This was today's writing from Treasury of Daily Prayer. It is from Dr. Luther on the widow of Nain story from the Gospel of Luke (11:11-17). Before I share Luther's words, this story always catches me because this story was read on Sunday before I received word from my friend Matt that his mother had passed away. Matt and I were sophomores in college at that time. Every three years when this lesson is read, I mark time and think back to that occasion. Matt is wonderful man, full of common sense and intelligence, a devoted husband and father. His mother would be so thrilled at how Matt and his two brothers have turned out.
From the Gospel of today and from the son of the widow we should learn to perceive the great power which God, through Christ, will apply to us at the last day, when, by a word, He will recall to life all men and give everlasting salvation to believers. This will be done in the twinkling of an eye, in order that we may not doubt in the least either the power of our Lord Jesus to do this or His will gladly to do it. For here we have the example. The son of the widow is dead; he has lost the gift of hearing and all other senses. But when Christ speaks to him, he hears. This is certainly a strange and wonderful incident. He that does not hear, hears; and he that does not live, lives. Nothing is done but that Christ opens his mouth and bids him arise. The single word is so powerful that death has to vanish and life return.
Before the Lord death is not death at all. For us it is called and is death when we die. But before God it is a light sleep which could not be any lighter.
These very facts our Lord Jesus wishes to impress upon our minds, so that we may not fear when pestilence and death itself draw near, but that we may learn to say: O death, what can you do even in your worst form? You have terrible teeth, which you show to frighten me, for I do not like to die. But I will not merely behold your work when you, like an executioner, draw the sword; but I will remember what our Lord can and will do when you have slain me; namely, that He is not afraid of you and does not care for you raging and destroying, but says, "O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction." If you can kill my Christians, I can destroy you and recall them to life again.
I'll simply add: Alleluia! He is risen indeed!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Pleasures...
-watching the boys ride their bikes while we take a walk behind them.
-pulling a weed from my flower garden out by the roots and knowing that weed will not come back!
-knowing that the two littlest ones are sleeping and that the biggest one can entertain himself so I can nap on the couch for an hour!
-knowing that the sun is shining, hot dogs and brats are in the fridge, and that the weather will be nice enough to grill 'em up for dinner tonight.
-having a full house in church for the hearing of the Word and the celebration of the Sacrament.
Want to share your pleasures? Please feel free.
-pulling a weed from my flower garden out by the roots and knowing that weed will not come back!
-knowing that the two littlest ones are sleeping and that the biggest one can entertain himself so I can nap on the couch for an hour!
-knowing that the sun is shining, hot dogs and brats are in the fridge, and that the weather will be nice enough to grill 'em up for dinner tonight.
-having a full house in church for the hearing of the Word and the celebration of the Sacrament.
Want to share your pleasures? Please feel free.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Ponderables
"Sometimes when God closes a door, He locks you in the room."
"When life gives you lemons, sometimes they are just lemons."
Overheard on Issues Etc in a conversation on the goodness of God. Great comments, great discussion. No pollyanna-ish theology of glory, just plain Gospel hope and Gospel reality!
"When life gives you lemons, sometimes they are just lemons."
Overheard on Issues Etc in a conversation on the goodness of God. Great comments, great discussion. No pollyanna-ish theology of glory, just plain Gospel hope and Gospel reality!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Returning...
from an absence, I will once again attempt to put the service info for the coming week on the blog. It was one thing that didn't get done during the great days of Lent and Holy Week. So, here is the information for our service on April 18:
hymns
478 The Day of Resurrection
485 Long Before the World is Waking
488 He is Arisen! Glorious Word
688 "Come, Follow Me," the Savior Spake
629 What Is This Bread
949 Heavenly Hosts in Ceaseless Worship
Joy Dawned Again on Easter Day (uses the tune to 344) Text will be printed in the bulletin
Lessons
Acts 9:1-22
Psalm 30
Revelation 5:8-14
John 21:1-14
Prayer of the Day
O God, through the humiliation of Your Son You raised up the fallen world. Grant to Your faithful people, rescued from the peril of everlasting death, perpetual gladness and eternal joy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
hymns
478 The Day of Resurrection
485 Long Before the World is Waking
488 He is Arisen! Glorious Word
688 "Come, Follow Me," the Savior Spake
629 What Is This Bread
949 Heavenly Hosts in Ceaseless Worship
Joy Dawned Again on Easter Day (uses the tune to 344) Text will be printed in the bulletin
Lessons
Acts 9:1-22
Psalm 30
Revelation 5:8-14
John 21:1-14
Prayer of the Day
O God, through the humiliation of Your Son You raised up the fallen world. Grant to Your faithful people, rescued from the peril of everlasting death, perpetual gladness and eternal joy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
Easter 2
April 11, 2010
Acts 5:32; Rev. 1:17-18; John 20:31
A Living Gospel
In the name of our risen Savior Jesus, amen. It is all over the wonderful lessons for this Sunday. Could you hear with your ears the focus on the eyes? Could you feel how important the sense of sight was, and is? Throughout the Easter season, there will not be an Old Testament lesson, but rather a First Lesson, from the Acts of the Apostles, as we see God’s church in action following the resurrection and ascension of Christ. In the lesson from Revelation, John mentions what he is blessed to see with his two eyes. And that beautiful gospel lesson from John informs us that many other signs were done by Jesus in the presence of the disciples that are not written down, yet were performed. But these things are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
The resurrection of Christ was no secret thing. For that matter, the crucifixion was done out in the open. Archaeologists believe that Calvary, Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, was located along a well-traveled road. Simon of Cyrene would have been traveling, and would have been pressed into service to carry Jesus’ cross. Citizens of Jerusalem would have seen what was done to criminals, and they would have known that the government doesn’t mess around. So nothing was done clandestinely, in secret, under a shroud. The death and resurrection of Jesus was done in plain sight.
The Good News of humanity’s salvation was lived out in plain sight through the activities of the followers of Jesus. Sent from the Father for the salvation of the world, Jesus then sent out His followers to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The apostles taught. The apostles healed. The apostles were arrested, hauled before the authorities, were jailed, were told to stop, and when they were released from prison, they went on proclaiming the name of Jesus, teaching, praying, healing. “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
The followers of Jesus were living out the Good News life of the forgiveness of sins. The followers were meek. They all ran away. Some women watched the crucifixion from a distance because they didn’t want to get too close. Only John the Beloved was at the cross. Doubting Thomas wouldn’t believe until he saw the sacred scars. But yet the followers of Jesus were sent and strengthened to be agents of the Good News for the world. They were doing the very things that Christ Himself had done while He was still present on this earth. With tremendous power the apostles were healing all that were brought to them. People laid the mats that the sick and diseased were laying on down in front of the disciples in the hopes that the shadows of Peter, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, or Bartholomew would fall on them.
By the grace of God the apostles were a living Gospel. By the grace of God, Mary Magdalene was a living Gospel as she obeyed the command of Jesus to go to his brothers and tell them that she had seen the Lord. By the grace of God we are a living Gospel. Freed from our sin by the blood shed on the cross we have been made into a kingdom, priests to our God and Father. The kingdom of heaven is visible on earth as God’s people, redeemed sinners, gather to hear the Word, to receive all that Christ is when we receive the body and blood of Christ in the communion meal. The kingdom of heaven is then dispersed with the blessing of the Triune God to go out into this world to be a living Gospel for people who are hungering and thirsting for some solid food, for some refreshing drink.
God strengthens us and fortifies us to be a living Gospel, agents of grace, bestowers of peace to a world that is dying in a false hope, to a world that treats grace as weakness, that believes that peace can be manufactured by human means.
Even though the doors were locked, and the disciples were huddled together pondering the future, perhaps pondering their own demise, Jesus came and stood among them, bringing His peace. He stretched out his hands, showing his scars. He spoke directly to Thomas, “Put your hands here. Put your hands into my side.”
Did you examine the bulletin cover this morning? The wide eyes, the open mouth, the hand stretching forth.
There is Jesus, calmly looking at Thomas, offering the peace that only God can provide. Jesus was living, risen from the dead just as he told the disciples he would. The cross was real. The blood was red. Jesus was dead. Now in front of his beloved disciples, Jesus was standing, living, breathing on them the Holy Spirit and sending them out to be gospelers, good newsers, forgivers, lovers, teachers, mercyers. The weak apostles of God were sent by God to stretch out their hands and point: to the cross, to the empty tomb, to the Word, to the altar.
