Heal The World

From the late great MJ. Enjoy!

Dalit

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

The Logic of Faith

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*

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

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

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

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!