Traditions are good for teaching, but apart from the content of what is taught, they have no innate value beyond the sentimental. I'm not against traditions, I hold them very dear. I just believe that they are not so sacred as to be above change, omission or skipping for a time. This year we did something different at Zion. It kind of just fell together and wasn't planned out as much as it was an accident that worked out just fine.
On the first Sunday in Advent we used "Red" paraments!
My purpose was not to raise eyebrows or ruffle feathers. I just superseded one tradition in place of another. In fact, my vacancy parish was still green when I arrived this morning. With no time to make the switch. I think Advent being early this year caught some by surprise. Back to the home parish...There was this little patch of Advent Blue in the form of a little banner bearing the word "Hope" hanging from the first Advent candle on the Advent Wreath. The hymns were in the Advent section exclusively and the sermon even included Advent from the series A reading of the Epistle to the Romans chapter 13.
Today we celebrated not only the announcing of Christ's return in Glory, but also Confirmation. I entertained the notion for a little while to compromise the red and the blue with purple, but thought we'll keep some focus on the Rite the kids are going through right now. Two of the three were my own. Now all six of our children are now opening their hands to receive the very body of Christ and drinking from the Cup for the forgiveness of their sins. What follows is the sermon.
The Epistle Reading: Romans 13:11–14
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Parents work hard to raise their children up right and hope and pray that the lessons they taught on purpose don’t get brushed to the side by the lessons they taught by accident in the weakness of the flesh.
Pastors work hard to teach the congregation in which Christ has set him before in such a way that they learn to see their sin, but in a bigger way to see their savior Jesus’ mercy rather than see either the pastors gifts or his faults and so be distracted one more time by the devil, the world and the sinful flesh.
The Church year begins anew every year at this time to repeat the lessons of God intervening in the history we soiled with our rebellion, the relationships we strained or broke with our selfish desires or tainted the God Work of God with our meager if not out right arrogant attempts to help him along or worse yet, try and do God’s work for him.
Confirmation Sunday is special because it is the Church’s opportunity to see that there is a future because the Word of Christ has been taught to another generation. On the other hand the future of the Church is and always has been Christ’s Work and doesn’t depend on us receiving it in a certain place. We thank God that in his mercy it is going on right here.
The first Sunday of Advent is special because it reminds us of God’s promise to the World and our corner of it that he keeps his promises to rescue and restore. Often the world asks in unbelief, “If there were a god wouldn’t he rid the world of evil?” To which the Christian responds, “God sent his only Son incarnate into the world to take evil and it’s consequence of separation from the Creator’s declaration of “It is Good” and make sure they were destroyed by dying with the sin of the world upon him on the cross. There is a God, he is good and he has dealt with evil once and for all through his Son Jesus our Lord.. Each generation gets to experience that in the Church and we all get to learn about it every year so that we have no reason to fear death, fear punishment, but rather live in hope and promise.
So, while today has a special recognition for three about to be confirmed. It is also a reminder to you who already have made your public confession of faith and you who will someday that the words you spoke (will speak) are still being upheld by the Holy Spirit. That is, the promises spoken to you at your baptism from the mouth of God himself are still rock solid. They are in Christ who lived died, rose and ascended for you.
Mark and Lorene, I hope that you have been impressing upon Amanda the importance of being prepared as Michele and I have been our kids. This day is not graded nor a pass/fail. It is a confession from our own mouth that the Holy Spirit has been keeping his promise to keep us in the one true faith even though our actions at time don’t profess that very well. Like any examination preparations must be made and study and learning take place. But Advent is also about more than the approaching holiday season. It is about knowing and acting like Jesus’ promise to return in glory is always about to come to pass.
People of Zion, the end is always near because Christ’s work is finished. The unveiling of his work is delayed so at least one more ear might hear that sins are forgiven and come to faith in Jesus Name, Life, Work, Death and Resurrection. It serves no benefit for us to put off the expression and living of our faith as if it means something only at the resurrection. Such is more foolishness and unbelief because trust in Christ and clinging to his promises are put aside like they are a “use only once” coupon. We have been born of Water, Word and the Spirit, not to play dead with our lives approaching Confirmation or after it, but rather to live in forgiveness, hope, learning and growing, the nurture and admonition of the Lord so that we may claim the prize of life eternal gifted to us today.
Being in Christ means the Father almighty regards us as perfect as his Son. There is therefore every reason to live as his perfect children. Not that we will always act that way, but in this life rejoice in the forgiveness that is Christ for us and all.
So, Catechumens and parents, grandparents, guests and congregation members, do not think for an instant that the rest of life is an easy slide downhill and all cozy. Not only are there persecutions of all kinds for those who are Called by Christ’s name, but there are all kinds of temptations because you today are telling the devil, the world and your own sinful flesh that you have on a big red target. Christians’s don’t need camouflage because Jesus has our back.
Forgiveness, reconciliation and big vintage confirmation certificate do not give you license to grow up and spend your lives making your own wants and desires the rule to live by.
Paul makes a list of sins that are associated with the night. There is an assumption that there is a time when sin can be enjoined without being caught. “He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you’re awake,” and I’m not talking about Santa Claus. God the Father invested a great deal in procuring your salvation. But he is not watching over you to catch you at doing wrong. He is watching over you to protect you from yourself and all other temptations and failings so that his promise of everlasting life is good today as well as yesterday and tomorrow.