Jesus is still living and Jesus is still sending. God calls and gathers us and God dismisses us and sends us with his blessing, with the authority of Christ. In our family, we exercise the authority of Christ to forgive the sins of those who sin against us. We teach our children, we demonstrate in our relationships with neighbors, coworkers, and strangers.
God has made us living Gospels for the sake of the world around us because, and only because Christ is living. The Good News of God is that our sins are forgiven and we are set free because of the cross, because of the empty tomb. We are set free to be a living Gospel that can be seen, heard, felt. Christ is living and we have life in His name. SDG
April 11, 2010
Acts 5:32; Rev. 1:17-18; John 20:31
A Living Gospel
In the name of our risen Savior Jesus, amen. It is all over the wonderful lessons for this Sunday. Could you hear with your ears the focus on the eyes? Could you feel how important the sense of sight was, and is? Throughout the Easter season, there will not be an Old Testament lesson, but rather a First Lesson, from the Acts of the Apostles, as we see God’s church in action following the resurrection and ascension of Christ. In the lesson from Revelation, John mentions what he is blessed to see with his two eyes. And that beautiful gospel lesson from John informs us that many other signs were done by Jesus in the presence of the disciples that are not written down, yet were performed. But these things are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
The resurrection of Christ was no secret thing. For that matter, the crucifixion was done out in the open. Archaeologists believe that Calvary, Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, was located along a well-traveled road. Simon of Cyrene would have been traveling, and would have been pressed into service to carry Jesus’ cross. Citizens of Jerusalem would have seen what was done to criminals, and they would have known that the government doesn’t mess around. So nothing was done clandestinely, in secret, under a shroud. The death and resurrection of Jesus was done in plain sight.
The Good News of humanity’s salvation was lived out in plain sight through the activities of the followers of Jesus. Sent from the Father for the salvation of the world, Jesus then sent out His followers to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The apostles taught. The apostles healed. The apostles were arrested, hauled before the authorities, were jailed, were told to stop, and when they were released from prison, they went on proclaiming the name of Jesus, teaching, praying, healing. “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
The followers of Jesus were living out the Good News life of the forgiveness of sins. The followers were meek. They all ran away. Some women watched the crucifixion from a distance because they didn’t want to get too close. Only John the Beloved was at the cross. Doubting Thomas wouldn’t believe until he saw the sacred scars. But yet the followers of Jesus were sent and strengthened to be agents of the Good News for the world. They were doing the very things that Christ Himself had done while He was still present on this earth. With tremendous power the apostles were healing all that were brought to them. People laid the mats that the sick and diseased were laying on down in front of the disciples in the hopes that the shadows of Peter, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, or Bartholomew would fall on them.
By the grace of God the apostles were a living Gospel. By the grace of God, Mary Magdalene was a living Gospel as she obeyed the command of Jesus to go to his brothers and tell them that she had seen the Lord. By the grace of God we are a living Gospel. Freed from our sin by the blood shed on the cross we have been made into a kingdom, priests to our God and Father. The kingdom of heaven is visible on earth as God’s people, redeemed sinners, gather to hear the Word, to receive all that Christ is when we receive the body and blood of Christ in the communion meal. The kingdom of heaven is then dispersed with the blessing of the Triune God to go out into this world to be a living Gospel for people who are hungering and thirsting for some solid food, for some refreshing drink.
God strengthens us and fortifies us to be a living Gospel, agents of grace, bestowers of peace to a world that is dying in a false hope, to a world that treats grace as weakness, that believes that peace can be manufactured by human means.
Even though the doors were locked, and the disciples were huddled together pondering the future, perhaps pondering their own demise, Jesus came and stood among them, bringing His peace. He stretched out his hands, showing his scars. He spoke directly to Thomas, “Put your hands here. Put your hands into my side.”
Did you examine the bulletin cover this morning? The wide eyes, the open mouth, the hand stretching forth.
There is Jesus, calmly looking at Thomas, offering the peace that only God can provide. Jesus was living, risen from the dead just as he told the disciples he would. The cross was real. The blood was red. Jesus was dead. Now in front of his beloved disciples, Jesus was standing, living, breathing on them the Holy Spirit and sending them out to be gospelers, good newsers, forgivers, lovers, teachers, mercyers. The weak apostles of God were sent by God to stretch out their hands and point: to the cross, to the empty tomb, to the Word, to the altar.
Jesus is still living and Jesus is still sending. God calls and gathers us and God dismisses us and sends us with his blessing, with the authority of Christ. In our family, we exercise the authority of Christ to forgive the sins of those who sin against us. We teach our children, we demonstrate in our relationships with neighbors, coworkers, and strangers.
God has made us living Gospels for the sake of the world around us because, and only because Christ is living. The Good News of God is that our sins are forgiven and we are set free because of the cross, because of the empty tomb. We are set free to be a living Gospel that can be seen, heard, felt. Christ is living and we have life in His name. SDG
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Late Easter Sermon
Easter (Late Service)
April 4, 2010
So What? Now What?
In the name of our risen Lord Jesus, amen. In a similar fashion to Christmas, the Easter holiday is becoming increasingly generic. Easter decorations are all about bunnies and eggs, not crosses or empty tombs. There is no reflection on the resurrection. We come to Easter and many people ask ‘So what’?
There are very few people who deny the historical fact of the crucifixion of Jesus. Yet there are many, many people who deny the resurrection of Jesus. It is not just the Bible that records Jesus’ death, but it is also Jewish history that records the death of a man named the Christ who had lots of fervent followers.
So he died. Big deal? So what? Lots of people die, thousands die everyday. Tens die by suicide bomber. Hundreds die in explosions. Thousands die in natural disasters. So what if Jesus died? He didn’t rise again because resurrection can’t happen.
The followers of Christ stole the body. They overpowered the guards, rolled the stone away and took the dead body of Jesus and then spread the lie that Jesus lives.
The women went to the wrong tomb. It was getting dark when they buried Jesus. It was early in the morning when they went to finish Jesus’ burial. They went to the wrong tomb, to one that was waiting for a dead body, so of course the tomb was empty.
Or perhaps Jesus wasn’t really dead. It was the soldier’s fault. They broke the legs of the thieves to speed up death but they didn’t do that to Jesus. They did stab him with a spear and water and blood came out, but that doesn’t prove that Jesus was dead. He passed out, fainted. They wrapped up his body and laid him in the tomb. The cold air revived him, he regained his strength, and he slipped out of the sepulcher.
Resurrection-deniers have put forth various theories about why the resurrection never happened. The most logical theory is that resurrection is impossible. How many dead people have you talked with recently?
To be entirely honest, I don’t know how Jesus rose from the dead. To continue being honest, I don’t worry about how Jesus rose from the dead. The beautiful mystery of the resurrection is not to be understood as it is to be believed, to be received for the certain hope and the enduring peace that it brings.
There are many things we do not understand and yet we still manage to go about our day. The resurrection of Jesus is given to us to receive and believe. When the angels came and announced to Peter, to John, to Mary Magdalene that Jesus was no longer in the tomb but was living, the angel didn’t explain how it happened. He simply told them. And the disciples of Jesus believed. They took the news and believed. All had happened just as Jesus had said it would.
Jesus had said many times that he would be betrayed, arrested, tried, suffer, and die. And it all happened. Jesus also said that on the third day he would rise. And according to the angel, it happened.
For you, me, believers throughout the world, believers throughout the centuries, it is not whether a resurrection took place or not, it is what we are able to do with this Good News.
Mary Magdalene was one of the disciples who went to the tomb early in the morning. She went with some other women for the purpose of finishing the burial task. They did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. The other women went back to Jerusalem but Mary stayed behind, sad, bewildered. She met a gardener and she asked if he knew what had happened. All Mary wanted to know was where her Lord had been taken. She wanted to care for her Lord in his death since no one had really cared for him those last few days.
The ‘gardener’ revealed himself to Mary. And Mary’s grief was turned completely around. And Jesus gave Mary the answer to ‘Now what’? Go and tell my brothers that I am alive. And Mary returned the other disciples with the news, “I have seen the Lord!” It was a clear message. She didn’t say that someone told her Jesus was living or that a friend’s second cousin’s brother said that Jesus was alive. Mary’s message was that with her own eyes, with her hands even, she had seen and touched the living Jesus.
