Seditious Misgivings

The Season For The Reason

2010-12-22T16:00:00.000-08:00

Luke 2:1-7

In the name of Jesus.
“Merry Christmas.” As the season draws ever nearer, so do the frequency of christmas greetings, even after christmas has passed. And if we were to ask, “What’s so merry about christmas,” people at once answer, “Well, it’s the birthday of Jesus, the Savior.” But often, that is the extent of their answers because many of them do not know the reason why God had to be born into human flesh. And often, we too, perhaps because of the festive nature of the holidays, forget the real purpose of Christmas.
Our text says that Jesus was born when Caesar Augustus, Octavian, was emperor of Rome. This statement establishes two things: first, we can locate Jesus in a specific point in history. That means that Jesus isn’t merely fiction, a myth thought up by somebody who had too much time on his hands. And so many people today think that Jesus is only a myth, no different from Santa Claus. Jesus was born in a specific time, when Octavian was emperor, when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, where King David himself was born.
But not only that. It was also during that time that Herod the Great was king of the Jews, an almost unspeakably evil king ruled by fear and doubt. A king who did not brook talk about anyone succeeding him or anyone plotting to take his throne away from under his royal behind. And so, he has managed to kill off a number of relatives because he suspected them of plotting against him and his crown. That is also why he ordered the massacre of the children in Bethlehem.
In Bethlehem, because Joseph, foster father of Jesus, was of the lineage of David the king. Accompanying him was Mary, his bride, heavy with child. So heavy was this burden about to be born, and difficult was the road to Bethlehem: dusty, difficult.
And when they arrive at Bethlehem, they could not find suitable quarters because the inns were already filled with people who have come for the same reason: the census. And so they were forced to stay in a stable, a cave, really, where animals would shelter. And it is in that cave where Mary gave birth to her first born, inside a smelly cave fit only for animals to use. Mary wraps her baby in swaddling clothes and lays him on the feeding trough.
A difficult situation indeed, fit for a difficult time, full of fear and doubt. Eventually, the hapless family would have to run and hide in Egypt so they might not attract the attention of the insane king.
Is this the birth we celebrate everytime christmas comes prancing around the corner of our years? Is this the reason why we greeat each other with “merry christmas,” or “happy holidays”?
And if we dare, we ask the question, “Why was Jesus born?” The answer to that question comes thirty or so years later, when Jesus, arrested, beaten to a pulp, mocked, ridiculed, brought before Pilate, is sentenced to die by means of crucifixion. The baby born in a manger, whose birth the angels heralded with joy and singing, would grow up and be nailed on a cross. Why?
Because of our sin. Because we are sinful and we cannot save ourselves. Because we live as if there was no God, as if we were accountable to no one but ourselves. Because our hearts are full of envy, anger and avarice. Jesus was born so that he could die – FOR US. FOR YOU. Jesus was born so he could exchange his righteousness for our sin, what Luther called “The Happy Exchange.” The Lord cheerfully exchanged places with us: He exchanged his righteousness, his holiness for our wickedness and sin. Hear the words of Luther: “Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, just as I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine and have given to me what is yours. You have taken upon yourself what you were not and have given to me what I was not.”
And because of what Jesus did on the cross, God has declared us righteous, because his only begotten Son bore our sin and nailed it to the cross with him. Our christmas is merry because someone was willing to experience a terrible sadness – on that first Good Friday, when he was nailed on the cross. There is meaning in our celebration of christmas because Jesus, by his death, gave the season a reason.
And because of his death, we have received his gifts of grace, forgiveness and life: his Word and his Sacraments, which give to us eternal life, the forgiveness of sins. The season gains reason.
And so, the next time you say, “merry christmas,” think of the cross, think of Good Friday, and your christmas will truly be joyful.
Merry Christmas, then, because Christ died for you so that your sins may be forgiven. Merry Christmas indeed, for Christ, by his death, has given the season its most wonderful reason -- his life. Merry Christmas, because this is the season of the Reason. This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 1:7)

A Different Righteousness

2010-12-14T07:10:00.000-08:00

The Fourth Sunday In Advent

Matthew 1:18-25

In the name of Jesus.
As I was reading our Gospel text for this Sunday, I couldn’t help thinking what Joseph might have thought, what he might have felt felt, when his bride to be, Mary, disclosed the unadulterated truth to him:
Mary : Er, Joseph, since we’re this close to being formally husband and wife, I have something to tell you.
Joseph: (still clueless) What is it, dear?
Mary : Promise you won’t go out and kill someone after you’ve heard this.
Joseph : Er, okay. What is it?
Mary : (heaving a sigh) Joseph, my love, I am pregnant.
Joseph : (would UNBELIEF be too strong a word to use at this point?) Er, what did you say?
Mary : I’m pregnant, Joseph, but it’s not what you think. Er, God made me pregnant, by his Holy Spirit.
Joseph : (Oh yeah. Right. And I’m Arnold Schwarzzeneger) All right. Whatever you say, dear. . .
(but whatever Joseph said, his actions spoke more loudly: for “Joseph, being a just (righteous) man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.” -Matthew 1:19b)
And as I read through the text, I kept saying to myself, Joseph’s an idiot. Why doesn’t he fall down on his knees and sing the Te Deum, or something? And I realize that, were I in Joseph’s place, I would probably react the same way, if not worse: I would not believe what Mary was saying.
We never really stop to consider this little family controversy during Advent, or Christmas, for that matter, do we? We are so busy preparing for the holidays, planning dinners and trips and vacations and parties that we totally overlook this crisis in Joseph’s household even before he is married.
Oh yes. And we are so pleased with the cuteness of those Christmas cards we see in bookstores: a quiet, starry evening; a quaint hut; Mary looking over her child as the baby Jesus quietly sleeps on fresh, clean hay; some sheep quietly grazing nearby; the wise men kneeling and worshipping the baby Jesus. This is frequently our concept of what Christmas is, or should be. And I guess we would be about right, for that is as far as our own righteousness, our own faith, would bring us. The question is, do we believe? For our own righteousness would not consider the anguish Mary must have felt when her bridegroom Joseph met her announcement with incredulity. Our own righteousness would not let us consider the shame Mary must have felt as she fled to the hill country where her cousin Elizabeth lived, just to get away from the suspicious eyes, the rumor filled tongues of her neighbors in Nazareth. In fact, lurking just beneath our own righteousness is unbelief. How can a girl be pregnant if there was no sexual act involved? I remember a TV show, Thirtysomething, in which Hope, a Christian, argues with her husband, Michael, who is Jewish, about the holidays. “Why do you even bother with Hannukah.” Hope asks. “Do you really believe a handful of Jews held off a huge army by using a bunch of lamps that miraculously wouldn’t run out of oil?” Michael explodes: “Oh, and Christmas makes more sense? Do you really believe an angel appeared to some teenage girl who then got pregnant without ever having had sex and traveled on horseback to Bethlehem where she spent the night in a barn and had a baby who turned out to be the Savior of the world?”
In a manner of speaking, Michael was only echoing what someone asked a long time ago, to another couple in the middle of a garden: “Do you really believe God would do something like that? Do you really believe?”
Well, that someone asks us again and again: “Do you really believe?” What, do you really believe that mere words can absolve you of all guilt? Do you really believe that plain water can save a mindless child from the eternal torments of hell? Do you really believe that a piece of bread and a drop of wine can give everlasting life? Do you really believe?
I am not saying that Joseph was a heartless, thoughtless lout. Contrary to that. I agree with St. Matthew. Joseph was a good man. He was a righteous man. I am saying, though, that Joseph’s own righteousness, his own faith, his idea of right and wrong, his concept of good and evil, what he thought would please or displease God, could only go so far, and no farther. And so does our own righteousness.
For our own righteousness can take us only so far, and no further. Our righteousness cannot fathom that a child born in a stable would end up nailed on a cross and lead us into the kingdom of heaven. Our righteousness cannot take us further than the bounds of our own goodness and strength. Our righteousness does not exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees. And our own righteousness, we realize, does not really amount to much, for we are sinful, filled with unbelief. Our own righteousness will drive us to despair.
GOSPEL
But the story of Joseph’s righteousness, our righteousness, does not end there. For while in the middle of mulling things over, something wonderful happens to Joseph. An angel appears to him and says the sweetest words Joseph will ever hear (well, apart from Mary telling him I love you): DO NOT BE AFRAID. Do not despair. For there is a righteousness greater than our own, a different righteousness. A righteousness, St. Paul says, that comes not from obeying the Law, but a righteousness that comes from God:
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
God, by his Word, put his own righteousness in Joseph’s heart (as well as ours, for our own righteousness is the same as Joseph’s): the righteousness that he put in Mary’s womb. For Joseph. FOR US. And God’s righteouness is named Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. And this he does by going to the cross to take the punishment for our sin, our righteousness, our unbelief. He takes our unbelief and exchanges that for his own righteousness, which he gives to us. And by Immanuel’s death, we have life. Eternal life.
And even today, Immanuel comes to us, through his Word, pronouncing us not gulity. He comes to us and saves us by water and his Word. He comes and gives us his very body and blood in the bread and the wine, for the forgiveness of our sins.
People of God, “do not be afraid. . .you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. . .Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,” which means that God, in Jesus, is with us, giving us grace, forgiveness and life through his Word and his Sacraments. This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

Great Disappointments, Greater Savior

2010-12-11T21:04:00.001-08:00

The Third Sunday In Advent

Matthew 11:2-15

In the name of Jesus.
Last Sunday we heard this peculiar prophet thundering in the wilderness about a coming Messiah, a coming King who will baptize not with water but with fire! Such a great expectation. This must be a great and powerful Messiah, greater even than the Roman Empire. He tells the truth about Herod’s sin and Herod claps him in jail. Now John the Baptizer waits eagerly for the expected Messiah to show his greatness. But he waits in vain. No overthrow, no rescue, nothing. John waits. Nothing. Finally, he tells two of his students to go to Jesus and ask him, “Are you he that is to come, or should we wait for another?”
When confronted by this question, we would think that Jesus would scold his herald John, but he does not. He instead comforts John:
Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
What does Jesus mean? Well, why do the blind see? Why do the lame walk? Why are the lepers cleansed? Why are the dead raised? Because John’s prophecy has come true: the kingdom of God has come. For Jesus, the King, has come, and he is doing what a king should be doing: he is reigning, and he reigns by His Word. And his Word brings deliverance and life.
But Jesus tells his listeners something more.
What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
The reed shaken by the wind is a reference to the soft life of a king, of Herod. And so, Jesus is asking, are you looking for a king? A man dressed as a king? Those people could be found in palaces. What did you go out to see? A prophet, who looks like a king, who dresses in three pice suits like Joel Osteen or any of those televangelists wearing expensive clothes. Well, Jesus is telling them now, well, here is your king, and look what he is doing. Is he living a soft and comfortable life? No, his life is hard because he is too poor to buy a decent sacrifice for the temple; does he wear fine clothing? At the end of his life, the only piece of clothing he had was one piece of seamless garment, which the soldiers throw dice for to see who gets it. Did they want to see a prophet? Well, here he is, preaching the Good News to the poor. And what is the Good News? That God, in Jesus, now reigns.
MALADY
And so, like the people in Jesus’ time, like John the Baptizer, we look for Messiah in all the wrong places, we expect Jesus to do all the wrong things. We look at Christmas the wrong way. For we imagine Christmas to be picture perfect, like the Christmas cards on display now in the bookstores: the nice and quiet star-filled evening, clear skies, the lambs quietly grazing, Mary looking down lovingly on the Christ child peacefully asleep in a quaintly decorated manger, the shepherds and the magi quietly kneeling to one side. And because we look at Christmas the wrong way, we therefore look at Advent the wrong way. We would like to see Advent as an intermission between Halloween and Christmas.
And because we expect to see Christ in all the wrong places and expect him to do all the wrong things. And when the King does the right things, the things we do not expect, we are disappointed with Christ.
Well, the truth is, we are the great disappointment, for we aree sinful.
We expect Jesus to be proud, but he comes to us humbly.
We expect Jesus to be rich, but he is poor.
We expect him to be a king, but he comes in the form of a servant.
We expect him to be mighty. Instead, he is weak.
GOSPEL
And yet, in spite of all our great disappointments at who and what Jesus is, in spite of our sin, Jesus does not disappoint, for his power is made manifest in his weakness. His riches are made manifest in poverty and meanness, and his majesty is made manifest in the cross. For we are blind and deaf and lame and dead in our sin.
And so, behold the man, who is poor and weak and powerless, hanging on the cross. But it is precisely by the cross that God’s power is seen in its fulness, for by the cross, the powers of death, hell and the devil are undone. By the cross Jesus has manifested his kingship. By the cross, we who are sinful have become righteous in God’s sight.
And it is precisely in the mean and poor things that Jesus chooses to reveal his majesty and power. By the mere speaking of his Word, he pronounces us forgiven of all our sin. By simple means, water, bread, wine, Jesus chooses to reveal his majesty and power, for these things, water accompanied by God’s Word, cleanses us of our sin and marks us as God’s children; the bread and wine, accompanied by God’s Word, become for us the true body and blood of Jesus the crucified, giving us grace, forgiveness and life. In these poor and simple things, Jesus chooses to reveal himself to us: prophet and king.
And so, if you would see Christ, look at the cross, for it is on the cross that Jesus reigns. By the cross he is King. And from the cross, his blessings flow to us, through Word and Sacraments.
We may be great disappointments, but one greater than us has come. But his greatness is not found in soft clothes or king’s palaces. His greatness comes from the cross, his death for our life. For from his cross, through his Word and Sacraments, we have received the most unexpected gifts: grace, forgivenes, eternal life. Because of Christ and him crucified for the forgiveness of our sins. This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

The Gracious Invite

2010-11-30T05:21:00.000-08:00

The Second Sunday In Advent

Matthew 3:1-12

In the name of Jesus.
The person who introduces the Kingdom of God in our Gospel text this morning is an incogrous spokesman. Instead of a polished speaker with a university degree in communications, he is a recluse, a hermit, really, who lives in the Judean desert and subsists on the food available in that inhospitable, barren wilderness, what some of us may consider bizarre, gross and unthinkably inedible.
His name is John the Baptizer, and he dresses strangely, disturbingly reminiscent of another sharp tongued prophet in the Old Testament: “What kind of man was he,” King Ahab asked his messengers, “who came to meet you and told you these things?” They answered him, “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And the king said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” (2 Kings 1:7-8) He has few manners that ingratiate him to those who come near him. Rather, his message is blunt and uncompromising. But it is simple enough: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Simple enough, that is, for those who would listen. John’s message would sound confusing at first, but then St. Matthew tells us the reason for his message:
this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Preparea the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”

Many come forward and confessed their sins and were baptized by John. But not all. Somewhere in the fringe of the crowd there were the righteous ones, the ones who could not, would not believe that they needed to repent, much less be told by this shabby, smelly prophet of sorts what they ought to do, what God, he says, tells them to do. These were the Pharisees and the Sadducees, Israel’s religious leaders, responsible for the spiritual well being of God’s nation. But John knew who they were, and John knew their hearts, as well. And so he calls them “you brood of vipers!” And John proceeds to tell them what they most hate:
“Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

What is John saying? Is he telling the fig tree to bear fruit? No. The tree will bear fruit whether we command it to bear fruit or not. John is saying that the Pharisees and Sadducees aren’t bearing fruit worthy of repentance NOT BECAUSE THEY AREN’T TRYING HARD ENOUGH, BUT BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT, simply because they would not repent. They would not accept the good and gracious invitation of the coming King, made through his herald, John.
And we smile and softly say, “stupid fools. See where that hard-headedness gets you.” And we would be right, of course, because we are stupid fools and hard-headed. We are, to say the least, recalcitrant people, and we defy God’s authority at every turn. We refuse to believe that we are guilty of the most grievous sin: unbelief. Unbelief in a good and gracious and forgiving God. That is why we are so unforgiving towards those who have sinned against us, or have made mistakes. That is why we think we are better than the fellow sitting in the pew beside us. Like the Pharisees and the Sadducees, we insistently think that we are Abraham’s children. That we are, by some human standard, better than others. But appealing to an authority like Abraham is useless when the King who will come to judge you is the King of all creation, yes, Abraham’s king, even! And so, like the Pharisees and Sadducees before us, we are undone, for we are as sinful as they were. We are as guilty as they were, and we deserve the same punishment for their hard-headedness for we too are hard-headed. We, too, are sinful.
And once more, we hear the prophet’s words: REPENT! FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND! But you must not take this as a stern command, but as an urgent appeal, a gentle and gracious invitation. You must hear this as Good News, and not Law. Why? Because the King has graciously acceeded to come to us poor, miserable sinners instead of us groveling at his feet, begging him for mercy in abject humiliation. The King has graciously turned his countenance upon us, and from the cross, we see not a frown of judgment, but a smile of forgiveness and grace. See, your King comes to you, lifted high upon a cross! The forgiveness he so graciously bestows upon the good for nothing thief he graciously bestows upon you also, for by the cross he is King! No merit or goodness will he accept from you, for he has decreed, by his death, that it is he who will do the giving. The King will give. The King will forgive. And this he does purely out of his livingkindness and grace.
And he gives us so much more than we can ever expect or repay! See! From the cross he gives you life, eternal life, by his death. He pronounces upon you his Word of forgiveness. His body broken, his blood shed he also gives to you, and you recieve grace and goodness and life! Your sins are forgiven – by the King who loved you and gave himself for you.
Beloved, through his herald John, the King graciously invites us to repent, not because we can, but because he will forgive. And he will forgive, because by the cross he is the King! This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

Left Behind (Forgiven!)