The Church in Rome needed to know as well as us that Jesus did not gratify his own desires but sought to do the will of God the Father. That will was to live and die in your place to give you a good name. Not your own good name, that’s got dirt all over it, but his good name. His triune name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You receive that at your baptism. Therefore we put on Christ. It is not an act to get God to look at how good or cute we are. It is believing Christ’s good word that we are forgiven and saved in his name.
Jesus is the son of God. He put on humanity. He took on human flesh to himself. The Son of God clothed himself with the true nature of man and accepted it’s weaknesses including the ability to die and be buried. Jesus took on us. Not as to do battle with us, but to do battle for us on our behalf. He reversed the desires and effects of the first temptation and sin of Adam. Whereas Adam and Eve desired to be like God knowing “good and evil,” Jesus came down to destroy the power of the devil by becoming human flesh and accepting our guilt for sin. He worked backwards Adam’s sinful desire to be God in the most intimate way. He came into the world to be like man in all ways including to die in the world for the sake of our sin.
Therefore Christ in his work desires us to know that while the death of the body is the ultimate expression of the death of the Father’s expression, “And behold it was very good.” is now back on God’s lips that we have been granted the resurrection.
Today we are again invited to the Table of Christ and a set of three with a new way to remember their baptism. Not only are we born from above by the Spirit, but we are feed with Christ who is our inheritance. We are clothed with Christ. His righteousness is ours. +
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Out of Order
Here is it is July 6th, more than two months since my last post. Not only have I been thinking about and been busy with other things but I am about to write the first post to this blog. I know. It's out of order. But what is order? Many things happen when they do. Previous posts (the few of them) were written on impulse and for practice. This one is on purpose.
St. Paul mentions the whole of creation in birth pains groaning as redemption (read resurrection) is not quite here yet. Only because I've coached my wife through it six times do I know that something wonderful is about to happen, but there is the coming and going pain right before it actually happens, the birth of a child. This illustration can be used in more aspect of the Christian life. Facing sin and guilt is hard. It looks and feels like pain. It threatens and delivers death. Christ is moving us to repentance.Something wonderful is about to happen.
Christ in his mercy provokes us to repent. He does so, so that he might wrap us up in forgiveness. So that he might resurrect us in his image holy and blameless. Sometimes that provoking looks and acts like forgiveness working first because it is. We like to do things in some kind of order. Order is nice, but it isn't always the way Christ's Holy Spirit works. The classic order given by man is to say you're sorry and then wait to be forgiven. Jesus got to us first with the promise of forgiveness. Adam didn't admit his sin. He blamed Eve. She didn't admit it either, she blamed the serpent. They really mean it was God's fault. God accepted their proposal. But chose to order salvation in his order of things. Jesus the Son of God chose us and was slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).
The Luther quote and title for this blog are a combination with part of St. Paul's letter to the Romans chapter 8 verses 18-25. Where the Word is proclaimed and the Sacraments are administered according to Christ's institution there the Church is and there the Lord of Heaven and Earth is doing his work. Where one believes the Word written and heard, and receiving the Sacraments, there Christ is doing his work. And Christ is always doing his work among, with and to sinners. The righteous among whom Christ is working are the sinners who are repentant both clinging to his promises and begging for more.
The world offers many reasons to believe that we are all headed for destruction. Nature (metaphor for how the creator Triune God cares for the physical universe and our little globe of it) unleashes fury even though locally it has been pretty mild this year (for which I thank God) but not too far away the flood waters have come up. Months ago the winter made many too cold for comfort and winter storms always set traps for those who feel they must go out and travel when indoors is the best place to stay. And if nature didn't catch us off guard as she keeps a balance on this life sustaining planet we well intentioned mess things up on our own by false assumptions or by accident. I'm all for oil drilling anywhere but in my literal backyard, but I'm completely against oil spills. It's a wasted resource. I'm also for nuclear, geothermal, wind and solar because I believe that they more efficient in the long run and cheaper or at least would be without or human greed factor but now I'm in a tangent and off the main subject. The sin of man is the direct and indirect cause of all trouble. We can make trouble out of anything including an interpretation of something that isn't a problem.
Now on the other hand our God has promised that he is going to destroy the world. He has also promised that he is going to restore it. But in the mean time we live in a fallen corrupted world that God in Christ is committed to save. The historical evidence shows that the Holy Spirit's work moves across the world when and were he wills. In some places the Word has quieted. Was it rejected? Was it just ignored? Is it coming back?
It isn't just nature that demonstrates trouble in the world. Man also multiplies sin in the most temperate and wealthy habitats. Sin is our dealings with one another but mostly our rebellion against our creator. When King David psalmed on to God about how "against you only have I sinned," he wasn't claiming we didn't sin against each other. He was merely stating Christ's claim (on the cross) that 'the sin' stops here. It is in and among sinful man that Christ does his Work. His Work is to redeem sinners. His patience with mankind and even with me goes way beyond my tolerances. And for that I am sincerely thankful. He keeps working salvation in me and building on the promise given me in my baptism as he also does for you. He keeps repeating his word of law and gospel to draw you to himself as redeemed brother or sister. And when I say he keeps repeating, I mean it happens over and over. It is a promise to last a lifetime. He even works on the hard hearted because I am so poor at doing that myself. We have at this time mediums of unprecedented capabilities to bring the Word of Christ into places it could never go before. This internet blog represents only one, but Marconi and several others brought radio, then TV, recordings to the ever shrinking mp3 players and who knows what is coming next...
