Ephesians 5:8-14 - God's Spotlight In A Dark World - March 19, 2017

The Boston Globe is one of the oldest and most influential newspapers in the United States. Founded in 1872, it grew to nationwide prominence during the turbulent 1960s in large part due to its investigative reporting. Counting several Pulitzer Prizes to its credit, the Globe’s investigative journalists pride themselves on exposing crime, fraud, and abuse both in government and in the private sector. You may remember that in the early 2000s it was the Boston Globe that exposed the widespread priest abuse scandal and cover up that rocked (and continues to rock) the Catholic Church to this day. That investigation was also the basis for the movie that won last year’s Oscar for Best Picture – named after the investigative journalist unit, it was called Spotlight. [1] A fitting name, given that a spotlight reveals and exposes things that would otherwise go unnoticed. Yet, as fitting as that name is for a group of investigative journalists, it is an even more fitting description of our Savior, the Light of the world. (John 9:5) As God’s spotlight in this dark world, Jesus lights the way, he exposes the darkness, and he awakens the sleeper.

For you were once darkness. When Scripture refers to the darkness that covers this world and lives in human hearts, it is talking about something far worse than any kind of physical or mental darkness – with far worse consequences. Earlier in this letter, Paul defined the darkness into which all people, including us, were born into: as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air…all of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. (Ephesians 2:1-3) We were born into this world spiritually dead and spiritually blind. Not only could we not see how to please God, we didn’t want to; we hated God. Worst of all, from our first breath, we stood condemned and guilty before God – worthy only of his wrath.

But now you are light in the Lord. What changed? When did this happen? It happened when we were baptized. By creating faith in our hearts, God taught us that if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. (Romans 8:13) God shows us that disobeying his will – even if it feels good, even if it makes us happy, even if everyone in the world is doing it – is the surest and fastest way to eternal death in hell. He shows us that sin never satisfies – it only leads to broken hearts, broken dreams, and broken homes. The light of his Law shows us that we are utterly unable to save ourselves because even our righteous acts are like filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6) At the same time, the Light of the Gospel illuminates the one and only way to heaven, through Jesus Christ – the way the truth and the life. (John 14:6) Not only did Jesus cure physical blindness when he was on this earth – he provided the cure to spiritual blindness by swallowing the darkness of sin, death, and the devil and crushing them by his death on the cross. The cross of Christ shines as the only path back to God – through faith in him our sins are forgiven, we are justified, the glory of heaven is ours. That’s justification. That’s 100% God’s work of saving us.

But Jesus does even more: he shows us how to live in this world. This is sanctification. This is how God keeps us separate from this world’s darkness. Once the Law has exposed sin and the Gospel has wiped it away – then God’s Word serves as a spotlight to guide us through this dark world. Paul encourages us to live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth). At first it might seem like Paul is mixing metaphors here, but what he says is scientifically accurate. Plants need three things to grow: water, CO2, and…light. Not only does Christ wipe out the darkness in our hearts, he enables us to produce the fruit of goodness, righteousness and truth. Goodness is genuine morality – morality that goes beyond good intentions to actually doing good things for others. Righteousness means doing what is right – not what the world says is right, but what God declares is right. Truth is God’s unchanging, authoritative, objective truth. In order to produce this fruit we must find out what pleases the Lord. This means that instead of simply going along with what is popular and acceptable to the world, we will test everything against God’s holy, unchanging, authoritative Word.

And just like a spotlight dispels darkness and reveals danger wherever it shines, so as children of light, we will expose the darkness in the world around us – in two ways. Paul writes: have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. Christians will first expose the deeds of darkness by not taking part in them. The contrast between our lives and the lives of unbelievers is to be as stark as the difference between darkness and light. Is that contrast clear in our lives? If the Globe’s Spotlight investigators followed us around, would they be compelled to report that we don’t live like those who live only to serve their own desires – or would they be left scratching their heads as to what, if anything, makes us different? If our TV viewing habits, our internet histories, the way we spend our time and money were to be made public – would they reveal the fruit of light or the deeds of darkness? You must answer those questions for yourself. And if you find that more often than not you are living in twilight rather than the brilliant light of Christ, repent. Repent, turn to Jesus, and find forgiveness in the blood he shed for you.

Secondly, Christ calls his people to not just avoid sin but to expose it in the lives of others. Can you think of anything less politically correct and more countercultural? Why should we take on such a thankless, difficult task? Think of it this way: would you rather go to a doctor who is willing to order the necessary, if painful, test to reveal the source of your illness or a doctor who tells you that you’re just fine – even when you know you’re not? That’s not much of a question, is it? We want doctors to expose the problem so that they can heal it. In the same way, just as God has brought us to the light of his truth – he wants us to expose the deeds of darkness in the lives of others, especially those we love and care about, so that they too can see the brilliant, saving, forgiving love of Christ.

Because we are children of light we will not sugarcoat sin, we won’t defend it, we won’t get angry when God’s Word or God’s servants expose it; we will call it what it is. This is what God’s spotlight does: it reveals hidden dangers and Satan’s traps – even when it hits close to home and even when it hurts – because it’s the only way to heal. Satan wants us to believe that having a busy schedule, children with too much homework or too many activities, or early bedtimes are airtight, God-pleasing reasons to ignore evening worship opportunities – God’s Word exposes the truth. Those “reasons” are weeds and distractions the devil plants in our lives in order to suffocate our faith. Whenever we think about worship, we should be thinking about it in terms of priorities – and the Apostle John warns about allowing worldly concerns to take priority over God and his Word: do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15) Satan wants us to think that cohabitating (living together outside of marriage) is the smart way to test-drive a relationship before making the life-long commitment. God’s Word exposes that lie as rebellion against his will. A person who intentionally, knowingly, and persistently lives in disobedience to God’s will for marriage will not go to heaven if he does not repent and change his sinful life. Paul warns: do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral…nor adulterers…will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) Satan wants us to believe that allowing money to dominate our thinking, our behavior, and our decision making is the only practical, responsible way to live in this world. God’s Word exposes it as greed and idolatry and a lack of trust in God’s promises. Paul shines the spotlight of God’s truth on greed: for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:10) Satan loves it when Christian congregations tolerate or simply refuse to discipline unrepentant sinners in the name of open-mindedness or a mistaken understanding of love. God’s Word exposes this as utterly loveless and dangerous behavior. Paul sheds light on what the church should do when one of its members has fallen into sin and will not repent: what business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” (1 Corinthians 5:12-13) We could go on, but you get the point. We are children of light – because that’s what God made us – so we will expose sin and rebuke it – and accept the consequences. Why? Why if it means losing a friend or starting an argument or hurting feelings? Because the light of Christ has exposed the true nature of sin to us. We can see that living in the darkness of sin only leads to broken hearts, broken homes, broken bodies, broken minds and a broken relationship with God forever. That is what Jesus came to save us from – not save us for.

And to inspire and give us courage as we seek to both live in Christ’s light and expose the darkness of sin, Paul quotes the words of an ancient Christian hymn: wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Here is where the spotlight of Christ is vastly different from the Boston Globe’s spotlight unit. Once the investigative journalists of the Boston Globe have brought a scandal or secret to light, their job is done. They do nothing to help the person or people they have exposed to shame and guilt and sometimes even criminal prosecution. But Jesus said that God did not send [him] into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17) Just like a good doctor will diagnose the real problem so that he can prescribe a healing treatment, so the purpose of exposing and rebuking sin (yes, even excommunication) is to bring sinners to repentance. It is to show them the true darkness of their sin so that they can see the true brilliance of God’s forgiveness in Christ. It is to wake them up from spiritual slumber, so that they are awake and alive with saving faith in Christ.

That’s the ultimate goal. That’s the reason Christ came and suffered and died and rose again, that’s the mission Christ gave to his church and the reason he sends her pastors and teachers, the reason we fearlessly expose sin with God’s Law and graciously extinguish it with the Gospel. We want to live as children of light and we want all – both those who are dead in unbelief and our friends and family who are sleepy with apathy or indifference – to come out of this world’s darkness into Christ’s wonderful light.

May God continue to shine the spotlight of his love on us to show the way to life, to expose the darkness of this world, and to awaken those who have fallen asleep. Amen.  

[1] http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/special-reports/2012/06/22/distinguished-history-digging-truth/koYXOjPVD3CfTuRBtp0ZnM/story.html

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 - Does Faith Save? - March 12, 2017

Sola gratia; sola fide; sola Scriptura. Did you notice those words on your way into church this morning? They are engraved on the stone just to the left of the doors as you enter. In a world where we face sensory overload on every hand, it’s easy to ignore little things like that. I also realize that most of us never learned Latin and so the words are foreign. But for Christians – and especially for Lutherans – those are very important words. Those words sola gratia (grace alone), sola fide (faith alone), and sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) stand as the Biblical (and Lutheran) answers to the most important question in the world: how are sinful humans saved? Ever since our Savior ascended into heaven, these basic, foundational principals have come under attack by false teachers and false teachings, and have had to be defended with the sword of God’s truth. This morning God’s Word leads us to carefully consider one of those fundamental Christian doctrines: sola fide (faith alone). We ask with Abraham and Paul and believers throughout history: does faith save?

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? In answering this question, Paul uses Abraham as an example and guide. Why? Couldn’t Paul find someone else, someone who didn’t live 4000 years before us? In using Abraham, Paul is proving a couple points. First, he is showing that Christian faith is not something that has evolved over time – Abraham was saved the same way we are. And second, this question “how are we saved – is it by faith or works?” has always been the most important question a person can ever ask.

So, if we are saved by faith; how do you define faith? Is it a feeling? Is it knowledge of facts? Is it equivalent to church membership? Is it a hidden, undefinable force in a person’s heart that drives them to do what they do? The book of Hebrews gives a careful definition of faith: faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1) Is that the sense you got as you listened to Genesis 12 earlier? What stuck out to you: what Abraham believed or what he did? It’s hard to get past the fact that when God told Abraham to leave everything he knew and set out for an unknown “Promised Land”; he actually did it, isn’t it? We might think: “If that’s faith, I don’t know if I would have that kind of faith; I don’t know if I could drop everything and leave everyone and go to an unknown place even if God personally told me to.” If that’s what you took from Genesis 12, you’re not alone. Abraham was held up as the pinnacle of righteousness by the Jewish people because of what he did. The rabbis wrote: “Abraham was perfect in all his dealings with the Lord and gained favor by his righteousness throughout his life.” [1]

The Jews had learned the wrong lesson from Abraham. But, sad to say, many Christians do not really understand salvation by faith, either. Too often today when people are talking about faith they bring up either the internal psychology (the feelings) of faith or the great things that faith does. If a certain hymn or song makes us feel funny inside – that must be faith pulsating there. If a person has an incredible knowledge of the Bible – they must have great faith. Or, if a person who is going through a difficulty in life but they still come to church, they still have a smile on their face, they still confess their trust in God; they must have great faith. Or like the Jewish rabbis, we might think of Bible history heroes as having great faith because of what they have done. Noah, because he built an ark on dry land. Moses, because he stood up to Pharaoh and his armies. David, because he defeated Goliath. A grandparent or parent, a pastor or teacher may stick out in your mind as being of great faith – because of how they lived or preached or taught. But we must understand that when we think of faith in that way, then we’re not really talking about faith anymore; we’re talking about works. And Paul is very clear: if…Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about – but not before God. Admittedly, Abraham’s works were good and righteous – and before men they may have given him a reason to boast. But Abraham’s good works could never justify him in God’s courtroom, where nothing less than perfection is tolerated.

If you take only one thing from this sermon, take this: faith is the opposite of works. Faith is not what you know, it’s not what you do, and it’s not what you feel. How can we be certain? What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Do you remember what happened before Abraham took a single step toward Canaan? God said: I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:2-3) Yes, Abraham obeyed God’s command to leave his home and family and travel to an unknown land. But Abraham didn’t believe God’s command, he believed God’s promise – the promise to make him into a great nation, to make him famous, to bless all nations through him (a reference to the Savior). That faith in the promise – trust in what God would do – is what was credited to Abraham’s account as righteousness.  

The same is true regarding our salvation. The Gospel is not a command, but a promise. Long before you and I were even a glimmer in our parent’s eyes, God promised to send a Savior into this world who would be born of a virgin, who would destroy the devil’s work by healing the sick and casting out demons, by preaching the good news, suffering and dying and rising again. 2000 years ago those promises came to a culmination on Calvary, where Jesus Christ offered his life as the perfect sacrifice for sin so that on Easter morning God could announce that the sins of the world had been paid in full. And in his Word, God has promised to credit Jesus’ righteousness to anyone who believes and is baptized. Where were you and I in that story? What did we contribute? Unless you want to take credit for your sins that put Jesus on the cross, you must admit that you contributed nothing. The only way to receive God’s promise and Christ’s righteousness is to accept it as a gift. Paul uses an analogy from the business world: now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited to him as righteousness. If we must earn salvation by what we do, it’s not a gift – it’s something we have earned. But if salvation is a gift of God’s grace, then by definition, we can’t do anything to earn it. So, does faith save? Yes, in the sense that it simply believes God’s promise and receives Christ’s accomplished work. Faith saves because it takes us, and anything we might do, out of the equation. When it comes to salvation: we do nothing, God does everything. In that sense, faith, and faith alone, saves.

But we wouldn’t waste our time asking a yes or no question if the answer were that simple. There is a way that faith does not save. Briefly, faith, if it is misplaced or is regarded as meritorious, does not save. Jesus exposed misplaced faith in the Samaritan woman at the well. Did this woman have faith? Sure she did. In what, is hard to say (although it was likely some combination of Judaism and idolatry) – she seems to be very “open-minded” in her understanding of truth – like so many people today: “it doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you believe.” And we can see evidence of her “faith” in her life. She “had” a man; but they weren’t married. What does that tell us? This woman’s faith was misplaced; she trusted a make-believe god with make-believe laws. As Jesus told her, she was drinking from the wrong well. (John 4:13-14) In today’s terms, there’s no doubt that a young Muslim man who walks into a bar in Miami with the intention of killing as many people as possible (and knowing that he will either be killed or imprisoned for the rest of his life) has faith. He does. But it’s misplaced. Trusting Allah is no different than trusting nothing, because Allah is nothing. His “faith” will not save him.

In religion, like in rock climbing – the most important thing is not your rope, it’s what that rope is anchored to. What is your faith anchored to? In verse 13 Paul talks about the righteousness that comes by faith. That righteousness is Christ’s righteousness. Our right standing before God is based on Jesus’ work, not ours. He obeyed God perfectly, we haven’t. He poured out his blood on the cross, we didn’t. He paid the price for our sins – if we want to pay that price, we must spend eternity in hell. We are not saved because we believe; we are saved because Christ died to save us. The rope of faith, in order to save, must be anchored in Christ.

Paul also describes the problem with understanding faith as something meritorious: something that earns God’s favor: if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. If you trust your faith to save you, then you are back in the realm of obedience to the law. Specifically, the first commandment. You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3) If faith is going to save you, then your faith must be perfect in every sense: in what you believe and how you live. No one, not Abraham, not you, not me has that kind of faith. So, faith in faith is idolatry. I’ll say it again: faith in faith is idolatry. It is not trust in God. It is not trust in his grace. It is not trust in Christ’s atoning sacrifice. It is empty, futile, worthless. To use the rope analogy, having faith in faith is like trusting your rope because it’s so good and sturdy, even though it’s not tied to anything. Martin Luther was so averse to thinking of faith as meritorious that he said: “I am accustomed, for the better understanding of this point, to divest myself of the idea that there is a quality in my heart at all, call it either faith or love, but in their place I put Christ and say: “He is my Righteousness.”” (St. L. XXI)

Again, Abraham serves as a case study. He had saving faith, but it was far from perfect. Did you know that before God broke into Abraham’s life, he worshiped idols? Yeah, Joshua told the entire assembly of Israel: long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped foreign gods. (Joshua 24:2) Did you know that even after God brought Abraham to faith, he lied about the fact that Sarah was his wife, not once but twice – because he didn’t believe God would protect him? (Genesis 12:10-20; 20:1-18) Did you know that Abraham had a baby with his servant because he didn’t believe God would keep his promise to give him a son? (Genesis 16:4-6) I don’t bring this evidence up to ruin Abraham’s reputation, but to demonstrate that even saving faith merits us nothing, earns us nothing in God’s eyes – because it is never perfect.

And you know what? That’s very good news. Because I don’t know my Bible as well as I should, do you? I don’t always live the way the Bible tells me to, do you? I don’t perfectly trust God’s protection, his love, his plan and I don’t always rejoice in suffering, do you? My faith doesn’t always show itself in acts of love for my family, friends and perfect strangers – does yours? Sometimes, when I keep falling into the same sin over and over again or when guilt leaves me lying awake long into the night or when the smartest people in the world claim to prove that there is no god, I sometimes have some doubts; do you? But that’s when I’m right where God wants me. Because God’s grace and his promise are not to save those who have lived a perfect life or even have a perfect faith. Jesus himself said that he didn’t come for the good, but the bad; not the healthy, but the sick. (Luke 5:31) Paul says: the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. In the end that’s where we come into the picture – we are the wicked people God has justified (declared “not guilty”) for Jesus’ sake. That promise is what saving faith clings to. So when sin or guilt or Satan or life has you feeling more like that Samaritan woman than Abraham – don’t look to yourself, your works, or even your faith – look to Christ; because his life and death and resurrection provide the only solid anchor for faith and the only certainty for salvation.

So, does faith save? Yes…and no. Yes, when faith is defined as the opposite of works – that clings to Christ alone; faith alone saves. But no, faith that is misplaced or meritorious cannot save. To say, “faith saves,” is like saying, “eating makes you strong.” Eating doesn’t give you anything – the nutritional value of the food does. Faith saves because it receives Jesus Christ as Savior. Faith alone saves, but saving faith trusts in God’s grace alone, in Christ’s sacrifice alone, spelled out in Scripture alone. That kind of faith, and that kind of faith alone, is what saves. Amen.

[1] BST Romans, 122

Matthew 4:1-11 - The War for Your Soul - March 5, 2017

What would you say is the greatest conflict in our world today? The worldwide battle against radical Islamic terrorism or the refugee crisis? Global poverty or global warming? What about in our own country? Is it the vicious politics of left vs. right or the deterioration of American morality? Is it one of the great ongoing wars our society is waging against drugs, homelessness, or poor education? Maybe the battle is closer to home. Are you fighting a cold or a disease or depression? Are things with your spouse or sibling or child or friend rocky at the moment and the conflict has left you drained? Maybe you are fighting to make ends meet or fighting for every breath. If we were to take a poll of average Americans, it’s probably a safe bet that some of the aforementioned battles would be on their list. Perhaps some have made your list. But do you know what? You would be wrong. The fiercest battle in the world isn’t over Islam or politics or finances or healthcare; the greatest battle – one that has been raging since Genesis 3 – is the one for immortal human souls – your immortal soul. Satan has successfully distracted much of the world – and, sad to say, much of Christianity from this most important conflict. But the fact remains, this is the most important conflict in the world. Why? Because unlike any other conflict you can think of, the consequences of this battle extend beyond death into eternity. This battle is what Matthew sets before us this morning: as Jesus begins his public ministry he enters the field of battle to engage Satan in the war for your soul and mine.

A bit of context is necessary before we step onto the battlefield. Our lesson follows right on the heels of Jesus’ baptism where He publicly received his role as the representative and substitute for the entire human race. Jesus enters the desert to battle Satan, not for his own benefit, not for his own sake; but for our benefit, for our eternities’ sake. Why? Why did we need a champion to go to war for us? Simply because, like Adam, like Israel, like every human before us, we have failed God’s test. The test of living up to His holiness. The test of submitting our reason to God’s authoritative Word. The test of putting obedience to his commands before the desires of our flesh. Because humanity had failed God, God’s Son had to go to war for us.

Matthew begins: then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. Notice two things: the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert with the express purpose of facing temptation. Don’t we sometimes think of temptation like we think of dessert if we’re on a diet? Keep it out of the house and it won’t tempt you? Stay away from certain places and certain people – and Satan can’t get you. That’s a very naïve and dangerous way to think of temptation. The fact is that even if you were able to totally isolate yourself from every single source of evil in this world – you wouldn’t be able to avoid temptation. Our enemy is powerful and his greatest ally lives in our own flesh. No matter how hard you try, you can’t avoid his temptations. Which is precisely why Jesus had to enter the desert to be tempted; if he was going to be our substitute, he had to face the exact same temptations we face…with one big difference: where we fail, miserably, repeatedly; he had to emerge absolutely victorious, without even a hint of sin. Secondly, note how the circumstances differ from Genesis 3: when Adam was tempted to eat the forbidden fruit, he was surrounded by more food than he could ever hope to eat. When Jesus faced down Satan, he was hungrier than you and I can imagine: he had eaten nothing for forty days and forty nights.

It was this natural, human need for food that Satan chose to attack first. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” “Jesus, you’re hungry and you’re God – put those two things together and make yourself some food.” It sounds so harmless that we almost miss the trap, don’t we? What would be wrong with Jesus making himself a sandwich? Nothing…except the biggest thing. Satan was using Jesus’ aching stomach to lead him to distrust God’s loving care and to disobey God’s will – because his Father wanted him to go hungry. If Jesus made himself a meal, he would be sinning against the first commandment – much like Israel did when, after God had brought them out of slavery in Egypt, they suggested that it would be better to have died in Egypt than to starve to death in the wilderness. (Exodus 16:1-3)

How does Satan lead you to distrust God’s promise to provide? Has unemployment or underemployment led you to doubt that he really cares? Do you anxiously check the stock market every day because you have begun to trust it to provide for you rather than God? Have you sacrificed your duties to your spouse, your family and your God on the altar of work for the idol of a paycheck? A salesman who was trying to sell me whole-life insurance once asked me “what is your most valuable asset?” The answer he was looking for was my potential to work and make an income. Have you ever valued your own talent and ability over and above God’s promise? Of course, in those ways and many more we, like Israel, have failed the test. We have sinned. We have obeyed our stomachs instead of trusting our God.

For Israel’s failures and ours, Jesus endured a grumbling stomach without grumbling against God. While we often mistake needs for wants and necessities for luxuries, Jesus saw the insidious nature of Satan’s proposition and he defeated it – not with an army of angels – but with the sword of the Spirit: it is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ So hearing a sermon can serve as a meal replacement? (How’s that for a dieting plan – the Desert Diet – remember, you heard it here first!) No, that’s not what those words mean. Jesus understood and trusted that all the bread in the world would not keep him alive if his Father did not want him to live and that if his Father wanted him to live, he would keep him alive even if he didn’t eat for another forty days. Food or no food, our lives are in God’s hands. Jesus trusted that. Imagine having that kind of faith! Now stop imagining and believe, because Jesus did this for you! His obedience is credited to your account. You have God’s promise and you can have that kind of faith…so act like it. Jesus: 1; Satan: 0.

