Seeing the Truth

               At my last service at St. John of Cat Spring, I asked for prayer requests just before the prayers of the church.  One of my congregation members raised his hand and said, “I’d like to pray for Bethany Lutheran Church.”

                I wasn’t exactly sure what to make of that prayer request, so I started thinking about it. And suddenly, I put two and two together.  You see, right before church, one of our youth met me in the hall as I was heading to worship, and the little tyke said, “Pastor, I hate to see you go.  I want to make sure and get your address so that I can keep up with you because when I grow up and get a job, I’m going to send you some money.

                I was touched by this child’s comment but also a bit perplexed, so I asked the little guy why he was going to send me money.  He replied just as innocently as a child can, “Because my daddy says you are the poorest preacher he’s ever seen.”  Did I mention that my congregation member wanted me to pray for Bethany Lutheran Church?

                And maybe, just maybe history will bear it out that I am the poorest preacher that some of you have ever seen.  But if I am to be the poorest preacher that you have ever seen, let it be because I was not able to help you understand complicated theological concepts.  Let it be because I was not able to provide illustrations that brought the biblical passages to life.  Let it be because I am a sinner who falls far short of what God has called him to be.  Let it be because of these things.

                But if I am the poorest preacher that you have ever seen, let it not be because I didn’t work day after day to tell you about what God has done for you through Jesus Christ.  Let it not be because I didn’t try to convey to you how much God loves you and what He was willing to do to redeem you.  Let it not be because I failed to preach the Truth.

                Perhaps at this point there are one or two of you who are scratching your head and thinking, “Wait a minute. I was with you right until that last statement you made.  Are you somehow suggesting that you know what the Truth is?  Are you starting off your first Sunday sermon here somehow insinuating that you know the Truth and the rest of us don’t and that we are just a bunch of ignorant folks who you are here to enlighten?”

                No.  I am not suggesting that at all.  For the Truth I am here to proclaim is Truth that is readily accessible to each and every person.  The Truth that I am here to proclaim is very, very near to each and every one of us.  The Truth that I am here to proclaim is actually with us right here, right now for all to see.  How so, you might ask?

                Well, let’s turn now to our Gospel lesson for today to find the answer to that question.  This is actually quite a funny text to have before us on Christ the King Sunday, for our King, King Jesus is standing before Pontius Pilate as a criminal; bound; awaiting trial.  Jesus doesn’t look like a king at all.  And this is probably what is behind Pilate’s initial question.  It’s likely a contemptuous question.  “Are YOU the king of the Jews?”  Pilate knows the answer is a flat out “NO!”  Jesus is from the wrong part of the country.  He only has a hand-full of close followers, and they have all deserted Him.  He is poor; all alone; with seemingly no power or authority.  This is no king, but if he is harboring delusional thoughts of grandeur—of overthrowing the Roman presence in Judea, then, then this Jesus might just be a threat.  Better to be safe than sorry.  Better to make sure.

                Jesus responds to Pilate’s question with a question.  “Are you asking me this on your own or are you just believing the rumors that everyone is spreading about me?”

                Pilate isn’t too thrilled with Jesus’ question.  “Am I a Jew?” Pilate strongly responds.  You see, Pilate had nothing but contempt for the Jews.  He was assigned to keep the peace.  He had no use for Jewish customs or Jewish beliefs.  He didn’t care about their religious politics.  This is what is behind his response to Jesus.  In other words, Pilate is saying, “I am not a Jew.  I don’t care about your religious squabbles.  Your people handed you over to me for some reason that I really don’t care about.  I just want to keep the peace here in Judea.  Now, what have you done to make them angry?”

                Jesus responds, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”  This is such an important statement.  We could spend all morning unpacking it, but for now, let us be content to hear Jesus admit that He is a king. Let us hear that Jesus has a kingdom, but it is not like any kingdom of the world.  It is not founded in power or prestige or violence.  It is not tied to any geographic area.  It is not from or of the world, but it is for the world.  Let me say that again, Jesus kingdom is not of the world, but it is certainly for the world.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save it.”

                Ah, but Pilate can’t hear such a thing.  Being a politician and a puppet of the emperor, he knows he must squash rebellion.  Jesus’ words sound rebellious!  “Aha!  So, you are a king!”

                In so many words, Jesus says with some amount of reluctance, “Yes. I am a king, but hear again that my purpose is a bit different from most kings.  I am a different sort of king.  For this I was born and for this I have come into the world: to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  Oh, let us hear Jesus’ words to Pilate.  Oh, let us understand them deeply, for in them is an invitation not only to Pilate, but to us as well.  Everyone who belongs to the Truth listens to Jesus’ voice.  Do you hear Jesus’ voice?  Do you belong to the Truth?  We will come back to this shortly.

                Pilate responds with the most ironic question in the whole Bible—at least it is ironic if you are a Christian.  If you are not a Christian, the question makes perfect sense.  I mean, indeed, what is Truth?  Does anyone really know what the Truth is?  You have your truth.  I have my truth.  Democrats have their truth.  Republicans have their truth.  If I don’t like what you say, I’ll just go find someone else who has a different understanding; a different insight; a different thought.  No one really knows the truth.  Pilate’s question ultimately is a rejection of what Jesus said.  Pilate cannot hear Jesus’ voice.  Pilate does not belong to the Truth.

                Ah, but what is Truth?  I said it was an ironic question if you are a Christian, because the answer is this: the Truth is standing right in front of Pilate.  For you see, my brothers and sisters, the Truth is not an idea; it is not a concept; it is not a philosophy; the Truth is a person—the God made flesh.  The Truth is Jesus.  Remember the story of when Jesus and His disciples were gathered in the room and Jesus told them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, believe in God.  Believe also in me.  In my Father’s house there are many rooms.  If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ ⁵Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ ⁶Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

                Jesus is the Truth.  Do you belong to the Truth?  Do you hear His voice?  Pilate could not. Pilate was blinded because He believed that truth was found in power, in prestige, in wealth, in privilege.  Pilate’s heart was captured by these things, so he could not see Jesus for who he was: the one who had come into the world to save it.

                And it is so easy to be blinded to Jesus.  It is so easy to have our hearts captured by other things.  It is so easy to miss the Truth and become enslaved to the cares and worries of the world.  You may ask how?  Well, let me offer up this little illustration.  You see, my previous home was pretty close to that other NFL team in Texas.  Sorry, life-long Cowboy’s fan here.  But that’s not the point.  What is the point is this: there were a few folks in the community who would comment that it was too difficult to drive 10 minutes to church; it was too much of a problem to sit for an hour in worship; it cost too much to put $20 in the offering plate.  And yet, and yet, these same folks would drive an hour and a half and fight Houston traffic to attend a Texan’s game.  They’d spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a ticket for themselves and their families.  They would spend hundreds of dollars on food and souvenir items.  They’d devote three hours to watching the game, and then fight traffic to get out of the stadium and drive back home.  Their hearts were captured by their team.  Their king was athletics.

                And do you see how demanding that king was?  Do you see how much their king too of their time and energy and money?  Do you see how much their king took from them?  And what did they receive in return?  Momentary pleasure in a win.  Disgust in a loss.  The hope of another season.  A souvenir jersey that will fall apart.  A few memories to hold in their heads. Things that will all pass away and fade and leave them with absolutely nothing.  Such is the case with all false kings.  Such is the case with anything that your heart is captured by that is not Jesus.  And…here is the kicker…even though we essentially get nothing from those kings, what do they continue to do?  What do they continue to demand?  More time, more energy, more money.  They continue to make demands of you while giving you nothing in return.  Keep serving these kings, and you end up empty, restless, joyless, angry and frustrated.