2010-11-30T05:20:00.000-08:00

First Sunday In Advent

Matthew 24:36-44

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Romans 1:7)
The season of Advent is always a time of anticipation, a time of preparation. Christmas is just around the corner and plans have to be made. Friends and relatives will be visiting, there will be Christmas parties left and right. There will be a lot of eating and drinking even as Christmas approaches. Oh, so many activities, not only in church, but also at home. Indeed, a lot of cooking and other preparations to be done. Well, at least we know what we are preparing for and when we’re supposed to be ready, huh.
Our text this morning, however, doesn’t quite have that happy, expectant tone. On the contrary, our text sounds gloomy, a harbinger of doom. What is all this talk anyway of not knowing when something or other will happen: “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
But we are preparing for Jesus’ coming, aren’t we? Well, we’re preparing for something, but I doubt we’re preparing for the coming of the Lord. We are probably preparing to remember the birth of a cute little baby in a manger, all cozy and curled up in his little wooden cradle with some cute lambs, a cow or two, some people kneeling by his cradle; we’re probably getting ready to crank out the old familiar hymns: Away In A Manger, Silent Night, etc. And the malls are already blaring out Christmas music, which lagely goes unheard because people are busy doing their Christmas shopping and can’t be bothered right now. We are indeed preparing for something, but it isn’t for the coming of the Lord, the Son of Man, because the Son of Man himself says: No one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son. Could this be? Could we be very busy preparing for the wrong thing? Verse 38 seems to say so, for the Lord says that people will be busy doing everyday things: eating, drinking, marrying, giving away their children in marriage. But, you might say, there’s nothing wrong with these things. These are good things. And I agree. But the minute we make these things the focus of our lives, then they become bad things. The people in Noah’s day were taken unawares by the flood precisely because their focus were on these things. Exactly the things we focus on these days. And we simply describe these days as “the holiday rush.” What about church? Well, give a little, go once in a while; listen, but not too closely, especially when the pastor says we are bad. Well, why not give a listen to that preacher who says you can be a better you? Wouldn’t it be better to listen to Oprah? They have a way with words that make you feel good. Surely, their Christmas message is better.
And what about that verse that says one will be taken and one will be left? Brrr! Left behind! Who wants to be left behind? I bet that pastor who keeps talking that gloom and doom talk will be left behind. Wasn’t there a pastor who was left behind in those Left Behind novels? I bet he’d be one of them. Let’s not go to Grace Lutheran. Let’s go to that mega church in Lakewood. I bet that guy Osteen’s a better preacher. Dresses better, too, from what we’ve seen on TV.
Beloved, if this is what you’re thinking, listen: Osteen, Oprah, those Left Behind books? They’re right. They will be taken. Like the people who drowned in Noah’s time were taken – TAKEN BY THE FLOOD: “they were unaware until the flood came and took them all away.” Oh, beloved, the Greek is so clear, for the Greek word that Matthew uses means “take away”! And so it will also be for those who prepare for the wrong things, those people who do not prepare for the coming of the Son of Man. They, you, will be taken away unawares, which is to say, you will perish. Because you have failed to prepare for the Son of Man’s coming. Because you are sinful. The Lord himself tells us that even he doesn’t know when his return will be, so it’s futile to calculate the time of his coming, because no one knows, no one can know the time of his return – except the Father alone. And on the day of his return, be sure of this: he will not come to save. He will come to judge. Those who failed to prepare for his coming will be taken away – taken away from him and to everlasting fire. And those who have prepared, who have put their trust in his Word and Sacraments? Why, they will be left behind – with their Lord, who came to be with them!
Even now, even as you squirm uncomfortably in your seats, you know you have not prepared. You know that everything you have done, every preparation you have made were all exercises in futility. Nothing you could do could ever prepare you for the coming of the Son of Man, and like the people in Noah’s day, you will be taken by the flood of the wrath of the Son of Man.
And so, dearly beloved, run! Hide! Get away from the wrath of the Judge! Hide behind his cross, for just as the ark of Noah was a refuge for Noah and his family, so the cross of Christ is a refuge for you. Nothing can harm you if the cross is your refuge. No flood will take you, no accusation can harm you, because you have taken refuge in the cross of Christ, the cross upon which he died – for you! His death on the cross, his body broken and his blood shed on the cross are the things which will prepare you for his coming. Trust that his death has purchased you, redeemed you from sin, death and the devil. In his cross you will find safety from the wrath to come when the Son of Man comes like a thief in the night. True, the coming of the Son of Man will be unexpected, and everyone will be caught unawares, but one thing remains sure and will ever remain sure: we are safe in the refuge of the cross of Christ, who died to save us from that awful day of his coming. We may not be able to stand before the judge, but the Son of Man, the Eschaton himself will stand for us who have put their trust in his Word and his Sacraments.
His Word, which pronounces you clean from all sins; his Sacraments, which give you forgiveness and life. These things, Word and Sacrament, assure you that you will not be taken when that unexpected time comes. His Word and Sacraments will make sure that you will be left behind – to be with our Lord when he comes again in glory.
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
And you are ready, and you will be left behind, because you have put your trust in his Word and Sacraments, because you have put your trust in Christ, who loved you, and gave himself for you. This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.
May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

Martin Luther's Definition of Faith:

2010-05-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

An excerpt from
"An Introduction to St. Paul's Letter to the Romans,"
Luther's German Bible of 1522
by Martin Luther, 1483-1546
Translated by Rev. Robert E. Smith
from DR. MARTIN LUTHER'S VERMISCHTE DEUTSCHE SCHRIFTEN.
Johann K. Irmischer, ed. Vol. 63
(Erlangen: Heyder and Zimmer, 1854), pp.124-125. [EA 63:124-125]
August 1994

Faith is not what some people think it is. Their human dream
is a delusion. Because they observe that faith is not followed by
good works or a better life, they fall into error, even though they
speak and hear much about faith. ``Faith is not enough,'' they
say, ``You must do good works, you must be pious to be saved.''
They think that, when you hear the gospel, you start working,
creating by your own strength a thankful heart which says, ``I
believe.'' That is what they think true faith is. But, because
this is a human idea, a dream, the heart never learns anything
from it, so it does nothing and reform doesn't come from this
`faith,' either.

Instead, faith is God's work in us, that changes us and gives
new birth from God. (John 1:13). It kills the Old Adam and makes us
completely different people. It changes our hearts, our spirits,
our thoughts and all our powers. It brings the Holy Spirit with
it. Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this
faith. Faith cannot help doing good works constantly. It doesn't
stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone
asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without
ceasing. Anyone who does not do good works in this manner is an
unbeliever. He stumbles around and looks for faith and good
works, even though he does not know what faith or good works are.
Yet he gossips and chatters about faith and good works with many
words.

Faith is a living, bold trust in God's grace, so certain of
God's favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it.
Such confidence and knowledge of God's grace makes you happy,
joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The
Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you
freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve
everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who
has shown you such grace. Thus, it is just as impossible to
separate faith and works as it is to separate heat and light from
fire! Therefore, watch out for your own false ideas and guard
against good-for-nothing gossips, who think they're smart enough
to define faith and works, but really are the greatest of fools.
Ask God to work faith in you, or you will remain forever without
faith, no matter what you wish, say or can do.

Daughter's Smile

2010-02-12T15:32:00.000-08:00

(for Kate)

I watch you, sweet daughter,
Sleeping, blissfully at peace,
Oblivious, like a cat napping,
To the world that surrounds you,
When suddenly, your eyelids
Flutter open, light, like butterfly wings
And you are awake.
And in that moment
Bound by eternity,
Unbordered by time,
Your eyes find me
And you smile.
I marvel at your smile,
So wondrously vivid,
Splendid, like lightning.
It is a beatific smile:
A smile ordained by heaven.

Father Ad Daughter

2010-01-20T19:50:00.000-08:00

"I'm gonna watch you shine, gonna watch you grow,
I'll paint the signs so you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father loves his daughter as much as I love you."
- Paul Simon, Father and Daughter

The Second Sunday After Epiphany

2010-01-17T04:08:00.000-08:00

John 2:1-11

The Real Miracle At Cana

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Romans 1:7)
I am sure no one among us here would want to experience what the newly weds at Cana experienced. It was a happy occasion, to be sure. The whole town was probably invited. Some of those invited were Mary, the mother of our Lord, the Lord Jesus and his desciples. The bride, or possibly, the groom, was a relative of theirs.
Like all marriages, the bride’s parents made sure that they were marrying off their daughter not only to the right man who had a job. They probably also wanted to make sure that the young bridegroom had a house wherein to shelter his bride, and that he had enough money to spend on a descent wedding reception, for to be lacking in food and drink is a very grave social sin in Jewish society. But that is exactly what happened at this particular marriage feast. But I don’t think anyone was remiss in the wedding preparations. The thing just happened. Most probably, thieves got hold of the wine that was ordered and made off with it.
But you will probably say, “Well, what’s to be done about it. Why don’t we just grin and bear it?” Not so simple. In Jewish society, to run out of wine is not only poor planning on the host’s part, it also implies a host’s lack of respect for his visitors. To the Jews, especially, wine was a gift from the Almighty and signified happiness and abundance. And Jews rarely drank water to chase down a meal. They preferred wine. Water, as we see in our text, was mainly used for washing, purification.
And what appears to be, to us, a simple problem, the lack of wine, was threatening not only the happy outcome of a wedding reception, it was also threatening the reputation of a young married couple about to start a new life.
And, looking at Mary, we see the picture of concern, trying to help the hapless couple out of a bad situation. But the problem was bigger, I think, than even Mary could handle. It wasn’t just a matter of a jug or two of wine short. And the wedding reception was probably held in the evening, after work, to ensure that all the invited guests could come. At any rate, buying wine seemed to be out of the question at the time. And so, Mary ran to her Son and simply told him the problem: “They have no wine.” Was Mary hoping that Jesus would perform a miracle so that a couple would not be put to shame? Possibly. But think for a moment: is this sort of problem worth a miracle from the King of kings, the Son of the Almighty?
And that seemed to be the thinking of the Son also, for he answered his mother: “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” And this answer seems to put Mary in her place, and so, she turns to the servants and tells them: “Do whatever he tells you.” And by this she meant that if Jesus were to tell the people to go home, because there was no more wine, then that is probably what would happen.
But Jesus doesn’t send the guests home. Instead, the Lord himself creates a solution to the big problem of the newly weds: out of six huge jars of water used not for drinking but for washing, the Lord creates wine. Not just wine, but lots of it – 115 liters, St. John says. And not just wine, if we go by the word of the governor of the feast, but good wine, delicious wine. Wine made by the Lord of heaven and earth, probably the same kind of wine they drank in heaven.
Interstingly, John does not call this event a miracle, but a sign. St. John tells us that “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee.” If what happened at Cana was a sign, then it points to a truth. And so, the bridegroom at Cana is but a sign of the TRUE BRIDEGROOM, Christ, and the bride at Cana is a sign of the true Bridegroom’s bride: the Church. The wedding at Cana is but a sign of the true wedding of the true Bridegroom and his Bride, Christ and the Church.
MALADY
But now, how then are we to understand the lack of wine at Cana? I would venture that the physical lack of wine is also a sign pointing to our spiritual lack. Like the wedding at Cana, no matter how hard or fervent we prepare, all our best efforts still come up short.
And isn’t it true that so many people today strive so mightily to reach heaven? Just look at the recently concluded feast day of the Black Nazarene at Quiapo. Not only thousands, but millions of Filipino Roman Catholics came to this feast, trying with all their might to get close, possibly touch the statue of the Black Nazarene. Millions of Filipino religious struggled to lay hold, even for an instant, the rope pulling the statue of the Black Nazarene. And for what? A devotee of the Black Nazarene told me last night that he hoped some of his sins would be wiped away by his efforts. Millions braved the crush of millions of people, the heat of the day, going barefoot, fervently hoping some of their sins would be forgiven by their efforts. But try as they might, all their efforts still amount to nithing. They may have been fervent in their preparations and prayers, a lot of them probably were decent people, but all this still means nothing. None of their efforts mean a ting.
And we are no better. Oh, we may not be ardent devotees of graven images, true, and we may abhor praying to the saints, even to Mary. We may not believe in indulgences or the mortification of the flesh. But so often, we also do not acknowledge and put our trust in God’s promises, in his Word. I am pretty certain that for many of us, the last time we held a bible and read from it was last Sunday. When was the last time we said to ourselves, “I am baptized”? Isn’t that the reason we put the baptismal font at the doors of our church? To remind us of our baptism, that we were saved by water and by God’s Word? When was the last time we rejoiced in our reception of the Lord’s true bod and blood at the Sacrament of the Altar?
Oh yes. To be sure, we have failed, like the couple at Cana. Like them we have failed in our preparations to receive the True Bridegroom. And whatever we do, the Lord will always tell us: “What have I to do with you?” All of our efforts are worthless. Our prayers, devotions, good works are all worthless. Because we are sinful.
GOSPEL
And yet, all is not lost, for the true Bridegroom takes pity on us poor sinners. The Lord comes to us and he says: “Give me the waters of your preparations, the waters of your efforts and good works, for these will not suffice. I will turn that into something else. I will turn that into wine, good, delicious wine to make you drunk with the happiness of heaven. My happiness. Ny heaven.” The true Bridegroom comes to our sinful world and takes the water of our rituals and empty preparations ang transforms it into the wine of gladness, the gladness of heaven. He went to Calvary and spilled, for us, the best wine of all: his precious, innocent blood, and he died for us, so that we who are dead in sin might have life from heaven, eternal life.
And from the true Bridegroom we recieve such priceless gifts: grace, forgiveness and life, through his life, given for the life of the world.
His Word brings happiness and hope for us. His Word gives us what we so desperately need: forgiveness. His Sacraments give us what we need: eternal life. It is indeed a miracle that the Lord would come down to earth to be like us so that, by his deat, we may become like him: holy, pure, and fellow heirs with him of his riches in heaven.
In the last verse of our text, St. John tells us that “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” And this is true even for us today. Through his Word, through his Sacraments, the Lord has manifested his glory. And through his Word and through his Sacraments, the Lord fills our empty cups with the wine of heaven, the wine of gladness, the true wine of the true Bridegroom which gives us grace, forgiveness and life. This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.
May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

excerpts from Anne Rice's CHRIST THE LORD: THE ROAD TO CANA

2010-01-14T13:38:00.000-08:00

“James stood regarding me with cold contempt, ready at any moment to erupt. My brothers were now grouped about, behind him. . .
I looked unwaveringly at James.
‘I am weary of you, my brother,’ I said. ‘In my heart, I’m weary.’
He narrowed his eyes. He was astonished.
My mother came back. She held a chest which was heavy for her to hold, and Mara and Esther assisted her as she brought it forward and set it down on the floor in front of us.
Decades it had been hidden away, this chest, ever since our return from Egypt. James had seen this chest. James knew what it was, but my own brothers never set eyes on it. . .It was a Persian chest, plated in gold and exquisitely decorated with curling vines and pomegranates. Even the handles of the chest were gold. . .
‘It’s never enough for you, is it, James!’ I said. My voice was low. I struggled against my anger. ‘Not the angels filling up the night skies over Bethlehem, not tghe shepherds who came through the stable door to tell my mother and father of the angels’ song, no, not enough for you. And not the magi themselves, the richly clad men from Persia who descended on the narrow streets of Bethlehem with their caravan, brought there by a star that lighted the very Heavens. Not enough for you! Not enough for you that you yourself saw these men put this chest at the foot of my cradle. No, not enough, never enough, no sign ever. Not the words of our blessed cousin Elizabeth, mother of John bar Zachariah, before she died – when she told us all the words spoken by her husband as he named his son, John. No, not enough. Not even the words of the prophets.’
I stopped. He was frightened. He backed away and my brothers shifted uneasily away from me.
I stepped forward and James stepped back again.
‘Well, you are my older brother,’ I said. ‘and you are the head of this family, and I owe you obedience, and I owe you patience. . .’”

