The Fruits of the Spirit: Kindness

Today, we come to the fifth fruit in St. Paul’s list of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.  Today’s fruit is kindness.

And most of us, I think understand what it means to be kind.  When we think of kindness, we think of friendliness, generosity–of being considerate.  We think of stories like this one which appeared in Reader’s Digest: Leaving a store, I returned to my car only to find that I’d locked my keys and cell phone inside. A teenager riding his bike saw me kick a tire and say a few choice words. “What’s wrong?” he asked. I explained my situation. “But even if I could call my wife,” I said, “she can’t bring me her car key, since this is our only car.” He handed me his cell phone. “Call your wife and tell her I’m coming to get her key.” “That’s seven miles round trip.” “Don’t worry about it.” An hour later, he returned with the key. I offered him some money, but he refused. “Let’s just say I needed the exercise,” he said. Then, like a cowboy in the movies, he rode off into the sunset. (https://www.rd.com/true-stories/inspiring/kindness-strangers/)

We admire the people who do such things.  Our hearts become warmed when we hear stories or see actions of kindness.  When we receive such acts of kindness, our hearts melt and we react with overwhelming gratitude.  I remember not to long ago, I had taken my family to eat in Bellville at Galileo’s.  We enjoyed our meal and prepared to go only to find out that someone eating in the restaurant that evening had paid for our entire family.  The next time we saw this person, we thanked her profusely for her generosity and gave her plenty of hugs to show our gratitude.  Kindness has this effect upon us.

And conversely, when we see cruelty, our hearts harden.  We get angry at the perpetrators.  We decry their actions and how they handle themselves.  We prefer kindness and want it to rule the day!  And so, we make bumper stickers that say, “Practice random acts of kindness.”  We initiate anti-bullying programs in school.  We post memes on Facebook that say, “It is better to be kind than right.”

And honestly, I only disagree with one of those things: I disagree with the meme that says “It’s better to be kind than right,” because the right thing is the kind thing.  Some may disagree, but let me explain.  Let's say that your kid comes up to you five minutes before dinner and says, "Mom, dad, I'm really, really hungry.  Can I please have a bowl of ice cream?"  Now, one might say that it would be the kind thing to give her the ice cream, after all, she is hungry.  Even though you might be right that it would be better to make her wait until dinner.  But is it really kind to give her the ice cream?  No.  It isn't.  That's not the nourishment that she needs.  In this case, and in others, the right thing--making her wait for dinner--is the kind thing.  And that brings us to the heart of what kindness is as a fruit of the Spirit.  For you see, kindness can be practiced by anyone.  Anyone can be compassionate.  Anyone can be generous.  Anyone can bring a smile to another person’s face by an act of kindness.  But what Paul is talking about here is not simply a pleasant disposition or a nice deed or action towards someone.  It is much deeper.

You see, the Greek word used for kindness here, xrēstótēs, doesn’t have a good English equivalent.  I think one of the commentaries I consulted this past week said it best when it said the word could best be translated as “useful kindness.”  Now, what does that mean?

Let me illustrate with the following two stories.  Three boy scouts were asked by their scout leader to do an act of kindness one day.  Later that afternoon, they returned with news of great success.  They told their scout leader they helped an old woman cross a street.  He said, “It took all three of you to help an old woman across the street?”  “Yes,” the boys said, “She didn’t want to go!”  Now, helping an old lady across the street is certainly an act of kindness, but helping here when she doesn’t want to go isn’t.  The act isn’t useful.  In other words, it is not what is needed.  The old woman didn’t need help crossing the street.  While the scout’s intentions were honorable, the action was not helpful.  It was not xrēstótēs.

On the other hand, this story, I think, comes much closer to the meaning of this Greek word.  A little girl was sent on an errand by her mother.  She took much longer than expected to come back.  When she returned, the girl’s mother demanded an explanation.  The little girl explained the reason.  On her way, she met a little friend who was crying because she had broken her doll.  “Oh,” said the mother, “then you stopped to help her fix her doll?”  “Oh no,” the little girl said, “I stopped to help her cry!”  This little girl was able to see beyond the broken doll and see into the depths of another’s grief.  She was able to see a heart that needed someone to grieve with her.  The little girl addressed a deeper need than simply trying to piece together a broken doll.  That’s xrēstótēs.  That’s the kindness that St. Paul lists as a fruit of the Spirit.

Interestingly enough, this term does not appear a whole lot in the Bible.  It has only scattered references, and Jesus doesn’t use the word kindness at all.  There is only one time when he uses the word in its shorter form which is translated kind.  But that reference is an important one in helping us understand the kind of fruit we produce.  We have that lesson before us today from the sixth chapter of the book of Luke.

Jesus is teaching to a great crowed gathered on a plain, and very much like the Sermon on the Mount found in the book of Matthew, Jesus is laying out the ethics of a Christian life.  The teaching he gives here is quite difficult.  “Give to everyone who begs from you.” That is no easy task at all, especially knowing that many who beg these days take advantage of people’s generosity–and I am specifically talking about those folks standing on the street corners holding signs.  Jesus says, give to them.

He continues, “And if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.”  Yeah, you know that guy you lent your favorite tool to.  Don’t ask for it again.  Let him have it.  Does anyone practice this?  Really?

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” This is a saying found in every world religion and ethical system.  It sure would be nice if we actually did it.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.”  Are you really listening to what Jesus is saying here?  I mean, really listening?  In Jesus’ day, it was common place to give to someone expecting that the other person would give in return to you.  By giving to another, you put someone in your debt.  So, if you invited them to a dinner at your house, they were now obligated to invite you to their house.  If you loaned something to a neighbor, it was expected that if you asked for something, it would be loaned back to you.  If you gave a gift to someone, it was expected that they would give a gift in return.  There was an entire system built upon this kind of exchange.

And really, is it so different today?  Not really.  If we get a loan from the bank, are we expected to pay it back?  Absolutely, and with interest.  If we work to get a politician elected, do we expect him or her to enact the laws that we support?  Absolutely.  If we give our time to someone, do we expect that he or she will respect our time and our person as we are doing that?  If you don’t think so, let me ask you this: do you get angry when you are trying to talk to someone and they look like they are ignoring you?  If we go into a restaurant to buy a dinner, do we expect to be waited on promptly and cared for by the wait staff?  And if we are not, what do we do?  You see, this system of exchange and indebtedness is still in place today.  It may look a little different, but it is still there.

Jesus upends this system of how the world works.  Jesus throws it all out the window.  He says, “Don’t buy into this system.  Don’t expect rewards from others.  Don’t expect to give and then receive in return from them.  Don’t expect to lend and get anything back.  Don’t live by the “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch my back” axiom because even the sinners–those at the bottom rungs of society–do that.  You live differently.  You expect rewards differently.  You do not expect rewards from others–expect rewards from your Heavenly Father.  As Jesus says, “Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High.”

And here is the why.  Jesus lays out the why we act and move differently.  “For he–Your Heavenly Father–is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

See, there is that word kind.  It’s the shortened version of kindness.  It’s what God gives to the ungrateful and the wicked.  He gives them what they need.  And what do they need?  Jesus says it: Mercy.  They need mercy.  But let’s get a bit more realistic.  Let’s drive Jesus’ point home into our own lives, because we shouldn’t use the word “they” in reference to the ungrateful and the wicked.  We should use the word “us.”  Now, I know that might be a bit unpopular to hear.  That might be a bit like nails on a chalk board.  We don’t like to hear that we are ungrateful. We don’t like to hear that we are wicked.  We don’t even really like it when someone has the audacity to say that we are sinners.

And, yet, that’s exactly what Scripture says we are.  You can’t read through Jesus’ teachings here and think that you follow them perfectly.  You can’t read through the Old Testament commandments and think that you follow them all.  You can’t read through the rest of the New Testament and come away with the idea that you have somehow satisfied what God demands of you.  This is why St. Paul writes in the third chapter of the book of Romans, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God!”  All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  We stand condemned.  Indeed, we are wicked.

And being wicked, being condemned, we deserve God’s judgment.  We deserve God’s wrath, but instead, God gives us what we need.  God gives us what we need to change our hearts and change our minds.  God shows his kindness–his xrēstótēs by doing what is actually quite unthinkable.  “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but we are now justified by grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God set forward as a sacrifice of atonement effective through faith.”  That finishes out Paul’s statement in Romans chapter 3.  God took on human flesh and sacrificed himself on our behalf making payment for our sin; absorbing our debt; and declaring us not guilty–even though we were.  And as he pays our debt by hanging on the cross and facing the wrath we should have faced, he gives us his righteousness.  He gives us his sinlessness.  He clothes us with himself.  He gives us a new status and adopts us as His children.  It would have been easy for God to think that we needed punishment, but He knew that we needed a Savior.  And that’s exactly what He sent in the God made flesh–Jesus Christ.