                And so, let me now ask, about Jesus.  What does it mean when Jesus is your king?  What does it mean when your heart is captured by Him as the Truth?  How demanding is Jesus?  In one way, He is absolutely much more demanding than any other king.  For Jesus demands total allegiance.  He demands our entire life.  He demands that we honor and love Him with our heart, our mind, our soul, and our strength.  He demands that we love our neighbors as ourselves.  His demands are above and beyond what any other king would ever demand.  They are so great that we can never fulfill them.  And while most other kings would look upon us as failures and dismiss us for not being loyal enough; not being good enough; not being the subjects that we should be.  While most kings would cast us out of their kingdoms or punish us for our failure, our King, the Way, the Truth, the Life, instead lays down His life for us.  Our King, King Jesus redeems us with His holy and precious blood.  Our King sacrifices Himself for us to show us mercy and love.  Our King pours Himself out for us and then pours Himself into us so that we can become children of God and inheritors of eternal life.  Our King, in spite of our failures, loves us with a love beyond measure, and He shows us this sheer grace so that He may establish His kingdom in our hearts. For He longs to capture our hearts and reign in our hearts each and every day.  And once we see that; once we see the Truth standing there before us; once we see Jesus in our hearts as the Lord and King who loved us while we were still sinners; we become full of peace, love, joy, and hope.  What is Truth?  It is Jesus; King Jesus.  May He be king of your  heart this day and everyday.  Amen.

The Fruits of the Spirit: Love

Today, we begin a new sermon series titled, “The Fruits of the Spirit: Responding to God’s Grace.”  It is based upon St. Paul’s teaching in the book of Galatians that we have in front of us this morning from chapter 5.  It reads, “22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control.”

One of the things that has helped me understand the Christian faith more deeply is learning what the Bible tells us about ourselves.  In a very real way, the Bible says that we are like fruit trees.  And no matter how good we look on the outside–no matter how big our trunk, how long our branches, how colorful our leaves–deep within, there is a problem.  At our core is a rottenness that taints everything.  Therefore, when we start to bear fruit, the fruit carries that same taint.  It is not good fruit, and the bad news is we cannot do anything to fundamentally change this ourselves.  We cannot make ourselves into good, fruit-bearing trees.  However, the good news is: the core teaching of Christianity, the Gospel, tells us that God has acted in human history through the person of Jesus–who was both God and man–to change us; to transform our core being into something that is good; something that can and does bear good fruit.  Paul lists nine of those basic fruits, and those fruits should be prevalent in every Christian church and in every single Christian.  As Jesus said, “A good tree bears good fruit,” and if we do not find ourselves bearing these fruits, we must examine ourselves and our relationship with God.

So, with that background being laid out, let’s take a look at these individual fruits, and we begin with the most important one: love.  Almost everyone agrees “that what the world needs now, is love sweet love.” Some of you may remember that song.  Others of you may be more inclined to ask, “What is love?” and I’m going to try really hard to resist the temptation to add, “Baby don’t hurt me; baby don’t hurt me no more.”  For those of you scratching your heads, Google Haddaway or talk to anyone who was growing up in the early 90's.  Love is indeed the subject of song, of poetry, of books and literature.  Love is a deep need of each and every one of us, and I think we are extremely confused about just what it is.  Hence the wonderful 80's ballad by Foreigner, “I Want to Know what Love Is.”  Wouldn’t we all?

Now, by no means am I going to try and clear up all the confusion over love in our society and culture.  But I am going to point out that our language for love doesn’t help us in the least.  When we say “love” it can mean a ton of things.  It can mean a deep feeling that you have for another person.  It can mean a sense of friendship.  It can mean an ideal sense of how we should treat each other.  It can mean a sense of pleasure in an activity.  It can mean sex.  If you are watching tennis, it can mean zero.  There are a whole lot of nuances and understandings of this word in English that make things quite confusing at times.

Fortunately, the Bible was not written in English.  It was written in Greek, and Greek has four different words for love.  Eros–which is a sexual love.  Philia–which is a love that denotes friendship or brotherliness.  Storge–which is used to denote affection towards another person; particularly parents toward children.  And, agape.  Now, I’m not going to give you a quick definition of this word right here because I am going to take the rest of this sermon to define agape.  The reason for that is this is the kind of love that Paul speaks about in his list of spiritual gifts.  It is a very specific, special type of love.  It is so special and rare that it is hardly found in much of the Greek literature before Christianity came into being.  But in the New Testament, it is the dominant word used for love.  Why is it so dominant?  Because it is what Jesus showed to the world, and it then becomes the governing word for the life of the Christian and the Church.

So, let’s take a look at this type of love as shown in Scripture.  Jesus begins our putting together of this definition as he is talking to his disciples in John chapter 15.  We read it earlier, please hear it again, “9As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.  12 ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Let’s look at each point that Jesus makes without digging into them too terribly deeply.  Point 1: This agape/love is something that we abide in.  We rest in.  We stay in.  Point 2: When we keep the commandments, we abide in God’s love.  We rest in God’s love.  We stay in God’s love.  Point 3: No one has greater agape/love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  These points help flesh out our definition of love quite a bit, but they don’t give us the fullness of that definition.  So, we will turn to another portion of scripture.  This portion of Scripture, we did not read earlier, but it should be rather familiar to you if you grew up in the church or if you have attended multiple weddings.  It is the great love chapter from the book of 1 Corinthians.  Chapter 13.  You can turn to it now as I read it.

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

This is a beautiful chapter of love, laying out what agape/love entails.  I challenge you to re-read this chapter and see if you measure up to this kind of love in your relationships.  I challenge you to re-read this chapter and see how well you practice this love in your everyday live.  I challenge you to read through this chapter and see how well any church practices this kind of love on a regular basis.  This kind of love is not easy.  It is terribly difficult.

And now, we get to the final piece which shows us the near impossibility of this agape/love.  1 John 4 spells it out in its ultimate expression.  7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

True agape/love is willing to die for someone when that someone does not love you in return.  True agape/love is willing to give of itself even though it receives only anger and hatred in return.  True agape/love is willing to sacrifice itself for those who do not deserve it.  This is the true form of this fruit of the spirit.

And now, can you see why this is a fruit that can only come when you are transformed from the inside-out?  Can you see why you cannot simply go around and say, “Oh, I will love everyone just like Jesus loved everyone.”?  To say this means you have to look at someone who hates you; who is wishing that you would be dead and be willing to die for them to save them.  Who is really, truly wanting to do that?  Lord knows, I don’t.  When I see what scripture says about this kind of love, I hang my head in shame because I know that this kind of love is very, very rare in my own life.

But Scripture does not leave us with our heads hanging in shame.  No.  Not by a long shot.  Scripture, in fact, gives us the key to actually being able to practice this kind of transformational love.  And it begins with an admission on our part.  It begins with us standing before the Almighty God and confessing the fact that we do not love as we should.  It begins with us standing before the Almighty God and confessing that we have not loved God and deserve His just punishment for our failure to love Him.

Oh, and I know how hard this is. I know how difficult it is to stand and admit that I am a failure.  I know how hard it is to admit that I am nowhere near the Christian that I should be.  I know how difficult it is to admit this in a society that tells you over and over and over that you are fine just the way you are and that you don’t need to change–everyone else may need to change, but you are fine.  Admitting that you are broken is one of the most difficult things you can ever do.

But then, in the midst of your brokenness; in the midst of your sin; in the midst of your humility before God Almighty, you will see what Jesus did for you.  You will find yourself looking up at the cross, and you will see Jesus dying for you.  You will see Him taking your sin and brokenness upon Himself.  You will see him paying the price for you.  You will hear him say, “Father, forgive him.  Father, forgive her.”  You will then find yourself experiencing something amazing.  You will find yourself clothed with the righteousness of Christ.  You will find that Jesus pours Himself into you through the Holy Spirit.  You will experience agape/love.  And your heart will burst.  Your heart will absolutely melt with a sense of awe and wonder.  And you will find within yourself a deep desire to love others in the same manner that you have been loved.  You will find yourself supernaturally changed so that every fiber of your being wants to give what you have received.  You will find yourself bearing fruit: agape/love because God Almighty has given you the ability to produce it.

