In Body and Soul, Now and Forever

Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost

October 21, 2012

Mark 10:22–31

What do all these men have in common: Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, and Job? They were all patriarchs of the faith. They are paragons of faith. As the saints of old did, we look to these men as fathers in the faith; our Lord points us to them as examples of being His children. There were others in the Old Testament who are lifted up as saints as well that we should give thanks to God for: Hannah, Elijah, Jeremiah, Joshua, and countless others. These saints don’t quite have the status of those in the first list. Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Job, there is one thing they have in common that at least in part accounts for that—they were fabulously wealthy. These men had it all. They were men in powerful positions, men who were highly honored, and along with that status, men of immense wealth. Why is this? Was there something special about them? Did they have stronger faith in God than most others?

There is an aspect of faith and the Christian life that there are strong Christians and weak Christians. Some are strong in their faith and others are struggling. Yet faith is faith. You either have it or you don’t. Weak or strong, a lot or a little, if you have faith you have faith. In terms of every human being being born in sin there was nothing more righteous about Abraham and David than there was about Hannah or Jeremiah or your average believer in God in the Old Testament. We, like they were, are saved solely on the basis of Christ’s righteousness, not our own.

But think about those men the Bible holds up as saints par excellence. Is it just a coincidence that they were wealthy beyond compare? Or is there no correlation to their having extraordinary wealth and their being in a category unlike every other believer in God in the Old Testament?

The disciples in the Gospel reading may very well have been thinking along these lines. A couple of these men Jesus called to be His apostles actually had wealth of their own when Jesus called them. Even so, their wealth in no way compared to the likes of Abraham or King David. Most likely, it didn’t come close to the man who had just walked away from Jesus in great sadness because he had great wealth. What prompted this sadness was Jesus’ call to him to sell all he had and follow Him. Now Jesus is telling His disciples that it’s nearly impossible for a rich person to get into heaven. Accurate or not, in the minds of the disciples there likely was a direct correlation between the riches of Abraham, David, and company and their status as saints par excellence; as paragons of the faith. Now this wealthy, upstanding follower of God comes to Jesus and upon leaving Jesus Jesus declares to the disciples that it’s nearly impossible for the wealthy to enter into eternal life? The disciples were seeing a major disconnect with what they saw the Old Testament teaching them and what Jesus now was teaching them.

They were astonished at Jesus’ words. If what you’re saying is true, Jesus, then who can be saved? It wasn’t that they thought that these men were wealthy and therefore God blessed them with eternal life. It was the notion that these men were men of great faith, ones who obeyed the Law of God, and therefore God rewarded them and blessed them. There’s no more obvious way of seeing this than of being endowed with fabulous wealth. The man who came up to Jesus was so endowed and so when he in all sincerity responded to Jesus that he had kept the commandments of God from his youth the disciples were not surprised. Here was a man who was abundantly blessed with wealth. And of course, he was an outstanding example himself of what a believer in God should be.

If we’re looking for resolution from Jesus on this matter of the correlation between wealth and being blessed by God then we’ll likely be disappointed. Jesus’ response to the disciples’ question of who can be saved is simply, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” They’re thinking, if this man has little hope of salvation, what hope do the rest of us have? And perhaps that’s what prompted Peter’s rationale to Jesus: “See, we have left everything and followed you.” We may not be wealthy, we may not be in the same league as Abraham and David and the rich man who just walked away, but we have given up all we have. You just called that man to sell all he had and follow you, and we have done something of the sort. We’ve put everything of value to us behind us and have put you in front of us so that we may live our lives in submission to you.

Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for My sake and for the Gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” Jesus had made clear to them how someone, anyone, everyone, can be saved—with man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God. Salvation is in God alone. With you, dear disciples, with that man who just walked away, with Abraham, and David, and Moses, and everyone. There are no special blessings upon people because they are in any way more righteous or better or good in the sight of God. Salvation is in what God accomplishes alone. If only the disciples had realized that the way God does this was in the person who was standing before them telling them all of this. They would come in time to see this and believe it. For now they were as puzzled as ever, still caught up in their notions that they somehow had to do something, or live a certain way, or give up something, or accomplish certain good works, in order to gain salvation. This is exactly what the rich man had thought and he went away sad because he didn’t want to give up what he had in order to gain salvation. He didn’t see that salvation is by grace, not by doing something.

We spend far too much time quantifying things, far too much effort trying to determine what effort we must exert, far too much rationalizing what we have done that should matter as we stand before God. We are so much like the rich man. We are far too much like the disciples. For the record, we are so similar to Abraham, and Moses, and David, and all those men of renown who seem on such a higher plane than us. The news flash from Jesus is that we are all the same. We are in the same boat with every other person. There is no one who deserves anything from God, in this life or in eternity.

Thankfully, His news flash doesn’t end there. His main thing He has come to bring is Himself, and with Him you get it all. “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” These are remarkable words from God Himself, God in the flesh. He laid aside His glory to serve. He came not just to help but to accomplish. His serving took the form of suffering in the place of every person, high status or low. The call He gives to each of His children is that, yes, when the rubber hits the road, God comes before your mom and dad, your brother and sister, your valuables, your life. If you hold on to those with the notion that you truly can’t live without them you have already lost them because you can’t hang on to them for eternity.

We truly leave all and cling to Christ alone. That’s a stunning statement, but not so much in comparison with what He says comes next. What we leave behind is everything we have. What we get in return is so much more. His words are clear, we do not live in this life waiting for the all the blessings to come to us in heaven. Even now He blesses us. We “receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” When you are in the Church, you are in a new family, God’s family. Your brothers and sisters in Christ are your spiritual family, but you don’t have to wait until heaven to receive this gift from God.

The blessing upon receiving the Lord’s Supper captures this nicely: The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen and preserve you in body and soul to life everlasting. The Lord’s Supper is a spiritual meal, no doubt. But its blessings are for your body and soul. Not just your soul, your body as well. His blessings to you are not just for the life to come but also for now in this time. He blesses you in body and soul, now and forever. Amen.