Now what? We have been given the message to tell, that Jesus is living and loving. We have been set free from the fear of our sin, from the despair of aimless living, from the meaningless chase of things that don’t satisfy. With a living Christ, we are given a tremendous anchor to hold onto in a stormy society. There is indeed a tremendous amount of fear. People wonder how long they will have their job. People wonder if they can retire when they planned to. People wonder about that lump on the back of their neck and whether or not it will just ‘go away’. Our neighbors worry about putting food on the table and while we worry about having enough money to pay for school supplies for our children.
A living Christ gives us a solid anchor. The stability is found in the tremendous knowledge that the love and forgiveness of God belong to us whether we are rich or poor, healthy or sick. When the bad happens, we have the clarity to see that things are not entirely bad, that there are people who stand with us when we stumble, people who extend a hand to help us stand. When the good occurs, we praise God and give Him the glory. We point to God who has blessed us to be a blessing. Our living Christ holds us fast in this life.
Now what? We live the resurrection triumph of Christ. And that does not ask more of us than what we possess. Living the resurrection triumph of Christ means that we give what we have been given. God has forgiven our sins and so we forgive those who sin against us. God the Father has embraced us and we embrace the hurting, the hopeless, and the helpless.
God the Father through Jesus His Son by the guidance of the Holy Spirit makes us and keeps us Easter people. The death of Jesus Christ and His resurrection are real events. Now what? Now sin is powerless. Now we are free. Now we are strengthened to be the hope and the light of Jesus in this beautiful creation. SDG
April 4, 2010
So What? Now What?
In the name of our risen Lord Jesus, amen. In a similar fashion to Christmas, the Easter holiday is becoming increasingly generic. Easter decorations are all about bunnies and eggs, not crosses or empty tombs. There is no reflection on the resurrection. We come to Easter and many people ask ‘So what’?
There are very few people who deny the historical fact of the crucifixion of Jesus. Yet there are many, many people who deny the resurrection of Jesus. It is not just the Bible that records Jesus’ death, but it is also Jewish history that records the death of a man named the Christ who had lots of fervent followers.
So he died. Big deal? So what? Lots of people die, thousands die everyday. Tens die by suicide bomber. Hundreds die in explosions. Thousands die in natural disasters. So what if Jesus died? He didn’t rise again because resurrection can’t happen.
The followers of Christ stole the body. They overpowered the guards, rolled the stone away and took the dead body of Jesus and then spread the lie that Jesus lives.
The women went to the wrong tomb. It was getting dark when they buried Jesus. It was early in the morning when they went to finish Jesus’ burial. They went to the wrong tomb, to one that was waiting for a dead body, so of course the tomb was empty.
Or perhaps Jesus wasn’t really dead. It was the soldier’s fault. They broke the legs of the thieves to speed up death but they didn’t do that to Jesus. They did stab him with a spear and water and blood came out, but that doesn’t prove that Jesus was dead. He passed out, fainted. They wrapped up his body and laid him in the tomb. The cold air revived him, he regained his strength, and he slipped out of the sepulcher.
Resurrection-deniers have put forth various theories about why the resurrection never happened. The most logical theory is that resurrection is impossible. How many dead people have you talked with recently?
To be entirely honest, I don’t know how Jesus rose from the dead. To continue being honest, I don’t worry about how Jesus rose from the dead. The beautiful mystery of the resurrection is not to be understood as it is to be believed, to be received for the certain hope and the enduring peace that it brings.
There are many things we do not understand and yet we still manage to go about our day. The resurrection of Jesus is given to us to receive and believe. When the angels came and announced to Peter, to John, to Mary Magdalene that Jesus was no longer in the tomb but was living, the angel didn’t explain how it happened. He simply told them. And the disciples of Jesus believed. They took the news and believed. All had happened just as Jesus had said it would.
Jesus had said many times that he would be betrayed, arrested, tried, suffer, and die. And it all happened. Jesus also said that on the third day he would rise. And according to the angel, it happened.
For you, me, believers throughout the world, believers throughout the centuries, it is not whether a resurrection took place or not, it is what we are able to do with this Good News.
Mary Magdalene was one of the disciples who went to the tomb early in the morning. She went with some other women for the purpose of finishing the burial task. They did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. The other women went back to Jerusalem but Mary stayed behind, sad, bewildered. She met a gardener and she asked if he knew what had happened. All Mary wanted to know was where her Lord had been taken. She wanted to care for her Lord in his death since no one had really cared for him those last few days.
The ‘gardener’ revealed himself to Mary. And Mary’s grief was turned completely around. And Jesus gave Mary the answer to ‘Now what’? Go and tell my brothers that I am alive. And Mary returned the other disciples with the news, “I have seen the Lord!” It was a clear message. She didn’t say that someone told her Jesus was living or that a friend’s second cousin’s brother said that Jesus was alive. Mary’s message was that with her own eyes, with her hands even, she had seen and touched the living Jesus.
Now what? We have been given the message to tell, that Jesus is living and loving. We have been set free from the fear of our sin, from the despair of aimless living, from the meaningless chase of things that don’t satisfy. With a living Christ, we are given a tremendous anchor to hold onto in a stormy society. There is indeed a tremendous amount of fear. People wonder how long they will have their job. People wonder if they can retire when they planned to. People wonder about that lump on the back of their neck and whether or not it will just ‘go away’. Our neighbors worry about putting food on the table and while we worry about having enough money to pay for school supplies for our children.
A living Christ gives us a solid anchor. The stability is found in the tremendous knowledge that the love and forgiveness of God belong to us whether we are rich or poor, healthy or sick. When the bad happens, we have the clarity to see that things are not entirely bad, that there are people who stand with us when we stumble, people who extend a hand to help us stand. When the good occurs, we praise God and give Him the glory. We point to God who has blessed us to be a blessing. Our living Christ holds us fast in this life.
Now what? We live the resurrection triumph of Christ. And that does not ask more of us than what we possess. Living the resurrection triumph of Christ means that we give what we have been given. God has forgiven our sins and so we forgive those who sin against us. God the Father has embraced us and we embrace the hurting, the hopeless, and the helpless.
God the Father through Jesus His Son by the guidance of the Holy Spirit makes us and keeps us Easter people. The death of Jesus Christ and His resurrection are real events. Now what? Now sin is powerless. Now we are free. Now we are strengthened to be the hope and the light of Jesus in this beautiful creation. SDG
Early Easter Sermon
Easter (Early Service)
April 4, 2010
John 20:1-18
I Have Seen the Lord
In the name of our Risen Lord Jesus, amen. Everybody has a story. According to amazon.com, in the month of February, there were 200 autobiographies published. Not all of these autobiographies are of the celebrity variety. Average Joes and Janes are writing their stories down and putting them on the market. And February is the shortest month! With new and different ways of publishing, everybody can get their story told. Grandparents are writing their stories for their grandchildren, for the following generations. Everybody has a story.
And this is great news for God’s people. Though we are living in the midst of an increasingly unchristian world, it is not becoming harder to tell the Christian story, but easier! Society is shifting, and I think you are aware of the shift. The shift is from the provable sciences to authentic, truthful personal expression. Authentic, truthful, personal, expression. And that is the great news for us. We have a story because we know the story. Christ is risen!
But storytelling is not as easy as it seems. We have a hard time telling others about the faith and the hope that makes us who we are. Does the political correctness of the world have you tongue-tied over the word “Jesus”? Do you think that there is no room for the Redeemer’s name? Then simply tell your story, share yourself. Tell the story of your hope, your faith, your joy!
People are listening. They value an authentic and sincere story from the heart. And there is absolutely no reason for us to be afraid. Mary Magdalene at first didn’t know what to say and the angel gave her the message, gave her the words. So Mary was able to say, “I have seen the Lord!”
You too will be provided with the words. No, you’re not going to be given a script, but you will be given the words. Were you baptized as an infant, an older child, or an adult? There is a story there. When chaos breaks loose in your life, who do you cling to, what is your response? There is a story there. When your day ends, do you simply fall asleep or do you say a prayer for your family, your loved ones, and the situation at hand? The stories of your life are a witness to what God has done for you. God doesn’t ask us to become street preachers. We are not asked to put a sandwich board on and walk down Main Street proclaiming the end of the world. Share your story in the same way that Mary did. I have seen the Lord! Christ is risen!
Apparently the eyes are the windows the soul. You can determine a lot about someone through their corneas, pupils, and lenses. With the Easter message, we tell the story of the Resurrection with our I’s. God has gathered us together this morning to celebrate the story of the triumph of Christ. My story and your story shares something in common, and it is the story of Jesus, the story of forgiveness, love, hope. It is this story of Jesus, crucified, buried, and risen that keeps us going in this life.