Church History In Four Minutes?

2009-10-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

The Wonder Girls!

2009-09-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

The English version

The Mousetrap of His Cross

2009-09-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

I got this from Rev. Gregory Alms' blog, Incarnatus Est:

Augustine, Sermon 130:

Along came the redeemer and conquered the deceiver. And what did our redeemer do to our captor? To pay our price, he set the mousetrap of his cross; as bait he placed there his own blood. While the devil, though, was able to shed that blood, he did not earn the right to drink it. And because he shed the blood of one who was not his debtor, he was ordered to release those who were his debtors" (PL 38:726-27).

Edmund Hill, The Works of Augustine: Sermons III/4, Brooklyn: New City Press, 1992, 311

Nobody But You

2009-09-05T07:53:00.000-07:00

In my generation, it was, "Shake Your Booty!"

Not The Woman's Faith

2009-09-03T03:09:00.000-07:00

The Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Isaiah 35:4-7
James 2:1-10,14-18
Mark 7:24-30

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Romans 1:7)
Sometimes, when we read incidents like this in the life of our Lord, it becomes so easy for our focus to shift from our Lord to somewhere, someone else. Well, this happens a lot with many passages, and surely with our Gospel reading this morning.
And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." And he said to her, "For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter." And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
The woman in our Gospel passage this morning doesn’t have anything, zero, zilch, nada, going for her. In Jewish society, women weren’t given much attention or importance, much less what they said. In Jewish society, women ranked below men in authority, in credibility. Women in Jewish society could not just come up to any man and casually strike up a conversation with him.
Secondly, St, Mark tells us that “the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth.” Being a Gentile, she could not intermingle with Jews, for she was considered unclean. This meant that she could not have any fellowship with God’s people. What is more painful, the Jews called Gentiles dogs. To the Jews, the Gentiles were no better than dogs. In Jewish worship, dogs can never be kosher. Dogs were unclean because they rooted around in garbage. In Jesus’ time, you, a Gentile, a dog, can never be a part of God’s chosen people, could never participate in the worship of God’s people, could never receive the promises and blessing of God, could never enter or be a part of God’s kingdom. Because you were a Gentile, you were a dog. You had no rights no matter who you were, no matter how good you were, no matter how sincere you were, no matter how good you were. Because you were a Gentile, you were an outsider. This was the problem of the Syrophoenician woman. She was a woman, she was a Gentile. She had no rights or anything that she could present to God or to God’s people that would make her acceptable.
Which makes me wonder about the title that most bibles put in this account. The TEV entitles this passage “A Woman’s Faith.” The NIV has “The Faith of a Syrophoenician Woman.” The ESV has “The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith.” Well, you might ask, “So what? What of it? It is true: the woman had great faith.” True enough. But my complaint with this is that I don’t think faith is the issue in this passage. Because if the woman’s faith is the issue in this passage, what then are we to do with the Lord? Do we relegate him to the margins of our bibles, or worse, make him into a footnote, firm in our belief that he could not possibly deny grace to this woman who has demonstrated such great faith? I should hope not.
Well, St. Mark tells us: And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." Fair enough. For do we not do the same thing? Do we cook a fine meal and then feed it to the household pets first? That would be the height of absurdity. The Lord is right: feed the children first, and then the dogs can have whatever is left. It is what is meet and right.
The woman replies: "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." And she is right. You don’t need faith to say this. Only common sense. She was only following the Lord’s logic to its logical conclusion. Where is faith in that?
This woman truly had nothing going for her. She was a woman, a Gentile. And yet, a miracle happens: And he said to her, "For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter." And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone. Why? Because of her faith? She was a woman. She was a Gentile. She had no hope. But St. Mark is telling us that now, in Jesus Christ, because of the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ, even foreigners, Gentiles, can find joy and acceptance in God’s house, in God’s temple.
MALADY
No one among us here thinks of himself or herself as an animal, right? Much less a dog. In fact, I guess we would be offended if someone told us that we smelled like a goat, or had the manners of a dog. For sure, we would never eat anyone’s leftovers, would we? And we surely would not act like dogs who have no shame or consciousness of what they looked like or what they did. We do not pee or poo like dogs whenever the urge caught up with us. And we would never just go up to any man or woman on the street and mount him or her simply because the urge came upon us. No, God forbid, we are not like that. We know right from wrong, unlike dogs. In our eyes, and, we would like to think, in other people’s eyes, we have more self respect than mere dogs. And that is also usually the thing we get wrong when we interpret this passage: we always tend to interpret this passage only from a horizontal point of view, that is, only from a human perspective. As a result, we lose our focus upon our Lord. We often forget the vertical perspective – God’s perspective.
And here’s the rub: from God’s perspective, we are truly no better than dogs. We are dogs in the sight of God. We are no different from the Syrophoenician woman: we are Gentiles. We are unclean. We have no right to stand before God, and there is nothing we can bring before God to make us acceptable to him. And we have no right to expect anything from God. BECAUSE WE, LIKE THE SYROPHOENICIAN WOMAN, ARE SINFUL. In this, we are like dogs. A dog is a dog not because of the things it does. A dog does the things it does because that is its nature, because it is a dog. The same is true for us. We aren’t sinful because we commit sins. It’s the other way around: we commit sin because we are sinful. That is our nature. Because we are by nature sinful and unclean, it is impossible for us not to sin. And no matter how sincere we are, no matter if we have faith as huge as Disneyland, God still would not accept us. Because our sincerity, our faith, will always be stained with sin. Because we, like the Syrophoenician woman, are sinful.
GOSPEL
But look at what the Lord does when the Syrophoenician woman approaches him and strikes up a conversation with him: HE TALKS WITH THE WOMAN! The Lord didn’t have to do that! No one would scold him if ever he chose to ignore the woman. And yet, THE LORD TALKS TO THE WOMAN! And so, the whole point of our passage, the Good News, is not the woman’s faith, no matter how great it may be. It is the Lord’s mercy! The Good News, for the woman, for us, is this: because of the Lord’s mercy, even Gentiles, even those excluded from God’s kingdom, can now find joy in his presence. Because of the Lord’s mercy, even dogs find acceptance in God’s house, in his kingdom. Because of the mercy of the Lord!
And Jesus, in his mercy, doesn’t give us leftover food. Indeed, he does not even give us food fit for humans. HE GIVES US SOMETHING MORE: HE GIVES US HIS TRUE BODY AND TRUE BLOOD. HE GIVES US HIS WORD, THE TRUE BREAD THAT COMES FROM HEAVEN WHICH GIVES US TRUE LIFE: ETERNAL LIFE! Eternal life, won for us by the Lord on Calvary, where his body was broken for us, where his blood was shed for us, as he hung on the cross! Eternal life, which he now gives us through his Word, through his Sacranents. It is these which strengthen and preserve our faith. Faith is not strengthened by difficulty. A strong faith stands up to virtually any confrontation. BUT IT IS GOD – through the Gospel – who makes it strong in the first place. It is not in asking for mercy, over and over, but in receiving mercy, that faith is strengthened.
In the final analysis, the Syrophoenician woman’s faith was strengthened not when she asked for mercy, but when she received mercy from the Lord.
And isn’t it the same with us? Our faith is strengthened, grows, only when we recieve mercy from our Lord, through his Word, through his Sacraments, through his atoning death on the cross – FOR US. This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.
May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

A Different Cat This Time: Pink!

2009-08-28T01:23:00.000-07:00

When Inspector Clouseau latches on to a thought, he doesn't let go.

My Cats

2009-08-27T01:13:00.000-07:00

Our cats: fatty(in front) & fututu, fatty, maisie's new litter, bug and fututu.

Still About Dogs

2009-08-22T04:08:00.000-07:00

Suzee, as per your request, here are my sister's enfants terribles. They don't have names yet, and when I took these photos, they'd just had din-din.

God and Dog

2009-08-20T15:26:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Suzee.

Kordero Ng Diyos (Agnus Dei)

2009-08-07T02:25:00.001-07:00

This is a beautiful and stirring rendition of the Agnus Dei, one of the five fixed canticles in the mass.

This Is My President

2009-08-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

The Legacy Of Corazon Aquino

2009-08-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

I hope that history will judge me as favorably as our people still regard me, because, as God is my witness, I honestly did the best I could. No more can be asked of any man.

On June 30, 1992, the traditional ceremony of political succession will unfold at the Luneta. The last time it was done that way was in 1965. I shall be there with you to proudly witness the event. This is the glory of democracy, that its most solemn moment should be the peaceful transfer of power.
- Corazon Aquino's Last State of the Nation Address

The Light Of An Empty Room

2009-08-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

"This is the anguish of good men, that the good they do will come to nothing, that pains suffered in obscurity or sacrifices made away from the sight of men amount to the same and mock the man or woman who bears them… That is not true. None of the good that we do is ever lost, not even the light of an empty room is wasted." -Corazon Aquino-

Tita Cory, Para Sa Iyo

2009-08-01T01:39:00.001-07:00

The Passing Away Of Tita Cory

2009-07-31T16:06:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, former President of the Republic of the Philippines, widow of slain senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, restorer of democracy to this republic, passed away early Saturday morning, August 1, 2009.

The Lord's Compassion

2009-07-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

The Eighth Sunday After Pentecost

Genesis 9:8-17
Ephesians 3:14-21
Mark 6:45-56

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Romans 1:7)
Last Sunday we saw how the Lord provided in spite of the disciples’ lack of compassion and faith. This Sunday, we see more of the Lord’s compassion, for his disciples, for his people.
Our Gospel lesson this Sunday picks up right after the feeding of the five thousand. St. Mark reports that after the feeding of the five thousand,
Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
And we realize that even the Lord needs some time by himself, to reflect, to shut the noise of the world out, to pray, to commune with his Heavenly Father. The long awaited, possibly long planned for vacation was interrupted. Now, after the feeding of the five thousand, they have time at last.
After the Lord prays,
And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
Why did the Lord walk on the sea? Well, first of all, he can. And possibly, he wanted to go ahead of the disciples in order to welcome them when they came to shore.
He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
Now, the Jews had a superstition that a spirit or ghost seen on the sea was a harbinger of disaster. The disciples were afraid because of their superstition. And so, in order to calm them, the Lord comes to them, saying, “Take jeart! Do not be afraid. It is I.” Even in the midst of their fear and superstitious, the Lord reaches out to the in compassion and reassures them that it is no ghost, but the Lord himself. This situation will be repeated later on, when, out of fear, the disciples will mistake the Lord once more for a ghost, refusing to believe that he had risen from the dead. The disciples were terrified, because, St. Mark says, “they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.” They saw the miracle of the loaves, and saw their Lord walk on water, and still they were confused and afraid. Why? Because their hearts were hardened. They did not believe in the Lord.
MALADY
And much of the time, we are like the disciples. We also do not understand the Lord’s Word. Do we read the Lord’s Word? And if and when we read his Word, do we understand it? If we do not understand his Word, do we go to Bible study so that someone may explain his Word to us? When the Lord speaks his Word to us through his pastor, do we listen? When we worship, are our minds on the liturgy, or are we off somewhere else? In the events outside, or on our mobile phones, perhaps? And because we are unfamiliar with the Lord’s Word and his promises, we become fearful, like the disciples. We are afraid of our past, which results in guilt; we are afraid of our present, which results in anxiety; we are afraid of our future, which results in worry. We are, like the disciples, superstitious. And so, we attach superstitions to our fears: “Did i do something wrong?” “Am I the target of witchcraft?” “Is this an evil spirit’s doing?” “Shouldn’t we consult a Feng Shui expert?” “What’s my horoscope for today?”
Our unbelief is like the unbelief of the disciples, because we too are witnesses of the Lord’s miracles. Everytime the Lord’s Word is preached, we are witnesses of the Lord’s miracles; eveytime an infant is baptized here in front of us, we witness a miracle; everytime we partake of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we witness a miracle. And yet, in spite of these miracles, still we will not believe. Like the disciples, our hearts are hardened – because of sin.
GOSPEL
But wait. There is another miracle here. The disciples’ unbelief and hardness of heart does not hinder the Lord from being compassionate.
When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
The disciples’ unbelief and hardness of heart does not stop the Lord from showing compassion to those in need, to those who could not help themselves. Jesus, in spite of fear, unbelief and confusion, reaches out in compassion and heals them. Nothing can hinder the Lord from healing the sick, and saving the lost. Nothing can hinder the Lord from loving us.
And the Lord’s compassion reaches not only those people in need; the Lord’s compassion reaches not only the disciples. The Lord’s compassion also reaches us – even through time, because, like the people in his time, we too are like sheep without a shepherd; we too need his touch so that we may be healed, so that our needs may be met, so that our sins may be forgiven, because his touch brings grace, forgiveness and life. We also need the Lord’s healing touch for we too are sick with fear and unbelief.
So great is the Lord’s compassion that it reaches even to Calvary. And so vast is his sacrifice on that hill that it reaches up to heaven, to the presence of God, so that God’s grace may reach us. And because of the grace which we have received, our unbelief and fear are washed away by the blood of the only begotten Son of God, by his death on the cross.
But not only that. We see, again and again, our Lord’s compassion, even to this day. Whenever his Word is proclaimed, the Lord’s compassion reaches us. Whenever we witness and partake of his Sacraments, his compassion reaches us, bringing forgiveness and new life. Because of what he has done for us on the cross.
And so, in the midst of our guilt, our fear, our confusion and unbelief, once more, through His Word and Sacraments, the Lord comes to us full of compassion, and he tells us: “Take heart. Do not be afraid. It is I.” This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.
May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

