed in the form of our sinful flesh. Just as the bronze snake had no poison, so Jesus was without sin. Just as whoever looked at the bronze snake remained alive, so also every sinner that has been poisoned by sin who looks up to Jesus, the one lifted up on the cross, will not perish but have eternal life.
The Israelites were saved in body and soul. Looking to the bronze snake their physical lives were spared, even as they were saved in their souls by the very same God who spared them. God loved them in this way: He gave His only Son to die for their sins. Jesus was lifted up on the cross for the world, including those Israelites. The bronze snake being lifted up pointed to that one who was lifted up in whom we have life in body and soul.
God loved the world in this way. He loves you in this way. He gave His Son. You have life in body and soul, now and forever. Amen.
SDG
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Jesus Preaches Jesus
Third Sunday in Lent
March 15, 2009
John 2:13-22
Every preacher points away from himself. He points to another. At least, every preacher worth his salt. Those who have taken it upon themselves to exalt themselves decided that importance as a preacher had been eclipsed by their importance as savior, or being divine, or something more important than being a mere preacher. We can readily think of examples of men who have done this. Jim Jones, Joseph Smith, David Koresh, Marshall Applewhite. There have been and will be others.
But there’s only one who preached Himself and was not a false teacher. Jesus is the only one who preaches Himself and we don’t say, Where do you get off proclaiming yourself? Every preacher is called to preach Christ. They simply follow in the footsteps of Jesus Himself. Jesus preaches Jesus. Not in the sense of Frank Sinatra, Jr., who performs his father’s songs in “Sinatra Sings Sinatra.”
Jesus preaches Himself in that it is His message He is proclaiming, and the message is also Himself. Preaching is giving people Jesus. When false prophets proclaim themselves they are giving people themselves as their hope. There’s one problem with this. There’s no hope in a Jim Jones or a David Koresh. There’s no hope in any man except the one Man, Jesus Christ.
We preach, because we have nothing to give but Christ. Jesus had Himself to give. That’s why His preaching wasn’t just preaching sermons like we have. He is the sermon. He is the proclamation. Jesus came out of the womb preaching. His cries and His coos in His mother’s arms weren’t His preaching. His very self, His being in the flesh, was His preaching. Jesus doing everything He did was His sermon.
When He comes into the temple, He comes in preaching. It’s not the sermon you generally expect to hear. Or, in this case, see. He doesn’t speak words; at least, not off the bat. But does He preach. Fastening a whip of cords. Driving people out. Pouring out the money. Overturning tables. That’s a sermon you’re not likely to forget. And even though it was action, with a few words, it was preaching—and preaching Himself, at that. Jesus is the Word. He is the Word made flesh. He is God who dwelt among us. He preaches Himself.
He came in preaching against the people there. The money, the sacrifices—the people were placing those things before God. Do we do the same thing? We need money or the church doors will close. We serve on our boards or help out around the church and that makes us feel good. It’s not about the money. This church doesn’t run on money, it is built on the foundation of Christ, which will not fail. Christ didn’t save you so you could feel good. You can’t take the Ten Commandments and go down the list, ticking them off: I haven’t taken the life of anyone unjustly, I haven’t had an actual physical affair, I haven’t actually stolen anything. God didn’t give His commandments so we could put check marks by them and feel good about ourselves, but so that we can live in the way He has called us to live. Not to live for ourselves but in joyful service to others.
It’s not about the money or the good things we do to make us feel good. It’s about Him. When He enters the temple, you find out what the temple is all about. It’s about Him. It’s about Christ and Him crucified. That’s why, when Jesus responds to the protests, His preaching is about that very thing that the Gospel is: Jesus’ death and resurrection. There’s no preaching without that. There’s no preaching if it’s not preaching Jesus. Anyone who is preaching anyone or anything else isn’t preaching what they are called to preach.
Because there is no hope in anything or anyone else. There is hope in Christ. That’s why He came. That’s why He had the audacity to point to Himself. You guys think it’s all about you? You think you have your racket going on here and you’re sitting pretty? You are making a mockery of My Father’s House. His House is not about you, it’s about Me. He has sent Me to save you. You’d rather line your pockets. You’d rather be comfortable in your religion than place all your hope in Me. You want to see a sign? It won’t be in material goods. It will be Me being destroyed on a cross and raised to even greater glory.
There’s your sign. There’s your hope. There’s your sermon. It’s the only one there is. If you ever here another kind you’re not listening to a Christian one. You’re listening to a preacher who would rather point you to himself than to Christ.
Jesus preaches Jesus, and so do we. Does it make any sense to preach anything or anyone else? Do we need Jesus less now that He’s no longer walking on the earth? Don’t we need Him the same? Isn’t that why, even as He came in the flesh for thirty years, He comes even now to us in Baptism and His Holy Supper?
Jesus knows exactly how to preach. We often think of Jesus as a great teacher. He was. But He didn’t come to show us how to live. How to be better people. Live more moral lives. He came to preach. Preach Himself. What this means is what Lutherans love to call Law and Gospel.
When Jesus preaches, He preaches the Law. The people had a good thing going for them. Their religion was working well for them. It was a very practical religion. Some were making good money, selling the animals necessary for the sacrifices. On the other hand the ones who bought the animals had the good feeling of knowing they were abiding by God’s religious codes. Everybody was happy because the sermon they were listening to was one that told them to feel good about themselves. That was their hope.
Jesus preaches to this. He attacks it. This is the Law. He doesn’t tell them to shape up. He drives them out. He pours out their self-righteousness. He overturns their lives. He shakes them up so that they can see that they’ve put a whole bunch of stuff in place of Him. He preaches to them. But not what they want to hear—what they need to hear.
If you want to hear a “practical” sermon, one that tells you how to live your life better, you can hear that anywhere. Other religions are based on that and even secular people can give you a lot of good principles for it. But Jesus knows that you’re sinful to your core so you need something from outside of you to live as God wills for you to live. That something is a someone. And that Someone is Jesus Christ. That’s why Jesus preaches Jesus. That’s why He storms into your life and starts breaking things apart, to make way for Himself. He’s who you need. He’s who He delivers to you. He’s who every sermon that is preached needs to be preaching.
This is the Gospel that He preaches. It is the most practical thing we can receive. The forgiveness of our sins. Reconciliation with God. New life with the opportunity to serve Him and others. Your life is a sermon. When you live and talk with others, you are bringing Christ to them. You receive Him and bring Him to others. You’re all different. You have different experiences, different lifestyles, different incomes. You reach people in different ways. But you’re hearing the same proclamation. You’re receiving the same Jesus who comes to you in the proclamation of the Word. The one who came to you in your Baptism. The one who brings you Himself in His Holy Supper.
Jesus preaches Jesus. You have Him now and forever. Amen.
SDG
March 15, 2009
John 2:13-22
Every preacher points away from himself. He points to another. At least, every preacher worth his salt. Those who have taken it upon themselves to exalt themselves decided that importance as a preacher had been eclipsed by their importance as savior, or being divine, or something more important than being a mere preacher. We can readily think of examples of men who have done this. Jim Jones, Joseph Smith, David Koresh, Marshall Applewhite. There have been and will be others.
But there’s only one who preached Himself and was not a false teacher. Jesus is the only one who preaches Himself and we don’t say, Where do you get off proclaiming yourself? Every preacher is called to preach Christ. They simply follow in the footsteps of Jesus Himself. Jesus preaches Jesus. Not in the sense of Frank Sinatra, Jr., who performs his father’s songs in “Sinatra Sings Sinatra.”
Jesus preaches Himself in that it is His message He is proclaiming, and the message is also Himself. Preaching is giving people Jesus. When false prophets proclaim themselves they are giving people themselves as their hope. There’s one problem with this. There’s no hope in a Jim Jones or a David Koresh. There’s no hope in any man except the one Man, Jesus Christ.
We preach, because we have nothing to give but Christ. Jesus had Himself to give. That’s why His preaching wasn’t just preaching sermons like we have. He is the sermon. He is the proclamation. Jesus came out of the womb preaching. His cries and His coos in His mother’s arms weren’t His preaching. His very self, His being in the flesh, was His preaching. Jesus doing everything He did was His sermon.