SDG

Commemoration of Luke, Evangelist

St. Luke, the beloved physician referred to by St. Paul (Colossians 4:14), presents us with Jesus, whose blood provides the medicine of immortality. As his traveling companion, Paul claimed Luke’s Gospel as his own for its healing of souls (Eusebius). Luke traveled with Paul during the second missionary journey, joining him after Paul received his Macedonian call to bring the Gospel to Europe (Acts 16:10–17). Luke most likely stayed behind in Philippi for seven years, rejoining Paul at the end of the third missionary journey in Macedonia. He traveled with Paul to Troas, Jerusalem, and Caesarea, where Paul was imprisoned for two years (Acts 20:5–21:18). While in Caesarea, Luke may have researched material that he used in his Gospel. Afterward, Luke accompanied Paul on his journey to Rome (Acts 27:1–28:16). Especially beloved in Luke’s Gospel are the stories of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29–37), the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32), the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31), and the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9–14). Only Luke provides a detailed account of Christ’s birth (Luke 2:1–20) and the canticles of Mary (Luke 1:46–55), of Zechariah (Luke 1:68–79), and of Simeon (Luke 2:29–32). To show how Christ continued His work in the Early Church through the apostles, Luke also penned the Acts of the Apostles. More than one-third of the New Testament comes from the hand of the evangelist Luke. [Kinnaman, Scot A. (2008). Treasury of Daily Prayer. Concordia Publishing House. ]

Collect of the Day

Almighty God, our Father, Your blessed Son called Luke the physician to be an evangelist and physician of the soul.  Grant that the healing medicine of the Gospel and the Sacraments may put to flight the diseases of our souls that with willing hearts we may ever love and serve You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Commemoration of Ignatius of Antioch, Pastor and Martyr

Ignatius was the bishop of Antioch in Syria at the beginning of the second century A.D. and an early Christian martyr. Near the end of the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan (98–117), Ignatius was arrested, taken in chains to Rome, and eventually thrown to the wild beasts in the arena. On the way to Rome, he wrote letters to the Christians at Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, Rome, Philadelphia, and Smyrna, and also to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna. In the letters, which are beautifully pastoral in tone, Ignatius warned against certain heresies (false teachings). He also repeatedly stressed the full humanity and deity of Christ, the reality of Christ's bodily presence in the Lord's Supper, the supreme authority of the bishop, and the unity of the Church found in her bishops. Ignatius was the first to use the word catholic to describe the universality of the Church. His Christ-centeredness, his courage in the face of martyrdom, and his zeal for the truth over against false doctrine are a lasting legacy to the Church. [Commission on Worship of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod]

Collect of the Day

Almighty God, we praise Your name for Ignatius of Antioch, pastor and martyr. He offered himself as grain to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts so that he might present to You the pure bread of sacrifice. Accept the willing tribute of all that we are and all that we have, and give us a portion of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Jesus Loves You. How Does He Love You?

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

October 14, 2012

Mark 10:17–22

If it were enough to say that Jesus loves you every sermon would need only be as long as it takes to state that fact. And maybe some people would be happy about that. It can be tough to listen to sermons week after week as they unpack the message of Jesus’ love for people. If all we needed was to know the fact that God loves us His message to us wouldn’t have needed to be in form of the Bible. A post-it note from heaven or a text message from God would have been sufficient: Dear people whom I have created, I love you.

There’s one problem with this: it’s not true. It’s not actual real true love. If God truly loved us He wouldn’t just tell us that. Love is not simply stated, it is acted upon. It’s not really just showing love either. It’s actually loving the person. You can tell someone you love them. You can even give them signs of your professed love for them. But to actually love them, well, that must come from actually loving them.

The only way that is done is to put yourself in the background and the other person in the foreground. True love sacrifices for the other person. Actual, real love serves the other person when there is absolutely no reason on the part of the person for being loved. If you tell someone you love them but you don’t actually love them you are not actually loving them. You may be able in some way to explain it as something good, but it’s not love.

In the Gospel reading there’s a man who comes up to Jesus and we learn what exactly God means, not what it means when He says He loves us, but what it means that He actually loves us. Jesus was continuing on a journey. In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John there are recorded many instances of Jesus teaching and preaching, of healing and helping, of interacting with people, and here is one of those. It seems a bit as if the world has stopped because Jesus is intent on continuing His journey. His journey is a goal that this man and pretty much everyone else is oblivious to. The disciples should know at this point but they are a lot like we are and do not have a clue as to what Jesus is actually up to when He does what He does. Here in today’s Gospel reading when He is continuing on on His journey it’s not that He’s just saying, “Okay, time to go somewhere else and do more ministry.” He’s making His way to the cross. He knows where He’s going and this is the context of His love for this man when it appears that the man is detracting Jesus from His journey to the cross. But no, Jesus loves this man and so He stops just as He’s ready to resume His journey to the cross.

In our English language the word ‘love’ is used in so many ways it may seem a clash of our understanding in how it is that Jesus loved this man when we see how He responded to him. The man runs up to Jesus, kneels before Him, and asks his question. Even in his question we see what would seem to be respect for Jesus, calling Jesus ‘Good teacher’. Jesus seems to take him to task for addressing Him that way: “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” But giving no chance to respond to that Jesus then goes into His list of things the man requests: “You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”

It’s not until the man responds to this that Mark tells us that Jesus loved this man. But we don’t need to be told this to know that Jesus loved him. We know this because of what Mark has already told us. Jesus was on His journey to the cross. He was making His way to the place where He would suffer and die for this man’s sin. That’s not how much Jesus loved him it’s simply how He loved him. The man came to Jesus asking Him what he must do to inherit eternal life. The word ‘inherit’ in the original is probably better understood as “How can I come to share in eternal life?” What can I do so that I am in possession of eternal life?

The great irony here that was lost on him but not on Jesus was that there was nothing he could do but he was asking the person who was heading to the place where He Himself would be accomplishing what was needed for this man to be in full possession of eternal life. He was asking this ‘good teacher’ not realizing he was asking the very God of heaven who came to earth so that the man could gain heaven. This is how Jesus loved this man. This shows that Jesus truly loved this man. He was attempting to gain heaven through the Law while Jesus was journeying to the place where He would deliver this man from the Law. He was seeking heaven by what he could do when he was talking to the person who would give him heaven purely by grace, not by anything he would do but rather by what Jesus Himself would do.

But putting the best construction on things, the man was likely sincere in his declaration to Jesus, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” Jesus had just rattled off the entire Second Table of the Law, the Fourth Commandment, the Fifth Commandment, and so on, all the way through the Tenth Commandment. Haven’t murdered anyone. Haven’t been unfaithful to my wife. Haven’t stolen anything. Etc. And this guy probably was a very good guy. He was probably the kind of guy you would want for a neighbor. So in all sincerity he could say to Jesus, “Jesus, I know about the commandments. I’ve been keeping them. There’s got to be more. What am I still missing?”

This is where Mark inserts his comment that Jesus looked at this man and loved him. The question for us today is, how did Jesus love him? Well, Mark answers that: Jesus said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Jesus could have pointed out to the man that he had in fact not kept all those commandments he had been certain he had kept. Jesus could have pointed out to him that there was that whole other table of the Law, the First Table, with essential things such as having no other gods and not misusing the name of the Lord God and remembering the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. But Jesus truly loved this man. He wasn’t going to play games with him. He wasn’t going to get into an argument with him or even a friendly philosophical discussion with him.

He was going to love him. And if you want to know how Jesus loves a person look at what Jesus said to the man: “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” How does Jesus love people? How does He love you? It’s easy for us as Christians to go straight to the cross, it’s there where Jesus loves us. It’s there where He shows His love and demonstrates His love. That’s true. There’s no doubt about it, at the cross you see Jesus’ love being carried out. So when we talk about how Jesus loves, yes, we go to the cross.

