It's Not About Your Work

(Youtube sermon varies quite a bit from written sermon below.)

    A bit of a poll to begin today’s sermon.  Three quick questions:

    #1. How many of you think we would be better off if schools taught Christian values?

    #2.  How many of you like it when schools give ribbons and awards to everyone who participates no matter how well they did?

    #3.  In light of answering number one and number two, think about what I read just a few short minutes ago in our Gospel lesson, and let me now ask you if you want me to continue my sermon or just stop right here?

    You may have voted for me to stop, but let’s chase this rabbit for a little while, shall we?

    Why is it most of us say we want Christian values taught, but when confronted with the reality of the Christian faith, we run from those values?  Why is it we say we need to teach Christian values in schools, but then recoil when everyone gets an award so that no one gets hurt? 

    Why?

    Well, speaking as a parent, I don’t want schools to hand out awards for just participation because the world doesn’t operate that way, does it?  The world of business; the world of commerce; the world of dog eat dog, rat race, what have you done for me lately does not reward you for just showing up.  It doesn’t give you a pat on the back and a six figure salary for just walking in a door.  The world judges you based upon your performance–not your being.  And if you do not contribute–if the world sees that you are not doing what it expects you, it punishes you; it shames you; it only gives you what it thinks you deserve. 

    And I would like to submit to you this morning, that we actually want it that way.  Yes, we do.  In a very real way, we want the world to operate this way.  Why?  Because we want our work to matter.  We want what we do to count.  We want our actions to affect our outcomes because then we have control over our lives and how the world treats us.  What do I mean by that?

    Well, think about it.  If your work matters, it is valuable.  And we want to be valuable.  We want to believe we are important and that our work is meaningful.  And if my work is valuable and meaningful, then I can expect to be rewarded for my work.  I can expect people to care about what I do.  If I choose to work hard, the world owes me something.  If I put in the hard work of studying and getting the right answers at school, then the school owes me an A plus.  If I bust my tail end and invent something, I can demand payment for its usage.  If I study and learn something, I can demand people cite me and see me as an expert in what I have learned.  Do you see how I have control?  Do you see how I have a say in my life and how it plays out?  And who of us really wants to give that up?  Who of us wants to cede any form of control and put ourselves at the whim of others?  None of us really.  We like control.  We like to think we are owed for what we do.

    Which is why I think, deep down, many of us don’t like it when everyone gets rewarded no matter what kind of work they do.  Most of us don’t like everyone getting a ribbon in a race with no first place, second place, third place, or what have you–it doesn’t give anyone an incentive to strive for excellence–to be the top dog–to reach for the winner’s circle. 

    And yet, look at how Jesus describes the kingdom of God in our Gospel lesson.  Christian values.  A land owner goes to the marketplace to hire workers.  At the break of dawn, he finds several guys in the marketplace, and he hires them for a day’s wage.  They trudge off to work.  The land owner goes back to the market at about 9 a.m.  He sees others standing idle.  He hires them promising to pay what is right.  At noon, the landowner does the same thing.  Then at three.  Then at five. “Why aren’t you working?” he asks the last group.

    “Because no one has hired us,” they reply.

    “Go to work,” the landowner says.  And they go.

    Here’s where things get testy.  At the end of the day, the landowner brings everyone together for payment.  For some reason, he starts with the guys he hired last.  He could have saved quite a bit of grumbling if he would have started with the guys he hired first.  Then, maybe, no one would have been the wiser.  But, that’s not what happened.  The landowner calls in the guys he hired at five o’clock.  And he pays them a full-day’s wage.  They only worked a couple of hours, and they got a full-day’s wage!!!

    And so does everyone else.  From those who worked two hours to those who worked twelve, all of them get one day’s wage.  They are all paid equally for completely unequal work.

    Of course, as you imagine, those who worked the most are outraged!!!  This isn’t the way the world works!!!  If you work more and longer, you should get paid more!!!  If you bear the heat of the day, you should be compensated more than those who worked only in the cool of the evening!!!  It isn’t fair!!!

    And if this story were all about you, you would be right.  If this parable were all about your work, you would be correct.  It isn’t fair.  It isn’t just.  It isn’t right.  It’s not the way the world works.  However, this parable isn’t about you.  It isn’t about your work.  It isn’t about the way the world works.  It’s about the landowner. 

    “Are you envious because I am generous?”

    Short answer in response, “Yes, we are envious, but we are also terrified.”  What do I mean by that?  Why would I add terrified to the end of that question?

            Timothy Keller tells a short story about a woman he was once trying to convert to Christianity.  He was sharing the Gospel with her, and she responded, “You know, this grace stuff is pretty scary.  I’m not sure I like it.”

    Keller pressed her, “Why?”

    She responded, “Because if salvation is based upon my works, then I have some control of my life and my salvation.  But if salvation is based upon grace and what God has done, then there is nothing He cannot ask of me.”

    Keller explains that this woman understood the Gospel more than many Christians.  She understood that if her salvation was based upon what she did, then she has rights.  If you pay into Social Security, then you are owed the benefits promised by Social Security.  If you pay your taxes, you are owed certain government services.  If you pay for your car to be repaired, it must be repaired correctly.  If you follow the rules, you should not be detained.  You have rights.  You can make claims.  However, if you do nothing and still receive the benefits...what happens then?

    Let’s take Jesus’ parable to the next level, shall we.  Remember, this parable isn’t about the workers; it’s not about their work; it’s about the landowner.  It’s about his generosity.  It’s about his willingness to do what he chooses with what he has.  Jesus is obviously pointing toward God the Father.  He is obviously telling us something about the nature of God.  And what is it?

    Just this: it’s not about our labor.  It’s not about the work that we do which earns you payment from God.  It’s not about us doing all the right things so that we will reap the great rewards.  It’s not about us just having enough faith and God rewarding us with health and wealth and perfect relationships.  No.  Not at all.  It’s about the payment already given, and it’s much, much more than a day’s wage.

    “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 sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him.”

    You see, were it not for Jesus and the payment He gave for our sin, we would be in a world of hurt.  “For the wages of sin is death,” St. Paul writes.  And none of us, I mean none of us, can labor enough to get out of our sin.  None of us can escape the reality of this world.  We want to have control.  We want to call our own shots.  We want to have our cake and eat it too.  We are genuinely selfish and self-centered–just like those workers in the parable.  They were angry because they were focusing on themselves and not on the generosity of the landowner.  And the reasons we get angry and frustrated and upset generally have to do with the fact that things are happing that we think shouldn’t happen.  The world is not doing what we think it should.  It’s not functioning according to our will.  We want to be at the center of things calling the shots, and in this scenario, who do we really want to be god?  Yeah, ourselves.  And the more we try to make things about ourselves, the more angry; the more frustrated; the more unsatisfied we become.  The more we try to take control–the more it slips through our fingers.

    And so Jesus says, “Let me show you another way.  Don’t focus on what you do.  Don’t focus on trying to earn your way.  Don’t try to justify your existence with your work and your toil and your labor.  These things don’t justify you.  These things don’t save you.  These things don’t give you worth and value.  I do.  I have already justified you.  I have already saved you.  I have given you all by dying for you.  I paid the price for you.  When you should have received the wages of death, I took those wages.  When you should have received the wages of the wrath of God, I took that for you.  And I replaced it with the wages I should have received.  I replaced it with eternal life.  I replaced it with my righteousness and clothed you with myself.  Not because of what you did but because of what I did.  Not because of who you are but because of who I am.  Are you still envious because I am so generous?”

    At this point, what can we say?  I mean, really, what can we say?  If this is what Jesus has done; if this is the generosity of the landowner; if this is the wage we receive not based upon our work but upon God’s work, how in the world should we respond?  Should we get angry at God’s generosity, or should we rejoice?  Should we rejoice that we who deserved to be last are now first?  Should we rejoice that others who were once in the same boat as us are now accepted and loved just as we are accepted and loved?

     So, when Jesus asks, “Are you envious because I am generous?”, let us replay, “No.  Not at all.  In fact, I am extremely thankful you are generous, for without your generosity, I would perish.  Thank you Jesus, for being so generous and paying me what I didn’t deserve.”  Amen.

If You Have Anything to Say to Me...