When He comes into the temple, He comes in preaching. It’s not the sermon you generally expect to hear. Or, in this case, see. He doesn’t speak words; at least, not off the bat. But does He preach. Fastening a whip of cords. Driving people out. Pouring out the money. Overturning tables. That’s a sermon you’re not likely to forget. And even though it was action, with a few words, it was preaching—and preaching Himself, at that. Jesus is the Word. He is the Word made flesh. He is God who dwelt among us. He preaches Himself.
He came in preaching against the people there. The money, the sacrifices—the people were placing those things before God. Do we do the same thing? We need money or the church doors will close. We serve on our boards or help out around the church and that makes us feel good. It’s not about the money. This church doesn’t run on money, it is built on the foundation of Christ, which will not fail. Christ didn’t save you so you could feel good. You can’t take the Ten Commandments and go down the list, ticking them off: I haven’t taken the life of anyone unjustly, I haven’t had an actual physical affair, I haven’t actually stolen anything. God didn’t give His commandments so we could put check marks by them and feel good about ourselves, but so that we can live in the way He has called us to live. Not to live for ourselves but in joyful service to others.
It’s not about the money or the good things we do to make us feel good. It’s about Him. When He enters the temple, you find out what the temple is all about. It’s about Him. It’s about Christ and Him crucified. That’s why, when Jesus responds to the protests, His preaching is about that very thing that the Gospel is: Jesus’ death and resurrection. There’s no preaching without that. There’s no preaching if it’s not preaching Jesus. Anyone who is preaching anyone or anything else isn’t preaching what they are called to preach.
Because there is no hope in anything or anyone else. There is hope in Christ. That’s why He came. That’s why He had the audacity to point to Himself. You guys think it’s all about you? You think you have your racket going on here and you’re sitting pretty? You are making a mockery of My Father’s House. His House is not about you, it’s about Me. He has sent Me to save you. You’d rather line your pockets. You’d rather be comfortable in your religion than place all your hope in Me. You want to see a sign? It won’t be in material goods. It will be Me being destroyed on a cross and raised to even greater glory.
There’s your sign. There’s your hope. There’s your sermon. It’s the only one there is. If you ever here another kind you’re not listening to a Christian one. You’re listening to a preacher who would rather point you to himself than to Christ.
Jesus preaches Jesus, and so do we. Does it make any sense to preach anything or anyone else? Do we need Jesus less now that He’s no longer walking on the earth? Don’t we need Him the same? Isn’t that why, even as He came in the flesh for thirty years, He comes even now to us in Baptism and His Holy Supper?
Jesus knows exactly how to preach. We often think of Jesus as a great teacher. He was. But He didn’t come to show us how to live. How to be better people. Live more moral lives. He came to preach. Preach Himself. What this means is what Lutherans love to call Law and Gospel.
When Jesus preaches, He preaches the Law. The people had a good thing going for them. Their religion was working well for them. It was a very practical religion. Some were making good money, selling the animals necessary for the sacrifices. On the other hand the ones who bought the animals had the good feeling of knowing they were abiding by God’s religious codes. Everybody was happy because the sermon they were listening to was one that told them to feel good about themselves. That was their hope.
Jesus preaches to this. He attacks it. This is the Law. He doesn’t tell them to shape up. He drives them out. He pours out their self-righteousness. He overturns their lives. He shakes them up so that they can see that they’ve put a whole bunch of stuff in place of Him. He preaches to them. But not what they want to hear—what they need to hear.
If you want to hear a “practical” sermon, one that tells you how to live your life better, you can hear that anywhere. Other religions are based on that and even secular people can give you a lot of good principles for it. But Jesus knows that you’re sinful to your core so you need something from outside of you to live as God wills for you to live. That something is a someone. And that Someone is Jesus Christ. That’s why Jesus preaches Jesus. That’s why He storms into your life and starts breaking things apart, to make way for Himself. He’s who you need. He’s who He delivers to you. He’s who every sermon that is preached needs to be preaching.
This is the Gospel that He preaches. It is the most practical thing we can receive. The forgiveness of our sins. Reconciliation with God. New life with the opportunity to serve Him and others. Your life is a sermon. When you live and talk with others, you are bringing Christ to them. You receive Him and bring Him to others. You’re all different. You have different experiences, different lifestyles, different incomes. You reach people in different ways. But you’re hearing the same proclamation. You’re receiving the same Jesus who comes to you in the proclamation of the Word. The one who came to you in your Baptism. The one who brings you Himself in His Holy Supper.
Jesus preaches Jesus. You have Him now and forever. Amen.
SDG
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Salvation from the Grave
Lenten Worship
March-April, 2009
Mark 15:42-47
The center of the Gospel is found in the phrases of the Creed that we are considering this Lent: “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell.” Tonight our focus is on “and was buried.”
Jesus is unique. There is no one else like Him. If you compare anyone to Him you will see that there is no comparison. And yet, when it comes to being laid to rest, you can’t point to Jesus and say, “Here is one more example of His uniqueness, He wasn’t buried. He is God and therefore would not suffer the humility of being buried.” There are actually two people who weren’t buried—Enoch and Elijah.
But not Jesus. He was buried. He was laid to rest like all people who have died normally are. Thus we confess in the Apostles’ Creed that He suffered, was crucified, died, and was buried. But we confess this not only because the Scriptures say He was; not only because it simply is true; we confess it because His burial, while in one sense is the same as everyone else’s, is in another sense unlike everyone else’s. It’s plain why He was buried—He died. The question is, What does it mean for us?
The normal course for humans is to be buried after they die. There are numerous accounts of the saints of the Old Testament dying and being buried. Often it will say that they were gathered to their fathers. But these passages are almost said in passing. The fact is, we spend a lot more time talking about and thinking about life than we do about burial. When a loved one has died we will visit their grave, but we spend much more time going over the memories we have of them while they were with us. It’s the same with Jesus. We don’t spend much time thinking about His burial and what Him being buried means for us.
In His case, as with everything Jesus did, it has everything to do with our salvation. Though we don’t think about it much, burial is a very important part of life. Obviously, it’s not always able to happen. If someone is incinerated in a fire or missing there’s no opportunity to be buried. But throughout the ages, burial has been a common custom for laying a person to rest. There’s a finality about that. As we hear the words spoken over the body at the burial site, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, we are very aware of our own mortality. Our Lord created us from the dust and to dust we return.
Our Lord, on the other hand, was not created from the dust. Our Lord, in fact, was not created at all—He is God; begotten of the Father. Yet, He chose to humble Himself to become a man, and a mortal one at that. That’s why you have the amazing thing of the eternal God dying on the cross. And then you have the amazing thing that He is buried. It’s strange to think of God as being buried. And yet, there He is, laid to rest in a tomb.
On the one hand we see the harsh reality of death—Mark tells us plainly that Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ corpse to the tomb. On the other hand we see the honor that we give to a body. Our bodies were created, after all, by God. In the case of Jesus, His body wasn’t created, but He took on human flesh which was honored even in His death.
It wasn’t just honor, though, that brought Jesus to the tomb. It was salvation, salvation from the grave. God gives you salvation from the grave. The grave is not your final resting place. Just as God saves you from sin and hell, He saves you from the grave. You will rest in the grave but not remain there.
How He gives you salvation from the grave is by giving you salvation from His grave. After He died He continued His work for us. Even in the grave He was working salvation for you. By being laid to rest, He consecrated the grave. Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” We are saddened at the graves of our loved ones. But for those who died in Christ we also may rejoice at the grave. That is because in Christ the grave does not separate us from God but unites us with Him in glory.
Jesus died, but death could not hold Him. He was buried, but the grave could not hold Him. We sang that in our office hymn: “By the vault whose dark abode, Held in vain the rising God.” Our Psalm for this evening predicts this: “For you will not abandon My soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” (Psalm 16:10) Our bodies will decay in the grave, but not Jesus’ body. Paul proclaims this truth in Acts 13: “He whom God raised up did not see corruption.” The suffering had now ceased. Jesus bore the sin of the world, the guilt before God of every person, the punishment of all, in His suffering and death. Now was the rest. Now was the sanctifying of the grave, preparing the way for you to enter that sleep of death, in which your body will decay in the grave, but be raised up on the Last Day just as Christ’s was on the Third Day.