The final word is this, The all knowing, all powerful and ever present God sees you and has chosen to redeem and love you at the cost of incarnation and experiencing our eternal punishment in the time spent on the cross so that he dedicate his earnings of life and salvation to you and upon those who he has caught standing in the rain and those who run out in it trying to get on life's way. They find out he is the truth, the way and the Life.
Life goes bad all the time. Christ reminds of and brings resurrection. He is making us right.
In this sense, I hope to be here chronicling the weather. The forecast is Jesus.
St. Paul mentions the whole of creation in birth pains groaning as redemption (read resurrection) is not quite here yet. Only because I've coached my wife through it six times do I know that something wonderful is about to happen, but there is the coming and going pain right before it actually happens, the birth of a child. This illustration can be used in more aspect of the Christian life. Facing sin and guilt is hard. It looks and feels like pain. It threatens and delivers death. Christ is moving us to repentance.Something wonderful is about to happen.
Christ in his mercy provokes us to repent. He does so, so that he might wrap us up in forgiveness. So that he might resurrect us in his image holy and blameless. Sometimes that provoking looks and acts like forgiveness working first because it is. We like to do things in some kind of order. Order is nice, but it isn't always the way Christ's Holy Spirit works. The classic order given by man is to say you're sorry and then wait to be forgiven. Jesus got to us first with the promise of forgiveness. Adam didn't admit his sin. He blamed Eve. She didn't admit it either, she blamed the serpent. They really mean it was God's fault. God accepted their proposal. But chose to order salvation in his order of things. Jesus the Son of God chose us and was slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).
The Luther quote and title for this blog are a combination with part of St. Paul's letter to the Romans chapter 8 verses 18-25. Where the Word is proclaimed and the Sacraments are administered according to Christ's institution there the Church is and there the Lord of Heaven and Earth is doing his work. Where one believes the Word written and heard, and receiving the Sacraments, there Christ is doing his work. And Christ is always doing his work among, with and to sinners. The righteous among whom Christ is working are the sinners who are repentant both clinging to his promises and begging for more.
The world offers many reasons to believe that we are all headed for destruction. Nature (metaphor for how the creator Triune God cares for the physical universe and our little globe of it) unleashes fury even though locally it has been pretty mild this year (for which I thank God) but not too far away the flood waters have come up. Months ago the winter made many too cold for comfort and winter storms always set traps for those who feel they must go out and travel when indoors is the best place to stay. And if nature didn't catch us off guard as she keeps a balance on this life sustaining planet we well intentioned mess things up on our own by false assumptions or by accident. I'm all for oil drilling anywhere but in my literal backyard, but I'm completely against oil spills. It's a wasted resource. I'm also for nuclear, geothermal, wind and solar because I believe that they more efficient in the long run and cheaper or at least would be without or human greed factor but now I'm in a tangent and off the main subject. The sin of man is the direct and indirect cause of all trouble. We can make trouble out of anything including an interpretation of something that isn't a problem.
Now on the other hand our God has promised that he is going to destroy the world. He has also promised that he is going to restore it. But in the mean time we live in a fallen corrupted world that God in Christ is committed to save. The historical evidence shows that the Holy Spirit's work moves across the world when and were he wills. In some places the Word has quieted. Was it rejected? Was it just ignored? Is it coming back?
It isn't just nature that demonstrates trouble in the world. Man also multiplies sin in the most temperate and wealthy habitats. Sin is our dealings with one another but mostly our rebellion against our creator. When King David psalmed on to God about how "against you only have I sinned," he wasn't claiming we didn't sin against each other. He was merely stating Christ's claim (on the cross) that 'the sin' stops here. It is in and among sinful man that Christ does his Work. His Work is to redeem sinners. His patience with mankind and even with me goes way beyond my tolerances. And for that I am sincerely thankful. He keeps working salvation in me and building on the promise given me in my baptism as he also does for you. He keeps repeating his word of law and gospel to draw you to himself as redeemed brother or sister. And when I say he keeps repeating, I mean it happens over and over. It is a promise to last a lifetime. He even works on the hard hearted because I am so poor at doing that myself. We have at this time mediums of unprecedented capabilities to bring the Word of Christ into places it could never go before. This internet blog represents only one, but Marconi and several others brought radio, then TV, recordings to the ever shrinking mp3 players and who knows what is coming next...
The final word is this, The all knowing, all powerful and ever present God sees you and has chosen to redeem and love you at the cost of incarnation and experiencing our eternal punishment in the time spent on the cross so that he dedicate his earnings of life and salvation to you and upon those who he has caught standing in the rain and those who run out in it trying to get on life's way. They find out he is the truth, the way and the Life.
Life goes bad all the time. Christ reminds of and brings resurrection. He is making us right.