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Again, if you’re not paying attention, it would be easy to miss the trap – after all, doesn’t God promise to send angels to protect believers? Well, yes, but if you read Psalm 91 carefully, you will see that Satan left out an important line. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. (Psalm 91:11) Psalm 91 is about the protection that God promises to provide from the dangers that come near believers as they are busy living for God; not taking unnecessary risks to see if he will really do what he says. The trap Satan had laid was to see if Jesus would put his Father’s promise to the test.

Hundreds of years earlier, Israel had failed that test at a place called Massah (“testing”). The Israelites were camped at a place where no water was to be found. So what did they do? They quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied “why do you put the LORD to the test?” (Exodus 17:1-7) But certainly grumbling and complaining would never come out of our mouths and hearts, would it? We would never adopt an attitude that says, “God, you promised to provide for me richly and daily, so where are the riches?!” We would never needlessly expose ourselves to danger or embrace a diet or lifestyle guaranteed to shorten our lives, would we? Honestly? Yes, we would, we have and we do. We, too, are tempted to take Scripture out of context and lodge outrageous claims against God in things he has never promised. God hasn’t promised you a long life if you decide to slowly kill yourself with gluttony or laziness or prescription pills or alcohol. God hasn’t promised to send his angels to guard you if you find it thrilling to break the speed limit. God hasn’t promised to keep every hardship, disease, or accident from you. God hasn’t promised to put food on the table if you will not work. God has promised to provide what you need – but on his timetable, not yours. And yet, how often we test God in these things.

But Jesus didn’t. Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ Jesus knew that God hadn’t promised to send his angels to catch him if he threw himself off of the temple. He didn’t test his Father. But he also displayed perfect trust in his Father’s protection and plan. We witness that perfect trust when Jesus was calmly sleeping in the boat on the stormy Sea of Galilee, even as his disciples – seasoned sailors themselves – panicked. (Matthew 8:23-27) We hear that trust when he prays in the Garden of Gethsemane: Father…not my will, but yours be done. (Luke 22:42) We see it as he is hanging on the cross, flattened under the hammer of God’s wrath we deserved, when he submissively commits his spirit into his Father’s hands. (Luke 23:46) Because we have tested God in things he has not promised and failed to trust the promises he has made, Jesus overcame Satan’s temptation in our place. He won. Jesus: 2; Satan: 0.

Finally, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” This time, you would have to be sleeping to miss the trap. The devil brazenly tempted Jesus to become a Satanist. Why would this even be a temptation? Because Satan was proposing a shortcut to the glory God had promised Jesus; a shortcut that didn’t involve blood and sweat and suffering and death. The instances in which Israel failed this test are too numerous to list. One of the more memorable ones took place at the foot of Mt. Sinai, right under God’s nose, when Israel decided to worship and praise a golden calf instead of the LORD who had led them out of Egypt. (Exodus 32:1-35) What shortcuts to glory has the devil highlighted on your path through life? I know they’re out there, because I know Satan hasn’t given up. Marriage can be hard work – if it gets too difficult, why not get out and find greener pastures? Raising children to know and fear and love the Lord is not easy either – why not let daycare and the schools and the church do the dirty work? Going day after day to a job you can’t stand takes persistent effort – winning millions in Powerball, that’s no sweat. Open and honest repentance is embarrassing – why not just find a church where they will tell you that God loves you just the way you are? Whatever the shortcut – if we follow Satan’s path instead of God’s we are no better than Satan himself and deserve to suffer his punishment.

Once again, Jesus didn’t give in. He refused to betray his Father in favor of a shortcut to glory. Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ Jesus held out against this third and most attractive temptation even though he fully understood that it would mean a path of rejection and betrayal, blood and tears, suffering and death. As we begin Lent, this battle has given us a pretty good indication of how the war will end on that hill outside Jerusalem, doesn’t it? Jesus: 3; Satan: 0.

So, now you have the handbook to defeating Satan and his temptations. Just do what Jesus did. Know your Bible as well as he did. Identify both Satan’s traps and the specific passage that will serve as the perfect sword to shred his lies. Do that, and you too can be victorious! No, no, no. If you walk out of church this morning thinking that Jesus has done nothing more than give us an example to follow, I have failed you miserably. Jesus didn’t enter the battlefield to simply show us how to resist temptation (although in a secondary way he does show us that the Word of God is our only sure defense) – he came to defeat Satan and temptation for us. Perfect obedience to God while he was near starvation was how Jesus began his work of destroying Satan’s power over us. And, because we have failed so fully and so frequently, he would continue his march all the way to Calvary to pay for our sins himself. Through faith, his perfect obedience is your perfect obedience. That is the victory Jesus fought and died to win for you. That’s why, as you leave here to go back to your personal battlefield, don’t ever give up the fight. And, more importantly, don’t be afraid of Satan or his traps – because although the war rages on, the victory is won. Amen.

Matthew 17:1-9 - What Does This Mean? - February 26, 2017

In a world that has hundreds of different churches and dozens of different denominations, people often wonder: what’s the difference? There’s no simple answer to that question, but one way to identify the differences is to identify the questions they are looking for answers to. Much of the preaching and teaching you from so-called prophets on the radio or TV seems determined to answer the question: what is God trying to tell us in the daily news – and what can it tell us about the future? What is God trying to tell me when the National Security Adviser resigns amid scandal or when powerful storms batter California? (in short, the daily news is nothing more than evidence that Jesus was right: this sinful world is spiraling into destruction – Matthew 24.) Another strain of Christianity has sought to answer the question: what makes sense, what is a logical explanation to the mysteries of God and what do I need to do to remain in God’s grace? Broadly, we know them as those of the Reformed tradition. If you happen to know someone who attends a large Megachurch, they will probably be asking: what can the newest book or hottest, hippest preacher teach me about my finances, my marriage, my destiny in life? If a person is seeking to “feel” close to God and experience the Holy Spirit, they likely come from a Pentecostal, charismatic background. Finally, every year around Lent, you hear a lot about this denomination, because both members and non-members often wonder: what new rules or exceptions to rules is the church going to hand out this year? We know them as Catholics. (If you have any Catholic friends, challenge them on this. Ask them what the church has to say about eating meat on Fridays this year, when St. Patrick’s Day – along with its corned beef sandwiches – falls on a Friday. For help, look up Acts 10 and 11 and Colossians 2:16-18). Have you noticed anything strange, anything missing? Sadly, many churches and church bodies look for authority and answers in any and every place except the one in which God has promised to give them: the Bible. Which brings us to Lutheranism. What is the Lutheran question? The uniquely Lutheran question, the one that we ask before and above all others is: what does this mean? (with “this” referring to God’s Word.) Today, the celebration of our Lord’s Transfiguration grants us a wonderful opportunity to put this question into practice, because there are several aspects of this story that beg us to search the Scriptures for the answer to the question what, exactly, does this mean?

First, we might wonder: what does it mean that Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain by themselves? Why them? Why only three out of 12? We could guess at why Jesus chose Peter, James, and John, but we are not in the business of guessing, so we’ll just admit that we don’t know. But we do know why Jesus chose three. In the OT, by God’s command, the testimony of just one eyewitness was considered unreliable. God gave these rules for Israelite court cases: one witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. (Deuteronomy 19:15) When three witnesses gave independent corroborating testimony to an event – their testimony became truth and fact under the law. This is still the case in the New Testament – Jesus states that 2 or 3 witnesses are needed both to properly practice church discipline (Matthew 18:16) and to bring an allegation or accusation against a church leader. (1 Timothy 5:19) We aren’t told exactly why Jesus picked Peter, James, and John – but we do know why he chose three disciples to witness this event: so that we could be sure beyond all doubt that this actually happened.

Our second question might be: what does it mean that Jesus was transfigured? The Greek word for “transfigured” is our English word metamorphosis. It’s what happens when a caterpillar changes into a butterfly or a tadpole becomes a frog. In Jesus’ case, what changed was not his shape or body, but his appearance. Jesus glowed with the glory of God; glory that he had hidden for 33 years under poverty and humility, under human flesh and blood. Why? Why now? What does this mean? Jesus wanted his disciples, and us, to see where His true glory lies. It’s not so much in his almighty power – although we feel his power in the rays of the sun and see it in the majesty of the stars and the wonder of new life. It isn’t primarily his sovereignty – although He has total control of nations and kingdoms and history. No, we see His glory most clearly in the fact that while he is all-powerful and all-knowing he loved us so fully and freely that he lived a perfectly obedient life for us, and then died for us – all to save us from our sins and give us the gift of glory in heaven.

The Transfiguration presents us with the reality of what it took to save us from our sins, and the contrast is striking. Jesus is God, King of kings and Lord of lords, but he became a poor, meek, weak human being just like us. He warned Adam of the wages of sin before he ate the forbidden fruit, but then he dove out of heaven to pay that price himself. Jesus, by his perfect life, had earned eternal life – but he willingly traded it for a shameful death on a cross and the punishment of hell that sinners deserved. The glory we see in Jesus’ appearance is His love for helpless sinners. Paul put his finger on the glory Jesus wants us to see: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) In other words, Jesus’ transfiguration is visible theology. It is a simple summary of the gospel: God for us.

Next: what does it mean that Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Jesus? Moses was God’s instrument for the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. Elijah was the most famous of God’s prophets in the Old Testament. Together, they represent all of OT history and the first 39 books in our Bible. There are other questions that come to mind, such as: how did Peter, James and John recognize them? We don’t know. How did they have bodies before the resurrection? Well, Elijah was taken bodily to heaven on a flaming chariot (2 Kings 2), but Moses is a little more difficult. We are told that God personally buried Moses’ body (Deuteronomy 34) and Jude 9 seems to suggest that the archangel Michael carried Moses’ body to heaven – but the simplest and best answer is that Matthew tells us Elijah and Moses were bodily present, so we simply accept that God can raise whoever he wants whenever he wants. What’s really interesting is not that these two biblical heroes were present, but what they were talking about. Luke writes: they spoke about [Jesus’] departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. (Luke 9:31) If these residents of heaven weren’t talking about whether the fish in heaven’s ponds were biting or what was on the menu for the next heavenly banquet or how the angelic choir sounded especially good last week – but were talking about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus – does that give us a hint as to what we, who are still waging the war of faith in this life, should be talking about? They were talking about Jesus – his life, death, and resurrection! They were talking about the Gospel! So what? This answers another question that baffles many Christians: how were OT believers saved? The same way we are: through faith in Jesus Christ.

Next, we hear Peter act as Peter often did: without thinking. Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. If you ever get the feeling that you are weak in faith and foolish in action – rest assured, you aren’t alone. The New Testament gives example after example of Peter’s shortcomings. He failed in his attempt to walk on water (Matthew 14:22-36); he rashly pulled out his sword and cut off Malchus’ ear in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:50); and even though Peter boasted about staying faithful to Jesus to the point of dying with him, he felt threatened enough by a servant girl to deny even knowing him. (Luke 22:33-34; 54-62) Here, Peter is babbling about tents in the presence of the glory of heaven. What does this mean? I am Peter. You are Peter. Like him, we are the ones who are constantly screwing up in the presence of God, making boasts we cannot back up and speaking and acting without thinking. And yet, if Jesus wasn’t ashamed to call rash and foolish Peter his friend and disciple, then there is hope for us as well. At the same time, the fact that Peter’s foolishness is written down for us provides further proof that this is a true account. If Peter, James, and John had only sat down later to fabricate this account out of thin air, they would hardly include such a foolish mistake by one of the Twelve.

There’s a cloud and a voice – what do those mean? When Moses climbed Mt. Sinai to receive God’s law, God’s presence was described as a cloud covering the peak. (Exodus 24:17) Throughout Israel’s history, God often appeared in the form of a cloud: a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night as the Israelites wandered in the desert (Exodus 13:21) and a cloud of glory in the temple. (1 Kings 8:11) The cloud indicates the presence of the only true, almighty God. But what about the voice: this is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! What does this mean? This is God’s endorsement of Jesus. This is God telling the world not only that Jesus is his Son, not only that Jesus had lived perfectly in this world for 33 years, but that he is the one person who could carry the sins of the world to the cross and pay for them with his precious, sinless blood. For that reason, you and I and all people should listen to him. Don’t listen to the world’s twisted and perverted modern definition of morality, don’t listen to your heart or feelings about your standing before God, don’t listen to me or any other preacher declare pop-psychology or our own ideas to you as God’s truth – no, listen to Jesus and him alone. How? Open your Bible. It’s been said that if you stick a knife anywhere in the Bible, it will bleed red. When you read your Bible begin by asking “what does this mean?” followed by “where do I see Jesus, my Savior?” He’s there, on every page. Don’t do it because I told you to, do it because God told you to.

Finally, Jesus commands the three: Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead. Why not? Well, Jesus had already had people follow him for all the wrong reasons. They wanted him to be their warrior to defeat their Roman overlords, their bread-king to fill their bellies and bank accounts, their private physician to heal all their diseases. But that was not Jesus’ mission. Jesus’ mission was not and is not to fix all the problems caused by sin in this world. Jesus came for one primary reason – to take your sins and mine and the sins of the world, carry them to the cross and suffer God’s righteous wrath to pay for them. And after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter, James, and John could testify to the world that this was no ordinary criminal who was brutally beaten and hung on a cross to die; this was God’s Son, the promised Messiah, who came to take away the sins of the world. When asked how they could know this, they could say: we heard God’s endorsement from heaven, we witnessed Moses and Elijah speaking with him on the mountain, we have seen his glory!

And now, now that we know what these nine verses mean objectively, we may ask the question: what does this mean for me? Why spend an entire Sunday on an event that most churches don’t recognize and many Christians are unaware of? It is placed here, on the last Sunday before Lent because this is the point at which Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem and begins his descent into the valley of the shadow of death on our behalf. The Transfiguration tells us that he was ready to face the doom we deserved. It tells us that he was the one chosen by God to carry out the job no one else could perform. It tells us that he was the one the OT prophets had promised and described. It tells us that Jesus knew exactly who he was and what he was doing when he walked into Jerusalem to be betrayed, denied, tortured, crucified and buried. And it assures us that through faith we are truly pleasing to God, because in Jesus every last one of our sins has been punished and paid for. Your sins are forgiven. You are saved. You will spend eternity in heaven’s glory with Peter, James, John, Moses, Elijah and Jesus. That glorious gospel comfort is finally the answer God always wants to give us when we search his Word for the answer to the uniquely Lutheran question: what does this mean? Amen.

Romans 12:9-21 - What Does Genuine Love Look Like? - February 19, 2017

About two years ago, British journalist James Bartholomew observed a trend in modern Western culture and coined a new English term to describe it. He called it “virtue signaling.” [1] Have you seen any virtue signaling lately? Are you a virtue signaler? Maybe you’re wondering: what is virtue signaling? Today, instead of telling you, I’m going to show you. The caption reads: “My tumblr [a social media site similar to Facebook or Twitter] post about feeding the homeless got 10,000 reblogs! It’s so very satisfying to be making a difference in people’s lives!” Yes, how good you are for telling the world you care about the homeless while ignoring the one you’re walking past. This is a blatant, obvious example. But virtue signaling is everywhere. When companies advertise their support for the environment or poverty or homelessness to convince you to buy their product – they are virtue signaling. When people wear wristbands proclaiming their awareness of cancer, plaster their bumpers with stickers decrying everything from inequality to bullying, or participate in something as silly and unhelpful as an “ice bucket challenge” – they are virtue signaling. Virtue signaling is a way to make yourself feel and look good without actually doing any good. We just celebrated the king of virtue signaling holidays: Valentine’s Day – how much easier is it to buy a box of chocolates or a dozen roses than it is to actually sit and listen or do the chores! Virtue signaling is a shallow excuse for not showing real care, compassion and love. We live in a world of empty expressions of love – so we need our Lord to tell us what genuine love looks like.

But before we do that, we have to make sure we are using the right definition and standard of love. We could easily take a stroll down the road of self-righteousness by comparing our love to the artificial, virtue signaling love of the world. But the world is not the standard of love; God is. And Paul tells us exactly what God demands: Love must be sincere. (Literally, without hypocrisy.) In other words, when God looks for love, he looks at our hearts. This genuine love must flow in two directions. First, Jesus says: love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30) Secondly: love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:31) In both of these, Jesus’ standard is: be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) God is not fooled if our “love” is no more than lip-service. God knows when our kindness is little more than a cover for a bitter, jealous, greedy heart. God knows if we do good things for others even though we’d rather not. God demands that we love him and love others with genuine, sincere, perfect love. Self-examination time. How do we stack up?

If we’re honest, we must confess that we have not loved as God demands – and even the best we can do is tainted by sin. The perfect Law of God reveals that if our salvation depends on our love, we are doomed. But here’s the good news: At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 3:5-8) When we were unlovable, wretched, rebellious enemies of God, he loved us. He didn’t just tell us about his love – he proved it by sending Jesus to live and die for us. If you want to see genuine love, look at Jesus. He didn’t just talk about helping those in need – he actually rebuked the proud, he comforted the hurting, he fed the hungry, gave sight to the blind and life to the dead. When his enemies showed their hatred by beating him and nailing him to a cross Jesus showed his love by praying: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. (Luke 23:34) And then, Jesus performed the greatest act of love in human history: he laid down his life to pay for the sins – of not just his friends, but his enemies. Through faith, our lovelessness is covered by his perfect life of love. That’s genuine love. That’s genuine love from our God whose very essence is love. (1 John 4:16)

Only when our faith is firmly fixed on God’s perfect, genuine love for us will we be ready for Paul’s answer to the question: what does genuine love look like in our own lives? Paul begins: hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Love hates? Yes. Our world says things like: a true friend will support you in anything you want to do. No. True love is discerning. A true friend will tell you when you’re doing something foolish or dangerous. Genuine love will go farther. Genuine love will tell you when you are doing something that threatens your eternal welfare. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Both Greek words here describe the love which naturally exists between parents and children, brothers and sisters. Genuine love goes further than family relationships, in fact, it transcends them, rises above them. While so much of the world’s virtue is marked by division: black or blue or white or brown lives matter more than others; genuine, Christ-like love shows the same tender, warm affection for brothers and sisters in faith as it does for blood relatives. Honor one another above yourselves. Virtue signaling is intended to make you look better than other people. Genuine, Christian love will fall over itself to give others the credit. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. It’s likely that many of the world’s virtue signalers actually do intend to do some real good. But sinful laziness prevents their good intentions from ever bearing fruit. The same can happen among believers. We say we will pray for someone, but forget. We volunteer to help, but other things come up. How do we overcome this? A more accurate translation is: be fervent in Spirit – the Greek word pictures a pot boiling over. In order for us to be able to love others, God must light a fire in our hearts. If we find our love growing cold, it’s because we’ve strayed from the fire of God’s love. If we want to glow with love for others, we must be warmed by the love and forgiveness God gives us first, in the Gospel in Word and Sacrament.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. This triplet applies primarily to the way we run our race through life. Our certainty of salvation in Jesus keeps us steadfast and joyful when we face the storms and trials of life. When trials come, we don’t lash out or grow irritable, we patiently endure. And, in all things, at all times, in all places, for all people – we pray; we turn over our problems and concerns to God. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Genuine love doesn’t wait to be asked for help and doesn’t expect to be repaid. Everything we have is God’s gift to us – and we should take special care to share what God has given us – especially with our fellow believers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Genuine love never wishes that something awful would happen to someone – even if they deserve it. Genuine love hopes and prays that God would bestow rich blessings on those who persecute us. Why? Because our role models are not the celebrities who stand on stage and spew their empty, hypocritical outrage – our role model is God and Jesus gave the perfect example of God’s love even for his enemies in Matthew: He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:45)

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. This is one of the greatest joys and challenges of being a pastor – your pastor. I get to share in your joys – the birth of a child, a baptism, a marriage, a new job, the peace of forgiveness; but when you lose a job, when the doctor’s report is not good, when death robs you of a loved one that becomes my burden as well. But I don’t have a monopoly, either. Rejoice and mourn together – that’s how we share one another’s burdens. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. There is no hierarchy in Christ’s church. No one is any better or holier than anyone else. There are no elites, no 99% and no 1%, there are only blood bought sinners. Let’s pause there. Genuine Christian love is sincere, discerning, and affectionate. It is enthusiastic and patient, generous and hospitable. It is marked by harmony and humility. And that’s just here, with our fellow believers.

But Paul is not done. Genuine love also looks out, to a world filled with enemies. Do not repay evil for evil. Do not take revenge. Do not be overcome by evil. Each of these phrases says the same thing in different words. Retaliation and revenge are not in the Christian vocabulary. And our sinful nature doesn’t like it. That’s not fair. That’s not the way the world works. When someone gets hurt, the perpetrator must pay. That’s why we have judges, juries and executioners – justice must be carried out. And while Paul is not forbidding using the courts and rule of law to achieve justice; he is forbidding seeking personal revenge. Because, while revenge and retribution are the way of the world – they are not the way of Jesus’ disciples.

The question is: why? Why shouldn’t I flip off the guy who cuts me off on the highway? Why shouldn’t I get even when someone rips me off or betrays my trust? Why shouldn’t I throw a temper tantrum when I don’t think I’m being treated fairly? Why shouldn’t I unleash on the waitress for messing up my order – it’s her fault, I have every right! No, you don’t. For two reasons. First, Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Perhaps the most annoying part about virtue signalers is their arrogance; they think they know better than everyone. They know better than you how you should think, better than police officers and presidents who is a threat to our safety, better than judges who is guilty and innocent, better than elected representatives what is best for our country. For the Christian, revenge is an act of arrogance; it is nothing less than pretending to know better than God – to take his place as the Judge. God knows when you are wronged, and he will carry out fuller and firmer justice than you ever could. Either in this life – through his representatives (look forward to Romans 13) or in the next, through the eternal punishment of hell – God will right all wrongs. Of that, you can be certain.

Secondly, showing kindness instead of seeking revenge has the potential to bring about the best of all possible outcomes: if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this you will heap burning coals on his head. Heaping coals on someone’s head is a good outcome? Yes. Burning coals are a picture of shame. Have you ever felt shame? That hot, sick feeling you get especially when someone is kinder, more patient, and more forgiving than you deserve? That’s the kind of heat genuine love pours on the head of enemies. Our goal in repaying evil with kindness is not just to make someone feel shame, but hopefully to lead them to repentance and faith and salvation – and that is, without a doubt, the best of all possible outcomes. With God as our example and strength, we can pay back kindness for evil – and that is how genuine love is not overcome by evil, but overcomes evil with good.