Centuries before, the prophecy of Isaiah was made of this and now had come to pass: “And they made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth.” In the grave He was now through with suffering. He had died, to be sure, but He had accomplished salvation on the cross. In the grave He was preparing the grave for us so that we may not fear it but look forward to it when our Lord deems it time to call us home.
Jesus did not fear the grave. We don’t need to fear it any more than laying down to sleep. The grave was not beneath our Lord. It pleased Him to sanctify the grave so that we may rejoice in the day our Lord calls us to eternal rest. We will enter the grave, but not remain. Our rest and joy will be in heaven. Amen.
SDG
March-April, 2009
Mark 15:42-47
The center of the Gospel is found in the phrases of the Creed that we are considering this Lent: “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell.” Tonight our focus is on “and was buried.”
Jesus is unique. There is no one else like Him. If you compare anyone to Him you will see that there is no comparison. And yet, when it comes to being laid to rest, you can’t point to Jesus and say, “Here is one more example of His uniqueness, He wasn’t buried. He is God and therefore would not suffer the humility of being buried.” There are actually two people who weren’t buried—Enoch and Elijah.
But not Jesus. He was buried. He was laid to rest like all people who have died normally are. Thus we confess in the Apostles’ Creed that He suffered, was crucified, died, and was buried. But we confess this not only because the Scriptures say He was; not only because it simply is true; we confess it because His burial, while in one sense is the same as everyone else’s, is in another sense unlike everyone else’s. It’s plain why He was buried—He died. The question is, What does it mean for us?
The normal course for humans is to be buried after they die. There are numerous accounts of the saints of the Old Testament dying and being buried. Often it will say that they were gathered to their fathers. But these passages are almost said in passing. The fact is, we spend a lot more time talking about and thinking about life than we do about burial. When a loved one has died we will visit their grave, but we spend much more time going over the memories we have of them while they were with us. It’s the same with Jesus. We don’t spend much time thinking about His burial and what Him being buried means for us.
In His case, as with everything Jesus did, it has everything to do with our salvation. Though we don’t think about it much, burial is a very important part of life. Obviously, it’s not always able to happen. If someone is incinerated in a fire or missing there’s no opportunity to be buried. But throughout the ages, burial has been a common custom for laying a person to rest. There’s a finality about that. As we hear the words spoken over the body at the burial site, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, we are very aware of our own mortality. Our Lord created us from the dust and to dust we return.
Our Lord, on the other hand, was not created from the dust. Our Lord, in fact, was not created at all—He is God; begotten of the Father. Yet, He chose to humble Himself to become a man, and a mortal one at that. That’s why you have the amazing thing of the eternal God dying on the cross. And then you have the amazing thing that He is buried. It’s strange to think of God as being buried. And yet, there He is, laid to rest in a tomb.
On the one hand we see the harsh reality of death—Mark tells us plainly that Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ corpse to the tomb. On the other hand we see the honor that we give to a body. Our bodies were created, after all, by God. In the case of Jesus, His body wasn’t created, but He took on human flesh which was honored even in His death.
It wasn’t just honor, though, that brought Jesus to the tomb. It was salvation, salvation from the grave. God gives you salvation from the grave. The grave is not your final resting place. Just as God saves you from sin and hell, He saves you from the grave. You will rest in the grave but not remain there.
How He gives you salvation from the grave is by giving you salvation from His grave. After He died He continued His work for us. Even in the grave He was working salvation for you. By being laid to rest, He consecrated the grave. Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” We are saddened at the graves of our loved ones. But for those who died in Christ we also may rejoice at the grave. That is because in Christ the grave does not separate us from God but unites us with Him in glory.
Jesus died, but death could not hold Him. He was buried, but the grave could not hold Him. We sang that in our office hymn: “By the vault whose dark abode, Held in vain the rising God.” Our Psalm for this evening predicts this: “For you will not abandon My soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” (Psalm 16:10) Our bodies will decay in the grave, but not Jesus’ body. Paul proclaims this truth in Acts 13: “He whom God raised up did not see corruption.” The suffering had now ceased. Jesus bore the sin of the world, the guilt before God of every person, the punishment of all, in His suffering and death. Now was the rest. Now was the sanctifying of the grave, preparing the way for you to enter that sleep of death, in which your body will decay in the grave, but be raised up on the Last Day just as Christ’s was on the Third Day.
Centuries before, the prophecy of Isaiah was made of this and now had come to pass: “And they made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth.” In the grave He was now through with suffering. He had died, to be sure, but He had accomplished salvation on the cross. In the grave He was preparing the grave for us so that we may not fear it but look forward to it when our Lord deems it time to call us home.
Jesus did not fear the grave. We don’t need to fear it any more than laying down to sleep. The grave was not beneath our Lord. It pleased Him to sanctify the grave so that we may rejoice in the day our Lord calls us to eternal rest. We will enter the grave, but not remain. Our rest and joy will be in heaven. Amen.
SDG
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Plain Speaking
Second Sunday in Lent
March 8, 2009
Mark 8:27-38
I want to be clear. Dialogue can be beneficial. Having a conversation with someone can be good. But in religion there’s sometimes the kind of dialogue going on that falls under this definition: “an exchange of ideas or opinions on a particular issue, esp. a political or religious issue, with a view to reaching an amicable agreement or settlement.” The spirit of our age says that is what we ought to be doing. But while we should converse with people on religion, it should not be at the cost of compromising the truth of Scripture in order to get along or be in agreement.
The truth of Scripture doesn’t leave room for other points of view. It doesn’t coexist with beliefs of other religions. The truth of Scripture is clear. It’s not open to just any interpretation. It’s stated plainly and the choice is to believe it or reject it.
We all have difficulty with the Scriptures. There are parts that are tough to understand. There are also parts we understand well enough but don’t like what we hear. Mark Twain said, “Many people are bothered by those passages in Scripture which they cannot understand; but as for me, I always noticed that the passages in Scripture which trouble me most are those which I do understand.”
This is what is going on with Peter and the other disciples in today’s Gospel reading. There’s a lot of misunderstanding going on with a lot of people. Jesus must be John the Baptist raised from the dead, or Elijah who has come back, or one of the other prophets. But not Peter. Not the disciples. They knew who He was. He was the Christ. The Messiah. The Savior God had sent. They understood exactly what Jesus was telling them about what it meant that He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
And that’s where they began having trouble. That’s where they took issue with the Scripture. Where Peter was compelled even to rebuke Jesus, the very Messiah. It wasn’t because they didn’t understand, like so many people of the age. It was because they did. Jesus? Suffer and die? The Messiah? Be beaten and brought down? The Savior God had sent? Have to rise from the grave, meaning that His life would have to come to an end? There’s no way that’s who the Messiah is. That can’t be how God is going to bring about salvation.
But Jesus is clear. He spoke it plainly to them. And Peter is likewise clear. He will not allow it happen. He will not let God do it His way. Because He has his mind set on the things of men, not the things of God.
Peter doesn’t engage in dialogue with Jesus. He doesn’t try to talk Him out of it. He doesn’t ask Him how it is so. He rebukes Jesus. Peter is not interested in diplomacy, he’s intent on what he knows is right. And aren’t we that way also? Even if we may be a little more soft-spoken than Peter was. Even if we don’t always go for the jugular like Peter at times did. Our prayers often are not conversations with God, but laundry lists of what God should do for us. Because we have our minds set on the things of men, not of God.
Jesus is clear. In the water that is connected with His Word, you have Baptism. Not a symbol. Not a ritual. Not a rite of passage. Baptism. New life. A drowning. A union with the crucified Christ, a union with the resurrected Lord. A washing away of your sins. He’s clear. But do you still feel lacking? Do you say, God, where is a miracle when I need one? Why aren’t you taking away the cancer that has infected my mother? Why aren’t you giving me a clear sign as to if I should stay in my current job, risking getting laid off, or quit and take another job, not knowing how stable that will be?