I guess the question becomes, how do we go about going to the cross? Jesus answers that as well. As we saw, Mark was telling us that Jesus was heading that way. He was on His way to the cross. Along the way He didn’t put blinders on. He didn’t stop people short, “Sorry, no time for teaching or miracles, on My way to the cross where I will accomplish salvation for all of you.” In this particular instance He shows us how all-encompassing His love for us actually is. When the guy says that he has kept all the commandments from His youth, one gets the sense that there must be something more. In his confidence of keeping the commandments he is far from confident that he has done all that is needed. It happens that even what he has claimed isn’t that case. Far from showing us how good of a standing we have with God, the Ten Commandments show us how far we have fallen short of what God wills.

The statement the man makes is true only if it is spoken by the man he is speaking to. This is how God loves us, He in fact has kept all these commandments from His youth. He alone has accomplished all that the Law requires, knowing that we have not. Before bringing us to the cross Jesus must first shatter any illusions we have that we can somehow do something or be a certain way in order to obtain eternal life. If this doesn’t seem like love it’s because to our sinful flesh it’s an assault on us. But that is the very thing that shows us that this is true love from Jesus. He assaults our sinful flesh so that it doesn’t end up winning out over us and we end up in eternal death.

“You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” To this man before him, Jesus was showing him that he really had nothing. All his possessions would come to nothing. Treasure in heaven not only surpasses all earthly treasure it lasts forever. Jesus didn’t want this guy’s money. He didn’t even want him not to have it. What Jesus wanted was the man. He loved him so much that He would do whatever was necessary to save the man. The man couldn’t be saved if he got in the way. His basic problem, his sin that got in the way of him being in possession of eternal life, was not money, or even greed, or arrogance. His basic problem was breaking the First Commandment, You shall have no other gods. Jesus needed to lead this man to the cross. To do that He had to show him his need for the cross.

You know Jesus loves you. How He loves you is by accomplishing everything needed for you to share in eternal life. You don’t need to wonder if there is ever more to be done or if you have done enough. He has kept every commandment you have failed to and has suffered in your place for those very failings and faults. This is how He loves you. He goes to the cross. He brings you along with Him in Baptism where you are crucified with Him and you are given eternal life. Amen.

SDG

Commemoration of Philip, Deacon

Philip, also called the Evangelist (Acts 21:8), was one of the seven men appointed to assist in the work of the twelve Apostles and of the rapidly growing early church by overseeing the distribution of food to the poor (6:1–6). Following the martyrdom of Stephen, Philip proclaimed the Gospel in Samaria and led Simon the Sorcerer to become a believer in Christ (8:4–13). He was also instrumental in bringing about the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch (8:26–39), through whom Philip became indirectly responsible for bringing the Good News of Jesus to the people on the continent of Africa. In the town of Caesarea he was host for several days to the Apostle Paul, who stopped there on his last journey to Jerusalem (21:8–15). [Commission on Worship of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod]

Collect of the Day

Almighty and everlasting God, we give thanks to You for Your servant Philip the Deacon. You called him to preach the Gospel to the peoples of Samaria and Ethiopia. Raise up in this and every land messengers of Your kingdom, that Your Church may proclaim the immeasurable riches of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Commemoration of Abraham, Patriarch

Abraham (known early in his life as Abram) was called by God to become the father of a great nation (Genesis 12). At the age of 75 and in obedience to God's command, he, his wife Sarah, and his nephew Lot moved southwest from the town of Haran to the land of Canaan. There God established a covenant with Abraham (15:18), promising the land of Canaan to his descendants. At the age of 100 Abraham and Sarah were finally blessed with Isaac, the son long promised to them by God. Abraham demonstrated supreme obedience when God commanded him to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. God spared the young man's life only at the last moment and provided a ram as a substitute offering (22:1–19). Abraham died at the age of 175 and was buried in the Cave of Machpelah, which he had purchased earlier as a burial site for Sarah. He is especially honored as the first of the three great Old Testament Patriarchs—and for his “righteousness before God through faith” (Romans 4:1–12). [Commission on Worship of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod]

Collect of the Day

Lord God, heavenly Father, You promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, You led him to the land of Canaan, and You sealed Your covenant with him by the shedding of blood. May we see in Jesus, the Seed of Abraham, the promise of the new covenant of Your Holy Church, sealed with Jesus' blood on the cross and given to us now in the cup of the new testament; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Ready, Aim… Engage!

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Commemoration of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, Pastor

October 7, 2012

Mark 10:2–16

The writer of the book of Hebrews gives this warning in today’s Epistle reading: “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” When he was the dean of Duke University Chapel, William Willimon on one occasion got up into the pulpit said something along the lines of, “We now do something not often done today, we go to ancient book and read from it.” While there are brilliant people in the world and profound insights are put forth in our day and age, when we gather here we do something that the culture often ignores—we read from an ancient book.

That’s what Pastor Willimon was there for for those students. It’s what the Church continues to be for for us. Each Sunday we go to an ancient book and hear from it. The Bible is thought by some to be just another ancient book with no more relevance to us today than any other ancient book. We know differently. We hear the words from the Bible as the very word of God. The author of Hebrews, inspired by the Holy Spirit, tells us plainly, we need to pay attention, note how he says it, to what we have heard. Not what was written, not even what was spoken—what was heard. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ. The Holy Spirit brings faith to us through this act that is really not an act on our part at all, for we are the receivers. He is the giver, the one doing the action. He does it by speaking. We hear the Word of God. We must continue to do so or we will drift away from it.

So if the world thinks us foolish in hearing the Word of God proclaimed, we will continue to revel in our foolishness and hear what He proclaims to us. Today’s Gospel reading is an important confluence of teachings that speaks to each of us here today, to how we interact with the culture, and to how we are taught by our Lord Himself that doctrine is not doctrine for doctrine’s sake but rather that it all works together in a holistic way. Specific doctrines do not stand on their own but interact with each other.

The best way to hear our Lord is to submit to Him and take His words to heart. The Pharisees came to Jesus in the opposite way. They wanted to trap Him. So many people in the world come at Jesus already with their minds made up that He’s wrong. To those people Jesus will do what is necessary to call them to repentance. So Jesus’ answer to them is not what we might expect. He directs them to the Bible, yes, but in such a way in which they think that they have been successful, where they can use the Bible to back up what they want.

The Pharisees test Jesus on the matter of divorce. It so happens that an allowance for divorce is in there. That is, the Bible. There you go, Jesus, we got You. If You say divorce is wrong, well, You’re going against the Word of God, aren’t You? And if you say it’s right, well, you’re just giving a green light to married couples to ditch each other at their convenience. So we gotcha. They quote the relevant passage, the one Jesus asks them about, and it’s clearly there before Jesus: the Scriptures say that you can divorce.