And we get to tell this story. It is not a have-to but a get-to. It is a story of life for today that is a life lived together that will be lived eternally.
Telling the Easter story with our I’s does not make the story about you or me. Telling the story with our I’s is not saying that the Christian faith is true because of all the great faith experiences I have had. Our faith is founded upon the Word of God, the living and eternal Word, the living and eternal Lord Jesus. Christ Jesus has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. Telling our story with our I’s is a genuine way to witness what God has done. After all, it was the apostle Paul who says to us, how can the world believe in Jesus if they haven’t been told about him?
Tell your story, for you have seen the Lord. You see the Lord in the Word. You see the Lord in the waters of Holy Baptism. You see the Lord in the communion meal. You see the Lord as you study the Word together, as you serve the community together, in your prayers, in the kind deeds that flow from a heart of love. We tell our story of hope and joy that carries us through the difficult days and rough patches. We share the story of our faith that solidifies a shaking world. We believe, for we have been told with certainty that our God is not dead, but is living and is loving.
Mary Magdalene had a story to tell. The other women had a story. Peter and John and the rest of the disciples had a story. And we do too. We tell the story with our I’s because our story is the story of Christ living in you.
Everyday we tell the Easter story. We announce to the world that we have a joyous story of eternal life that energizes our life today. We have been forgiven. We have been saved. We have been given a story to tell, that Christ is no longer dead. Christ is risen! Amen
April 4, 2010
John 20:1-18
I Have Seen the Lord
In the name of our Risen Lord Jesus, amen. Everybody has a story. According to amazon.com, in the month of February, there were 200 autobiographies published. Not all of these autobiographies are of the celebrity variety. Average Joes and Janes are writing their stories down and putting them on the market. And February is the shortest month! With new and different ways of publishing, everybody can get their story told. Grandparents are writing their stories for their grandchildren, for the following generations. Everybody has a story.
And this is great news for God’s people. Though we are living in the midst of an increasingly unchristian world, it is not becoming harder to tell the Christian story, but easier! Society is shifting, and I think you are aware of the shift. The shift is from the provable sciences to authentic, truthful personal expression. Authentic, truthful, personal, expression. And that is the great news for us. We have a story because we know the story. Christ is risen!
But storytelling is not as easy as it seems. We have a hard time telling others about the faith and the hope that makes us who we are. Does the political correctness of the world have you tongue-tied over the word “Jesus”? Do you think that there is no room for the Redeemer’s name? Then simply tell your story, share yourself. Tell the story of your hope, your faith, your joy!
People are listening. They value an authentic and sincere story from the heart. And there is absolutely no reason for us to be afraid. Mary Magdalene at first didn’t know what to say and the angel gave her the message, gave her the words. So Mary was able to say, “I have seen the Lord!”
You too will be provided with the words. No, you’re not going to be given a script, but you will be given the words. Were you baptized as an infant, an older child, or an adult? There is a story there. When chaos breaks loose in your life, who do you cling to, what is your response? There is a story there. When your day ends, do you simply fall asleep or do you say a prayer for your family, your loved ones, and the situation at hand? The stories of your life are a witness to what God has done for you. God doesn’t ask us to become street preachers. We are not asked to put a sandwich board on and walk down Main Street proclaiming the end of the world. Share your story in the same way that Mary did. I have seen the Lord! Christ is risen!
Apparently the eyes are the windows the soul. You can determine a lot about someone through their corneas, pupils, and lenses. With the Easter message, we tell the story of the Resurrection with our I’s. God has gathered us together this morning to celebrate the story of the triumph of Christ. My story and your story shares something in common, and it is the story of Jesus, the story of forgiveness, love, hope. It is this story of Jesus, crucified, buried, and risen that keeps us going in this life.
And we get to tell this story. It is not a have-to but a get-to. It is a story of life for today that is a life lived together that will be lived eternally.
Telling the Easter story with our I’s does not make the story about you or me. Telling the story with our I’s is not saying that the Christian faith is true because of all the great faith experiences I have had. Our faith is founded upon the Word of God, the living and eternal Word, the living and eternal Lord Jesus. Christ Jesus has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. Telling our story with our I’s is a genuine way to witness what God has done. After all, it was the apostle Paul who says to us, how can the world believe in Jesus if they haven’t been told about him?
Tell your story, for you have seen the Lord. You see the Lord in the Word. You see the Lord in the waters of Holy Baptism. You see the Lord in the communion meal. You see the Lord as you study the Word together, as you serve the community together, in your prayers, in the kind deeds that flow from a heart of love. We tell our story of hope and joy that carries us through the difficult days and rough patches. We share the story of our faith that solidifies a shaking world. We believe, for we have been told with certainty that our God is not dead, but is living and is loving.
Mary Magdalene had a story to tell. The other women had a story. Peter and John and the rest of the disciples had a story. And we do too. We tell the story with our I’s because our story is the story of Christ living in you.
Everyday we tell the Easter story. We announce to the world that we have a joyous story of eternal life that energizes our life today. We have been forgiven. We have been saved. We have been given a story to tell, that Christ is no longer dead. Christ is risen! Amen
Joy to the Heart!
Hello. Back from a few days away from the office. The services at Holy Week were simply wonderful. Maundy Thursday, the Chief Service on Good Friday, two services on Easter...simply wonderful and a joy to plan and lead.
My parents and my brother's family came to spend the days with us. On Saturday we went to Longwood to take advantage of our membership. The boys got to climb the new treehouses and Mom enjoyed the orchid displays. For some reason, orchids have never done it for me. They're nice but they don't hold any special place. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths...those are more my thing.
I'll get back to posting various things from Matt Harrison's new book "A Little Book on Joy: Living a Good News Life in a Bad News World" and I'll post my Easter sermons for you.
My parents and my brother's family came to spend the days with us. On Saturday we went to Longwood to take advantage of our membership. The boys got to climb the new treehouses and Mom enjoyed the orchid displays. For some reason, orchids have never done it for me. They're nice but they don't hold any special place. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths...those are more my thing.
I'll get back to posting various things from Matt Harrison's new book "A Little Book on Joy: Living a Good News Life in a Bad News World" and I'll post my Easter sermons for you.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Fearless predictions
Here is something for the baseball-philes out there. Most every year I forecast the season and will attempt to do so now.
American League
East- Yankees
Central- Twins
West- Angels
Wild Card- Rays
National League
East- Phillies
Central- Cardinals
West- No clue. Dodgers maybe but I'm not confident of that.
Wild Card- Braves
I like the Yankees and the Cardinals to reach the World Series. I think the Yankees are built for the regular and the post season. The Cardinals and the Phillies both have some questions but I think the Phillies have more. Bullpen is a big question for both teams and the Cardinals have the edge in starting pitching. For the Phillies, after Halladay, who is the big guy? Hamels could be it but he's been up and down.
American League
East- Yankees
Central- Twins
West- Angels
Wild Card- Rays
National League
East- Phillies
Central- Cardinals
West- No clue. Dodgers maybe but I'm not confident of that.
Wild Card- Braves
I like the Yankees and the Cardinals to reach the World Series. I think the Yankees are built for the regular and the post season. The Cardinals and the Phillies both have some questions but I think the Phillies have more. Bullpen is a big question for both teams and the Cardinals have the edge in starting pitching. For the Phillies, after Halladay, who is the big guy? Hamels could be it but he's been up and down.
Worship into all the world
Sadly, realistically, amongst Lutheranism, worship wars exist. And these wars center around the very heart of worship. Why are we gathered at a certain time on a certain day?
As I have aged, my understanding of worship has changed, and continues to do so (I hope). The more we can lift up the rich traditions that have been handed down to us, and the more we seek to understand how these traditions came to be and why they are done, the more grounded and relevant our worship and our faith will be to us. And if we are certain of our faith and trustingly believe the Gospel message, the more relevant we will appear to the world around us. We will be who we are, and more than that, we will be who God has made us to be.
Check out this video segment of Lutheran Christians in Africa. They are singing from a new French-speaking hymnal. This worship is neither traditional or contemporary, labels that mean nothing and help no one. It is simply worship. And it is grand. Cut and paste the http into your search engine.
Here is a YouTube video of a congregation singing at the Seminary in Dapaong, Togo - Africa on Feb 29, 2010. They are singing “Dearest Jesus We Are Here” from the Liturgies et cantiques luthériens. http://bit.ly/9cjuqM
As I have aged, my understanding of worship has changed, and continues to do so (I hope). The more we can lift up the rich traditions that have been handed down to us, and the more we seek to understand how these traditions came to be and why they are done, the more grounded and relevant our worship and our faith will be to us. And if we are certain of our faith and trustingly believe the Gospel message, the more relevant we will appear to the world around us. We will be who we are, and more than that, we will be who God has made us to be.