Why are you turning your energies toward all of these things you don’t want to happen when you already know what has happened? You have been Baptized! You are a child of the living God! While you were an enemy of God He reconciled you to Himself. The flow of your life will fluctuate, but you will always be Baptized. Jesus is clear on that. He made a promise to you in your Baptism, and He keeps His promises.
He is clear. In the bread and wine of His Holy Supper, you are given His Body and Blood. You’re not given a reminder of Jesus’ body dying on the cross and His blood being poured out in His suffering. Holy Communion is no mere ritual. It is the Lord’s Supper! You think the Lord is going to invite you to His meal and offer you simply bread and wine? He’s a God who gives! He gives you the whole lot! Not a symbol, His very self. His Body—the very body that hung on the cross. His Blood—the very blood poured out on the cross. He’s clear on that.
But do you say, I’m so glad for this reminder of His love for me? Do you look for something more real in your life? Some physical way of Him touching your life, instead of looking to, and hungering for, His very Supper, His Holy Meal He gives to you?
It’s time to admit that our problem is not so much that we don’t understand, but that we do. And that’s why we’re having the problem. We hear what God is saying, but we don’t want it His way. We’d much rather wade around in dialogue. It sure would be nice if God would provide more spectacular means of forgiving us, helping us, caring for us, than in some water and some bread and wine. It’d be nice if we had something more to go on than a God who is taken out by a bunch of religious leaders and won’t stand up against some Roman soldiers. Be nice to have a God who isn’t so darn clear that it’s all about the cross, and not about us and how we feel, or what we want, or how moral we are, what good people we’ve been being.
Wouldn’t it be nice not to have deny ourselves and take up our cross? Nice not to have to lose our lives as we’d like them to be for the sake of suffering on account of Jesus? Nice not to have to be in the position where we’re made to feel funny for being a Christian, putting Christ before ourselves and feelings? A relief to have enough money to have peace of mind rather than rely solely on Jesus whether we have enough money or not?
Yes, Jesus is all too clear. He’s not interested in dialogue. When met with opposition He doesn’t hold hands with His disciples and sing Kumbaya with them, He rebukes them right back. He gets in their face and tells them what’s what. Maybe that’s what we need—a God who gets in our face. Who speaks plainly, all too clearly. This is My body, this is My blood. You are Baptized. I will suffer and die on the cross. I will rise from the grave. I will save you from your sins—and this is how I’ll do it.
And He did. He did when we were sinners. When we were His enemies. He Baptizes us when we need it. He feeds us with His Body and Blood when we’re helpless and hurting and entrenched in our sins. He can’t be any clearer on that. He saves you because you need it and because He because He loves you unconditionally. Set your mind on the things of God and you will find your dialoguing with others turning into sharing with them what God has done for the world in Jesus Christ. You will find your life enriched not simply with the things of men but with the things of God: forgiveness, life, and salvation. Amen.
SDG
March 8, 2009
Mark 8:27-38
I want to be clear. Dialogue can be beneficial. Having a conversation with someone can be good. But in religion there’s sometimes the kind of dialogue going on that falls under this definition: “an exchange of ideas or opinions on a particular issue, esp. a political or religious issue, with a view to reaching an amicable agreement or settlement.” The spirit of our age says that is what we ought to be doing. But while we should converse with people on religion, it should not be at the cost of compromising the truth of Scripture in order to get along or be in agreement.
The truth of Scripture doesn’t leave room for other points of view. It doesn’t coexist with beliefs of other religions. The truth of Scripture is clear. It’s not open to just any interpretation. It’s stated plainly and the choice is to believe it or reject it.
We all have difficulty with the Scriptures. There are parts that are tough to understand. There are also parts we understand well enough but don’t like what we hear. Mark Twain said, “Many people are bothered by those passages in Scripture which they cannot understand; but as for me, I always noticed that the passages in Scripture which trouble me most are those which I do understand.”
This is what is going on with Peter and the other disciples in today’s Gospel reading. There’s a lot of misunderstanding going on with a lot of people. Jesus must be John the Baptist raised from the dead, or Elijah who has come back, or one of the other prophets. But not Peter. Not the disciples. They knew who He was. He was the Christ. The Messiah. The Savior God had sent. They understood exactly what Jesus was telling them about what it meant that He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
And that’s where they began having trouble. That’s where they took issue with the Scripture. Where Peter was compelled even to rebuke Jesus, the very Messiah. It wasn’t because they didn’t understand, like so many people of the age. It was because they did. Jesus? Suffer and die? The Messiah? Be beaten and brought down? The Savior God had sent? Have to rise from the grave, meaning that His life would have to come to an end? There’s no way that’s who the Messiah is. That can’t be how God is going to bring about salvation.
But Jesus is clear. He spoke it plainly to them. And Peter is likewise clear. He will not allow it happen. He will not let God do it His way. Because He has his mind set on the things of men, not the things of God.
Peter doesn’t engage in dialogue with Jesus. He doesn’t try to talk Him out of it. He doesn’t ask Him how it is so. He rebukes Jesus. Peter is not interested in diplomacy, he’s intent on what he knows is right. And aren’t we that way also? Even if we may be a little more soft-spoken than Peter was. Even if we don’t always go for the jugular like Peter at times did. Our prayers often are not conversations with God, but laundry lists of what God should do for us. Because we have our minds set on the things of men, not of God.
Jesus is clear. In the water that is connected with His Word, you have Baptism. Not a symbol. Not a ritual. Not a rite of passage. Baptism. New life. A drowning. A union with the crucified Christ, a union with the resurrected Lord. A washing away of your sins. He’s clear. But do you still feel lacking? Do you say, God, where is a miracle when I need one? Why aren’t you taking away the cancer that has infected my mother? Why aren’t you giving me a clear sign as to if I should stay in my current job, risking getting laid off, or quit and take another job, not knowing how stable that will be?
Why are you turning your energies toward all of these things you don’t want to happen when you already know what has happened? You have been Baptized! You are a child of the living God! While you were an enemy of God He reconciled you to Himself. The flow of your life will fluctuate, but you will always be Baptized. Jesus is clear on that. He made a promise to you in your Baptism, and He keeps His promises.
He is clear. In the bread and wine of His Holy Supper, you are given His Body and Blood. You’re not given a reminder of Jesus’ body dying on the cross and His blood being poured out in His suffering. Holy Communion is no mere ritual. It is the Lord’s Supper! You think the Lord is going to invite you to His meal and offer you simply bread and wine? He’s a God who gives! He gives you the whole lot! Not a symbol, His very self. His Body—the very body that hung on the cross. His Blood—the very blood poured out on the cross. He’s clear on that.
But do you say, I’m so glad for this reminder of His love for me? Do you look for something more real in your life? Some physical way of Him touching your life, instead of looking to, and hungering for, His very Supper, His Holy Meal He gives to you?
It’s time to admit that our problem is not so much that we don’t understand, but that we do. And that’s why we’re having the problem. We hear what God is saying, but we don’t want it His way. We’d much rather wade around in dialogue. It sure would be nice if God would provide more spectacular means of forgiving us, helping us, caring for us, than in some water and some bread and wine. It’d be nice if we had something more to go on than a God who is taken out by a bunch of religious leaders and won’t stand up against some Roman soldiers. Be nice to have a God who isn’t so darn clear that it’s all about the cross, and not about us and how we feel, or what we want, or how moral we are, what good people we’ve been being.
Wouldn’t it be nice not to have deny ourselves and take up our cross? Nice not to have to lose our lives as we’d like them to be for the sake of suffering on account of Jesus? Nice not to have to be in the position where we’re made to feel funny for being a Christian, putting Christ before ourselves and feelings? A relief to have enough money to have peace of mind rather than rely solely on Jesus whether we have enough money or not?
Yes, Jesus is all too clear. He’s not interested in dialogue. When met with opposition He doesn’t hold hands with His disciples and sing Kumbaya with them, He rebukes them right back. He gets in their face and tells them what’s what. Maybe that’s what we need—a God who gets in our face. Who speaks plainly, all too clearly. This is My body, this is My blood. You are Baptized. I will suffer and die on the cross. I will rise from the grave. I will save you from your sins—and this is how I’ll do it.