In this sense, I hope to be here chronicling the weather. The forecast is Jesus.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Risen Inspite of Unbelief - Belief Inspite of 2000 Years Since.
Discounting for the time being the authorship questions there is some interesting stuff in the last half of the last chapter of the Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Mark. The pen is putting ink to papyrus is many years and miles from the event. Not an excuse, just a perspective. All the Gospels have their uniqueness. This gospel may be given to us, but it's different experience is just as real and just as Christ's.
Jesus is risen from the dead. Death no long has dominion, power or authority over him. He is alive forevermore for us to believe in, trust and rely upon for our life and forgiveness. But it was a complete and unnecessary surprise. The eleven should have known better. All of the disciples should have know better. It was typical even of us. Unbelief was no place Jesus was going to leave any of the called. After all he is risen. They knew this intellectually but didn't grasp it yet with hands and hearts.
The evidence: Jesus predicted both his death on the cross and his resurrection long before holy week. There were witnesses. Sure some were women, but a couple were men we know from the other accounts. And I have no doubt it was hard to believe that a 3 day long dead man was alive. Too good to be true has much more evidence to back it up. We all want the beloved dead to not be dead. But wanting something is not the same as believing that it is true. They were normal people. They were sinners. They had heard the good news. They had eaten with Jesus. They had traveled with him. They had sat at his feet to learn. They saw him do miracles and then even raise the dead! But they knew he was dead and in the tomb.
Could there be a reason that we are any different? All we have are the stories written down so long ago. 'Long ago' is for some an acceptable reason for unbelief. Doubts are rampant in people. Holding on to an erring idea so we don't have to admit error is another one. It keeps popping up in every generation. I hate being wrong. It puts into question my salvation. However, salvation is not mine to create or sustain. But I love finding the truth. The truth comforts. The truth frees. The truth heals. The truth points to Christ as the answer to the question, the pain, the lie, the disease, even death. Salvation is in the hands of one who defeated death with me and you in mind.
Being wrong is sometimes held within a very sincere wrapper of tradition. Who rises from the dead? It's easy to believe someone like Jesus could raise another after seeing him do it before. But once he's gone, who will do the deed? Following is easy when there is a leader. But what to do when the leader dies. What to do when the leader goes into the deep dark woods?
The valley of the shadow of death is dark place. It is infested by wild animals. Some of them are wolves in sheep's clothing. Trusting becomes distracted. Some people are just scared and and are winging it to hide their fear. And we all run screaming at some point. But the valley of the shadow of death is not a place where we follow Jesus to go where he has gone. It is where all people must go, but there Jesus accompanies us who believe, and he brings us through death into life. This is both a spiritual walk of the faith and a literal walk of reality. Jesus resurrection means our resurrection.
Now on after that first day of the week in the evening they were all together. I don't know if we should make anything of them being reclined at the table except it was dinner time and they were relaxing instead of pacing back and forth. Jesus knew just when to find them and where. There you have unbelieved witnesses with the rest of the disciples. That is how the Church is going to be. It is a mixture of those who have and have not seen the risen Lord. Even the ones who have seen don't have much influence it seems.
Jesus stands among them and they are baffled. A ghost? A vision? A resurrection? A scolding! "and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen." Did they deserve it? Of course they did. Of course we do. There are lots of ways we work unbelief or lack of trust into our lives. It mostly deals with really how inward looking we are. When we look in we see ourselves. We may like what we see. We may not. Either way we are looking at ourselves and not our risen Lord and what he is doing still. Navel gazing is a weakness and not necessarily an intentionally malicious act, though it could be. Saul of Tarsus was a real enemy of the Church and of The Christ. Either way, Jesus dealt with it the same. He showed himself to them all. When Jesus shows himself to us in this life it is a very merciful act on his part. His showing became part of his Word. His Word is part and parcel of his actions. But has he shown himself to us? Of course he has. It's easy to scorn this but it is what he has left for us after his ascension. We have the Word and Sacraments. They are the gifts the Holy Spirit uses to do his work. His work is to create and nurture faith with the proclamation of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith when confronted with the reality of those who had seen and believed. Jesus proclaimed to them that seeing wasn't believing. The word proclaimed is believing. Many would come that did not get the same eye to eye, face to face look with Jesus after the ascension. Saul of Tarsus and John are the only two exceptions and John had seen Jesus that night. In fact, he was one who had not seen Jesus in the morning but believed on the basis of the empty tomb according to the other accounts.
Jesus didn't just rebuke the disciples. He gave them the great commission. The same thing was proclaimed in last weeks lessons about Saul. Confronted by the risen Lord, Saul isn't cast away but sent on with a mission of telling the good news of Jesus. The resurrection was to be told to the whole world with this action; baptism. They'd already been given the Supper, baptism and according to John the absolution. But here Jesus tells them what the proclamation is is all about. It is baptism. The vast world will not see the marks in his hands and feet nor side. They will not sit down to a fish breakfast or a roasted fish sandwich dinner. They won't hear the tone of his voice. But they will have baptism. In it the Word is taught as he commanded. One journeys with Jesus into death and the grave and into eternal life. Every Christian has been crucified with Christ, buried with him and risen again. Jesus presence is made to be a part of our experience. Jesus Word is part of our experience of him. We don't have our own life and death to hold up before God the Father and say, "Does this look right enough for you?" We have the very life of Jesus the Father's Christ that he himself holds up over us before the Father and says, "My perfection and fulfillment are here on this one too." And Jesus word is always accepted because he is the trustworthy, obedient son.