Now Jesus shows them how to rightly interpret the Scriptures. It’s true it says that, right there in the Bible. But look again at what today’s Old Testament reading is from. It’s from Genesis, not Deuteronomy, where the Pharisees quoted from. It’s from Genesis, where Jesus quoted from. These two aren’t in contradiction of each other, they’re both fully the Word of God. But why did Moses allow for divorce? Because of your hardness of heart. That’s what Jesus says to the Pharisees. Because of your hardness of heart. Not, “Well, you see Moses did that because of the Israelites’ hardness of heart.” It is yours and that is what you rest on.

Not on the creation and design of marriage in the first place which God gave to Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis. This is what Jesus quotes from Genesis: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” That was the quotation from Genesis, now listen to what Jesus says in regard to this: “So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” That’s quite a bit different than allowing for divorce. God created marriage for our blessing, how dare we go against His design and will by separating what He has joined together.

Here is where we learn how this ancient book speaks to us today; to us as well as the culture. These are the kinds of things that many in the culture and many of us won’t want to hear. One way to deal with this would be to not deal with it so as not to turn people away. A much better way though is to deal with it in a way in which we can show people that God’s way is a truly great way. Today’s Gospel reading deals with at least two major issues the culture is dealing with, marriage and family. The Gospel reading also deals with at least two major issues that the Church is dealing with and that it should engage the culture with, the Word of God and Baptism.

The Pharisees started this whole thing off by asking Jesus about divorce. After their exchange with Jesus the disciples follow up on the matter, asking Him about it. The difference is that the Pharisees asked Jesus about it for the purpose of testing Him, to try to trap Him in His words. The disciples simply asked. There are many people in the culture who will come at us as the Pharisees did Jesus. But there are also those who have all kinds of questions as the disciples did. Notice how Jesus’ response was different to each group. It’s not that His answer was different. But the way He responded was in correlation to how they approached Him in asking Him.

We need to do so as the writer of Hebrews exhorts, to pay attention to what we have heard. We need to do so as the disciples did, asking our questions of the Lord and seeking what He gives us rather than having our minds made up at the outset.

Too often the culture will come at the Christian Church in this way. Too often our response is something along the lines of “ready, aim, fire!” We set our sights on those who attack marriage as being one man and one woman, as God designed it, and we fire away. You can be totally right in what you say, but so often what you say is not heard because of how it’s said. Rather than firing away at the culture, it’s often better to engage the culture. Instead of “ready, aim, fire!”, we should make much more of an effort of “ready, aim, engage!”

We’ve already seen how to be ready. We pay closer attention to what we have heard. We need to be in the Word ourselves, we need to hear it proclaimed, we need to receive our Lord’s gifts in His Holy Supper. It’s so easy for us to condemn the culture when our own house often is not in order. While we lament the breakdown in society of marriage as one man and woman and the belittling of the importance of family, how are we treating one another in our own households? Do we cherish our own spouse? Do we honor our own father and mother? Do we treat our children, our siblings, our spouses with respect and love and honor? Do we seek to serve each other in our home? Are we content and grateful for the spouse and children and siblings God has given us or do we covet what others have?

God gets us ready by first taking aim at us. He does that with His Law and you can see that in how Jesus addresses the Pharisees. If you want to live by the Law then that is what you will get from Jesus. And His Law will point out to you your hardness of heart. You can see it in His indignance with the disciples as they attempted to prevent the children from coming to Him. The Hammer of God’s Law swings down hard and woe to us if we only see it as needing to come down hard on the culture. We must first get our own house in order, we first must be the ones to repent. In this we then hear and pay attention to the light as a feather yoke He places upon us, the glorious Gospel. The forgiveness of every sin we commit against our family and against those in the world. He forgives, period. Of our sins, of our sinfulness.

He then prepares us for engaging the culture. This is where the ‘aim’ in ready, aim, engage comes in. Simply speaking the truth to the culture doesn’t necessarily do the trick. We need to aim at the culture, not for the purpose of blasting away at it but for the purpose of applying Law and Gospel to the specific things they say and the specific struggles they have with the teaching of the Word of God. Do they have honest questions or concerns? Firing away at them with condemnations and proclamations of pure doctrine wouldn’t exactly put them in a mood to listen to that pure doctrine. Are they simply confused because they have heard well meaning Christians explain the truth of God’s Word in a way that wasn’t clear or that was inaccurate? Blasting them out for their misconceptions wouldn’t exactly put them in the mindset of wanting to hear what God’s Word really has to say. Are they indeed antagonistic? Perhaps patiently and calmly responding to them will get their attention more so than ourselves going for the jugular. The aim part takes work. It means listening to others and recognizing what they say and acknowledging its importance to them.

This leads into the third part, engaging them. Instead of firing way at the culture we can engage the culture. We have something to offer them they can’t get from the culture! Whatever people think of the Word of God it speaks to every human and their deepest needs. When we are treating our own family members with love and honor people notice that and we are able to show them the blessings God has intended in marriage and family. When we sin against one another we can also show the blessings that come from confessing our sins to each other and forgiving each other.

It may seem like what Mark tells us next in the Gospel reading is a different topic but it’s really what flows out of marriage. When people were bringing children to Jesus they were doing what is characteristic of what happens in the Church. We are brought to the Lord. That is, we don’t come to Him of our own accord. This happens in Baptism. In Baptism we are blessed by Jesus and given the Kingdom of God. This is why it’s so important that, even as we take care of our children from the moment they are born and give to them what they need, we also give to them what they need spiritually. We bring our children to Jesus when we bring them to be Baptized. Just as babies are in need of physical care from the moment they’re born, so are they in need of spiritual care from the moment they’re born. That’s why we bring them to Jesus to be Baptized.

Just as our Lord has engaged us we are then set to go engage the culture. Just as our Lord came to us as a servant, even suffering and dying for us, we’re equipped to go to those in society with all their questions and problems and engage them with the Gospel. Just as we have been brought to our Lord in Baptism we can bring the Gospel to those in the culture. Ready, aim, engage! Amen.

SDG

Commemoration of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, Pastor

Moving from the Old World to the New, Muhlenberg established the shape of Lutheran parishes for America during a 45-year ministry in Pennsylvania. Born at Einbeck, Germany, in 1711, he came to the American colonies in 1742. A tireless traveler, Muhlenberg helped to found many Lutheran congregations and was the guiding force behind the first American Lutheran synod, the Ministerium of Pennsylvania, founded in 1748. He valued the role of music in Lutheran worship (often serving as his own organist) and was also the guiding force in preparing the first American Lutheran liturgy (also in 1748). Muhlenberg is remembered as a church leader, a journalist, a liturgist, and—above all—a pastor to the congregation in his charge. He died in 1787, leaving behind a large extended family and a lasting heritage: American Lutheranism. [Commission on Worship of the The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod]

Collect of the Day

Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd of Your people, we give You thanks for Your servant Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, who was faithful in the care and nurture of the flock entrusted to his care. So they may follow his example and the teaching of his holy life, give strength to pastors today who shepherd Your flock so that, by Your grace, Your people may grow into the fullness of life intended for them in paradise; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Daily Prayer: Learning to Hear

We first said of daily prayer simply that it is a daily thing. We talked of reading, and praying, the Psalms. We talked of how we can never exhaust what we need to learn of prayer than from the Lord’s Prayer and praying the Lord’s Prayer.