    Our Gospel lesson this week is actually quite a bit longer than the designated text for the day.  The designated text put together by those who do the Revised Common Lectionary is actually Matthew 16: 15-20.  Next week, we are supposed to get Matthew 16:20-35; however, as I looked over these lessons, I couldn’t help but realize, these texts really should not be separated.  They demand to be put together because it is in holding them together that we truly get the Gospel revealed to us and lead us toward reconciliation and forgiveness.

    The text begins with instructions on how to handle reconciliation.  If someone in the church sins against you, you are to confront that person one on one.  If the other does not listen, you are to take two or three witnesses.  If the person does not listen, you are to bring them before the entire assembly, and if the person does not listen to the entire assembly, they are to be treated as a Gentile or tax collector.  This is very straight forward and simple, is it not?  I mean there isn’t much wiggle room in how we are supposed to handle a situation like this is there?  No.  There isn’t.  Except...

    Except no one follows this teaching.  No one.  Even those of us who are pastors and proclaim God’s Word Sunday after Sunday don’t follow this teaching of Jesus.  I mean, let’s be honest with one another when it comes to talking about reality.  Whenever we get upset with something someone has done to us or if they have done something in the church we don’t like, we don’t go directly to that person.  We either stew about it and stop attending church because “I don’t want to see that person anymore because he or she hurt me”; or we start talking about what that person did with anyone else who will listen.  “Did you see what color they painted the fellowship hall?  Oh the horrors!!  Why couldn’t they have just painted it white?”  If I can get someone, anyone to agree with me, well, then I feel justified in my position.  And, believe me, this is not something exclusive to congregation members.  We clergy jump on this bandwagon all the time.  We talk about our church leaders.  We talk about other Christians–other pastors.  Rarely, if ever do we go directly to someone and confront them with something they said or did–despite our knowing better.  I mean, even those who don’t follow Jesus have their own way of putting this.  You might have even said it yourself.  “If you want to say something to me...say it to my face.”  We know what we are supposed to do, but we just don’t do it.

    Why?  Well, of course, it’s easier not too.  I don’t have to face them directly.  But there are also the consequences that must be faced.  For whenever we confront someone with wrongdoing or confront another with hurting us, we are usually met with a harsh response. “How dare you confront me?  Do you think you are such a goody two shoes that you can tell me what I’ve done wrong?”  That’s just one of the responses.  I mean, oftentimes when we confront another, we come across as extremely self-righteous and arrogant.  This does not lead to reconciliation.  Furthermore, there are more than a few who have adopted the self-esteem gospel–that if we just let everyone know they are loved and perfect just the way they are they will work hard; do good things; and be productive.  Except that doesn’t work.  It actually leads to a sense of entitlement and narcissism.  And if you confront such a person with hurting you, it will fall on deaf ears because they don’t believe they are capable of doing wrong.  And even if you were to follow the teaching Jesus offers them, they would simply say, “I’ll just go find another church where I won’t have anyone mess with me.” 

    Do you see the difficulties involved with following Jesus teaching here?  Do you see why many people refuse to operate in such a fashion?  It’s too difficult to face another person, and the consequences are generally poor.  It’s a teaching which is almost too difficult to bear.

    Perhaps this is why Peter comes up to Jesus and says, “Lord, how many times do I really have to forgive someone?  As many as seven times?”

    Some of you might think seven times is too small a number, but let me ask you this: would you let someone steal from you up to seven times?  Would you let someone slap you in the face seven times?  Would you willingly let someone take advantage of you seven times in a row without some sort of recourse?  No.  No one here this morning would think of such a thing–generally.  Seven times is a pretty generous number, but Jesus says, “No.  You are thinking too small.  As many as seventy-seven times.”

    And here we get to the important crux of the matter.  Here we get to why Jesus teaches what He teaches regarding reconciliation and forgiveness.  Here we get to why Jesus begins this segment with what to do if a member of the church sins against you.  Here we get a parable of God’s mercy and justice–a parable that leads us to the cross.

    Jesus tells us of a servant who has wracked up an incredible debt.  10,000 talents is the figure given.  Let’s translate this into dollar signs.  Let’s say an average laborer earns $30,000 per year.  A talent would have been 15 times that, so $450,000.  Take $450,000 and multiply that by 10,000.  That’s a lot of zeroes my friends.  By my calculations it would be $4,500,000,000.  This servant owed the modern day equivalent of 4.5 billion dollars!!! 

    Now, I want you to ask yourself: who in the world wracks up that kind of debt?  Who in the work borrows that much money–I mean aside from certain governments...  How in the world do you wrack up that much debt?  Any clue?  The best I can come up with is someone who is so totally irresponsible and so consumed with money that they get as much as they possibly can regardless of any sort of consequence or conscience.  This is the kind of guy Jesus talks about.

    Second question: what kind of lord loans that kind of money to this kind of servant?  I mean really.  Which one of you would have loaned that kind of figure to someone?  The lord must be extremely wealthy and not care what happens to that kind of money, that’s for sure.  Either that, or this lord must be somewhat crazy.  No one would even think of doing such a thing.  But apparently, this one did–at least in the parable.

    The lord comes one day to settle accounts, and he is furious at what is owed him.  He threatens to sell the man and his family as slaves to pay off the debt–this was considered quite acceptable in the world during that time.  The servant doesn’t want this to happen–not in the least, so he begs and pleads with his lord.  “Do not sell me.  I will repay you!”

    Interestingly enough, there are a couple of things to note here.  Unless one is very wealthy, this kind of debt cannot be paid off in one’s lifetime.  The guy is making a promise which cannot be fulfilled.  Secondly, it’s an obvious comment to save his own skin–a skin which was in trouble because of his irresponsible behavior in the first place.

    But the interesting stuff doesn’t stop there.  The lord, moved by pity forgives the debt!!!  He doesn’t work out a payment plan.  He doesn’t reduce the debt and work things out; he says you are off the hook.  You are free.  You are clear.  Go!

    Now, what would you and I do at this point?  What would you and I do if we were suddenly told that a huge amount of debt has been forgiven us?  Would we go out and do the same thing again?  Or would we be filled with joy at the fortune which had befallen us?  Would we be consumed with anger and greed, or would we have hearts full of gratitude?

    You would expect the latter, but this servant just doesn’t seem to get it.  He comes across a guy who owes him a pittance compared to the debt just forgiven him.  The actions of the lord had absolutely no effect on this guy.  He is still completely self-centered and selfish.  He is still as self-absorbed as before, and there are drastic consequences.  The lord will not let such actions stand.  Let’s try to understand why.

    A few months ago, I listened to a Timothy Keller lecture on Youtube, and he shared the following illustration by Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones.  Dr. Jones said that in order to understand the Gospel, one of the things I needed to understand was the size of the debt forgiven me.  In a sermon, Dr. Jones said, “Let’s say I come home one day from vacation and my neighbor, who was checking my mail told me, ‘While you were gone, a bill came, and I paid it for you.’  In order to know how to properly respond, I need to know how large that bill was.  If it was postage due, then I can say, ‘Thank you, I appreciate it.’  But if it was that bill from the IRS which says I owed thousands of dollars that I didn’t have, well, that’s another story.  But until I know the size of the debt you paid, I don’t know whether to say thank you or to fall down on my knees and kiss your feet.”

    Think about that for a minute as you consider what Jesus did on the cross.  For it was on the cross that Jesus incurred and paid the debt you had accumulated with your sinfulness.  It was on the cross that Jesus died as a payment to remove that which kept you from being on good terms with God.  It was on the cross that Jesus endured the wrath of God so that you don’t have to.  “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 sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but so that the world may be saved through Him.”  On the cross, Jesus reconciled the world unto God.  Jesus reconciled you unto God when there was this huge outstanding debt that you had accumulated through your sinfulness. 

    And if you realize, first off that you were sinful and had accumulated debt.  Then, if you realize the size of the debt that Jesus paid for you.  Then, if you understand that He did this to wipe out anything that stood between you and God, you will get to that point where you say, “Man, I want all my relationships to be this way.  I don’t want anything to be in the way of how I live with others.  I want to be reconciled with them just like I am reconciled with God.”