Oh, that doesn’t mean it will be easy.  That doesn’t mean that people will necessarily accept it.  It doesn’t mean that people will get it.  They aren’t used to that kind of love.  A husband and wife were celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary.  Having spent most of the day with relatives and friends at a big party given in their honor, they returned home.  Before going to bed, they decided to have a little snack of tea, bread, and butter.  The husband opened up a new loaf of bread and handed the end piece (the heel) to his wife.  She became furious!  She said, “For fifty years you have been dumping the heel of the bread on me.  I won’t take it any longer!”  On and on she vented her anger over the heel of the bread.  Her husband was absolutely astounded.  When she finished ranting and raving, he said to her quietly, “But dear, it’s my favorite piece.”

Trust me, that story is a much better one than that of the couple that was having a 50th anniversary party when the wife stood up and said, “My dear, for 50 years, I have found you tried and true.”  The crowed applauded.  But the husband who had become very hard of hearing responded, “Eh?  Well, after 50 years, I’m tired of you too!”

The point is, agape/love is difficult love.  Because of our continued imperfection, that love is not always received well.  Because of our continued imperfection, our intentions and our outreach may be misunderstood.  But, we do not cease in our efforts.  We do not stop striving day after day after day.  We do not give up or give in when our efforts are rebuffed, because we know what it is like to experience such love.  We know what it is like to have our hearts filled with the agape/love of Jesus.  We have become those who bear good fruit, and we will never, ever stop.  Amen.

Seeking Responsibility (Forgiveness Part 2)

We continue our sermon series this week on forgiveness.  Just to recap last week: we discovered that scientists have discovered many physical and mental benefits with forgiveness.  We also know that forgiveness is commanded by God and that the Bible tells us that if we don’t forgive, then we will not be forgiven.  Yet, despite all of this, forgiveness is terribly difficult for us to practice.  As we delved into the biblical understanding of forgiveness, we came to understand why: forgiveness means that we pay the cost when someone else wrongs us.  We would rather obtain justice, revenge, or restitution when someone harms us.  We would rather not pay that price ourselves.  We concluded with a working definition of forgiveness that will guide us through the next several weeks: the change in our emotional state when we choose to absorb the cost of someone else’s actions that have hurt us. 

Since we have a working definition of forgiveness, the next question becomes: how do we practice forgiveness?  How do we overcome our natural tendencies toward justice, revenge, and demanding retribution and instead pay the cost of others’ wrong doings?  Now, I am going to admit right here that I am working on the assumption that as Christians, you want to practice forgiveness; you want to follow the commands in scripture; you want to become better at practicing this common faith that we share.  If that is indeed the case, we will proceed.

I find it very interesting that for such an important cornerstone to the Christian life, there really isn’t a whole lot of emphasis on how to forgive in the Bible.  It is certainly commanded.  It is certainly expected, but there isn’t much teaching on how it is to be accomplished.  It would be nice if the Bible had a series of steps laid out: a three step program; a seven step program; a ten step program that would lay out the process of forgiveness so that we could simply walk step by step towards forgiveness.  Alas, but no such list is to be found.  The closest thing we get to a process can be found in Matthew chapter 18.  There is a series of teachings by Jesus that directly relates to forgiveness.

The first part of those teachings, ironically, is a process–although it is not a process of forgiveness.  Again, let’s go back to our working definition of forgiveness: the change in our emotional state when we choose to absorb the cost of someone else’s actions that have hurt us.  Absorbing that cost is very, very difficult.  It causes us hurt.  It causes us grief.  It causes us pain.  It is not something we want to do.  Furthermore, it seems to absolve the guilty party of responsibility.  That is not necessarily a good thing.

I can remember growing up and having lot of friends who were Roman Catholic.  Oftentimes some of them would go out partying on the weekends.  I’d ask them about how they squared their actions with their faith.  They’d usually say, “Well, I’ll just go to confession, and everything will be okay.”  Forgiveness to them was cheap.  It required nothing from them.  It absolved them of responsibility.  They simply continued their behavior.  I think that you and I can agree that this is not optimal.

And so, Jesus begins his teachings on forgiveness with a confrontation of the sin.  Jesus begins his teachings on forgiveness with the idea of getting someone who hurts you to take responsibility for his or her actions.  Jesus says, “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.”  Now, there are some important details to look at in this statement.  First, Jesus says, “If another member of the church sins against you...”  This is an important qualifier to this process Jesus is outlining.  There is a difference between someone in the church and someone outside of the church.  Within the church we are expected to take responsibility for our actions; we are expected to take responsibility for our sins; we are expected to make things right as best as we can with our fellow man.  Therefore, when someone in the church sins against us, rather than immediately try and bear the cost of forgiveness, we are called to seek them out.  We are called to try and clear the air. 

This is very practical advice on one level.  I mean, sometimes we hurt people without even realizing it.  Has that ever happened to you?  Have you ever done or said something with the best of intentions only to have someone become very upset with what you have done?  I’m reminded of the story of the Polish man moved to the USA and married an American girl.  Although his English was far from perfect, they got along very well. One day he rushed into a lawyer's office and asked him if he could arrange a divorce for him. The lawyer said that getting a divorce would depend on the circumstances, and asked him the following questions: “Have you any grounds?” “Yes, an acre and half and nice little home.”  “No, I mean what is the foundation of this case?” “It made of concrete.”  “I don't think you understand. Does either of you have a real grudge?” “No, we have carport, and not need one.”  “I mean what are your relations like?” “All my relations still in Poland.”  “Is there any infidelity in your marriage?” “We have hi-fidelity stereo and good DVD player.”  “Does your wife beat you up?” “No, I always up before her.”  “Why do you want this divorce?” “She going to kill me.”  “What makes you think that?” “I got proof.”  “What kind of proof?” “She going to poison me. She buy a bottle at drugstore and put on shelf in bathroom. I can read English pretty good, and it say: Polish remover.”

Okay, that’s a joke, and we all know it, but there is some seriousness to it.  It’s a huge misunderstanding, and such misunderstandings can be cleared up very, very quickly in a private meeting between two people.  In the church, this should be easier than it tends to be.  And I know at least one of the reasons why.  We’re afraid.  We’re afraid to go talk to someone because we don’t like confrontation.  We don’t like the thought that someone will be angry with us.  We don’t like the idea that if we confront someone, we might be caused even more hurt.  And so we let it fester.  We let it simmer.  We fail to confront.  And it is not only to our detriment; it is also to the detriment of our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

For you see, the translation that we have before us isn’t as accurate as it could be.  Perhaps a better translation would be this, “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have won that one.”  Yes, regained should probably be translated “won”.  This indicates that your fellow church member might be in danger of being lost.  Your fellow brother or sister in Christ might be in danger of losing his or her salvation.  This should be a revolting thought to any Christian.  God desires no one to be lost, and Jesus is giving us the responsibility of restoring our brothers and sisters to faith.  This is much more important and takes much greater precedence than our fear!

So, go.  Speak privately with your brother.  Speak privately with your sister.  If the sin is named; if the air is cleared; you have regained your brother; you have regained your sister; and you no longer have to bear the cost of forgiveness.  Your brother or sister has taken responsibility.

