Fruits of the Spirit: Faithfulness

Today, we come to the seventh fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23: faithfulness.

I found it quite interesting that when I looked at the text in Greek, the word that was used for this gift of the Spirit was pistis.  Pistis is normally translated rather simply with the word: “faith.”  Rarely is it ever translated “faithfulness.”  This sent my brain into overdrive because this word–the concept of faith–is extremely important for the church these days.  The concept of faith is also vitally central to our identity as Lutheran Christians.

And as I began to think about its importance, I began to sweat bullets.  I thought, “How in the world will I be able to cover such an important word; an important gift, in the time allotted to me?  How can I squeeze things down so that we can understand its importance?”  The reality is: there is no way I can possibly do this.  There is no way that I can cram all there is to say about faith into a fifteen to twenty minute sermon, so we will have to talk in broad strokes this morning.  I hope to cover these three things: 1) what faith is.  2) What it means to have faith in Jesus.  And 3) How it leads us to have faith in one another.

The first item to tackle is: what faith is.  What is faith?  A definition that you will hear oftentimes is that faith is “believing without seeing.”  This definition is actually partially correct.  The writer of Hebrews essentially defines faith in this fashion in a classic definition given in chapter 11, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  Faith is something we can count on to happen in the future–a hope–a hope that is so deeply rooted that we are convicted of it even though we cannot see it. Oftentimes, this sort of understanding gets interpreted toward God–that God is something out there; someone we will meet in the future, and we are convicted of this to the point that we hold onto this without any sort of evidence whatsoever.

As I have studied what faith is, I now realize that this definition is lacking.  It is true that we all believe in God not having seen Him.  We all believe in Jesus not having seen him.  But that does not mean that we don’t have evidence.  We do.  That evidence is actually sitting in the pews in front of you in that red book with the letters B-I-B-L-E on it.  For the Bible is a recorded history of God’s interaction with the Jewish people, and then God’s ultimate revelation to humanity as Himself embodied in the person Jesus of Nazareth.  This evidence has been passed down for 2000 years.  Not only has this evidence been passed down, but we have a great cloud of witnesses who have shared with us their experiences of God–experiences that walk hand in had with God’s revelation in the Bible.  Most of us here this morning have had someone in our lives tell us about God–tell us about Jesus.  Most of us here this morning have had family members and friends who have talked about their answered and unanswered prayers; they have talked about times where they felt the presence of God; they have shared why they believe God is real.  And, here is the kicker, here is the important part of that which fleshes out the definition of faith for us: we trusted them.  You see, faith isn’t just believing without seeing–that is only part of the definition; faith is also trusting that what has been given to us is true.

You see, this understanding is actually rammed home when you understand the ancient world in which the Bible was written.  There were actually very, very few atheists–as we would call them.  Almost everyone believed in God or a god.  Such belief was taken for granted.  The real question was: which God did you believe in?  Or, better put, which God did you trust?  This distinction can be understood in the following story:

An atheist was out one Sunday morning hiking in a state park.  He was walking along a cliff edge when the trail suddenly gave way.  The atheist dropped down and luckily caught a branch that was hanging over the canyon below.  There was no way he could climb up; now way he could climb down; and the drop would certainly kill him.

As he held onto that branch, he desperately cried out for help, but being a Sunday, there was no one around.  In final desperation, he yelled to the sky, “God, I have never believed in you, but if you really exist, I could use a hand.”

Shockingly, a voice from the sky responded, “I do exist, and I have heard your prayer.  I will help you.”

In that moment, the atheist became a believer in God.  Excited by this new belief that he had, he cried out, “What do you need me to do?”

The voice responded, “Let go.”

The new believer looked at the ground and the long drop, looked back at the sky and said, “Is anyone else up there?”

Do you see how faith and trust can be separated?  Can you see the difference that can be made between the two?  The fruit of the Spirit, pistis, does not make such a distinction.  Belief and trust are tightly wound together so that if this fruit is present in your life, not only do you believe in God, but you trust Him for your safety, security, and well being.  You place your life in His hands.

And that brings us to part 2) what does it mean to have faith in God or Jesus?  Again, this is important for us to be able to talk about in this day and age because we’ve got to do a better job in evangelism.  We’ve got to do a better job in helping people understand their need for Jesus.  Why is this the case?