So, now, we have to ask: are you a virtue signaler…or do you demonstrate genuine love? That’s a hard question to answer, isn’t it? If I’m honest, I have to say: both. Sometimes my actions are genuinely loving – but other times I’m no better than the guy in the cartoon. Can you say the same thing? Do you know what that makes you – wanting to do and be genuinely loving but always struggling and often failing? That makes you a Christian. (see Romans 7) That struggle to love is what drives us daily to the cross – to wash our sins in the limitless flood of God’s love. We began with a cartoon, we will close with a story from the life of Paul Gerhardt, the author of our final hymn. In his last will and testament he reminded his only living son why he should show genuine love to all: “Do good to people, even if they cannot pay you back because…” and we would expect him to continue “…because God will repay you.” But, that’s not what Paul wrote. Rather, he continued “…because for what human beings cannot repay, the Creator of heaven and earth has already repaid long ago when he created you, when he gave you his only Son, and when he accepted and received you in holy baptism as his child and heir.” (quoted in Handling the Word of Truth) God’s love for you in Christ. That’s what genuine love looks like. Amen.

[1] http://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/04/hating-the-daily-mail-is-a-substitute-for-doing-good/

Matthew 5:21-37 - You Have Heard It Said - February 12, 2017

Have you heard any fake news lately? No, I’m not making this up. It’s a real…fake…thing. Fake news is defined as false information or propaganda which is published with the appearance of being authentic, factual news. During last year’s presidential campaign it was alleged that foreign governments influenced the vote of the American people by publishing propagandized, fake news headlines disguised as real news. This fake news phenomenon has grown so problematic that Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, has said that it is “killing people’s minds.” [1] Well, whether Mr. Cook realized it or not, he is simply voicing a concern that Jesus first voiced over 2000 years ago. Only, Jesus’ concern was not that fake news was killing people’s minds, but that it was dooming their souls. As we continue our walk through our Savior’s Sermon on the Mount this morning, Jesus teaches us that whether we are living in the 1st or 21st century, just because you have heard it said doesn’t make it true; you must consider the source and stick to God’s truth.

Jesus begins with a fake news headline of the 1st century: You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ In quoting Exodus 20, Jesus is not calling the commandment Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai fake news. But over the course of 1500 years, the teachers of Israel had artificially limited the 5th commandment to mean that the only way a person broke it was by literally committing murder. It was this twisted view of God’s prohibition of murder that led the Pharisees to believe that, even though they had hunted, arrested, illegally tried, unjustly convicted, and finally handed the Son of God over to Pilate for crucifixion, that they were innocent of his blood and blameless before God.

What have you heard about the issues of life and death lately? Have you noticed that even as the rate of violence and murder have stayed steady or even increased, it is most widely reported only when it fits a certain narrative or when a “hate crime” label can be attached? Have you heard that college students need “safe spaces” away from opinions and viewpoints they find offensive while the lives of the most helpless in this world (unborn babies) continue to be snuffed out at a horrific rate? Have you heard that the lives of the terminally ill or severely handicapped are not worth living and that it is an act of love to assist their suicide? Aren’t we sometimes tempted to think that God isn’t really concerned about the hatred in our hearts and the loveless words on our lips as long as we don’t act on them? You may have heard many things about hatred and murder. So how do you decide which of them are true? The only solution is to turn to Jesus and listen as he clarifies God’s will.

But I tell you, Jesus says with divine authority, that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment, anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. The teachers of Israel had left out one very important word from their interpretation of the 5th commandment, a word that is sadly lacking from our culture’s definition and even our NIV translation: YOU (sg) do not murder. You, every part of you, is prohibited from any murderous thought, word, or action. Martin Luther commented in his sermon on these verses: you may find as many ways to kill as you have organs. You may use your hand, your tongue, your heart; you may use signs and gestures; you may use your eyes to look at someone sourly or to begrudge him his life; you may even use your ears if you do not like to hear him mentioned – all this is included in [do not murder]. (LW 21:74) The point Jesus wants to drive home is that all hatred, whether it ends in violence or murder or not, is a sin against the 5th commandment. A sin that puts the sinner in danger of the fire of hell. Yes, the physical act of murder is forbidden by God, but so is bullying, abortion, euthanasia, angry outbursts, vengeful and vindictive attitudes. God looks at the heart and the attitude he demands is one of love, not hate. 

But just as important as understanding what Jesus does mean is understanding what He doesn’t mean. Jesus doesn’t mean that judges and police officers and parents are forbidden from being angry with those who break the law or rebel against their authority. Jesus doesn’t mean that all taking of life is forbidden: in Romans 13 God explicitly authorizes the government to punish lawbreakers and use the sword to take the lives of capital criminals and enemy combatants; as Paul writes: He does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. (Romans 13:4) As Jesus discusses these commandments, we must understand that he is discussing our personal behaviors and attitudes, not the offices, roles, and authorities that God has established in this world.

And the teachers of Israel didn’t limit their meddling to the 5th commandment; they also had a corrupted understanding of God’s 6th commandment regarding adultery and divorce. Jews living in Jesus’ time were taught that any filthy thought, word, or action was ok as long as it didn’t end in intercourse. Are we being told anything different today? Isn’t the main discussion of sex in our society based not on whether or not it is right or wrong, but on how to do it safely and responsibly? If you doubt this, visit a health class at any public high school and suggest abstinence as a the only form of birth control that is 100% effective at preventing unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (not to mention it is the only form approved by God) – you will be laughed out of the building. And as far as divorce goes, in Jesus’ time, a man could divorce his wife for any reason – even if the only reason was that he had found a prettier woman to marry. The societal issue was not whether divorce was right or wrong, but that it should be done properly – that a husband give his wife a document of divorce before sending her on her way. Today, many people don’t even give passing consideration to whether divorce is morally right or wrong, but how to do it properly: so that the possessions are divided fairly, the reputation of both parties is preserved, and the children and pets are cared for. Consider the source of this fake news. The spiritually dead, unbelieving world under Satan’s spell. It is not a trustworthy source. For the truth, we must turn to Jesus.

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Adultery doesn’t begin with the act, Jesus explains, it begins in the heart. The result is that God not only forbids the adultery that takes place in a shady motel, but the adultery that takes place in front of the computer screen and in the imagination. So what are we to do in a world which plasters smut on billboards and pumps its filth right into our homes? Is Jesus serious about gouging out our eyes and cutting off our hands? Think about it this way: would throwing away an eyeball or hand remove the desire from your heart? No, Jesus wants us to gouge the lust out of our hearts, where every adulterous action originates, through repentance. Then, and only then, have you really removed the offense from God’s eyes. And, if the sinful desire has been removed from the heart, the hand and the eye will follow suit. Even though it is nearly impossible for 21st century Christians to avoid every sexual temptation, the new life God has created in us controls even the muscles of our neck and the hand that controls the remote. The disciple of Jesus does not have to look and give in to temptation; he or she can walk away, turn away or change the channel.  

Our unbelieving, godless world is filled with fake news concerning divorce, but Jesus says that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery. Divorce is never God’s will or intention – and he only allows it after the union has already been broken by adultery or desertion. Marriage as God defines it is a lifelong union between one man and one woman. When divorce happens, sin has always been committed and the result is always that the union God intended to be permanent is shattered. Divorce is never, ever God’s will. I have heard it said: “it’s not that simple, pastor.” That’s right. In this world, sin has created an ugly mess of marriage and divorce. But according to Jesus (and this is where you have to ignore the world’s fake news) a sinful situation does not change God’s will. God’s will is not situational, it is absolute. Regardless of what the world, our emotions or reason says, Jesus tells us that no one has the right or justification to bend, twist or redefine God’s will regarding marriage to suit difficult circumstances or selfish desires.

Finally, Jesus’ disciples had also heard all sorts of fake news about swearing and taking oaths. You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ Evidently in Jesus’ time people were taught that some oaths were more serious than others. If you swear by the hair on your head, you’re not real serious. If you swear by God, you are absolutely serious. What have you heard about the words and language we use? Have you heard that intentions are more important than words? Have you noticed that a man’s word isn’t what it used to be? Have you ever heard or used the excuse “I know what I said, but that’s not what I meant”? Have you fallen into the habit of using God’s name as an exclamation point rather than to pray, praise, and give thanks? How many of us have stood before God and promised to faithfully conform all [our] lives to the teachings of God’s Word, to be faithful in the use of Word and sacrament, and in faith and action remain true to God as long as [we] live and then later acted as though that confirmation vow meant nothing? We have heard all sorts of things about our use of language, but Jesus says:

Do not swear at all…simply let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no’ anything beyond this comes from the evil one. What does this mean? As believers, we know that God is always present and always listening to the words we speak. Therefore, there is no need for a believer to swear in his or her personal life. Believers should be so honest and have such a reputation for integrity that nothing more than a simple yes or no is needed to affirm the words they have spoken and the promises they have made. Anything beyond this only and always comes from the devil, the Father of lies. (John 8:44) At the same time, Jesus is not forbidding all oath taking or swearing. Swearing, for example, in a courtroom, at the altar in a marriage vow, even the oath we made when we were confirmed are all appropriate and God-pleasing because they are demanded by him or his earthly representatives.

Jesus has clarified God’s will concerning murder, adultery, divorce, and swearing. Where does that leave us? Does the phrase poor, wretched sinner come to mind? Does mourning over past sins of thought, word and action wrench your soul and constrict your throat? Do regret, pain, and guilt weigh heavily on your heart? Good, because that means the law has done its job. God hasn’t given us his Law to make us feel good about ourselves or show us the way to heaven – because it’s very clear that it can only lead to the dead end of hell. We have heard the law and the law’s main purpose is to filter out the fake news and clearly show us our sins against God.

But don’t despair, consider once more the source: Even as Jesus was preaching this sermon he was obeying God’s Law perfectly in our place. He didn’t just talk about the Law; He lived according to it for 33 years. As he teaches us about the holy life God expects from us he was busy living the only perfect life that could satisfy God’s holy demands – and through faith, his holy life is your holy life. You have heard the law, now look to the cross and hear Jesus say it is finished (John 19:30) – knowing that the “it” was his perfect sacrifice which washes away all of your sins against all of God’s commandments. Put away the world’s fake news and listen to the real Good News: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1) Jesus didn’t just come to preach the Law, he came to free you from the law’s impossible demands. We are not forgiven because we keep God’s commands; we want to keep God’s commands because he has already forgiven us. Because of what Jesus has done for you, you can go in peace. Go back to your life as Jesus’ disciple, go out to salt the earth and light the world with the real news of law and gospel. Be a critical listener. Consider the source. Don’t let the fake news spread by the world and the devil or created by your reason or your feelings define right and wrong. Listen to your Savior and stick to his truth. Amen. 

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/02/10/fake-news-killing-peoples-minds-says-apple-boss-tim-cook/

1 Peter 2:9-12 - Your Christian Identity - February 5, 2017

Have you noticed that a significant portion of our population has been melting down over the past few weeks? To put it another way, many in our nation seem to be going through an identity crisis. Just a couple examples. Just over two weeks ago thousands of women stormed the streets of Washington D.C. and cities around the world to protest…what? I’m not exactly sure what they were protesting. If actress Ashley Judd can be considered the spokeswoman for that protest, I guess they wanted the world to know that they are a bunch of “Nasty, loud, vulgar, proud women.” Ok. No argument here. The other is the ongoing debate over whether gender is a biological fact or a psychological theory; which has resulted in the fact that some people are having an identity crisis when it comes to deciding which bathroom to use. But as highly publicized as those examples are, they are only symptoms of a deeper problem. They are evidence of a world lost in the darkness of sin and unbelief searching for personal identity and purpose. This shouldn’t surprise us. Identity is important – it’s who you are. So…who are you? How do you identify yourself? Male, female, son, daughter, father, mother, white, black, rich, poor, high school dropout or college graduate, employed, employer, jobless, retired, Republican, Democrat, Independent…the world demands that you identify yourself according to these categories. Is that really all we are? The sum total of our body parts, our skin color and politics? Not according to God. This morning Peter helps us rediscover our Christian identity, first to know it and then to live it.

In an example of the foolishness and inconsistency of unbelief, our society encourages people to identify as whatever they want while simultaneously denying the right of any institution or authority to identify you as such. For example, I am free to identify myself as a Caucasian, heterosexual, monogamous, Christian male – but don’t you dare label me as a Caucasian, heterosexual, monogamous, Christian male. It’s absurd. But not as absurd as people who claim the ability and right to self-identify before God – and demand that he accept it. There are blatant examples: the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons – cults who have hijacked the label of Christian while denying Jesus’ identity as God and Savior – which is the central doctrine of Christianity. But there are more subtle examples too. People who attend church but secretly idolize power or position or wealth. People who claim Jesus as their Savior even as they live as Jesus’ enemies. And, maybe most humbling of all, people who claim to be Christian and yet by word and deed join St. Augustine in his honest but unbelieving prayer: Lord, make me good…but not yet. [1] There is a theological and logical lie behind these claims. It is the lie that creatures can claim an identity different from that given them by their Creator. That was the lie that led to Satan’s fall from heaven, Adam and Eve’s fall in the Garden, Israel’s fall into destruction, and countless Christians’ fall from faith. We creatures don’t have the right or authority to identify ourselves before God. Only God can truly identify us. And he only has two categories.

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Once upon a time we had no standing, no rights before God. We were less than nothing in his eyes. We not only didn’t recieve his favor and love, we received only his wrath and judgment. We didn’t possess citizenship in his kingdom or membership in his family. We could assert every imaginable claim, we could grumble and protest – but none of it could change the fact that by nature we were not God’s people, we were not entitled to his mercy, we could not call on him in prayer, live a life pleasing to him, or hope to live with him in heaven. We were lost, dead, and blind; doomed to a meaningless life on earth and imprisonment in hell forever. By nature, damned sinner is the only identity we own. That’s the true identity crisis every human faces.

What changed? What happened? Did we somehow manage to slip across the border from God’s wrath into God’s grace? No. What happened was that little word “but.” Did you notice it there 3 times in verses 9 and 10? But, but, but. What stands behind that but? God. God happened. God changed us. He didn’t just change our label, he changed our hearts and, as a result, our lives. He called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. Peter explained this in the beginning of this letter, where he addressed God’s elect, strangers in the world…who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood. (1 Peter 1:1-2) Whether you can pinpoint the moment this change occurred is not important. The important thing is acknowledging who is behind this change, this conversion. God chose you. The Spirit sanctified you – set you apart from the rest of the world. Obedience to Christ, called faith, was planted in your heart through water and the Word. Having been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, your old identity – along with all its sinful desires, words and actions – has been torn up and thrown away. While once we were like refugees standing outside God’s kingdom carrying only our dirty, worthless, sinful rags as identification, we now stand before God clothed in the perfect robes of Christ. We are God’s people. Not because we have claimed it or earned it, but because we have received his mercy.  

Now, that might sound a little abstract. What does that mean? Peter explains: you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. You are a chosen people. Our world condemns discrimination. God practices it. Out of 7 billion people, God chose you. And unlike the world’s groups, marches and protests, this choice wasn’t based on your birthplace, gender, skin color, or politics. Look around at the proof. God has chosen men and women, married people and single people, those who never went to college and those who have received their doctorates, white and black, nurses, mechanics and artists, young and old. The Christian church is the most diverse organization in the world. And yet none of those things played a factor in God’s decision to choose you, Jesus’ decision to die for you, or the Spirit’s decision to bring you to faith, keep you in the faith and give you the hope of everlasting life. In a world that divides people along lines of race, gender, and social status – God unites us under one banner: undeserving sinners chosen by God, sanctified by the Spirit and saved by Christ.

You are a royal priesthood. In the OT, the only people who could properly, personally approach and serve God were the descendants of Aaron, members of the priesthood. If you wanted to pray, you had to go through them. If you wanted to offer a sacrifice, they had to do it on your behalf. But in the NT, God threw out that rule book. You don’t need a priest to pray for you, you can pray directly to God through Jesus. You don’t need the blood of a lamb or a black robe or an altar to serve God – your life is a living sacrifice and the world is your temple. Wherever you go and whatever you do – you do it as a royal priest.

You are a holy nation. Holy? Really? Didn’t we just identify ourselves as natural born sinners, disobedient in thought, word and action? Yes. But Jesus’ blood has washed you clean, has replaced your filthy rags with his own righteousness. Maybe we need to emphasize this for a moment. We are so accustomed to what we were that this is really hard for us to accept. On top of that, our world calls us delusional, Satan calls us guilty and our own consciences condemn us. But Jesus died to make you holy and sinless. It is finished (John 19:30) applies to your sins and your forgiveness. Don’t listen to what anyone else says – not even your own conscience. God has declared you to be holy and holy is what you are – right here, right now.

Finally, you are a people belonging to God. That brings us full-circle. Humans have an inherent need to belong. We want to belong to our families, our group of friends – and when that doesn’t satisfy – Facebook groups and political groups and groups marching in the streets. But whenever you turn on the TV you see the hopelessness, helplessness and confusion that results from belonging to the world. So don’t. Don’t identify yourself according to the world’s categories. You belong to God. Whatever else you might be, you are first and foremost a Christian. No one can take that from you. That is your identity. Know it. Believe it. Cherish it.

And live it. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. One of the greatest lies that Satan has sown in the church is that once you become a Christian, the struggle is over. Peter says just the opposite. Becoming Christian isn’t the end of the struggle, it’s the beginning. God made us Christians, now we are to live as Christians. Christians abstain from sinful desires and live good lives. This means war. And the fiercest and longest struggle is not against the unbelieving world but right here, in our own hearts – it is a war against the person we see in the mirror. The sinful nature doesn’t want to belong to God – it wants to be its own god. And the way it rebels is by leading us to live and believe everything that is contrary to God. In other words, it tempts us to sin. Now we may argue: “I can’t stop sinful desires from popping up in my heart and head – especially in this godless world.” True. No one is denying that. Martin Luther compared sinful desires to birds: “You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest there.” (LW 42:73) You won’t be free from sinful desires until God buries your sinful nature in the ground. But that’s not an excuse for giving in to them. Remember who you are! Remember what Jesus died to make you and give you! You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) And, when you fail, come back to the cross, come to his holy Supper, drop your sins at Jesus’ feet in confession and leave forgiven, refreshed and ready to continue to struggle.

But, be warned. When you do that, people will notice. The world, which struggles with its own identity, will recognize you as something alien, a stranger in their darkness. It will hate you and accuse you of doing wrong because you don’t join in their evil ways. Don’t be surprised by it. Embrace it as proof of your true identity. And, know that this good living that Peter refers to is not some set of special, heroic good works. He’s not calling us to solve poverty or end violence or leave our homes and families to march in the streets in protest. He’s talking about living as a Christian in your average, every day, normal life. If you read the rest of this letter you see what Peter is talking about: quiet submission to governmental authorities. (1 Peter 2:17) Respect for employers and supervisors, even the bad ones. (2 Peter 2:18-25) Honoring marriage – whether married or single – and living our gender in a way that glorifies God. (1 Peter 3:1-7) And, in general, carrying out whatever role God has given you in life: child or parent, husband or wife, employer or employee. Even things as simple as changing the dirty diaper, taking the time to instruct and discipline your children, and patiently putting up with your spouse’s irritating habits and forgiving their sins – all are offerings God welcomes from his chosen people. But remember why you do it. It’s not so that the world may see your good deeds and glorify you. It is so that the world may see your good deeds and glorify God. Your quiet, moral life may lead your unbelieving neighbor to ask you why you live the way you do (and what a great opportunity to declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness) – but it may not. Either way, in this life or on Judgment Day they will join us in giving glory to God. And for us, there is no higher calling and purpose in life.

Our nation appears to be melting down in an identity crisis. It is grasping for identity and purpose in gender, race, nationality, political affiliation – even in whether you are backing the Patriots or Falcons this afternoon. They’re looking in the wrong place. Don’t look in the mirror for your true identity. Instead, look to Jesus. Let your Creator and Savior identify you. You are so much more than your body parts and life experience. You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. From your baptism to your grave you are a Christian. And wherever life leads you, you have a purpose: to declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Amen.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo

Matthew 4:12-23 - A Light Has Dawned - January 22, 2017

How did you feel this past Monday? Was it hard to get out of bed and get going? Did the sleet and ice and rain make you feel like staying in bed? Were you a little gloomy and depressed? Did you know you were supposed to be? This past Monday, January 16th, was informally known as Blue Monday. In 2005, Dr. Cliff Arnall, a British professor, published a formula for predicting the gloomiest day of the year based on factors including weather, debt, and probability of failed New Year’s resolutions. According to him, “Credit card bills are a big problem after Christmas. Snow, ice and floods are causing worries, and many feel a lack of motivation.” Also, “The deaths of so many celebrities, many in their 50s and 60s, has also worried people by reminding them of their own mortality.” Oh, and to top it off “other extra factors this year are Trump and Brexit causing uncertainty and increasing people’s fears.” [1] Well, even if you weren’t depressed last Monday – you might be now. While Blue Monday is little more than a pseudoscientific marketing stunt designed to drum up business for travel agencies and airlines, it contains an element of truth, doesn’t it? Our world and our lives are covered in a blanket of darkness and depression – and not just in January. For that and many more reasons, it is good for us to be here because in this world of darkness, a Light has Dawned.

The circumstances surrounding the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry did not seem to suggest that he came to bring light. First, his ministry began in earnest only after he heard that John had been put in prison. John the Baptist, the last and greatest of the OT prophets, had been imprisoned by Herod for having the guts to point out that he was sinning by taking his brother’s wife, Herodias, as his own. (Matthew 14:3-5) A year later, John would be beheaded by Herod as part of a foolish oath he had sworn to Herodias’ daughter. Dark. Gloomy. Depressing.

Secondly, the place where Jesus chose to begin his ministry was not exactly a shining city on a hill. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali – to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.” Before Palestine became a territory of the Roman Empire, the northern region of Israel was known as Zebulun and Naphtali – named after Jacob’s sons and their tribes which had settled there. This was not a place you would choose to live if you had a choice. For two reasons. First, Galilee was a military no-man’s land. Whenever a foreign invader from the north set its sights on Israel, they came through Galilee. The landscape and people of Galilee bore the scars of centuries of invasions. Second, after God had handed over the 10 Northern tribes to Assyria in 722 BC, Galilee was repopulated with foreigners from other countries. From the perspective of the Jews, Galilee was not only filled with “illegal” immigrants, it was filled with unclean, unsaved, unbelievers who brought their immorality and idolatry into the Promised Land. I suppose if, instead of single family homes, the development outside those doors was designated a camp for Syrian refugees, we might begin to have an idea of Galilee’s population and reputation. Galilee was a place of deep darkness, socially, politically and spiritually. And this was where Jesus decided to set up his home base and begin his ministry.