That’s the ideal.  But you and I know that we don’t live in an ideal world.  Oftentimes, confronting our brothers and sisters in their sin does not work.  There is a huge tendency to justify our actions.  “Why did you hit your brother?”  “He was picking on me.”  See the justification?  “You just broke that picture frame by throwing the ball in the house.”  “I didn’t mean to.”  See the justification?  “You shouldn’t say those kinds of things about other people.”  “That’s just your opinion.”  See the justification?  Sometimes, our pride and arrogance gets in the way of us truly taking responsibility for our actions.  And if you experience this when you confront someone who has hurt you, there is another step in the process.  Involve others.  Take another person or two to serve as witnesses. 

And if that doesn’t work, bring it to the church.  Notice that making things public in front of everybody is the last step in the process?  Notice that talking about another person’s sin in front of everyone is forbidden until all other avenues have been exhausted?  How backwards do we often practice Jesus words!!!  How backwards do we often live this out!!!  Oh how many conflicts and trials and broken relationships could be saved were we only to follow the instructions of our Lord and Savior!!

But we do also see before us that there is a time and a place for the church to render judgment.  We also see before us that there is a time and a place for the church to draw lines in the sand between that which is right and that which is wrong.  “If they do not listen to the church, treat them as a Gentile or a tax collector.”  In the language of the day, this means treat them as an outsider.  Treat them as one who does not belong to the fellowship.  You have given them every single opportunity to repent; you have given them every single opportunity to admit their guilt; you have given them every single opportunity to take responsibility for their actions; and they have not accepted it.  It’s time to move on.  It’s time to move to the hard work of forgiveness–of paying for the other person’s actions toward you.  You tried.  You did what you could.  But sometimes, it just doesn’t work out as it should.

And so let us close with a prayer from Desmond Tutu who worked very hard on reconciliation and forgiveness after apartheid came to an end in South Africa

I want to be willing to forgive
But I dare not ask for the will to forgive
In case you give it to me
And I am not yet ready
I am not yet ready for my heart to soften
I am not yet ready to be vulnerable again
Not yet ready to see that there is humanity in my tormentor’s eyes
or that the one who hurt me may also have cried
I am not yet ready for the journey
I am not yet interested in the path
I am at the prayer before the prayer of forgiveness
Grant me the will to want to forgive
Grant it to me not yet but soon
Can I even form the words
Forgive me?
Dare I even look?
Do I dare to see the hurt that I have caused?
I can glimpse all the shattered pieces of that fragile thing
That soul trying to rise on the broken wings of hope
But only out of the corner of my eye
I am afraid of it
And if I am afraid to see
How can I not be afraid to say
Forgive me?
Is there a place where we can meet?
You and me
The place in the middle
The no man’s land
Where we straddle the lines
Where you are right
and I am right too
And both of us are wrong and wronged
Can we meet there?
And look for the place where the path begins
The path that ends when we forgive.  Amen.

Mark #3: Rooted in Scripture

This morning, we come to the third mark of the church that is found in Romans chapter 15 verses 1-6.  Verse 4 reads, “4For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.”  This shows that one of the significant marks of the church is that it is rooted deeply in the Bible–it takes the scriptures very, very seriously.

Now, you may think at this moment, “Well, no kidding.  Doesn’t every church take the Bible seriously?”  The answer to that question is: yes and no.

You see, I remember one of the things I did my first week in college.  I attended a Bible study slash gathering of college Christians.  The group was called Koininia.  For our first gathering, we sat in a circle, and we hand introductions and the like.  Now, I can’t remember exactly what led up to the next moment, but I remember it vividly.  There was a sophomore student sitting in our circle who was studying to be a pastor.  I can’t remember if it was part of the introduction or part of the discussion, but he slammed his Bible on the ground and stepped on it.  He said something to the effect of, “This book is just a book.  I take what I need from it, and that’s it.”  I was a bit shocked, and yes, this guy went to seminary.  Now, you could argue that he did take the Bible seriously–but it was only the parts that he liked that he took seriously.

That’s not exactly being rooted and grounded in Scriptures.

Neither is simply randomly picking things out of the Bible as little inspirational quotes.  This too is dangerous.  There is the story about the guy who was looking through the Bible to find out God’s will for his life.  He flipped through the pages, closed his eyes and put his finger down.  The verse that his finger fell upon read, “And Judas went out and hanged himself.”  The guy thought, “That can’t be right.”  So he flipped through the pages once again, closed his eyes, and put his finger down.  This time the verse read, “Go and do likewise.”  The guy was thoroughly perplexed and knew this couldn’t be right, so he flipped through the pages one more time.  He closed his eyes, put his finger down, and read the verse.  This one said, “Whatever you are going to do, go and do it quickly.”

Okay, that’s a joke, maybe a really bad one, but there is a point to it.  The Bible is not simply meant to be a book of advice telling you how you should live.  Oh, many of us love that aspect of the Bible.  We love to pull out quotes that give us inspiration–that give us joy–that give us a sense of power and hope in our lives.  Some churches build their congregations on those sayings, and some of those churches do very, very well.

And why wouldn’t they? 

• “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three.  And the greatest of these is love.” 

• “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” 

• “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” 

• “If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.” 

• “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

• “What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

• For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Who isn’t inspired by such things?  Who doesn’t feel those statements deep within their soul?  They are heart warming. They are affirming.  They make us feel really, really good about ourselves.

So, what’s wrong with simply quoting these things over and over and over again?  What’s wrong with simply focusing on these quotes and others like them?  Well, as the great Bible Scholar Dwight Moody said, “The scriptures were not given for our information but for our transformation.”

And that, my brothers and sisters and neighbors is why a church must be deeply rooted in the scriptures.  That, my brothers and sisters and neighbors is why we must be deeply rooted in the scriptures.  The Bible, with everything that is in it leads us towards transformation–it leads us to become different; it challenges us in our status quo, makes us see that we fall far short of what we should be, and then gives us the avenue towards becoming the people God has intended us to be.  If we simply read the parts of the Bible that we like, we will never be challenged; we will never discover our sinfulness; we will never truly meet Jesus and find the fullness of His grace.

Consider this, my brothers and sisters and neighbors, the Bible consists of 66 books written by 40 authors over a span of 1500 years.  In nothing short of a miracle, those 40 authors over all those years were telling one consistent story–the story of how God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  It is the story of how God could have condemned the world, but instead sent the Son to save it.  Nothing must be read outside of the context of that story.  Nothing must be omitted.  Nothing must be cast aside as superfluous.  This book is God’s revelation of Himself to us!

Last week, I told the parable of the blind men and the elephant.  Some of you were here and remember.  Others might not have been, so let me go through it once again.  A group of blind men stumble upon an elephant in the jungle.  They all want to figure out what the elephant is like, so they each touch a piece of the elephant.  Afterwards, as the men continue their travels, they begin arguing what the elephant is like.  One who touched the tail argues, “The elephant is like a rope, long and stringy.”  One who touched the torso says, “The elephant is like a wall, solid and strong.”  One who touched the tusk says, “The elephant is like a spear, long and with a sharp point.”  One who touched the leg says, “The elephant is like a tree stump, short and stout.”  And on and on it goes as the men argue with one another what the elephant is like.  As I said last week, this parable is usually used to talk about religion saying that each religion has part of the truth, but none has the full truth.  I also said, don’t get too comfortable with that conclusion–it’s easily refutable.

And for us as Christians, one of those refutations comes in what Pastor Kevin DeYoung said–the question he asked.  “What if the elephant could talk?”  What if God could talk?  What if we didn’t have to wonder about who God was and what He could do?  What if God could communicate with us? 

Well, the answer is: God did.  God communicated with us.  God spoke to the people of Israel.  God spoke as Jesus Christ.  The writers of the Bible were so infused with the Spirit of God as they wrote it was as if God Himself were communicating with us.  This book that we call the Bible is
nothing less than God’s revelation of Himself to you and to me and to the world. 