And He did. He did when we were sinners. When we were His enemies. He Baptizes us when we need it. He feeds us with His Body and Blood when we’re helpless and hurting and entrenched in our sins. He can’t be any clearer on that. He saves you because you need it and because He because He loves you unconditionally. Set your mind on the things of God and you will find your dialoguing with others turning into sharing with them what God has done for the world in Jesus Christ. You will find your life enriched not simply with the things of men but with the things of God: forgiveness, life, and salvation. Amen.
SDG
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Prayer, Meditation, Temptation
First Sunday in Lent
March 1, 2009
Mark 1:9-15
Before you reject me as a heretic, hear me out. Or rather, I should say, hear the Word of God out.
Satan is your teacher. You grow in your faith because this is so. You are able to carry out your call to discipleship because you are taught by Satan.
Luther had a knack for saying things that seem over the top, and this is an example. But if you examine the way the Scriptures speak, you will see that his “over-the-top” statements often are nothing else than driving home what those very Scriptures teach.
I invite you, then, to hear the Word of the Lord. It wasn’t Satan who hoodwinked Jesus into that desert to be tempted by him. It was the Holy Spirit who drove Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. This is so important for us but we probably don’t realize how much. God wanted Jesus to enter into the struggle of temptation by Satan.
What exactly did God have in mind? Jesus is Baptized, something He didn’t need for Himself. He does this for us. It is God’s anointing Him for His Ministry and as the Savior. What this Ministry is we find out immediately upon His coming out of the water. He is driven out into the wilderness by the Spirit to enter into spiritual warfare with Satan.
Notice He doesn’t “fight back,” so to speak. He uses a weapon, the Word of God. But His battle with Satan is not one in which He is interested in fighting fire with fire. Jesus knows that He will defeat Satan. But more importantly He knows He will do it at the cross. He knows He will defeat Satan by suffering, not by beating Satan down.
While Matthew and Luke tell us exactly those portions of the Word of God Jesus used to respond to Satan’s temptation, Mark doesn’t mention them. But he does tell us what the Word of God was that was spoken to Him right before His temptation in the wilderness. The Father said to Him: “You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.” This is the Word of God that carried Jesus through the temptation in the wilderness.
Because what this is all about is humility. It’s all about receiving. It’s not about glory or power. Satan tempts with those things. God provides for us what we need. Satan places doubt in our minds that God is holding out on us. But this is why Satan is in the mix in your spiritual life. Why he, in fact, is your teacher.
Luther knew a little something about spiritual struggle. Having had been a monk, he had experienced a tradition of spiritual formation which was designed to capture the experience of ecstasy and illumination through union with the glorified Lord Jesus. To reach this goal, a monk ascended in stages, from earth to heaven, from the humanity of Jesus to His divinity. He would read aloud to himself a passage from the Scriptures to stir up emotions, move to heartfelt prayer, and culminate in mental meditation on heavenly things, in the hopes of gaining spiritual illumination.
John Kleinig, a Lutheran professor says this about Luther:
In contrast to this rather manipulative method, Luther proposed an evangelical pattern of spirituality as reception rather than self-promotion. This involved three things: prayer, meditation, and temptation. All three revolved around ongoing, faithful attention to God’s word. The order of the list is significant, for unlike the traditional pattern of devotion, the study of theology begins and ends here on earth. These three terms describe the life of faith as a cycle that begins with prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit, concentrates on the reception of the Holy Spirit through meditation on God’s word, and results in spiritual attack. This in turn leads a person back to further prayer and intensified meditation. Luther, therefore, did not envisage the spiritual life in active terms as a process of self-development but in passive terms as a process of reception from the Triune God. In it self-sufficient individuals became beggars before God.
Satan obviously seeks our destruction. It is not in his enticement or condemnation of us that he is our teacher. Rather, it is his attack upon us. It is actually more, it is an attack on God and His Word. This is what he did to Jesus in the wilderness. It is in temptation that we actually experience the love of God. Otherwise it’s just theoretical knowledge. Or an emotional possession. As long as we are operating by our thoughts or feelings the devil contently sits by. But as soon as we dig into the Word of God the devil mounts severe opposition, stirring up misunderstanding, contradiction, and persecution. This is, as they say, where the rubber hits the road. It’s why Jesus was driven out into the wilderness to be attacked by Satan. It’s why we struggle in our Christian lives.
What does this mean? It means that when God Baptizes you He then drives you out into the wilderness of struggle and temptation, of being attacked by Satan. He does this because when He gives you new life He then sustains you in it and forms you into one who is in union with Christ.
It means that your only hope in temptation is not in coming to terms with it or understanding it or avoiding it but rather prayer and meditation. This will produce more temptation, but it will strengthen you. Dig into the Word of God. Pray the Holy Spirit to guide you. Pray the Holy Spirit to guard you in temptation and drive you further into God’s Word when the struggle is intense. Jesus is God, and yet He didn’t go it alone in the wilderness. Yes, He was alone, but He held on to the Word. He stuck it right back in Satan’s face. He humbly received the serving action of the angels to help Him in His time of trial.
Never think that God has left you in the lurch. As much as Satan will come after you—and he will—God will all the more give you the strength you need. Never underestimate how He does it—through His Word, in your Baptism, in His Holy Supper. The more you seek refuge in these the more you will be attacked, and the more God will strengthen you. Each time you are deterred, tempted—the weakness of the Word of God, the confusion of the Word of God, the unreliability of the Word of God—remind Satan that you are Baptized. You are the beloved son or daughter of God. Rush here to receive the Sacrament, you need the Body and Blood of Christ. Flee to the Word of God.
You will sin. Satan will make you wonder if you are worthy of God’s love. You will experience troubles. The devil will get you to question God’s power and His care for you. But the very weakness of God’s Word is its strength. In it the Holy Spirit will descend upon you and anoint you with His mercy and love. He will drive you back into the wilderness of temptation where He will send His angels to guard you and you will be strengthened. You will see more and more that your life is bound up with Christ; that there is no true joy and solace apart from Him and His Word, Him and your Baptism, Him and His Body and Blood He feeds you with. You will see, and rejoice, that you will be beaten down but always remain in His eternal care. Amen.
SDG
March 1, 2009
Mark 1:9-15
Before you reject me as a heretic, hear me out. Or rather, I should say, hear the Word of God out.
Satan is your teacher. You grow in your faith because this is so. You are able to carry out your call to discipleship because you are taught by Satan.
Luther had a knack for saying things that seem over the top, and this is an example. But if you examine the way the Scriptures speak, you will see that his “over-the-top” statements often are nothing else than driving home what those very Scriptures teach.
I invite you, then, to hear the Word of the Lord. It wasn’t Satan who hoodwinked Jesus into that desert to be tempted by him. It was the Holy Spirit who drove Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. This is so important for us but we probably don’t realize how much. God wanted Jesus to enter into the struggle of temptation by Satan.
What exactly did God have in mind? Jesus is Baptized, something He didn’t need for Himself. He does this for us. It is God’s anointing Him for His Ministry and as the Savior. What this Ministry is we find out immediately upon His coming out of the water. He is driven out into the wilderness by the Spirit to enter into spiritual warfare with Satan.
Notice He doesn’t “fight back,” so to speak. He uses a weapon, the Word of God. But His battle with Satan is not one in which He is interested in fighting fire with fire. Jesus knows that He will defeat Satan. But more importantly He knows He will do it at the cross. He knows He will defeat Satan by suffering, not by beating Satan down.
While Matthew and Luke tell us exactly those portions of the Word of God Jesus used to respond to Satan’s temptation, Mark doesn’t mention them. But he does tell us what the Word of God was that was spoken to Him right before His temptation in the wilderness. The Father said to Him: “You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.” This is the Word of God that carried Jesus through the temptation in the wilderness.
Because what this is all about is humility. It’s all about receiving. It’s not about glory or power. Satan tempts with those things. God provides for us what we need. Satan places doubt in our minds that God is holding out on us. But this is why Satan is in the mix in your spiritual life. Why he, in fact, is your teacher.
Luther knew a little something about spiritual struggle. Having had been a monk, he had experienced a tradition of spiritual formation which was designed to capture the experience of ecstasy and illumination through union with the glorified Lord Jesus. To reach this goal, a monk ascended in stages, from earth to heaven, from the humanity of Jesus to His divinity. He would read aloud to himself a passage from the Scriptures to stir up emotions, move to heartfelt prayer, and culminate in mental meditation on heavenly things, in the hopes of gaining spiritual illumination.