The Lord's Provision

2009-07-16T00:18:00.000-07:00

The Seventh Sunday After Pentecost

Jeremiah 23:1-6
Ephesians 2:16-22
Mark 6:33-44

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Romans 1:7)
Our Gospel lesson for this Sunday shows us the basic difference between our compassion and the Lord’s compassion. Our compassion rarely results into action. Do we not see this everytime we hear about and see dire news on the radio and on TV? And do we not see this everyday in our reactions to the various issues of everyday? For instance, if we see an accident or some act of terrorism on TV, don’t we all feel bad for the victims? Yes, we do, and yet so much of the time, that is the extent of our compassion. When we are on the street and see children sniffing glue, or begging, playing hopscotch with speeding cars and trucks on the highway, we most certainly feel pity for these children, but that is all. Rarely does our pity, our compassion, result into action. With the Lord, it is different. St. Mark tells us:
When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
Like sheep without a shepherd. Meaning, that no one bothered to teach them, to guide them, to bring to them God’s Word. It could also mean that their lives were going nowhere. Do we not, at times, feel like this? A lot of times, we feel LOST. I myself feel this sometimes, that I am lost amid a great sea of doubt and indecision, and i feel that something is lacking in my life, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. And I know you’ve felt the same way at one time or another. So many times we are like the people who struggled to follow Jesus: we are like sheep without a shepherd. And often, we try to plug up this void, this uncertainty through our own efforts at seeking after meaning. Some try to find that meaning in drink, while others immerse themselves all the more into their work. Different means, desperate measure, but in the end, it all amounts to the same thing: we’re no better than we were. We still end up like sheep without a shepherd.
I have no doubt the disciples saw this too in the faces of the people that day. And it is likely that they too felt compassion. The thing is, they didn’t know what to do. But now look at the Lord. He doesn’t just feels compassion, he acts upon that compassion. He taught them many things, St. Mark says. In other words, the Lord responded to the needs of the people. He gave them His Word. The Lord respomds to our needs. He gives us His Word.
But all this teaching gives rise to another problem. We all know what happens in small towns when twilight descends. Farm animals are herded from the pasture back into the sheds, and stores begin to close up for the night. People young and old go into their houses, for darkness is coming.
And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."
Again we get a glimpse of the extent of the compassion of the disciples, but, if we are to go by St. Mark’s report, the disciples’ suggestion seems to be logical. For to be able to feed five thousand, you need to prepare. A lot. You don’t just go someplace and ask people to sit for their meal. But apparently, the Lord knew what he was doing. But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." Could the Lord have been testing the disciples? St. John, in his gospel, thinks so: He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Maybe the Lord was testing the limits of the disciples’ faith, or the limits of their compassion. And they said to him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denariif worth of bread and give it to them to eat?" And once more, the disciples show their doubt in the Lord’s compassion, in his provision.
And so much of the time we are like the disciples. So many times we doubt the Lord’s compassion for us. How many times have I desperately asked the Lord for a mirace and get me out of a sticky situation, a situation, often, of my own making? And when nothing happens, i look sullenly at heaven, doubting his compassion, and ask, “Why did you forsake me?” “Why do you continue to forsake your church?” So many times, we doubt the Lord’s compassion.
And how many times have Kristi and I doubted the Lord’s provision in the midst of our need? Whenever Kristi and I find that we’ve come up short on our budget, we look at each other and say, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” And yet, deep in our hearts, we have begun to doubt. Deep inside our hearts, our apprehension and fear ask: “Will the Lord indeed provide?”
And our doubt isn’t only on physical things. Oh no. Our doubt extends to spiritual blessings too. We doubt the Lord’s compassion and provision especially in the spiritual things. “Will the Lord truly forgive? O! But my sin is too great!” Is this piece of bread truly his body?” “Is is little cup of wine truly his blood?” The truth is, like the disciples, our hearts and our lives are steeped in doubt. Because of sin. Because we are sinners. And because of sin, it is only fitting that the Lord leave us in the middle of our doubt, in the middle of our sin. It should have been fitting that the Lord heeded the suggestion of the disciples then, and it is only fitting that the Lord send us away, for we doubt his compassion and provision.
GOSPEL
And yet, wonder of wonders, the Lord does not heed the suggestion of the disciples. Instead, he has a suggestion of his own:
And he said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they had found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied.
Five pieces, and two fish. If you compare that to the number of people that needed to eat that evening, you’d say that those five loaves of bread and two fish were worse than nothing. But Jesus takes what the disciples have, which is nothing, and blesses it. And see what happens because of the Lord’s compassion, because of the Lord’s provision: And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And the blessing that the Lord bestowed that day to fill the physical needs of the people, he bestows upon us today to satisfy our spiritual need. There on the hill of Calvary, his body was broken, his blood was shed so that we who are steeped in sin might receive his blessing: grace, forgiveness, life. The Lord blesses what we have, which is nothing, and fills our souls to overflowing, because that is the nature of the Lord’s compassion and provision. His grace and provision is not merely enough; it is more than enough! It is overflowing! And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
The people that evening witnessed a miracle, and we read about this miracle too. But there is a much, much greater miracle that the Lord did for us: he died on the cross so that we who cannot, by our own reason or strength, enter into his kingdom, may be recognized by God as his children. Because of the compassion and provision of his only begotten Son. And the miracle of the Lord’s provision is this: it is certain, it is abundant, it is more than sufficient for our needs. His Word, His Sacraments, are his provision for us – they are certain they are abundant, they are more than sufficient for the forgiveness of your sins.
When the Lord provides, it is always more than enough. This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.
May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

The Grand Inquisitor

2009-07-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

“There are three powers, three powers alone, able to conquer and to hold captive forever the conscience of these impotent rebels for their happiness – those forces are miracle, mystery and authority. . .for man seeks not so much God as the miraculous. And as man cannot bear to be without the miraculous, he will create new miracles of his own for himself, and will worship deeds of sorcery and witchcraft. . .Thou didst not come down from the Cross when they shouted to Thee, ‘Come down from the cross and we will believe that Thou art He.’ Thou didst not come down, for again Thou wouldst not enslave man by a miracle, and didst crave faith given freely, not based on miracles.”
- The Grand Inquisitor, speaking with Christ (Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov)

Heal The World

2009-07-13T00:13:00.000-07:00

From the late great MJ. Enjoy!

Dalit

2009-07-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

That's how India's Untouchables prefer to call themselves. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0306/feature1/

The Logic of Faith

2009-07-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

in Protestant theology:
Major premise: Whoever believes in Christ is saved.
Minor premise: I believe in Christ.
Conclusion: I am saved.

in Lutheran theology:
Major premise: Christ told me, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
Minor premise: Christ never lies, but only tells the truth.
Conclusion: I am baptized (i.e., I am saved).

We Are Cowards. This Is True*

2009-07-08T20:47:00.000-07:00

The Sixth Sunday After Pentecost

Amos 7:7-19
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:14-29

We Are Cowards. This Is True.*

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Romans 1:7)
Like father, like son. So goes the popular saying. Whenever we hear the name Herod, we automatically remember that tyrant who had those babies in Bethlehem killed because he could not brook having a rival to the throne. And we would be correct. Herod the Great, the father of the Herod in our Gospel text today, was, to put it simply, an evil man. During his reign, he managed to kill two of his brothers-in-law, his wife Mariamne, the mother of the Herod in our Gospel text, two of his own children, and, of course, those children in Bethlehem, all because he was a coward. One historian records that, five days before his death, in order to guarantee a proper atmosphere of mourning, Herod the Great ordered the arrest of many citizens, and decreed that they should be put to death at the moment of his own death. A coward to the end. Fortunately, the soldiers could not fulfill this death wish and set the prisoners free when Herod the Great died.
Now, what about the son, Herod Antipas? Herod Antipas was not a king, but a tetrarch. The Romans, when they had conquered Israel, divided the nation into three: Herod Philip II was made tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis; Archelaus was put in charge of Judea, Idumea and Samaria, while to Herod Antipas was given Perea and Galilee. Herod Philip (not the Herod Philip II) was Antipas’ younger brother and husband of Herodias. Well, what else do we know about Antipas? In our Gospel text, St. Mark tells us:
King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Somec said, "John the Baptistd has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." But others said, "He is Elijah." And others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."
Superstitious, isn’t he? Antipas was afraid that the Baptist has come back from the dead to haunt him, because he had John the Baptist beheaded. So much like his father. Well, what else do we know? In verses 17-18, we read:
For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
Antipas, it seems, was also a lecher. He couldn’t keep his hands to himself. He had to have his younger brother’s wife for himself, and since his younger brother, Herod Philip, was not a tetrarch, there was little Herod Philip could do. It also seems that Antipas was a tyrant. He would not abide criticism, especially not from a fiery prophet dressed in rags and eating locusts and wild honey!
But perhaps, the most despicable quality of Antipas was that he was a coward, like his father. Why, you might ask. Well, it’s there in our text:
And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
From this tiny bit of information that St. Mark gives us, we clearly see that Antipas was afraid of Herodias, and he was afraid of John the Baptist. But he wasn’t just afraid of these two:
But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you." And he vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom." And she went out and said to her mother, "For what should I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist." And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John'se head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.
Turns out Antipas was also afraid of Herodias’ daughter, Salome! He was also afraid of what the people at his party would say if he denied the girl’s request. After all, he had promised the girl anything, even up to half his kingdom! But my goodness! Who would take such an oath seriously, especially after hearing the girl’s request! What a bloodthirsty girl! What a coward!
But more than this, Antipas was a coward because
Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
He was obssessed with what John had to say, but that was the extent of it. And in this Antipas was the worst kind of coward: he refused to face himself; he refused to acknowledge his sin before John, before God. He refused to look at himself in the mirror of God’s Law. Antipas knew it was a sin to take Herodias for himself, but he could not bring himself to admit this to himself, and to God. And that is probably why he was greatly perplexed.
MALADY
And we, like Antipas, are also cowards. We are cowards. This is true. And the more you deny it, the more the statement proves its truthfulness: we are cowards. This is true. We refuse to acknowledge our own sinfulness, like Antipas. We live everyday convinced that we are good, decent people. Good fathers providing for our families, good mothers establishing a home, good children obedient to their parents. And this may be true. But we still refuse to acknowledge that our hearts are steeped in sin. People may not see the outward acts of sin, but the truth is we who think of ourselves as "good Christians" have so much garbage sitting in the middle of our lives that the odor makes it impossible to breathe without gagging. How many of us are addicted to food, porn and shopping? How many of us are depressed, angry, unforgiving and just plain mean? How many of us are a walking, talking course on basic hypocrisy, because we just can't look at ourselves in the mirror and admit what a collection of brokenness we've become WHILE we called ourselves "good Christians"?** We are like Antipas. We are cowards. This is true.
We are sinful. And, like Antipas, we love the way we are. And we love ourselves just the way we are: no hassles, no need to think or meditate. Just sit back and relax, and just keep on doing whatever it is you’re doing. The sermon may be disturbing, but that’s only for a little while. Easy enough to forget. As long as people see that I go to church, that’s fine. Never mind what’s inside my head or heart, because no one can see that, right? It is easier to be a coward and continue living in sin, than be courageous and confront Jesus. Wrong. It will take the death of God’s Son before we can be courageous.
GOSPEL
And that is exactly what happens. Because Jesus knows we are cowards, unable to confront ourselves in the mirror of the Law, he takes it upon himself to be courageous – FOR US. Because we are cowards and incapable of becoming courageous by our own strength and wisdom, Christ becomes courageous for us. He Himself faces and confronts our sin. He comes before the presence of the Almighty, taking our cowardice, our sin with Him, and takes it all to the cross with Him!
And on the cross Jesus forces us to confront ourselves. He forces us to face our cowardice, our inability to admit that we are sinful. He Himself confronts us, faces us, and shows us the end of our sin and cowardice – His death on the cross. AND HE FORGIVES US!
There on the cross Jesus transforms us. He takes our sinful nature and nails it to the cross with him. He confronts us and transforms our cowardice into courage. The courage to receive forgiveness from the cross just as we are. The awful truth is that we cannot get our act together first before we face Jesus. We cannot first become good before we confront Jesus. Jesus will not have it. He refuses to accept us after we’ve cleaned ourselves up. Jesus wants to confront us JUST AS WE ARE. Why? BECAUSE JESUS DOES NOT WANT TO PRAISE US; HE WANTS TO FORGIVE US. And there on the cross we receive forgiveness for our sin. Forgiveness that comes to us through His Word and through His Sacraments. And the irony of this is that we cannot first become good before we receive His forgiveness; we first have to receive his forgiveness and then we become good. But, you ask, what do you mean, “good”? I still sin, I am still greedy, I am still covetous, my mind is still full of filth. Never mind. For whenever we hear His Word and receive His Sacraments, Jesus forgives us. And on and on and on until we die. And when we finally face God, we might even be surprised, because, hey, there is a resemblance! Like the Son we, sinful sons and daughters of God, have become like the Father! But that is not because of us. That’s because of Christ, who accepted us JUST AS WE ARE. Herman Sasse, in his meditation on Luther’s last words, “We are beggars. This is true,” says:
“Christ dwells only with sinners.” For the sinner and for the sinner alone is His table set. There we receive His true body and His true blood “for the forgiveness of sins” and this holds true even if forgiveness has already been received in Absolution. That here Scripture is completely on the side of Luther needs no further demonstration. Every page of the New Testament is indeed testimony of the Christ whose proper office it is “to save sinners”, “to seek and to save the lost”. And the entire saving work of Jesus, from the days when He was in Galilee and, to the amazement and alarm of the Pharisees, ate with tax collectors and sinners; to the moment when he, in contradiction with the principles of every rational morality, promised paradise to the thief on the cross, yes, His entire life on earth, from the cradle to the Cross, is one, unique grand demonstration of a wonder beyond all reason: The miracle of divine forgiveness, of the justification of the sinner. “Christ dwells only in sinners.”
The last words of Luther were: “We are beggars. This is true.” Which is to say, we are always in need of Christ’s treasure, the forgiveness of sins. Now I say to you, we are cowards. This is true. We always need Christ’s courage, the courage to face the Crucified JUST AS WE ARE: sinful, unclean, so that we may receive from his bloody hands grace, forgiveness and life. We are cowards. This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.
May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

*I took the liberty of revising Luther’s last words: “We are beggars. This is true.”
** Michael Spencer, When I Am Weak