From this is the next thing we need to learn in daily prayer: hearing. Learn to be a hearer. Learn to listen. Learn not just to go at the Word and understand it but first of all to hear it and let it speak to you. When you read the Psalms learn also to hear them and to pray them. God is giving you what to hear and take to heart. Pray back to Him what He has spoken to you. In the Lord’s Prayer we have the same thing. For people like me who have been praying the Lord’s Prayer our whole life, it’s easy to speak it and not pray it in a way in which it is taken to heart. Before praying it, hear it. Listen to what your Lord is giving you to pray for.

There are many things getting in the way of us being hearers of God’s Word. In the worship service there are distractions. Even having the Readings printed out in the bulletin can get in the way of hearing the Word being read. Hearing takes concentration. Especially for those of us whose minds easily wander, it takes effort to listen.

But the main thing about being a hearer of the Word of God is not simply to listen intently. The main thing is to hear. That is, to be a recipient of the Word. As Romans 10 says, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ. One can listen intently, and even comprehend perfectly, and nevertheless not be a hearer of the Word. Daily prayer flows out of hearing. Learn to be a hearer. Pray your Lord to give you ears to hear. That is, to hear with the ears of faith. He gives, you receive. He is the active agent, you are the passive recipient. Now you are in the position to pray.

Daily Prayer: The Lord’s Prayer

The first thing to say about daily prayer is to do it each day. Since we’ve already said that, the second thing perhaps to say is what the disciples said to the Lord: “Lord, teach us to pray.” And the thing that goes along with that is to do what our Lord has given us to do: pray the prayer He has taught us. The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer that encompasses everything for which we need to pray. There is nothing we need to pray for that is not addressed in the prayer our Lord has given us to pray.

Some people want to pray ‘from the heart’. It certainly is a good thing to do this and we are even given the invitation to do so by our Lord. There’s nothing in our heart we should keep from God. He knows what’s in our heart anyway, we certainly should lift it all up to Him in prayer. Praying from the heart, though, doesn’t have to mean praying only what we feel or think every time we pray. Praying what is on our Lord’s heart directs us in our praying from our own heart. We know the heart of God. He has shown us in His perfect prayer. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer He molds our heart to be as one with His.

Daily prayer is daily. It is also praying for what what our Lord desires us to pray. In the Lord’s Prayer we know what this is. Pray it. Meditate upon it. Thank God for it. Pray it by yourself. Pray it with your brother and sister Christians. Pray it with your family. If you don’t know what to pray for then you can know that you actually do know, as your Lord has shown you in His holy prayer. 

The Heart (or the Hand, or the Eye) of the Matter

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Commemoration of Jerome, Translator of Holy Scripture

September 30, 2012

Mark 9:38–50

There can be a tendency in making use of the liturgy and being a little too formal, as if there’s no place for any human emotion. The fault is not with the liturgy but rather if you just go through the motions. It’s easy to do. The liturgy can seem rigid and unfeeling, formal, with no room for individual expression.

But at some point the liturgy meets every person right where they’re at, even if they may be going through the motions and at the moment miss it. Somewhere along the line, as you make your way through the liturgy Sunday in Sunday out, through a lifetime of the back and forth of the liturgy, there is a realism and a relevance there that really is missed only if you are looking for something else.

And so today the liturgy offers us a bit of comic relief even if the matter at hand is deadly serious. And we will see that ‘deadly serious’ here is not entirely symbolic in meaning. We’re so used to hearing the response upon reading the Gospel for the day, “This is the Gospel of the Lord,” that the response to that is almost automatic, “Praise to You, O Christ.” We have just heard the words of the Lord, the very Gospel itself. Praise to You O Christ! There’s nothing better that we could hear!

And so it’s moments like these that we experienced a short time ago that give us a little comic relief and then a chance to ponder, what exactly is the Gospel of the Lord? Today’s Gospel reading sure sounded a whole lot more like a lot of Law. Judgment, doom, warning. But there was the liturgical response, “This is the Gospel of the Lord.” Even so, comic relief aside, there is a method to the madness, so to speak, of the liturgy. Why is it that the liturgy would have us think of a Gospel reading as Gospel that is largely Law?

Because there’s some Gospel in there and it can therefore be said to still be Gospel? That’s not the way the liturgy works. It’s more along the line of, Christ is in there, and where you have Christ you have Gospel. We most certainly have Christ here in the Gospel reading for today. And it is therefore most certainly the Gospel of the Lord. That the words He is speaking are a heavy dose of the Law doesn’t negate the blessed Gospel that Jesus incarnates and gives.

That fact is, there is no Gospel without Law. With no judgment, no conviction of sin, no going to the heart of the matter of where you are at and who you are as you stand before Him, there is nothing bringing you to repentance. Without His gracious work, although difficult to receive, of Him calling you on the carpet and calling you to repentance, there is no work of Gospel He can do for you.

Of course, your Lord Jesus Christ can do anything. But His forgiveness and salvation He gives to you is without benefit to you if you hold on to your own comforting notions of your own peace of mind, or your understanding of yourself as a decent and kind person, or your satisfaction with your spiritual life to the point where you become complacent.

This is why Jesus uses such startling imagery. Do not be the cause of a brother or sister Christian stumble in their faith to where they lose it because the consequences for you are dire. So much so that it would be better if you were shackled to a large weight that pulled you down to the bottom of the sea. Cut off your hand if it is the cause of your sinning against the Most High God because being in heaven without your hand is preferable to being in hell with all body parts intact. Pluck out that eye that roams in the hopes of finding something that isn’t yours for the taking because it’s better not to have full sight in eternal glory than to fully see the terrors of eternal agony.

The only problem with immediately jumping to the fact that Jesus is speaking metaphorically here, and He is, is that it’s all that easier to dismiss it. Thank goodness, He’s just using imagery here. He’s not speaking literally, so I don’t have to worry about getting to the sordid work of hacking into myself and leaving body parts behind.

The sordid truth is, there is no imagery that could change the sinful condition of your heart. Because that is what Jesus is really getting at here—the heart of the matter. How many body parts would you have to cut off before you would be able to stop sinning and finally enter into eternal life? You’d have to hack everything away and then you would still have your heart. And your beating heart, the one that’s pumping blood to all your other body parts isn’t what Jesus is getting at here either.