Why? Why wouldn’t Jesus start his ministry in a place like Jerusalem, where the Temple was, where the teachers were, where he would be most likely to find good, obedient, righteous Jews? Because, as Isaiah prophesied 700 years earlier, Jesus came to shine the light of God’s grace in the darkest – and, most unexpected – of places. The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. As Jesus would make explicit later: he [did] not come to call the righteous, but sinners. (Matthew 9:13) So that’s what he did. He went directly into the heart of darkness. He went to the people who were the most hopeless, whose lives were most messed up, who were suffering with various diseases, severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed. (Matthew 4:25) Jesus made his primary mission to visit those who didn’t know God, didn’t know the way to God and had no hope that God could ever have compassion on them.

This is still how Jesus operates today. The light house of his Word and Sacraments don’t exist for those who have life all figured out, to those who are happy and healthy and wealthy, his compassion and forgiveness are not for those who don’t want it and don’t think they need it. Jesus still comes to those who feel like they’re blindly stumbling through life, who don’t feel happy or healthy or successful, to those who are hopeless, helpless, and on the verge of despair. Practically speaking, those who think the church is only for “good” people, don’t understand who Jesus is or what the Gospel message is all about. The Christian church, this Christian church, is not for “good”, righteous, perfect people. If you’re one of those, or if you think you are, you might as well leave now, because we have nothing to offer you. Jesus comes exclusively to people who are broken, people who are wandering in the fog of doubt and uncertainty, people who feel left out, alone, and abandoned, people who are suffering physically, financially, spiritually. The absolution at the beginning of the service is not for good people but for confessed, convicted sinners. The parents who bring their babies to be baptized here do so because they recognize that their baby inherited more than their genetic makeup, they inherited original sin and therefore a death sentence in God’s courtroom. Holy Communion is not for the best of the best, but the worst of the worst - and that’s not my idea, that’s Paul’s: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. (1 Timothy 1:15) Jesus didn’t come to shine light in a bright place. He came to shine light into the darkest places. And, if you’re like me, this makes you very happy, because even if we don’t look it and no one would guess it, we know that darkness surrounds each one of us. If you are broken, despairing, depressed, if you’ve messed up life so badly that you don’t think you can ever put it back together, if you feel like you’re just wandering through life without aim or purpose, if you know that you need more than a handout and a piece of advice – you know that you need a Savior – rejoice, because a Light has Dawned in the most unexpected of places – Jesus is here for you.

In that unexpected place, he proclaims an unexpected message. Dr. Arnall, inventor of Blue Monday, suggested some ways people could cheer themselves up. He writes “the easiest way to be happy is spending more time with people who love you and like you as you are…Use Blue Monday as a springboard for change, whether it is to lose weight, stop smoking, embark on a dream or change jobs. Make the most of your life and live it to the full.” Isn’t that typical of the world’s advice to those who are despairing? If people disapprove of your sinful lifestyle – go find people who will accept you just the way you are. If you’re unhealthy, buy a FitBit, get on a diet and go exercise. If you’re addicted to drugs or alcohol, follow these 12 steps to recovery. If you’re lost and hopeless, dream big and chase that dream. If your marriage or family are broken, read this book to fix it or abandon it and start over. Look inside. Believe in yourself. You. You. You. Do. Do. Do.

There’s only one problem with that line of thinking – if you truly are lost and wandering in darkness – you know that the worst part is that you can’t find your own way out. You know that the biggest problem isn’t some outside factor, temptation, or situation – the problem is far more serious, far deeper – the problem is right in here, our own sinful hearts. No outside factor can make you unhealthy, addictive, lazy, unfaithful, or hopeless. The darkness we see in our world is merely symptomatic of the darkness that lives in every human heart – in our beating hearts. So telling you to find hope and light in yourself is like telling a blind man to try really hard to see – it just leads to greater darkness. That’s why, when Jesus steps in to bring light, his message is not only unexpected, it’s remarkably different.

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. The light Jesus shines into the darkness has two parts: the first is repentance. In the context of wandering in darkness, repentance is Jesus stepping into our lives to take off the blindfold, to show us the reality, and help us acknowledge the truth. The truth that by and large, the darkness in our lives don’t come from the outside, but from within. Jesus came to shine the focused light of God’s truth which dispels our dark tendency to blame our problems on the weather, on the political atmosphere, on a difficult set of circumstances, on any physiological or psychological factor or on other people. The source of darkness is not out there. It’s in here. (Mark 7:1-23) That’s what Jesus shows us by leading us to repentance with the mirror of the Law. That’s what Jesus wants us to see. That’s what Jesus, our God and Savior, wants us to confess. That’s repentance. That’s unexpected.

But not as unexpected as the second part. The kingdom of heaven is near. Sin has a tendency to put us in a sick, self-destructive cycle. I sin because I’m a sinner so I’m going to keep on sinning. The world’s solutions to that destructive cycle are, at best, temporary remedies that do little more than mask the real problem. 12 step programs might change behavior but they can’t change the heart. Drugs and therapy treat the symptoms but not the source. Surrounding ourselves with people who accept us just the way we are might make us feel good but it doesn’t make us good. The remarkable news, the light that Jesus has come to shine into hearts stuck in the cycle of sin is that he has come to heal, to fix, to solve the source of all our problems – he has come to bring the light of God’s forgiving grace into our sin-darkened hearts. It’s not that he ignores our sin. It’s not that he’s unaware of how ugly we are on the inside. The unexpected message is that God knows exactly who we are and loves us anyway. He loves us, not because we’re good, but because we’re lost.

He loves us so much that he sent the Light of his life, his Son, to live among us. Jesus was born like us, grew like us, endured the darkness of temptation and loneliness and depression in this world like us. And the fact that of all places Jesus began his ministry among the people of Zebulun and Naphtali should assure you that he doesn’t care how dark your life is, he doesn’t care how much sin he will find, he isn’t afraid to wade into the worst situation because his mission is to remove every last remnant of that darkness from your heart and life. He doesn’t tell you to trust yourself or be a better you. He doesn’t tell you to clean up your act and then he will love you. He tells you to trust him and believe that his blood has scrubbed every last drop of sin from your heart and that you are now wearing the brilliant white robe of his innocence. Jesus didn’t come to tell you or show you how to beat the darkness, he came to defeat the darkness and save you from it forever. And that is exactly what he has done. On the cross he swallowed the darkness of sin and the shadow of death and on Easter morning the blazing light of his resurrection destroyed their power forever. That’s the only light that pierces the darkness of this world and our hearts, the only solution that crushes the power of death and breaks the cycle of sin in our lives. That’s the unexpected message of Christ and the Christian church.

I’d like to be able to tell you that spring will be here tomorrow. That the darkness of winter is over. I’d like to be able to tell you that because you cling to Jesus in faith, all your problems will go away. But I can’t. All the conditions that Dr. Cliff Arnall described as causing Blue Monday – the weather, the bills, the failed resolutions, all the other problems – will still be there. But in this dark world – a world of sin, a world of death, a world of people like us – a Light Has Dawned. Jesus has come to shed light in the most unexpected places – our own sin-darkened, hopeless, helpless hearts; with an unexpected message – God has forgiven all our sins and promised to take us to live in his glorious light forever. May the brilliant light of God’s grace in Jesus brighten every aspect of your life this week. Amen.

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/01/15/blue-monday-2017-could-bluest-ever-says-expert-behind-equation/

Acts 13:38-49 - Good News That Divides - January 15, 2017

Can you think of anything less offensive than a lamb? Lambs, those cute, cuddly, fuzzy, harmless balls of wool. Lambs are standard equipment for babies. The Bible pictures us as lambs and Jesus as the Good Shepherd who holds us in his tender care. We take our children to petting zoos to run around with lambs, and we don’t worry, because they don’t have any fangs to bite, no claws to rip and tear. Even in our ultrasensitive world – who could possibly be offended by a lamb? You’d be surprised. Cute, cuddly, spotless white lambs, no, no one could take offense at that. But try pointing to one Lamb in particular. A lamb who is oppressed and afflicted. A lamb who will be slaughtered and sacrificed. A lamb whose spotless white coat will be splattered with crimson blood. And then tell people that they need this Lamb, because He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Then you have the single most offensive message ever proclaimed. Today Jesus appears as the Lamb of God. That’s good news. It’s good news that divides between life and death, faith and unbelief.

Although there are some people in our world who enjoy conflict and division, most of us do not. We like peace. We will go to great lengths to avoid confrontation and conflict. When occasions arise that we need to talk to someone about a difficult issue and we know that they will not welcome the conversation, we usually try to put it off as long as possible. Maybe that’s one of the reasons we are hesitant to talk to others – even our own families – about Jesus. We know they may not like what we have to say and we’d rather not create conflict. We also know that Satan and his armies place a target on the back of those who stand for Jesus. And who wants to engage the prince of darkness in a fight? Wouldn’t it just be easier to avoid the conversation and the conflict altogether? That’s what many people think. But not Jesus’ disciples. Jesus’ disciples know better, they know that he said: do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. (Matthew 10:34-36) Jesus himself tells us that the Gospel is good news that divides.

We see this played out again and again in the early Christian church – and especially in Paul’s ministry. He had to flee Jerusalem because some Grecian Jews decided to kill him. He and Barnabas were run out of Iconium by an angry crowd. In Lystra some Jews got their hands on Paul stoned him and left him for dead. And in our text we see that in Pisidian Antioch (a city in modern-day Turkey) the Gospel created a polarized, tense situation. The Gospel is good news that divides. The question is: why would anyone want to proclaim, believe or stand for a message that is inherently divisive?

We will get to the answer in a bit. But first we have to address some other important issues, such as what is this message and what kind of reception can we expect. Paul concluded his sermon with this simple summary: My brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. 15 to 20 years after John pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God, Paul does the exact same thing; he tells the congregation in Pisidian Antioch that forgiveness of sins comes only through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other way to have your sins wiped away. Faith in the Lamb who was mocked, betrayed, bloodied, beaten, whipped, pierced and crucified is the only way to be made right with God. The result of the Lamb’s sacrifice is justification. Justification is a legal term. It is a judge’s “not-guilty” verdict. Everyone needs to hear this message because everyone knows that they don’t always do what they should and that they do the things they shouldn’t. It’s called sin. We try our best to make it right. We want to remove that burden of guilt from our hearts and minds. The natural place we turn is the Law. Whether it’s the Law of Moses or the many behavioral codes of today: political correctness, environmental ethics, the law of tolerance, the golden rule – it’s where humans naturally turn for salvation. The problem? We can’t keep any of them perfectly and they can’t remove our sins from God’s sight – we cannot earn a not-guilty verdict in God’s courtroom by obedience to any law. Paul says stop. Stop trying. Stop working for righteousness and instead repent – lay your sins at Jesus’ feet – and believe – that he has paid for every last one of them. Believe that he is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and by that faith you are justified in God’s sight. What all our sweat and effort to obey are unable to do, God gives away for free through faith in the Lamb. That’s the Gospel. That’s the message of life.

But that’s only half the message: take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: ‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’ Habakkuk first spoke these words to the Israelites in the 7th century BC, as a stern warning that if they didn’t repent and put their trust in God for salvation, they would be wiped out by the Babylonians. They didn’t listen. They didn’t repent. And in 586 BC Jerusalem was destroyed. Paul warns his 1st century audience that if they reject the Lamb, they are rejecting God, and they will perish just like their forefathers. This is the Law. Reject this message at your own risk. Reject the Lamb and die. So, to summarize, the good news is that: Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Believe in him and you stand not guilty in God’s courtroom. Reject Him and you will die. That’s the message. Crystal clear, right?

That’s where Paul ended his sermon that day in Antioch. But the people wanted to hear more. They invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. Luke leaves some gaps in the story here, but we can be confident that throughout the following week Paul and Barnabas continued to teach this message to the people all over the city. This message was so different from anything the people had heard before that on the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. Not everyone was enthusiastically receptive to Paul’s message, though. Already, the Lamb created tension and division. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. The Greek says that they “blasphemed” Paul. They claimed that he was lying. They likely perpetuated the lie started by Jesus’ enemies in Jerusalem that Jesus was nothing more than a criminal cursed by God and that his “resurrection” was a trick played by the disciples. This is an important fact for us to understand and take to heart: some people will hear the Gospel and reject it. They don’t want it, don’t want to hear it, don’t want to be part of it. Jesus faced it. Paul faced it. We will face it.

How did Paul and Barnabas respond to rejection? Did they doubt that the message God had given them was true? Did they decide to change or soften the message? Did they say that everyone can believe what they want about the Lamb and still be saved? Did they try putting the Gospel in a cool, modern, hip package with the expectation that that would convince people to believe it? No. Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ Don’t misunderstand, Paul took no pleasure in the Jews’ rejection of the Gospel. It broke his heart. He wrote in Romans: brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1) Here is where the 21st century Christian church could afford to learn a lot from the 1st century church. When the Jews rejected the Lamb, Paul and Barnabas did not change the message to something more acceptable to the unbelieving world. Nor did they arrogantly presume that if they put the Gospel into a different package that they could convince the hard-hearted Jews to accept it. No. They boldly and faithfully proclaimed God’s message and accepted the fact that while some believed it, many did not.

Paul and Barnabas had done what Jesus told them to do: go…to the lost sheep of Israel. (Acts 3:26) But when God’s chosen people rejected his Lamb, Paul and Barnabas obeyed Jesus’ command, they turned their attention to the Gentiles. They didn’t waste their time preaching to people who didn’t want to hear it, they devoted their time and resources to people who realized the desperation of their situation and gladly heard and believed the message of the Lamb. The results were astounding: when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. Here we see a vivid example of the doctrine of election. Note the order: all those God appointed for eternal life believed. Did they make a decision for Christ? No. Had they found God? No. God searched for and found them. Election is very simple. In eternity God elected some to be saved. In time, God ensures that those people hear the Gospel, believe it, and are saved. The credit belongs to God. What about the others? Well, we saw that too, right? The Jews didn’t consider themselves worthy of eternal life, they rejected the Gospel when it was preached to them, and they perished. Who gets the blame? They do. This is what happens wherever and whenever the Gospel is rightly proclaimed: some believe it and are saved; others reject it and perish.

In theory, it’s easy, right? Some will believe, some won’t. Here’s the hard part: the Gospel is still dividing between life and death, faith and unbelief in our world today, right here in our own church, even in our own families. Jesus’ words are just as true for us as they were for Paul: do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10:34) Again, don’t misunderstand. We take no pleasure when people reject God’s Lamb. It breaks our hearts. We make every effort to reach the lost and straying and to faithfully proclaim the Gospel to them. But, we also understand that the message of the Lamb divides. We understand that division and rejection is not evidence that the Gospel has failed, but that it is working. Most of all, we do not let rejection tempt us to change or alter or soften the message. We pray for the courage and boldness to proclaim God’s message faithfully, that faith in the Lamb is the only way to have your sins forgiven and to stand before God justified. In humility we confess that if we are saved, it is only because God chose to save us, and all the glory goes to him. If we are lost, it is because of our stubborn pride and disobedience. That message is divisive because it confronts and condemns human pride and glorifies God alone.

Back to our question: why would anyone want to proclaim or stand for a message that is so inherently divisive? First, it brings glory to God. This is his message. This is his law and his gospel. This Lamb is the Lamb of God. Salvation is his free gift. The glory is his. To preach any other message or to change this one would break the 2nd commandment and dishonor God. Second, this is the only message that saves. The forgiveness of sins comes only through Jesus. No one can be justified by what they do, justification comes only through faith in Jesus. He is the Lamb of God who carried our sins to the cross without complaint. He is the Lamb of God whose spotless coat was splashed with his own crimson blood for our sake. He is the Lamb of God who was sacrificed on the cross in our place. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is good news. This is good news that divides; between life and death, faith and unbelief. May we faithfully hear it, sincerely believe it and boldly proclaim it. Amen.  

Ephesians 3:2-12 - God's Master Plan Revealed - January 8, 2017

Just outside those doors, a sizable housing development is underway. As you drove in to church, you saw the evidence: 20 or so homes in stages from a bare foundation to the finished product, new roads and sidewalks and a “watertower” park. It’s captivating to watch this project become a reality right before our eyes. It’s also remarkable to consider that long before the the first earth-mover moved the first yard of earth, before the first foundation was dug, this entire project was nothing more than an plan in a developer’s mind. When it was being proposed, there were skeptics. How’s it all going to fit? Will anyone want to live there? How are you going to get it passed by a village board, which is rumored to be…difficult? That’s why, before Veridian received permission to start their Juniper Ridge project, they had to present a master plan, showing when and what and how they would build those homes and parks and streets. Now when we look out at the finished homes and roads, it seems obvious how it would all go together. But only a few years ago, it was hard to imagine. That’s kind of how it works with God’s good and gracious rule of this world and our lives. It’s hard to grasp and hard to know your place unless you know the plan. This morning, Paul reveals God’s master plan of salvation.

It’s no secret that trying to understand God’s plans can sometimes be confusing and frustrating. As believers, we tend to think we know what he is going to do and we assume that he will act in a way that makes sense to us…right up until he goes and does something we never would have guessed. When unexpected and unwelcome things happen, we can start to wonder why God does some of the things he does and we question his wisdom and even get angry and start accusing God of not being on our side but working against us. Occasionally, the passing of time gives us perspective – we can look back with 20/20 hindsight and say “Oh, yeah, that’s what God was doing. Duh.” But in the moment, God’s plans often leave us confused and frustrated. (By the way, that’s nothing new. Study any believer’s life in the Bible and you will see evidence that God’s ways are far above our ways. (Isaiah 55:9))

And yet, while God’s plans may be confusing to us, they aren’t to him. Everything that happens is according to God’s perfect blueprint. It’s a massive, mind-numbingly intricate, eternally expansive blueprint, but a blueprint nonetheless – not so different from Veridian’s master plan for Juniper Ridge. Everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen in this universe and in your life follows God’s plan down to the very day, minute and second. One of the things that makes God’s blueprint far superior to any developer’s is that he never has to change his plans, there are never any unforeseen challenges, no obstacles that frustrate his will. Oh, it may seem like things get in the way all the time. A gunman cuts down travelers in a Ft. Lauderdale airport. Thugs kidnap and torture a special needs person in Chicago. Babies are born outside God’s institution of marriage. Jobs are lost. Cars break down. Families are divided. Spouses divorce. Cancer kills and wealth evaporates. Does God really have a plan for all of those disastrous, unwelcome effects of sin? He sure does. He even grants us this assurance: I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) Ok. We know that. We try to trust that. But it’s not always easy to see it. That’s where Paul comes in. He shows us that God’s plan was forever for us.

Now, if you’ve read the first 39 books of the Bible, you might question that statement. In fact, you might start to think that right from the beginning God’s plan involved saving a select group of people – which did not include us. Around 2000 BC God picked a man named Abraham and promised that he would bless him and make his family as numerous as the sand on the seashore. (Genesis 12:2-3) God made the same promise to Abraham’s son Isaac, his son Jacob, and Jacob’s 12 sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel. On Mt. Sinai God separated this ever-growing Hebrew family from the nations around them. He gave them their own laws, their own diet, their own temple and rules for worship, their own nation, and the promise that the Savior would come from among them. Only Jews were allowed to worship in God’s temple. A non-Jew was considered unclean. And the Lord even went out of his way to remind this chosen people of his favoritism. He told them out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Exodus 19:5-6) So, where were we in this master plan? Aren’t we plan B; just second-hand, last-minute additions? No. That’s the mystery.  

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. When you hear mystery, don’t think Sherlock Holmes. It’s not a mystery that needs human investigation. It’s a mystery that needs divine revelation. But here’s what Paul wants us, non-Jew Gentiles, to be certain of. We were part of God’s plan long before we were born, from before the creation of the world. Paul makes that crystal clear when he writes: His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known…according to his eternal purpose. God did not start with the Jews and when that experiment failed, decided to move on to the Gentiles. You were forever part of God’s plan, even though for centuries it was a mystery how he would carry it out.

Flattering, humbling even, isn’t it? Maybe it’s even a little embarrassing to think that the Lord has been thinking of you since before creation and that he actually planned every minute detail of his entire blueprint around you thousands of years before you were born. But that’s definitive evidence that we are saved by grace, isn’t it? Before we were born, God had saved us. The same God who keeps the planets spinning in their orbits, who leads the orderly procession of the seasons, who directs the vast orchestra of everything in the entire universe cares so much about us – just specks of dust on history’s timeline – that he made us the crown and goal of his master plan. We witnessed another example of God’s plan in action this morning. God determined before creation that Luke would be born to Jon and Tanya Homan, Christian parents (a rarity in our world), all so that this morning, January 8th, 2017 he could enter into Luke’s life, forgive his sins, drown his sinful nature and make him his child. And Luke is not alone. You have your own history that somehow resulted in you hearing the Gospel and believing that God has saved you for Jesus’ sake. A history carefully planned by God from beginning to end. Flattering. Humbling.

And…embarrassing when we compare God’s plan for us to our plans for him. Now that we’ve begun the new calendar year, I imagine many of us have taken on the task of transferring the important yearly dates from the 2016 to the 2017 calendar. Birthdays and anniversaries, school breaks, holidays, vacations, weddings, due dates, doctor’s appointments – even the moment the Packers kick off this afternoon. We plan and schedule even the most minor details of our lives. You know one thing that you won’t find on my calendar – I checked – and I’m guessing I wouldn’t find on yours either? Time for prayer, time for Bible study, time for the One who wrote his entire plan for us.

Now, I’m not saying that we never pray, never study our Bibles, never take time for devotion and meditation. After all, we’re here today, aren’t we? Never taking time for God is probably not the problem. Compartmentalizing God, is. God gets some consideration on Sunday mornings, before meals, and right before I go to sleep – the rest of my life, that’s mine. I have a plan for my life, and if God wants to help – he’s welcome – but if not, he can take a back seat as follow my plan and chase my dreams. Is that really any way to repay the One who carefully laid the foundations of the universe, set the days and seasons, controlled governments and empires, and sent his One and only Son to this earth to die for you and your salvation? Can we really only find a few minutes here and there for the one who put us at the center of his eternal plan? That doesn’t mean that we need to be praying or reading our Bibles every waking moment – after all, God has given us vocations as mothers and fathers, employers and employees, students and teachers – but it does mean that as we carry out those vocations and plan our schedules God should always be at the very center. He’s the one who gave us a life to live and time to schedule. He’s the one who gave us our jobs, marriages, families and free time. But let’s be honest. Even if we only made one resolution for 2017: to keep God at the center of our lives every minute of every day – we wouldn’t keep it, would we? We’re not capable of it. We’re too self-centered. We only know how to serve one person every minute of every day – and it’s not God.