The Lord's Mighty Act

2009-07-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

The Fifth Sunday After Pentecost

Ezekiel 2:1-5
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
Mark 6:1-13

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Romans 1:7)
One of the most painful things, I believe, that a person can experience, is rejection, when people refuse to believe what you say. I have experienced this, and I think a lot of you have, too. Often, it is because the news we tell is hard to believe, something which people have to see for themselves before they can accept the truth of what we say. The Lord had this same experience:
He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?"
Well, can we blame Jesus’ townmates, his childhood buddies, the people he grew up with? I would not doubt that, growing up, the Lord, as a child, as a teen, and as a young man, got into trouble, and got his share of trouble while growing up. Anne Rice, the author of the Vampire Chronicles, suggests that one of the things Jesus’ relatives and friends wondered about him was his refusal to marry. In our Gospel text for today, Jesus’ townmates have a lot of questions as they sat listening to him: where did he get this learning? He did not go to a big city to learn from scholars. What is this wisdom given to him? He is so familiar with the scriptures. How are such mighty works done by his hands? He is an ordinary man, right? A carpenter. A carpenter! Why, his brothers are our friends! And his sisters live here with us in the same community! An ordinary man, but such an extraordinary mien!
And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household." And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.
And he could do no mighty work there, except heal a few people. It is truly a sad day in the life of our Lord, when he could do no mighty work because the hearts of his countrymen were filled with unbelief. His townmates, childhood buddies, friends, have a lot of questions, but they are the wrong ones, for the nature of all their questions is one: unbelief. They would not believe. And so, they not only reject the Lord, they also reject his Word, which is the promise of salvation to everyone who believes. And as an indictment against these people who would not believe, St. Mark offers these few words: “And he marveled because of their unbelief.”
MALADY
Do you think that the Lord would feel the same way about us in our time? Do you think that there are still times when the Lord is saddened because people would not believe? Well, noy just any people, but you yourselves. Are there times when we become like Jesus’ townmates, when we ourselves refuse to believe the Word of the Lord? And so, when the Lord, through his pastor, announces the Good News of the forgiveness of your sins, you do not believe that a simple Word can indeed absolve you of your sins. You do not rejoice in that Word. When the Lord proclaims to you his Law and his Gospel through the sermon, you do not listen; you do not believe. You would not believe that a simple Word can give you life everlasting. You simply wait for the sermon to end so that we can continue with the motions of worship. When we partake of the true body and blood of our Savior in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, do you believe that ordinary bread and a drop or two of wine can grant you forgiveness, life? When an infant is brought here in front of all of us to be baptized, do you believe in the Word the Lord says at that time? Do you believe that a simple Word, a sprinkle of water, will save that child from certain death and damnation to the eternal fires of hell? No. You do not believe. Because of sin. Because of sin, we fail to believe in the Word of the Lord. We fail to find comfort and strength in his absolution, in his Sacraments. We cannot believe that these simple things can be instruments, means of the Lord’s mighty acts in our lives. Because of our unbelief, the Lord could do no mighty acts in our lives. And once more, the Lord marvels at our unbelief.
GOSPEL
But the Lord was able to do a mighty act – not in his hometown, no. But somewhere else: on a hill called Golgotha. On that hill, the Lord ended the reign of sin, death and Satan in our lives. On that hill the Lord rendered powerless the power of death. How? When the Lord of life hung on a cross. Once more, the Lord of Life is faced with sadness in his life, probably his greatest sadness: to die on a cross as a common criminal, despised and rejected by the very people he loves. A sad day indeed, but not for us. For us, that first Good Friday is a day of victory, a day of triumph, for the Lord, on that day, was victorious over the powers of darkness and unbelief. For us, that day is a day of gladness, because by his death on the cross, the Lord is able to give us forgiveness, faith and life eternal. On that day. Because of his grace. On that hill blood was spilt. For us. Because of his grace.
And that grace continues to be efficacious, sufficient for us, even to this day, even in this hour. Everytime we gather to hear his Word and receive his Sacraments, we receive the benefits of Calvary – grace, forgiveness, life.
It may be that the Lord could do no mighty work on that one day in his life here on earth. He could do no mighty work in his own hometown for his townmates, his childhood friends, his relatives. But the one mighty work that he needed to do – for us – he did: he gave up his life, given unto death for the forgiveness of our sins, so that he may give us eternal life. The Lord’s mighty act: his death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.
May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

Touched By Grace

2009-06-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

The Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

Lamentations 3:22-33 (22-23)

2 Corinthians 8:1-9, 13-15

Mark 5:21-43

Touched By Grace

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Romans 1:7)

Our Gospel text for today tells us about the dughter of Jairus. But another story seems to have interrupted the first: the woman with bleeding. At first sight, the two stories seem unrelated, but if we look a little more closely, we realize that there is: both stories involve being touched by Jesus, and what happens when people are touched by the Lord. In the beginning of our text we read:

And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live." And he went with him.a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.

But as they make their way to Jairus’ home,

there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well." And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.

Well, what do you think of that? I used to dread having to read and teach and preach on this text because I had the most difficult time explaining what happened to the woman with bleeding. The thing to me smacked too much of magic, and I was at a loss as to how to explain it. Well, was what happened magic? Of course not! The Lord’s power is always the power to heal, to restore, to bind up, to forgive, to give life, to save. Never can magic do these things. And so, let me try to explain this peculiar passage.

First of all, it wasn’t Jesus who touched the woman. It was the woman who touched Jesus. Well, wait a minute. That may be the case, but when the woman touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and was healed, what happened then?

And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my garments?"

Jesus knew two thing then: that someone touched him, and that power issued from him at that time.

And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, 'Who touched me?'"

From this, we can draw but one conclusion: Jesus knew what the woman was thinking, AND HE PERMITTED THE WOMAN TO TOUCH THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT! Why? Because he wanted to heal the woman! Jesus probably couldn’t touch the woman himself because of the crush of people, and so he let the woman touch him instead! AND JESUS’ POWER TOUCHED HER!

And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

And so much of the time, we are like the woman with bleeding. We spend so much effort, so much time, so much money on things that do not bring true healing. We spend so much effort, so much time, so much money, on things that do not last. We are too concerned and focused on temporal, temporary things. Temporal, temporary joy, riches, honor. Oh yes. Without a doubt, these things taste good, sound good, feel good. But after a while, like the remedies the woman with bleeding sought, these things fade, and we are off again looking for that which can give us healing and peace. And like the woman with bleeding, we can never find that which can bring true healing and peace for our souls. Until Jesus touches us. Through His Word, through His Sacraments. And when Jesus touches us, we hear his Word: “your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." Jesus touches us and announces that everything is all right.

While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?"

It is said that when the ancient Chinese wanted to curse you, they say, “May you outlive your children.” I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, but this is what happened to Jairus. And what is worse, Jesus was so close! Just a few more steps, just a few more minutes, and his daughter would have been made well! We are also like Jairus’ daughter. The Master souldn’t waste his time on us because we are also dead. Dead in our sins. And no amount of money, no medicine, no good thing or work can ever give us life. We may try, but try as we may, nothing we do can ever give us life

And yet, for those whom the Lord loves, there is always hope. Listen to the Word of the Lord of life:

But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesusf saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, "Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping."

But why does the Lord say that? Why does he say the child is only sleeping when she is in fact dead? Because for those whom the Lord loves, there is really no death.

And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, "Talitha cumi," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Do you see now? FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES, THERE IS REALLY NO DEATH.

And it is that love which is the source of his grace. It is that love which prompted the Lord to come down to earth and make his dwelling with us, to be with us in the midst of our trials, our hardships, our sicknesses, our sadnesses, our sins. He was made sin for us, says St. Paul, so that we may be the righteousness of God. Jesus permitted himself to be touched by uncleanness so that we may be made clean; Jesus permitted himself to be touched by evil so that we may receive good from the Lord; Jesus permitted himself to be touched by death so that we may have life. And look what the Lord paid for our redemption: his body crushed, his blood shed for us for the forgiveness of our sins! Ecce Homo! Behold the man! Hanging on the cross so that he may touch us with grace, forgiveness and life! Behold, even now he touches you through His Word, and through His Sacraments! Listen to his Word, even as the woman is healed of her bleeding, even as Jairus’ daughter rises from death, even as you recieve grace, forgiveness and life: “Behold! I make all things new!”

Part of our Old Testament reading goes: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness, O Lord.” This is most certainly true. This is most certainly FOR YOU.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

The Heart of the Matter

2009-06-04T23:49:00.001-07:00

Here's an insight i got studying for my sermon for Holy Trinity, on the Gospel reading: I'm a former UCC, pop Evangelical, and ever since i transferred to Lutheranism, i've had the most difficult time with John 3:16, because of the phrase, "whoever believes..." Well, i was taught in sem that even belief, faith, comes from the Holy Spirit, but still, i couldn;t get around the thinking that John 3:16 was set up to have a conditional (WHOEVER BELIEVES). well, just this morning, as i was trying to hammer out a sermon for sunday (procrastinated, because of my difficulty with the WHOEVER BELIEVES phrase) i realized something (thanks to the Holy Spirit! he's never let me down yet!). i was listening to rev. steven parks' explanation of the acts 2:38 passage the other day on IE, and suddenly it hit me: you have to understand John 3:16 in the context of what Jesus says in John 3:1-15! just as in being physically born, we have neither choice nor power when we are born again! everything is by the grace and power of God, especially the Holy Spirit! Luther's explanation the the Third Article becomes clear then! and also, this quote from the Confessions:

Before a person is enlightened, converted, regenerated, renewed, and drawn by the Holy Spirit, he can hear the Gospel, meditate on it and discuss it. Nevertheless, he regards it as foolishness and cannot believe it. For he is hostile to God's will, unless the Holy Spirit is effective on him and kindles and works in him faith and obedience.

John is not setting up a conditional statement in verse 16. he's saying that, based on what Jesus said in verses 1-15, that John 3:16 is totally the work and grace of God! The Father loved us from eternity, the Son died on the cross for us and won for us forgiveness and life, and the Holy Spirit "calls, gathers and enlightens us" by the Gospel! everything in John 3:16 is God's work and grace! everything! thank you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! I knew you wouldn't let your Word go to waste on a day like the Feast of the Holy Trinity!

Still More Good News. . .

2009-05-02T02:51:00.000-07:00

from the cemetery still. The word, that is. Did you know that cemetery comes from the greek word koimeterion, which means a lodging place, an inn where one might stay, temporarily, for the night. Death is not the grim reaper he is made out to be, but a mere inn keeper, making things as comfortable as possible for God's elect, until the day when the Son comes to take his own to their true home.

Good News From The Cemetery

2009-04-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

Here is the Rev. Robert Bugbee's Easter Message. Rev. Bugbee is the newly elected Synod President of The Lutheran Church -- Canada.

DOUBT

2009-04-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

DOUBT

I have just watched a very intriguing film: DOUBT, starring Meryl Streep and Seymour Hoffman (he's the reporter who gets glued to an antique wheelchair and set on fire in RED DRAGON). The film treats the subject of the Eighth Commandment, gossip. This is a very good talking point if you're discussing the Eighth Commandment, and why God has forbidden this among his children. The destructive power of gossip is most graphically displayed in this film. Everything is ambiguous. I would recommend this film to all pastors and members. This would be a great teaching aid, especially for the Eighth Commandment. I hope this film will give us all pause before we open our mouths.

DOUBT

On another, sadder, note, something happened here a few days ago that has caused something of a media sensation and controversy, legally and doctrinally. The wife of a well known broadcast journalist here in the Philippines committed suicide, apparently because she was scammed to the tune of about US$426,000. She took her husband's gun and shot herself in the head. What was interesting was that when her husband got wind of what had happened, he rushed from his television station to their house, and with another member of their household, they opened the bathroom door, where they saw his wife. Two of them saw the same thing, and yet, they offered two very different versions of what they saw. The husband said that he saw his wife slumped in a sitting position on the bathroom floor. The household member who saw the same thing with the husband said the wife was lying prone on the bathroom floor.

My observation: that is why we need to get the message straight before we can get the message out.

Recently, I also learned that one of the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church consented to conduct funeral services, which means that the Roman Catholic Church will give the journalist's wife a Christian burial.

My observation: hmm. Makes me wonder: is the Roman Catholic Church afraid that the husband of the suicide, who is very influential both on TV and radio here in the Philippines, might give them bad publicity if they refuse to give his wife a Christian burial? There are exceptions, i will grant, but I don;t think those exceptions apply in this case. Hmm.

Of The Reading Of Books. . .

2009-04-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

books i have read, am reading, will read:

1. Christ The Lord: The Road To Cana - just finished this second novel by ANNE RICE (she re-converted recently to Christianity. she's a roman catholic), and as in her first novel about our Lord's life (CHRIST THE LORD: OUT OF EGYPT), ann rice manages to hypnotize you with the loveliness, the richness, the density of her prose. this beautifully written second novel about our Lord picks up shortly before his baptism in the jordan, where he meets his hermetic cousin, john, and ends with the miracle at cana. what happens in between is a fascinating insight into the Lord's joys, sorrows, travails, trials and temptations (i love the way anne rice narrated a particular temptation. she handled it masterfully and with a lot of care and love. beautifully done). if you haven't read the first novel, don't worry, for the two novels stand perfectly well by themselves.

2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - i am re-reading this novel because i think this is, of all the harry potter novels, the most insightful and incisive novel into the human psyche. the novel portrays our hero, harry, as being very human indeed, not only subject to the same frustrations and disappointments we "muggles" have to endure, but also subject to the same foibles, failings and flaws we "muggles" are subject to everyday. the novel shows us how the very best of us can be, at times, petty, selfish, self-centered, foolish, proud.

3. Flowers For Algernon - now this novel, well, actually this started out as a short story, and actually won the HUGO and (i think) the NEBULA awards for science fiction, which i read when i was still in college (and i also saw the movie they made of this novel -- did it have the same title, or was the movie renamed CHARLY? i think the movie's title was CHARLY), is, if i remember correctly, a critique into the way science inadvertently sets itself up as God, and fails miserably in the end. the theme runs along the same lines as the themes of FRANKENSTEIN and JURASSIC PARK.

4. The Dark Knight - starring christian bale and (the late)heath ledger. this is heat ledger's definitive work, and i think the movie where he shows his true genius as an actor. he played the part of the Joker brilliantly. it is indeed very sad that he died. the world of the performing arts is certainly darker without this star. The Dark Knight is a movie of ironies, where white (harvey dent) becomes black (two face), and gray (bruce wayne) takes on an even grayer shade (who else?). the thing i find fascinating here is that it is the Joker's insights into human nature that are more realistic. the only problem being that the Joker is also nihilistic. and yet he does not die, or rather, the batman (right, you begin to wonder: who's crazier, him or the Joker) doesn't end his life (but comes close to it, as the passengers of the two ferries come close to blowing each other up, but don't -- speak of microcosms, huh!). all in all, this is a film wonderfully produced, and we are all, somehow, diminished, by ledger's death (there are some speculations that heath ledger got so into his character, which was very very sinister and devilish, that somehow, he couldn't get out of character and so he killed himself. please. not that again. D&D, backmasking, and now this. come on. the devil doesn't need to help us along the road to perdition. we are quite capable of going there by ourselves if left to our own devices).

Easter, The Resurrection of Our Lord

2009-04-09T22:34:00.001-07:00

Isaiah 25:6-9

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Mark 16:1-8

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back---it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you." And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Romans 1:7)

The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! This is the traditional greeting of all the historic churches. Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, during the time of Easter. It is joyful news, a greeting filled with happiness and triumph. The Lord, by his death, has conquered the power of death and rendered death powerless. Nothing therefore can hold him in the grave. The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! I say this is joyful news because for us who have put our faith in Christ, we hope that one day, at Christ’s return, that we too shall be raised from the dead as he was raised. And yet, for the women in our Gospel lesson for today, the news that the Lord had risen did not give them joy. Rather, it made them afraid. “And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” Well, can we blame them? The last verse is not exactly a happy verse. And, as if it weren’t enough, the footnote in our bibles say that the oldest manuscripts. the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Vaticanus, do not contain verses 9-16. And so, if we read Mark 16 only up to verse 8, the message seems indeed to be sad. And that, sadly, is how the women felt on that day. They were afraid. They were sad.

MALADY

And that is my point. So often, when we read Mark 16 up to verse 8, we at once conclude that the passage is a sad passage, because the passage ends in fear and sadness. And this is because of sin. Our human nature insists on seeing only the bad thing to the exclusion of the good thing. William Shakespeare put it aptly: “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” Because of our sinful nature, we remember the evil things, the evil ways, the evil nature of a person. The good he has done gets buried with him into oblivion. Look at the two friends on their way to Emmaus. They were also wrapped in sadness. They were disappointed at Jesus, because they had hoped that Jesus would be the one to save them, but he died. The women were afraid. The two friends on their way to Emmaus were disappointed. Elsewhere in scripture, we read that the disciples also were afraid. Because they were sinful. Because they refused to believe.