And when we have encountered this grace; when we have met Jesus at the cross and seen the outpouring of His great love; when we feel the mercy he has extended to us–we become merciful.  We produce kindness.  Deep down, we long to discover the deepest needs of others.  We long to look deep into their hearts and find what will bring them the most joy; peace; and healing.  We no longer simply look at the surface, but we long to see with God’s eyes–so that we can address what is most needed.

A church began seeking one day to reach out into its community.  They began making plans to build a facility for youth complete with gymnasium and playground.  They were excited about the prospects, but some wondered how much use these facilities would get.  Would the community come and use these things?  The seeds of doubt were planted, and one day someone asked: how many kids are in the neighborhood around us?  That one question spurred a group to go investigate.  What they found was quite different.  Their neighborhood was not full of kids–not in the least.  The demographic was quite different.  In fact, the majority of their neighborhood consisted of retired adults, so the church shifted gears.  They talked with their neighbors.  They discovered their needs, and so they scrapped their plans for a youth facility and built a senior citizens center with full handicap access.  They put in an exercise pool and exercise room especially designed for older adults to help with therapy and rehab.  The church decided it would keep any necessary fees to a minimum so that the community–particularly those with a fixed income–could enjoy these facilities and benefit from their use.  And once completed, every day the facilities were in use.  The church addressed the community’s greatest need.  That’s xrēstótēs.

How do we know that we are producing this fruit?  How do we know that kindness is flowing out of us?  I think we must begin by asking ourselves if we are asking the right questions.  Are we asking ourselves: what is the biggest need that my friends have?  Are we asking ourselves: what is the biggest need that my family has?  Are we asking ourselves: what is the biggest need that our community has?  And are we listening to our neighbors?  Are we listening to our friends?  Are we listening to our communities?  Are we digging passed the superficialities and seeing their hearts?  If we are, we are practicing kindness.  We are producing the Spirit’s fruit.  May we produce it in abundance.  Amen.

Mark #4: Living in Harmony

There is a deep desire within each and every one of us to see authentic community–to see and live in a place where we have peace with one another without strife and conflict.  You can see this longing throughout the history of humanity: in its songs; in its literature; in its artwork.

“Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me!” goes the great folk song.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” says the golden rule which is a part of every major religion and philosophy.

When we see senseless violence and destruction, we ask, “What’s wrong with people?”

And we say the immortal words of Rodney King who spoke in the early 1990's concerning the riots which bear his name, “Why can’t we just all get along?”

Why can’t we, indeed?

And such peace and harmony ideally should be one of the greatest marks of the church.  St. Paul lays it out for us this morning as the fourth mark found in Romans 15:1-6, “May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus.”  Paul earnestly prays and admonishes the church at the same time with these words.  He prays and admonishes that we live together in harmony.

Yet...Paul had just finished chapter 14 in the book of Romans–and chapter 14 was all about a church that was not living in harmony.  In fact, if you read through Paul’s letters to the churches, you will find that most of them are dealing with churches who are experiencing some sort of conflict.  1 and 2 Corinthians deal with a church that is divided because of different pastors who have served it.  Galatians deals with a church that is divided because of misunderstandings of the Gospel.  Romans shows division over misunderstanding how the Gospel is lived out.  The Thessalonians are dealing with people who refuse to work.  And so on and so forth.

If you read the book of Acts, you will also see the church divided at times, culminating in the first great council of the Church in Acts chapter 15 where a division regarding whether Gentiles should be added to the church is addressed.  And this is just what is in the Bible.  If you read church history, you will find all sorts of divisions and arguments.  The church is just like the rest of the world when it comes to its divisions and sects and groups and denominations.  There are tens of thousands of different denominations within Christianity, and there seems to be very little harmony.

Just about every congregation knows this.  Just about every single congregation has experienced conflict in its lifetime.  Why can’t we get along?  Why can’t we concentrate on simply being the church; worshiping; reaching out with the Gospel?

Oh, we could spend a lot of time on this–a lot of time. There are many, many possibilities.  But let me read to you, this morning a particularly insightful word from Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  For those of you unfamiliar with the name, Bonhoeffer was a German pastor and theologian who was extremely bright and who died because he dared stand against the Nazi party in Germany.

Bonhoeffer wrote several Christian classics including a little book titled, Life Together, and in that book he says this:

Innumerable times a whole Christian community has broken down because it had sprung from a wish dream.  The serious Christian, set down for the first time in a Christian community, is likely to bring with him a very definite idea of what Christian life together should be and to try to realize it.  But God’s grace speedily shatters such dreams.  Just as surely as God desires to lead us to a knowledge of genuine Christian fellowship, so surely must we be overwhelmed by a great disillusionment with others, with Christians in general, and, if we are fortunate, with ourselves.

By sheer grace, God will not permit us to live even for a brief period in a dream world.  He does not abandon us to those rapturous experiences and lofty moods that come over us like a dream.  God is not a God of the emotions but the God of truth.  Only that fellowship which faces such disillusionment, with all its unhappy and ugly aspects, begins to be what it should be in God’s sight, begins to grasp in faith the promise that is given to it.  The sooner this shock of disillusionment comes to an individual and to a community the better for both.  A community which cannot bear and cannot survive such a crisis, which insists upon keeping its illusion when it should be shattered, permanently loses in that moment the promise of Christian community.  Sooner or later, it will collapse.  Every human wish dream that is injected into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.

I think Dietrich Bonhoeffer was writing those words about me.  Honestly, because I know that I have and had a dream about what a Christian community should be; should look like; should operate like.  I had a dream about how a church should function and how people should act within that community. 

But what Bonhoeffer points out is this: this is MY dream.  It’s not God’s dream.  And if we are to truly experience Christian harmony, we must give up our dreams and submit them to God’s dream and God’s will.  If we pursue our dream, the results will not be pretty, but if we submit to God’s dream.  If we submit to Jesus and His dream for the church, beauty will take place, and this is exactly what Paul tells us.  Hear that verse one more time and pay particular attention to the last part of the verse.  “May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus.”

We must submit ourselves in accordance with Christ Jesus if we want to live in harmony.  Let me show you how this works.  Please remember, I am not a trained musician, and I don’t know music terminology.  I just play my guitar and sing, but here is what I know.  Each string needs to be in tune.  And each string sounds pretty good by itself.  Each makes a nice sound when it is picked.  But if you strum all six strings together, the sound isn’t exactly good.  It’s just some noise.
But, when different strings submit to the will of the musician, harmony appears.  Chords appear.  The sound comes together beautifully.  And as the musician begins pressing down on different strings in different sequences, music begins to appear.  The strings must submit to the will of the musician, or there is no music.  There is no harmony.  But when the Great Musician is working and His people are submitting, there is harmony; there is beautiful music that arises from His Church:

(Sing “Shout to the North)

Oh, my brothers and sisters, if we are going to make music that draws the world to Jesus, we are going to have to submit to Him.  We are going to have to be in accordance with Him.  We are going to have to be in harmony with Him!!  I mean, I am no big fan of T.D. Jakes, the televangelist, but he was absolutely correct when he said, “You can’t learn to be in harmony with other people until you learn to be in harmony with God.”

But here is the good news, God has acted so that we can be in harmony with Him.  God has acted through Jesus so that we may be brought into a right relationship with God.  Jesus has taken our disharmony–our sin–upon himself and put it to death with Him on the cross.  Jesus has taken our disharmony into Himself and tuned it to righteousness.  Jesus has taken our disharmony and transformed it into His beauty, not by any work of our own–not because we deserved it–or anything about us.  He did this through sheer grace; through sheer mercy; because of His great love for you and for me.  You don’t have to worry about tuning yourself.  You don’t have to worry about getting everything together.  Simply put your trust in Jesus, and He will bring you to the place you need to be.  Simply trust in Jesus and what He did on the cross and you will be led into a place of ultimate harmony; first with God, and then with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

As we submit to Jesus more and more in our lives; as we are captured by his grace and mercy; we begin to show this mark more and more as a church.  We begin to live in harmony, and we make beautiful music that proclaims Jesus to the world.  Amen.