You know what? God in his manifold wisdom knew that would happen. He knew who we would be and how we would act. He knew that our schedules would be perpetually self-centered and that he would be relegated to an occasional cameo appearance in the drama of our lives. That’s why he designed his master plan for you, not around you. Everything he created, he created for you. Every promise he made, he made for you. Everything he had written down over the centuries, he had written for you. Every time he steered the events of this world in a certain direction, every monumental miracle he performed and every little undetected detail he worked out behind the scenes he did for you. And, as the climax of his whole plan, he sent his Son.

God’s plan was forever for us, but it is always about Christ. That’s why our sermons and hymns and Bible studies and church year aren’t about us; they’re about him. But the remarkable thing we discover when we examine his life is that His life was for you too. Every law Jesus obeyed, he obeyed for you. Every temptation he fought off had you in mind. Every word he spoke, every miracle he performed, every comforting, compassionate look he gave had you in mind. When he was being whipped by the Roman soldiers, guess who he was thinking about? When the angry mob was screaming for his crucifixion, guess who he was thinking about? When he was carrying his cross out to Golgotha, when nails were pounded through his hands and feet, when he was hanging there naked for all the world to see his shame and agony, guess who he was thinking about? He wasn’t up there for his own good. He wasn’t there to prove anything to His Father. He was there for you, for your forgiveness. He was there to give his life for yours. He was there to die so that you might live. You were at the center of every moment of Jesus’ life and death. The Bible is about Him. But from beginning to end, his life was for you. You were his obsession. And you still are.

Jesus has risen. Jesus has ascended into heaven. Jesus has taken his seat on his heavenly throne and is in full control of all things at all times. But even now, everything he’s doing, he’s doing for you. If we could see Jesus’ schedule right now there would be trillions of things on it – but it’s all for you. Wind chills and snow…Jesus has his hand on that thermostat. The passing into and out of office of elected leaders – the King is ruling those kings. The ebbs and flows of the stock market and your blood pressure – Jesus is controlling them all for you.

And that’s the way God planned it all along. From the very beginning to the very end, his plan was that through the gospel, you and I would be heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus…according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. God planned to make you a member of his family in Baptism, to preserve and strengthen your faith in Word and Sacrament – and he’s done that. God planned to make available to you all the blessings that membership entails: forgiveness of sins, new life, the hope of salvation. God planned that you will experience the joys of heaven forever as a result of Jesus’ work. God determined that you and your salvation would always be THE plan. And on Epiphany, the day God revealed that Jesus came to save us, too, we see that what God plans always happens. Amen. 

Luke 2:21 - Because A Baby Boy Bled - January 1, 2017

Of the festivals which the Christian Church celebrates in the course of the year, there is none in which the church is so outdone and out-celebrated by the world as this one, the festival of the New Year. Across the planet the world waited out the last dark hours of the old year with parties and festivities, countdown clocks and fireworks, and when the clock struck 12 welcomed the New Year as if it were celebrating the birth of a child. The world revels in kissing good-bye to the old year and in the bright anticipation of the new. The question is: does the world really have any right to be so joyful for the New Year? Those who host and those who attend New Year’s Eve bashes may have their answer. But Scripture’s answer is the only one that counts. No, the world has no reason to wish a fond farewell to 2016 nor to joyfully anticipate 2017. If the world knew its own condition, it would not be laughing but crying; it would not wear clothes fit for a party but clothes fit for a funeral; it would not be obsessed with pictures that show how nice they look on one night of the year, but would pause to examine the ugliness that lives inside all year long. The world – which does not think it has a need for a Savior – cannot look back on 2016 with pride or joy because while the joys of that year are already long gone, the sins remain. The world cannot look forward to 2017 with optimism because it is filled with the darkness of uncertainty. No one knows what will confront him in the new year and how or where or if he will finish it. The world only knows that 2016 was filled with troubles and trials and disappointments and death and can only expect more of the same in 2017. Aren’t you glad you came to church this morning? Happy New Year, right? But for those who celebrated Christ this Christmas, Luke tells us that we do have every reason to be joyful and optimistic in the New Year – although maybe not for the reason we would expect. We can wish a fond farewell to 2016 and have a confident optimism as we step into 2017 because a baby boy bled.

Now, if someone asks you how your church celebrated the New Year and you tell them “Well, we celebrated a baby’s circumcision” they might very well think that you, your pastor and your church have completely lost their collective minds. How could an ancient religious ritual, a modern medical procedure give anyone peace with the past and joy for the future? In a verse of his Gospel that often gets overshadowed by the Christmas account, Luke explains very simply: on the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

The obvious question is: why did Mary and Joseph circumcise Jesus? Commentators have twisted themselves into knots trying to explain this, but the answer is very simple – because God said so. In Genesis 17, God told Abraham this is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised. (Genesis 17:10-12) For Abraham and his descendants, circumcision was a sign of God’s unilateral (one-sided) agreement with them to save them. God repeated this covenantal agreement with Moses and the Israelites years later. (Leviticus 12:1-3) In this way circumcision proclaimed both law and gospel. It was law in that it was a painful, bloody reminder that infants – which many people, even many Christians, consider innocent and blameless – are, in fact, tainted with the terminal disease of original sin. Babies are born with black, rebellious, ungodly, unbelieving hearts. Babies are born to lie and hate and steal and covet. And because of that, babies are born to die now and forever in hell. Circumcision vividly showed where the total depravity of humanity came from. Martin Luther put it this way: Had God ordered to circumcise the hand or tongue, that would have indicated that the source of the trouble lay there, in our words and deeds, and that God were pleased with the nature of the person and displeased with the words and deeds. But now he takes that member which has no other work than that the nature and personal essence are made by it, he clearly indicates that the whole essence of the nature is corrupt, that the birth and origin is contaminated by sin. That is original sin, the sin of nature, personal sin, the real, main sin. Without that sin there would be no real sin. Circumcision shows us that our biggest problem is not that we sin; our biggest problem is that our very nature, our very person is polluted with sin.

But circumcision was also a visible declaration of the Gospel. It was a reminder to all of Israel that God had promised to send a Savior and that this Savior would come from the seed of Abraham. Every time a baby boy bled on the eighth day of his life in Israel, God was reminding his people of his promise that when the time was just right, he would send his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law. (Galatians 4:4)

We still haven’t answered the question though, have we? Why was Jesus – who, by virtue of his miraculous birth, didn’t have a sinful nature – circumcised? Because of us. Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day of his life because we haven’t lived up to God’s expectations even one day of our lives. Jesus bled to obey God in our place, on our behalf. And because Jesus bled we are assured that we don’t have to pay for the sins of 2016 – or 2017 for that matter – with eternal death in hell. Jesus’ circumcision is a reminder that he didn’t just die for us, he lived for us too. When talking about redemption, we often focus on Jesus’ passive obedience to the law; his suffering and death. Here we see an example of Jesus’ active obedience to the law. Jesus actively did something that he didn’t have to do as God’s perfect Son; but something he did to serve as our perfect substitute. Jesus obeyed his Father’s will even as an eight day old infant. He did it, so that even though each of us are depraved, polluted with sin inherited from our parents that no soap will scrub off and no effort can sweat away – we might be saved. Through faith, you receive what Jesus did so that when God looks at you he only sees Jesus – perfect in every way. Through faith you will receive evidence and assurance of this good news through Jesus’ body and blood in His Supper. Today is a day for celebration; because baby Jesus bled, we have forgiveness in his name.

We don’t practice circumcision out of obedience to God’s Law anymore today because Jesus has fulfilled (i.e. he finally kept it perfectly and therefore removed the need for it) that element of God’s ceremonial law. As Jesus himself said in Matthew: do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17) But God still confirms his contract to save us in a very visible way through the sacrament of Holy Baptism. Law and Gospel are both still preached at the font; baptism continues to remind us that infants are born sinful and in need of a Savior. Baptism is also a continual reminder us that salvation is unilateral – he saves us without any help from us – he puts the sinful nature to death by drowning it in Jesus’ blood and he creates a new life of faith through the power of the His Word. Because baby Jesus bled, we can be confident that our children are saved through faith even before they can walk, talk, or tell us what they believe.

And just like circumcision marked a baby for the rest of his life, God intends for baptism to have life-long effects. Picture it this way: when God found us we were like fish flopping on the beach, with no hope of saving ourselves. God picked us up, breathed life into us and placed us into his living water. As Christians, we continue to swim in the waters of Baptism until God takes us home by daily confessing our sins and receiving forgiveness. Our Baptism into Christ is the reason we can be hopeful and joyful as we stand on the verge of another new year – even though we don’t know where or how or if we will make it to 2018. Because Jesus bled not only has our slate of sins from 2016 been wiped clean but wherever we go and whatever we do in 2017 we do it all in Jesus’ name and with God’s blessing. And because we are so quick to forget that, God regularly reminds us who we belong right before we leave his house by placing his name and his blessing on us. Our world likes to make resolutions this time of year to be better, healthier, kinder. Sadly, statistics say that only about 8% of New Year’s resolutions are kept – which means that for the vast majority of the world 2017 will not be any better than 2016. But because Jesus resolved to be born for us, to bleed for us, to live for us, to die and rise again for us – we can be sure that wherever life takes us in 2017, we will live it in Jesus’ name.

And finally, Luke reminds us that this news is too good for us to keep to ourselves, he encourages us to spend 2017 proclaiming Jesus’ name. A good question to ask at this point is: how does Luke do that? Where in this single verse about Jesus’ circumcision and naming is there anything about sharing and spreading the Gospel? Let’s read it again: on the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. Much like today, when parents will post pictures of their newborns on Facebook or send out cute postcards listing the weight and length of the next Packer’s linebacker, on the eighth day after Christmas, Mary and Joseph made the bold, public announcement that the name of their baby would be Jesus – the Lord saves.

Understand what a remarkable act of faith this was for Mary and Joseph. They hadn’t been married when the angel showed up to tell them that they would be having a child. They weren’t living or sleeping together when this child was conceived. They had been compelled by the Roman government to travel to Bethlehem at the very point when traveling was the last thing Mary should have been doing. There were no vacancies at the motels in Bethlehem and so they stayed in a barn. Strange shepherds were the only ones to come to congratulate them at the birth of their child. By all appearances, this was an illegitimate child born to poor, homeless, nameless Jews. By all appearances, there was nothing special about this child – and his arrival had caused no minor disruption to his parent’s lives. By all appearances the world could care less about the birth of this child. But Mary and Joseph believed what the angel told them. They trusted that this child was more than he appeared, they believed he was their Savior and the Savior of the world. So they obeyed God by having him circumcised and by giving him the name the angel had given him: Jesus, the Lord saves.

What does this mean for us? Well, it means that we don’t need a voter’s meeting or a survey or the newest How to Make Your Church Grow book to determine our direction for the New Year. Proclaiming this name, Jesus – the Lord saves – has been church’s mission since the beginning and will continue to be our mission in 2017. We will preach Jesus’ name to a world that has already forgotten about the baby born in Bethlehem. We will baptize little, depraved sinners in Jesus’ name and into his family. We will teach Jesus’ words and works to a new generation of young believers. We will feed and fortify the faith of all ages against the attacks of Satan and the world with Bible study and the Lord’s Supper. Chances are, we will commit the bodies of fellow believers to the dust and commit their souls to the Father’s care in Jesus’ name. Jesus’ name is what we will tell our grandchildren and our coworkers and our neighbors – even if they don’t want to hear it. Proclaiming Jesus is not an easy, and lately it seems an unpopular, resolution for the New Year. The world will not like it that we take the attention off of them and their accomplishments and point the spotlight at Jesus and what he has accomplished for us. But it is the only resolution that will save souls for all eternity. So here in our little corner of creation, because a baby boy bled for us, 2017 will find us proclaiming Jesus’ saving name.

The world around us had a huge party last night to celebrate little more than the turning of a page of the calendar. The church has much more to celebrate. We celebrate Sunday as the day on which Jesus rose from the dead, we still stand in the glow of God’s Christmas gift to us, and today in particular we rejoice that even as a baby Jesus bled for us. We can look forward to 2017 with hope and joy because we are forgiven in his name, we live in his name, we proclaim his name. Amen.

John 1:1-14 - The Word Became Flesh - December 25, 2016

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us has to be the most profound understatement ever made, doesn’t it? What other event that happened over 2000 years ago in the backwoods of the Middle East continues to have such an impact on our world? No day inspires more people to generosity and gift giving – even among non-Christians – than Christmas (even if we wish more people realized that gifts are not the real meaning of Christmas). Today is still the day that more businesses are closed than any other. On no other day do more people, who for the other 364 days of the year could care less about God and his Word, show up in church to see what all the commotion is about – which is a good thing, even if they have to be coerced into coming. The incarnation of our Lord – Christmas – has had a greater impact on our world and on individual hearts and lives than any other event. So what’s the big deal? What happened that day in Bethlehem long ago that has such lingering consequences not only for this life, but for our hope for the next? The Word became flesh. That might be understating it, but the profound mystery and the unmatched testimony of our Lord’s incarnation cannot be overstated.

The first logical question is: where did this Word come from? In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Immediately John takes us to another place, another time, another book of the Bible. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1) The event in Bethlehem’s manger was not an accident, not a coincidence of history. In God’s mind the manger was the goal of the creation. Before creation the One that wound the clock of time planned to become part of creation when the time was just right. The One through [whom] all things were made; [and] without [whom] nothing was made that has been made came to rest in Mary’s arms, the result of the Spirit’s conception and a virgin’s womb – in accordance with God’s plan of salvation. Our puny minds cannot begin to fathom the nature of a timeless, all-powerful, everywhere present God; but the miracle of Christmas is that this infinite God limits himself to the frail, finite form of an infant. All summed up in one profound understatement: the Word became flesh.

In reading this, you can’t help but wonder why John used the term Word to describe baby Jesus. Why not God became human or the Creator of the Universe became a creature or (if he was writing a precise confession of faith) the Son of God, the second person of the trinity, while retaining his nature as true God, took into his divine nature the nature of a true man, so that the nature and characteristics of each rightfully and only belong to the One known as Jesus Christ? John doesn’t do that, instead he calls Mary’s baby the Word. Why? Why do we use words? Without getting philosophical, the reason words come out of our mouths is because we want to reveal what we are thinking in our heads and opening our mouths and using words to articulate our thoughts has proven to be the best and most efficient way to do that. Children learn to speak because crying doesn’t clearly convey their desires. We have found that writing out our thoughts in Christmas cards is a good way of letting people into our hearts and lives.

The Word became flesh to reveal God’s hidden thoughts to the world. The Word became flesh because no human could ever hope to understand what was on God’s mind, either how he feels about them or what his will is or what his plan is for us and this world. But that didn’t stop man from trying. Already in the beginning, Adam and Eve tried to get into God’s head by trying to become gods themselves. Ignoring God’s clear, spoken Word they presumed to reach the divine by eating a piece of fruit. (Which, when you hear it out loud sounds completely absurd.) With one bite, Adam and Eve not only failed to become gods, they forfeited the holiness and immortality God originally intended for them. You would think that mankind would have learned its lesson from the results of that first sin. But we haven’t. We still make gods of ourselves by holding our own thoughts and reason on the same plane (or a higher one) than God’s. We still make ourselves gods by bowing down to the desires of our own dead, sinful flesh and by placing our trust in anyone and anything but God. And in doing so we simply prove day after day that we don’t deserve to live anywhere near the presence of God. Because we are so bent in on ourselves and obsessed with our own wisdom and creativity, we demonstrate that we don’t appreciate, love or trust the One who made us, preserves us, and died to save us. Like Adam and Eve the first commandment is still the one we break most frequently. The sad truth is that no amount of intelligence, effort or smarts can ever raise us to the level of God’s holiness and righteousness – and the only proper place for self-made gods is away from the only true God forever in hell.

That’s why God sent his Son into this dark world 2000 years ago. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us because we are completely powerless to make our home with him. The Word that is God became man to reveal God’s heart to us. The Word that created the universe became an inhabitant of his own creation to save the very creatures that had broken his creation. The infinite God became a baby. Try to wrap your mind around that. And then stop and admit you can’t. Know that this is one truth that you cannot untangle; it is a mystery that can grasped only by the Spirit’s gift of faith. In the manger, God speaks to us, reveals himself and his innermost thoughts to us. It’s a profound mystery – don’t try to understand it, simply believe it.

But just because someone is speaking, doesn’t always mean that anyone is actually listening, does it? Pastors and wives know that truth very well. And as sinful humans who retain the ability to ignore God; who often think that we are just fine on our own (thank you very much!) – mankind didn’t really want to hear what God had to say through that baby born in Bethlehem. In our fallen, flawed way of thinking, we thought we already knew what was on God’s mind because we still have a fuzzy, barely legible copy of his will written on our hearts. In our arrogance, we put a finger up to God’s lips and say “Don’t waste your breath, we’ve got this.” John put it this way: he was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. The world, of which we were a part, had no need for the Word in the manger, because it presumed to have God’s mind and salvation all figured out. Obey, serve, work, give, love, feel, earn, strive, try harder, be better, do more…and on and on and on. Study any of the religions or philosophies of the world that don’t find their roots in the manger (and sadly some that do) and you will find humans still trying to become god-like through their own effort. It’s really not strange or rare at all. The religion of works is not foreign to our hearts and unacceptable to our minds. It’s the religion we were all born into, the religion of the sinful flesh, the religion of reason, the religion of Satan. And that is what makes the revelation of God’s hidden thoughts in the manger so precious and so unmatched.

God’s testimony in the manger is this: we have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father. The message that is foreign to our hearts and unacceptable to our natural minds is that salvation isn’t something we do; it’s something that must be done for us. To a world bound and determined to work its way up to God, the manger says: “God has come down to you.” But that’s still not the most unexpected, most profound part. John saved that for last: the One and Only, who came from the Father, [came] full of grace and truth. The hidden, unimaginable thought of God revealed in the manger is that his heart is full of grace and truth toward his proud and rebellious creatures.

The Word made flesh testifies to God’s grace – that is, his undeserved love for us. Our sinful hearts cannot fathom sacrificing ourselves for our enemies. (Can you imagine sacrificing your life to save the life of an ISIS soldier?) But God can and did and the manger is proof. The manger is where God proved that he so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) The manger is the place where God says to a world, that could and should only expect anger and wrath from him; that he is not angry, that a fiery home in hell is not what he wants for us. The manger is the place where God puts his finger up to our lips and says, “Stop trying to earn my love – because here, in this baby I give you the one thing I love most.” The manger is the place where God wants us to drop our sins, our problems, worries and concerns so that his Son can carry them to the cross to pay for them and remove them forever. The manger is where dead creatures like us come to receive life and it’s the reason we are confident that death will serve as the gateway back to God’s presence in his heavenly family. Or again, as John puts it: to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. All who believe that this baby is the Son of God who came to earth to save them will be saved forever.

Until then, the Word is the truth that leads us through this dark world. Not one truth among many. Not a truth that is true for some people but fails for others. But the one, certain, reliable, unchanging truth of the one, true God. The Word made flesh in the manger is what we must cling to in a world that is still filled with darkness. There is the darkness of the world that tries to convince us that there is no God (or, if there is, that he’s absent and uninterested), the darkness that tries to convince us that the manger is only one of many perfectly valid ways to achieve godliness, the darkness that tries to convince us that God is still angry with us, still demanding more from us, still expecting us to work our way up to him. There is the darkness of our own guilty hearts that tries to convince us that God couldn’t possibly love sinners like us. The truth of the manger is that God loves us so much that he became one of us. The truth of the manger is that he wants us to live with him forever and that faith in the baby lying in the manger is the only way for that to happen. Like the Magi following the star to the manger, follow this light because it is the one and only path back to God, the one and only truth that will never change, the one and only place that we can know what God really thinks. And the best part is that what God thinks is better than we ever could have imagined: he loves us so much that he sent his Son to live, die and rise for us. That is the matchless testimony of the Word made Flesh in a manger in Bethlehem.

To say that we have barely scraped the surface of what the Spirit reveals in these 14 verses is an understatement in itself. But I pray that our celebration of our Savior’s birth has once again kindled in your heart a blazing fire of faith in the Word made Flesh. A profound mystery – that God became one of us. An unmatched testimony – that full of the Father’s grace and truth, he came to save us. Look closely at the baby in the manger. Lying there in the hay, that’s God himself, God’s heart revealed. See his little eyes filled with compassion and love for you. See his little hands and little feet that he will allow to be pierced with nails for you. See his tiny head that will wear a crown of thorns for you. See a tiny chest with a tiny heart that beats with eternal love for you. In that manger is your God and your Savior. He is the only reason to celebrate today. Place your trust in him and you will have a very Merry Christmas. Amen.  

Galatians 4:4-5 - We Need This Baby - December 18, 2016

Babies are needy, aren’t they? From the moment they are born they need to have everything done for them. They need to be fed, held, burped, bathed and changed. They need to be carried from place to place. They need to be constantly monitored so they don’t put anything in their mouths they shouldn’t. They need to be checked on in the middle of the night. They need to be soothed and calmed and entertained and distracted and rocked to sleep. Babies are needy in every sense of the word. At Risen Savior, many of us have recently been blessed to experience that neediness first hand, and we pray with and for all who are hoping and praying for a baby of their own. But in the end, no one is ever really ready for the challenge of raising another human being. Babies, with their 24/7/365 neediness, change the lives of their parents forever.

So can you imagine being in Mary and Joseph’s shoes 2000 years ago in a small village in the Middle East? They weren’t married and weren’t living together, but an angel appeared to them to tell them that Mary would be having a child. They were not expecting this. They were not planning for this. They hadn’t read the books, they didn’t have the nursery ready. They were not ready for a baby. And this wasn’t going to be just any baby, this was going to be the Son of the Most High. (Luke 1:32) Forget the pressures and anxieties the parents of regular babies have to deal with; how were these two supposed to care for God’s Son? What special care would need to be taken with the only truly perfect baby ever born? Of course, while these and many other thoughts and concerns may have been racing through Mary and Joseph’s minds, the truth was that they needed this baby much more than he needed them. They may have been his parents, but he was their Savior. The same is true today: we need this baby more than he will ever need anything from us.