Because everyone believes in a god.  That might sound strange, and an atheist would certainly disagree.  However, it depends on how you define God.  An atheist can certainly reject the definition of an old, powerful guy sitting on a throne somewhere up in the sky zapping people at His will.  But if you define God like Martin Luther defined God, then there is another story.  You see, the founder of the Lutheran Church defined God as this in the Large Catechism: A god means that from which we are to expect all good and to which we are to take refuge in all distress, so that to have a God is nothing else than to trust and believe Him from the [whole] heart.  So, if we accept this definition of a god: something that we expect that will bring us all good; something that we expect will bring us all security; and something that we trust with our whole heart–it is safe to say that there is no such thing as an atheist.

Everyone has a god.  It just depends on what you put your ultimate trust in.  Do you think government will solve all the world’s problems and bring about lasting peace?  If you do, that’s your god.  If you believe that if you just had enough money, then all your worries would cease, then your god is money.  If you long for possessions: one more car; one more piece of land; one more electronic gadget, and you believe that these things will satisfy you, your god is possessions.  If you believe that if people just had the right kind of knowledge; if they just learned the appropriate things, then the world would be perfect; your god is knowledge and education.  If you believe that science holds the key to making the world a better place and ushering in safety and security for all, then your god is science.  I could go on and on and on because the possibilities of what can be a god are almost infinite.

So what makes our God different?  What makes Jesus different?  If I had more time, I would try to show how each and every false god makes extreme demands on us to the point that it will make us sacrifice ourselves to it.  In other words, we will never, ever satisfy our false gods.  For instance, if your god is knowledge and you believe that if we all just had enough knowledge, the world would be great.  Well, can we ever get enough knowledge?  Will we ever obtain enough education?  Can we force others to learn so that they will arrive at the place we are?  Already you can see that the answers to these questions is no.  We can never fulfill it, but knowledge drives us on. It demands that we learn more.  It demands that we teach more–even though others may not accept it.  Soon, we find ourselves down and defeated knowing that we have failed, but knowledge will not relent.  It will be ever more demanding.  If you look at every other false god, you will see this happening.

And so, now, let’s take a look at what happens when faith/trust is placed in Jesus.  And, I am using Jesus and God interchangeably here.  For the Christian, God is Jesus and Jesus is God.  Yes, Jesus demanding.  He lays this out unequivocally in His teaching.  He demands nothing less than our entire being.  He demands that we follow Him above all else and implement His teachings in perfection.  But what happens when we fail to do this?  What happens when we find ourselves crushed by His demands?  What happens when we find ourselves failing in front of our God?

Does our God demand more?  Does our God demand our death?  Does God demand that we use all of our might to right the ship or we will perish?  No.  Instead of these things, our God lays down His life for us.  Our God sacrifices Himself for us.  Our God loves us with an unimaginable love.  This is what Jesus does for us on the cross.  No other god will sacrifice itself for us; no other god will pay for our failure; only Jesus will do that.  This sets Jesus apart from every other god; every other religion.  This is why He and He alone is deserving of our faith; deserving of our trust.

Think of it this way; if someone is willing to give everything for you; if someone is willing to love you when you are unlovable; if someone has stuck with you through not only the best but also the absolute worst of what has happened, would you trust them?  Would you have faith in them?  Would you come to love them?  Of course you would.  So why put your trust in any other god?  Why look to all of those other things to put your faith in when they will not do the same for you?  Jesus has already done this.  It only makes sense to put our faith in him.

Which now brings us to point 3) Faith in Jesus leads to faith in one another.  A pastor was speaking to his parishioners on the relationship between fact and faith.  He said, “That you are sitting before me in this church is a fact.  That I’m standing here, speaking from this pulpit is a fact.  But to believe anyone is listening to me is pure faith!”

All jokes aside, this world really does a good job of getting us to doubt one another.  This world does a good job of sowing seeds of distrust among one another.  I mean, we do a good job of sowing seeds of distrust among each other.

A church choir director was going crazy at the rehearsals for a Christmas choral concert.  It seemed at least two or more members of the choir were absent from every rehearsal.  Finally, at the last rehearsal, she said, “I want to personally thank the pianist for being the only person in this entire church choir to attend each and every rehearsal during the past two months.”  Then the pianist stood up, bowed, and said, “It was the least I could do, considering I won’t be able to be at the concert tonight.”

It’s funny, but there is no denying the fact that we let one another down.  There is no denying that we fail to be the people we should be in relationships.  None of us are perfect, and we have a nasty habit of magnifying our imperfections.  We have a nasty habit of focusing on our shortcomings.  We are almost programmed to focus on the negative.