Beat It Into Their Heads Continually: Easter 2017

On Monday, I drove to Austin to visit one of our members who had had open heart surgery.  As I got about half-way there, KSBJ played out on my radio, so I began searching for a Christian radio station in Austin.  Fortunately, I found one.  However, this station was not like KSBJ.  KSBJ is a listener supported station with no commercials.  The station in Austin had commercials, so along with local businesses, local churches also ran ads.  Not surprisingly, many of those ads were about upcoming Easter services.  One ad did catch my attention.  A church was advertizing its Easter activities complete with a helicopter that would be dropping 20,000 eggs for their egg hunt.  I heard that ad several times during my trip, so I know the number and the event is accurate.

I must admit that there was a small part of me that thought about calling up Christa and saying, “How much do you think it would cost to get a helicopter to drop the eggs for our egg hunt, and do you think the congregation would go for it?”  But there was a larger part that began seriously thinking about what this congregation was doing.  I mean, I’m all for getting people to come to your church and to church activities.  I have absolutely no problem with that in the least, but this seems like a different kind of animal.  If this church is bringing in a helicopter for its Easter egg hunt, what are they going to do for the sermon?  Will they have a live-re-enactment of the resurrection complete with the ground shaking, angels appearing and rising into heaven, with smoke and loud music and the like?  Will the message of the resurrection take a back seat to a helicopter with 20,000 eggs?  It seems like there is a strong possibility of that happening.  It seems way too gimmicky, in my opinion.

So, there will be no helicopter here today.  There will be no lights, or re-enactments, or smoke, or manufactured ground shaking.  For as awe inspiring as such things might be, I know of no one’s life who was changed by seeing a helicopter drop 20,000 eggs. I know of no one who had a change of heart by packing an Easter basket with eggs.  I know of no one who found the peace that passes all understanding by watching the gimmicks of congregations.  But I do know of many, many people who have had lives changed, hearts melted, who have found peace by encountering the risen Jesus.  And it is my hope and my prayer that each of us here today encounter Him.

Let’s pray.  Heavenly Father, today we are presented with momentous news.  The one who died on the cross has been raised.  The tomb is empty.  Death is undone.  Open our hearts and our minds so that we might see what you have accomplished through the death and resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

500 years ago, Martin Luther kicked off a huge event in history that we will be celebrating later this year.  Historians call it the Reformation.  Those of us whose churches found their beginnings at this time in history remember how one man dared to call the church back to its foundational beliefs.  It was the radical notion that God had acted through Jesus Christ to bring about our salvation through no action of our own but solely by the grace of God.

Luther himself talked about God’s action in this way in his commentary on the book of Galatians, “Here I must take counsel of the gospel. I must hearken to the gospel, which teaches me, not what I ought to do, (for that is the proper office of the law), but what Jesus Christ the Son of God has done for me: to wit, that He suffered and died to deliver me from sin and death. The gospel wills me to receive this, and to believe it. And this is the truth of the gospel. It is also the principal article of all Christian doctrine, wherein the knowledge of all godliness consists. Most necessary it is, therefore, that we should know this article well, teach it unto others, and beat it into their heads continually.”  Yes, Luther said, we must beat the Gospel into folks’ heads continually.  Therefore, this morning, I brought a baseball bat...  I bet you some of you are wishing we had a helicopter with 20,000 eggs right about now.

Please stop getting up to head to the exits, I’m putting the bat down.  Jesus didn’t condone violence, and I’m not about to start that now.  However, I am not going to apologize for using Luther’s quote because the Gospel is indeed so radical that we need to hear it over and over and over and over before it really starts sinking deep down within the very fabric of our heart and soul.  We need to have it repeated over and over and over so that it weasels its way deep into our hearts and transforms them.  We must hear the Gospel over and over and over again because it goes against the way the entire world works.

So, let’s begin there.  How does the world work?  I want you to think about your life for a moment.  I want to think about all the things you engage in.  Think about work.  Think about school.  Think about family and friends.  Do you realize that you are in a constant state of working to justify yourself?  Perhaps you have never thought of it that way, but let me show you what I mean.  If you are in school, why do you work to get good grades?  You are showing justification that you have mastered the material and are ready to move to the next step.  If you are working, why do you work hard and put in the hours you put in?  You are working to justify why the company should give you a paycheck, allow you to keep your job, and even perhaps give you a raise.  You are justifying your position to those for whom you work.  And even if you are self-employed, you must justify your work to your customers.  If you are a handyman, you’d better do a good job or else no one will be calling you.  Yes, even within our engagements with family and friends, we are constantly trying to justify ourselves.  As a parent, I am constantly asked, “Why?” by my children.  That question is nothing more than them saying, “Justify why you are telling me what you are telling me.”  And if you don’t think you have to justify yourself even within your immediate relationships, get angry about something and let your tongue slip.  See if you don’t have to quickly justify what you said.  Or guys, leave the toilet seat up several times in a row.  One more example, and then we will move on.  This example is front and center in our society even though we might not realize it: sports.  If you play any sort of team sport, you are in a constant state of justifying yourself for playing time.  You are having to prove over and over and over why you should be playing and why the guy on the bench shouldn’t.  And if you slip up; on the field or in your character, you are out of luck.

Have I shown you enough?  Do you see how you and I are in a constant state of working to justify ourselves?  Do you see how the world is set up so that we must continually justify ourselves?

Now, let’s shift to religion.  Did you know that just about every single world religion is in the self-justification business?  The emphasis of just about every single world religion is: if you do x, y, z, then you will receive the blessings of God.  If you do not do x, y, and z, you can expect God’s punishment.  If you keep failing, try harder.  You must justify yourself and prove that you are worthy of God’s blessings.

Here is what Christianity says.  Christianity says, there is no way that you can justify yourself before God.  God has said that we must do x, y, and z, but God’s standards are so high that if we break x, y, or z, we have dug ourselves a hole and no matter how hard we try we can never, ever justify ourselves.  We are indebted to God for our failure to live as we should.

Most of us know this at a very deep level.  Sure, we try to fool ourselves.  We put on some brave faces and some brave phrases.  We like to think that “I’m okay and you’re okay.”  We like to believe, “You are perfect just the way you are.”  We like to tell ourselves that we are basically good people who just make a few mistakes along the way.  Yet, when we examine our lives, we know this isn’t the case.  When we really think about how we act and what we do, we know that we hold everyone else to a standard that we ourselves don’t even live up to.  Maybe this is why we try to keep ourselves so busy these days.  Maybe this is why we work so hard and play so hard and keep our brains engaged with our cell phones.  The more we distract ourselves, the more we don’t have to think and reflect upon who we are and why the world is the way it is.  The more we distract ourselves, the more we don’t have to reflect upon how indebted to God that we are because of our shortcomings.

But here is the good news.  When every other world religion would say, “Try harder.  Work harder.  Pay your own debt.  Do more good than evil.”  Christianity says: God, knowing that we could not cover the debt, took on human flesh, became like us, experienced all that we experience, but lived without sin.  God came down in human flesh and became the sacrifice of atonement to pay our debt.  God came down in human flesh and took the punishment that was meant for us because God loved us so dearly.

Some may quibble at this thought, but what parent doesn’t do this for his or her young children?  If your kids were walking in the store and they accidentally broke an item on the shelf, would you allow your kid to be arrested and charged with vandalism?  No, you would pay for the item because you love your kid.  God desires all people to be His children, so He came into this world to cancel our debts–to pay for them Himself by taking the wrath of God upon Himself so that we would not have to face it.

This is what Jesus spent His whole life teaching and preaching.  This is what Jesus spent His whole ministry working toward.  His life was one great trajectory toward the cross where He justified us before God the Father.  Christianity says: you do not justify yourself; God the Son justifies you–makes you right by His actions.  You are made right with God by grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God set forward as a sacrifice of atonement effective through faith.  This means, you are now made right with God by trusting in what Jesus does instead of what you do.  Let me say that again: you do not justify yourself like the world demands you do.  Instead, you are justified by Jesus’ on the cross.

This is not the way the world works.  This is not the way every other world religion works.  It is contrary to almost everything we have been taught.  Who would come up with such a scheme that is so contrary; that is so backwards?  It’s crazy and would have been rejected if not for one thing:

The resurrection.