Check out this video segment of Lutheran Christians in Africa. They are singing from a new French-speaking hymnal. This worship is neither traditional or contemporary, labels that mean nothing and help no one. It is simply worship. And it is grand. Cut and paste the http into your search engine.
Here is a YouTube video of a congregation singing at the Seminary in Dapaong, Togo - Africa on Feb 29, 2010. They are singing “Dearest Jesus We Are Here” from the Liturgies et cantiques luthériens. http://bit.ly/9cjuqM
Today's Thought on Joy
Judas Conspires with the Authorities: "Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money." {Luke 22:3-5}
How often, Lord, have I been only too happy to betray you, even plotting against you. For you have said, "Whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done it to me." At least Judas did it for money. I most often do it for nothing but vainglory. Forgive me my wretched sins. I gladly die with you. Plunge me into your death by my baptism that I may rejoice again. Amen.
How often, Lord, have I been only too happy to betray you, even plotting against you. For you have said, "Whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done it to me." At least Judas did it for money. I most often do it for nothing but vainglory. Forgive me my wretched sins. I gladly die with you. Plunge me into your death by my baptism that I may rejoice again. Amen.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Today's thought on joy
Day of Controversy and Parables: "His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." {Matthew 25:23}
How many times have I wasted my "talents." How many times have I not been faithful in the little things. Forgive, restore, renew. In Christ I know that I shall nevertheless hear one day, "Enter the joy." Grant it by your mercy, O Savior. Amen.
How many times have I wasted my "talents." How many times have I not been faithful in the little things. Forgive, restore, renew. In Christ I know that I shall nevertheless hear one day, "Enter the joy." Grant it by your mercy, O Savior. Amen.
Stunning!
The mystery of the Sacrament (of Communion) is not to be investigated but adored.
-Loci Communes, Philip Melanchthon
-Loci Communes, Philip Melanchthon
Monday, March 29, 2010
Today's thought on joy
Jesus clears the Temple: "I will bring them to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people." {Isaiah 56:7}
O burning Fire of Righteousness, by my own greed and selfishness, I have established a den of thieves in the temple of my own heart. I am weak! I am lost! Cleanse the temple, Lord! Turn the tables! Forgive my many sins that I may humbly offer you the sacrifice of a broken heart with joy, and joyfully pray to you; through Jesus. Amen.
O burning Fire of Righteousness, by my own greed and selfishness, I have established a den of thieves in the temple of my own heart. I am weak! I am lost! Cleanse the temple, Lord! Turn the tables! Forgive my many sins that I may humbly offer you the sacrifice of a broken heart with joy, and joyfully pray to you; through Jesus. Amen.
Palm Sunday sermon
Palm Sunday
March 28, 2010
John 12:12-19
Make it, Fake it, or Take it?
In the name of Jesus, amen. John’s gospel lesson will be our sermon text this morning and it underlines what I’ve thought for a long time, that the word ‘expectation’ is the cruelest, harshest, most vile four letter word in the English language. Expectation is cruel, harsh, and vile when those expectations are unknown. Because then all sorts of misunderstandings and hurt feelings can arise.
The triumphal entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem was an event loaded with expectation. In reading some of the other gospel accounts of this story, the disciples found everything just as Jesus had told them- the colt tied up just where it was supposed to be, the owner saying just what he was supposed to say. They had their expectations met. And when they saw and heard the commotion, they likely had more expectations come to their mind.
The crowds who spread their cloaks on the ground and waved the palm branches triumphantly had some different ideas. This was a triumphant day. This day appeared to be all that the OT prophecies had foretold. The king was here! Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed be the son of David. Glory, majesty, might, power- all of these thoughts were with the crowd. They expected God to fulfill his promises, and now, right in front of their eyes it was happening.
There were some enemies present who saw this and did not share in the happiness and joy. They had heard that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead and that many people had started to believe in Jesus because of this sign. The Pharisees were being challenged. Their way of life was being threatened. And they thought that something had to be done. They regarded Jesus as a fraud. There were many people who claimed to be the Christ and it was their expectation that Jesus would flame out like all the rest had before him. But their stranglehold on the religious life in the region of Palestine was slipping.
Expectations were probably running pretty high amongst the friends and enemies of Jesus, and among the casual onlookers.
Yet it is obvious to us, quite painfully obvious at times, that expectations go unmet. This life we live seems to go from one letdown to another. Promises are made and then broken. It is disappointing, discouraging, and depressing. Rather than being people who trust other people, we start to trust ourselves. Why look to someone else when I’m only going to get burned. I’d rather not get burned anymore.
And so we start to regard life as something that we make. Make your own happiness. Create your own truth. And you know what, that works in some areas. I fix my own breakfast. I dress myself. If the garden is going to get weeded, I’m going to be the one on my hands and knees pulling those weeds out by the roots. In our work life, if you want a promotion or a raise, you know that you have to show up on time, do what needs to be done, certainly do more than the minimum so you can get noticed. In some areas we can make our life.
And we can make happiness. If a nap makes you happy, you can carve out an hour in the afternoon, close the door to your bedroom, turn off the lights, and close your eyes. If reading a book can make you happy, you have the ability to pick up that book, sit in a comfy chair and lose yourself in the pages.
At times we fake our way through life. We honestly do not know everything and so we pretend that we do. Parents understand that sometimes you have to fake your way through your day. You pretend you know what you are doing, hoping that your kids won’t discover the truth that you have no clue what to do next. We do that in school when we get summoned to the chalkboard and we fake our way through that scientific equation or when we discuss one of Shakespeare’s plays in English class. We fill essays with adjectives and adverbs, hoping that the flowery language will mask the fact that there is no other way we could write a five page paper with just the knowledge in our head.
We fake our way through our jobs. We fake our way through our relationships. We want to give the appearance that we know what we are doing, but the truth is quite the opposite. We cover up our faults. We hide our insecurities behind a fake smile. We bury our emotions beneath the veneer that everything is all right when everything is most definitely not all right. Being wrong is to be avoided. Showing your emotions is a sign of weakness. Admitting that you don’t know everything is viewed as a detriment. Thus we fake our way through our life.
We fake our way towards our salvation. We pretend that we know all the answers, that we know how we are supposed to act, what we are supposed to say in order for God to be pleased with us, in order for God to love us, in order for God to save us.
Palm Sunday presents this relevant truth to us that we cannot make or fake our salvation. Here comes Jesus, riding on a donkey, humbly, lowly, doing what He was sent to do.
This past Thursday we had our very first Annunciation service. The angel Gabriel from heaven came to Mary in Nazareth and told her that she would conceive in her womb and bear a son. Quite logically Mary said, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” Gabriel answered by saying, “With God all things are possible.”
This coming Thursday, in Gethsemane’s garden, Jesus will say, “Abba Father, all things are possible with you.”
It was the will of the Father that Jesus would put on flesh and bone, that he would take up residence in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. And Mary was scorned because of this. You can imagine what the others in Nazareth were saying, pointing at her expanding belly and shaking their heads in pity at a young woman would not admit her wrongdoing. And Joseph? What a fool for not putting her away and washing his hands of the whole situation.
Yet it was the will of the Father that His Son would walk the way of scorn and shame. It was the scorn of the crowds. It was the shame of the cross. It was the scorn of those who hated him. It was the shame of being abandoned by his disciples, completely denied by Peter. That shame, that scorn…that brought to us our salvation. Take it.
You cannot make it and you cannot fake it. All that the Father asks is that we take the salvation that is held out to us and marvelously, joyously receive it!
Take Palm Sunday as the day Jesus came to endure His Passion, His passion for your redemption. Take God’s grace as the opportunity to live as God’s son or daughter, as your opportunity to reflect God’s love to the many people in your life. Take God’s mercy as the beautiful knowledge that in Christ you are forgiven. Unexpected, but true. Take the gift God offers. SDG
March 28, 2010
John 12:12-19
Make it, Fake it, or Take it?
In the name of Jesus, amen. John’s gospel lesson will be our sermon text this morning and it underlines what I’ve thought for a long time, that the word ‘expectation’ is the cruelest, harshest, most vile four letter word in the English language. Expectation is cruel, harsh, and vile when those expectations are unknown. Because then all sorts of misunderstandings and hurt feelings can arise.