But faith helps offer a corrective–particularly the fruit of the Spirit.  Our faith, our trust, is in the one who laid down His life to forgive us.  Our faith, our trust is in the one who died for us even though we were and are imperfect.  Our faith, our trust is in the one who gave Himself up for us and sacrificed Himself for us.  And when we have experienced this kind of grace; when we have experienced this kind of love; when we know that someone died for us with all of our imperfections; we are slow to condemn others for their imperfections.  We are slow to condemn others for their shortcomings.  We are slow to condemn others for when they fall short of what we would like them to be.  In short, we are forgiving.

When the world seeks to sow the seeds of distrust and animosity; the church sets a different tone.  When the world excludes you because of a mistake or a slip of the tongue, the church accepts you.  When the world is harsh because of a mistake you make, the church is comforting.  When the world seeks to hone in on your weakness and bring you down, the church seeks to strengthen you and build you up.  This is only possible when we trust one another in our weakness.  This is only possible when we acknowledge our shortcomings; our failings; our frailty.  This is only possible when we in the church see perfection not as a requirement for membership but as an admirable goal we strive imperfectly toward.  In the church, we allow others to see our pain, our suffering, our vulnerability because we have faith that fellow church members will show us compassion, care, concern, and help us heal.

A father was about to cross the street with his son, and said to his son, “Son, hold my hand while we are crossing the street.”  His son replied, “No, dad, you hold my hand because I know if you hold my hand and something happens, you won’t let go.”

That is the type of faith and trust we have in each other.  We hold one another’s hand knowing that if something happens, we won’t let go.  We hold onto our brothers and our sisters because God held onto us.  I trust and have faith in you.  You trust and have faith in me.  The Spirit gives us that gift.  May we have it in abundance.  Amen.

From the Head to the Heart

 It is an undisputed fact that the majority of people in the United States believe in God or a higher power of some sorts.  I believe the last figures I saw were roughly in the area of 87-90 percent.  It’s really quite an astounding figure given the rapid advances in science and technology, and it is also quite interesting given that many scholars and pundits once believed that religious belief would eventually go the way of the dinosaur as science exerted itself as the true path to knowledge.  But belief in God hasn’t gone the way of the dinosaur partially because science has run into its own limitations and partially because, I think, there is a deep seeded desire in humanity to long for our creator.  One of these is provable; the other, not so much, but I will say that I am not the only person who thinks we have an innate longing for God.  Folks who are much smarter than I have said as much.

 But regardless of the why, there is the definite fact that most people believe in God; however, not everyone adheres to a religious belief.  Not everyone belongs to a particular religion.  Not everyone attends worship.  Oftentimes a person’s faith remains highly individualistic and very private.  Face it, when we walk around society, for the most part you cannot tell the difference between someone who believes and someone who doesn’t believe.

 The reason for this, I think, is that we have defined faith as something we simply believe.  It is a certain type of knowledge.  I can intellectually come to the understanding that there is a God, but if that thought simply stays in my head, then it oftentimes doesn’t make much of a difference in my life.  Recently, I have had several talks with a man who has struggled with whether or not God exists.  After a couple of talks and presenting him with a book that I have found helpful, he agreed that the preponderance of the evidence points toward the existence of God.  However, he told me bluntly, “It hasn’t seemed to make much of a difference in my life.” 

 I responded, “That’s because it’s all up in your head.  It hasn’t gotten down into your heart yet.”
 He then asked, “How does that happen?”

 And that, my friends, is the ultimate question, isn’t it?  That, my friends, is the difference between people who simply believe in God and people who actively worship God and live for God.  For the two of these are not the same.  One sees faith as an intellectual assertion and the other sees faith as a lived out relationship, and one of these is much, much more prevalent than the other.  One of these is intellectual, and the other is transformational.  So, how does one move from intellect to true transformation?  I think our lesson from the book of Mark this morning gives us some insight.

 This short snippet is actually jam packed with lessons of who Jesus is; what He is here to do; and the nature of what truly is transformative.  It begins with the gospel writer telling us that Jesus has returned home to Capernaum.  He is in a house, and the majority of the commentators I consulted believe this is Peter or Andrew’s house.  Jesus has been preaching around the countryside, and is looking to rest.  However, his message has proved popular, and soon a large crowd gathers around the house to hear Jesus proclaim the Word.