    And so, if someone has sinned against me, I don’t wait for them to come to their senses; I don’t sit on the pain and just let it fester; there is something wrong, and if God took the initiative to fix it, then I want to take the initiative to fix it with whoever has wronged me.  And I will go to the one who hurt me, not in a spirit of self-righteousness because I needed forgiveness too, but in a spirit of humility–in a spirit of reconciliation.  I will go to that other saying, “I am not here to point out your wrong because I am so right; I am here because there is something between us that is keeping us from living out our relationship to the fullest.  I don’t want that thing to be there.  I want to be reconciled with you but I cannot because there is this hurt you caused me.”

    And if the other party does not agree, then, because you want this reconciliation so badly, you will involve others–ultimately the entire church because reconciliation is that important.  And if in the face of the church the other party does not repent–treat them as a Gentile or tax collector.  Which we need to ask–how did Jesus treat Gentiles and tax collectors?  He ate with them.  He healed them.  He associated with them and worked with them for the express purpose of proclaiming to them the Gospel.  He wanted them to know the marvelous power of God so that their lives would be changed–just like our lives are changed by what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.  Such forgiveness–such reconciliation from the heart is a difficult thing until you realize what Jesus has already done for you.  He’s forgiven your debt, and now He asks you to do the same.  Amen.

Your Own Personal Jesus

(Note: the podcast on Youtube is a little different from the written text following.)

    Our Gospel lesson today is so rich, it’s so deep that much could be said about it.  Much could be written about it, and it has.  Volumes have been written about taking up one’s cross and following Jesus.  There is not enough time this morning to do justice to this text and its implications for our lives, but never-the-less, we are called to wrestle with it this morning, and we shall.

    This snippet from the Gospel of Matthew follows another very important snippet, and I think we need to visit it for just a moment as well.  Let’s look at the verses directly preceding our appointed text for this morning.  From Matthew 16:

    13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ 14And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ 15He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ 16Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ 17And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ 20Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

    Now, immediately after this episode–immediately after Peter’s declaration, Jesus begins telling the disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, endure persecution, be killed, and be raised.  Peter is not happy with this.  Mind you, this is the same Peter who has just had loads of praise heaped upon him by Jesus just a few verses earlier.  I don’t exactly know what was going through Peter’s head.  I don’t’ know if Jesus’ praise earlier emboldened him or gave him the idea he could confront Jesus about what he was saying.  I’m not sure why he suddenly thinks that as the student he could correct the teacher.  But what I do know is that Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes him.  Now, rebuke is the word used in English, but perhaps it doesn’t quite fit.  The Greek word is epitimao, which has as its basic meaning to properly assign value as fitting the situation.  I want you to think about this because Peter is doing exactly that to Jesus.  Remember, Peter had just said to Jesus, “You are the Messiah.”

    And what was the expectation of the Messiah?  You’ve probably heard me say this more than a few times in preaching here.  The Messiah, according to Jewish tradition, would be God’s representative on earth.  He would be an earthly king who would establish Jerusalem as the city of God.  The Messiah would establish Israel as the kingdom of God and wipe out Israel’s enemies–this particularly meant the Romans at the time.  The Messiah would then issue in a time of peace, prosperity, and justice for Israel.  All nations would look upon Israel as a place of power and prestige and honor.  This was what the Messiah was supposed to do, and yet, Jesus had just said, He would go to Jerusalem, be persecuted, die, and be raised.  This did not fit the Messianic narrative.  This was not what Jews expected of their Messiah, and Peter was taking it upon himself to “properly assign value as fitting the situation.”  Peter was letting Jesus know what He was supposed to do as the Messiah.  Peter wasn’t letting Jesus be Jesus; Peter was trying to make Jesus fit into a particular box.  Jesus isn’t too thrilled with Peter, but we will get to that in a moment.

    Because here we need to recognize something about ourselves.  Here we need to recognize our own desire to put Jesus in a box.  We need to recognize how we oftentimes construct our own, personal Jesus–with apologies to Depesche Mode.  We need to recognize that many times we construct and find a Jesus to suit our needs, our wants, and our desires.  We construct and find a Jesus who makes us feel good–who meets our expectations; who comforts us and makes us feel good about ourselves.  It is not Jesus who impacts and changes us–it is we who make Jesus in our own image to justify ourselves and our wants and expectations.

    As you can imagine, Jesus doesn’t exactly relish this thought.  Jesus doesn’t relish being turned into something to be used by others.  Jesus doesn’t like being told what He has to do and how He has to do it.  I mean, apparently, He doesn’t even let Peter get very far into the argument.  The text says, “Peter began–BEGAN, to rebuke Jesus, and Jesus turned his back on Peter and said, ‘Get behind me Satan.  For you are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”  We will come back to this in just a moment because it is important.  But let’s continue for just a moment with Jesus’ teaching because He then turns to His disciples and says, “If anyone wants to be my followers, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me.  25For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?”

    Lots to unpack here.  Lots.  First, let’s start with Jesus’ response to Peter.  “Get behind me Satan!”  This is a harsh word–a very harsh word.  “For you are a stumbling block to me.”  Why is this reaction so harsh?  Do any of you remember the story of when Jesus was tempted by the devil in Matthew chapter four?  Do you remember when the Devil took Jesus to a high mountain, showed Jesus the kingdoms of the world and said, “All these I will give to you if you would bow down and worship me.”?  Do you remember this episode?  You might not, but I am sure Jesus heard those echoes coming through Peter’s voice right here.  I am sure Jesus heard the exact same temptation He faced when the Devil came to Him in the middle of the desert.  Same temptation.  Different voice.  And Jesus responds appropriately.  “I told you once, Satan.  I tell you again.  No.  You are a stumbling block to me because you are setting your mind on earthly things and not on divine things.”  See how that ties together?

    And Jesus nails not only Satan, but He nails Peter–and all of us.  For you see, most of us like to use Jesus as a means to an end.  Most of us like to use Jesus as our ticket to the things we think will make us happy.  I am sure you have heard one or more preachers proclaim that if you believe in Jesus, you will have all that you desire.  You will have health, you will have wealth, you will have victory in your finances, in your life, your relationships will be perfect, and you will be completely happy.  You see, if you adhere to this kind of belief, you really don’t want Jesus.  You want health; you want wealth; you want happiness; you want the perfect family; you want all these things, and you want Jesus to give them to you.  You want your own personal, Jesus.  And Jesus says, “No.”  “Get behind me.”  “You are setting your mind on earthly things, not divine things.”

    Which begs the question, how do we set our mind on divine things?  Jesus says, “If anyone wants to follow me, let them take up their cross and follow me.  For if anyone wants to save their life, they must lose it; and if anyone loses their life for my sake, they will find it.” 

    Now, it is at this point where those of us who are pastors and preachers usually start talking about what it means to live a Christian life.  We start telling you that taking up your cross means doing all the things listed in our second lesson from the book of Romans.  I will not read this text in its entirety, but I will read a couple of verses, “9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.”  That’s four verses.  There’s a lot more.  Let me ask you this: have you managed to do those things listed in those four verses very well?  Have you managed to let love be genuine?  Love one another with mutual affection?  Outdo each other in showing honor?  Probably not.  None of us do–at least to the extent we know we should.  In fact, if we focus on trying to do all of these things.  If we try to follow the Law in order to please God as if this will save our lives, we will actually lose them.  How, you might ask?  Aren’t we supposed to do these things?  Aren’t we supposed to love and honor and be generous?  Yes, we are, but if you place these things as the ultimate things in your life, it will lead to despair and death.  What do I mean by that?

    Just this: you are not trying to get Jesus–you are trying to save yourself.  You are trying to achieve perfection. And when you put anything other than Jesus as your ultimate goal, you will not have life.  You will find death.  And I am not simply talking about hell.  No.  I am talking about this life right here and right now.  You will spend your entire life in frustration becoming angry and bitter and upset and burned out and tired because you will be chasing a rabbit down an endless hole–never catching that rabbit; never feeling like you have accomplished enough.  If you believe in Jesus so that you can get wealth; you will never get enough wealth.  If you believe in Jesus so that you can get health; you will never find yourself healthy enough, and when you start declining, you will become bitter.  If you believe in Jesus so that you can get happiness; you will be miserable when bad things happen to you.  If you think Jesus makes you try to be perfect and do all the works of the Law, you will tire yourself out trying to follow them; you will never think you’ve done enough; and you will become resentful toward God and toward those who aren’t trying hard like you.  In all of these instances, and many more, divine things have been shoved out, and earthly things have consumed your mind.  And you’ve lost your life.  You aren’t really living.