Before the world they preached and taught. Signs and wonders Jesus gave them that validated the Gospel for those who believed. For those who rejected their message the signs were absent. And eventually persecution was not. A death in this life took the believers one by one and the Word of Jesus still called many to faith with out the sight of nail holes or spear marks because the Word of Christ does what it promises. It both divides and saves. For some will just not believe. Maybe not until next year. Jesus kept making disciples through his preached Word and Sacraments. Jesus still does so here and there. This Word of Marks along with the other Gospels and the whole of Scripture has saved you from death. And through it a world lives even while it dies. For Christ still Reigns.
Jesus is risen from the dead. Death no long has dominion, power or authority over him. He is alive forevermore for us to believe in, trust and rely upon for our life and forgiveness. But it was a complete and unnecessary surprise. The eleven should have known better. All of the disciples should have know better. It was typical even of us. Unbelief was no place Jesus was going to leave any of the called. After all he is risen. They knew this intellectually but didn't grasp it yet with hands and hearts.
The evidence: Jesus predicted both his death on the cross and his resurrection long before holy week. There were witnesses. Sure some were women, but a couple were men we know from the other accounts. And I have no doubt it was hard to believe that a 3 day long dead man was alive. Too good to be true has much more evidence to back it up. We all want the beloved dead to not be dead. But wanting something is not the same as believing that it is true. They were normal people. They were sinners. They had heard the good news. They had eaten with Jesus. They had traveled with him. They had sat at his feet to learn. They saw him do miracles and then even raise the dead! But they knew he was dead and in the tomb.
Could there be a reason that we are any different? All we have are the stories written down so long ago. 'Long ago' is for some an acceptable reason for unbelief. Doubts are rampant in people. Holding on to an erring idea so we don't have to admit error is another one. It keeps popping up in every generation. I hate being wrong. It puts into question my salvation. However, salvation is not mine to create or sustain. But I love finding the truth. The truth comforts. The truth frees. The truth heals. The truth points to Christ as the answer to the question, the pain, the lie, the disease, even death. Salvation is in the hands of one who defeated death with me and you in mind.
Being wrong is sometimes held within a very sincere wrapper of tradition. Who rises from the dead? It's easy to believe someone like Jesus could raise another after seeing him do it before. But once he's gone, who will do the deed? Following is easy when there is a leader. But what to do when the leader dies. What to do when the leader goes into the deep dark woods?
The valley of the shadow of death is dark place. It is infested by wild animals. Some of them are wolves in sheep's clothing. Trusting becomes distracted. Some people are just scared and and are winging it to hide their fear. And we all run screaming at some point. But the valley of the shadow of death is not a place where we follow Jesus to go where he has gone. It is where all people must go, but there Jesus accompanies us who believe, and he brings us through death into life. This is both a spiritual walk of the faith and a literal walk of reality. Jesus resurrection means our resurrection.
Now on after that first day of the week in the evening they were all together. I don't know if we should make anything of them being reclined at the table except it was dinner time and they were relaxing instead of pacing back and forth. Jesus knew just when to find them and where. There you have unbelieved witnesses with the rest of the disciples. That is how the Church is going to be. It is a mixture of those who have and have not seen the risen Lord. Even the ones who have seen don't have much influence it seems.
Jesus stands among them and they are baffled. A ghost? A vision? A resurrection? A scolding! "and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen." Did they deserve it? Of course they did. Of course we do. There are lots of ways we work unbelief or lack of trust into our lives. It mostly deals with really how inward looking we are. When we look in we see ourselves. We may like what we see. We may not. Either way we are looking at ourselves and not our risen Lord and what he is doing still. Navel gazing is a weakness and not necessarily an intentionally malicious act, though it could be. Saul of Tarsus was a real enemy of the Church and of The Christ. Either way, Jesus dealt with it the same. He showed himself to them all. When Jesus shows himself to us in this life it is a very merciful act on his part. His showing became part of his Word. His Word is part and parcel of his actions. But has he shown himself to us? Of course he has. It's easy to scorn this but it is what he has left for us after his ascension. We have the Word and Sacraments. They are the gifts the Holy Spirit uses to do his work. His work is to create and nurture faith with the proclamation of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith when confronted with the reality of those who had seen and believed. Jesus proclaimed to them that seeing wasn't believing. The word proclaimed is believing. Many would come that did not get the same eye to eye, face to face look with Jesus after the ascension. Saul of Tarsus and John are the only two exceptions and John had seen Jesus that night. In fact, he was one who had not seen Jesus in the morning but believed on the basis of the empty tomb according to the other accounts.