 While most of us might think it impressive that Jesus draws such a large number of people, the crowd actually becomes a hindrance in this case.  In fact, throughout the book of Mark, the crowd almost universally is a barrier to people trying to find healing from the Master.  Mark Edwards picks up on this in his commentary with these brilliant words, “Being part of the crowd around Jesus is not the same as being a disciple of Jesus.  The crowd stands and observes; disciples must commit themselves to action...”  In this particular instance, the four men carrying their friend are acting as disciples, for they take drastic action to get their friend to Jesus.  They climb up on the roof of the house and dig a hole through the roof.

 Walter Wessel describes the house in this way, “In order to understand the action these verses describe, it is necessary to visualize the layout of a typical Palestinian peasant’s house.  It was usually a small one-room structure with a flat roof.  Access to the roof was by means of an outside stairway.  The roof itself was usually made of wooden beams with thatch and compacted earth in order to shed the rain.  Sometimes tiles were laid between the beams and the thatch and earth placed over them.”

 So, these four men, carry their friend to the roof, remove the tiles, dig through the thatch and dirt, and make a way for their friend.  They will stop at nothing to get their friend to Jesus.  And there is no way possible that Jesus didn’t notice this.  It is highly probable that dirt rained down upon His head as these men tore through the roof.  He was showered with dirt and debris, and then the paralytic is lowered down and laid at his feet.  Mark tells us that Jesus first observed the faith of these men. 

Now, before we get into what Jesus does next, let me make the clear distinction of what faith means here.  Faith is not an intellectual belief.  It is much more than that.  Faith here is something that compels action.  It is something down deep within these men.  It is something which leads them to place their ultimate trust, not in themselves; not in the scribes or the chief priests; not in doctors or healers; but in Jesus.

 Again, Mark Edwards cuts through our feeble notions of intellectual faith when he writes the following, “If an opening to Jesus cannot be found, one must be made.  That is a description of faith: it will remove any obstacle–even a roof if necessary–to get to Jesus.  The first mention of faith in (the book of) Mark significantly links it with acting rather than with knowing or feeling.  We know nothing of the beliefs of the four friends of the paralytic except that they take action, including circumventing crowds and removing roofs to ensure their charge is brought to Jesus.  Faith is first and foremost not knowledge about Jesus but active trust that Jesus is sufficient for one’s deepest and most heartfelt needs.”

 Faith is first and foremost not knowledge about Jesus but active trust that Jesus is sufficient for one’s deepest and most heartfelt needs.

 Again, this ties directly to the remarks I made at the beginning of this sermon–this marks the difference between someone who believes there is a God and those who deeply trust God and walk with a true transformation in their lives.  For oftentimes, those who believe in God do not put their trust in Him.  It is human nature to trust in things that we can see and control.  It is human nature to trust ourselves to achieve what we want and desire.  We trust our knowledge, our checkbooks, our ability to work, our looks, our government, our doctors, our lawyers, our gender, our sexuality, our ethnicity, our heritage, in money, in possessions, in the church, in people, in science, in technology, and in a whole host of other things.  But true faith recognizes these things as barriers.  They actually prevent us from living our lives in radical trust in God.  And the reason we seem to lack peace and assurance in our lives is that all of these other things we put our trust into will let us down.  None of these things can fully satisfy us.  None of these things is perfect.  None of these things can ultimately be sufficient for our deepest and most heartfelt needs.  So, again that begs the question: how can we move from depending upon ourselves; from depending on all those other things to a radical dependence upon God?  Let’s continue with the story.

 When Jesus sees the paralytic laying at His feet, He does something rather odd.  He does NOT say, “Friend, I have compassion for you.  Get up and walk.”  No.  Those aren’t the first words out of Jesus’ mouth.  Instead, Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven.”  Why would Jesus say this?  It doesn’t seem like the man needs forgiveness.  It seems like he needs healing.  Why not jump straight to the healing? 

 I think it has something to do with the reaction of the scribes.  Immediately after Jesus pronounces forgiveness, the scribes get angry.  They say, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?  This is blasphemy.”

 The reason the scribes say this is because of the thread that runs strongly through the Old Testament; a thread that said: the reason a person becomes sick, paralyzed, or has anything bad happen to them is a result of that person’s sin.  So, if a person did something wrong–broke a commandment, failed to offer a sacrifice, or what have you–then God would strike them with a malady.  God would put that person under His curse.  Because of this view, the scribes believed that the paralyzed man was under God’s curse.  They believed he was suffering as a consequence of his sin.  No man could remove that curse.  No man could bring that kind of forgiveness.  Only God could.  Jesus is putting Himself as God’s spoke’s person, and that was completely and utterly disrespectful for a man to do.