The triumphal entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem was an event loaded with expectation. In reading some of the other gospel accounts of this story, the disciples found everything just as Jesus had told them- the colt tied up just where it was supposed to be, the owner saying just what he was supposed to say. They had their expectations met. And when they saw and heard the commotion, they likely had more expectations come to their mind.
The crowds who spread their cloaks on the ground and waved the palm branches triumphantly had some different ideas. This was a triumphant day. This day appeared to be all that the OT prophecies had foretold. The king was here! Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed be the son of David. Glory, majesty, might, power- all of these thoughts were with the crowd. They expected God to fulfill his promises, and now, right in front of their eyes it was happening.
There were some enemies present who saw this and did not share in the happiness and joy. They had heard that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead and that many people had started to believe in Jesus because of this sign. The Pharisees were being challenged. Their way of life was being threatened. And they thought that something had to be done. They regarded Jesus as a fraud. There were many people who claimed to be the Christ and it was their expectation that Jesus would flame out like all the rest had before him. But their stranglehold on the religious life in the region of Palestine was slipping.
Expectations were probably running pretty high amongst the friends and enemies of Jesus, and among the casual onlookers.
Yet it is obvious to us, quite painfully obvious at times, that expectations go unmet. This life we live seems to go from one letdown to another. Promises are made and then broken. It is disappointing, discouraging, and depressing. Rather than being people who trust other people, we start to trust ourselves. Why look to someone else when I’m only going to get burned. I’d rather not get burned anymore.
And so we start to regard life as something that we make. Make your own happiness. Create your own truth. And you know what, that works in some areas. I fix my own breakfast. I dress myself. If the garden is going to get weeded, I’m going to be the one on my hands and knees pulling those weeds out by the roots. In our work life, if you want a promotion or a raise, you know that you have to show up on time, do what needs to be done, certainly do more than the minimum so you can get noticed. In some areas we can make our life.
And we can make happiness. If a nap makes you happy, you can carve out an hour in the afternoon, close the door to your bedroom, turn off the lights, and close your eyes. If reading a book can make you happy, you have the ability to pick up that book, sit in a comfy chair and lose yourself in the pages.
At times we fake our way through life. We honestly do not know everything and so we pretend that we do. Parents understand that sometimes you have to fake your way through your day. You pretend you know what you are doing, hoping that your kids won’t discover the truth that you have no clue what to do next. We do that in school when we get summoned to the chalkboard and we fake our way through that scientific equation or when we discuss one of Shakespeare’s plays in English class. We fill essays with adjectives and adverbs, hoping that the flowery language will mask the fact that there is no other way we could write a five page paper with just the knowledge in our head.
We fake our way through our jobs. We fake our way through our relationships. We want to give the appearance that we know what we are doing, but the truth is quite the opposite. We cover up our faults. We hide our insecurities behind a fake smile. We bury our emotions beneath the veneer that everything is all right when everything is most definitely not all right. Being wrong is to be avoided. Showing your emotions is a sign of weakness. Admitting that you don’t know everything is viewed as a detriment. Thus we fake our way through our life.
We fake our way towards our salvation. We pretend that we know all the answers, that we know how we are supposed to act, what we are supposed to say in order for God to be pleased with us, in order for God to love us, in order for God to save us.
Palm Sunday presents this relevant truth to us that we cannot make or fake our salvation. Here comes Jesus, riding on a donkey, humbly, lowly, doing what He was sent to do.
This past Thursday we had our very first Annunciation service. The angel Gabriel from heaven came to Mary in Nazareth and told her that she would conceive in her womb and bear a son. Quite logically Mary said, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” Gabriel answered by saying, “With God all things are possible.”
This coming Thursday, in Gethsemane’s garden, Jesus will say, “Abba Father, all things are possible with you.”
It was the will of the Father that Jesus would put on flesh and bone, that he would take up residence in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. And Mary was scorned because of this. You can imagine what the others in Nazareth were saying, pointing at her expanding belly and shaking their heads in pity at a young woman would not admit her wrongdoing. And Joseph? What a fool for not putting her away and washing his hands of the whole situation.
Yet it was the will of the Father that His Son would walk the way of scorn and shame. It was the scorn of the crowds. It was the shame of the cross. It was the scorn of those who hated him. It was the shame of being abandoned by his disciples, completely denied by Peter. That shame, that scorn…that brought to us our salvation. Take it.
You cannot make it and you cannot fake it. All that the Father asks is that we take the salvation that is held out to us and marvelously, joyously receive it!
Take Palm Sunday as the day Jesus came to endure His Passion, His passion for your redemption. Take God’s grace as the opportunity to live as God’s son or daughter, as your opportunity to reflect God’s love to the many people in your life. Take God’s mercy as the beautiful knowledge that in Christ you are forgiven. Unexpected, but true. Take the gift God offers. SDG
Friday, March 26, 2010
Annunciation Sermon
Annunciation Vespers
March 25, 2010
Luke 1:26-38
And of His Kingdom there will be no end
In the name of Jesus, amen. In the heart of Lent, as Holy Week is just days away, the Feast of the Annunciation reveals the heart of God, the heart of God overflowing with grace, with mercy, with divine and lasting peace.
The angel Gabriel came down from heaven and did his angel-thing. An angel is a messenger, and Gabriel was one of God’s messengers. Gabriel came not with his own words but with the words of God the Father. And this message concerned God the Son. The message that Gabriel delivered to the virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph concerns us.
Gabriel came with a job to do. He brought a strangely glorious, a confoundingly wonderful message. You, Mary, have found favor with God. Not because of anything Mary had done, as if she had earned God’s favor, but because of what would take place. You will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you will call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. All of that was future, will and shall. But what great promises were given that were set to find fulfillment in nine months!
On this day, Jesus, the eternal Son of the Father, true God, begotten of the Father, took up residence in the protective womb of Mary so that in nine months he would be revealed as Jesus, true man, born of the virgin Mary and our Lord. If we rejoice with exceeding joy at the birth of salvation in December, we also rejoice this day in the work that Gabriel did, announcing the mysterious and marvelous love of God for His humanity.
Gabriel plays an important role, but he is merely a supporting character. The blessed virgin is likewise important, yet she is not the primary focus either. The attention for Annunciation is placed where it always is placed: on God the Father, on His Christ and on the ever-present Spirit.
Annunciation is about God’s love- love for sinners, love for those who have strayed, so basically a pure and steadfast love for all people. It was out of love that God sent His Son on this day, to become incarnate, to put on human flesh and live in this world.
Annunciation has lasting significance in terms of divine love. When Gabriel went the first time to Nazareth and found Mary and gave her this great Good News, the world was struggling. Mary was a faithful Jewish woman, waiting patiently for the consolation of Israel, for the birth of the long-expected Messiah. So was Joseph. So was Simeon and Anna and Zechariah and Elizabeth. On a religious level, there was oppression as religion became a burden. The sacrifice had to be perfect, absolutely perfect. The prayers had to be offered sincerely, absolutely sincerely. The worship had to be holy, absolutely holy. The religion of joy and comfort had morphed into a crushing burden. Civilly, the Roman rulers were equally oppressive, taking their taxes and offering no benefit in return. The Romans cared nothing about Judaism, viewing it as something trivial and insignificant. There were many gods, so we’ll let the Jews worship their peculiar god. And the Romans let the Jews govern themselves in terms of religion. And the faithful suffered.
Annunciation was needed. It still is. For suffering is still the rule of the day. God’s people suffer. Unbelievers suffer. Famine doesn’t care whether you fear God or not. Earthquakes shake everyone. Fire burns the good and the bad alike.
In our day religion continues to oppress. Sacrifice is still demanded to be perfect, perfect in terms of how much money you give. Prayers have become an opportunity to dictate to God when he will act and how he will act. Worship has become a holy performance, for the sake of the performer more than anybody else. In secular matters, what do we notice? Soccer leagues schedule their games on Sundays. Jobs are not only open 24 hours a day, but seven days a week. Churches have a harder time buying property because municipalities would rather sell that parcel of land to a business for the tax revenue it might generate.
We need this day, nine months before the Savior’s birth, to celebrate the tender compassion of our God. The Son of the Most High will be given the throne and he will reign over the people of God forever. Jesus reigns as king. He is our leader. He is our champion. He is our judge, judging us for our faults, commending us for our faithful living, always judging us according us to our mercy. And Jesus reigns as our redeemer. Of his kingdom there will be no end.