I bet you were wondering when I would actually get to why we are here today.  I bet you were wondering when we would get to the empty tomb.  Well, here it is.  You see, the resurrection is the Father’s stamp that says, “You see.  Everything that Jesus said was true.  Everything He said about being the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; everything He said about being the Son of God; everything that He said about salvation coming through Him as the way, the truth, and the life; everything that He said about being the light of the world; yeah, all of it is true.  All of it.

This means you don’t put your hope in your actions.
You don’t put your hope in your ability to do good things.
You don’t put your hope in your ability to follow the rules and laws in the Bible.
You don’t put your hope in the world telling you to justify yourself.
You put your hope in Jesus.
You put your hope in what He has done.
You put your hope in the cross and in the resurrection.
You trust in Jesus, not in yourself.

Oh, and that is so hard.  It is so hard to trust in someone else.  It is so much more instinctual to pave our own way; to walk our own path; to take everything into our own hands and do it ourselves.  It is so much more instinctual and in accord with the world to present our own defense; argue our own case; present why we should be in the right; to justify ourselves.  In fact, we keep wanting to go back to that.  We keep wanting to do it all on our own.  We need to have the gospel beat into our heads continually.  Where is that baseball bat?

No.  We don’t need that baseball bat.  We need Jesus.  We need to be reminded about Him.  We need to hear over and over and over again how much He loves us.  We need to hear over and over again how He was willing to suffer and die for us.  We need to hear over and over again how He loves us when we are unlovable.  For as we hear about how He died and rose for us; as we think about the cross and resurrection, as we think about Jesus, He moves down into our hearts and makes His home deep within us bringing us peace; bringing us hope; bringing us joy.  It’s Jesus who changes us; not helicopters; not 20,000 Easter eggs; not lights and smoke; not even ourselves.  Just Jesus.

Let’s pray.  Heavenly Father, give us Jesus.  We know He is alive.  We know He has risen from the dead.  We know He longs to dwell in our hearts.  Lead us to trust in Him.  Beat it into our heads that we can trust in Him instead of ourselves.  And lead us to the hope, peace, and joy that is only found in the cross and resurrection.  We ask this in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Expect to Suffer: Romans 8:18-25

Today we tackle one of the pervasive lies that has been spread about Christianity.  It’s a lie that actually has great appeal, and there are many churches who have grown very, very large because of that lie.  It’s a lie that captures the imagination because it feeds our need and desire to be safe, secure, and have control over our lives.  It is the lie that says: if you become a Christian, then you will never suffer and you will only have blessing upon blessing in this life; things will always turn out great for you; you will find yourself healthy, wealthy, and with fantastic relationships.  In a word: no.  This message is not the message of Christianity.  It incorporates part of the Christian message, but it misses the entire message, and it can have very negative effects.

Why would I say that?  More than a few times I have counseled people who have held this particular understanding of Christianity.  Their lives were going along swimmingly; fantastic.  They were riding huge waves and enjoying life, but then a monkey wrench was thrown into their plans: maybe it was the loss of a job; maybe it was a diagnosis of cancer; maybe their spouse filed for divorce.  Suddenly, their entire view of the faith came crashing down.  Every time, the same questions are asked: Why is this happening?  I thought I was doing everything right?  I thought my faith was strong?  Why is God allowing this to happen to me?  Why do I have to suffer?

At this point, it is hard to undo what has been done to this person theologically.  It’s hard to go back to the very beginning and deal with the problem that nearly every person on this planet has to deal with: the problem of suffering.  It’s hard to look a person in the eye who expects God to protect them from suffering and tell them: when you become a Christian, you should not expect to avoid suffering.  In fact, when you become a Christian, you should expect to suffer.

This is exactly what St. Paul was getting at when he ended his teaching on what it meant to be a child of God with these words, “...if, in fact, we suffer with Jesus so that we may also be glorified with him.”  Paul is hearkening back to earlier in the book of Romans when he talks about Jesus as our representative.  He is going back to the thought that when we are joined to Jesus in baptism, whatever happens to Jesus happens to us.  Jesus died, therefore, we have died and we will die.  Jesus was raised from the dead, therefore we have already experienced the resurrection and one day we will be raised from the dead.  What Paul didn’t go into earlier in the book of Romans, he begins going into now: Jesus suffered, therefore, we also suffer.  If what happened to Jesus happens to us, then we can expect suffering just like Jesus suffered.

This oftentimes raises an important question: why did Jesus have to suffer?  There are actually two reasons, one that applies to us and one that doesn’t.  We’ll take the one that doesn’t first.  One reason Jesus suffered is for the redemption of the world.  Jesus became the sacrifice of atonement to make us right with God.  When he suffered on the cross, he had heaped upon him the sins of the world–your sin, my sin.  He faced God’s punishment for those sins on our behalf, and he suffered for us.  This is not the suffering we face.  We face the second type of suffering–the suffering that comes by living in a world where the power of sin is still operative.  Remember, sin is not just the things that we do.  Sin is also a power that is unleashed and is working in the world.  It is corrupting the world, and it is corrupting us.  Jesus entered into the world, and sin did its best to corrupt him.  Sin did its best to turn him away from the Father.  Sin tried many and various things to corrupt him: it appealed to pride and power; it made Jesus face death; it brought persecution upon him; it confronted him with disease and demonic power; it unleashed the fury of nature; and Jesus faced it all.  Jesus experienced the suffering that the power of sin has in the world.  And if Jesus experienced this, we can expect it as well.  Sin will unleash its power upon us to try and corrupt us and alienate us from our heavenly Father.  We can expect to suffer.

And the question is: is it worth it?  Is it worth going through this suffering?  Is it worth it to deal with the headaches and heartaches?  Is it worth facing disease and the death of our bodies?  Is it worth having people make fun of us?  Is it worth it to deal with the fallen nature of humanity and turn the other cheek?  Is it worth it to stand on principle and face alienation?

Paul answers that question next: 18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.  When my children were younger and had to get their vaccination shots, Dawna and I promised them: if you hang in there and don’t fight, we will get you an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen.  My kids dreaded those shots.  They didn’t want the needles and the injections of the medicines that burned going in.  But they knew there was something at the end that was better.  They knew there was something they could look forward to.  They knew that there was something great to be had if they made it through the pain.  This was a very effective plan on Dawna’s and my part until our youngest came along and decided that he didn’t like ice cream.  Thankfully, he liked french fries...

But I digress.  Paul is essentially making the same point.  He is saying: compare what you are going through now with the reality that will come later.  What happens down the road; what happens when the glory of God is revealed will make these sufferings pale in comparison.  When we enter into the fullness of the promises of God, everything that we have experienced will become clear.  Everything that we have experienced will fade into a distant memory.  We will look back and say, “Man, that wasn’t fun, but I get it now, and I wouldn’t trade it in the least because what I know now and experience now puts that into perspective.”

Paul then adds, that the entire creation is watching us and what God is doing in us as He redeems us: 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  You see, the creation is also infected by the power of sin.  Creation is not what it was meant to be.  I know that many people look at nature and see beauty and wonder and that “everything works in harmony.”  Well, if harmony means that there is a constant battle for survival–that the rule of thumb is kill or die, then I guess nature is indeed a thing of beauty.  Folks who think nature is just wonderful or beautiful are observing it from civilization and for only small glimpses.  They are not seeing prey trying to avoid predators. They are not seeing plants raising their defenses against infestations.  They are not seeing how everything in nature is simply trying to survive.  And despite nature’s best efforts, things still die.  Things still decay.  This is not the way God intended nature to be.  And in this snippet, Paul personifies nature.  He indicates that nature has some sort of awareness and consciousness.  He indicates like others who wrote Scripture before that nature is longing for redemption.  And Paul says that nature is looking for the children of God to emerge.  Nature is looking for us because it can then see that the process of redemption is underway.  It can see that the battle it is currently engaged in will have an ending.  Its suffering will one day end as well.  There is something to look forward to.

This is probably why Paul turns to the next analogy: 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.  I’ve never been through labor.  I don’t want to go through labor.  I watched Dawna go through it and then end up having an emergency C-section.  No thanks.  You ladies are wonders of God’s creation when it comes to birth.  I didn’t have to go through it to see that labor pains suck.  And if there weren’t some sort of pay-off in the end, I’m not sure anyone would ever endure them.  If there weren’t a baby wrapped in warm cloths handed to you after all was said and done, no one would purposely endure them.  But when your child is placed in your hands and you look at that child’s beauty and marvel at this new life, all that pain becomes worth it.  All that agony fades into a distant memory.  This is what was waited for.  This is what was anticipated.  Moaning and groaning is proper when going through the process, but when all is said and done...there is joy–pure, unadulterated joy.  Paul says we are still in the labor process.  The full redemption of our bodies and this world has not happened yet, but the process has begun.  Our suffering is a part of that process, and Paul gives us the antidote to help us through it.