    “If anyone wants to save their life, they will lose their life. And if anyone loses their life for my sake they will find it.”  How is this possible? 

    If we follow Jesus, where will it eventually lead?  If we follow Jesus where does He take us?  To the cross.  Not where we die, but where Jesus died.  Not where we earned our salvation, but where Jesus stretched out His arms and bought it for us.  Not because we lived the perfect life and did all the right things, but precisely the opposite–because we were constantly setting our mind on earthly things and neglecting the things of God. 

    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 sent the Son not to condemn the world but so that the world may be saved through Him.

    This was the divine mission of Jesus.  This is what He came into the world to do.  Anything else was a stumbling block.  He came to reconcile the world unto God–to die for you because He loves you.  Set your mind on this.  Let it be at the center of your heart.  It will change you.  You will die to yourself, and you will find abundant life.  Amen.

The Blind Leading the Blind

    No one likes to be told they are wrong.  I mean, really, I don’t think I have run across anyone who when confronted with wrongdoing says, “Well, geez, I am so happy that you told me I am wrong.  Thank you so much for correcting me and pointing out my flaws.  I just don’t know how I could have missed being so wrong about this stuff.”

    Anyone ever heard such commentary?  Anyone ever said such a thing?  Perhaps you have at some point, but most of us don’t really react in such a fashion.  Most of us become defensive.  Most of us become more entrenched in our points of view.  Most of us, when confronted with someone who points out a flaw or tells us we are wrong, seek out someone else who will give us confirmation of our own particular beliefs and understandings. 

    I thought about this a lot this week in light of the events in Ferguson, MO.  As this story unfolds, there has been much finger pointing and blame.  There have been many accusations of wrongdoing.  Each side says the others is wrong, and each side seems to have difficulty understanding why the other side is so worked up.  There seems to be an endless cycle of anger because of the mounting accusations.  It's a problem which is not new to our time.  It was around even in Jesus' day.  There were just different groups.  The Pharisees are the classic example which appear in our Gospel lesson.
 
    It is little wonder the Pharisees took offense to what Jesus said regarding what defiles a person.  Let’s set the scene for a moment.  Jesus tells the crowds following Him, “Listen and understand: 11it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”

    The disciples come up to Jesus and say, “You know, what you said just ticked off the Pharisees.”  I’m not exactly sure why the disciples came up to Jesus and said this to Him.  Maybe they thought Jesus needed sensitivity training.  I mean, maybe even at that time you were supposed to be tolerant of others’ beliefs.  You didn’t want to go around insinuating someone might be wrong in what they taught.  I mean, what works for you works for you, but what works for someone else works for that person.  You shouldn’t try and impose your beliefs on anyone else.  Oh, wait, that’s the way many folks think today, and we’ll discuss such matters in a minute or two.  But for the time being, let’s move away from why the disciples might have brought this to Jesus attention and think about why the Pharisees were offended.

    Jesus had just stepped on their toes in a major way.  The Pharisees taught over and over and over that the people of Israel should purify themselves.  And if the people of Israel would purify themselves, God would look down upon their purity; their holiness, and be moved to action.  What sort of action?  Well, to establish the Kingdom of God–that kingdom where all of Israel’s enemies were overthrown, a new king who was a king of justice and wisdom would ascend the thrown and lead the people in righteousness, and the Israelites would become another world power growing in wealth and prosperity and power.  The Pharisees believed that if they followed the holiness code contained in the Torah–the first five books of the Old Testament–then God would be forced to act in such a fashion. 

    And so, the Pharisees lived and breathed and taught the holiness code.  They ritually washed their hands according to what the Law proscribed.  They only ate certain kinds of food.  They abstained from associating with certain types of people.  They very much became Biblical literalists according to the Laws of Moses.   They were trying to do all the right things.  That’s important to hear, so let me say that again, they were trying to do all the right things according to the Laws and Commands of God written in the Bible.  And those commands were intended to make a person holy and pure before that person came before God.

    So, do you find it as interesting as I do that when Jesus receives word from His disciples that the Pharisees are offended, Jesus isn’t contrite?  He isn’t understanding?  He isn’t tolerant?  He doesn’t say, “Oh, the Pharisees have their way of doing things and believing things, I have my way.  They are both different paths to the same place.”  Jesus doesn’t apologize.  Instead, Jesus blasts the Pharisees.  I mean, read what Jesus says, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.”

    If Jesus was around today to say such a thing, He’d be sent to sensitivity training!  How dare Jesus be so closed minded and offensive!  Why would Jesus say such a thing?  Why would He be so confrontational?

    We get an indication as Jesus explains to Peter the meaning of what He said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

    Here is the point Jesus is making in regards to the Pharisees: they are doing all the right things externally.  They are following the Law to a tee.  They are following the holiness codes and being good examples of people who follow the Law.  Externally, they are clean, but internally, they are filthy!  Externally, they follow God’s commands, but internally, they are sinful and broken.  And they don’t even realize it.  How is this the case?

    Let me pull another story from scripture to illustrate the point.  The story comes from Luke chapter 7.  36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. 37And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. 38She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. 39Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.’ 40Jesus spoke up and said to him, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ ‘Teacher,’ he replied, ‘speak.’ 41‘A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42When they could not pay, he cancelled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?’ 43Simon answered, ‘I suppose the one for whom he cancelled the greater debt.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You have judged rightly.’ 44Then turning towards the woman, he said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.’

    Do you see what is going on in this story?  Do you see why the Pharisees were considered the “blind leading the blind?”  With all of their attention paid to purity and the holiness code, with all their attention given toward following the Law to perfection, they became self-righteous.  They thought they were spiritually and morally better than other people.  They felt like they could look down their noses at others and judge them as inferior; loved less by God; as sinners.  They felt like they could hold others in contempt and say, “I am following the Law, and with effort this person could too.  They should work harder to be as holy as I am.”  In their hearts, the Pharisees had no compassion; no love.  They held many of their neighbors in contempt.  They were breaking God’s Law by doing so, for as Jesus pointed out, the two greatest commandments were loving God and then loving one’s neighbor as one’s self.  You cannot hold your neighbor in contempt and love them.  The two are antithetical.  And because the Pharisees were contemptuous, out of them flowed spite and anger and division.  And they were absolutely blind to this.  They thought they were being holy.

    Let’s return for a moment and talk about sensitivity and Jesus’ lack of it.  You see, Jesus was insensitive because He refused to kowtow to hypocrisy, and the Pharisees were full of it.  While trying to be holy on the outside, they were sinful on the inside.  Jesus points this out.  And while many cry for sensitivity and tolerance today, it turns out such folks are oftentimes just as hypocritical.  How so?  Ever known a person who preaches tolerance to freely embrace a bigot?  You see a “tolerant” person oftentimes cannot stand someone who is “intolerant” and thus by refusing to be tolerant of the intolerant, the tolerant become intolerant.  I’ll pause for just a moment because that can be a little tricky to wrap your head around.  The reality is, we are all intolerant at some level.  We all are a bit blind.  And we don't like it.  Can you see why there is such trouble in Ferguson? 

    Now.  Hopefully, you’ve gotten your head around this, and hopefully you understand why Jesus was so hard on the Pharisees.  Hopefully you see why He says they are the blind leading the blind.  Hopefully you see why Jesus says it’s not what you put into a person that defiles, but it is what comes out of a person that defiles a person.  For if someone is broken and sinful inside, they will produce broken and sinful fruit.  If a person is holy inside, they will produce good fruit.

    But that begs the question: how can I make sure I am good inside?  How can I make sure I do not hold my neighbors in contempt?  How do I avoid falling into hypocrisy?   How can I love my neighbor when I don’t agree with them about religion, politics, or whether to root for Bellville or Sealy?  How can I make sure that I am producing the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, generosity, and self-control? 