The kingdom of God is eternal, going on into the ages of ages. The kingdom of God incorporates us. And the declaration of God through his eternal and living Word continues, declaring us righteous, holy, forgiven through the life, the death, the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the son of Mary, the son of the Most High God. Amen.
March 25, 2010
Luke 1:26-38
And of His Kingdom there will be no end
In the name of Jesus, amen. In the heart of Lent, as Holy Week is just days away, the Feast of the Annunciation reveals the heart of God, the heart of God overflowing with grace, with mercy, with divine and lasting peace.
The angel Gabriel came down from heaven and did his angel-thing. An angel is a messenger, and Gabriel was one of God’s messengers. Gabriel came not with his own words but with the words of God the Father. And this message concerned God the Son. The message that Gabriel delivered to the virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph concerns us.
Gabriel came with a job to do. He brought a strangely glorious, a confoundingly wonderful message. You, Mary, have found favor with God. Not because of anything Mary had done, as if she had earned God’s favor, but because of what would take place. You will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you will call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. All of that was future, will and shall. But what great promises were given that were set to find fulfillment in nine months!
On this day, Jesus, the eternal Son of the Father, true God, begotten of the Father, took up residence in the protective womb of Mary so that in nine months he would be revealed as Jesus, true man, born of the virgin Mary and our Lord. If we rejoice with exceeding joy at the birth of salvation in December, we also rejoice this day in the work that Gabriel did, announcing the mysterious and marvelous love of God for His humanity.
Gabriel plays an important role, but he is merely a supporting character. The blessed virgin is likewise important, yet she is not the primary focus either. The attention for Annunciation is placed where it always is placed: on God the Father, on His Christ and on the ever-present Spirit.
Annunciation is about God’s love- love for sinners, love for those who have strayed, so basically a pure and steadfast love for all people. It was out of love that God sent His Son on this day, to become incarnate, to put on human flesh and live in this world.
Annunciation has lasting significance in terms of divine love. When Gabriel went the first time to Nazareth and found Mary and gave her this great Good News, the world was struggling. Mary was a faithful Jewish woman, waiting patiently for the consolation of Israel, for the birth of the long-expected Messiah. So was Joseph. So was Simeon and Anna and Zechariah and Elizabeth. On a religious level, there was oppression as religion became a burden. The sacrifice had to be perfect, absolutely perfect. The prayers had to be offered sincerely, absolutely sincerely. The worship had to be holy, absolutely holy. The religion of joy and comfort had morphed into a crushing burden. Civilly, the Roman rulers were equally oppressive, taking their taxes and offering no benefit in return. The Romans cared nothing about Judaism, viewing it as something trivial and insignificant. There were many gods, so we’ll let the Jews worship their peculiar god. And the Romans let the Jews govern themselves in terms of religion. And the faithful suffered.
Annunciation was needed. It still is. For suffering is still the rule of the day. God’s people suffer. Unbelievers suffer. Famine doesn’t care whether you fear God or not. Earthquakes shake everyone. Fire burns the good and the bad alike.
In our day religion continues to oppress. Sacrifice is still demanded to be perfect, perfect in terms of how much money you give. Prayers have become an opportunity to dictate to God when he will act and how he will act. Worship has become a holy performance, for the sake of the performer more than anybody else. In secular matters, what do we notice? Soccer leagues schedule their games on Sundays. Jobs are not only open 24 hours a day, but seven days a week. Churches have a harder time buying property because municipalities would rather sell that parcel of land to a business for the tax revenue it might generate.
We need this day, nine months before the Savior’s birth, to celebrate the tender compassion of our God. The Son of the Most High will be given the throne and he will reign over the people of God forever. Jesus reigns as king. He is our leader. He is our champion. He is our judge, judging us for our faults, commending us for our faithful living, always judging us according us to our mercy. And Jesus reigns as our redeemer. Of his kingdom there will be no end.
The kingdom of God is eternal, going on into the ages of ages. The kingdom of God incorporates us. And the declaration of God through his eternal and living Word continues, declaring us righteous, holy, forgiven through the life, the death, the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the son of Mary, the son of the Most High God. Amen.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Today's Thought on Joy
"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Romans 14:17
Grant, gracious God, that I delight in and find joy in my Christian freedom, for all good gifts of food and drink come from you and give joy to my heart (Psalm 104). But help me always to use this freedom to advance your righteousness and for peace and joy in the Spirit, for the sake of your kingdom. Amen.
Grant, gracious God, that I delight in and find joy in my Christian freedom, for all good gifts of food and drink come from you and give joy to my heart (Psalm 104). But help me always to use this freedom to advance your righteousness and for peace and joy in the Spirit, for the sake of your kingdom. Amen.
Lenten Midweek Sermon
Lenten Midweek Service 6
March 24, 2010
1 Peter 4:1-6
I need this…and this…and this…
In the name of Jesus, amen. One of the seven things that Jesus said from the cross was the simple sentence “I thirst”. We are aware that a jar of cheap wine vinegar was nearby and that a soldier soaked a sponge with that wine, put it on a stalk and raised it Jesus’ lips. What do you thirst for? What do you need?
Does that sound like a trap? You’ve heard enough sermons in your life that you know you shouldn’t ‘thirst’ for things. We shouldn’t want things, but that’s not where I am going. This is no trap! I am making an assumption this evening, assuming that I am talking to the Church, to those redeemed by the blood shed by our Savior on the cross, those whom the New Testament calls “the body of Christ”. I’m talking to you, for you fit the description of 1 Peter 4:1-2: Since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions, but for the will of God.
We hear Peter calling us to ‘arm’ ourselves with the same thinking of Christ. We hear Peter saying that we are done with sin, but we know that our struggle with sin continues. Tonight, let us think about ourselves as the body of Christ, as sinners but as saved sinners who are already armed with the same manner of thinking as Christ. With this in mind, what do we thirst for?
We thirst for justice, for healing, for an end to suffering. We thirst for a more robust economy, for those without work to find employment, for people to be able to provide for their families. We thirst for safety, for those suffering in Haiti and in Chile, for the innocent victims in Iraq and Afghanistan. We thirst for an end to human trafficking, for an end to abortion and infanticide, for an end to sin, death, and the power of the devil. One look at our weekly prayer list reveals what we thirst for. We pray for the needs and desires of our country and our local community. We pray for wholeness and healing. We pray for people who are known to us and to people who are strangers, yet we pray for them because they are loved by someone we know. We pray for those who are struggling with all kinds of difficulties- physical, emotional, mental. Our thirst is revealed through God’s gift of prayer.
Here’s the part of the sermon where I’m supposed to tell you that in the way that Jesus was given relief through the wine vinegar, God will also meet our needs. This is the portion of the sermon where I am supposed to say that your thirst will be quenched as well. I’m not going to do that. Because it’s not true. We thirst, and sometimes there is just no relief from our thirst. Loved ones suffer and they die. We age and our bodies wear out. We can no longer do what we used to. We thirst for our younger years but that thirst never finds relief. We thirst for more people to join us in the pews, to join in hearing the Word, in finding strength in the Sacrament, in joining us to uncover the God who lives and loves, yet we struggle in our efforts. We thirsted to put a new road sign out on Rte. 4, had the design picked out, had the money set aside, seemed to have a listening ear with the school board and yet our thirst was not relieved. The school board was unwilling to pay the money to apply for zoning allowances. It was disappointing. We endeavored to do what the school board asked of us, knowing that they would someday build a school on their property. We thirsted for a road sign so that our name and a message would be visible to those driving up and down the road, yet our thirst was left unquenched.
Sometimes the cancer is not cured. Sometimes there is no job. We heard that story last week of the two children rescued from the rubble. But remember that one of their siblings died. He asked for water on Wednesday, on Thursday, and on Friday. And there was no water. He died of dehydration. Sometimes we thirst and nothing comes to meet our need.
Being in the church, and being a church person, we have countless phrases to call upon in these thirsting situations, phrases used so often they can become cliché. And they even become meaningless. In the face of such horror, such desperation, I’m supposed to point to a man suffering on a cross? That doesn’t make sense. It’s foolishness. I’m supposed to have something to quench their thirst? How can I do that when I’m empty myself?
You thirst. And I thirst too. But still it is our calling from God to trot out these Gospel clichés…something like ‘Jesus lives’. Maybe that is what you’re expecting. And it is exactly what I am going to do, because it is the most important thing I can do. Jesus lives. If this good news- this Gospel- that Jesus lives doesn’t seem like enough, perhaps it is because we don’t realize what we need. Again, if the news that Jesus lives doesn’t seem like enough, it might be that we do not even know what our need is.