What is in your heart of hearts? Good things? Pleasant things? Things you’re proud of? Things you would be perfectly at ease sharing with your Lord Jesus if it were just you and Him face to face with each other? What is deep in your heart that keeps you awake at night? All those missed opportunities where you failed to help someone in need. All those times you convinced yourself you need to take care of yourself and your children would have to wait. All those moments where your words of conviction of trusting in God betrayed your thoughts and your worries that you really weren’t sure if God was on your side. All those times where you were the cause of someone to stumble in their faith, a fellow Christian who was struggling in their faith, and you didn’t take the time or effort to sympathize with them, to be there for them, to listen to them, to not just say you care for them, but really care for them by showing them that you would not judge them because they were struggling in their faith.

There’s too much in there, in that heart of yours, to fully do justice to just how much sin and guilt there is. If Jesus can’t drive the point home by using potent imagery of cutting off your body parts, I’m not sure what else will work. The heart of the matter is that it’s not your hand, or your foot, or your eye, that causes you to sin. It’s your heart. All those sins you commit against others, all those times you failed others, all those times you caused others to stumble; they bring out your deepest problem, and that is that you call the shots for yourself rather than trusting that your Lord’s way truly is the best way.

Even though we confidently say, “This is the Gospel of the Lord,” and “Praise to You, O Christ,” always remember that the Law must do its work. You will squirm when the Law nails you to the wall, but give thanks that your Lord does this to you. Without it you would be enduring far worse than chopped off body parts. His Law is designed not to nudge you but to nail you to the wall.

Recently there was an article in the Union-Tribune on human trafficking. No to go into the awful details of what people to do to often underage children, but human trafficking, forcing others against their will to do sordid things for money, is a very real problem. And it’s not just ‘over there’ in those third world countries where things like these are easily done. It’s right here in our own city and in our own backyard in Mexico. It makes your heart go out to those who are used in this way. One striking thing mentioned in the article was from a person who is trying to help these innocent children who have basically become slaves. She said that the greatest enemy of children is indifference.

Think about that for a moment, about indifference. If you ignore the problem you are part of the problem. If you don’t do something about it you are promoting it. Indifference is deadly. Jesus said something in a similar vein, I would that they would be hot or cold rather than lukewarm.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it’s hard to be indifferent when met with Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel reading. They nail you to the wall and you either repent or rebel. Ignore them at your peril.

The Gospel in all of this is not so much in Jesus’ words, as we have said that they are significantly Law, but in the Word made flesh; in Jesus Himself. He didn’t come simply to blast you out of the water, to nail you to the wall. He certainly didn’t come to get you to break out the large kitchen knife and start hacking away at yourself. He came to call you to repentance. He came to bring you life. There is no life, there is no doing away with that guilt and sin heavy on your heart, without hitting it straight on.

A much easier to digest Jesus would be preferable, wouldn’t it? Much easier. But also deadly. So don’t get caught up in the, Oh good, it’s all just metaphorical stuff from Jesus today. Rather, get caught up in the Jesus who loves you so much that He comes to do the hard work of calling you to account, of nailing you to the wall. The Jesus who loves you so much that He would never be indifferent to you and your plight. But rather who would come to you right where you’re at and rescue you. Yes, who would come to you not just to say, Hey cut out all that stuff in your life that’s going against My sovereign Law, but also to say, My Father, if it be Your will, let this Cup fall on Me. Let it be to Me instead of the precious people who are our joy and delight.

And there, my friends, is truly the heart of the matter. It’s not just about your hand, or your eye, or whatever body parts causing you to sin, and the sins you’re struggling with. It’s about your Lord who loves you and lets you know that by not leaving you in the Law. It’s your Lord who is nailed to the wall Himself in your stead, nailed, in fact, to the cross. It’s your Lord, whose heart is pure, who is convicted and suffering the wrath of the holy God so that you may live in righteousness and purity forever.

And the heart of the matter is this as well, as with Jesus there is always more, that you may use your hands, and your feet, and your eyes, and your whole being to praise Him and serve Him. And if that all sounds wonderfully spiritual, well, it is. But it’s also immensely practical, because what do you use your hands, and eyes, and your body for? To serve others. To get down in the dirt with them, right where they’re at, to love them, and cherish them, and serve them. Praise to You, O Christ, that this is all accomplished by You, in Your precious Gospel. Amen.

SDG

Commemoration of Jerome, Translator of Holy Scripture

 Jerome was born in a little village on the Adriatic Sea around the year A.D. 345. At a young age he went to study in Rome, where he was baptized. After extensive travels, he chose the life of a monk and spent five years in the Syrian desert. There he learned Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament . After ordination at Antioch and visits to Rome and Constantinople, Jerome settled in Bethlehem. From the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, he used his ability with languages to translate the Bible into Latin, the common language of his time. This translation, called the Vulgate, was the authoritative version of the Bible in the western Church world for over 1,000 years. Considered one of the great scholars of the early church, Jerome died on September 30, 420. He was originally interred at Bethlehem but his remains were eventually taken to Rome. [Commission on Worship of the The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod]

Collect of the Day

 O Lord, God of truth, Your Word is a lamp to our feet and a light on our path. You gave Your servant Jerome delight in his study of Holy Scripture. May those who continue to read, mark, and inwardly digest Your Word find in it the food of salvation and the fountain of life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Commemoration of Michael and All Angels

 The name of the archangel St. Michael means “Who is like God?” Michael is mentioned in the Book of Daniel (12:1), as well as in Jude (v. 9) and Revelation (12:7)… Tradition names Michael as the patron and protector of the Church, especially as the protector of Christians at the hour of death. [Kinnaman, Scot A. (2008). Treasury of Daily Prayer. Concordia Publishing House.]

 John Gerhard said of the angels: “What is the [angels’] attitude toward men? This the Lord Christ reveals with one word when He calls them “their angels,” that is, the angels of the little ones, the servants of the children and all believers… They render this service to every Christian in manifold ways. While we are children, God assigns our angels to us, as Christ tells us in the holy gospel. When we grow older and go our own way, that is, walk in the ways of our calling, God also assigns angels to us (Ps. 91:11,12).” [Kinnaman, Scot A. (2008). Treasury of Daily Prayer. Concordia Publishing House.]

The Collect of the Day

 Everlasting God, You have ordained and constituted the service of angels and men in a wonderful order. Mercifully grant that, as Your holy angels always serve and worship You in heaven, so by Your appointment they may also help and defend us here on earth; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Daily Prayer

Daily devotions. Quiet time. Whatever you might like to call it, being daily in the Word of God and prayer is vital to being a Christian and growing in the new life God gives us. That I’m writing about daily prayer doesn’t mean that I’m an expert or have it all figured out. It means that it’s important to me and I want to share the wealth. I’ve grown tremendously in my devotional life because others have taken the time to share their insights and offer help in this matter. So if can help in even a small way that will be a blessing.