    The answer is believe in the Gospel.  Believe in what God has done for you.  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 sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him.  And God did this not when you were perfect; not when you were following His commands; not when you were holy, but precisely when you were none of these things.  Jesus died for you while you were sinful.  He clothed you with His righteousness when you were wearing the rags of sin.  He covered you when you were least deserving of it.

    And when you understand this deep in your heart, you are humbled.  You know you can’t hold someone in contempt because they don’t follow God’s commands.  You weren’t and still don’t follow them completely either.  You can’t blame them for being intolerant because you know you are intolerant too.  You can’t say they should try harder at being a better person because you know you can’t be a better person without the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  Your salvation and redemption was not achieved by you.  It was achieved by Jesus on the cross.  You have no reason to boast in your efforts, but you have every reason to boast in Jesus’ work.  And that work changes you.  It changes your heart.  People were head over heels this last year about the Disney movie Frozen, and the classic line from the story is, “An act of true love melts a frozen heart.”  Christ’s act of true love on the cross not only melts our hearts, but it changes them–it makes them good, so that out of us flows that which is good.  Amen.

Being Satisfied

    Perhaps some of you may remember a story I told a year or so ago about the time I was sitting at Taco Bell in Katy after doing some hospital visitation.  I was reading the Bible as I ate, and I had just finished reading from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5.  I kid you not, I had just finished reading Jesus say, “Give to everyone who begs,” when a guy laid a pen with a piece of paper attached to it.  The paper read, “I am deaf.  Can you give $3 for this pen to help me and my family?” 

    At that moment, there was one emotion that ran through my head.  Can you guess which one?  It wasn’t love or charity or joy.  It was quite the opposite.  It was anger.  Yes, it was anger.  I got angry at quite a few things.  I was angry at this guy for doing what he was doing.  There was S-C-A-M written all over him.  I was then angry at Jesus for saying, “Give to everyone who begs.”  I thought to myself, “Why in the world would you say such a thing?  Don’t you know there are tons of people out there who game the system?  Who seek to make a fast buck?  Who get cash and don’t even report it to the IRS?”  Oh, yes, I was mad at Jesus.  Then, I was mad at me for getting mad at Jesus.  I mean, that’s not exactly how a Christian acts toward the person who died for him, you know?  It was an amazing set of happenings that all lined up.  And yes, I reached into my wallet and gave the guy $5–not because I joyfully wanted to give, but out of begrudging obedience to what Jesus said.  I will let you know right now, my actions were sinful because of this.  My heart wasn’t aligned correctly when I gave.  It was out of whack.  If the same scenario happened again, it might be out of whack again.  I’m not sure.  Maybe I’ve grown.

    For, in a very real way, I now know why Jesus gave that command.  I know why he looked at that crowd 2000 years ago and said, “Give to everyone who begs.”  Why?  Because of what Martin Luther said on his deathbed.  Reportedly, his last words were, “We are all beggars.”  What did Luther mean by that?

    I want you to think about yourself right now.  I want you to think about many of the things that bring you satisfaction and joy.  Think about some of the things that bring you happiness and a sense of purpose.  What are those things?  Perhaps I can list a few, because I think many are shared by humanity.  We like getting money.  We like buying things.  We like working and our jobs.  We love our children.  We love traveling and vacations.  We like doing things which are a little out of the ordinary.  We love reading.  We like getting information.  We like to eat and drink.  We like to escape from the ordinary trials and tribulations of life.  We like sex.  We like exercising and staying in shape.  We like hunting and fishing.  We like sports, boy do we like sports.  We like helping others.  We like doing things which give us a sense that we are making a difference in the world.  That’s a long list–we could add more, but I want to stop for a minute and ask you: do these things ever fully satisfy us?

    Think about that for just a minute or two.  Do these things satisfy us to the point where we feel at peace about our lives?  Do these things satisfy us to the point where we look at others who have such things or who do such things and have only joy for them without having any pangs of jealousy?  Do these things satisfy us to the point where we walk through life with a sense of joy and wholeness, or do we always crave more?  I think you know the answer to that last question.

    And let me take a little tangent for a minute and say, there is nothing necessarily wrong with doing any of the above things.  Nothing at all.  In fact, many of the things I listed are necessary for our very being.  If we don’t eat and drink.  We die.  If we don’t take care of our children, they die or turn into little hellions.  If we don’t exercise, our bodies break down faster and fall ill quicker.  If we don’t earn money, we cannot fulfill our financial obligations and put food on the table.  Keeping kids active in sports gives them a sense of teamwork and teaches them how to handle losing.  You get the point.  Many of these things are necessary for life, and they are good.  So what is the problem?  Too often, we take these things, which are good things, and turn them into ultimate things.  Let me say that again, we take these good things and turn them into ultimate things.  And then problems begin.

    For when we take something good like eating and make it an ultimate thing, that leads to gluttony; over eating; obesity; and failing health.  When we make sports an ultimate thing, we obsess over every detail of what is going on in the life of a team; if our children are involved, we micromanage their careers oftentimes yelling and screaming at them if they do not meet our expectations; we criticize unmercifully the coaches and umpires or referees.  We spend copious amounts of money without even realizing it, and when the season is over, we can only think about the next season.  And when our kids eventually stop or say they no longer want to participate, a huge gaping void is left that leads us to become depressed, anxious, or angry until it is filled.  If sex becomes ultimate, we spend tons of time trying to look better and make our bodies better looking.  We spend hours in the gym and watching our diets to look good.  We adore pictures on magazines and camera angles in the movies, and we compare ourselves to those others and desire to be like them–this same sort of thing also happens to those who become obsessed with making their own bodies look good.  If helping others becomes ultimate, we are constantly seeking to help someone, and we feel down in the dumps if we can’t help or if there is no one to help.  And if we get to the point where we can no longer help, we then feel worthless ourselves. 

    And this is not the least of what happens to us.  Not at all.  Because when these things take hold, self-righteousness begins to settle in.  If someone doesn’t share our craving for food, we look at them as if they are strange.  If someone doesn’t share our desire to look good, we call them obese, fat, and all sorts of other names.  If someone doesn’t share our love of sports, we figure something must be wrong with them.  Our gods demand total allegiance from us–including forsaking others who do not feel the exact same way that we do.  Oh, and by the way, if we get caught up in religion–the idea that we have to work our way to God, the same exact things happen.  And we are never, ever satisfied.  We are never, ever filled with joy.  We are never, ever full of peace.  There is only the next game; the next person to help; the next sexual encounter; the next cause to get behind; the next worship service.  We are constantly begging for more.  We are all beggars.

    And Jesus says, “Give to everyone who begs.”  But it is so hard to give.  It is so hard to joyfully help out someone when we are inconvenienced or we feel like they are gaming us.  Why should we help when folks don’t seem to change at all?  Why?  It’s because this is exactly what Jesus did for us. 

    “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him.”  Jesus poured Himself out for the world.  Jesus pours Himself out for you and me–even when we don’t change; even when we continue to sin; Jesus loves us and forgives us and empties Himself out for us giving us gift after gift after gift.  Why?

    Think about this for a moment.  What kind of people do you think were following Jesus around in Galilee all those many years ago?  Do you think those folks were the wealthy?  The healthy?  Those who had it all together?  Our Gospel lesson this morning says, “14When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.”  The folks had plenty of sick with them, and we know that in ancient Israel, the vast, vast majority of the population were poor and lived day by day.  It is these folks who followed Jesus and who ran ahead to be with Him.

    The disciples didn’t want to have anything to do with them.  The disciples wanted to sent them away to get food for themselves.  “There’s too many of them, Jesus. They might take advantage of us, Jesus.  Send them away, Jesus.  Let them fend for themselves and take responsibility for themselves, Jesus.  We only have enough for ourselves, Jesus.”

    But that’s not the way things work in the Kingdom of God, and Jesus knew this.  Jesus knew the disciples weren’t focused on Him.  He knew they were focused on “the problem” instead of the solution.  Physical and spiritual hunger would both be met this day.  We know what happened next.  Five loaves and two fish fed the multitude with a little bit of help from Jesus.  This event would cause massive amounts of hope to break into these people’s lives.