24For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.  You see, hope is the antidote.  We know there is something at the end.  We do not have it yet, but we know it is coming.  We know that it is just around the corner.  Dawna and I adopted a rather interesting method of giving our children birthday presents.  Rather than go out and choose something for them, we take them to the store and allow them to choose their gift.  As their birthdays approach, they become more and more excited.  They generally know what they are going to pick out ahead of time.  They generally know what gift they will choose, but they don’t have it yet.  It’s not in their possession yet, and so they live in hope.  They live in expectation.  They live with growing excitement as each and every day brings them closer to their birthday.  If they already had their present in hand; if they had already received it long before their birthday, they wouldn’t have the excitement.  They wouldn’t have the hope.  They wouldn’t have anything to look forward to.  But because it is not in their possession yet, they have hope.  They know it’s coming; they know our promise is secure; so they patiently and excitedly wait.

This is exactly what we do as Christians as well.  We have a sure and lasting hope.  We have a sure and lasting promise.  We don’t have it yet.  But it is coming.  Each day draws us closer.  Each day is one more step toward the full redemption of this world and our bodies.  Each day brings us closer to the promised resurrection and fullness of joy of being in the presence of our Father, our Daddy as Paul reminded us last week.  We long for it, but we are patient as we wait.  We endure the sufferings of this world because we know there is more to come.  And we look to the author and perfecter of our faith as we do so.

Jesus is extremely crucial to this whole process.  In fact, it is Jesus death on the cross and subsequent resurrection that is in Paul’s mind as he writes these words.  You cannot have the resurrection without the cross, and you cannot have the cross without the resurrection.  They both go hand in hand.  They both must be held in tension.  Both provide the Christian with the answer as to whether or not suffering is worth it, and the answer is a resounding yes.  The cross shows that God is not above our suffering; God is not removed from our suffering.  God suffers with us and like us.  God knows pain.  God knows agony.  God knows injustice and hatred.  God knows what it is like to die.  God has experienced it with us.  Yes, God understands our suffering because He’s been through it himself.  And if God didn’t prevent Himself from suffering, we should not be surprised when He doesn’t prevent us from suffering.  There is more to the equation: there is resurrection.  There is re-birth.  There is renewal.  The resurrection is the promised hope.  It is what we can look forward to–a new body free of pain, injury, hunger, want; a new body that will never die; a new body that will experience the love and fulfillment of God.

We must not be fooled by anything that minimizes the cross or the resurrection.  We must not be led astray into accepting any form of Christianity that promises that we will never suffer or that our hope is in something less than resurrection.  We must not lead people astray and offer them false hope.  When we become Christians, we will suffer.  That is a given, but we can endure because we also know what is in store.  We know that there is resurrection in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Ending Violence

It was opening devotion time at Synod Assembly.

The folks leading the devotion lifted up a study on violence which had been turned into a musical cantata.

Those of us participating in the congregation listened to the words put forth in that cantata as read by our devotion leaders.

I listened intently.

"You don't want to be hurt by anyone, so why do you hurt someone else?  Stop."

I paused upon hearing those words. 

Yes.  They make sense. 

Given an unspoken assumption.

That I am somehow not hurting already.

I remember years ago sitting in a social psychology class.  We watched a video detailing a study of pain and animals.  Two animals were placed in a cage which had been electrified.  One animal was larger than the other.  When current was applied and the animals felt the pain, the larger animal nearly always attacked the smaller animal.  When there was no pain, there was no violence.  When there was pain, violence ensued.

There was a lesson for each and every one of us in that class.

And it speaks, I think, to one of the reasons we try to avoid pain as a culture.

Keep the pain to a minimum, and you don't have acting out.  Keep the pain to a minimum, and you don't have violence.

And how do we keep the pain to a minimum in our culture:

1. The preferred drug of alcohol.
2. Material wealth and its redistribution.
3. Sex and sexuality.
4. Escapism through entertainment and sports.

There are other ways, of course, but the reality is, none of these things really and truly deal with the pain.  None of these things really and truly dig down deep into the recesses of the heart and deal with the emotional pain someone feels deep within their souls.

The recent shooting in California shows this beyond a doubt.  If you read this story, you will see how none of these things could satisfy Elliot Rogers before he went on his shooting/stabbing rampage.  He drank.  He had wealth.  He had privilege.  He desired sex and felt like he deserved it.  His family was a part of the entertainment industry.  He had it all--everything, and he was in pain; deep, pulsating pain. 

Given that Elliot was a young male (which is one of those "curious" common threads which run through just about every school shooting and mass murder), his brain was not fully developed, he was in emotional turmoil, he had access to firearms which made him feel like an alpha male (feel like, not that he was), it was just a matter of time before things finally erupted.

Everything that would supposedly dull the pain didn't work, and simply saying "You don't want to be hurt by anyone, so why do you hurt someone else?" wasn't going to work.

Because Elliot was already hurting.

A lot of people are already hurting.

Sure, they may put on a good front, but deep down, underneath the surface, nearly everyone has pain, hurt, resentment, agony, sadness, fear, loathing, contempt, frustration, and the list goes on.  Everyone has a piece of darkness within where the light does not shine.  Sometimes that darkness grows and grows and grows until it becomes all consuming. 

And we throw money at it.
And we throw drugs at it.
And we throw sex at it.
And we throw self-help books at it.

And nothing works.

Nothing.

And those of us who wish to offer a faith-based solution are scoffed at by many. 

Perhaps with good reason.  I mean, there are those who become so consumed with their respective faiths that they fly airplanes into buildings, kill abortion doctors, mock, beat and kill homosexuals, act with supreme arrogance, and are generally unpleasant people.  Such folks do not help in the cause of ending violence as they actually perpetuate it.  (I believe it is because they do not have God at the center of their hearts, but instead are pretty self-righteous.  Their fundamentals are out of whack.  I mean, no one has ever seen an Amish terrorist.)

The Gospel is sorely needed.

Whenever we think we deserve something, and we do not get what we think we deserve, we become angry, frustrated, and full of pain.  Whenever we feel like we have been wronged, we become resentful.  Whenever we feel thwarted by someone else, anger begins to build.  It tends to be the other person's fault. 

The Gospel does not allow you to do this.  The Gospel says, "You may have been wronged.  You may have been hurt, but you are not without guile yourself.  You have fallen short as well.  You have no basis to think that you are morally superior over another.  You have no basis to think that you deserve any particular good over and above anyone else.  You are just as corrupt as the person you believe has wronged you."

It's not a popular message amongst some.
Most of us like to think we have the moral high road.
Jesus doesn't allow us to take that.

If we were left at this point, we would all be miserable.  We would all be in pain and agony knowing our imperfections; knowing our fallenness; knowing our brokenness.  We would continue to act out in pain and frustration.

But then Jesus says, "Let me take that away from you.  Let me show you how much you are loved even in your brokenness.  Let me show you how far I am willing to go to forgive you when you continue to act in an unforgivable manner."

And Jesus stretches out His arms to die for you.

And He says, "I am pouring myself out for you, and if you put me at the center of your life, I will pour myself into you.  I will fill the void in your heart.  I will take the pain and frustration.  I will help you know forgiveness so that you may forgive others.  And I will give you hope."

And Jesus was raised from the dead ushering in eternal life for all who trust in Him.

That hope means a state of fulfillment for eternity.  The things you thought you missed will be granted you in their fullness in the healthiest manner possible.  You do not have to try and squeeze in every sight and sound because "you only get this one life."  You have an eternity before you.  An eternity filled with light and goodness and love--with God at the center wiping every tear from your eye.

And that reality--that sense of eternity--is not limited to when you die.  You can have one foot there now.  You can be in this world but not of it.  You can experience what it is like to worship God who is at the center of the throne now.  You can know His peace now.  You can know His love now.  You can have Him wiping your tears now.

People will still hurt you.
People will still mock you.
People will still do you wrong.
And you will still do this to others, but you do not have to experience the fullness of the anger.  You do not have to experience the fullness of the pain.  You can forgive because He forgave you.