John Kleinig, a Lutheran professor says this about Luther:
In contrast to this rather manipulative method, Luther proposed an evangelical pattern of spirituality as reception rather than self-promotion. This involved three things: prayer, meditation, and temptation. All three revolved around ongoing, faithful attention to God’s word. The order of the list is significant, for unlike the traditional pattern of devotion, the study of theology begins and ends here on earth. These three terms describe the life of faith as a cycle that begins with prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit, concentrates on the reception of the Holy Spirit through meditation on God’s word, and results in spiritual attack. This in turn leads a person back to further prayer and intensified meditation. Luther, therefore, did not envisage the spiritual life in active terms as a process of self-development but in passive terms as a process of reception from the Triune God. In it self-sufficient individuals became beggars before God.
Satan obviously seeks our destruction. It is not in his enticement or condemnation of us that he is our teacher. Rather, it is his attack upon us. It is actually more, it is an attack on God and His Word. This is what he did to Jesus in the wilderness. It is in temptation that we actually experience the love of God. Otherwise it’s just theoretical knowledge. Or an emotional possession. As long as we are operating by our thoughts or feelings the devil contently sits by. But as soon as we dig into the Word of God the devil mounts severe opposition, stirring up misunderstanding, contradiction, and persecution. This is, as they say, where the rubber hits the road. It’s why Jesus was driven out into the wilderness to be attacked by Satan. It’s why we struggle in our Christian lives.
What does this mean? It means that when God Baptizes you He then drives you out into the wilderness of struggle and temptation, of being attacked by Satan. He does this because when He gives you new life He then sustains you in it and forms you into one who is in union with Christ.
It means that your only hope in temptation is not in coming to terms with it or understanding it or avoiding it but rather prayer and meditation. This will produce more temptation, but it will strengthen you. Dig into the Word of God. Pray the Holy Spirit to guide you. Pray the Holy Spirit to guard you in temptation and drive you further into God’s Word when the struggle is intense. Jesus is God, and yet He didn’t go it alone in the wilderness. Yes, He was alone, but He held on to the Word. He stuck it right back in Satan’s face. He humbly received the serving action of the angels to help Him in His time of trial.
Never think that God has left you in the lurch. As much as Satan will come after you—and he will—God will all the more give you the strength you need. Never underestimate how He does it—through His Word, in your Baptism, in His Holy Supper. The more you seek refuge in these the more you will be attacked, and the more God will strengthen you. Each time you are deterred, tempted—the weakness of the Word of God, the confusion of the Word of God, the unreliability of the Word of God—remind Satan that you are Baptized. You are the beloved son or daughter of God. Rush here to receive the Sacrament, you need the Body and Blood of Christ. Flee to the Word of God.
You will sin. Satan will make you wonder if you are worthy of God’s love. You will experience troubles. The devil will get you to question God’s power and His care for you. But the very weakness of God’s Word is its strength. In it the Holy Spirit will descend upon you and anoint you with His mercy and love. He will drive you back into the wilderness of temptation where He will send His angels to guard you and you will be strengthened. You will see more and more that your life is bound up with Christ; that there is no true joy and solace apart from Him and His Word, Him and your Baptism, Him and His Body and Blood He feeds you with. You will see, and rejoice, that you will be beaten down but always remain in His eternal care. Amen.
SDG
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Lenten Cultivation
Ash Wednesday
February 25, 2009
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
I don’t know about you, but if I were saving the world, and it had to be through suffering hell, I think I’d want to just get it over with. Not Jesus. He began His three year Ministry leading up to His suffering by enduring the temptation of Satan for forty days.
Some people show up here on Easter Sunday thinking that’s the important day to be here. They see no need to be here today, Ash Wednesday; or any other day, for that matter, except for Christmas, of course. They don’t understand why we need to go through a solemn period of Lent. But here we are. Contemplating our mortal state. That it is from dust we came and to dust we shall return.
We don’t have to do this, of course. But we may need it more than we realize. It’s not simply a matter of pondering what our Lord went through. It’s also a discipline. It’s a kind of training. Lenten practice is being cultivated into a Christian who thinks as Christ does, acts as Christ does, is as Christ is.
We’re not just Christians who know they’ve been saved, we are daily being formed into ones who are more and more like Christ. Jesus began His journey toward the cross with forty days in the wilderness—forty days of spiritual struggle. You wouldn’t think salvation could be accomplished in an area that’s desolate, where Jesus has nothing at hand for help, including food. It’s counter-intuitive that salvation could be accomplished in Almighty God struggling and suffering, dying and being buried. But these are the things Jesus did to bring about the very salvation we need.
You might not think that a solemn time of Lent would be significant in our Christian lives. It doesn’t seem to match the triumph of the joy of Easter. But it is in the practice of Lenten pondering of our Lord’s Passion that discipline is formed. It is in this subdued time we are cultivated by the Holy Spirit.
Our Lenten pondering will be on the very heart of the Gospel, five phrases in the second article of the Creed that describe the core message of the Bible that Jesus Christ suffered hell so that we wouldn’t have to.
I encourage you to ponder in these six weeks of Lent that what Jesus did in suffering, being crucified, dying, buried, and descending into hell, He did for you. For your salvation He became sin who knew no sin.
It’s only in what He has done for you that you have salvation. It’s only in His suffering hell in your place that you may live in the way He has called you to live in the Gospel reading. The practice of righteousness isn’t something you can just go out and do. You need to be formed. You need to be cultivated by the Holy Spirit. You need the discipline of Lent to live in the way God has called you to live.
If Jesus needed to go out into the wilderness for forty days in order to save us, how much more do we need a spiritual struggle to form us? Our default position seems to be to meet the minimum standard. I made it to church on the big days, Christmas and Easter—I’m good to go. Even for those of us who are here all the time, who make it to church every Sunday and even all the Lenten worship services—I’m really good to go.
But it’s not about that. It’s about being cultivated. It’s about seeing that your righteousness is in Christ. That you don’t do righteousness in order to gain favor with God. You gain righteousness because Jesus suffered hell in your place. Now why would you go and ruin that by seeking recognition for practicing righteousness? Why not live instead in the freedom Christ gives you to serve one another and love them unconditionally?
The Lenten cultivation is a microcosm of the Christian life. You think you’re going to walk away from this Lenten season and feel so much better about being a stronger Christian? Well, you might. But you might not. And whether you do or don’t it’s going to be hard. Cultivation is not an easy process. And it’s not quick. It takes a lifetime, but God is willing to invest the time in you.
He sent His Son to suffer hell for you. If He has done that, how much more will He give all things to you? How much more will He impute His righteousness to you? How much more will He form and cultivate you into a little Christ, that when others see you they will see Christ? Rejoice in every opportunity to be formed by Him. The harvest you reap is eternal. Amen.
SDG
February 25, 2009
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
I don’t know about you, but if I were saving the world, and it had to be through suffering hell, I think I’d want to just get it over with. Not Jesus. He began His three year Ministry leading up to His suffering by enduring the temptation of Satan for forty days.
Some people show up here on Easter Sunday thinking that’s the important day to be here. They see no need to be here today, Ash Wednesday; or any other day, for that matter, except for Christmas, of course. They don’t understand why we need to go through a solemn period of Lent. But here we are. Contemplating our mortal state. That it is from dust we came and to dust we shall return.
We don’t have to do this, of course. But we may need it more than we realize. It’s not simply a matter of pondering what our Lord went through. It’s also a discipline. It’s a kind of training. Lenten practice is being cultivated into a Christian who thinks as Christ does, acts as Christ does, is as Christ is.
We’re not just Christians who know they’ve been saved, we are daily being formed into ones who are more and more like Christ. Jesus began His journey toward the cross with forty days in the wilderness—forty days of spiritual struggle. You wouldn’t think salvation could be accomplished in an area that’s desolate, where Jesus has nothing at hand for help, including food. It’s counter-intuitive that salvation could be accomplished in Almighty God struggling and suffering, dying and being buried. But these are the things Jesus did to bring about the very salvation we need.