One of the things that sets this baby apart from any other is that He wasn’t born into this world to be taken care of; he was born so that he could take care of us. He wasn’t born to be cuddled and swaddled and held; he was born so that he could take and hold us in the palm of his hand. He wasn’t born so that others could satisfy all his needs; he was born to satisfy our every need.

If Jesus hadn’t been born, we would be in a very uncomfortable situation right now. In fact, it would be worse than uncomfortable; it would be downright terrifying. Because while God created us; when we were born into this world we weren’t born into his family. In fact, it was the exact opposite – we were born outside God’s family. We did not know him, believe in him, trust him – and we didn’t want to. According to the Bible, we were born hating God, despising God, denying God – and there was nothing we could do about it.

All of which means that our lives were hopeless right from the beginning. If someone isn’t part of God’s family, there’s no hope for that person’s future. God says that if someone is not part of his family he does not listen to their prayers. (Isaiah 59:2) God says that if a person is not part of his family he can’t expect that things will work out for his good. (Romans 8:28) God says that if someone is not part of his family, their sins are not forgiven, they are still guilty in his eyes. (Psalm 34:15-16) God says that if someone is not part of his family, they won’t spend eternity with him in heaven. (John 14:6) And when we were born, we were not part of God’s family. We were in big trouble. We needed serious help. We needed someone to do something.

So God did. God didn’t want us to remain outside of his family. He didn’t want us to live our entire lives as his enemies and die as his enemies and go to hell where God’s enemies go. And so when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. At just the right time – when everything in history was just right according to God’s eternal plan – God sent his Son into this world. His Son was born from a human mother just like we were. He was subject to His Father’s laws just like we are. All so that Jesus could redeem us. That’s a really important word if you want to really understand Christmas and understand the Bible. Redeem means to buy back for a price. Jesus was born as a baby from a human mother under the law of God so that he could redeem us – buy us back. And the price of our redemption? His precious blood shed on an ugly cross.

Do we really have to bring that up during a Children’s Christmas service? Do we really have to talk about something as gory and unpleasant as death by crucifixion at Christmas, which is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year? Yes, we do. Blood and the cross are essential to the Christmas story because Christmas is much more than a big birthday party where everyone gets gifts except the birthday boy. Christmas marks the beginning of Jesus’ work to redeem us. He was born to suffer. He was born to bleed. Jesus was born as a little baby in Bethlehem so that 33 years later, six miles north in Jerusalem, he could be nailed to a cross. Jesus came into this world so he could take our place – so that he could keep all of God’s laws perfectly and give us the credit – and so that he would be the one that God treated like his enemy, the one who didn’t belong in God’s family, the one who suffered the hell God’s enemies deserve. That’s exactly what happened. Jesus was born for you. He lived for you. He bled for you. He died for you. He endured hell for you. He rose from the grave for you. And because he did that, you have been redeemed. You have been bought back.

But because of Jesus, you’re even more than that – you are now an adopted member of God’s family. Listen again: when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. The result of Jesus’ birth is our adoption into God’s family. No one ever would have imagined that this is how salvation works: God sends his only Son to die for his enemies so that through faith his enemies might become his sons. It’s breathtaking. It’s incomprehensible. It is the miracle of God’s grace and the real story of Christmas. The best part is: we didn’t do a thing – God gives it to us as a gift. Through faith that Jesus has done it all we will enjoy all of the wealth and glory and perfection of the paradise God has prepared for us one day soon.

But, that might not happen for a while. The inheritance is promised and guaranteed, but it’s not ours yet. In the meantime, as we continue to live on this less-than-perfect earth and deal with less-than-perfect people in our less-than-perfect lives, God promises to care of each of us like one of his own. He will watch over us and guide us and give us everything we need. And there are plenty of things we need, aren’t there? From God’s perspective, we are still babies. We need food and clothing, we need work and rest, we need a place to live and family to love. And sometimes we comfort and strength and peace and sometimes we need guidance and sometimes we need discipline. Daily we need a whole lot of forgiveness. And our Father gives it to us every time. No matter how rebellious we may be, no matter how disobedient and stubborn and annoying and needy, your Father continues to treat you as a beloved member of his family.

Because you are. The proof is here in God’s Word: when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. God would not have sent his Son into this world if he did not love you. Jesus would not have lived, bled, suffered and died if he did not love you. The Holy Spirit would not have put in the time and effort to bring you to faith through the Gospel if he did not love you. But God did and he does. And it all started with this baby. A baby born in a barn. A baby born to an unmarried couple. A baby who lived and died and rose from the dead. We need this baby because we need this Savior. He is ours, and we are his. Not just today, but now and forever. Amen. 

James 5:7-11 - Good Things Come to Those Who Wait - December 11, 2016

Is there anything harder for sinful humans to do well than wait? Especially this time of year, and especially for children, waiting is a challenge. And, when you look around, it’s hard to blame them. Christmas trees, lights, and yard decorations have been up for weeks already. The dull regularity of a mail box filled with bills and junk mail has been replaced with exciting Christmas cards and mysterious packages. Christmas carols fill the air and Christmas movies fill the TV. It’s no wonder kids get so impatient – they are surrounded by the signs of what is to come and they want it to be here now. But it’s not just kids, is it? Maybe as adults we’re not waiting for Christmas presents, but we’re waiting nonetheless. We’re always waiting for something. We wait for test results. We wait for the end of the work week. We hate waiting for car repairs and oil changes, and fast food is never fast enough. We’re waiting for the treatment to work, waiting for a raise, waiting for our children to grow up and mature. Waiting is difficult in a whole host of situations – but this morning James helps us find patience in the most important waiting game: waiting for our Savior’s coming. James teaches us Good Things Come to Those Who Wait with the rare combination of perspective, patience, and perseverance. 

Why, do you think, it seems to get easier to wait for Christmas the older you get? Is it because instead of fun toys we get to open up socks? Is it because we’re too busy to think about it? Is it because after a few years you realize Christmas can never live up to the hype surrounding it? Or, is it because when you have some years under your belt you have a better perspective on what Christmas means in the larger scope of life? Having the proper perspective and expectations makes a big difference in how we wait.

That’s James’ point: be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. Take the long view, James is saying. We’re anticipating the day we meet our Lord…so let’s fast forward and see what that day will look like. When you look to the end of life – yours or anyone else’s – and you see a dead, lifeless corpse. Previously that corpse had a soul living in it – either the soul of a child of God saved through faith in Christ or the soul of a filthy, unrepentant unbeliever which will be tossed into the darkness to suffer forever in hell. In that moment, the list of what really matters grows very short. In that moment, when a soul stands before its Judge only one thing matters: the presence or absence of saving faith in Jesus Christ. All the things that consume our time and attention now: wealth, possessions, prestige, power, pleasure, presents are put in their proper place – they either aided our faith or detracted from it. That is the end we all are looking forward to, a conclusion to life that no one will be able to avoid. Viewing all of life in light of that serious and significant moment will help us keep the present in its proper perspective.

James uses an everyday scenario to illustrate his point: see how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. There are no shortcuts in farming. A farmer can’t do much to speed the growth of his crops. In ancient Palestine, the farmer counted on rain around the end of October to soften up the land so he could begin his plowing and planting. Then in March or April, when the crops were blooming, the farmer watched for the spring rains to come, to provide the moisture that would fill the heads with fruit. If either rain failed to fall, both crop and farmer were doomed. Therefore, the farmer learned patience. He learned to recognize that the timing was out of his control. He worked hard, but when he was done working he put it in the Lord’s hands. He knew that worry and questioning God’s care and control wouldn’t squeeze even one drop out of the sky – so, in view of the valuable crop that was coming, he was patient and waited for the Lord.

Likewise, James writes you, too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. We know that the Lord is coming. We know it because he has promised it. We know he will keep this promise because he has kept all of his other promises. We know he’s coming and we anticipate it more than any Christmas party or present. But worrying about it or questioning God’s wisdom and love will not make it come any faster. We need to have the proper perspective. We need to take a page out of this farmer’s almanac and leave the timing up to God. We need to see life now from the perspective of our Lord’s coming – because we know, like the farmer, that good things come to those who wait.

Waiting often leads to other problems, doesn’t it? When people are stuck waiting in line at customer service, their tempers get short and they get annoyed at little things. When children are idly waiting for Christmas Day they start to pick on each other and whine and complain. Is it any different as we Christians wait for the second coming of Jesus? Not in James’ experience, and, if we’re honest, not in our experience either. We know the Lord is coming. We don’t know when. We know we should be busy carrying out his work. We don’t always agree on how that should be done. We each face our own unique pressure that comes from anticipating something that most of the world regards as a ridiculous myth. And what happens? We grow impatient and frustrated. All day long at work we restrain ourselves only let loose on our families when we get home. We expect and demand patience and understanding when we sin but we hold our fellow believers to an impossible standard. Instead of building one another up and encouraging one another when they face trouble in life, we tear each other down or (like Job’s friends) wonder what dark sin they must have committed to deserve punishment.

Knowing human nature, James writes: don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! James warns us against even the grumbling and complaining that we might consider minor. (How could they do that, not do that; how could they say that to me, how could they not talk to me?) Grumbling and groaning is the opposite of joyful and eager waiting. In fact, when we grumble against other believers, we are effectively pushing Jesus out of his place as Judge – which is what we are supposed to be waiting for together. When we are casting a critical eye towards others, do you know what we’re not focused on? Christ. To put James’ warning in a positive light, he’s saying: “Hey guys, Jesus is coming back very soon and he’s bringing amazing gifts. When he does, do you think he wants to see his children fighting with each other when they’re supposed to be building one another up as members of his body, His Church? He’s almost here. Be patient – especially with one another.”

But patience – especially with other sinners – is hard, isn’t it? We like to imagine that we’re patient people, and maybe to those who don’t know us well, we can put on a patient mask. But just ask those who know us best – our parents, spouses and children – they may paint a very different picture. If patience is such a rare virtue, what’s the secret to getting it? 1) First, think back to our proper perspective: we will all stand before the Judge, he will right all wrongs; he will pay back evil for evil and will reward the righteous with justice. Patience begins with unwavering trust and healthy fear of the Judge. 2) It continues with recognizing that patience is product of God’s grace, not a talent we are born with. Paul puts it in his list of the fruits only the Spirit can create. (Galatians 5:22-23) In other words, if you desire the gift of patience, you must be filled with the Gospel. You must be in regular contact with the Word where you discover just how patient God has been – not only with this world of sinners, but with you, a sinner. In the Word you are reminded that the LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love…he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities…as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:8-12) If our holy God, faced with the enormity of our sin, is patient with us, putting up with our failures and graciously waiting to forgive us when we repent (2 Peter 3:9), then who are we to grow impatient with the weaknesses of others? Jesus has not come yet, not because he’s testing our patience, but because he is exercising extreme patience with us. As we wait for him, let us be patient with one another, building one another up, not tearing one another down – for good things come to those who wait…patiently.

Finally, waiting in a sinful world demands perseverance. James has help for us here, too: brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. When you think about the OT prophet’s, it’s pretty hard to think of one who didn’t face suffering or persecution and yet, with God’s strength, persevered through it. Elijah, even after the Lord had defeated the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, was hunted by Jezebel and Ahab. (1 Kings 19) Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern for warning the people of Jerusalem to surrender to the Babylonians or die under siege. (Jeremiah 38) Daniel was thrown to the lions for daring to worship the Lord instead of the King. (Daniel 6) But the example James focuses on is Job. Job, the most righteous man on earth at his time, persevered in faith even as Satan unleashed all his fury. Satan robbed Job of his property, his health, and his family. His suffering was made worse as his friends and his wife advised him to curse God and die. (Job 2:9) And yet, even in the midst of almost unimaginable suffering, Job trusted God’s wisdom and love and handed his troubles over to God: the LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised. (Job 1:21)

The difficulty for us is defining the suffering we as Christians living in 21st century America actually face. We can freely worship our Lord and Savior without fear. We can talk about Jesus with our family and friends and they probably won’t chase us out of town. Being open about our faith won’t lead to a prison sentence. We can’t really imagine life in the early church where Christians had to be careful about who they worshipped with for fear that they might be a government spy who would hand them over to be tortured and murdered. We aren’t black-listed from employment or refused service because we believe that Jesus is coming again to take us home.

But Job’s confession still serves as a pretty good summary of the struggles we face today: the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Sometimes the Lord gives us challenges to face. He gives us an immoral boss or back-stabbing coworkers, a rebellious child or financial struggle. Other times he allows comforts to be taken away. He takes away our dreams, our jobs, our loved ones. He takes away our hearing or sight or wealth. And, we face a trial that believers in the OT and early NT didn’t: it’s been 2000 years since Jesus promised that he was coming back soon! Soon? 2000 years? This world of instant gratification teaches us to think that patient, perseverant waiting is for suckers. To silently suffer pain and persecution, trusting that Jesus is coming soon to take us out of this world, sounds to most like utter foolishness. Satan pelts us with doubt; leading us to wonder if Jesus is ever going to return. In the face of it all, by God’s grace, we persevere. Not because we have super-human faith. Not because we completely understand God’s hidden hand in our world or our lives. We wait and we persevere because we know the good things Lord has brought about in the lives of the saints in the past – and we believe he has only good things in store for us too. We wait and we anticipate the Lord’s coming and until that happens we rest in his grace, because we know the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. We persevere because of who God is. He gives us perspective. He sows patience in our hearts and gives us the strength to persevere.

Whether you’re 7 or 70, waiting isn’t easy. James reminds us that good things come to those who wait. It starts with perspective. View everything in life in light of the end – for then you will be able to see what is truly important. It continues with patience. Be patient with each other because God, our merciful Father, has been patient with you. And, right to the end, persevere. Trust that God has never left his children hanging and he won’t start now. May Jesus give us this rare combination of perspective, patience, and perseverance so that he finds us eagerly anticipating the good things he will bring when he returns. Amen.

Matthew 3:1-12 - John's Advent Warning: Ignore at Your Own Risk - December 4, 2016

Just about everything we buy today comes with a warning. Some of them are necessary – like the warning to never mix bleach and vinegar, or you will end up with poisonous chlorine gas. Some would seem to a reasonable person to be unnecessary and ridiculous. Clothes irons warn us not to use while we are wearing the shirt or pants – even though it would save time. My grandfather’s chainsaw carried the warning: do not attempt to stop chain with hand – a mistake I suppose you only make once. And, maybe the most common warning label we see is the one on coffee cups: caution, contents are hot – I hope so, that’s what I paid for. Why do so many products carry these seemingly unnecessary warning labels? Because someone, somewhere has actually harmed themselves by using the product in a manner it was not designed for – and paid the price for it. When we’re using irons and chainsaws and drinking coffee, we are free to ignore the warnings – but the only person we’re hurting is ourselves. This morning John the Baptist has an Advent Warning for us, and it too is one that we ignore at our own risk.

For the people living in Israel in those days (the days when Jesus was growing up in Nazareth) John’s arrival and appearance were unusual and shocking. Not so much for what he did, but for what he didn’t do. He didn’t set up shop in Jerusalem, eat top-shelf food, or wear fancy clothes that set him apart as one of the religious elite in Israel. He worked in the desert, wore camel’s hair and ate locusts and honey. Why? What message was he sending? Well, part of it was intended to remind the people that Isaiah wrote about this man coming 700 years earlier. But the other part was intended to convey nothing. His humble appearance was meant to point people’s attention away from himself and focus it on the more important thing: his message.

John’s message, that’s the really shocking part: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. Repent! What does that mean? What is repentance? Repentance is a change of mind. It is a 180 degree change of direction. It means to look at things differently: rather than seeing things from our sinful, broken human point of view, we are to see things (especially ourselves) from God’s point of view. A synonym for repentance is conversion: from unbelief to faith, from a mind that hates God to a mind that loves God, from one dead in sin to one alive in Christ. The penitent person sees the error of his ways compared to God’s will, confesses that he deserves eternal death for his sins, and throws himself on God’s mercy and Christ’s sacrificial death. Repentance differs from worldly regret and guilt because repentance is God’s work. This is not something we can do to ourselves. Repentance is the process God began when he drowned us in the water of Baptism and continues to work in us through his message of Law and Gospel. For Christians, this process continues every day of life until God finally kills the sinful flesh once and for all by returning it to the dust it came from.  

Theoretically, it doesn’t sound so bad, does it? It almost sounds like one of those unnecessary warnings because who wouldn’t want to get back on good terms with God? We all have an inborn awareness of our sin. That desire to be right with God is why so many people went out to [John] from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

But not all of those in attendance were sincere: when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. What’s the difference? Why did John baptize the rag-tag multitudes and then react so fiercely when the Jewish leaders showed up? John could see from their teaching and living that their hearts were not right. They were not ready to confess their sins, acknowledge their guilt, and receive John’s baptism for forgiveness. Don’t get the wrong idea, these were very devout men. Humanly speaking, they were the very best church members. They were willing to do anything it took to be right with God – fasting and washing and sacrificing – just as long as they didn’t have to admit their need, confess their sins, open their hearts to the piercing blade of the law and their ears to the saving message of the Gospel. Theirs was a totally superficial, self-centered religion. They imagined that God was pleased because of who they were and what they did. John’s question to them, then, is best understood as ironic: who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? No one. Because they didn’t think they were in any danger. They were Abraham’s descendants, and, therefore, immune from God’s wrath over sin. When they looked at themselves, they didn’t see their utter depravity and their deep need for a Savior. They looked at themselves as people who were doing everything they needed to stay on God’s good side. To these men, who placed their faith in themselves, John was blunt: the ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

The question for us is: do we need this kind direct, pointed preaching today? Note: the question is not do we want it but do we need it? Our gut reaction might be: no, we’re here after all, aren’t we? Just moments ago we confessed our sins and received forgiveness. We are fine with a calm, measured, non-accusatory sermon that doesn’t ruffle too many feathers. We’re ok with fire and brimstone as long as it’s directed ills of the world, the sickness and depravity of our society, the dark and ugly sins of politicians and celebrities. We feel pretty good inside when we are led to think: well, compared to most people, I look pretty good, I don’t lead an outwardly, obviously sinful life, I’m Lutheran – which means that our doctrine and practice are faithful to Scripture, I’m baptized and confirmed and active in the church – if anyone is safe from God’s wrath, it’s me.

Do you see how easy it is to become a Pharisee? To underestimate our sin and overestimate our goodness. To make our worship more a matter of going through the motions and good behavior than the kind of worship God really desires: the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:17) We know enough not to say it out loud, but don’t we sometimes begin to think that we deserve God’s grace now and will get a ticket into paradise when we die because of who we are and what we do? Whether we want to admit it or not, we too need John’s warning, and it needs to go deeper than our ears, it needs to pierce our hearts, because there is a Pharisee in each one of us. The warning for us today is this: God still does not accept man-made religion. There is no back door to heaven for people who want to find their own way in. If we imagine that we can have saving faith in Jesus and yet disagree with his teachings: about marriage, about creation, about the use of the Sacraments or the roles of men and women – then the only thing we have to look forward to is hearing: sorry, I don’t know you. (Matthew 7:22) If we think that God should be flattered that we’re here to listen to his Word, we need to understand that God doesn’t need us, he can make disciples out of stones if he so desires. If we think we can have a right relationship with God without ever being offended, without making the conscious effort to, with God’s help, amend our sinful lives, we need to hear that the God’s ax is still ready to chop down dead, fruitless trees.

Not much has changed in 2000 years. We are still sinners who have a Pharisaical tendency to want to justify ourselves, to save ourselves from God’s wrath. So yes, we too need to hear the clear, harsh, pointed preaching of the Law aimed at our hearts. Mine is the heart that needs to be crushed. I need be shown the depth of my sin. I need have my case for self-justification in God’s courtroom blown up and admit that I don’t meet his requirements. I need to hear John preaching the Law in all of its severity to my heart. And so do you. This is not one of those warnings we can ignore as unnecessary. If we do, the only people we’re hurting is ourselves.

But then the procrastinator in us comes out. One commentator named him professor Ja-But. Yeah, but God wants to keep forgiving me and I want to keep sinning – so it’s a perfect arrangement. Yeah, but there will always be time to turn my life around when I’m older. Yeah, but God knows that I mean good even when I do evil. Yeah, but God wouldn’t really send anyone to hell, would he, after all God is love. (1 John 4:8) If professor Ja-But ever guides your thinking or influences your faith, then these words are for you: I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

This is the urgency we face. This is why there is no time to waste, no excuses to be made. This is why it’s dangerous to think that we can always repent later or use God’s grace as a license to sin. Jesus, whose way John was preparing, has come. He has accomplished his mission of salvation. He took our place under God’s law and lived a life of perfect obedience. He demonstrated perfect love for everyone, friends and foes alike, by not telling them what they wanted to hear, but what they needed to hear. He endured rejection from the very people he came to save. He did not complain when the rulers of Israel unjustly convicted and condemned him to death. He willingly took our place on a cursed cross and endured the hell our sins deserved. He demonstrated his power by crushing Satan’s skull under his foot and ripped the heart out of death by stepping out of the tomb. Everything that Jesus came to do – he did. All that’s left now is to clear the threshing floor of this world; to separate penitent believers from stubborn, impenitent unbelievers. Wherever God’s Word – his Law and Gospel – are proclaimed, that separation is taking place. Right here, right now, Jesus is busy gathering his wheat and burning up the chaff.

The only question left is: how will we react? Will we confess our sins, will our repentance go deeper than our lips, will we openly and honestly admit that on our own we deserve nothing but God’s wrath? Will we drop all our good works and acknowledge them as filthy rags tainted by sin? (Isaiah 64:6) If so, then John has good news for you: the kingdom of heaven is near. Pointing out sin was only the first half of John’s message, he did it so that he could follow up by pointing to Jesus: Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) Jesus is as close to you as the words of absolution you heard earlier. He is as close to you as the body and blood he shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins which you will receive in the Lord’s Supper. For when you admit that you are helpless to get to heaven on your own, your Savior says: relax, I’ve done it for you. On the other hand, if you’re not yet ready to let the Law penetrate all the way to your heart. If you want to cling to the idea that you’re really not that bad. If you can’t bring yourself to repent and change your life to produce fruit in keeping with repentance, if you ignore John the Baptist’s warning, well, you’re only hurting yourself.