And when you forgive, the pain lessens.
And you know peace.
And when you know peace, you seek to spread it instead of violence.
All because of the Gospel.

Behold Your King! Palm Sunday Sermon

    I remember vividly back in 2008 when Barak Obama was elected president of the United States of America.  I know this was not a popular choice here in Texas or in Austin County, but in the scope of the nation, at the time, this was a minority position.  The newly elected president had somewhere around a 71% approval rating even before his first act in office.  The senator from Illinois had burst on the scene with outstanding rhetoric and capitalized on the extreme unpopularity of President Bush.  He cruised to victory in the presidential election, and his victory party was a sight to behold.  So was the inauguration.  The president drew thousands upon thousands of people.  Shortly after entering office, he drew thousands to a speech in Germany.  He won the Nobel Peace prize.  Millions of people around the world celebrated Barak Obama’s ascension to the highest office of leadership in the United States–arguably the most powerful seat of authority in the world.

    Most new regimes are welcomed in such a fashion.  If you study history, you know this well.  For whatever reason, people usually grow tired of the old leaders.  Countries and nations become stuck in a rut.  They hear the same tired old speeches.  Their lots in life never seem to change.  Corruption enters the picture.  Friends of those in power get rewarded.  The rich get richer.  The poor get poorer.  Those in power enjoy the perks of the office, and there often is a growing perception that those leaders are out of touch with the reality of common folk.  Before you know it, people are clamoring for change.  People are clamoring for new leadership.  And when it comes, they welcome it.

    Case in point, let’s look at a snippet from Jewish history.  Long ago, the Greek armies under the Selucid empire invaded Israel.  They overran the country side, but as the Greek empire became stretched thin, some rebellions became successful.  The Jewish Hasmoneans rebelled against this empire and briefly issued in a time of independence for Israel.  Briefly.  Please know I am painting in large brush strokes here.  The details are much too intricate to get into in this sermon.  The Jews were all to happy to rid themselves of foreign rule; however there was also dissension.  As time passed, the people became less and less appreciative of the Hasmoneans.  They became disenchanted with their corruption, and supposedly, when the Roman empire began asserting itself in Israel, instead of offering resistence, the people of Jerusalem opened the gates of the city to welcome the Roman armies in.  Interesting historical note there, isn’t it.

    Of course, the Jewish folks then resented the Romans who governed them.  All to happy to welcome them to begin with, they were more than ready to overthrow them and become independent once again.  They were all to ready to have new leadership and new governance.  The seeds of rebellion were indeed planted, and all they needed was some energy to begin germination. 

    This is one of the reasons for the crowd’s enthusiasm on that day when Jesus made his way into Jerusalem riding on the back of a donkey.  This is one of the reasons the crowd placed palm branches and cloaks in His path.  They had all heard about Jesus.  They had heard about His deeds of wonder and power.  They had heard about Him healing the sick, making the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk.  They had heard of His feeding of the multitude.  They had heard of Him calming the storm.  They had heard about Him raising the dead.  They knew He claimed a special relationship with God–the Son of God; the Son of Man.  Here was, they felt, the one who would now lead them; who would defeat the Romans; who would usher in a new Jewish dynasty.  And he was riding on a donkey to prove it!

    This act of Jesus was intentional.  It was no act of humility.  The people knew that the prophet Zechariah had foretold in a vision long ago that the king would come to them in such a fashion.  You can read the prophesy yourself in Zechariah chapter 9 verse 9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!  Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”  Jesus knew that prophesy.  The people knew that prophesy.  The King was coming!  Regime change was on the way.  Celebration ensued! 

    But, you know, there is something that must be said about Kings.  There is something that must be said about political and religious leaders who rule over others.  These folks demand obedience.  These folks place demands upon their followers.  There is no king, no ruler, no prince, no president, no despot, no monarch, who does not give their subjects complete and total freedom.  None of them.  Zip.  Nada.  Zilch.  All of them, yes, all of them expect something out of their subjects.  This is probably one of the reasons people long for regime change after so many years.  They begin to reject the rules imposed by their king or leader.  They begin to rebel against the things that they perceive to be an imposition upon their lives.  Subjects begin to want to do what they want to do–even if they know the King is looking out for their best interest.

    It didn’t take long for people to rebel against Jesus.  For Jesus made demands, and He still makes demands of His subjects.  His teachings are clear, and He continued to make those demands after He entered Jerusalem on that day long ago.

    “Pray for your enemies and bless those who persecute you.”

    Jesus, do you mean I have to pray for those Roman soldiers up there?  Do you mean I have to ask God to bless them?  Yes.

    “Your neighbor is the person who is in need.  Even an infidel who acts in kindness is doing the will of God–if your enemy is neighborly, He is fulfilling the command of God.”

    Jesus, do you mean that God approves of and loves those outside of the Jewish faith? Does God look down upon them with kindness?  Yes.

    “If anyone wants to become my disciple, let him take up his cross and follow me.  For you cannot be my disciple unless you give up all of your possessions.”

    Jesus, do you mean I have to give up everything to follow you?  Do you mean that I have to die to follow you?  Yes.

    “Give to anyone who begs.”

    Jesus, do you mean anyone?  Really anyone?  What if you know they are taking advantage of you?  What if you know they have plenty and are using you?  You still want us to give?  Yes.

    Is it any wonder why people rebelled against Jesus?

    Is it any wonder why we rebel against Jesus today?

    The obedience He asks for is simply too much.  It is an unobtainable reality.  We simply value our freedom too much.  We value our time too much.  We value our money too much.  You want everything from me, Jesus?  It’s too much to ask.  I can’t give it.

    Is it any wonder that the very crowd crying “Hosanna!” began yelling “Crucify!”?

    And here is a most interesting twist–a most interesting twist indeed.  For usually, when people rebel against their rulers, their rulers react swiftly and harshly.  Violence is usually the order of the day.  Imprisonment is certainly an option.  Fear of arrest, of marginalization, of being audited by the IRS, and a host of other such methods is usually the rule of thumb to keep people in line.  Kings throughout the ages have come up with nasty ways of keeping populations in line and in control.  Gas chambers, bombs, tanks, tear gas, you name it.

    But what was Jesus response?  How did this King handle our rebellion?

    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.

    Jesus allowed Himself to be arrested.  He allowed Himself to be beaten.  He allowed Himself to be condemned, and He willingly stretched out His arms and died.  He died for His rebellious subjects so that they may see His great love for them and then moved by His love, they may strive toward obedience–not out of fear, but out of love for their King.  A King who willingly dies that His subjects may have life; abundant life; eternal life.

    Behold, this is your King!  Amen.

Behold the Lamb of God!

    John the Baptist cried out, “Behold, here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

   Recently, I watched a debate on Youtube between an atheist philosopher and a Christian apologist.  The conversation was fascinating as these two gentlemen outlined their reasons for belief and non-belief.  Particularly fascinating was one of the arguments the philosopher made against Christianity.  I will paraphrase what was said and will not get the quote exact.

    “I don’t find the idea of taking another’s punishment too satisfactory,” the philosopher said.  “Let’s say we travel back in time when caning was considered a legitimate type of punishment.  We know that’s pretty barbaric now, but let’s just ride with it for the sake of argument.  Let’s say a boy gets caught doing something in a class, and he is going to be caned for breaking the rule.  There is a girl in the class who decides she can take the punishment and that she’s been good enough for one reason or another.  She tells the teacher she volunteers to take the boy’s place.  The teacher, for one reason or another, doesn’t care who he canes, so the teacher accepts the proposal.  The girl gets caned for the boy and everyone is satisfied.  That doesn’t seem like too compelling an argument for me.”

    Unfortunately, because of the limitations of the debate, the Christian apologist isn’t allowed to respond in full.  He only gets one statement in, “Arguments from analogy tend to fall short.”  I wish he’d of had more time to expand on that thought.  I’d have loved to hear his response.  Because I’d love to hear how it matches up with my own.  For if I were engaged in that debate and had the opportunity to follow up on the philosopher’s comment, I would have said thus:

    I actually agree with you that your analogy isn’t exactly satisfying.  It doesn’t grab one’s attention too well, and it certainly makes a mockery out of justice–at least in the form in which you presented it.  But I will hold your analogy.  I won’t change the basic story.  I would simply like to add to it.

    Let’s add the fact that the girl in the story has loved the boy who was caught breaking the rule for a long, long time.  For years, she had a crush on him, and she willingly made her intentions known to him.  She told him over and over of her love.  She would make him gifts.  She would help him at various times and places. 