You might not think that a solemn time of Lent would be significant in our Christian lives. It doesn’t seem to match the triumph of the joy of Easter. But it is in the practice of Lenten pondering of our Lord’s Passion that discipline is formed. It is in this subdued time we are cultivated by the Holy Spirit.
Our Lenten pondering will be on the very heart of the Gospel, five phrases in the second article of the Creed that describe the core message of the Bible that Jesus Christ suffered hell so that we wouldn’t have to.
I encourage you to ponder in these six weeks of Lent that what Jesus did in suffering, being crucified, dying, buried, and descending into hell, He did for you. For your salvation He became sin who knew no sin.
It’s only in what He has done for you that you have salvation. It’s only in His suffering hell in your place that you may live in the way He has called you to live in the Gospel reading. The practice of righteousness isn’t something you can just go out and do. You need to be formed. You need to be cultivated by the Holy Spirit. You need the discipline of Lent to live in the way God has called you to live.
If Jesus needed to go out into the wilderness for forty days in order to save us, how much more do we need a spiritual struggle to form us? Our default position seems to be to meet the minimum standard. I made it to church on the big days, Christmas and Easter—I’m good to go. Even for those of us who are here all the time, who make it to church every Sunday and even all the Lenten worship services—I’m really good to go.
But it’s not about that. It’s about being cultivated. It’s about seeing that your righteousness is in Christ. That you don’t do righteousness in order to gain favor with God. You gain righteousness because Jesus suffered hell in your place. Now why would you go and ruin that by seeking recognition for practicing righteousness? Why not live instead in the freedom Christ gives you to serve one another and love them unconditionally?
The Lenten cultivation is a microcosm of the Christian life. You think you’re going to walk away from this Lenten season and feel so much better about being a stronger Christian? Well, you might. But you might not. And whether you do or don’t it’s going to be hard. Cultivation is not an easy process. And it’s not quick. It takes a lifetime, but God is willing to invest the time in you.
He sent His Son to suffer hell for you. If He has done that, how much more will He give all things to you? How much more will He impute His righteousness to you? How much more will He form and cultivate you into a little Christ, that when others see you they will see Christ? Rejoice in every opportunity to be formed by Him. The harvest you reap is eternal. Amen.
SDG
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Spend Some Time in the Wilderness
Matthew 4:1 says “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Luke 4:1 says “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.”
Mark isn’t so subtle. “The Spirit immediately drove Him out into the wilderness.” [Mark 1:12]
What is all this business about being led by the Sprit and driven by the Sprit into the wilderness? Wasn’t being Baptized enough? Why did Jesus also need to be tempted by the devil?
Some people ask a similar question about Lent. Why do we need to do Lent? It’s a little too somber for some (some would even say depressing). Where’s the joy? Yes, we know Christ suffered and died, but He also rose. We live in the joy of the resurrection! Why go through the “wilderness,” the solemnity of Lent, when we know we have salvation?
Because the Church’s life is patterned after Christ’s life. Just as we are united with Christ in Baptism, the life of the Church is bound up with the life of Christ.
Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness fasting and being tempted by Satan. He was out on His own trusting solely in His Heavenly Father for His physical and spiritual sustenance. Lent is a period of time of reflection and preparation. It is a forty day period of time in which we meditate on our unworthiness and God’s grace to us, though we are unworthy.
Jesus’ time in the wilderness was not a fun time. He wasn’t out there to have a grand old time. Jesus wasn’t living the high life when He was suffering for the sins of the world, but He had joy.
The writer of Hebrews (12:2) expresses this in his description of how Jesus approached His suffering: “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross.” Thus, his exhortation to us as Christians can be an invitation—even driving us to it!—to spend some time in the “wilderness” of Lent:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” [Hebrews 12:1-2]
Mark isn’t so subtle. “The Spirit immediately drove Him out into the wilderness.” [Mark 1:12]
What is all this business about being led by the Sprit and driven by the Sprit into the wilderness? Wasn’t being Baptized enough? Why did Jesus also need to be tempted by the devil?
Some people ask a similar question about Lent. Why do we need to do Lent? It’s a little too somber for some (some would even say depressing). Where’s the joy? Yes, we know Christ suffered and died, but He also rose. We live in the joy of the resurrection! Why go through the “wilderness,” the solemnity of Lent, when we know we have salvation?
Because the Church’s life is patterned after Christ’s life. Just as we are united with Christ in Baptism, the life of the Church is bound up with the life of Christ.
Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness fasting and being tempted by Satan. He was out on His own trusting solely in His Heavenly Father for His physical and spiritual sustenance. Lent is a period of time of reflection and preparation. It is a forty day period of time in which we meditate on our unworthiness and God’s grace to us, though we are unworthy.
Jesus’ time in the wilderness was not a fun time. He wasn’t out there to have a grand old time. Jesus wasn’t living the high life when He was suffering for the sins of the world, but He had joy.
The writer of Hebrews (12:2) expresses this in his description of how Jesus approached His suffering: “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross.” Thus, his exhortation to us as Christians can be an invitation—even driving us to it!—to spend some time in the “wilderness” of Lent:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” [Hebrews 12:1-2]
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Transfiguration Is Not About the Transfiguration
The Transfiguration of Our Lord
Last Sunday after the Epiphany
February 22, 2009
Mark 9:2-9
Jesus was transfigured, but simply showing His glory wasn’t the reason He was. The Transfiguration would seem to be about the Transfiguration, but it’s not. If it were, Peter’s idea would have been a good one. Jesus probably would have told Peter, James, and John to pack, for they weren’t going to be coming back.
But no, the Transfiguration isn’t about the Transfiguration. It is about the Word. Peter, James, and John weren’t the only ones Jesus brought up onto the mountain. He invited Moses and Elijah also. Why is that? Moses and Elijah represent something. What they represent is the Word. At the time of the events of the New Testament the New Testament didn’t exist. The Bible was what we call the Old Testament. One of the ways the New Testament refers to the Old Testament as is the Law and the Prophets. The Law referred to the first five books—written by Moses—the Prophets the rest of the Old Testament, much of which are the prophetic books.
Paul speaks of the Word of God in the Epistle reading. God spoke creation into existence, He did it with His Word. God brought light out of darkness. How did He do that? By speaking—“Let light shine out of darkness.”
No, the Transfiguration isn’t really about the Transfiguration. It is about Baptism. What do you have in Baptism? You have water, of course. And you have the Word. The Word of God is connected with water to make Baptism. But what does this have to do with the Transfiguration? The same thing the Baptism of our Lord had to do with it. When Jesus was Baptized, what did God the Father say? “You are My beloved Son.” Now, here, on the Mount of Transfiguration, God the Father is saying: “This is My beloved Son.”
See, you and I can’t all be up there on the Mount of Transfiguration. For that matter, neither could Peter, James, and John. Or at least, they couldn’t stay. But they could be Baptized. And so can we. There’s a reason Jesus was Baptized. And there’s a reason He was transfigured. Jesus certainly didn’t do these things for Himself. He did them for us. That’s why He gives us Baptism. The glimpse of glory on the Mount of Transfiguration wasn’t only a glimpse of Jesus’ glory, but of ours as well—given to us in Baptism. If Peter, James, and John were amazed by what they saw on the mountain, they hadn’t seen anything yet. They would see Jesus face to face in eternal and full glory in heaven, and they would share in that glory. That’s what God gives us in Baptism.
So, no, the Transfiguration isn’t about the Transfiguration. It is about Holy Communion. If it seemed a stretch that the Transfiguration was about Baptism, though Jesus had not instituted it yet, at least He Himself had been Baptized already. But what about Communion? The Lord’s Supper was not even on the disciples’ radar. There was nothing up there on the mountain about bread and wine, or any meal, for that matter. How is the Transfiguration about Holy Communion?
Communion is what Jesus was doing on the Mount of Transfiguration. He was communing with Moses and Elijah. The disciples didn’t quite get that. They thought they should have a gala event, honoring these three men. It went right over their heads that they were actually communing with Jesus and the saints who had gone before them. This is what the Communion liturgy is getting at when it says, “therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name.” If you look around the altar rail when you commune you will see the other members of this congregation communing with you and you with them. Who you won’t see are Moses and Elijah. But they’re there, communing with you and you with them. You won’t see Peter and James and John. But they’ll be communing with you as well, and you with them.