Jesus didn't just rebuke the disciples. He gave them the great commission. The same thing was proclaimed in last weeks lessons about Saul. Confronted by the risen Lord, Saul isn't cast away but sent on with a mission of telling the good news of Jesus. The resurrection was to be told to the whole world with this action; baptism. They'd already been given the Supper, baptism and according to John the absolution. But here Jesus tells them what the proclamation is is all about. It is baptism. The vast world will not see the marks in his hands and feet nor side. They will not sit down to a fish breakfast or a roasted fish sandwich dinner. They won't hear the tone of his voice. But they will have baptism. In it the Word is taught as he commanded. One journeys with Jesus into death and the grave and into eternal life. Every Christian has been crucified with Christ, buried with him and risen again. Jesus presence is made to be a part of our experience. Jesus Word is part of our experience of him. We don't have our own life and death to hold up before God the Father and say, "Does this look right enough for you?" We have the very life of Jesus the Father's Christ that he himself holds up over us before the Father and says, "My perfection and fulfillment are here on this one too." And Jesus word is always accepted because he is the trustworthy, obedient son.
Before the world they preached and taught. Signs and wonders Jesus gave them that validated the Gospel for those who believed. For those who rejected their message the signs were absent. And eventually persecution was not. A death in this life took the believers one by one and the Word of Jesus still called many to faith with out the sight of nail holes or spear marks because the Word of Christ does what it promises. It both divides and saves. For some will just not believe. Maybe not until next year. Jesus kept making disciples through his preached Word and Sacraments. Jesus still does so here and there. This Word of Marks along with the other Gospels and the whole of Scripture has saved you from death. And through it a world lives even while it dies. For Christ still Reigns.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The Mathematics of Sin
I've been substitute teaching math at the Jr. High a couple times this week. That and Todd Wilken's close of the show Thursday got me to thinking.In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and everything that is in them, saw that it was very good and said so. The man and his wife were the pinnacle of this creation and they had the freedom to do anything they wanted and it was good, except to eat from one single tree out of the whole garden. It wasn't a garden in the sense that is staked out in ones back yard but more of a living grocery and feed store for all living creatures of whom the man and his wife cared for, that is both plant and beast. (Hard for us to imagine but Eve likely thought the spiders were all cute as a bug.) Everything they did was good and right. There was no wrong. But there was one prohibition. "Do not eat from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. For the day you eat of it you shall surely die." -God.
One thing not allowed. Everything else imaginable was o.k. I suspect that things we consider off limits in all or limited contexts the two in the garden would have never thought of anyway. But that is besides the point. All things were permitted in the sense that they could do no wrong because they were created good and perfect. The contrast comes in after the temptation and Eve's choosing to listen to the serpent rather than the words of her God and Father. It was not just a single event that she pondered and decided never to do again. One sin leads to another. (Perhaps I should have titled this the "Dominoes of Sin" or "How Lays Potato Chips Got it's Advertising Started" I am a self identified chipoholic) "She gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate it." The man chose to follow the example of his wife rather than listen to the Word of his God and Father. Before they could fulfill their blessing to be fruitful and multiply they added one sin to another to equal a less than rich inheritance for all the world's children to follow, death. Not just lack of breathe or rotting, but a separation they and we have consistently blamed the creator for when all the evidence points back to us for fault and blame. It is us who have missed the mark, crossed the out of bounds line, taken rather than given. We blame God for making one food rule when more than we could eat was free just for the picking. We had true wisdom and traded it for a lie and we keep doing the same thing over and over and for each additional sin we commit we blame God again.
What was once one prohibition that was easy to honor has now become a life of full death.
Food was to keep us nourished and alive. Now we have limited choices in many places, lack of good food, food borne illness, tooth decay, cholesterol, obesity, anorexia diabetes, hypoglycemia and just plane picky eaters at our tables. But is more than that. We fight over water rights and food laws. Sin is more than just an eating disorder among us. Sin permeates every aspect of our lives because food wasn't the issue in sin. It was whose word we were listening to, the devil's, our own or our God and Father?
There is no activity in the world in which we are involved that is not stained and ruined by our sin. Of all the things that we can do with modern technology and careful planning there is nothing we can do that is completely right. At best we are left with the lesser of evils. "There is not one who does good, no, not one."
While this means utter destruction, God the Father isn't about to let his creation destroy itself. He will do that himself. (and creatively at that) Yet He started over without destroying anything. The world was going to go his way even if it killed him.
Enter the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. That is Jesus enters our equation. The separation of sinful man and God has an new element in the problem. The Son of God has always been active in the world but when he took on human flesh to be borne of the Virgin Mary the multiplication of sin and sinners was about to meet the 'greater than' sign >. God in the person of Jesus the Christ came into this world of chaos. He did not come as a chaotician. He came as the second Adam. Borne of a virgin conceived by the Holy Spirit he was a flesh and blood human who was not stained by sin and listened to his God and Father instead of a word that would promise him personal glory. "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.'" He did not come to teach us how to add up the good works for God and subtract all the evil deed from our life. He did come to divide the believers from the unbelievers, but that is more of a faith issue rather than a mathematical one. That kind of division is just plain hell.