And so, the more and more we study the Bible, the more and more we know who God is.  The more and more we study the Bible, the more and more we understand who we are.  The more and more we study the Bible, the more and more we see that there is much more than information and trite sayings that make us feel good about ourselves.  No.  Instead, we are led to admit as St. Paul did in Romans chapter 3, that all–meaning everyone, including ourselves–all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  This is terrible news.  This is awful news.  We have not done what we should have done.  We have not become who we should have become. Yet...yet, the news does not stop there.  We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but we are now justified–made right; declared innocent–by grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God set forward as the sacrifice of atonement effective through faith.  God has acted through Jesus Christ to bring us into a right relationship with Him.  God has acted through and in Jesus Christ to bring us forgiveness and wholeness.  God has acted through and in Jesus to ensure that even though we die, we will live with our heavenly Father forever.  This is the good news!!  To quote Dr. David Jeremiah, “The Bible began with God, and it solves the human’s most pressing need: how to know God and be reconciled unto Him.” 

The Bible is God’s love letter to you.   A love letter that tells you how much He loves you and what He is willing to do to make things right between you and Him.  This letter is meant to transform your heart and soul so that you find joy in Christ.  It is a letter to be read over and over and over because the more you read it, the more deeply in love you fall; and the more and more Christ-like you become.  And if this is the goal of the Christian life, the church and we must be deeply rooted in the Bible.  Amen.

The Cost of Adoption

Adoption is not an easy or cheap process.  When my wife and I adopted our two daughters, we had to jump through all sorts of hoops and pay all sorts of costs just to be able to adopt.  We had to have a social worker come out to our home and do a home study.  She toured the house and made recommendations for us that we had to follow so that our home would be deemed acceptable.  We had to undergo psychological, emotional, and family evaluations from that same social worker to check for red flags.  We had to undergo criminal background checks complete with finger printing and the like.  We had to join a support group and drive to College Station monthly to talk about the ins and outs of adoption.  Then there was the adoption fees that had to be paid.  Afterwards, there were the home visits after we had adopted the kids ensuring that they were healthy and taken care of.  Finally, we had to hire a lawyer and appear before the judge.  Fortunately, everything lined up.  All the i’s were dotted.  All the t’s were crossed.  We were deemed fit guardians, and so we became the legal parents of our girls.

It was a long, drawn out and costly process, but it is one that I would gladly go through again in a heart beat because I love my girls.  They were worth every hour of work that we put into the process; every mile driven to go to support group; every dollar spent on fees and attorneys.  I have no regrets at all–even as they are entering into their teenage years.  Oh, I may have joked that I’d turn them in for a refund if they got too out of line, but that’s not going to happen.  They are my children.  Period.  And they know beyond the shadow of a doubt that Dawna and I love them dearly.  We do not treat them any differently than we treat Kevin, who is genetically our child.  We would lay down our lives for our girls just as we would lay down our lives for our son.  Our girls will receive the same inheritance that Kevin does.  When we talk about our children, we don’t say, “These are our adopted children and this is our child.”  No.  We say, “These are our children.”  Because they are!

Talking about the adoption process is near and dear to my heart, and when I read St. Paul’s words from the fourth chapter of the book of Galatians, something is tweaked very deep inside of me.  And I am sure that it is because I know exactly what it is like to adopt children.  And the parallels jump out at me all throughout this short text as we now consider what it was for God to adopt us as His children.

Paul begins with these words, “4But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.”  When I hear these words, I think about the hoops that Jesus had to jump through to pay for our adoption.  You see, our adoption was not cheap!  Anyone who says grace is free needs to make a qualifying statement. Grace is free for us, but it cost God deeply.  The Son of God left his throne from on high.  He took on the limitations of human flesh to live and dwell among us.  He became the God who hungered; who was tempted; who thirsted; who slept on the ground; who worked with his hands; who endured the same things that we endure.  This was very unbecoming for any God of the ancient world!  Ah, but He didn’t just become like us–he succeeded where we failed.  For he was born under the law; he was born under God’s rules and commands.  And whereas we fail to follow them; we fail to complete them; we break them on a daily basis; Jesus fulfilled them.  Jesus worshiped only His Father; Jesus remembered the Sabbath; Jesus honored his father and mother; Jesus did not kill; He did not steal; he did not covet.  Jesus did what we could not do.  He became spotless and blameless before God.  He became righteous and holy.  He could actually stand before the Father and say, “I’ve done what you asked.  I’ve fulfilled your word.”

And here is where it really, really became costly for God to adopt us.  For in order for us to become children of God, we needed to be as blameless as Jesus.  We needed to have followed God’s commands as well as Jesus did.  We needed to have loved God above all things; kept the Sabbath; honored our fathers and mothers; not murdered; not stole; not coveted.  But we had failed.  Sin had stained us.  We were ensnared and held hostage by its power.  But Jesus redeemed us.  The word here in Greek for redeemed means to pay the purchase for a slave’s freedom.  Jesus paid for our release.  He paid for our freedom, as Luther says in the Small Catechism, “not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, in order that [we] may be [wholly] His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.”  Jesus gave up his holiness; his righteousness and became stained with our sin.  The spotless lamb of God became dirty and filthy with all we had failed to do, and then he gave his righteousness to us.  He gave his cleanness to us so that we could become children of God.  Oh, this did not cost us a single thing, but it cost Jesus everything.  See what love Jesus has for you!  See what compassion Jesus has for you!  See the lengths that Jesus has gone to redeem you!  It cost him his very life!  But he paid it; willingly, with no coercion.  He loved you and wanted you to be his brother.  To be his sister.  He considered you family.

And now that is exactly what you are.  You are sons; you are daughters of the Most High King.  You are children of God.  As Paul continues, “6And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ 7So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.”  Now hear what God does for you to help you know that you are indeed His child.  He sends to you the Holy Spirit.  This is the Spirit of truth who comes deep into your hearts to mold you and make you into the image and likeness of Jesus.  He comes into you to help you know deep down within the depths of your soul that you are loved and cherished by God.  He comes deep within you to help you look heavenward and cry out, “Daddy!” just as Jesus looked heavenward and uttered the exact same word.  When you are in doubt; when you wonder if indeed you are loved; when you wonder if God really and truly loves and cares for you; shut out the distractions.  Still your mind.  Quiet the inner thoughts and turmoil.  And let the Spirit warm your heart.  Let the Spirit penetrate your mind.  Let the Spirit move on you and through you, and you will sense deep within that you have been adopted.  You have been called.  You have been claimed.  You have been bought with a great price.  You have a Daddy in heaven who loves you beyond measure.

And you will receive the heavenly inheritance.  You will receive the same thing that your brother Jesus received.  You will receive all the love and joy and peace that the Father can give.  You will receive the assurance that no matter what happens in this life–whether it be good or bad; suffering or illness; or even death; God’s promises will come true for you.  You will have joy.  You will have peace.  You will have patience. You will have eternal life.  This is what it means to be an heir of God.  This is what it means to have been adopted as His child.  This is what Jesus came to earth to accomplish.  This is why he arrived in the manger; so that you may be his brother; his sister.  God has adopted you and paid a great price for you.  What a tremendous gift.  Merry Christmas.  Amen.

More than Just Greetings: Romans 16:1-16

At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be a lot to talk about in our lesson from the book of Romans this morning.  I mean, essentially all you have Paul doing is sending greetings.  Greet such and such.  Greet so and so.  Greet this person who is beloved.  Greet that person who is a member of that house.  Over and over again–27 people worth of greetings. I mean, if that is the sum and substance of Paul’s paragraph here, what more is to be said than simply getting up here and saying, “Greet one another.  Amen.?”  Short.  Sweet.  To the point.  Done. Let’s call it a day.

But let’s take a moment to dig a little deeper.  Let’s go beyond the superficial and look at some of the details and see what is revealed about what it means to live a life that is convicted by the Gospel.