What about us? How do we feel during Easter? So many people are happy today. But they are not happy because the Lord has risen from the grave; they are happy because they are on vacation. But that kind of happiness lasts only as long as vacation lasts. When vacation is over, it is back to the daily grind of life. Then they become sad again; then tempers begin to flare again. So many times we look at worship as a chore, as something we have to do on Sunday. That is why, whenever we are kept up late Saturday night and we don’t get to worship on Sunday, we almost always say, “we’ll worship next Sunday.” Why? Because we look at worship as a chore, as something we have to do every Sunday, and not as a response to what God has done for us. Our worship revolves around our life, and not the other way around. Our life should revolve around our worship. That’s what happened to the women in our Gisple lesson, that’s what happened to the two friends on their way to Emmaus. That’s what happened to the disciples. Their worship revolved around their life.Wrong. Their life should have revolved around their worship. That is why they were all sad, and that is why we feel little happiness on Sunday: our worship revolves around our life. Our worship is just another part of our life; worship is just something we have to do, aside from cleaning the house, cooking, working, studying, looking after the children, etc. No! It should be the other way around! Our life should be just another part of our worship! OUR WORSHIP SHOULD BE THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES; WHAT WE DO EVERYDAY: OUR STUDIES, OUR WORK, OUR CHORES OUR JOYS, OUR SADNESSES, SHOULD BE THE RESULT OF OUR WORSHIP. Why were the women sad? Because what they were going to do on that morning was just another thing that they had to do, it was just another part of their life. But how would they have felt if it was the other way around? What if, for those women, life was just another part of their worship? Would they have felt differently? Would you feel differently if the activities of your lives were just part of your worship? Would your views on worship, on life, change? When something happens in our lives, we tend usually to say, “That’s life.” Have you ever heard anyone say, “That’s worship”? No one says that. Ever. And that is why we are not eager to worship; that is why we are not happy in our worship; that is why we feel bored with our worship. Because we look at worship as just something else we have to do in life. We never look at life as something else we have to do in worship. Because we are sinful.

GOSPEL

And yet, look at the passage again. Read verse six, the verse that is always overlooked because the women were wrapped up in fear and sadness, because we are wrapped up in fear and sadness: “And he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.’” The Good News, which we so often overlook because we treat worship as just another part of our life, is that the grave is empty! “HE HAS RISEN; HE IS NOT HERE!”

The Good News for us is that Jesus not only died for us, HE ALSO ROSE FROM THE DEAD FOR US! The real message of Easter is not that life, as we understand it, goes on. That is not the message of Easter. The real message of Easter is that Jesus goes on in spite of the bitter realities of life. The real message of Easter is that Jesus lives, when he should be dead. The real message of Easter is that Jesus is not in the grave. Satan could not hold him prisoner in the grave; death could not hold him prisoner in the grave; sin could not hold him prisoner in the grave. The real message of Easter is that JESUS IS RISEN; HE IS NOT IN THE GRAVE. JESUS IS ALIVE! He is here with us, even as we gather around his Word and His Sacraments. He is here to bless us as we listen to his Word, as we partake of his true body and blood. He is here to give us the blessings of Easter: grace, forgiveness, life – through his Word and Sacraments.

Because Jesus is risen, everything is changed. All the things that we hold in the center of our lives have changed because Christ is risen from the dead. Before, the center of our lives were our selves. Before, our lives were the center. Now, all that has changed. Now, Jesus is the center of our beings, and not our selves; now, Jesus is the center of our lives, and not the other way around. And consequently, worship now becomes our center, worship now defines who we are and what we do. Now, because Jesus has risen from the dead, our life revolves around our worship. Our lives now do not determine our worship; now, it is our worship that determines our life.

People of God: He is not in the grave. People of God: THE LORD IS RISEN! This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

God's Friday

2009-04-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

1 Peter 2:23-24

When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Good Friday. This used to be called God’s Friday. The day God died. The day the Son of God died. The passage of time changed God’s Friday to Good Friday. But it could not have been good for God. Listen to the words of the Crucified: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani?” Such words cannot be good for God. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Such words cannot be good for God. We see God’s Son, hanging on the cross, helpless, on this day called Good. Such a day cannot be good for God.

Ecce homo! Behold the man! See the Son of God, bruised, wounded from head to toe, spat upon, vilified, humiliated. Poor, broken, pathetic. Such a thing cannot be good for God. And the silence. O! The silence of the Son of God! He cannot even raise his hand in vengeance, but more gracious than this: HE WILL NOT RAISE HIS VOICE IN AGONY, IN PAIN, IN COMPLAINT. He will not cry to heaven. He will not appeal to the Father on his sapphire throne. He will not call down the legions of angels waiting for his single cry of pain. He will not unleash divine judgment which is his prerogative by Divine right. He is not only powerless before Pilate, before his enemies. He is also mute. Such a thing cannot be good for God.

BUT GOOD FRIDAY IS GOOD – FOR US! Because of Good Friday, we are healed! Because of Good Friday, our sins are forgiven! The cross is ugly to look at. Such an evil death. A death you cannot wish, even for your enemies. But the gift of that ugly, evil death is life – FOR US! By his stripes you are healed. By his death you are born again into fellowship with God.

As we gather under the cross of Christ on this day called Good, we remember the almost unbearable weight of our sin, and the payment for that sin: the death of God’s only begotten Son. And yet, by his death, we are healed. His death brings us forgiveness, and newness of life. Changed forever. We have been changed forever by that lonely, evil death on the cross. We continue with our lives, but our lives are now changed! We continue to sin, but that has changed too. We still die, but even death has been changed by that life, given unto death for the forgiveness of our sin! We have been changed by that sinless life. We have been changed by that perfect death. We have been changed. We have been changed from poor, sinful beings to children of the Almighty, who can, with boldness, come into his majestic presence as dear children can barge into the presence of their dear father, and ask for forgiveness, renewal, life! We have been changed from lost and condemned persons into God’s own nation, his own royal priesthood, his own chosen people. We have been changed from being slaves of hell to citizens of heaven, children and heirs of the kingdom of the Almighty. All of this because of the ugly, evil death of God’s beloved Son. And this is why this sad and evil day is called "Good" Friday--not good for Jesus---but certainly good for us. For by his wounds you have been healed. By his death, you have life. Eternal life. This is most certainly true. This is most certainly good. This is most certainly for you.

More Picturess From The Farm

2009-04-04T00:04:00.003-07:00

and here are yet more pictures from our farm.

New KiDS In Town

2009-04-03T23:14:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, three of the goats at our farm gave birth, and they're the new KiDS in town. also included is a picture of my wife, Kitty. more pictures next post.

Against The Dying Of The Light

2009-03-29T02:13:00.001-07:00

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on that sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas

Seditious Misgivings

2009-03-28T02:40:00.000-07:00

The Prayer of Jabez

Many people have made much of the prayer of Jabez, especially the Reformed and Born Again Christians. I have to confess, though, that from the get-go, I was leery of this booklet, and that I quickly scanned it, and confirmed my fear. Here, then, is the particular passage:

“Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, "Because I bore him in pain." Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!’ And God granted what he asked.”

My thoughts:

> “Name it and claim it,” huh? Yes, I can see how the prosperity theologians would have a field day with this passage.
> It seems to me that we human beings quickly, naturally, think of God’s blessings as PHYSICAL, and not SPIRITUAL also. For instance, we are so quick to ask God to give us food, clothing, shelter, and other physical, earthly blessings, which God himself commands us to do; but the thing is, we so often neglect to ask God for SPIRITUAL blessings: love for all men, but especially for those of the household of faith, patience in the midst of trials, hope in the midst of despair, eagerness to hear his Word, longing to receive his Sacraments, a generous heart ready to help those in need, compassion for God’s people, steadfastness in the one true faith, boldness in our confession of the Way, the Truth and the Life.
> The passage indeed says that “God granted what he asked,” but Wilkinson immediately reasons that this is because “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers.” Hm. I remember the phrase, “Facientibus quod in se est, Deus non denegat gratiam.” To those who do the good that is in them, God cannot deny grace. It is the Roman Catholic teaching on justification. The passage did not say “because Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, God granted what he asked.” The passage says, “God granted what he asked.” Period. I think the reason God granted Jabez his petition was because God is gracious, and not because Jabez was a good man. For if God grants our petitions because of who we are, then the thief on the cross, yes! we also, would be in dire straits. We would be hopeless.
> This passage, though, is a great opportunity to clearly distinguish between Law and Gospel. God grants our petitions not because we are good, but because God is good. Once more, listen to the dear Dr. Luther as he explains this in his Catechism:

I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.

He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.

He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil.

All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.

This is most certainly true. (italics mine)

The Means of Grace (Smalcald Articles III.iv-viii)

2009-03-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we hear people ask, “Why do we need the Sacraments if we have the Word?” It’s an understandable question. We tend to think, “If God said He forgives us, and Christ died, why do we need Sacraments?” I’ve heard the question answered this way, “How often do you need to tell your wife you love her? Once?” No, of course not. We tell those whom we love how much we love them, often. And God is the same way. He gives His grace and mercy, lavishly.

Luther has a delightful way of putting it in the Smalcald Articles, “God is superabundantly generous in His grace.” The German word here for “superabundantly” is “überschwenglich” and means “effusive” and can mean “gushing.” A paraphrase might be, “God gushes grace!” The Latin translation of the Smalcald Articles says that God is “rich” (dives) and “liberal” (liberalis) in His grace and goodness” (dives et liberalis est gratia and bonitate sua.)

How so? Luther lists four ways: First, through the spoken word (Ger: mündliche Wort; Lat: verbum vocale), “through which the forgiveness of sins is preached in the whole world.” Second, through Baptism. Third, through the holy Sacrament of the Altar. Fourth, through the Power of the Keys. Luther here presents the specific means of grace, which are often referred to as the Word and Sacraments. The “particular office” of the Gospel (Ger:eigentliche Amt des Evngelii) is the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins, and the Sacramental means of that proclamation are located, by Luther, in Baptism, Lord’s Supper and the Power of the Keys, which Luther explains most specifically in Article VIII: Confession.

But Luther does not end his “laundry list” of the ways in which God is so lavish and generous with His grace. He explains that there is also a communication of God’s grace through the “mutual conversation and consolation of brethren” which Luther, in his German text, here uses Latin words to explain: “per mutuum colloquium et consolationem fratrum” and then cites Matthew 18:20, “where two or three are gathered, etc.”

Luther’s point in these articles is twofold: to affirm the variety of ways our good and gracious God provides His lavish treasures of forgiveness, life and salvation to us, and to affirm what God’s Word teaches about Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and the Keys. The key to understanding these gifts is the recognition that it is not in the act of doing them that grace is given, but that God has given us His word of promise connected to these simple, external means of communicating His grace to use: word, water, bread and wine. Thus Luther says of Baptism, that it is “nothing other than God’s Word in the water, commanded by His institution.” (Art. V.1).

In the article on the Sacrament of the Altar we have the most strikingly realistic assertions of what the Lord’s Supper is: “the bread and wine in the Supper are Christ’s true body and blood.” (Art. VI.1). Luther, with a verbal wave of the hand, dismisses the “high reasoning” and “sophistic cunning” that had developed in the Medieval Church to try to explain how it is that the bread is the body of Christ and the wine His blood, and then a way of justifying not distributing the blood of Christ to the laity. These theories, transubstantiation and concomitance, are speculative human theories which have nothing to do with Christ’s institution.

Here we should caution that often we hear Reformed Christians (heirs of Zwingli and Calvin) claim that they do not deny the Real Presence, but they just don’t try to explain how it happens. This is not the same thing as the Roman Church adopting a philosophical explanation for how the bread is the body of Christ. Reformed Christianity rejects the assertion that the bread and wine are the body and blood of Christ, choosing instead to affirm, in various ways, that the actual body and blood of Christ as as far away from the elements of the Supper as heaven is from earth (this is what Calvin asserts in his writing the Consensus Tigurinus).

The binding and loosing of sins in the Church is not a power and authority that is given to the Pope to distribute as he sees fit, but rather it is “given by Christ to the Church” (Art. VII.1). This article is followed immediately by Luther’s comments about Confession. “Absolution, or the Power of the Keys, is an aid against sin and consolation for a bad conscience. It is ordained by Christ in the Gospel. Therefore, Confession and Absolution should by no means be abolished in the Church.” (Art. VIII.1). This article really is more about Luther’s desire to assert the strength and power of the means of grace, which is located in the “spoken, outward Word” through which God grace His Spirit or grace “to no one except through or with the preceding outward Word.” (Art. VIII.3).

Luther is very concerned to make these points clear because there were those in his days, as in ours, who were pointing people not toward the external, objective Word and promises of God given to us in Scripture and delivered through the outward preaching and teaching of the Word, but rather pointing people to their feelings, emotions and their perception of the Spirit’s promptings and stirrings. Luther rejects any such interior speculations, be they from radical reformers like Muntzer and others, or from the Papacy itself which Luther says is “sheer enthusiasm” since the Pope finally claims the right to decide and command based on the “shrine in his heart” as evidenced by the Papacy’s directing and teaching things that are “above and contrary to Scripture and the spoken Word.” (Art. VIII.4)

Rev. Paul McCain

Born Again?

2009-03-22T19:44:00.001-07:00

I got this from one of my favorite websites, WELS.net:

Q: My question is about people that claim to be a Born Again Christian. I know of a lot of people that claim to be a Born Again Christian. I don't know exactly what they mean by this, and what they are trying to say, when they say it. Most of these people are members of churches like Assembly Of God, and other churches like them. Is there such a thing as a Born Again Christian, and what, and who are they. This really baffles me, because I don't know how to answer them. Thank You,

A: According to Scripture, the expression “born-again Christian” is redundant. All Christians are “born-again Christians” (John 3:3). Christians are born again when they are brought to faith through Holy Baptism (John 3:5) or through the preaching of the Gospel (1 Peter 1:23).

As you’ve noticed, that’s not what most people mean when they use the expression. It is generally used by churches with an Arminian theology that leads them to locate the cause of one’s salvation within the person who was saved. These churches teach that one was “born again” if, while still an unbeliever, he prayed a prayer in which he “invited Jesus into his heart” or “turned his life over to Jesus” or “accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior” or “made his decision for Christ” (Interestingly, Scripture uses none of these expressions).

Most “born-again Christians” consider it very important to be able to pinpoint the moment that this happened to them, and they willingly share their “testimony”—i.e., their personal conversion story. Usually these stories involve an intense emotional experience. In fact, often the intensity of the experience is what convinces the “born again Christian” that his or her conversion was real.

That, of course, is part of the problem. Our emotions, or even our conversion, are an inadequate foundation for our faith. When our faith rests on the unchangeable reality of what Jesus did for us on the cross, it rests secure. An additional problem is that an unbeliever can’t “make a decision for Christ” (Ephesians 2:1-5 et al.). 100% of the credit for our conversion belongs to God the Holy Spirit, as Luther beautifully expressed in his explanation to the Third Article of the Apostle’s Creed.

Personally, when asked whether I’m a “born-again Christian,” I’ve responded, “Absolutely! I was born again on (...).”—and then I gave the date of my baptism. Most people have been perceptive enough to realize that either I’m a lot older than I look, or I’m talking about something that happened when I was a baby. That has led to a discussion of John 3:3 and 5, and what “born again” actually means.

Durer's Agnus Dei

2009-03-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

Ecce Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi! -John 1:29

On Prayer (think about it!)

2009-03-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

For most people these days, death is the great boogeyman of a godless age and of secular people. It mocks the pretensions of self-made men and sleep is the great reminder. Nighttime and going to sleep, which everyone must do from the billionaire to the baby, is like dying every day. One must close the eyes. One must cease activity. How one faces this challenge tells much of how one regards mortality.