    The boy was rather wishy-washy.  At times, he would welcome the girl’s advances.  At times, he would reciprocate her love.  But more often than not, another girl would catch his attention, and he would go flying off.   He’d come back from time to time, and the girl who loved him always took him back hoping he’d stay with her for good.  Yet it never seemed to take place.  The boy never could fully commit to the girl. 

    The girl’s friends mocked her.  “You could do better.  Forget that boy, he isn’t good enough for you.  Give up on him.  Find a better boy.”  But the girl refused to do such a thing.  Even though it made perfect sense to find someone else, her heart was consumed for love of this boy.

    And so, when the boy was caught and would suffer caning, dreadful thoughts entered the girl’s head.  She couldn’t bear the thought of her love suffering all that pain and agony.  She couldn’t bear the thought of him having to go through that ordeal.  She volunteered to take his place.  She pleaded with the teacher until he relented.  “But I won’t take it easy on you,” he said. 

    “I wouldn’t expect you to,” she replied.

    When her friends found out what she would do, they thought her absolutely mad.  “Why in the world are you doing this?  Why would you put yourself through all that pain and agony?  You are certifiable!  He absolutely, positively isn’t worth this.”  Others just shook their heads in bewilderment.

    “But I love him,” was all the girl could say.

    The boy, for his part was quite leery of his impending punishment.  He wasn’t altogether sure he could withstand caning.  He had bragged to others about how strong he was and how he’d never scream or cry out.  But he had seen others caned.  He knew how even the strongest would end up screaming in agony begging the punisher to stop.  Dread started to fill his heart as the day drew nigh for his sentence to be carried out.

    But then, he heard the news.  He would receive no punishment.  Someone had volunteered to take his place.  Sighs of relief, but also a new sense: a sense of wonderment.  Who would take his place?  Who had volunteered to receive the punishment due for him?

    The day of the sentence came, and the boy heard the cries of agony as the caning took place.  The smacks of the cane resounded through the schoolyard.  Soon, it was class time.  All the students headed to their respective rooms, and when the boy entered, he saw the girl sitting hunched over in pain.  He saw the red streaks of blood seeping through her shirt.  He then knew who volunteered to take his punishment–the one who had professed her love to him time and time again.  A love that he had played and toyed with but had never fully reciprocated.

    At this point, I would pause for dramatic effect.  I would shift in my seat and look at the audience in full.  Then, I would continue letting every word sink in:

    That boy now has a choice.  A very important choice.  He can simply walk away from the situation.  He can thumb his nose at what that girl did for him and continue to do the same sorts of things he did before.  Or, he can truly recognize this girl’s tremendous love for him.  He can recognize the pain and suffering she undertook for him simply because she loved him.  He can recognize he didn’t deserve what she did for him, and he can ponder all those times he let her down by playing with her and then chasing after other girls.  He can realize his wrongs and then spend every day giving thanks to that girl for what she did for him and committing himself to loving her as much as she loved him.

    That kind of love has a deep affect on people.  It’s the kind of love God has for you and for me.

    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.

    “Behold!  Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

    Jesus took your sin.  Jesus took your place.  Jesus took your punishment.  How you respond is how you choose to Live God’s Word Daily.  Amen.

This is the King

    There are essentially two types of kings throughout history. There are those kings who believe they are above everyone else.  They believe their servants and their subjects are there solely to give them honor and praise and fund their opulent lifestyles.  These kings demand total obedience and if such obedience is not given, then brute force is often the rule used to enforce a king’s command.  History is replete with such rulers.  On the other end of the spectrum are those kings who also demand obedience; however, their approach is vastly different.  Instead of thinking themselves better than their subjects, these kings work for the well being of their subjects and their realm.  They work to improve the lot of the kingdom so that everyone finds a measure of happiness and contentment in what they do.  These kings know that their subjects will loyally follow them if their king protects and cares for them.  Many of these rulers throughout history are lifted up as the ideal models of leadership.  Mind you, these two poles represent extremes in kingly leadership, and there are those who fall all along this spectrum.

    I find it rather fascinating that throughout history, no matter what kind of king you have, there is always someone ready to seize the throne.  There is always someone who is ready to topple the king.  Be it a good king or a bad king, someone always wants the power.  Someone else always wants control.  Someone always is ready to put themselves on the throne to call the shots.  And there have been numerous ways invented to topple a regime.  Assassination.  Military coup.  Peasant revolt.  Most of the actions taken to remove a king are bloody, violent, and cause great upheaval.

    These are important points to remember as we think about the history of kings in the world.  They help us understand the dynamics at play when it comes to leadership and power and the reality of this world that our Lord Jesus Christ entered into as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

    Today is Christ the King Sunday.  It is the last Sunday of the church year.  It is the Sunday where the Church celebrates Jesus as the King of the Universe who came and who will come again in power and glory.  We longingly await that day, for then God’s Kingdom will be fully established, and God’s beneficial reign will once and for all demolish evil and suffering and death.  It is something we truly look forward to and set our hopes on.

    And it is with fascination that on this Chris the King Sunday, we turn to our Gospel lesson which does not show Jesus throned in glory.  It does not show Him triumphant.  It does not show Him crowned with power and honor and might.  It does not show Him surrounded by scores of angels and apostles and martyrs bowing before Him.  No.  Not at all.  Our Gospel lesson takes us to the point of utter humiliation.  Our Gospel lesson takes us to the point of utter defeat.  It takes us to the point of utter suffering and death.  Our Gospel lesson takes us right to the cross where a sign hung above Jesus which said, “This is the King of the Jews.”

    That sign was meant to be an insult.  That sign was meant to convey a warning to everyone who proposed to think of themselves as a king.  The roman procurator Pontius Pilate hung that sign there in effect saying, “If you want to be the king of the Jews, we, the Romans will decide who gets to be king.  Any other attempts at kinghood will land you in the same place as this man.” 

    For, you see, my brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus made enemies with His proclamation that the Kingdom of God was at hand. Jesus made enemies with his teaching that He and the Father were one.  Jesus managed to make the principalities and powers very, very twitchy with the things He said, taught, and did.

    Jesus managed to get under the Jewish religious leaders’ skin with His proclamation that He was the Son of God and that He and the Father were one.  The Jewish faith did not allow for any such proclamation.  Not at all.  The first commandment was very clear, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, you shall have no other gods before me.”   God was one and one alone.  Sure, one day God would send the anointed one–the Messiah–to return and establish Israel to its former glory.  Just about everyone hoped for the Messiah’s coming, but no one expected a carpenter from Nazareth to fulfill that hope.  No one expected an itinerant rabbi who gathered a bunch of marginal fishermen, tax collectors, zealots, and farmers to restore the Kingdom of Israel.  No one expected a person like Jesus to handle such things.

    Until Jesus started healing the sick, raising the dead, and feeding multitudes.  Until Jesus started forgiving people of their sins and proclaiming that the Kingdom of God was at hand.  Until Jesus started performing deeds and wonders not seen since Elijah and Elisha.  “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  The common folks realized something wonderful was at hand.  The religious authorities knew their positions of power were threatened.  This self-appointed anointed one must be disposed of, and they knew they could accuse Him of blasphemy–a charge worthy of death.

    The Romans felt the same way.  They were in charge of Israel.  They had their puppet-king in Herod.  They tried to keep the peace as best as possible; however that was no easy task in Judea.  The Jews were always seemingly ready to revolt.  They needed just a slight excuse to try to cast off those who were ruling over them.  Their belief in a messiah–a deliverer who would send the Romans back to Rome kept tensions on an edge.  And now, here was a man proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand–not the kingdom of Caesar.  Here was a man proclaiming to be the Messiah–the anointed One–the Son of God.  A king?  This could indeed send the people into revolt.  In order to squash such a rebellion, you cut off the head.  Jesus, the leader, must die.

    Little did these two opposing forces know, they were playing right into Jesus’ hands.  For Jesus was not simply concerned with the kingdom of Israel.  Jesus’ kingdom was much, much larger.  Jesus’ kingdom consisted of the entire world.  It was the world that Jesus had in mind; for He was there to reconcile the world unto God. 

    Remember what I said earlier about the difference between two types of kings?  Remember how one believed he was to be lifted up by the people and the other was a servant of the people looking out for their best interest?  Which category do you think fits Jesus?  That’s what the call a rhetorical question.  We know the answer.  Jesus is a good king.  Jesus is the king who looks out for the best interest of His subjects.  Jesus wants them to have life and have it abundantly.