Jesus as the second Adam is the first one to live out a perfect life. But perfection alone isn't enough here, because he came not to live perfectly for himself but in place of all. One in place of every single person ever. And this was accomplished by his life being greater than ours. And then being greater than ours> he took our countless sins and infinite guilt to his one death on the cross. He became death for us. His death was not a simple matter of joining us in the life ending process by means of asphyxiation or blood loss or trauma or even the trite, 'It was his time', but having to cry out to his heavenly Father "Why have you forsaken me." and not hearing an answer. I suspect he said these words for our understanding of the atonement full well knowing that his God and Father wasn't listening to this one full of the world's sin. He went from the favored of the Lord to being the disfavored. An eternity of separation from his God and Father with whom he had already spent an eternity was placed into 6 hours of agony before those wonderful words of Jesus, "It is finished."
Our sin, all our sin is subtracted by Jesus. Yet we are not left with a zero either. All his life, the wholeness of his life, every good work, every good thought, his very perfect person is added to us. In God's accounting ledger we are complete. This the Holy Spirit continues in us through Word and Sacrament all our days in this life until we carried by Christ into the grave and out again into the life in heaven where there is the freedom to do without there being any sin ever.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Not always as they seem
It didn't cancel the Divine Service but it did convince sensible people to stay home in the warmth of their central heat and off the maybe icy streets. (They weren't icy but it was pretty white this morning.) Believing that Christ still reigns/rains I ventured out earlier with family to shovel walks and conduct Bible Class and lead LSB setting three (the old TLH page 15). 21 of the visible Church were in attendance. I couldn't count the others. Not just because I can't make out all the company of heaven with these weak eyes, but because if I could see and hear them it would take longer than we have during the reception of the offerings to get a head count that large so I just don't bother.)
Now YHWH said through Isaiah the prophet recorded in today's OT lesson that he was doing something new and "do you not perceive it?" Too often I don't. More often the Lord repeats himself for my benefit and the benefit of others, both believers and the rest. A road through the desert I can understand with my 21st century technology and engineering, but what would be the point in going through nothingness. On the other hand, wild beasts (dragons too?) that sit up and pant waiting for a scratch behind the ears, springs and rivers in a desert. These things would be new and near to unbelievable. But these are but illustrations that God uses to get his point across. Water to drink for his people reminds me of Jesus talking about the coming and giving of the Holy Spirit that will become in us a spring welling up to everlasting life.
For His own purpose YHWH takes care of his people. The result is praise, but that's the consequence not the immediate point. We have a god that is bound and determined to take care of us. And not just take care of us. He is bound and determined to save us from ourselves, from sin, death and the devil.
This salvation is not due to some effort on our part. There is no earning favor. Sure there are lots of wonderful, selfless deeds done by honorable men and women across the world. There are even some done that look good but are done by less honorable or dishonorable because they see a temporal reward attached. And they actually accomplish much. But like the pharisees who disfigure their faces when fasting or pray flashy prayers in public they have received their reward.
The real motivation for helping others is in knowing that no reward is needed because we belong to The Reward. And then it is Christ doing his work in and through us as if we were just some old tool or note pad and pencil.
But I move to past the end of the story again. So tempting to do even in Lent.
The new thing is that God incarnate is at work. Jesus was there in the beginning without whom nothing was made that was made. Man in his desire to be more than perfect tried to add the knowledge of evil with the good that he was and corrupted everything including himself in the process. If the Father wasn't working 24/7 to preserve the world (even on the Sabbath Jesus adds) we would have self destructed and rotted a long time ago. The inevitable is just postponed. But then there's this new thing....
Jesus is the Son of God incarnate. Jesus has come to more than set things right but to be the instigator of a new creation. He may be the second Adam, but he's the first one to get life right. He is not starting over with humanity, he is redeeming us.
Redemption is more complicated than buying back. It isn't a cash, check or charge thing. Not even true hard currency like gold or silver will suffice. His life blood is the price. His life is the price. Look more extensively than just the narrow view of Good Friday and Easter Sunday to get the full view Christ's saving Work. The Son of God has been at work here doing his stuff since before the foundation of the world. All that overtime and not one accident or mistake. It is enough to satisfy Wrath when he cashes it in on the cross. Enough to pay for every single human life and their wicked deeds. More than enough to pay for mine even when I humbly think that I've over done my sinning past the limit and safety factor. The dividends go back to the beginning of time and forward past the present through faith apprehended sacrifices, Word and Sacrament ministry. And if you sincerely think you are a bigger sinner than I am, I've got good news for you. You aren't near as big a sinner as Jesus is a Savior.
The new thing is God in Christ is doing everything to declare you as a pure and holy child of the heavenly Father. All we do is live forever in his gracious, glorious presence; grave not withstanding. It didn't hold Jesus in, it won't hold his brothers and sisters either.
There I go skipping to the end of the story again. Or should I say, the eternity of the story.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
I love the fog
I love the fog. It's mysterious. I hides things distant until the get close and suddenly appear. And relatively speaking then it offers a seclusion or privacy. The world does not exist past your field of vision. Not good for driving, but otherwise, fun. At night it is foreboding. The darkness is closer and darker. You are alone.
A long time ago from my point of view Moses died and not as long ago, but still a long time from my point of view Elijah rode a tornado up to heaven. Moses went before Israel received his inheritance and Elijah went up as Israel was squandering it. The glory days of Israel just couldn't quite come together under the direction of sinful man. David and Solomon gave us a pretty good hint, but it was full of flaws even with them calling the shots. Nobody could see past their own short sightedness. Selfishness, pride and corruption always raises it's ugly head.