There are some warnings that we can afford to ignore, some we can even laugh at. This is not one of them. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near, John warns. Let us allow the Law to do its important, preparatory work on our hearts. Let it crush us by showing us who we truly are in God’s sight. Let it lead us to despair of our own works and drive us to trust Jesus’ perfect, substitutionary work. Then we will be well prepared to receive God’s Christmas Savior and the real peace he brings. There’s no time to waste. Repent and believe: you and I are sinners, admit it. Jesus came to save sinners, believe it. Amen. 

Various Scripture Lessons - Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus - November 27, 2016

Advent – Christ’s Coming                                                                                                                                                                         Micah 5:2

The first season of the Christian church year is Advent. The word means: “coming.” During the season of Advent we wait and watch for three “comings” of Christ. 1) Jesus came in the flesh at Christmas. These four weeks remind us of the approximately 4000 years Old Testament believers waited for God to keep his promise to send a Messiah. Today, while most people are simply waiting for gifts, we are waiting for a Savior from sin, death, and the devil. 2) Jesus comes to us today in Word and Sacrament. The Savior who once came in lowliness as a helpless baby still comes to us in the lowly and ordinary means of grace: the Word, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. As we review the church year we are reminded to repent for the times that we have failed to appreciate Christ’s coming to us in these means of grace; for despising and neglecting them. And, while the Law leads us to sorrow and repentance, the Gospel leads us to take refuge and find forgiveness in the cross of Christ. 3) Finally, we look for Jesus to come again in glory at the end of time. In Micah chapter 5, we are shown how God chooses to reveal his mercy and his power most often in humble, simple ways: most importantly, by becoming one of us in the small, insignificant town of Bethlehem.

Hymn 1                                                                                                                                                                                  The Advent of Our King

Christmas – Christ’s Incarnation                                                                                                                                                       John 1:1, 14

In the Northern Hemisphere, Christmas comes at the time of deepest darkness – just 4 days after the longest night of the year. This reflects the truth that God sent his Son into a world of darkness, a world of sin, despair, loneliness and hopelessness. Into this world, Jesus came to bring light. For this was no normal child born to Mary in Bethlehem, he was the Son of God, who was God and was with God from the beginning. Christmas is what makes the Christian faith truly unique and the only true faith because on Christmas God became one of us, flesh and blood. Why? Only as true man could Jesus take our place under God’s law and die; only as true God could he live a perfect life and take our burden of sin to the cross to pay for it. Christmas means Jesus is true man. Christmas means Jesus is true God. He comes in time, and yet he is eternal. He is rejected and despised by men, yet he the purest and fullest expression of God’s love for us. A mystery? Yes. A miracle? Yes. Our salvation? Thanks be to God, yes!

Hymn 36                                                                                                                                                    A Great and Mighty Wonder (st. 1-2, 4)

Epiphany – Christ’s Appearing                                                                                                                                                               John 2:11

You probably know the familiar song The Twelve Days of Christmas (partridges and pear trees and so forth). But do you know where that song came from? It resulted from the fact that the better part of 2000 years the Christian church celebrated Christmas for 12 days, from December 25 to January 6. January 6, then, marked Jesus’ epiphany, literally his “appearing” or unveiling. The church celebrates two “appearances” of our Lord. First, He appears as the Savior of all people, not just the Jews. This is declared most clearly in the Gospel reading for Epiphany: the coming of the Magi – Gentiles from the east who came to worship Jesus as their Savior too. The second appearing is the revelation of Jesus as the Son of God. On Christmas, Jesus appears in deep humility: born in a manger, wrapped in strips of cloth, praised only by farm animals and shepherds. But during Epiphany, Jesus’ nature as the Son of God is revealed by his baptism, his authoritative preaching and his powerful miracles. Epiphany will have served its purpose in our lives when what we read in John 2 is true of us also.

Hymn 93                                                                                                                                                          Hail to the Lord’s Anointed (st. 1-2)

Lent/Holy Week – Christ’s Suffering and Death                                                                                                                          Isaiah 53:5-6

Lent, the season that stretches from Epiphany to Easter, is 40 days long, beginning with Ash Wednesday and concluding with Holy Week: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. The word lent comes from the Old English word for spring (“lengten,” the time of year when the days grow longer). For Christians the Lenten season is a time to meditate deeply on Christ’s suffering and death for our salvation as well as a time in which to concentrate on the continuing importance of confessing our sins and finding comfort in our Savior’s cross. The season of Lent reminds us of the reason for Christmas – the eternal Son of God took on our human flesh and blood so that he could bleed and die for our sins. Here we see God’s eternal plan of salvation worked out in history as the Lamb of God suffers as our substitute. In Lent we stand with St. Paul at the foot of the cross and confess: the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Hymn 105                                                                                                                                           O Sacred Head, Now Wounded (st. 1,3,5,7)

Easter – Christ’s Resurrection                                                                                                                                       1 Corinthians 15:17, 20

Easter is the high point of our journey with Jesus. On Good Friday our Savior’s lifeless body was laid in a grave. Good Friday left us with questions: Is he the Son of God or a delusional imposter? Are our sins forgiven or are we still guilty before God? What happens to us when we die? Will we rise again or will our bodies turn to dust and stay that way? Easter answers those questions. When Jesus’ disciples returned to the tomb early on Easter Sunday morning they found it empty. Later, the risen Savior appeared to them to dispel their confusion, doubts, and fears – to tell them and show them that he had risen. Easter removes the awful “if” about our faith, our forgiveness and our future. Easter proves that Jesus is God’s Son, he is our Savior, our sins are forgiven and our future is in heaven. As St. Paul says so beautifully in 1 Corinthians 15: And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins…but Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Hymn 158                                                                                                                                        I Am Content! My Jesus Lives Again (st. 1, 4)

Ascension – Christ’s Coronation                                                                                                                                             Ephesians 1:22-23

For 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples to convince them that he had indeed conquered our final, greatest enemy: death. They needed to be certain because he had appointed them to serve as his witnesses to the world once he was gone. At the end of those forty days he took them to the Mt. of Olives where he ascended out of sight into heaven. But though he was gone from their sight, he did not leave them alone, he left them with a promise: surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20) Our ascended Savior is still with us today, but he reigns in heaven, at God’s right hand, where all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. (Matthew 28:18) Today, as we live and witness for our Savior, the Ascension reminds us that we go with the assurance of his presence and his power that he controls all things and uses everything to work for the good of those who love him. (Romans 8:28)

Hymn 169                                                                                                                                                                                Alleluia! Sing to Jesus

Pentecost – Christ Sends the Holy Spirit                                                                                                                                           Acts 2:32-33

Pentecost is a Greek word meaning 50 (5 times 10). 50 days after his resurrection Jesus sent the promised Holy Spirit to his disciples accompanied with amazing signs and wonders. The disciples desperately needed the Spirit’s power and guidance because they were to be witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection throughout the world – but they were often slow to believe and hesitant to speak. St. Paul explains the Spirit’s power and purpose in 1 Corinthians 2: we have not received the spirit of the world but the spirit that comes from God so that we may understand what God has freely given us. (1 Corinthians 2:12) To put it simply, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit so that we would know and believe the Gospel – and have the courage to share it. In Acts chapter 2, we hear from Simon Peter, the man who was previously so timid, so slow to believe and at times rash and foolish, now filled with the power of the Spirit which enabled him to see God’s ways clearly and proclaim the Gospel boldly.

Hymn 177                                                                                                                                        Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest (st. 1,3,5-6)

Sundays After Pentecost – Christ in the Lives of His People                                                                                                     Romans 12:1

“Therefore.” That word appears with regularity in the letters of St. Paul. He uses it to form a bridge between the so-called doctrinal and practical parts of his letters. “Therefore” invites us to look back at all God has done for us in his mercy; it reminds us that God chose us to be his own, washed us in the blood of his Son and keeps us in faith by his Holy Spirit. “Therefore” also asks us to look at our own lives and ask that uniquely Lutheran question: what does this mean? What does all that God has done for me mean to me and for my life? Paul gives us the answer. While in the OT believers offered a whole lamb to the Lord as a sacrifice at the beginning and ending of each day, we offer ourselves, our bodies and souls, our time, talents, and treasures to the Savior who died for us so that we should no longer live for ourselves, but for him who died for us and was raised again.

Hymn 467                                                                                                                                                          May the Mind of Christ My Savior

End Time – The Christian Waits for Christ’s Return                                                                                                          Revelation 22:20

The last four Sundays of the church year make up the season of End Time. Beginning with Reformation Sunday and including the Sunday’s of Last Judgment, Saints Triumphant, and Christ the King – this season reminds us that this life and this world is not all that there is, that we are eagerly waiting for Jesus to return to make all things right, to punish unbelief with everlasting fire and to deliver believers, once and for all, to the paradise of heaven. Since perhaps no part of Christian doctrine is more misunderstood and falsely taught than the doctrine of the end times, we also take special care during this season to see exactly what we are watching and waiting for. When we understand what God wants us to know about the end, whether we are anticipating the end of the world or the end of our own lives, we will look forward to being reunited with Jesus with the solemn yet confident prayer: Come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20)

Hymn 214                                                                                                                                                                  Jerusalem the Golden (st. 1, 4) 

Isaiah 65:17-25 - The Lifestyle of the Saints of God - November 20, 2016

Do you ever find yourself fascinated by books, magazines and TV shows that depict the way the other half lives – the rich and famous of our world. If so, you’re not alone. The Queen of Sheba traveled hundreds of miles to visit King Solomon, to test his wisdom and observe his luxurious lifestyle. Many of Jesus’ parables feature a rich man, a wealthy business owner or a king – a common technique to gain and keep an audience’s interest. In the 1980’s and 90’s there was a TV show called Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous in which the host, Robin Leach, offered the audience “champagne wishes and caviar dreams” at the end of each episode. This fascination continues today. Dozens of series on TV show you fabulous houses, incredible vacation homes, and the unbelievable properties, pools, and garages that go along with them. All of these shows are designed to show you how the other half lives and I suppose make you think: “wouldn’t it be great to be that guy, to have that house and that stuff, to live that lifestyle.” Today, through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord reveals to us a lifestyle that we could never imagine, one never depicted on television or magazines. It is the lifestyle of the saints of God: in heaven, triumphant; on earth, militant.

Before we take this description in, we need to understand the nature of Old Testament prophecy. When the Lord gave OT prophets visions of the future, they often did not sharply distinguish between the glory God would give the NT church and the glory God had in store for believers in heaven. To put it another way, the prophets didn’t always clearly distinguish between Jesus’ 1st and 2nd comings. Many misunderstandings and false teachings have spread because this distinction has been overlooked. For example, the belief that we should expect and hope for a literal utopia, or heaven on earth is based on passages like this – but they fail to recognize that Isaiah isn’t describing heaven on earth, but heaven in heaven. It’s almost like the OT prophets were looking to the future with a telescope. They could see a brilliant, beautiful picture of what was to come, but with something so far away, the specific details were not clearly defined for them. In Isaiah’s vision, he first addresses the lifestyle of the saints triumphant in heaven and then the lifestyle of members of the church militant.

Behold, is one of those words in the OT that make you wake up and pay attention. Behold, the Lord says, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. This is life in heaven. Who is responsible for creating this new heaven and earth, for bringing about joy and perfection? There is a heresy floating around the Christian church that we are. If we want things to get better, we better roll up our sleeves and get to work. We need to get our faith and families into shape, we need to purify our church, we need to get the 10 commandments back into our schools and courtrooms. And if we can do that, then we will have what Isaiah promises: heaven on earth. Except that’s not what Isaiah says or sees. It’s not our job to create heaven on earth. God says I will create (using the Hebrew word for create and only and always refers to God’s work).

What will this new heaven and new earth look like? Since it will be so unlike anything we have experienced, the Bible, almost as a rule, describes it by what will not be there. In Luke, Jesus revealed that our relationships will be different. Marriage, as an earthly institution, won’t be present in heaven. Won’t we miss it? No, Jesus says, because unlike even the best marriages, our relationship with each other will be perfect in heaven – we will all be God’s children. (Luke 20:36) And, unlike earthly marriage, these perfect relationships will never end in death or divorce. In Revelation, John shows us that in heaven no longer will there be any curse. (Revelation 22:3) In heaven there won’t be any sin or any of sin’s consequences – the curse that Adam and Eve brought into the world will be rolled back by God. Women, no pain in childbirth, no longing for a different role in the home or church. Men, no futility in work, no weeds to pull, no endless “to-do” lists. For all: no tears, pain, sorrow, grief, death, anger, hatred, division, etc. In other words, the things that we simply accept as the reality of the human condition – not only will they not be present, but you won’t even remember them. You won’t remember the grief you felt at the death of a loved one. You won’t remember the sins that haunt you to this day. You won’t feel any guilt or have any regrets.

How is that possible? Because not only will heaven be perfect, but even its people [will be] a joy. Have you ever thought, “you know, life would be great if it weren’t for people.” In heaven, there will be no people there to ruin it, no stubbornness, no pride, no hidden agendas, no secret grudges, no lingering bitterness, no hurt feelings. Now, it’s tempting to think of all the people that we imagine won’t be there to ruin heaven (lawyers, politicians, etc); but a more important question to ponder is: knowing my heart, my thoughts, my tongue, my actions – will I be there? Knowing what I know about myself – how can I possibly be considered a saint of God, worthy of heaven’s lifestyle?

Because, unlike the homes and lifestyles of the rich and famous, heaven doesn’t depend on how hard we work, the lucky breaks we get, how wise we are with our investments, or how many influential people we know. Heaven is a reward – but a reward that was earned for us by someone else – by God’s own Son, Jesus Christ. Paul spells out exactly how worthless sinners like us become saints worthy of a life in paradise: From the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14) You and I are saved from the miserable eternity in hell we deserved by the redeeming life and death of Jesus, which we were brought to believe by the power of the Holy Spirit working through Word and Sacrament. Because Jesus rose victorious, you are victorious. Because Jesus’ holy blood has washed your sins away, you are a saint. No one can buy or work their way into the new heaven and new earth God will create. But our gracious God gives it away for free. Treasure this glimpse of heaven, because this is the lifestyle you will enjoy forever, as Triumphant Saints.

Great! When do we leave? Ah, and here’s the rub. Here is where faith meets reality. Here is the tension between right now and not yet. In heaven we will be Saints Triumphant, there is no doubt about that, it was sealed for sinners by Jesus’ blood on the cross and sealed for each of us through the water of Baptism. But here and now, as long as God keeps this earth going and keeps us on it – God’s saints, the church, are not triumphant, but militant. What does that mean? It means that even though we are already safe and sound in our Father’s care, we must continue to put on the full armor of God as we go out to live in a hostile world. It means that we must have the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) at our side, polished and ready, to defeat the attacks of Satan. It means – and I know I don’t have to remind you of this – that we still struggle with sin. We still struggle with doubts and worries. We are still plagued by sickness and mourning and death. We don’t have perfect marriages or families or a perfect church and nation. The curse of sin that Adam and Eve introduced into the world still casts its shadow over everything we think, say and do. But that doesn’t mean that the victory Jesus won for us on the cross doesn’t change our lifestyle even now. It does! While we wait for the new creation, we are a new creation.

Beginning in verse 20, Isaiah shifts his sights to the lifestyle we have right now as saints in the church militant. To summarize, the Lord declares that in the New Testament, there won’t be untimely deaths, there won’t be a feeling of futility as we work and build only to leave them to someone else, we won’t have to worry that our children will be born only to suffer some tragedy or catastrophe, and even nature, which also came under God’s curse, will be restored to a state of peace.

Hmm…are we sure Isaiah got this prophecy right? Are we sure we’re getting this interpretation right? This doesn’t seem to describe the lifestyle we are experiencing right now, does it? When we let Scripture interpret Scripture, it becomes clear that this cannot be referring to heaven. First, in verses 20-25, death has not been completely defeated, but is only limited which cannot apply to heaven. Second, babies are born, something that Jesus ruled out in our Gospel lesson with his declaration that marriage will be a thing of the past. And, third, we need to remember the context in which Isaiah and his first readers lived. The Old Testament was not a pleasant time. God regularly punished people harshly and immediately when they sinned against his holy will. When Sodom and Gomorrah condoned and accepted the sin of homosexuality, God burned them to the ground. When the Israelites built and worshipped the golden calf, 3000 of them died the following day. When David committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed Uriah to cover it up, his son died seven days later. So what God is promising in this new age, the age of the NT church, is that he will act differently, more patiently. Certainly we face immediate natural consequences for our sinful actions, but the fact that we are still here, in spite of our sin and rebellion is proof that God is making good on his word. Why? [God] is patient with us and with this world, Peter says, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

The lifestyle we live as saints now is one under the grace and patient care of God. This does not mean that we take advantage of his patience to sin as freely and as often as we want – as many in our world believe. It means that we live as God’s dearly loved children, wanting to obey him in everything, but knowing that when we fail we can come to him in repentance and prayer, trusting his promise: before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. In moments we will take God up on that offer. We will pray forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us (and we won’t do it with an arm over our head to shield us from the lightning bolt we deserve). That is what the Lord wants us to realize with these vivid descriptions of life in the NT church. God sent his Son to earth to bring peace, and that’s what we have even in a hostile world. Peace of sins forgiven. Peace that even if untimely death takes us or a believer we love – their suffering is over, they are with Jesus. Peace that even if the building and working we do now seems futile, we aren’t working for ourselves but for God. And peace in knowing that whatever comes, whether good or bad, we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) That is the lifestyle we have right now, as new creations in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17) One day we will see and experience all the glory of life in heaven, but for now, we are militant, we live not by sight, but by faith in our Father’s loving care.

People have always been fascinated with the lifestyles of the rich and famous. TV shows and magazines tempt us to long for champagne wishes and caviar dreams. God doesn’t make promises regarding those things, but what he gives us is infinitely better. He has made us saints, in spite of our sin and against our will, through the blood of Christ. Saints who long for heaven where we will be triumphant and there will be no more death or crying or pain. Saints who live in the church militant here and now. Prepared to do battle with the devil and our own sinful flesh, and ready to do so through the peace with God that is ours right now through faith in Jesus. Until God takes us to his new creation we live as his new creations. This gives us reason to rejoice now and forever. Amen. 

Psalm 146 - A Leader We Can Trust - November 13, 2016

Praise the Lord. Were those the words on your lips and in your heart early Wednesday morning and the days since? If not, why not? Was it because your candidate won or lost or because a referendum passed or failed? What took the place of those words? “Finally, we’re going to get our country back” or “those Trump voters are going to regret their decision” or “what is this world coming to”? This pulpit is not the place for political commentary and that’s not what we will be doing this morning. This pulpit is the place for people of all political views to receive peace, consolation and confidence in view of and (sometimes) in spite of the day to day and year to year happenings in our world. That’s what we are going to do this morning. We’re going to step back, take a deep breath of God’s Word and receive the comfort God wants us to have more than anything. This morning our thoughts will center on Psalm 146, where the psalmist encourages us to praise the Lord as A Leader We Can Trust, for his faithful character and for his gracious agenda.

The writers of the first translation of the OT (the Septuagint – a Greek translation) concluded that this psalm was written during the time of Zechariah and Haggai. If correct, it provides an interesting background for this psalm. Around 538 BC Cyrus, the king of Persia, decreed that the exiled Jews could leave Babylon and return to Israel to rebuild their homes and temple. Led by Zerubbabel, the rebuilding of the temple was begun and the foundation finished with great excitement. But the nations surrounding Israel grew suspicious and fearful of a restored Jewish state and by actively opposing the rebuilding were able to delay its completion for about 15 years. It was only when Persia crowned a new king, Darius, who actively supported Israel’s rebuilding process, that they were able to finish the temple. The temptation for many Israelites was to place their trust in this new king – who actually got things done – instead of the Lord, who, by outward appearances had failed.

As God’s spokesman, where does the psalmist begin in addressing this trust issue? Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. He begins with me. He begins with you. My heart, my attitude. Your heart, your attitude. Whether your temptation is to gloat over victory or despair over defeat, it all begins with you and your heart. It doesn’t really matter what the media commentators, the antagonists on Facebook, or even your own family has to say about it. You and you alone control your attitude. And he gives a very good reason to be positive and hopeful. The psalmist uses God’s personal name: LORD (Hebrew: Jahweh). This name reminds us that God is gracious. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift. He gave you life. He puts food on your table. He gives you a job. He made you a citizen of a nation where we are free to worship him without fear. Most importantly, he gave his Son to suffer hell in your place, die for your sins, and rise again for your justification. Election results do not change the fact that God is good to us – far better than we deserve. The decision to reject the mood swings, the gloating and despair we’ve seen in our nation this week begins by praise the Lord all [our] lives and sing praise to [our] God as long as [we] live.

It’s not that simple though, is it? This is where we live and work and raise our children and pay our taxes. God commands us to obey the laws of the land and to respect both the current president and president-elect. True. But there’s good reason that even the ever-changing political landscape shouldn’t change your attitude: Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Do you trust President-elect Trump? Were you hoping to trust Hillary Clinton or any of the other candidates? If so, you’re sinning, breaking the very first commandment, and need to repent. The people we elect to office, president or otherwise, don’t deserve our complete trust. Why not? Because they’re human. Not only do they put their pants and pantsuits on one leg at a time – just like us, but they are sinners and because they are sinners, one day they will die. One day their home won’t be an Oval Office but an oblong hole in the ground. God says that even if they had great plans to improve our nation on that very day their plans come to nothing. Presidents, governors and congressmen cannot save us. So, as Isaiah says stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he? (Isaiah 2:22)

What alternative do we have? Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them – the Lord, who remains faithful forever. Human rulers may appear to have great power, but that power is greatly limited. Their plans are frustrated, their policies often fail. Others come along who limit, repeal, and ignore their laws. But the LORD is eternal and almighty. His will cannot be filibustered and his laws will never be repealed. His legacy doesn’t consist of a historian’s assessment but the universe around you and his fingerprint on your body, heart and soul. When you sleep, your heart continues to beat and your lungs continue to breath. Why? God. Those cursed leaves you have to rake grow and change color and fall to the ground without you lifting a hand. Why? God. Ducks and geese fly south in nearly perfect “V” formations without anyone telling them to do so. Why? God. Fall, winter, spring, and summer have come and gone for thousands of years without the least concern over man’s bickering over climate change. Why? God.

But even the orderliness of nature is intended for one purpose: to point us to the promises God has made in his Word. Unlike human leaders, God has never broken one of his promises. Since the Flood, the planet has never again been buried under water – because God promised Noah that it would never again happen. God told Abraham that he would be the Father of many nations, and not even old age and infertility could stop him. God told Joseph in a dream that his mean older brothers would bow down to him and 20 years later, in spite of slavery and false accusations and imprisonment, that came to pass. God told Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego that they would never regret fearing him more than earthly rulers – and they passed through flaming furnaces and dungeons of lions unharmed.