    But how can they do that when they are separated from God?  How can they do that when their sin keeps them apart from the one who can truly offer them life, peace, love, joy, happiness, and fruitfulness?  How can they have such life when grief, sorrow, suffering, and hate prevent them from knowing the One who created them and looks after them?

    Jesus knew He had a job to do.  He must reconcile the world to God.  He must take everything that separates us from God and conquer it.  He must defeat suffering, evil, sin, and death.  And so, Jesus gathered it all up into himself.  Jesus took everything that separates us from God into His own being. 
    •    Every evil thought.
    •    Every evil deed.
    •    Every word of anger or spite.
    •    Every act of bullying.
    •    Every tear shed in hopelessness.
    •    Every tear shed in grief.
    •    Every broken heart.
    •    Every disease and illness.
    •    Every cancerous tumor.
    •    Every sense of abandonment and failure.
    •    Everything that has, does, and will ever put a wall between us and God.
These things, Jesus carried with Him.  Justice must be served.  A good king knows this, but rather than punish His people, Jesus allowed Himself to take the punishment.  And the punishment must fit the crime.  All of that pain and suffering; all of that illness and hopelessness; all of those tears and hurts; and even death must be reckoned with.   And the punishment was the cross–a horrible death sentence.  Why?  Because a good king is willing to die for His people to bring them life and life abundant.  Jesus died that you may live.

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world may be saved through Him.

    Look to the cross, my brothers and sisters.  Here is the King.  Here is the one who dies for you and for me.  Here is the one who offers Himself so that we may live.  Let us live in obedience to Him for what He has done for us.  For that is what it means to Live God’s Word Daily.  Amen.

I Know that My Redeemer Lives!

23 ‘O that my words were written down!  O that they were inscribed in a book!  24 O that with an iron pen and with lead they were engraved on a rock for ever!  25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; 26 and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, 27 whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. --Job 19:23-27

   These words were uttered by Job as recorded in the book which bears his same name.  As we read these words, we may detect a hint of triumph within them.  They sound ultimately hopeful!  They sound like words we too might utter if we have stumbled upon fortune.  Perhaps we got lucky enough to win the lottery.  Perhaps we were fortunate enough to be declared cancer free after fighting an arduous battle with cancer.  Perhaps we heard our child received a full ride scholarship to his or her preferred university.  “I know that my redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth!”  It is so easy to give God glory and thanks when things are going in our favor.

    But there is an interesting twist with these words which were uttered by Job–an interesting twist indeed.  Let’s set the background.

    Job was a pretty wealthy guy.  He was happily married; had several children; large flocks of sheep and goats.  He loved the Lord and worshiped Him and only Him.  Now, we are told that God and Satan are having an argument, and they decide upon a wager: Satan believes Job’s faith is only skin deep.  Satan believes that if calamity were to befall Job, then Job would curse God.  God has more trust in Job than Satan does.  God believes Job will remain steadfast in His faith.  In order to settle the bet, Satan is given reign to torment Job.   

    Satan is pretty thorough.  He afflicts Job mightily.  He sends disaster upon Job’s flocks; his crops, and his family.  He afflicts Job’s health and covers him with painful sores.  Job goes from the top of the world having everything, to the top of the ash heap having nothing.  While sitting on the ash heap, Job’s friends come to visit with him.  It’s a really interesting conversation which takes up many chapters in the book of Job–it’s particularly fascinating that they continually believe Job must have done something to deserve the calamities which have befallen him.  They say God punishes sinners in such a manner, and that Job should repent or curse God and walk away from Him.  Job steadfastly refuses to walk away from God, and he says that he has done nothing to deserves such punishment.

    Job’s friends are unrelenting.  He must have done something to have earned God’s wrath and punishment.

    Let’s stop here for just a moment because Job’s situation gives us a chance to talk about grace.  Some of you might scratch your heads at this.  How in the world does this story about a guy whose family has been taken from him; who has lost his wealth; who has lost his health; whose friends are telling him he is a sinner; and who is now sitting on an ash heap give us an opportunity to talk about grace?

    Well, remember what I started this sermon off with?  Remember those words, “I know that my redeemer lives!”?  Remember how they are often spoken when things are going good?  What do we usually say when things are going badly for us?  What do we utter when it seems like the world is against us?

    Many times, we don’t need friends to sit next to us and tell us.  Many times we say it ourselves, “What have I done to deserve this?”  You would be surprised how many times I have heard someone say this in the time that I have served as a pastor.  Cancer strikes: what have I done to deserve this?  A child is stricken with disease: what did we do to have this happen to us?  A loved one suffers a debilitating health issue: she doesn’t deserve this.  Over and over and over again.

    What is behind this?  Perhaps not in all circumstances, but I think there is a bit of commonality running through each and every one of these situations: it’s the idea that somehow we can still save ourselves.  It’s the idea of works/righteousness.  It’s the idea that if I just do the right things; believe the right things; say the right things, then everything will work out for me in the long run.  It’s the idea that if I do the right things, then I will be accepted and be blessed.  And so when things don’t turn out the way we think they should, we start asking ourselves what we might have done or not done to deserve what has befallen us.

    We must stop here and ask: is this the way God, as revealed in Jesus Christ acts?  Is this the modus operandi of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

    Actually, no.  Not in the least, because as we see God revealed in Jesus Christ, we do not see this kind of working at all.  Instead, we see a God who operates by pure grace.  We do not see a God who demands that we work out our own salvation, but we see a God who works out salvation for us by the death and resurrection of Jesus, the second person of the Trinity.  We see a God who literally dies for us so that we might live.  There is nothing we have to do to earn this.  There is nothing we have to do to make this happen.  There is nothing we have to say to earn God’s favor.  There is no mountain we have to climb or ocean we have to swim.

    “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes 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 might be saved through Him.”  That’s the beauty of grace.  And God acted in this manner while we were still sinners.

    So, what does that mean in relation to when those bad things start happening?  Well, a person functioning under the works/righteousness model says, “Why is this happening to me?”  The person who operates under the grace model says something quite different.  The person working under the grace model says, “I know that I am a broken person.  God has every right to punish me in whatever mode He sees fit.  I know that I have sinned against Him in thought word and deed by things that I have done and things that I have left undone.  I have not loved Him with my whole heart.  I have not loved my neighbor as myself.  Never-the-less, God has removed the discipline of the law.  God no longer punishes me or anyone by sending death, disease, or misfortune.  This is not God’s will.  I may not know why these things are happening to me, but I do know that God is operating in the midst of this in some way, shape or form.  I know God is working to transform this situation.  I know that God has promised me hope, and I will have faith in Him no matter what happens.”

    How can we know that God has promised such a thing?  How do we know God is working in the midst of such turmoil and struggle and pain and suffering?  Well, we look to the cross.  Yes, the cross.  That instrument of death is the focal point of the Christian faith, and there is little wonder why.  For if there was anyone who didn’t deserve to die, it was the God incarnate who hung on it.  If there was anyone who had actually lived up to the works righteousness end of the bargain, it was Jesus.  If there was anyone who should not have suffered, it was him indeed.  But that’s not what happened.  Jesus was nailed to that cross.  Jesus bled.  Jesus suffered.  Jesus died. 

    But death was not the end.  Suffering did not provide the final answer.  Evil did not carry the day.  For on the third day, Christ rose from the dead showing the power and desire of God to conquer evil, suffering and death.  Christ rose from the dead to show us that the final answer rests with God and will forever be God.  Grace leads us right to this spot.

    “For I know that my redeemer lives!”  Job spoke these words from the top of the ash heap.  He spoke these words after his friends tried to convince him that he had done something wrong to anger God, to provoke God’s wrath, to make God send him suffering.  But Job would have none of it.  He would not blame himself.  He would not blame God.  Instead, he would put his trust in the one who gave him hope.  In the midst of his pain; in the midst of his suffering; in the midst of those who would call him to do otherwise; Job spoke words of faith.

    “For I know that my redeemer lives; what comfort this sweet sentence gives.  He lives!  He lives, who once was dead.  He lives my ever living head!”  We will sing those words in just a moment, and whatever your situation in life–whether you are struggling mightily with what life has given you or whether you are satisfied and happy with what is going on–sing them not because you believe you have earned your lot, but because you trust that God loves you whatever you may be facing.  For that is what we do when we Live God’s Word Daily.  Amen.