This blog is ‘a place to sit down and talk theology’. It’s a virtual tavern of sorts. There hasn’t been much ‘talking’ of theology around here. But perhaps there shouldn’t be without talking about what’s at the heart of theology. It’s prayer. It’s devotion and worship. The ancient Church said that as we pray so we believe. I had always thought that backwards but in actually being in prayer and devotions I have come to learn that it’s exactly right. Of course we need to believe correctly. But belief is not somehow disconnected from prayer and worship and devotions. As you pray you will learn to believe and you will grow in faith. The one who looks at this intellectually will miss the point. And I’m not discounting the intellect and understanding doctrine. It’s where I’d rather spend my time. That’s why devotions are so hard for me. It’s hard to just pray. To be in the Word and be in it as one who hears it, not just as one who thinks about it and studies it and prepares to teach it and preach it.

The first thing to say about daily prayer I suppose is simply to do it daily. If you’re not in daily devotions today is the day to start. And if you need to start off slowly, making it short and sweet, you have permission. Take five minutes. Read a Psalm. That’s probably as good a place to start as any. It’s the Word of God and it’s prayer. Read the Psalm. Take your time reading it. Pray it. As you’re reading it, make the words your own, even if they don’t seem to say what you’re thinking or thinking you need to pray.

The peace of the Lord be with you as you take time today to be in prayer and each day.

The First. And the Last.

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 23, 2012

Mark 9:30–37

It is the preoccupation of man to think first of himself and not of His God and Lord. It is an eternal fact that the Lord is the First and the Last. He truly is greater than all, above all.

It is the mystery and paradox that the One who is First has become the last, the greatest has become the least. When Jesus taught His disciples He didn’t just teach them stuff that if they were to take a test they’d be able to get a decent grade on it. Jesus taught them by being among them. He who is the First became the Last and that is how He was teaching His disciples who more often than not were too dense to get the point.

Perhaps that was because Jesus’ teaching seemed so impractical; predicting all this stuff about how He would be suffering and dying and rising. Perhaps it was because they were at times preoccupied with themselves, as with this time here where they each made their case to each other—but notice not to Jesus—of why they were the greatest among themselves.

If it weren’t so deadly of a thing it would be comical. I can imagine Jesus laughing upon hearing their pathetic attempts to outdo one another with their supposed greatness among each other. Did they really forget that God Himself was among them and that He was their teacher, their Rabbi? Yeah, Jesus is the greatest, of course, but it’s obvious that I’m second in importance.

So when Jesus teaches them it’s not just that He’s with them, among them, God in the flesh, it’s that He’s being clear with them why exactly this is. It’s that I’m going to be delivered over. Betrayed. Handed over. It’s that I will be suffering, and being killed on a cross. It’s that when that has been accomplished I will be raised from the grave.

It’s a sad commentary that we often, and it’s probably more like all the time, hear this and react in the same way those pathetic disciples did. As if it doesn’t matter. As if we hadn’t heard it in the first place. As if we really don’t understand what He’s saying; what He’s really getting at.

Don’t you see? We do the same thing they did. We act and talk as if we’re so much greater than those disciples were because we really get it, unlike them. We know exactly what it means that Jesus suffered and died and rose. But we really aren’t any better than they were. We really don’t understand it any better than they did. Just because you don’t hear conversations in the fellowship hall as we’re chomping on donuts about who is the greatest among us doesn’t mean we haven’t done exactly the same thing they did. When you hear the Gospel, who Jesus is and what He has done for you—suffering, dying, rising—and then you begin thinking how some of your fellow congregational members just aren’t up to snuff as you are, Jesus’ question to you is, what are you thinking about on the way?

Jesus had taught them. It is hard to get clearer than what He had told them: “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” It is the glory of the Lord, who is the First, to become as the one who is last. Jesus came, the one who is the greatest, the Lord of all, in order to become the least among us.

But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him. That’s what Mark says as he’s recounting this event. Jesus makes this amazing prediction, prophecy, teaching. But they didn’t have a clue. Oh, and they were afraid to ask Him. And I suppose if my Lord and master were telling me He was going to be betrayed and killed I’d be a little hesitant to ask Him for clarification. Instead, I’ll go back into my comfort zone and build up myself. When those other guys try to convince me that they are better than me I’ll show them exactly how they’re wrong, because it’s clear that I’m the greatest among them.

It is the preoccupation of ourselves to dwell on ourselves. But Jesus has come among us as one who serves. It is the astonishing fact of history that the true God has revealed Himself not primarily as the Almighty, Powerful, Glorious God of all, but the humble servant of all. The First who chose to be the last. The greatest who humbled Himself as the least.

So that’s what all that being delivered over and suffering and being killed is all about. They didn’t get it. But in time they would. We often don’t get it. But upon hearing it again and again; upon receiving His gracious word of the Gospel, the forgiveness of our sins, lifting us up from our lowly state; we slowly begin to get it.

It’s not about us. It’s about Him. It’s not about ourselves in relation to our brother and sister Christians insofar as we are greater than them but rather about ourselves in relation to them in regard to how we may serve them. It is the preoccupation of Christians to consider what they need, when Jesus comes in considering what we need—blessing us and lifting us up so that we may be preoccupied with others’ needs; serving and loving them.

Things aren’t all that different from what Jesus did with His disciples to what He does with us. He was teaching them, He teaches us. He was the First, but became the last among them. He was unquestionably the greatest among them but became the least. He taught them, yes, but He wasn’t just imparting information. He was really teaching them. He was serving them. He was being among them, He was giving them what they needed.

He cut them down to size, and notice how He did it, with simple question: Oh yeah, hey guys, what were talking about on the way? Silence. Embarrassment. Conviction. Heads drooping a little in shame. It’s at this point that Master Jesus, the greatest of all, the Lord of all, once again teaches, humbly being among them instead of once and for all giving up on these self-absorbed nobodies. He brings a child among them.

Imagine this scene. The God of the universe taking a child and putting him before the disciples. Taking this child in His arms. Jesus doesn’t teach in a manner in which He’s got information to get across, and oh good, now they’ve gotten that information. He really teaches. He serves. He comes among us. This child before them must have sliced through their consciences as their attempts at proving who among them was the greatest came to the forefront of their minds.

A little child. One who is in need of being received. One who is in need of being received in the name of Jesus. Who are you to think anything of yourself when there are those among you who are in need? Who are you to ignore the servant work of Jesus by considering yourself over your brother or sister in Christ who is more in need than you are? When you receive such a one in the name of Jesus, you receive Jesus. And whoever receives Him, receives not Him but Him who sent Him.

It is the eternal joy and delight of God the Father to send His Son. It is His delight because it is His eternal joy to love us, to bring us what we need. And that is why we prayed in the Collect of the Day “O God, whose strength is made perfect in weakness, grant us humility and childlike faith that we may please You in both will and deed.” It was the prayer of our Lord to suffer and die and rise on the third day. It continues to be His prayer that His serving us brings about more joy as we serve others.

Jesus said, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” It is the eternal gratitude we have for Him that He didn’t lay this upon us without first having done it Himself. He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. He who is so is the First, and the last. He, the First, having become the last, and He the greatest having become the least and the servant of all. Amen.