The first thing that stands out to me is how many people Paul actually knew in the church that he had never visited.  Think about this with me for just a moment.   Remember, Paul has admitted that he has never been to the church in Rome.  He has yet to travel there, even though he has desperately wanted to.  If that is the case, how is it that Paul knows the names of so many people?  How is it that he somehow can ask for greetings for over 20 folks whom he has yet to see face to face?

This gives us some insight into the early Christian church.  It tells us that in the early Church, folks knew of fellow Christians throughout the Roman Empire.  They were not isolated in their little enclaves, thinking only about themselves, and connected to their small circle of friends and relatives in their communities.  No.  They had a much larger perspective of what the church was.  They had a much larger perspective of where the Gospel was supposed to go.  They knew that the church was struggling to gain a foothold in the Roman Empire.  It faced trials and tribulations.  It faced some persecution.  It faced shortage of resources.  So, people stayed in contact with each other.  People prayed for one another.  People in Achaia and Macedonia cared for the people in Jerusalem.  People in Jerusalem prayed for the people in Rome.  The early Christians knew that the church was much, much larger than their local congregations, and they made it a point to reach across the distances to get to know folks in other places.

I must confess that this is an area of growth for me.  I tend to be rather short-sighted.  I tend to focus right here on this community and neglect others throughout the world.  I tend to forget that the church is much, much larger than Saint John Lutheran Church of Cat Spring.  I tend to focus my prayers right here and forget about the rest of the world.  I do not know many people outside of this congregation and the congregations I served previously.  It is a challenge for me to think on a grander scale...to think about the larger church.  Perhaps this is also a challenge for our congregation.

The second thing that stands out for me is the diversity of people that Paul greets.  There are men and women.  There are Jews and Gentiles.  There are people who own houses, and there are slaves.  These early house churches cut across racial, gender, and socio-economic status.  When you walked into those churches, you did not see row after row of people who looked the same, had the same background, and had the same status in society.  The Gospel had broken down these boundaries and replaced them with a new set of boundaries.

For you see, the Gospel proclaimed that each and every person was in Christ Jesus.  Each and every person had been clothed with Christ Jesus. Each and every person had a new identity that went above and beyond any other identity conferred upon them in society.  People did not cease having a Jewish or Gentile background. They did not cease being rich or poor.  They did not cease being slave or free. They did not cease being male or female, but those identities were nothing compared to their identity in Christ.  Therefore, there was only one status that was important in the church: that you were a child of God.

That’s it.
Nothing else.

You were not given special privilege because you were wealthy.  You were not given special privilege because you were male.  You were not given special privilege because you were Jewish.  All of these things, which at one time did bestow privilege, were gone.  You were a new creation being made into the image and likeness of Jesus.

This too has implications for the church today.  For it is awfully easy to flip back into the distinctions of status and privilege.  It is awfully easy to believe that our job or our title or our bank accounts or our possessions or any other distinguishing mark gives us a special privilege.  This is something we must resist.  When the church begins allowing these distinctions, we fall away from the promises we have inherited in our baptisms.  We fail to remember how Jesus has claimed us and clothed us.  We fail to remember what Christ has done for us and instead focus on, well, us.  And we are not the focus of the church.  Jesus has been, is, and always will be.  When a church fails to focus on Jesus, distinctions get made, and we are another step further removed from the becoming the body of Christ.

Finally, in this passage, we see a deep, deep sense of love and respect between church members.  Paul’s initial words about the deaconess Phoebe are a recommendation to end all recommendations.  They are very, very flattering and are intended to paint her in the best possible light as she, in all likelihood, brings Paul’s letter to the church in Rome.  We then see just how far members in the church are willing to care for one another in the next statement.  “Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, 4and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.”

I must confess to you that I don’t think I had ever paid that much attention to this sentence the previous times when I had read through the book of Romans.  Prisca and Aquila literally “risked their necks” on behalf of Paul.  Whatever they did, it put them in great risk for their fellow brother in Christ.  Whatever they did, it could have cost them their lives.  In the early church, folks were willing to risk their lives for one another!!!  Chew on that for just a minute. 

Being a part of the early church literally could put your life in danger.  Much like being a part of the church in Iran today, or in the areas still controlled by ISIS.  Much like being a part of the church in China.  Christians in these parts of the world are apt to suffer greatly at the hands of the ruling authorities, and being a part of the church there could literally jeopardize your life.

And yet, the church is actually growing rapidly in these parts of the world just as it grew rapidly in the Roman empire.  There was something so deeply moving about the Christian faith that it led people to do things that were almost unthinkable.  It led people to take unbelievable risks for one another–risks that were not done out of any sort of self-interest or personal gain, but risks that were taken out of great love for fellow believers.

And why wouldn’t they take such risks?  They knew what Jesus had done for them. They knew what Jesus had endured for their sakes.  They knew that Jesus had come into this world as God-incarnate.  They knew that Jesus had lived the life that God desired of mankind.  They knew that Jesus was spotless and blameless before God.  They knew that Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice for their sins.  They knew that they didn’t measure up to God’s standards.  They knew that they fell woefully short.  They knew they deserved eternal punishment for their shortcomings before the Almighty Creator of the universe.  But instead of that punishment falling on their heads, Jesus took that punishment for them.  Jesus interceded on their behalf and faced hell for them.  Jesus faced rejection for them.  Jesus faced divine wrath for them.  And then He became the first fruits of a new creation as he was raised from the dead.  He became the first sign of God’s new kingdom breaking into the world and reversing all evil and hatred.  He became the unleashing of God’s rule in the world where death and the devil would be defeated.  These early Christians were grasped by this marvelous act of Jesus.  They were grasped by this undeserved love.  They were grasped by the wonder of God dying for them when they least deserved it, and their hearts were moved to love God and love one another so that they would lay down their lives for each other.  They would take great risks for one another.  They would sacrifice their time, their talent, and their treasure for one another.  The Gospel changed them deeply from within!

And O how desperately do we need this Gospel today!!  How desperately do we need to have Christ’s love poured into our hearts so that we are willing to have our lives changed again!!  How desperately does the church need an infusion of God’s love reawakened within it!  How desperately does the church need to rediscover its roots so that it has the energy, drive, and hope of the early church!  For as the rest of the world saw how different the church was; as the rest of the world saw the changed hearts and self-sacrifice of the church; the rest of the world noticed that this change was not brought about by self-will and determination.  The rest of the world saw that God had indeed touched the hearts and minds of the church.  The rest of the world saw that God was real and had come to earth as Jesus the Christ.  The rest of the world saw that God’s kingdom was breaking into the world, and they wanted to be a part of that kingdom as well.  The rest of the world’s hearts became changed because the Gospel captured them through the love, preaching, teaching, and risk taking of the church.

Oh, my brothers and sisters, this text has so much more within it than simply greeting one another.  It helps us see what the church can be when it loves God and then loves one another.  May God’s love find us so that we may be the Church!!  Amen.

God's Plan for Your Life

God has a plan for your life.  It is a good plan, but, I am sorry to say, God’s plan will probably disrupt your plan that you have for your own life.  Let me put it more bluntly, if you seek to follow God, He will disrupt your life and lead you to places you never thought you would want to go.  He will take you down pathways that you didn’t expect.

It’s actually an old, old story that runs throughout scripture.  Noah never expected to build an ark.  Abraham never expected to be called away from his homeland to travel to a land far, far away.  Moses never expected to be called by God from a burning bush.  Gideon never expected to be called from his farm to lead Israel’s army.  Samuel never expected to be called by God as a boy to become a prophet.  This thread runs all throughout the Old and New Testaments, and it runs square through our text from the book of Romans today.