And ...

Nighttime can be harried in busy households. The urge to rush through or even skip the prayers at the end of the day can be strong. But we are not just hurrying our children to bed or slicing out a portion of a long day for some peace and quiet. We are imparting a posture towards death, teaching them how to die well, in trust towards the God who gave them life and will continue to give them life even in death. Evening prayers point to the Father who heard the prayer of his Son in the ultimate Friday dusk and hears our prayers at the ending of earthly light. We sing of eternal light which pierced the lonely tomb of Jesus and will carry us through to that same bright morning.

Seen & Read

2009-03-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

The Twilight books, by Stephenie Meyer – I hope Buffy lives very far away from them. And there is Van Helsing and Blade too. . .

The Deptford Trilogy, by Robertson Davies – I guess Robertson Davies isn’t well known here in the Philippines (or am I just out of touch with my writer friends?). Very well written, especially Fifth Business and World of Wonders.

Babette’s Feast, by Isak Dinesen – I really believe pastors should read this short story.

The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky – if you have to choose between reading Dostoyevsky or Tolstoy, go with Dostoyevsky.

Dune, by Frank Herbert

Taken, starring Liam Neeson and Famke Jannsen (she played Jean Grey) – good show! Liam Neeson’s wife recently died due to a skiing accident.

7 Pounds, starring Will Smith and Rosario Dawson – good grief! Seven Pounds of what? Grief? Self pity? This is an over-acted, over-estimated, film. It has a preposterous theme: that the individual parts, i.e., Will Smith’s character’s organs, (and for the life of me, I honestly do not know how whoever thought of this thought of this) are greater than their sum. No wonder the guy committed suicide: he is not capable of facing, living with, nor telling, the truth.

Iron Man, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow – I like Gwyneth.

The Incredible Hulk – starring Edward Norton and Liv Tyler (she played Arwen – beautifully, I might add) – hey, what can I say? I’m a kid at heart who loves comic books. I love Edward Norton when he plays these kinds of characters, i.e., grief stricken, oppressed, downtrodden, etc., like the character he played in The Illusionist. His face tells all.

recently read: The Hammer of God, by Bishop Bo Giertz

currently reading: Come Be My Light, the diaries of Mother Teresa of Calcutta; Christ Have Mercy, by Rev. Matthew Harrison.

If He Were To Appear To Me. . .

2009-03-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

if He were to appear to me . . .

And it is surely a great thing for God to appear to a human being and to fit His promises to a particular individual. For this reason many consider the saintly fathers far more blessed in this respect than we are, since they had such definite and individual comforts and appearances from God through the ministry of the angels. Someone will say: "If He were to appear to me, too, in a human form, what great joy this would bring to my heart! Then I would surely not be reluctant to undergo any peril or misfortunes for God's sake. But this has been denied me. I only hear sermons, read Scripture, and make use of the sacraments. I have no appearances of angels."

I answer: You have no reason to complain that you have been visited less than Abraham or Isaac. You, too, have appearances, and in a way they are stronger, clearer, and more numerous than those they had, provided that you open your eyes and heart and take hold of them. You have Baptism. You have the Sacrament of the Eucharist, where bread and wine are the species, figures, and forms in which and under which God in person speaks and works into your ears, eyes, and heart. Besides, you have the ministry of the Word and teachers through whom God speaks with you. You have the ministry of the Keys, through which He absolves and comforts you. "Fear not," He says, "I am with you." He appears to you in Baptism. He baptizes you Himself and addresses you Himself. He not only says: "I am with you," but: "I forgive you your sins. I offer you salvation from death, deliverance from all tear ear and from the power of the devil and hell. And not only I am with you, but all the angels with Me." What more will you desire? Everything is full of divine appearances and conversations.

Luther, Commentary on Genesis, AE, Vol. 5, 21.

Edgar Meyer/Bela Fleck

2009-03-21T23:33:00.001-07:00

Found this link to a YouTube video on Rev. Harrison's blog.It's Edgar Meyer & Bela Fleck - B Song. Enjoy!

Those Dreaded, Damnable Chain Letters

2009-03-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

Below is a Q & A on the topic of chain letters. I detest chain letters, no matter how noble or good or spiritual their intentions are. Remember: the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Topic: E-mail chain letters

Author: Richard L. Gurgel

Question: I received this e-mail: “I don’t think I know 10 people who admit they love Jesus. Do you love him? This is a simple test: If you love Jesus, send this to at least 10 people, including the person who sent it to you!” A poem then hinted that Jesus wouldn’t have time for me if I didn’t take time to pass this on. What should I do with such e-mails?

Answer: I’ve received identical e-mails. Certainly, being ashamed of Jesus is a real temptation. Jesus warns us with his first disciples: “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him” (Mark 8:38). Does my irritation with such e-mails arise from a guilty conscience? Am I embarrassed to profess that I love him who first loved me? Then such an e-mail may be a blessing. Not that it must lead my fingers to the keyboard, but because it sends my knees to the floorboards to confess my timidity.

But I’m uneasy with such e-mails for several reasons. Although well-meaning, they essentially are shaming me into speaking of my love for Jesus—“If you don’t send this e-mail, you don’t love Jesus!” Daily calls to repentance help crucify my proud old Adam, but only the gospel empowers genuine fruits of faith. The true key is not how much I love Jesus (always imperfectly until heaven), but how much Jesus loves me. I can’t shame others into genuine fruits of faith. The only thing that empowers me to live my faith joyfully is to contemplate in Word and sacraments “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18). Sadly, as this e-mail seeks to move me to action, Christ’s love for me isn’t mentioned.

That reveals another problem. If the purpose is sharing Christ, merely proclaiming “I love Jesus!” won’t bring anyone to faith. If outreach is the goal, there’s something better to do than telling 10 people in my address book that I love Jesus. It would be much better to pray for opportunities to share that Jesus is the answer to the sin that otherwise would destroy us. These e-mails are little more than the spiritual equivalent of a high school cheer echoing across the gymnasium of the world: “We love Jesus, yes we do, we love Jesus, how ‘bout you?” To my non-Christian friends, wouldn’t that appear as proud boasting?

Speaking of boasting, it’s arrogant to say, “I don’t think I know 10 people who love Jesus.” I know hundreds, who, despite their sinful weaknesses, love Jesus. What is more, every Sunday I confess by faith—not by human judgment—that countless others love him who first loved us. That’s the beauty of the invisible holy Christian Church we confess every time we confess the Creed.

So what do you do the next time an e-mail chain letter tries to shame you into sharing your faith? Before hitting “delete,” thank God for the well-meaning reminder that we aren’t to hide our light under a basket. Then thank God that your salvation isn’t dependent on the perfection of your love for Jesus but the perfection of his love for you. Next, pray that God would give you opportunities to share the gospel with those who need to hear not of your love for Jesus, but his love for them. Then, in good conscience, consign that e-mail to the cyber trash can—or hit “reply all” and tell whose love really matters!

Richard Gurgel is a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin.

Various Observations

2009-03-19T18:06:00.001-07:00

> God does not want us to change; he wants to change us.

> It's not how old you are; it's whether you're still alive.

> Secrets are secrets because they are seldom pleasant.

> Bertrand Russel: War does not determine who is right -- only who is left.

> Selfishness is not living as you wish to live; it is insisting that others live the same way.

> There is no greater pain than to remember in our present grief past happiness.

> Mother Teresa : I have foreseen many of the hardships and the difficulties which that life [life in Calcutta as a Missionary of Charity] will bring me - but I trust God blindly and I know he will not let me down, even though I may make a mistake.

> Everyone loves dinosaurs, but only because they are extinct.

from John Donne, HOLY SONNETS XIII

2007-08-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

What if this present were the world's last night ?
Mark in my heart, O soul, where thou dost dwell,
The picture of Christ crucified, and tell
Whether His countenance can thee affright.
Tears in His eyes quench the amazing light ;
Blood fills his frowns, which from His pierced head fell ;
And can that tongue adjudge thee unto hell,
Which pray'd forgiveness for His foes' fierce spite ?
No, no ; but as in my idolatry
I said to all my profane mistresses,
Beauty of pity, foulness only is
A sign of rigour ; so I say to thee,
To wicked spirits are horrid shapes assign'd ;
This beauteous form assures a piteous mind.

The One Thing Needful

2007-07-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

The Ninth Sunday After Pentecost

Genesis 18:1-10a
Colossians 1:21-28
Luke 10:38-42

Text : Luke 10:38-42
Title : THE ONE THING NEEDFUL

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Romans 1:7)

Our Gospel reading for today is the story of Martha and Mary, two sisters who were close friends of our Lord Jesus while he was here on earth. These are the same sisters that John mentions in his gospel. John says that they had a brother, Lazarus, whom our Lord raised from the dead.

Well, Martha and Mary may be sisters, but St. Luke is apparently moré interested in showing us the differences between the two sisters instead of their similarities. In our text, we see the hospitality of Martha. St. Luke says that it was Martha who welcomed our Lord to their house. And it was Martha who was so very busy preparing food and refreshment for our Lord and for his disciples. Remember that our Lord’s disciples were fishermen, men with big appetites. How many times have we ourselves experienced preparing food for many people? Well, Martha felt the same worry, was probably as busy as we can be when we have to entertain many visitors.

We also notice in the story that the Lord does not admonish Martha’s busy-ness. Why? Well, because Martha was doing a good thing. St. Paul, in his letter to Timothy, says that “an overseer must be. . .hospitable. . .” (1 Timothy 3:2b). But, we also notice that Jesus does not praise Martha’s hospitality. More of that in a moment.

Well, let us look at Mary. If seen from worldly eyes, we would be apt to say that Mary is somewhat of a slacker. Ever since Jesus stepped into their house, Mary has done nothing. She just sits there at the foot of Jesus, listening to him, oblivious to the things that need to be done for the guests. The Lord also does not chide or reproach Mary for not doing anything. It is Martha who reproaches Mary, but she does this indirectly. She reproaches Mary by speaking to the Lord. Well, the upshot of this was that it was now the Lord, the guest, whom Martha reproaches, instead of Mary, the hostess: "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me."

Well, what can we conclude from this? First, we conclude that our good works do not earn points with the Lord. Our good works do not draw us closer to God. Our good works are worthless before God. And it doesn’t matter if we are Christians. God will not look at us as holier, or more precious, or closer to Him because of our good works. True, our good works, which are fruits of our faith, do indeed show others that we are the Lord’s disciples. BUT THIS IN NO WAY MEANS THAT OUR GOOD WORKS ARE IN ANY WAY PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. Martin Luther, in his Heidelberg Disputation, says that when we begin to think that our good works draw us closer to God, then that becomes mortal sin.

And that is what Martha thinks. Martha thinks that God will look at her good works and judge them to be good. Actually, that is not true. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is. Good works do not matter one whit to God, no matter who does it, Christian or not.

And how many times have we thought like Martha, how many times have we thought that our good works matter to God, that our good works are precious in the sight of God? There were people during Luther’s time who thought that way. They said “Facientibus quod in se est, Deus non denegat gratiam. To those who do the good that is in them, God cannot deny grace.” And so many times, we think the same way, don’t we, that God will have to recognize our good works as good and meet and right because they are good and meet and right.

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.” Only one thing is necessary, and Mary, says the Lord, has chosen the better portion. Mary has chosen that one thing necessary. Only one thing is necessary: ONLY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS NECESSARY. Why? Because only the Lord Jesus Christ’s works will God accept. Only the Lord Jesus’ perfect fulfillment of the Law will God accept. Only the Lord Jesus’ suffering will God accept. Only the Lord Jesus’ prayers will God accept. Only the Lord Jesus’ death will God accept. Only the Lord Jesus’ good works will God look at as precious in his sight. AND HERE IS GOOD NEWS: ALL THE GOOD THAT THE LORD JESUS HAS DONE, HE DID FOR US. And because everything that the Lord Jesus did he did perfectly, we need only one thing: ONLY THE LORD JESUS. Nothing else, no one else.

And so, because of this, rejoice, people of God. Nevermore do we need to examine our works, if they were perfectly done, or whether God will accept them. Only one thing is necessary, only one thing is needful: ONLY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, for only the Lord Jesus Christ has fulfilled the Law perfectly; only the Lord Jesus Christ’s good works are acceptable to God; and only the Lord Jesus Christ’s death, FOR US, will God accept and look at as precious in his sight.

Only one thing is necessary, that, through faith we accept what the Lord Jesus has done for us. If we choose this, then, like Mary, we have chosen the better portion, and this will not be taken from us.
Only one thing is necessary: not our good works; not our striving; not our concern for the church; not our fulfillment of the Law. Only one thing is necessary: ONLY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

Jesus, Our Good Samaritan, Our Neighbor

2007-07-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

The Eighth Sunday After Pentecost

Text : Luke 10:25-37

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our text today is a favorite of Christians everywhere. It is the parable of the Good Samaritan. I know that we do not have a church named Good Samaritan Lutheran Church, but I am familiar with a Good Samaritan Methodist Church in Manila. And I think there is a UCCP church in Manila which goes by that name too. Why is this? Well, I think that the parable of the Good Samaritan appeals to the good side of most everyone we know, including ourselves. I think that the most common interpretation of this parable is that Jesus exhorts us to be like the good Samaritan in showing compassion to our fellow man. In fact, when we see or hear of people being good to others, returning a wallet full of money, returning a lost child, or even helping an old lady cross the street, we refer to that person as a good Samaritan. Even the bible commentator Matthew Henry exhorts us to emulate the good Samaritan, for, he says, that is Christ’s command, to “go and do likewise.” Well, this morning, may I offer a different interpretation of this parable.

Our text begins when a lawyer, an expert on Jewish Law, comes to Jesus and asks him, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus, in typical rabbinical fashion, answers the lawyer’s question with another question, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” To which the lawyer replies, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." Jesus then tells the lawyer: “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.” And here St. Luke gives us a very puzzling line. St. Luke tells us that he, the lawyer, DESIRING TO JUSTIFY HIMSELF, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Why does the lawyer feel the need to justify himself in front of Jesus? Well, because of what Jesus told him: “Do this.” Jesus was actually saying that the lawyer DID NOT love his neighbor. That the lawyer was in fact NOT obeying the Law of Moses. And so, the question, “who is my neighbor” does not even have to be asked. Not by the lawyer, not by anyone, for all of us know perfectly well who our neighbor is.

And so, in answer to the lawyer’s question, “who is my neighbor,” Jesus tells this parable: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'

And at this point, Jesus asks the lawyer the fatal question: 36Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" If we were asked this question, then undoubtedly we would at once answer, “The Samaritan.” But notice the lawyer’s answer. He says, “The one who showed him mercy.” The lawyer does not say “the Samaritan.” The hatred of the Jews and the Samaritans for each other runs deep indeed, that the lawyer cannot, in good conscience, utter the nationality of this man who showed mercy simply because he is a Samaritan. This also proves that Jesus was right about the lawyer, that indeed he did not love his neighbor, for Jerusalem and Samaria are, geographically speaking, neighbors. Jews and Samaritans hate each other so much that they cannot worship at the same place. And so, the Jews worship at Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, and the Samaritans worship God at Mt. Gerizim in Samaria.

And now for the interpretation of the parable. The parable indeed answers the question, “who is my neighbor,” but not in the way we expect. Like the lawyer, when we think of neighbor, we automatically think of a person in need who we must help. But our text does not say that. In our text, the neighbor is the one who helps the man who was beaten and robbed. Now, it would be very difficult for us to identify with the priest who crosses the road and ignores the man, for we are not priests to begin with; neither can we identify with the Levite, for we are not all connected with the overseeing of rituals. Also, it would be difficult for us to identify with the lawyer, for we are not experts in the Law. But neither can we identify with the Samaritan. The Samaritan was an outcast. We are not outcasts. The Samaritan was treated like a dog in Jewish society. No one treats us like dogs.