    And this feeding foreshadows another outpouring of satisfaction which would happen later when Jesus would hang on a cross.  Jesus would intercede on our behalf and face God’s wrath for sin.  On the cross, Jesus would reconcile us unto God, and the resurrection would instill within us hope.

    For we were sinners, and Jesus poured Himself out for us.

    We still sin, and Jesus pours Himself out for us.  Why?

    So that we may see what He has done.  We may understand that we were saved by His love.  So that we may know that as we beg, Jesus continually gives over and over and over again.  So that we may see His love for us; see His mercy for us; be humbled by that mercy; and be inspired to live and move differently because of that love.  How so?

    Let me share a final story.  Last week, I took a little bit of money and some food to someone we have helped repeatedly through our Community Care Fund.  We’ve literally given over a thousand dollars in assistance to this woman, and she has come back repeatedly for more.  Many times, I have wished to cut her off.  Many times, I’ve wanted to say, “This is it.  We will not give you anymore.”  And Jesus’ words haunt me, “Give to everyone who begs.”

    This last time I took assistance to her, she met me.  And she went on and on and on.  “Thank you, Pastor Haug for helping me.  I can’t miss my dialysis–I was giving her money for transit.  I haven’t missed in a long time, and I’m feeling better than I have in a long time.  I haven’t been sick in a long time.  I’m getting better.  I’m keeping this place up until my fiancee gets out of jail.  I’m working really hard on that.  I didn’t want to bother you, Pastor Haug, but I didn’t know who else to turn to.  Things are getting better.”

    As she talked, I noticed something different about this woman.  There was something there that hadn’t been there before.  There was hope.  There was a glint in her eye that thought the future could be better.  That things could change.  That she could change.  It was not brought on by something she did, but by the love of others.  The love that we poured out was changing her.  Just as the love Jesus pours out changes us.  May our hearts be tuned to Jesus so that we can be changed and experience the fulfillment only He can provide.  Amen.

Your Prayers are too Small

    Martin Luther, the namesake of the Lutheran church wrote the following words in his Large Catechism as he explained one of the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer.  He writes,

   For just as when the richest and most mighty emperor would bid a poor beggar ask whatever he might desire, and were ready to give great imperial presents, and the fool would beg only for a dish of gruel, he would be rightly considered a rogue and a scoundrel who treated the command of his imperial majesty as a jest and sport, and was not worthy of coming into his presence: so also it is a great reproach and dishonor to God if we, to whom He offers and pledges so many unspeakable treasures, despise the same, or have not the confidence to receive them, but scarcely venture to pray for a piece of bread.

    Now, what is Luther saying here?  Basically, he is saying our prayers are too small.  He’s saying that when we come before the creator of the universe–the one who made the heavens and the earth and who continues to sustain it each and every day–we ask for trifling things.  We are not audacious enough in our prayers to God.  Why so?

    Let’s delve into this by looking at our first lesson from the book of 1 Kings.  In this text, the great king of Israel, David has died and left the kingdom to his son Solomon.  Solomon is very young and unsure of himself.  God speaks to Solomon and basically says, “Ask whatever you want of me.”  Imagine God asking that of you.  Imagine God speaking to you and saying, “Ask what I should give you.”  What would you respond?  What would you say?

    Solomon, being young and unsure of himself in his new position of king gives a rather intriguing response.  He doesn’t ask for wealth or health or that he may defeat Israel’s enemies.  Solomon looks at the daunting task of ruling this kingdom, and he says, “9Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?”   It’s an interesting request if you ask me.  Really interesting.  Why do I find the request so fascinating?

    If you remember back in the garden of Eden when God placed Adam and Eve in it, do you remember which tree they were forbidden to eat from?  Do you remember what the name of that tree was called?  I do.  I remember it vividly.  It was named the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  “For on the day you eat of its fruit, you shall surely die.”  But wanting to be like God, the man and woman ate of the fruit after some prodding by a nasty little serpent, and all hell broke loose.  I find it interesting that thousands of years later, Solomon wants the knowledge of good and evil so that he may discern between them as he governs the people.  Anyone else find this fascinating?

    God is actually rather pleased with this request.  We are told

10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. 13I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you. 14If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.”

    All seems well and good, and if we just read this snippet, we might think our prayers should include this petition for wisdom and the discernment of good and evil.  But, as Paul Harvey used to say, now it’s time for the rest of the story.  Solomon started out in fantastic fashion.  He made some very good decisions.  He wrote a couple of the books of the Hebrew Bible–Proverbs and the Song of Solomon.  The Kingdom of Israel grew in power and prestige and wealth.  The discernment thing seemed pretty good.  But then something started to happen.  Solomon began doing some very wise things to help the Kingdom of Israel.  He began marrying quite a few foreign women.  Now, remember, marriages in those days were not for love.  Marriages were arranged for political and power purposes.  I mean, it was very hard to attack another nation when a king’s daughter was married to that other nation’s leader.  Solomon was making very wise decisions for Israel’s future, but it came at a great cost.  Solomon’s wives did not worship the Lord, and Solomon did not require them to.  He build altars to false gods and even worshiped them himself.  What happened to the discernment for good and evil? 

    Just this, Solomon’s request was too small.  It was too limited.  One cannot know and discern good and evil when one’s back is turned from the One who established the difference between good and evil.  Because Solomon turned his back on God, he is seen as a failure as a king despite Israel’s prosperity–and when Solomon died, the kingdom of Israel split apart.  It wasn’t pretty.

    Solomon’s prayer was too small.  He didn’t make a large enough request.  So, what might be a large enough request?  What might be a request befitting the Creator of the universe that doesn’t lead down the same path that Solomon walked?

    Interestingly enough, in the Gospel of John chapter 17, Jesus prays what is called the High Priestly Prayer.  In it, He says the following,

“20 ‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

    Now, I want you to think about this for just a moment.  I know for decades pastors like myself have talked about church unity in regards to this prayer.  Church unity is important, but I think there is something much deeper taking place.  “Let them be one as you and I are one.”  What does this mean? 

    Remember, Christians profess God to be the Trinity.  From eternity, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have glorified, loved, and honored each other.  From eternity, these three have been in an inseparable divine dance filling each other with love and adoration.  They pour themselves into each other; never becoming empty; always remaining full of love and adoration.  As such, in their relationship, they are complete.  They are full.  They are completely and utterly satisfied, and Jesus prays that His followers may experience the same thing.

    How could such a thing be possible?  Let’s come back to asking God for something in prayer.  What is the most audacious thing we could ever ask for in prayer?  If, as Luther suggests, our prayers are too small, what could we ask for that would give God great honor and be so audacious as to seem over the top?  As I thought about this, it hit me: what if I prayed, God, give me You.  Yes, God, give me You.  I want You.  Nothing else is large enough.  Nothing else could satisfy.  Nothing else could bring comfort and peace and joy and security.  God, give me You!  What do you think God would say to such a request? 

    I’ll tell you what He’d say.  He’d say, “I already have.”

    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 sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but so that the world may be saved through Him.  While we were still sinners, God took on flesh and lived among us.  God became incarnate in Jesus and poured out His life for each and every one of us.

    St. Paul puts it this way in the second chapter of the book of Philippians:

    5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.  And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.  9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

    God emptied Himself for you, and He still empties Himself for you.  Each time we receive the sacrament of Holy Communion, we hear the words, “This IS the body of Christ given for you.  This IS the blood of Christ given for you.”  God gives Himself to you!!!  And we are told the Advocate, the Holy Spirit is our constant companion who lives in us and guides us in our daily activities.  God gives Himself to you!!!

    And yet, most of the time, we don’t even realize it.  We don’t realize that God has given Himself to us and delights in giving Himself to us–filling us so that we can pour ourselves out to Him and to each other.  We are constantly asking for health, wealth, healing, protection, peace, happiness, joy, and such things–which are not bad things, but they are too small.  They are bread crumbs compared to the one thing which can bring all of those things and much, much more.  The next time you ask God for something, be audacious.  Ask Him to give Himself to you, and don’t be surprised when you find: He already has, and He always will.  Amen.

Setting MInd on Things of the Spirit: Sermon on Romans 8:1-11

 Romans 8: 1-11

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, 8and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  9 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.