The Transfiguration, is about the Transfiguration, of course. Of course, it’s about the Transfiguration. Jesus was transfigured before them so that they, and we, can see who it is that has come to bring salvation. He’s the God who is divine and radiant in His glory. He’s the God of Abraham and David and Moses and Elijah. He’s the God who spoke creation into existence with His Word and who was Baptized by John the Baptist. He’s the God who communes with His people and invites them to commune with Him. So, yes, the Transfiguration is about the Transfiguration.
But Jesus didn’t, after all, stay up there. He didn’t, when all was said and done, remain in His glorious transfigured state for very long. That’s because the Transfiguration, when you come down to it, wasn’t really about the Transfiguration. Jesus tells us what the Transfiguration is about when He is coming down the mountain. It’s about the cross. Everything, after all, is about the cross. Christ is about the cross. His Ministry was about the cross. Salvation is about the cross. The Transfiguration is about the cross.
Once again, we see Jesus telling people not to tell people about Him and about what they had seen! It’s seems very strange until you realize that who He is and what He does means nothing for us apart from the cross. That what people had seen didn’t help them one lick without Jesus ascending the hill of Calvary. Jesus didn’t pay for the sin of the world on the Mount of Transfiguration. But He did on Calvary. What Jesus accomplished on the cross is given to you in His Holy Word, delivered to you in your Baptism, and offered to you in Holy Communion.
The Transfiguration is all about you. It is about what God does for you, in Christ. In the Transfiguration we see why Christ came, what He came to do, how He accomplishes salvation. Seeing Moses and Elijah up on the mountain and Jesus in the middle of them, we see that Jesus is at the center. He is the key to the Scriptures. Hearing the voice of the Heavenly Father up on the mountain, “This is My beloved Son; listen to Him,” we hear the call to make disciples of all nations, Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Seeing our Lord bring Peter, James, and John into communion with Him and the saints triumphant, we rejoice in the invitation to us to commune with Him and the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.
Peter, James, and John may have been wondering why they weren’t to tell anyone about what they had seen but we don’t have to wonder or keep quiet. Jesus said not to speak of it until after the resurrection. It’s now after. We tell others. We give to them the message of the cross, not platitudes. We give them Christ. It’s what we need, it’s what they need. It always goes back to the cross. As Paul said in the Epistle: “we proclaim not ourselves but Christ.” He was transfigured. He suffered. He rose. He gives you salvation. Amen.
SDG
Last Sunday after the Epiphany
February 22, 2009
Mark 9:2-9
Jesus was transfigured, but simply showing His glory wasn’t the reason He was. The Transfiguration would seem to be about the Transfiguration, but it’s not. If it were, Peter’s idea would have been a good one. Jesus probably would have told Peter, James, and John to pack, for they weren’t going to be coming back.
But no, the Transfiguration isn’t about the Transfiguration. It is about the Word. Peter, James, and John weren’t the only ones Jesus brought up onto the mountain. He invited Moses and Elijah also. Why is that? Moses and Elijah represent something. What they represent is the Word. At the time of the events of the New Testament the New Testament didn’t exist. The Bible was what we call the Old Testament. One of the ways the New Testament refers to the Old Testament as is the Law and the Prophets. The Law referred to the first five books—written by Moses—the Prophets the rest of the Old Testament, much of which are the prophetic books.
Paul speaks of the Word of God in the Epistle reading. God spoke creation into existence, He did it with His Word. God brought light out of darkness. How did He do that? By speaking—“Let light shine out of darkness.”
No, the Transfiguration isn’t really about the Transfiguration. It is about Baptism. What do you have in Baptism? You have water, of course. And you have the Word. The Word of God is connected with water to make Baptism. But what does this have to do with the Transfiguration? The same thing the Baptism of our Lord had to do with it. When Jesus was Baptized, what did God the Father say? “You are My beloved Son.” Now, here, on the Mount of Transfiguration, God the Father is saying: “This is My beloved Son.”
See, you and I can’t all be up there on the Mount of Transfiguration. For that matter, neither could Peter, James, and John. Or at least, they couldn’t stay. But they could be Baptized. And so can we. There’s a reason Jesus was Baptized. And there’s a reason He was transfigured. Jesus certainly didn’t do these things for Himself. He did them for us. That’s why He gives us Baptism. The glimpse of glory on the Mount of Transfiguration wasn’t only a glimpse of Jesus’ glory, but of ours as well—given to us in Baptism. If Peter, James, and John were amazed by what they saw on the mountain, they hadn’t seen anything yet. They would see Jesus face to face in eternal and full glory in heaven, and they would share in that glory. That’s what God gives us in Baptism.
So, no, the Transfiguration isn’t about the Transfiguration. It is about Holy Communion. If it seemed a stretch that the Transfiguration was about Baptism, though Jesus had not instituted it yet, at least He Himself had been Baptized already. But what about Communion? The Lord’s Supper was not even on the disciples’ radar. There was nothing up there on the mountain about bread and wine, or any meal, for that matter. How is the Transfiguration about Holy Communion?
Communion is what Jesus was doing on the Mount of Transfiguration. He was communing with Moses and Elijah. The disciples didn’t quite get that. They thought they should have a gala event, honoring these three men. It went right over their heads that they were actually communing with Jesus and the saints who had gone before them. This is what the Communion liturgy is getting at when it says, “therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name.” If you look around the altar rail when you commune you will see the other members of this congregation communing with you and you with them. Who you won’t see are Moses and Elijah. But they’re there, communing with you and you with them. You won’t see Peter and James and John. But they’ll be communing with you as well, and you with them.
The Transfiguration, is about the Transfiguration, of course. Of course, it’s about the Transfiguration. Jesus was transfigured before them so that they, and we, can see who it is that has come to bring salvation. He’s the God who is divine and radiant in His glory. He’s the God of Abraham and David and Moses and Elijah. He’s the God who spoke creation into existence with His Word and who was Baptized by John the Baptist. He’s the God who communes with His people and invites them to commune with Him. So, yes, the Transfiguration is about the Transfiguration.
But Jesus didn’t, after all, stay up there. He didn’t, when all was said and done, remain in His glorious transfigured state for very long. That’s because the Transfiguration, when you come down to it, wasn’t really about the Transfiguration. Jesus tells us what the Transfiguration is about when He is coming down the mountain. It’s about the cross. Everything, after all, is about the cross. Christ is about the cross. His Ministry was about the cross. Salvation is about the cross. The Transfiguration is about the cross.
Once again, we see Jesus telling people not to tell people about Him and about what they had seen! It’s seems very strange until you realize that who He is and what He does means nothing for us apart from the cross. That what people had seen didn’t help them one lick without Jesus ascending the hill of Calvary. Jesus didn’t pay for the sin of the world on the Mount of Transfiguration. But He did on Calvary. What Jesus accomplished on the cross is given to you in His Holy Word, delivered to you in your Baptism, and offered to you in Holy Communion.
The Transfiguration is all about you. It is about what God does for you, in Christ. In the Transfiguration we see why Christ came, what He came to do, how He accomplishes salvation. Seeing Moses and Elijah up on the mountain and Jesus in the middle of them, we see that Jesus is at the center. He is the key to the Scriptures. Hearing the voice of the Heavenly Father up on the mountain, “This is My beloved Son; listen to Him,” we hear the call to make disciples of all nations, Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Seeing our Lord bring Peter, James, and John into communion with Him and the saints triumphant, we rejoice in the invitation to us to commune with Him and the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.
Peter, James, and John may have been wondering why they weren’t to tell anyone about what they had seen but we don’t have to wonder or keep quiet. Jesus said not to speak of it until after the resurrection. It’s now after. We tell others. We give to them the message of the cross, not platitudes. We give them Christ. It’s what we need, it’s what they need. It always goes back to the cross. As Paul said in the Epistle: “we proclaim not ourselves but Christ.” He was transfigured. He suffered. He rose. He gives you salvation. Amen.
SDG
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