SDG

The Life of Faith Is a Life of Prayer

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Commemoration of Cyprian of Carthage, Pastor and Martyr

September 16, 2012

Mark 9:14–29

It’s a pipedream to think that everyone in the Church is going to see eye to eye on everything. That there will never be arguing or dissension. This is what Jesus came upon in the Gospel reading for today. “What are you arguing about?” He asked them. The point of today’s Gospel reading, however is not that we shouldn’t be arguing, because, what if Jesus shows up and He finds us disagreeing with each other? It’s not even how we are to deal with each other when we have disagreements or don’t see eye to eye.

There are plenty of other passages in the Bible that deal with that sort of thing. What Jesus is dealing with in today’s Gospel reading is something far more important. He gets at the heart of things. There will be times we feel all warm and cozy with each and times we’re ready to go out one another’s throats. But through all of that there is faith. Or perhaps there is through all of that the lack of faith.

This is what Jesus is getting at here in today’s Gospel reading. It is the heart of the matter. And you might say He is doing it by going for the jugular. He’s not exactly being all warm and fuzzy with those people now is He? “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?”

Wow. Just think for a moment being in the presence of Jesus and hearing those words come out of His mouth. If the arguments we have with one another don’t always make us squirm, the Lord calling into question an entire generation their faith, or lack of it as the case may be, and finishing it with the rhetorical question, “How long am I to bear with you?” will certainly cause some squirming.

It’s not that they’re arguing. It’s not that they’re having trouble seeing eye to eye and they just need to learn to get along with each other. It’s faith. Or rather, it’s the lack of it. It’s being a faithless generation. What’s striking in today’s Gospel reading is how utterly ordinary the setting of the argument is. This boy was afflicted with an unclean spirit. I have talked with people who seen firsthand demon-possession and the effects of witchcraft and other satanic activities. It’s not something I personally want to experience or witness. I have a hard time comprehending it when I live in a world where it’s ordinary to turn on a TV and witness images and sound coming from it and if I really think about what is happening I can only marvel at the amazing technology that produces something that I’d have to describe as magical. But in our society it’s ordinary. It’s the things like the spiritual world and spiritual forces that seem foreign and incomprehensible to us in twenty-first century America.

Jesus was going for the jugular in their lack of faith. And He is doing the same of us. We don’t really understand what it is. We cling to our own notions of being able to overcome our own weaknesses and sin and doubts, just as the disciples in the Gospel reading did, baldly asserting they were capable of exorcising that unclean spirit only to find out how powerless they were. And were those who were so secure in their own denunciations of the disciples any different? No, they didn’t believe it could be done but Jesus showed them differently.

The poor man whose boy was ravaged by this demonic spirit was caught in the middle of all this. “Lord, if you can, please help. Please drive the evil spirit out!” Let’s just say that there are a lot of people, and if we’re really honest, we might include ourselves here to an extent, who would be very uncomfortable to have Jesus as their pastor. The man pleaded to Jesus for compassion and in response what he got was: “If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.” Well, who knows what the man was feeling at that point. But against all odds, he cried out, “Yes, Lord, I believe. I do believe. But you’re right, I also struggle. I have doubts. Sometimes I even wonder if I do believe. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!”

And here’s where Pastor Jesus again shepherds His flock, giving the man the very compassion he asked for. He rebuked the unclean spirit. He spoke to the spirit, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” There was no more rebuking of the man. There was no more crying out to the crowd of their lack of faith. There was action. Action by Jesus. Jesus, in His power and even more so His grace and His compassion, rebuking the unclean spirit. Do you find it amazing that Jesus drove out an evil spirit simply by speaking to it? We shouldn’t. When Jesus speaks, His words bring about what they say. Jesus isn’t driving out this unclean spirit by His power but by His salvific work. What Jesus is doing here in today’s Gospel reading concerns faith, not, “Oh look!, Jesus is really powerful, He even drives out demons.”

Jesus wants to put faith into those faithless people. And how does He do that? By speaking. By speaking His Word. It is the word that brought into being the universe and all that is in it. It is the word that also brings into being salvation for you. It is the word that creates faith in you. Those people were arguing, not because they just couldn’t figure out this demon possession thing and how to help this poor little boy. They were arguing because they didn’t have faith. Jesus came in and spoke, creating faith. Helping the man in his unbelief, just as he had asked.

The thing about Jesus as a pastor though, is that His ways are unorthodox. He does things in ways where we look at the result and we say, “Well, now it’s worse!” He drove out that spirit and the boy laid there lifeless. People began stating the obvious, “Now he’s dead.” The poor man, after all he had been through, now looked down on his little boy and saw that Jesus’ work of driving out the demon resulted in his son’s death. This was no accident. Jesus works that way. He doesn’t derive pleasure from seeing the man struggle with the emotions of his son now being dead, He simply works in the way He works because otherwise we would keep arguing amongst ourselves how we’re going to accomplish what needs accomplishing in saving ourselves—whether it’s from an unclean spirit or our sin. Jesus doesn’t just help. He gives new life. The way we have new life is by dying. Jesus took the boy by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. He now had new life.

And so did the father. The father was given faith by Jesus. What had Jesus said to him? “All things are possible for one who believes.” The man said he did. He also confessed he needed help because of his unbelief. Notice what his words were. They were prayer. He was speaking to Jesus. He was praying. This is what faith is. It is a life of prayer. Faith is not, “God, I have it all figured out, here’s what You need to do for me.” Faith is a life of prayer. Of humble submission to the Lord and what He gives. The disciples later on asked Jesus, “So Jesus, what’s the deal, why couldn’t we cast out that unclean spirit?” And Jesus said, “Here’s the deal: it’s all about faith. This is kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” The life of faith is a life of prayer. If you’re under the assumption that it’s up to you you are not living the life of faith. If you’re under the belief that you believe, but Lord, help my unbelief!, then you are living the life of faith.

The life of faith is not arguing with God. It is rather trusting in Him, resting in Him, being at the receiving end of all His blessings, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. The life of faith is not so much something you do—as in, you have faith, you believe, you pray—but rather something that your Lord speaks into you; that your Lord brings about by sending the Holy Spirit to produce and sustain faith in you. What it really is is what that man and his little boy experienced—Jesus coming into their lives in their need and bringing new life to them. The life of faith is a life of prayer.

What that means is that it is life in Christ. It is life united with Him in His death and His resurrection. It is life in which your prayer is not so much, “Lord, here’s what I need,” so much as it is, “Lord, I am Baptized, I have new life in You and my entire being, my entire life, all my needs are entrusted to You.” The life of faith, which is nothing else than a life of prayer, is really a lifelong calling upon your Lord, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. I believe You give me Your very body in and with the bread I eat at Your Table. I believe You give me Your very blood in and with the wine I drink in Your Holy Supper. In this Meal, in Your Holy Supper, through Your very body and blood, help my unbelief. Give me faith. Strengthen my faith. Give me new life.”

He’s pretty good at that you know. He did it Himself. He died. He rose. He does the same for you, now and forever. Amen.

SDG