But if we cannot identify with these characters, who is left that we can identify with? Well, what about the man who was set upon by thieves, beaten and left for dead, dying, helpless to help himself? Yes, we can identify with this helpless man for we ourselves are helpless to save ourselves from our sin. Nothing we can do can ever win for us the forgiveness of sin which we need in order to be saved. We are like that man. We are helpless because of sin. We cannot help ourselves. We cannot save ourselves.

But if we identify ourselves with the helpless man, who then is the Good Samaritan? Who, then, is OUR NEIGHBOR? THE GOOD SAMARITAN IS JESUS, WHO SAVES THE MAN FROM CERTAIN DEATH. JESUS, THE GOOD SAMARITAN IS OUR NEIGHBOR, THE ONE WHO SHOWS US MERCY. But maybe you will complain. How can Jesus be the good Samaritan? Jesus is not a Samaritan. He is a Jew. In John 8:48, the Pharisees, in answer to Jesus, tell him, 48, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?" But we might say, well, Jesus was not an outcast, was he? The prophet Isaiah has this to say about Jesus : “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

The GOOD SAMARITAN is Jesus, OUR NEIGHBOR, who comes and saves us, helpless men and women, from sin and from certain death. The GOOD SAMARITAN is Jesus, OUR NEIGHBOR, who pours wine to clean our wounds, and oil to soothe the pain, through his Word and Sacraments. The GOOD SAMARITAN is Jesus,M OUR NEIGHBOR, who came and died on the cross NOT FOR HIS FRIENDS ALONE, BUT EVEN FOR HIS ENEMIES. The GOOD SAMARITAN is Jesus, OUR NEIGHBOR, who paid the penalty of sin as our substitute, in our behalf, so that we may be forgiven and have eternal life.

Once more, Jesus, THE GOOD SAMARITAN, OUR NEIGHBOR, comes to us, now, through his Word and his Sacrament. Like the helpless man in our parable, you also, go and do likewise. Be like the helpless man. By faith, with no merit or work on your part, receive the saving grace of Jesus, OUR GOOD SAMARITAN, OUR NEIGHBOR.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

from John Donne, HOLY SONNETS XIV

2007-07-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ;
breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

"What Great Things God Has Done For Me!"

2007-06-24T18:37:00.000-07:00

Pentecost +4

Isaiah 65:1-9

Galatians 3:23-4:7

Luke 8:26-39 – New American Standard Version

Today is the fourth Sunday after Pentecost, and so far, Jesus’ life is full of excitement, well, insofar as our Gospel lessons are concerned. First, Jesus demonstrates his authority over sickness, then Jesus demonstrates his power over death, then he demonstrates his power over sin, and now, in our text, Jesus shows us his power over the devil and hell.

But there is a negative side to all this. First, Jesus talks to a Gentile, a Roman soldier, which makes him unclean; then, when he meets the funeral procession, he touches the coffin, making him more unclean; then, in the pharisee’s house, he lets himself be touched by a sinful woman, making him doubly unclean; now, here in the land of the Gerasenes, Jesus lands in Gentile territory, wanders near a cemetery, is met by and engages in a conversation with a naked, demon possessed man. UNCLEAN. UNCLEAN. UNCLEAN.

Well, I guess Jesus is entitled to his choices. He could choose not to talk with the centurion, thereby preserving his ritual purity; Jesus could have chosen to avoid the funeral procession, thus preserving his ritual purity; Jesus could have told Simon the Pharisee not to let the woman in, thus preserving his ritual purity. And now, Jesus could have told his disciples to land the boat somewhere else, for this was Gentile territory, so they would not have to be near a cemetery, so that he would not have to deal with the demon-possessed man, thus preserving his ritual purity. Would you be glad if Jesus HAD made these choices? ---

And yet, these were not the choices Jesus made. He instead chose to meet these unclean people and address their needs, thus making himself unclean in the process, because HE HAD COMPASSION ON THEM. BECAUSE THEIR SALVATION WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HIS RITUAL PURITY. Aren’t you glad Jesus made the choices he made?

And so, as they land on the shores of the Gerasenes, he is at once met by the demon-possessed man. We are told that the man “had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs.” Why the tombs? Well, I guess demons, the devil, loves death, not life. When the demon sees Jesus, he shouts, in alarm: “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me." One thing I found strange in the biblical accounts is this, that it is the demons who recognize, and confess the true identity of Jesus. Jesus’ disciples, even his detractors, seem to find it difficult to comprehend who Jesus truly is. Could that also be the reason why most times, we find it difficult to reflect Jesus’ compassion and love to others? We say that we are saved by grace. Do we see that grace here, among ourselves, in church? Do we need a demon-possessed man to tell us who Jesus is?

St. Luke describes the life of the demon-possessed man: that “it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.”

Jesus asks the man’s name, but the demon would not let the man speak. Instead, it is the demon who answers Jesus’ question: Legion, for it was not one demon but many. I do not believe Jesus was interested in the demon’s name. I do not believe that Jesus is interested in demons, whoever they are. From our previous Gospel lessons, we see clearly what it is that interests Jesus: Jesus is not interested in whether a man is a Jew or a Gentile; he is not interested whether a person is rich or poor; Jesus is not interested whether a person is ritually clean or not. All Jesus is interested in is US: and so, out of compassion and grace, he heals the centurion’s servant, he raises the widow’s son from the dead, HE FORGIVES THE SINS OF THE WOMAN. And now, he casts out Satan’s kingdom. By casting out the demons from this man. Jesus makes himself ritually unclean for these people. DO YOU THINK THAT JESUS WOULD DO LESS FOR YOU? Jesus had great compassion for these people. DO YOU THINK THAT HIS COMPASSION FOR YOU WOULD BE ANY LESS?

The demons beg, implore Jesus not to send them into the abyss. On the hillside, a herd of pigs were grazing, no doubt kept by the gentile herders of that land. The demons beg Jesus to send them into the herd of pigs. Again, Jesus is confronted by a choice: he could free this man from the demons forever, at the expense of someone’s pigs, or he could let the man continue suffering so that someone’s business might not be disrupted. Once more, Jesus shows compassion. The man, at last, is freed from the torment of hell. And it is, or should be, an occasion for joy. At least, I believe it was an occasion of joy for Jesus at the time. But apparently, the other Gerasenes did not find what happened joyful:

32Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission.

33And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

34When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country.

35The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened.

The man, who was once demon-possessed, was now sitting calmly at Jesus’ feet, had clothes on and, most important of St. Luke’s observations, was sane, was in his right mind. And the Gerasenes were frightened. Of whom? The man? But he was freed of the demons. He was calmly sitting at Jesus’ feet. He had clothes on. And he was sane. If only they had talked to him, they would know he was sane. But they had let fear overcome their compassion:

“36Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well.

37And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned.”

They were probably afraid that Jesus would, by his casting out demons, put them all out of business. Possibly they were superstitious people, fearing that Jesus would, by his casting out demons, invite other demons to their land to do battle with Jesus. The reasons, we could say, are Legion. But, the most important thing here is that by their fear, they refused God’s grace. By their fear, they have effectively prevented Jesus’ compassion from reaching them. By their fear, they had effectively driven Jesus, and his compassion and his grace, from their midst : “and He got into a boat and returned.”

BUT NOT EVEN THEIR FEAR COULD PREVENT JESUS FROM LOVING THEM. AND SO EVEN AS HE WAS HANGING ON THE CROSS HE WAS HANGING, DYING ON THE CROSS FOR THESE GERASENES WHO DROVE HIM AWAY. HE WAS DYING FOR US, WHO CONTINUALLY DRIVE HIM AWAY BY OUR LACK OF COMPASSION. BUT IN SPITE OF OUR LACK OF COMPASSION, IN SPITE OF OUR REJECTION, JESUS STILL COMES TO US AND OFFERS US FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND LIFE – THROUGH HIS WORD AND SACRAMENTS. AND BY HIS DEATH, SATAN’S KINGDOM IS UNDONE. SATAN IS DRIVEN OUT, AND LIKE THE DEMON-POSSESSED MAN, WE END UP SITTING AT JESUS’ FEET, GATHERING AROUND HIS WORD AND PARTAKING OF HIS SACRAMENTS.

But one last thing: why does Jesus refuse the offer of the man to become his disciple? Isn’t the principle, THE MORE THE MERRIER? Wouldn’t that be proof that the kingdom of God is indeed increasing? Instead Jesus sends him home. Why? BECAUSE FOLLOWING JESUS AND RETURNING HOME AND TELLING PEOPLE HOW MUCH GOD HAD DONE FOR HIM WAS ESSENTIALLY ONE AND THE SAME THING. THAT FOLLOWING JESUS IS RETURNING HOME TO TELL EVERYONE HOW MUCH GOD HAS DONE FOR US: TO PEOPLE IN OUR HOMES, IN OUR SCHOOLS, IN OUR WORK PLACES, IN THE GYM.

Here now we have been forgiven. Jesus, the Lord, has given us freedom from the devil through his word and his sacraments. And so, at the end of this service, as we go back to our daily lives, once more we hear the words of our Lord: “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.”

TODAY HIS MERCY CALLS US (Just As He Called Simon)

2007-06-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

The Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

(Sermon for Sunday, June 24, 2007)

Text : Luke 7:36-8:3

Sometimes the Lord Jesus does some things which we find hard to believe. Our Gospel lesson for this Sunday is about Simon the Pharisee and the sinful woman. One thing I found interesting in our Gospel lesson is the lack of significant conversation between the people involved. The woman does not speak, Simon does not utter anything important. And yet, their actions speak louder than their words.

A Pharisee, Simon by name, invites the Lord to eat at his home. Now, we have to realize that in Jesus’ time, the Pharisees were the good guys. The Pharisees were given the task of protecting and preserving the LAW so that the Israelite nation may be preserved pure before God. The Pharisees were the religious guardians of God’s people.

Well, St. Luke tells us that a certain woman, a sinner, got wind of the fact that Jesus was having lunch at the house of Simon the Pharisee. The NIV says that the woman was a SINNER. It is important for us to understand the term SINNER as used by Jewish society. SINNERS, according to Jewish society, were those people who did not go to synagogue to worship. People who neither have the time nor the inclination to go to synagogue on the Sabbath. But not only those who did not go to synagogue. SINNERS in Jewish society included lepers and people who had communicable diseases, tax collectors, gentiles, PROSTITUTES. The woman in our story, that St. Luke calls a SINNER, was a prostitute. Well, this woman goes to the house of Simon the Pharisee bearing an alabaster jar of perfume. The fact that the perfume was in an alabaster jar suggests that the perfume was expensive. How was she able to afford this? Well, she was a prostitute, where do we think she got the money? She manages to get into the Pharisee’s house (I wonder: does Simon let the woman in on purpose to trap Jesus?). So, in Simon’s house she sits at the feet of Jesus. She is weeping, probably in remembrance of her many sins. She wipes the Lord’s feet with her hair, kisses his feet, and pours perfume on Jesus’ feet.

Meanwhile, Simon looks at the whole scene, and thinks: “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner.” In other words, Simon was expecting that Jesus, being a prophet, would be able to read the woman’s mind, and therefore know what kind of woman she was. But it was not the woman’s mind that Jesus was interested in. It was Simon’s heart. So Jesus tells him: “Simon, I have something to tell you.” Simon, ever confident of himself, answers: “Tell me, teacher.” And Jesus tells Simon the parable : “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answers, “Well, I suppose, the obne who had the bigger debt cancelled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus says. And then Jesus proceeds to apply the parable to him and the woman. “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Now, the NIV is a bit unclear here. The Greek text, however, is clear: the woman loves much BECAUSE she was forgiven much. In other words, she is doing this now to Jesus because she has been forgiven. Her acts of love, her tears, the perfume, were only proof that she was forgiven, not the condition. And then Jesus proclaims to the woman the absolution that she has already received.

Well, if I were to pose the question, “With whom would you identify in the story?” No doubt most, if not all of us would say that we would identify with the woman. I doubt if any of us would identify with Simon the Pharisee. But I would maintain that we cannot identify with the woman, well, because we are not prostitutes. But can we be like Simon the Pharisee? Well, what kind of person was Simon the Pharisee? Well, being a Pharisee, Simon regularly worships. He attentively listens to God’s word and zealously protects God’s word so that it will be preserved for God’s people. Being a Pharisee, Simon believes that he is good and deserving of God’s mercy; Simon also believes that gentiles and sinners (especially, heaven forbid! prostitutes!) deserve only God’s wrath. Simon believes that these people are bad, being sinners, and do not deserve to be forgiven. These people do not deserve to be counted among God’s people, do not deserve to be included in God’s kingdom. And Simon believes he is right to think this way. Simon believes he is right to feel this way. When Jesus confronts Simon with the LAW, when Jesus tells Simon what he failed to do, in contrast to what the woman does for Jesus, what does Simon do? Simon does nothing.

Well, what about the woman? She wept, didn’t she? She poured perfume on the Lord’s feet, didn’t she? Lest we think that the woman did something to merit her forgiveness, let’s go back to our text. What does Jesus say? In verse 47, Jesus says, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much.” Meaning, her many sins were forgiven – THAT IS WHY SHE LOVED MUCH.” What the woman did for Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee was only proof of the forgiveness she had already received.

But what about Simon? Is there no GOSPEL for Simon the Pharisee? Well, you may say, none, because he was puffed up with pride. But aren’t we all, at one time or another, proud? Aren’t we all, at one time or another, like Simon the Pharisee? YES. But isn’t the GOSPEL for ALL people? Again, YES. And so, it would be well if we read the parable again. In the parable, who was forgiven? Only the one who owed 500 denarii? No, Even the one who owed a mere 50 denarii was also forgiven. And so, if we apply the parable, we would say that the woman corresponded to the one who owed 500 denarii, while Simon the Pharisee would correspond to the one who owed only 50. BOTH WERE PARDONED.

And so, in the final analysis, there is no difference if we identify with the woman or with Simon the Pharisee. For both were forgiven.

And so, our sermon hymn today serves us aptly, TODAY HIS MERCY CALLS US. Not to make a decision. One of the most pernicious thoughts in Christendom is the idea that promotes that “you have to accept Jesus in your heart as your Savior and Lord.” WRONG. It is not we who accept Jesus. It is Jesus who accepts us. Because Jesus has accepted us, he died for us. None of us wants to accept Jesus. None of us wants to do what God commands. O, so great is our debt! And because of this what does Jesus do? Does he condemn us? Does he punish us? Does he force us to pay him what we owe? No. Instead, JESUS FORGIVES US. JESUS DIES FOR US. JESUS ACCEPTS US. WITH NO MERIT OR ACTION ON OUR PART. This is most certainly true; THIS IS MOST CERTAINLY GOOD NEWS.

Today his mercy calls us. Jesus calls us today NOT SO THAT WE CAN DECIDE TO FOLLOW HIM. HE CALLS US TODAY BECAUSE HE HAS ALREADY FORGIVEN US, HE HAS ALREADY ACCEPTED US, HE ALREADY DIED FOR US. HE CALLS US BECAUSE THE TABLE, THE BANQUET, IS READY. REJOICE IN THAT FORGIVENESS. REJOICE IN THAT ACCEPTANCE. REJOICE IN THAT GRACE, OFFERED TO YOU NOW WITHOUT MERIT OR ACTION ON YOUR PART. TODAY HIS MERCY CALLS US, JUST AS HE CALLED SIMON THE PHARISEE. TODAY, JESUS CALLS US TO REJOICE.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

Pentecost +3