Most importantly, he kept the first promise he ever made, to Adam and Eve. He sent his perfect, beloved Son to earth to take our place under his unforgiving law to live the perfect life we never could and die the death our sins deserved. He made a promise to save the world – and he, unlike his elected creatures – kept it. And because he kept that promise, we can trust every other promise he has made as well. He promises to work saving faith through a handful of water and a mouthful of His Word and to work through bread and wine to keep you in that faith – and you are living proof that he’s kept that promise. He has said though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed (Isaiah 54:10) and no matter how hard you and I have tried to make him regret that promise, God has stood by it. Jesus said heaven and earth may pass away, but my words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35) and even though they killed him and his apostles, even though emperors and empires and ideologies and all the powers of hell have tried to cast this book out of existence: here it is, the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. (Romans 1:17) God has kept order in this world through, and sometimes in spite of, the rulers charged with doing it. He’s disciplined and guided you – as only a perfect Father could. He’s comforted you in troubling times. And he’s going to keep the promises he’s made about the future, too. The world will continue until Jesus returns. None of those God elected to be saved will be lost. Heaven is ready and waiting for you and all believers. Those who rebelled against God and persecuted his people will burn forever in hell. God’s judgment is final. God is faithful. That’s his character. It’s not up for debate and it’s not on any ballot. Believe it and trust it – and praise him for it.

In an election where two of the most unpopular candidates in history were at the top of the ballot, some have concluded “it’s not about the character of the person we elect, but what they will do when elected” – in other words, their agenda. According to the Pew Research Center, the top issues for voters in this election were: 1) the economy, 2) terrorism, 3) foreign policy, 4) health care, and 5) guns. [1] Those are the issues that we, or at least most of our neighbors, care about. To overly simplify it: Americans are concerned about having enough food, money, clothes and shelter to survive. They want to be safe from domestic and foreign enemies. And they want to know that when they get sick or contract a disease or get in an accident, that there will be doctors and nurses available and affordable to help.

Do you know what all those issues have in common? Sin. If it weren’t for the scourge of sin that entered the world and our hearts through the rebellion of Adam and Eve, we would never have to worry about finances, safety or health. As it is, every issue that plagues our bodies, homes, families and nation can be traced back to the common source of sin and Satan. The result, that God wants everyone to realize, is that our fight as a human race isn’t against those of a different political party, a different economic status or different skin color. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

Satan wants our souls, and just like today’s political candidates, he will do whatever it takes to win. He will use oppression, racism, starvation, imprisonment, disability and tragedy, depression, corruption and political polarization to accomplish his goals. His single goal is to keep unbelievers from ever trusting God and to lead believers away from trust in God. And when we place our trust in princes or presidents – mortal men – then Satan has succeeded. We need to repent and then remember that we don’t need to trust in princes or presidents because the same God who worked salvation for our souls has laid out his agenda to get us there. God is faithful and this is his agenda: he upholds the cause of the oppressed – the Lord is where those who feel their rights are being trampled should look for help. [He] gives food to the hungry – a promise he can keep because the earth and everything in it belong to him. The Lord sets prisoners free – the Lord has the power to set people free from physical, financial, emotional and spiritual bondage. The Lord gives sight to the blind – that’s healthcare reform no doctor or politician can provide. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down – the Lord is the best mental health counselor for the brokenhearted – including the veterans who have sacrificed for our freedom. The Lord loves the righteous – and he doesn’t just say it, he sent his Son to die for us to prove it. The Lord watches over the alien – God treats every immigrant fairly and with dignity. [He] sustains the fatherless and the widow – the Lord’s social security program is fair and sustainable. But he frustrates the ways of the wicked – no terrorist or criminal will escape God’s justice. That’s the agenda God promises to carry out – and while he normally carries it out through earthly leaders, he is fully capable of carrying it out in spite of them. The faithfulness of God and his gracious agenda is the only thing that can make sinners like us better together and it’s the only thing that opens the door to heaven where we and all believers will be great (holy and perfect), not again, but for the very first time.

Sinners tend to trust other sinners way too much. We’re told that the president elect will either bring a new golden age or absolute misery. He’s human, so either is a real possibility. There’s nothing to be gained by worrying about it. But you have everything to gain when you trust this: nothing will happen that the Lord doesn’t control and bless – both good and evil. You have the unbreakable promise of a leader who has been faithful to every promise he’s made in an eternity in office. He has laid out his agenda that doesn’t favor the big guy or the little guy, Republican or Democrat, but offers grace to the sinful – you and me included. He wants, expects, and deserves your trust and praise. The Triune God is the only leader we can really trust. And unlike a candidate who will reign for 4 or 8 years, the LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. So that whether your candidate won or lost – or you are just glad it’s over, today and every day praise our King, praise Christ as King, praise the Lord. Amen.

[1] http://www.people-press.org/2016/07/07/4-top-voting-issues-in-2016-election/

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 - God's Judgment Is Always Just - November 6, 2016

Do you recognize the figure on the cover of your bulletin this morning? She represents what is supposed to be the decisive principle in a court of law: impartial, unbiased, firm but fair justice. Fittingly, her name is Lady Justice. Lady Justice has been around since ancient Roman times, if not earlier, and she is usually pictured as you see her here: blindfolded, holding a set of scales and carrying a sword. The scales mean that she will carefully weigh all the evidence for and against – so that she will arrive at the right verdict. The sword means that she hands out punishment to those who deserve it. The blindfold means that she is not influenced by a person’s face or race, by how much money or power or influence they have. Lady Justice can be found all over the world; from Ottawa, Canada to Frankfurt Germany, from Memphis Tennessee to Tehran, Iran. Since ancient times people around the world have seen the need for fair and impartial justice.

The ideal that Lady Justice represents is a great one, isn’t it? There are only two problems. One, the justice system is operated by imperfect humans who don’t always get it right. Sometimes the guilty go free; sometimes the innocent are punished. Sometimes justice isn’t blind and it does take a person’s power or wealth or influence (or how many lawyers they have) into account. Secondly, most people assume that justice means getting the outcome they want not the outcome they deserve. That’s why you see and hear so many people marching, tweeting and shouting about injustice, claiming that a whole variety of issues are not fair. Admittedly, our justice system is imperfect, and so those cries may occassionally be justified. But there’s a danger here for us as believers – that we allow our knowledge of the imperfections and failures of the human justice system to shade our view of God’s justice. Sometimes we want to accuse God of being unfair. Paul reminds us that God’s Judgment is always just: today and on the Last Day.

Now, we can’t definitively say that the Christians in Thessalonica were harboring feelings of injustice and unfairness against God – but knowing what they were going through, we can hardly blame them if they did. When Paul first arrived in Thessalonica with the message of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection for sinners, the gospel was warmly received, by Jews and Greeks, men and women. But there were other Jews who were jealous of the gospel’s success. They rounded up a mob of bad characters and started a riot. They rushed to the house where Paul was staying, hoping to let the crowd have its way with him. Paul had secretly escaped earlier, but the Jews didn’t give up. They dragged Paul’s host, Jason, and some of the other believers before the city officials, accused them of inciting riotous and rebellious behavior – and made them post bond to guarantee that there would be no more disturbances – even though they were the victims in the first place. (Acts 17:1-9) We could understand if these believers were beginning to question God’s justice; to wonder if God was being unfair in allowing them to suffer simply for following Christ. And yet, in spite of the persecutions, the church in Thessalonica grew and flourished, to the point that Paul had received a glowing report about their perseverance and faith. (2 Thessalonians 1:4)

In the words before us, Paul reveals the reality behind the suffering that Christians endure: all this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. What? Suffering, persecution, and affliction are evidence that God’s judgement is just? What planet is Paul living on? Two biblical truths are at work here. Principle #1: suffering and glory, persecution and the kingdom go hand in hand – following Christ means following him through suffering. Jesus had both taught and demonstrated that the only path to glory leads through suffering. (Luke 24:25-26) He told his disciples that if they wanted to follow him to heaven, they needed to prepare to pick up their crosses and follow him. (Matthew 16:24) Paul concurred, writing that we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:22) Therefore, when God allows believers to suffer now, it is evidence that he is preparing them for glory.

Principle #2: The fact that believers have the strength and faith to endure persecution reveals God’s justice. Peter wrote: do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. (1 Peter 4:12, 14) In other words, standing firm in the face of persecution shows that God has your back. If you are persecuted for believing and confessing that God, not a big bang, created the universe; that God, not the Supreme Court, has the right to define marriage; that God, not the court of public opinion, decides which behaviors and lifestyles are right and wrong – you have proof that God is getting it right. Jesus told his disciples: blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10)

But how can we be so sure? With all the deceit and confusion Satan has sown in our world, how can we dare to be so confident that God’s judgment is just and that we are not making a terrible mistake? Because God – the Judge – has declared that you are right with Him. God slammed his gavel down in judgment on Calvary long ago and just moments ago he credited that verdict to your account: God our heavenly Father has been merciful to us and has given his only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins…therefore, your sins are forgiven. We stand acquitted in God’s courtroom right now. Even though every one of us lacks the worthiness God demands, he has declared us worthy. Worthy, because of the life Jesus lived in our place. Worthy, because Jesus carried our guilt to the cross. Worthy, because he died to pay for our sins. Worthy, because God raised him from death and made you alive in baptism.

You stand on the right side of God’s judgment now – and your current suffering, perseverance, faith and love are proof of that; they are evidence that God’s judgment is just. That’s a hard truth to accept, though, isn’t it? It certainly doesn’t feel like God is getting it right when our children hate us for our loving discipline. It doesn’t seem like God is just when Christians are mocked and ridiculed for their beliefs. It doesn’t seem fair that saints should suffer while sinners prosper. If you ever feel that way, Paul says, look to the future, see the bigger picture. God is just: he will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.

One Day, all will be made right, publicly and eternally. That Day will see the greatest role reversal in history: Jesus will pay back trouble to the trouble-makers and will give relief to those who have been afflicted. As we look forward to the day when Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels we can rest assured that those who ignored God, rejected Christ, and tormented Christians will get what they deserve. While it may seem like the deck is stacked against Christians now, while it often feels like the world is sitting in judgement of God, his Word and his people today, Paul says that the tables will be turned when Jesus returns. It won’t be God and his Word on trial, but those who rejected his Word and his Son.

And unlike human courtrooms, where people can get out of punishment through plea bargains, where evidence is tampered with, jurors are coerced and justice is anything but blind: Jesus’ judgment will be swift and right in every case. There will be no mistakes, no mistrials, no appeals and no last-minute backroom deals. Jesus will get it right and his judgment will be undeniably just because he will look deeply into every human heart to see the only evidence that will matter on Judgment Day: faith or unbelief. Paul says: He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Two categories of people will face condemnation: 1) those who ignored all the evidence that pointed them to the one, eternal God, to whom they were accountable for every thought, word and action – atheists, agnostics and the apathetic – they will be punished justly for their sins. 2) And those who heard the Gospel of salvation but refused to believe it – those who were baptized and fell away, those whose door Jesus knocked on and they refused to open, those who imagined that Jesus could be the Savior of their soul but not the Lord of their life – they, too, will be punished, justly, for their sins.

And in contrast to those who deny the existence of hell or imagine that a loving God would never send anyone there, Paul spells out the reality: they will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power. Destruction doesn’t mean that they will cease to exist. Rather, they will experience what no living human, apart from Jesus, ever has: the cold shoulder from God. Heaven is being with God, seeing him face to face and living in the full light of his glory. Hell is being exiled from his presence, away from God’s face, away from his love and every good thing. It is living forever in the place Jesus described as a fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:42) Is this punishment terrible? Yes. So awful that we don’t want to think about it? Yes. Something we would wish on our worst enemies? No. Unfair, unjust, wrong? No. It is exactly what unbelievers deserve for rejecting God’s Son as Savior.

The day is surely drawing near when Jesus, the Judge, will come from heaven in blazing fire with his holy angels. He will take his place on the judge’s stand; everyone will appear before him and in every case his judgment will be perfectly just. That’s the day when evildoers and unbelievers – those who persecuted the Christians in Thessalonica and those who persecute you – will be punished. They will not, in the end, get away with it. And that’s the day when believers will realize full, lasting relief. On that Day Jesus will come to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. On that Day, faith and hope will turn into reality – and believers will know and experience God’s full love and glory and they will know that his judgment was just all along.

And yes, just as Paul assured the people in Thessalonica – this includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. By faith in Jesus, you are and will be found to be on the right side of God’s judgment. By faith, you know that because God declared Jesus guilty of your sins, you are worthy to enter heaven. Right now, you may wonder. Right now you may be puzzled by God’s justice and frustrated by his judgment. You may think, when you are suffering hardship or persecution, that it isn’t right and it isn’t fair. Satan will tempt you to accuse God of getting it all wrong.

Stand firm! Stand firm on this one unshakeable, undeniable truth: God’s judgment is always just. Yes, we know that Lady Justice doesn’t always get it right, but Jesus always does. His judgment is just for you right now, in that suffering proves you are on the side of your Savior; and his judgment will be just on the Last Day, when he will give you true, eternal relief from all suffering and sorrow. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.

John 8:31-36 - Jesus Christ has Set Us Free! - October 30, 2016

We live in a nation that prides itself on freedom. In 9 days, we will exercise our freedom to vote. We can vote for a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent, a member of the Green Party – or no one at all. We enjoy freedom of speech – the Constitution gives you the right to say almost anything at any time; although as Christians we will always use that right to edify others and glorify God. When we turn on the TV or flip open our tablets, we enjoy freedom of the press – MSNBC or FOX, the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal. We are free to watch and read all of them or none of them. Most important, we enjoy freedom of religion in our nation. Unlike thousands of Christians around the world, we don’t have to worry that the government or our employer will persecute us because we worship Jesus Christ as Savior. As Americans, we are free in any number of ways – and let us never take our freedoms for granted. But today, let us cherish the most important freedom we have – the freedom only Jesus can give: freedom from slavery and freedom for sonship.

To truly appreciate freedom, we must understand the opposite: slavery. John 8 provides a prime example of what slavery looks like. The woman the Pharisees brought to Jesus as he was teaching in the temple courts one morning was a slave – a slave to sin. She had been caught – red handed – in the sin of adultery. The Pharisees brought this woman to Jesus to see if he would support the Law of Moses which said that she should be stoned for her crime. (Leviticus 20:10) This woman knew what it meant to be enslaved to sin. Lust had controlled her. Evil, vengeful men surrounded her, and on the other side of her only apparent escape – death – stood Satan, delighting in the fact that he had wrecked another home, ruined another life, and trapped another soul for eternity.

The Galatians in our second lesson also knew what it meant to be slaves. Some of them were literal slaves – a grim reality for many in the Roman Empire. All of them had, at one time, been slaves to idols – false gods with eyes that couldn’t see, ears that couldn’t hear, and hands that couldn’t help. Behind every one of these false gods stood Satan – who had succeeded yet again in convincing humans created in God’s image to worship blocks of wood and statues of silver. With half the tree they heated their house. With the other half they made a god. It was pure insanity. Pure satanic slavery!

Before you pity that woman and the Galatians too much, listen to what Jesus has to say: I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Sometimes this slavery is easy to spot. The heroin addict who lies and steals to maintain his habit, his slavery is obvious. The husband who spends his time, money, and creativity deceiving his family and friends to maintain a secret affair – his slavery is evident. When pastors walk to the door of a member who hasn’t worshiped in months or years, they often hear the rattle of sin’s chains in the reasons, rationales and excuses put forward: busy schedule, gotta work, it’s the kids and their sports or academics, it’s my only morning to sleep in, I’m young, I’ll have time for Jesus later, etc. Wrecked bodies, destroyed homes and lives, greedy hearts and starving souls – all of it is slavery, slavery to sin and slavery to Satan.

Other times it’s harder to spot – especially in myself. There’s one important thing to remember: slavery to sin isn’t only what we do, it’s who we are. We just admitted that, didn’t we? Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful… Pick a commandment, any commandment. When we hold God’s Law up to our hearts like a mirror, our own slavery becomes undeniable. The 4th – sure we respect those in elected office, those called by the church, our employers and supervisors – to their faces; how many of us would have to blush with shame if our private thoughts and conversations about them were made public. The 5th – it’s easy to refrain from shooting someone. It’s not so easy to refrain from murdering with hatred in our heart. The 6th – it’s fairly easy to stay out of our neighbor’s bedroom. It’s not so easy to keep our eyes to ourselves. The 7th – I doubt that any of us have held up a Kwik Trip, but to “forget” to claim some income when tax time comes, to make the decision that all God deserves this week is my spare change – that commandment makes thieves of us all. Jesus doesn’t say “Every time you sin you are a slave,” he doesn’t say, “If you sin you are a slave,” He says, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. If you are breathing, you are a slave to sin.

We know this. We don’t like it. So we try to escape. Usually, in one of two ways: 1) We try to work our way out of it, or 2) we deny it. Try to work your way out of it – that’s the route the Galatians had taken. They had confused Law and Gospel. A group of false Christians had wormed their way into the Galatian congregation. They were essentially Pharisees in Christian clothing. They said that it was fine to believe that the Gospel made you a Christian, but that if you wanted to stay a Christian and be certain of heaven, then you still had to obey the Old Testament laws: circumcision, rest on Saturday, and no bacon for breakfast or pork-chops for supper. Paul could hardly believe it: I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all. (Galatians 1:6-7) In other words, Paul is saying that if you return to trying to do something to earn salvation, you wind up forfeiting the completed work of Christ on your behalf.

Martin Luther tried a similar route 1500 years later. He gave up a promising career in law to become a monk. He gave away all his earthly possessions. He slept on a stone floor in an unheated cell, became a priest, attended confession seven days a week and worshipped seven times a day. He did all this in an attempt to free his conscience from guilt and his soul from slavery to sin. His path of freedom through works quickly became another form of slavery. Luther wrote this when he looked back on his life as a slave…er, monk: I saw many who tried with great effort and the best of intentions to do everything possible to appease their conscience. They wore hair shirts; they fasted; they prayed; they tormented and wore out their bodies so severely that if they had been made of iron they would have been crushed. And yet the more they labored, the greater their terrors became. Especially when the hour of death was imminent, they became so fearful that I have seen many murderers facing execution die more confidently than these men who had lived such saintly lives. (LW 27:13) Attempting to work your way out of slavery – whether that means fasting, giving, working, cleaning, preaching, or just trying harder tomorrow – is simply trading slavery to sin for slavery to law. Slavery never leads to freedom.

Option 2: deny, deny, deny. The Jews’ history was one of slavery beginning, middle and end. Egypt. Babylon. Rome. It was undeniable. And yet they claim: We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free? They were in denial. “We can’t be slaves. We’re children of Abraham. We’ve got the right blood flowing in our veins – so God has to give us a pass.” Sadly these Jews forgot that the fact that their forefathers wandered and died in the desert shows how serious God is about all sin – no matter who your ancestor is.

That’s why we will never let our celebration of the Reformation turn into Lutheran pep rally. “We’re sons of Luther – and WELS (that’s the good kind of Lutheran) on top of it! God must be happy with us.” The truth is that being Lutheran doesn’t earn us a thing in God’s eyes. If we imagine that we are free because of our Lutheran pedigree – because we were born, raised, and confirmed Lutheran – we are in denial, and we end up losing the one person with the pedigree that really matters: Jesus. And so we don’t celebrate the Reformation to worship Martin Luther, or to place our trust in our Lutheran heritage as if that somehow earns our spot in heaven; no, we use the Reformation to thank God for using Martin Luther to bring back to the forefront the one true solution to our problem of slavery: Jesus Christ – in Christ alone!

Doing good works cannot set us free from sin. Being Lutheran does not set us free from sin. Only one thing sets us free from sin: If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Who is this who claims to be the Son, to be the only one with the power to set slaves free? There is no more important question and no answer that Satan tries harder to confuse and cover up. The world at large is too distracted to consider this question. Some in the visible church say that Jesus can be whoever you want him to be. But salvation doesn’t depend on who you want Jesus to be, it depends on who Jesus proved himself to be by word and action. John testified at the beginning of his Gospel that Jesus is the Word [who] became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) Either Jesus is God’s Son and he can free us from our slavery to sin or he is an imposter who will spend eternity in hell with us – there is no middle ground.

Jesus has proved beyond all doubt, first to eyewitnesses and second to us through his Word, that he is God’s Son and our Savior. He is the only person who can set us free. But our freedom wasn’t free. Our freedom cost him everything: He left his throne in heaven to become a slave on earth. He came bearing truth, but no truth has been more frequently and completely rejected than His saving gospel. Jesus came to bring light to people living in darkness, but most preferred to stay in the darkness of sin and unbelief. Jesus had all power, but in weakness he allowed himself to be arrested, mocked and beaten. Jesus, the King of Justice, suffered the ultimate perversion of justice – the guilty Barabbas walked free while he was nailed to a cross. The Author of Life died. The one who fills the universe was wrapped in grave cloths. But that’s not the end of the story: the One who died rose and now lives forever!

Because God’s Son broke the bars on death’s prison, not only is he free – he has set us free. Slaves can only make other slaves. If we trust our own obedience to set us free – we will be slaves forever. If we look to Luther to set us free – we will find that heaven isn’t the only corner of eternity with a section for Lutherans. But when the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Through the conquering work of the Son, you are free from slavery to sin. Through the Lord of Life, you are free from the terror of death. Freed from slavery to Satan, you are free to be sons and daughters of our Father in heaven.

That’s freedom you can enjoy right now. How? Lutherans love the answer to that question. If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. We hold to the Reformation creed of Scripture alone because Jesus tells us that it is only through his Word that we are truly set free. Jesus ties the gift of freedom, not to our genetic heritage, not to our church membership, not to a feeling in our hearts, not to our good works – but to His Word. Jesus connects true freedom, not to an army representing the red, white, and blue but to the blood-stained Gospel. If you want to be free – hold onto Jesus’ teaching, treasure doctrine, take every opportunity to hear and dig into God’s Word – because through that Word Jesus sets you free to be children of God.

As Americans, may we never take our freedom for granted. Don’t forget that our freedom of press, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion were bought and paid for by American lives. Vote next Tuesday. Be interested and involved in the administration of our city, state, and country. Thank God for our liberties. But more importantly on this Reformation Day, rejoice in the freedom you have as a child of God. It was purchased and won for you, not by American soldiers, but by the blood of God’s one and only Son. That freedom comes to you through the Word. That freedom can’t be taken from you. That freedom will ring loud and clear forever. Amen.