In the fullness of time the Son of God is born into the land of promise without the wisdom and compassion of God in his ear and on his tongue. On a mountain top with three of his disciples in tow the fog sets in. Scripture calls it a cloud. It's just fog when you are inside it and can't see the outside world. Nobody could see in. Nobody could see out. It was secluded, private. This was no ordinary fog. Jesus was wearing his heavenly best. He was wearing the Glory of God. Moses and Elijah both stood there seeing Jesus as they were accustomed to seeing God and discussing his exodus from Jerusalem. That's code for death. I wonder, "were they just discussing the date on the calendar? Was it a review of the final plans? Could the two be encouraging Jesus with words from the Scriptures?" I suspect the details aren't as important as the fact that God's promise and mercy were about to show the world what He was doing to clear up all the haze from our eyes, hearts and lives. Jesus was going to Jerusalem to die for the sins of all the people of the world. The creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them was going to experience as a man the consequence of man's wrongs and rebellion. The fog was going to be lifted. No longer like Adam and Eve will we need to hide from the view of God (as if we could anyway, but we tell ourselves we can because we don't see him). Since Christ has atoned for our sin we are invited and called into the Father's presence. The Son hosts a banquet in which he gives to us his very body and blood to eat and to drink to deliver forgiveness into our very mouths sustaining us in this life and showing us the glory of the life to come. The light of Christ takes away all fear.
A long time ago from my point of view Moses died and not as long ago, but still a long time from my point of view Elijah rode a tornado up to heaven. Moses went before Israel received his inheritance and Elijah went up as Israel was squandering it. The glory days of Israel just couldn't quite come together under the direction of sinful man. David and Solomon gave us a pretty good hint, but it was full of flaws even with them calling the shots. Nobody could see past their own short sightedness. Selfishness, pride and corruption always raises it's ugly head.
In the fullness of time the Son of God is born into the land of promise without the wisdom and compassion of God in his ear and on his tongue. On a mountain top with three of his disciples in tow the fog sets in. Scripture calls it a cloud. It's just fog when you are inside it and can't see the outside world. Nobody could see in. Nobody could see out. It was secluded, private. This was no ordinary fog. Jesus was wearing his heavenly best. He was wearing the Glory of God. Moses and Elijah both stood there seeing Jesus as they were accustomed to seeing God and discussing his exodus from Jerusalem. That's code for death. I wonder, "were they just discussing the date on the calendar? Was it a review of the final plans? Could the two be encouraging Jesus with words from the Scriptures?" I suspect the details aren't as important as the fact that God's promise and mercy were about to show the world what He was doing to clear up all the haze from our eyes, hearts and lives. Jesus was going to Jerusalem to die for the sins of all the people of the world. The creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them was going to experience as a man the consequence of man's wrongs and rebellion. The fog was going to be lifted. No longer like Adam and Eve will we need to hide from the view of God (as if we could anyway, but we tell ourselves we can because we don't see him). Since Christ has atoned for our sin we are invited and called into the Father's presence. The Son hosts a banquet in which he gives to us his very body and blood to eat and to drink to deliver forgiveness into our very mouths sustaining us in this life and showing us the glory of the life to come. The light of Christ takes away all fear.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Forecast: A proclaimed Incarnate, Crucified, Risen and Ascended Christ
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
Honestly, I hate the rain. Didn't used to mind it at all, but when it comes and stays it becomes unnerving. It's simple geography. Here in this part of the country the ground doesn't soak up the rain very well. Lots of clay here. So the yard gets very wet and squishy and stays that way for weeks and even months at a time. It ruins parades, picnics, sunning and bike rides. On the other hand, drought doesn't make our grass wither here until maybe August. Mowing is good exercise when you push an acre.
But I digress.
This is an opportunity for me to muse and share about the faith delivered to the Saints. I'm not speaking in the Roman sense, but the Scriptural sense, the believers in Christ. The ones through the ages who have stood their ground against teeth, blade, slander, the sinful self, nature and all the assaults of the devil because the Word of Christ held them up. It picked them up when they fell on their own accord or at the invitation of temptation. The Christ who spoke his Word of promise made good on his promise unto their death because they were already part of his. Baptism. Water and the Word.
It's the kind of wet I don't mind at all.
Honestly, I hate the rain. Didn't used to mind it at all, but when it comes and stays it becomes unnerving. It's simple geography. Here in this part of the country the ground doesn't soak up the rain very well. Lots of clay here. So the yard gets very wet and squishy and stays that way for weeks and even months at a time. It ruins parades, picnics, sunning and bike rides. On the other hand, drought doesn't make our grass wither here until maybe August. Mowing is good exercise when you push an acre.
But I digress.
This is an opportunity for me to muse and share about the faith delivered to the Saints. I'm not speaking in the Roman sense, but the Scriptural sense, the believers in Christ. The ones through the ages who have stood their ground against teeth, blade, slander, the sinful self, nature and all the assaults of the devil because the Word of Christ held them up. It picked them up when they fell on their own accord or at the invitation of temptation. The Christ who spoke his Word of promise made good on his promise unto their death because they were already part of his. Baptism. Water and the Word.
It's the kind of wet I don't mind at all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