   I have said for many years that St. Paul oftentimes becomes pretty convoluted in his writing.  I mean, there are some portions of his letters which are straight forward and easy to understand.  It’s not hard to understand him when he says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”  We get this.  We get this easily.  But then there are those portions of his letters in which we get bogged down.  There are those portions of his letters where he seems to ramble on and on and on, and the more you read, the muddier things seem.  I’d argue our second lesson is like that.  Paul talks at length about what it means to have one’s mind set on the Spirit and one’s mind set on the flesh.  One of these is good, and one of these is bad.  We get that part, I think, but I’m not sure we fully understand it–at least as it relates to the Gospel. 

   For I think many of us come away with the idea that Paul is telling us here, “Think about all the things God wants you to do, and then make sure you do them.  That leads to life.  But don’t let your mind get caught up in the flesh–the sinful stuff; the stuff that is against God’s law, because if you get caught up in this, then that leads to death.  It does not please God.”  This is where we tend to end up, but I’d like to remind you of something right now.  I’d like to remind you about where Paul started out before he became a Christian, and it also has ties to Jesus’ encounters with the Pharisees.  Remember, Paul tell us in his letters that he was blameless according to the Law.  Paul had fulfilled all the requirements of the Jewish Law–many of the Pharisees had as well; yet, Jesus nearly always had harsh words for them.  Here was St. Paul, following the Law to a tee, and here were the Pharisees doing the same thing, yet Jesus spoke against them.  Why?

    Why did Paul in the middle of these verses from Romans 8 say, “7For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, 8and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”?  Let’s take a moment to consider what it really means to have one’s mind set on the flesh and then to have one’s mind set on the Spirit.

    Before converting to Christianity, St. Paul had his mind set on the flesh.  Likewise, the Pharisees had their minds set on the flesh as well.  “How is this possible?” you might ask.  “Weren’t they following God’s Law?  Weren’t they following the Ten Commandments?  Weren’t they worshiping correctly and offering all the sacrifices to God in the appropriate manner?”  Well, yes they were.  So how is it that their minds were set on the flesh?

    Here’s the answer: they were trying to work out their own salvation.  You might ask, “How is that such a bad thing?  They are doing the right things.  Isn’t this what religion is supposed to get you to do?”

    If religion were only about what you do, then sure.  But you see, God isn’t interested in simply what you do.  He’s interested in who you are.  He’s interested in you to the very depths of your heart.  He looks into your heart and sees what’s going down deep in its recesses, and when God looked deep into the heart of the Pharisees–when God looked deep in the heart of St. Paul before Paul was converted, do you know what God saw?  He saw self-righteousness.  God did not see a heart bent on loving and pleasing God.  Instead, God saw hearts which were totally selfish.

    How could that be?  Think about this for a moment.  Why does a person follow the commands of Jesus?  Why does a person follow the Ten Commandments?  If a person follows them to work out his or her own salvation, then the person is following them for a very selfish reason.  What?  You might say.  Yes.  If you follow the Ten Commandments or the teachings of Jesus because you want to go to heaven, you are following them for a selfish reason because you are following them to avoid punishment.  You have a deep self-interest in avoiding punishment and getting rewards.  You are trying to save your tail-end.  You are only trying to please God for your sake, not for God’s sake.  Can you see this, or do I need to explain further?  And when you are trying to save yourself, your mind is set on the things of the flesh.  Your mind is set on yourself.  You are no different than those folks who engage in sinful behavior to make themselves feel good.  You are both sinful.  One disobeys the law of God to feel good about one’s self through indulgence.  One strictly obeys the law of God to feel good about one’s self through obedience.  Neither has God at the center of their heart.  Both are centered on themselves.

    This is why Paul says that a mind which is set on the flesh is hostile to God.  It cannot follow the Law of God and please God.  It is only concerned with itself.  Nothing else.  It may be doing the right things, but for completely wrong reasons.  And this is why Paul says, “Set your mind on the things of the Spirit!”

    Now, what does that mean?  How does a person set his or her mind on the things of the Spirit?  What are the things of the Spirit?

    Simply put, setting the mind on the Spirit means concentrating on the Gospel.  You know the Gospel.  I’ve been saying it over and over and over again in my sermons for the past 10 months.  I’ve repeated it again and again and again.  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 sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him.  This is at the core of what Christianity proclaims.  God took on flesh in the form of Jesus the Son, and He died for us while we were still sinners.  He died for us when we were not following the commands of God.  He died for us when we were centered totally and completely on ourselves.  He died for those who were disobeying God’s Law, and He died for those who were following God’s law to save themselves. 

    Jesus came to live the life we could not live, and He died the death we deserved in order to reconcile the world to God–to reconcile you unto God.  You didn’t do a blasted thing to help this process.  It was all on God.  It was all on Jesus.  Your salvation; your reconciliation unto God was accomplished for you when you were heading in the opposite direction.  When you begin to contemplate this, you are setting your mind on the things of the Spirit, and this changes you.

    How?  How does thinking about what Jesus did by dying for us change us?

    First off, remember, if you are trying to work out your salvation and avoid punishment, you are acting with a ton of self-interest and selfishness.  The same goes for thinking that you have to do something to keep your salvation.  I mean, there are plenty of Christians who believe Jesus died for them and saved them, but they also believe they have to work their tail ends off or they will lose their salvation.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Your salvation is complete.  It is done.  Period.  End of discussion.  Jesus paid the price for that.  Jesus lived the life you should have lived.  He died the death you deserved.  It is finished.  It was done by Jesus, and you can’t claim any credit for it.

    This is important to realize because it means you can’t be self-righteous anymore.  You can’t look down your nose at another person and claim that you are somehow morally and spiritually superior to another person.  You are not.  None of us are.  When you know that you were saved by sheer grace, and it hits your heart, all of a sudden, there are sins revealed to you that you didn’t even know you were doing.  As I’ve said before, one of the ones that was revealed to me was when I listened to Timothy Keller give a lecture on evangelism and he talked about being reclaimed by the gospel.  Keller talked about those of us who are clergy and how we really don’t get the gospel.  How?  Keller said, “I don’t know what extent it is for you, but to some degree your self-worth is tied to your ministry.  How do I know this?  When the worship attendance is up, your spirits are up, and when worship attendance is down, you get depressed.  Your self-worth is tied to your ministry to some extent.”  I hung my head because I knew it was true.  I wasn’t living out grace.  I was still caught up in trying to get my self-worth from other things.  This kind of sinfulness is revealed to you when the Gospel takes root in your mind.  You know you are broken.  You know you are still in need of healing, and it humbles you.  It humbles you so that you don’t see yourself as any better than anyone else–you see that you need Jesus just as much as that other person out there needs Jesus.  And a well spring of thanksgiving swells up in your heart because you know Jesus died for you when you were broken.

    And that leads you to say, “How can I show my thankfulness?  How can I show my appreciation to Jesus for what He has done?”  This is important because there are many who think that grace gives them sheer license to do whatever they want to do.  I can do whatever makes me feel good because I’m forgiven anyway.  There’s a term for this: cheap grace.  Cheap grace means you don’t understand the price that was paid for you.  Dr. David Lloyd Jones used a sermon illustration to get at this.  Let’s say you come home from vacation one day, and your neighbor comes over to give you your mail.  He says he saw a bill in your mail, and he paid it for you.  Dr. Jones said, “At this point, I need to know how large the bill was in order to know how to respond.”  If it was simply a matter of postage due, I can offer a word of thanks and go about my merry business.  But if it was a letter from the IRS telling me I had to pay thousands of dollars in fees that I didn’t have, well then there is a very different response.  That’s when I fall on my knees to thank you profusely.

    If we realize the size of the debt that Jesus paid for us, then we fall at His feet in thanksgiving and we seek to please Him–not because we are trying to get anything from Him but because we have already received it.  Not because we feel good about ourselves but because we know what Jesus did for us when we weren’t too good at all.  We follow the Ten Commandments and what Jesus taught us because of what He first did for us in dying for us and removing our debt.

    This is what the Gospel is all about.  Jesus dying for us when we were still sinners leads us to a place of humility.  It leads us to a place of serving God for His sake and not for our own.  It is far removed from setting our mind on the things of the flesh.  Thinking about the Gospel is setting our mind on the things of the Spirit, and that leads us to abundant life.  Amen.