Paul is working towards the closing of his letter to the church in Rome, and as he does so, he lays out what he would have liked to have done and what he now hopes to do.  He says that he has been delayed in coming to visit the church in Rome because he had been spreading the Gospel throughout Asia Minor–establishing churches, converting the Gentiles, and making Christ known.  He has wanted to come to Rome desperately, but he hadn’t made it yet.  This is what he would like to have done.  Now, he shares his hopes: verse 23 and 24, “23But now, with no further place for me in these regions, I desire, as I have for many years, to come to you 24when I go to Spain. For I do hope to see you on my journey and to be sent on by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a little while.”  This is Paul’s plan.  This is what Paul wants.  He wants to go to Spain, and on his way to Spain, he wants to stop in Rome to enjoy their company for a while.

BUT...

But Paul’s plan is disrupted by God’s plan.  Before Paul can make his plan happen, God has called him to another task.  “25At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem in a ministry to the saints; 26for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to share their resources with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27They were pleased to do this, and indeed they owe it to them; for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things.”

Paul is taking an offering from the Gentile churches in Asia to the saints in Jerusalem who are in poverty.  This is not exactly a risk-free endeavor.  Remember, in those days, there was no such things as wire transfers.  There were no such things as checks.  Paul would have been carrying gold or silver coins along the way.  He would have had to worry about bandits and brigands.  He would have had to keep careful guard to make sure this money was not stolen.  He was taking a risk to deliver these funds to Jerusalem.

But he knew that this was part of his calling as an apostle.  He knew that he was called to facilitate generosity.  He knew he was called to help these congregations stay in touch with each other and work together.  He knew that he was called to build relationships between both Jew and Gentile.  Bringing this offering would help do exactly that, and at this particular point and time, building those relationships was more important than traveling to Rome and then to Spain.

Remember, in the ancient world, Jews and Gentiles oftentimes did not get along.  Before the start of Christianity, Jews and Gentiles kept separate.  They did not associate with each other.  Oftentimes, there was animosity between these two groups.  Yet, Paul knows that through the Gospel, these two groups have now been brought together in Jesus Christ.  In fact, the Gentiles now owe their salvation to the fact that the Messiah came through the Jewish people.  Paul says that in this regard, the Gentiles owe the Jews a debt.  The Gentiles are actually repaying part of this debt through this generosity.

Perhaps it is good to take a moment to think about this in light of the fact that today we celebrate the Women’s Thankoffering.  This tradition “goes back to the 1800s or even earlier. Then, when it seemed that there was not enough money to carry out the work of the church, the women would take action. Gathering in groups called “cent” or
“mite” societies, each woman would set aside offerings at home throughout the year, in thanksgiving for blessings received. And on occasion, the women would come together as we do today, joining their offerings together to support ministry of many kinds.” (ELCA Thankoffering service)

This tradition is rooted and grounded in remembering what God has first done for us.  It is rooted and grounded in the fact that Jesus canceled our debt of sin and offered his life in payment for our sins.  Christian generosity flows from a heart that is deeply moved by Christ’s sacrifice.  For a Christian, our financial plans are disrupted by God’s generosity toward us.  When we understand the Gospel, we cannot help but respond in generous giving toward the church and toward the world.  We cannot help but want to share with others our treasures.  Jesus’ love poured out on the cross leads us to pour out our love upon others.  Our offerings, the Women’s Thankoffering, the giving of the Gentiles toward the poor saints in Jerusalem are all examples of our love for God.  We don’t give because we are required or compelled.  We give because of a deep seated gratitude for what God has done for us.

Paul reminds the church in Rome of this as an explanation of why this ministry is so important and why he will be delayed even further from visiting them.  And then Paul asks for prayer.  And I want you to notice something very peculiar about what Paul asks for.  Paul asks for three things: 1) that he may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea.  2) That the offerings he is bringing from the Gentile churches might be acceptable to the Jewish saints in Jerusalem.  And 3) That he might finally be able to make it to Rome and be refreshed by their company.  Now, the reason I asked you to look at those prayer requests carefully is this: does it sound like there is a bit of uncertainty in Paul when he asks these things?  I mean, why would you pray that you might be rescued from unbelievers?  You pray this because there is a good possibility that you will be harmed by unbelievers!  God’s plan is leading Paul into dangerous territory!! 

Why would you pray that the offering that you are bringing be found acceptable by those who are receiving it?  Well, because there is a chance that the offering might be rejected!  This might sound far-fetched to us today, but in that time, it was not.  Jews were not always open to accepting offerings that came from Gentiles.  They might have been gotten by impure means.  The coins might have been used at one time for temple sacrifices.  The coins might be bearing the image and likeness of Caesar.  These were all things that were unacceptable to Jews, and even though some Jews had converted to Christianity, these things were still roadblocks to many.  There was a possibility that the Jews would reject the offering!!!  God’s plan has some uncertainty in it!!

Finally, why would Paul pray that he might finally get to Rome and visit?  Well, there was a possibility that it wouldn’t happen after all, that’s why!!  As God’s plan continued to unfold for Paul; as the Spirit led Paul in his work, it could very well lead him away from Rome again!  There was still much uncertainty in the air!!

What does this all mean for you and for me? 

I think that oftentimes we believe that a life of faith brings absolute security and safety.  I think that oftentimes we are led to believe that if I just pray enough; if I just believe enough; if I just give enough; then everything will work out according to the way I see it.  Life will run smoothly.  There will be no hiccups.  There will be no detours.  Everything will be good.

This is not what we see happening in the least in Scripture.  This is not what we see happening in the least when we see what Paul reveals to us about his life in this text.  In fact, we see quite a bit of uncertainty.  We see quite a bit of wonder about what the future holds.  We see potential pit falls.  We see potential danger.  We see that living out God’s plan–living with the Spirit leading us–takes us to places we might not want to go.  It causes us to do things that we wouldn’t normally want to do.  It causes us to take risks we normally wouldn’t want to take.  Who would want to face persecution by unbelievers?  Who would want to potentially have their ministry rejected?  Who would want to think that they wouldn’t be able to travel to a place they wanted to go?  We like to have certainty.

But in living a life of faith, there is no certainty in the journey.  There is only certainty in the destination.  Let me say that again.  When living a life of faith, there is no certainty in the journey.  There is only certainty in the destination.  God has a plan.  We don’t know what that plan is, but in the end it will be good.  In fact, it will be more fantastic than we could ever imagine.  And to hold firm to this, we need to hold firm to our trust in Jesus.

For in Jesus, we see that a life of faith does not always lead us to the best of times.  In fact, in Jesus, we see a life that leads us to the cross.  We see a life that leads to self-sacrifice.  We see a life that leads to pain and even death. If we as Christians are molded into the image and likeness of Jesus, we can expect nothing less in our lives as well.  We can expect nothing less than pain and sorrow and death in our lives as well.

But fortunately, the story does not end with death.  The story ends with resurrection.  The story ends with all evil being reversed. The story ends in triumph.  The glory comes after the cross.  The joy comes after the sorrow.  The light shines after the darkness.  The ending is good. 

Paul trusted in that ending.  For his final prayer lifts this up.  “33The God of peace be with all of you. Amen.”  The God of peace.  Not peace in a calm, tranquil life.  But peace in God.  Peace in one’s heart.  Peace in knowing that no matter what happens and befalls you; no matter that you are knocked away from your wishes and desires and outcomes; no matter that you face pain and sorrow and grief; that God is at work in our lives.  God is at work to bring us to the fullness of faith.  God is at work to bring transformation and joy.  God is at work to bring His plan to fruition–a plan that wildly exceeds our greatest dreams–a plan to make us into His image and likeness.  No matter what troubles befall you, rest your hope in Jesus.  He has a plan for your life, and it is good.  Amen.