We live amongst a society that lives in the moment. We live in the midst of whatever suffering we are currently in, and cannot see what we really need. We focus all our attention on alleviating the suffering right in front of us. We want an end to that suffering. That man, thirsting on the cross, would come to an end of his suffering. He would die. And when he died he paid for the sin which has brought so much suffering into the world and into our lives. But an end to suffering is not enough. Even if the pain is numbed, the wound remains.
What we need is healing! And that is the promise we see in Christ’s resurrection. Jesus lives. And because He lives, we too shall live. With his resurrection Jesus brings more than an end to our suffering. He brings us the promise of a day where all will be put right. All will be healed. All will be made whole. All things that hurt us and make us something less than God created us to be will be no more. There will come a time when death will be swallowed up and God himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes. What we truly need is not simply for the pain to end, but to be healed, to be made whole.
This is the hope which keeps us going in the midst of suffering. This is the certainty which arms us, as Peter says, with the same way of thinking as Christ. But we still thirst. Our prayer list is still needed. Yet God is daily intervening. In countless ways God is indeed giving us little sips of water so we can endure throughout this drought. Even though those two little children from last week’s sermon lost their brother, they were both rescued. And that is one of the reasons why we are here. We are the body of Christ in this hurting and suffering world. We are often the instruments God uses to alleviate suffering and bring hope in the here and now. We are instruments of God’s peace in a chaotic world as we wait for the day when God’s final healing will come. We help to wipe away the tears of those who sorrow. We bring a cup of cold water to someone in the midst of great dryness.
We sang a familiar hymn as our opening hymn: Go to dark Gethsemane. Learn from Jesus Christ to pray. Learn from Him to bear the cross. Learn from Jesus Christ to die. Christ is risen, he meets our eyes. Savior, teach us so to rise. Amen.
March 24, 2010
1 Peter 4:1-6
I need this…and this…and this…
In the name of Jesus, amen. One of the seven things that Jesus said from the cross was the simple sentence “I thirst”. We are aware that a jar of cheap wine vinegar was nearby and that a soldier soaked a sponge with that wine, put it on a stalk and raised it Jesus’ lips. What do you thirst for? What do you need?
Does that sound like a trap? You’ve heard enough sermons in your life that you know you shouldn’t ‘thirst’ for things. We shouldn’t want things, but that’s not where I am going. This is no trap! I am making an assumption this evening, assuming that I am talking to the Church, to those redeemed by the blood shed by our Savior on the cross, those whom the New Testament calls “the body of Christ”. I’m talking to you, for you fit the description of 1 Peter 4:1-2: Since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions, but for the will of God.
We hear Peter calling us to ‘arm’ ourselves with the same thinking of Christ. We hear Peter saying that we are done with sin, but we know that our struggle with sin continues. Tonight, let us think about ourselves as the body of Christ, as sinners but as saved sinners who are already armed with the same manner of thinking as Christ. With this in mind, what do we thirst for?
We thirst for justice, for healing, for an end to suffering. We thirst for a more robust economy, for those without work to find employment, for people to be able to provide for their families. We thirst for safety, for those suffering in Haiti and in Chile, for the innocent victims in Iraq and Afghanistan. We thirst for an end to human trafficking, for an end to abortion and infanticide, for an end to sin, death, and the power of the devil. One look at our weekly prayer list reveals what we thirst for. We pray for the needs and desires of our country and our local community. We pray for wholeness and healing. We pray for people who are known to us and to people who are strangers, yet we pray for them because they are loved by someone we know. We pray for those who are struggling with all kinds of difficulties- physical, emotional, mental. Our thirst is revealed through God’s gift of prayer.
Here’s the part of the sermon where I’m supposed to tell you that in the way that Jesus was given relief through the wine vinegar, God will also meet our needs. This is the portion of the sermon where I am supposed to say that your thirst will be quenched as well. I’m not going to do that. Because it’s not true. We thirst, and sometimes there is just no relief from our thirst. Loved ones suffer and they die. We age and our bodies wear out. We can no longer do what we used to. We thirst for our younger years but that thirst never finds relief. We thirst for more people to join us in the pews, to join in hearing the Word, in finding strength in the Sacrament, in joining us to uncover the God who lives and loves, yet we struggle in our efforts. We thirsted to put a new road sign out on Rte. 4, had the design picked out, had the money set aside, seemed to have a listening ear with the school board and yet our thirst was not relieved. The school board was unwilling to pay the money to apply for zoning allowances. It was disappointing. We endeavored to do what the school board asked of us, knowing that they would someday build a school on their property. We thirsted for a road sign so that our name and a message would be visible to those driving up and down the road, yet our thirst was left unquenched.
Sometimes the cancer is not cured. Sometimes there is no job. We heard that story last week of the two children rescued from the rubble. But remember that one of their siblings died. He asked for water on Wednesday, on Thursday, and on Friday. And there was no water. He died of dehydration. Sometimes we thirst and nothing comes to meet our need.
Being in the church, and being a church person, we have countless phrases to call upon in these thirsting situations, phrases used so often they can become cliché. And they even become meaningless. In the face of such horror, such desperation, I’m supposed to point to a man suffering on a cross? That doesn’t make sense. It’s foolishness. I’m supposed to have something to quench their thirst? How can I do that when I’m empty myself?
You thirst. And I thirst too. But still it is our calling from God to trot out these Gospel clichés…something like ‘Jesus lives’. Maybe that is what you’re expecting. And it is exactly what I am going to do, because it is the most important thing I can do. Jesus lives. If this good news- this Gospel- that Jesus lives doesn’t seem like enough, perhaps it is because we don’t realize what we need. Again, if the news that Jesus lives doesn’t seem like enough, it might be that we do not even know what our need is.
We live amongst a society that lives in the moment. We live in the midst of whatever suffering we are currently in, and cannot see what we really need. We focus all our attention on alleviating the suffering right in front of us. We want an end to that suffering. That man, thirsting on the cross, would come to an end of his suffering. He would die. And when he died he paid for the sin which has brought so much suffering into the world and into our lives. But an end to suffering is not enough. Even if the pain is numbed, the wound remains.
What we need is healing! And that is the promise we see in Christ’s resurrection. Jesus lives. And because He lives, we too shall live. With his resurrection Jesus brings more than an end to our suffering. He brings us the promise of a day where all will be put right. All will be healed. All will be made whole. All things that hurt us and make us something less than God created us to be will be no more. There will come a time when death will be swallowed up and God himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes. What we truly need is not simply for the pain to end, but to be healed, to be made whole.
This is the hope which keeps us going in the midst of suffering. This is the certainty which arms us, as Peter says, with the same way of thinking as Christ. But we still thirst. Our prayer list is still needed. Yet God is daily intervening. In countless ways God is indeed giving us little sips of water so we can endure throughout this drought. Even though those two little children from last week’s sermon lost their brother, they were both rescued. And that is one of the reasons why we are here. We are the body of Christ in this hurting and suffering world. We are often the instruments God uses to alleviate suffering and bring hope in the here and now. We are instruments of God’s peace in a chaotic world as we wait for the day when God’s final healing will come. We help to wipe away the tears of those who sorrow. We bring a cup of cold water to someone in the midst of great dryness.
We sang a familiar hymn as our opening hymn: Go to dark Gethsemane. Learn from Jesus Christ to pray. Learn from Him to bear the cross. Learn from Jesus Christ to die. Christ is risen, he meets our eyes. Savior, teach us so to rise. Amen.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Todays Thought on Joy
"Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully..."Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it forefold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." Luke 19:5ff
You, O Lord, are the great consolation of the poor and needy. Give me the zeal and sheer joy of Zaccheus to see you in your Church in time, and in eternity in heaven. Give me the humility to amend my sinful life and make four-fold restoration when I sin against others. Amen.
You, O Lord, are the great consolation of the poor and needy. Give me the zeal and sheer joy of Zaccheus to see you in your Church in time, and in eternity in heaven. Give me the humility to amend my sinful life and make four-fold restoration when I sin against others. Amen.
Monday, March 22, 2010
All is not lost
My champion pick for the NCAA tournament is gone, but I still have three of the final four left. Based on score alone, I could make a comeback from my current last place standing. Since everything is so topsy-turvy, others likely will stumble. So we'll just wait and see. At least it's entertaining.
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