Resting While Burdened: Sermon On "Take My Yoke"

    Have you ever noticed that we as human beings seem to be caught in a constant struggle between freedom and being burdened?  Perhaps you have.  Perhaps you’ve never thought of it in such a fashion.  Let me try to explain.

    First the freedom part.  Perhaps this is easiest to explain since we have just come through the Fourth of July holiday and our nation celebrated its independence.  There is something about the human spirit which does not like to be contained.  It does not like to be told what to do.  It does not like to have any sort of burden placed upon it.  As Elsa from the movie Frozen sings in the song “Let it Go”, “No right, no wrong.  No rules for me.  I’m free.”  We long for such freedom. 

    People who work cannot wait to be free from the responsibility of their job.  There are more than a few who are workin’ for the weekend as Loverboy once sang.  Most modern music that you hear today is all about finding a party–escaping reality–finding freedom from the daily grind.  We long for those times of vacation.  We count down the years until retirement.  We gripe about government intrusion into our lives.  We quip to others who would impose their values upon us, “What works for you, works for you, but don’t tell me how to live my life!”  We want to set our own agendas.  We want to call our own shots.  We want to have complete freedom to do so.

    And if we find ourselves overburdened.  If we find ourselves with too many rules and regulations.  If we find ourselves constrained as if someone kept pushing down on us, eventually, we will snap.  It’s like a pressure cooker.  If the pressure keeps building and building and building with no release, something bad will eventually happen.  We will fight for freedom.  Historically, this has taken place over and over and over again.  There is a part of human nature that longs for freedom.

    But here is an interesting twist to this phenomenon of freedom.  We do not want complete freedom for anyone and everyone.  We want some sort of system of rules that govern us as well.  Why?  Think about it a moment.  Even those in our culture now who believe in relativism–the idea there are no universal truths say something interesting, “Believe whatever you want to believe and do whatever you want to do–as long as you don’t hurt anyone else.”  Do you see the qualifier?  Relativists don’t believe in true relativism.  They don’t believe anything goes.  Because we know what happens when anything goes.  We know what it is like when there are no rules.  We’ve seen this happen historically over and over and over again.  When there are no rules, the strongest take over.  The strongest surge to power and authority, and they prey upon the weak; they prey upon those who do not give obedience to them; they prey upon those whom they do not like.  Various factions arise centered upon the powerful, and open warfare reigns.  Many, many innocent people get hurt.  Anarchy is not a beautiful thing. 

    We know this.  We know this deep at the bottom of our souls.  Somehow it is built into us–the need for freedom and the need for rule.  We keep swinging back and forth back and forth along this pendulum in society and in our individual lives.

    At this point, you might raise a question: Pastor, I see how this happens in society.  I see how this happens historically, but what do you mean by saying this happens in our individual lives?  Are you talking about working and wanting to be free from work like you spoke about earlier, or is it something else?

    Let me expand this point a little.  In each and every one of us, there is a desire to be free.  We don’t like having a whole lot of responsibility.  We want to enjoy living our lives in a carefree manner.  We want to be at peace.  We want to be at rest.  And being at rest means being at a place of fulfillment–a place of peace–a place of joy.  We want to be unburdened so that we can rest, and so we think about all those things that burden us.  What are the burdens in our lives?

    •    Work.
    •    School.
    •    Family.
    •    Housework.
    •    Social responsibilities including church.

    These are some of the ones we immediately think about.  The obligations we feel toward these things give us a sense of burden.  They seemingly weigh us down, and so we look to cut them off.  They do not seem to give us a sense of peace, and so we look to something else.

    •    Vacation time.
    •    Sports.
    •    Partying.
    •    Music.
    •    Television.
    •    Drinking.
    •    Sex.

    And the list could go on and on.  We believe that such things give us freedom, but you know what actually happens?  Do you know what truly happens when you start looking to all of these things for freedom?  Do you know what they start doing to you?  They begin to demand your time and energy.  They begin to demand your allegiance.  They begin to demand your heart and soul.  The things which once gave you some sense of pleasure and peace now begin to dominate your time.  They begin to consume your thoughts.  You become a slave to them.  It’s easy to see this in the lives of others.  It’s easy to see this in the alcoholic who is a slave to the alcohol.  It’s easy to see this in the pastor who devotes all his time to the church.  It’s easy to see this in the person who sits, chomping at the bit to leave work as soon as the clock hits 5 so that she can get home to watch her favorite shows.  It’s easy to see this in the person who cranks the radio up as loudly as possible without regard to what anyone else thinks.  It’s easy to see this in the person who doesn’t miss a single baseball practice or game while skipping work and other social obligations.

    The reality is, when we think we are escaping from one thing, we simply replace it with another.  Whenever we think we are free from one particular aspect in life, we are simply trading it for something else.  Never are we truly free.  We are always bound.  We are always in a constant sense of rebellion because of this.  We are always have a constant sense of unease.  We are never at rest.  We are never at peace.  We are never fulfilled.  Why? 

    It’s because we keep burdening ourselves with the wrong burdens. We keep burdening ourselves with those things which will always put demands upon us without truly giving us freedom.  So what is the answer?  Is it possible to be at rest and still be burdened at the same time?  Is it possible to be free and still have rules? 

    The answer Christianity gives is yes.  Listen to Jesus’ words from our Gospel lesson once again, “28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

    How can Jesus say this?  How can Jesus say that if we take His yoke upon us–being burdened–we will be at rest?  This seems like a contradiction in terms, but it’s not.  Not at all.  In fact, when you think it through, it makes perfect sense.

    You have to remember where it all begins, though.  You have to remember that it all begins with the gospel.  You know the gospel: 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 sent the Son not to condemn the world but so that the world may be saved through Him.  And this was done not by any work you or I did.  This reconciliation was carried out by Jesus and Jesus alone–not because we were loveable or good or holy, but precisely because we were not good; we were not lovable; we were not holy.  Jesus died for us when we were still sinners.

    Think about that for just a moment.  Jesus died for you when you were still broken–when you were still breaking God’s commandments–when you were not loving your neighbor as yourself.  You were still in the midst of your sin–your disobedience, and God died for you anyway.  In just about every case in this world, if you are disobedient; if you are not following the rules, you get punished.  You do not receive a reward.  Yet, when you were not following God, He took on flesh and died for you to give you eternal life.  This is an amazing act of love–an act that is beyond comprehension–an act that many would deem foolish.  Why say that?

    Because, if you are a parent, you know doggone why it’s foolish.  If your children are misbehaving and you give them cookies, they will just keep misbehaving.  They won’t change their ways.  You’ve got to punish them to make them get in line!  But what if their behavior led to them being arrested and convicted and sentenced to death.  As a parent, what would you do?  Would you gladly take your child’s place and suffer their punishment?  Would you die so that they might live?  And if upon seeing your love for them, what do you think your children would do?  If your loving parent stepped in and died for you when you deserved death, how would you respond?  Would you keep doing the things you had always done, or would you be profoundly changed by their love?  You would, of course, be free to continue in the path you had always walked.  You could still do the destructive things you had done before.  You could still rebel against all the rules and regulations.  You would be free to do so.  Your parents had kept you from the punishment.  But at great cost.  Would you let their sacrifice go for naught?

    I hope not.  I hope that having such love shown to you would radically transform your life.  I hope it would completely change the way you operated as you realized the extent of what it cost your parents to step in and save you from your disobedience.  Not because of guilt or obligation but because of thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving for your undeserved life at their expense.  It would seem like foolishness to some, but to a parent, it would be worth it. 

    If what Jesus did for us on the cross is anything like a parent willing to die for his or her child–and I think it is–then we too can be transformed by that kind of love.  We too can be transformed by that kind of good news.  We know we are free because of what Christ did for us, but at the same time, we freely choose to be obedient to Him.  We freely choose to take His yoke upon us.  We freely say, “I will follow you and your commands, Jesus because of what you have done for me.”  At one and the same time we are obedient and we are free.  At one and the same time we are burdened and at rest.  We are no longer bound by all the things that once put demands upon us in this world.  We have freely turned to another yoke–the yoke of Jesus–the only burden that can bring us rest.  Amen.