Changing the World: Romans 15:14-21

I can only imagine the dread that I would feel should I look up one Sunday morning and see someone enter through those doors at the back of our sanctuary clothed in body armor and wielding several guns.  I can’t imagine the horror I would experience seeing this person shooting at you as you sat in the pews; perhaps scrambling for safety; perhaps throwing stuff at the shooter; perhaps screaming in agony.  Such terrifying thoughts should never take place because such things should never happen.  But such a thing did happen last Sunday, and we are all aware of it.

As happens with such events, folks are quick to jump into the blame game.  Generally, the blame is simplistic–guns, mental health, the NRA, lack of proper laws.  We want a simple answer so that we can get a quick fix.  We just need to properly fund mental health care, and these things will stop.  We just need to pass the correct gun law, and these things will stop.  We just need to arm every single citizen, and these things will stop.  Simple problems can be solved with simple answers, and that’s what we like.

But what if the problem runs deeper?  What if the problem is more complex and more difficult to solve?  What if the problem cannot be solved by passing laws or spending money?

This is a heck of a sermon to be preaching on the day that we are confirming seven young men and women.  It would be nice to have a fluffy, happy sermon.  It would be nice to have a sermon that is simply rejoicing and full of rainbows and unicorns.  But the world is not full of rainbows and unicorns.  The world is not always just or kind or fair.  The world is oftentimes full of hatred and violence and evil.  We see this on a daily basis when we look at the news.

But there is other news that is oftentimes overlooked.  There is other news that is oftentimes ignored or relegated to superstition or called a myth.  There is other news that has power to bring change; to bring hope; to bring light into the darkness.  It is the news that we as the church have been entrusted with.  It is the news that God has begun His restoration project of the world.  God has begun the process of unleashing His kingdom, and He builds that kingdom one heart at a time.  He is building that kingdom through you; through me; through these seven young men and women; and He is expecting us to go out and help that kingdom grow.

And that is not an easy task.  It is not an easy task at all because of the society in which we live.  For you see, I believe that our society has changed.  I would argue that at one point and time in our society, most folks agreed on what was right and what was wrong.  They agreed on a basic standard of morality.  They agreed on what was shameful, and they corrected the folks who deviated from what was considered acceptable.  Now, this was not always a perfect process, and sometimes what was agreed upon was wrong, I mean, I my family would look very differently if I were living in the 1950's.  Sometimes a shaking up of the boundaries is a good thing–as long as you establish other boundaries.

I am not certain that we have any clear cut, universal boundaries in our society anymore.  I am not certain that we have any clear cut, moral values in our society anymore.  I am not certain that you can go out in public anymore and correct anyone who might be deviating from what might be considered the norm.  What do I mean by that?  Well, let’s say that you are walking around in Wal-Mart.  You are walking by the toy section, and you see a child flop down on the floor throwing a temper tantrum because he or she wants a toy.  You see the parent, bend down and say, “There, there, stop crying.  I will get you the toy.”  If you were to tell that parent, “You know, it’s probably not a good idea to give that kid a toy because he threw a temper tantrum,” what is likely to happen?

Well, that person will probably look you right in the eye and with more than a bit of anger tell you, “You have no right to tell me how I should parent.  You just mind your own business!”

Oh, and just in case you might feel morally superior to that person, reverse the roles.  Say your child was throwing a temper tantrum and you were refusing to give in.  Say that other parent walked up to you and said, “You know, you should really just give the kid a toy.  They aren’t going to be with you forever, so you should just spoil them.”  What would you say?  “You have no right to tell me how to parent!!!”  You see, it works both ways.  We want to defend “our” rights to do things as we please.  We don’t like anyone telling us what to do.

And here begins the problem.

If I don’t like anyone telling me what to do, who becomes the ultimate authority of my life?  I do.  I become the sole source of authority of what is right and what is wrong.  I become the sole source of what I think is good and what I think is bad.  I call the shots.  I make my own way.  I am my own boss.

Now, what if everyone feels the exact same way?  What if everyone believes he or she is their own boss?  What if everyone thinks no one has the right to tell them what to do or how to act?  What do you end up with?

Chaos.

You have people thinking they can do anything without any sort of correction at all.  You have people thinking that it is perfectly okay to shoot folks at a concert; shoot folks in a church; say that there is no such thing as male or female; give two correct answers to a problem on a test and say that one of them is more correct than another; and so on and so forth.  Truth becomes relative to what any one person or group of people in power say that it is.  And ultimately, the only way to resolve a conflict between differing, deeply entrenched beliefs is violence.

This is the path our society and culture is on if we continue to believe there is no greater
authority than the individual.  We can expect more shootings.  More violence.  More hatred.  More division.  Until we can agree upon a set of standards, morals, and values, these things will increase.

It’s not a pretty picture.  But it is a picture tailor made for the Gospel.

For it is the Gospel that points the way to God’s kingdom breaking into the world.  It is the Gospel that points the way to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  It is the Gospel that says that we do not discover the Truth, but that the Truth is revealed to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.  The Truth comes to us not as an idea, a thought, a methodology or a way of life, but it comes to us as a person–fully God and fully man.  The Gospel says that the Truth enters into our world and seeks to dwell within the very depths of our hearts.

And it is on the cross that the Truth is most fully revealed.  “For ‘twas on that old cross where the dearest and best came to pardon and sanctify me.  So I’ll cherish the Old Rugged Cross.  Where my trophies as last I lay down.  I will cling to that Old Rugged Cross, and exchange it some day for a crown.”  As the hymn proclaims–it was on the cross that Jesus took our sin unto himself and gave his righteousness to us as He suffered the death and punishment that we deserved.  He bestowed salvation upon us by sheer grace–through no work of our own.  He did not seek to claim us with power or authority or violence, but He sought to claim us with self-sacrificial love–a love that we did not deserve.

Oh what heart changing love!!!  Oh what amazing grace!!!  Oh that our hearts may be moved with gratitude and love in return!!!  Oh that our hearts may melt so that we give ourselves to Him in submission–casting aside our desires to have authority over our lives and instead living for Him and seeking His will!!

And then to behold the marvel of his resurrection!!   The marvel that all evil will be overcome with good!!  The marvel that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God.  Not even death can overcome the Truth!!! 

Oh, and what can happen when a community of people is seized by this Gospel?  What can take place when human hearts are changed and come together living in the grace and mercy of God?  What kind of kingdom is established on earth when people who are grasped by the Gospel of God and live for God?

Acts 2:43, “43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”

Who does not long for such a community?  Who does not long for such a place where people gather and share?  Where people gather and care?  Where people gather in mutual harmony?  Where people have glad and generous hearts?  This is what the Gospel produces.

But how can this Gospel produce this if it is not shared?  It must be shared–not through power and violence, but through a burning desire to love the world as Jesus loved the world.  It is this burning desire that shines through Paul’s words from the book of Romans this morning.  “17In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast of my work for God. 18For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, 19by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the good news of Christ. 20Thus I make it my ambition to proclaim the good news, not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on someone else’s foundation, 21but as it is written, ‘Those who have never been told of him shall see, and those who have never heard of him shall understand.’”

Is it possible for such news to change the world?  Is it possible for such news to bring about transformation?  Is it possible for us to make such an impact if our hearts were seized by the love of God in Christ Jesus?  Is it possible for our nation to once again find a common purpose; a common sense of morality; a common sense of right and wrong?  Is it possible for our nation to be transformed by the power of the Gospel–to participate in God’s kingdom being revealed?

In a few moments, seven young men and women will stand here this morning to affirm their baptism.  They will stand here to say before God and this congregation, “Yes, I believe.”  Yes, I believe I have responsibility to live out a life of faith. Yes, I believe I have responsibility to share the Good news of Jesus Christ. Yes, I believe that Jesus died for me and for the world.  Yes, I believe that God’s kingdom is breaking into our world.  Yes.  I believe.  May their statement be our statement, and may we dedicate our lives to the spread of the Gospel–the spread of the kingdom of God. Amen.