 But Jesus knew the hearts of the scribes, and He knew this was a teachable moment.  Jesus turns to the scribes and asks, “Which is easier: to say your sins are forgiven or rise, take up your mat and walk?”  In reality the easiest thing to say was, “Your sins are forgiven.”  This actually could not be verified immediately.  No one could tell if God had indeed forgiven a person’s sin, so it was easy to say but hard to verify.  On the other hand, to say, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk,” was to take a troublesome risk.  If you were to say this, it could not easily be verified.  If you were to say this and the person were not able to walk, then you would revealed as a fraud.  You would be shown to have no blessing or authorization of God.  And in reality, neither of these things are easy at all.  Both of these things are impossible for humans.  But both are quite easy for God.

 Jesus brings this straight forward to the crowd when He then says, “But so that you will know that the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins on earth,” turning toward the paralytic, “I say to you, rise, take up your mat and go home.”  And the man did.  Jesus shows that He indeed has both the power of forgiveness and the power to heal.  And everyone went away praising God and saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

 Now, what hadn’t the crowd seen before?  What cause them to rejoice so much?  From their perspective, they had never seen a man remove God’s curse from one who was afflicted.  They had never seen a man remove God’s punishment from someone who had sinned.  Such a thing was unheard of.  Jesus became the one who forgave, cured, and restored to wholeness.

 Let me quote William Lane here, “It was not [and is not] God’s intention that man should live with the pressure of death upon him.  Sickness, disease and death are the consequence of the sinful condition of all men.  Consequently every healing is a driving back of death and an invasion of the providence of sin.  That is why it is appropriate for Jesus to proclaim the remission of sins....Jesus’ pronouncement of pardon is the recognition that man can be genuinely whole only when the breach occasioned by sin has been healed through God’s forgiveness of sins.”

 Only can we be truly whole when the breach occasioned by sin has been healed through God’s forgiveness of sins.  We will not find wholeness; we will not find peace; we will not find fulfillment until we understand how we have been forgiven of our sins.  Our trust of God will not become a heart thing until we understand what Christ has done in removing the curse of sin through the cross.  And this is not something we can accomplish on our own.

 The paralytic could not come to Jesus on his own.  His friends had to take him, but his friends could only get him so far.  They could not heal his paralyzed legs.  They could not forgive his sins.  They could not restore his relationship with God or with his body.  Only Jesus could.  Only Jesus could make that happen, and they trusted Jesus to accomplish that.  They did not trust themselves.  And Jesus made it happen.  Jesus removed the curse of sin and restored the paralytic to wholeness–body and soul.  It was an act of sheer grace.  What could not be accomplished by themselves; what could not be accomplished by any human being was accomplished by God and God alone. 

 Faith moves from being a head thing–an intellectual process–to a heart thing, to transformation when we put our trust in what Jesus has done and not what we do.  It’s when we drive through anything and everything that seeks to keep us from Him.  It’s when we acknowledge our sinfulness, our need for forgiveness, our need to be made whole that God will move us from our head into our heart–will show us the true level of His mercy–the true level of His love.  When in our brokenness, we are laid at the feet of Jesus; when we hear Him say, “Your sins are forgiven.”; when we hear Him say, “Be made whole”; when we experience this sheer grace even before uttering a single word, this changes the way we look at the world; it changes our hearts; it changes our minds; it changes our actions. 

 Christianity says: your life will not be changed until you can begin to grasp the mystery of grace–the mystery of being loved while broken–the mystery of being loved when you don’t deserve it–the mystery of being forgiven by the God who 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 you but to save you.  Amen.

What Can Be Taken Away From Someone Who Has Nothing?

    Well, today we have a very interesting parable before us.  For nearly a year, I have been laser focused on the Gospel: the early proclamation of the earliest disciples and the early church which said, “You have been saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus.  You did nothing to accomplish this.  It was done for you by Jesus as He satisfied the wrath of God by facing it on the cross.”  I have repeatedly inserted John 3:16-17 in every sermon since last November, and now we have before us a parable which seems to indicate the Gospel is not enough.

    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 might be saved through Him.  (That’s the Gospel.)  And God bestows upon His people immeasurable gifts, but if they do not use those gifts, then they will be cast into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!  Or so the Parable of the Talents seems to indicate.  This teaching of Jesus has been used ad nauseum as a stewardship text for as long as I can remember.  I have used it as a stewardship text.  I’ve also used it as a text to promote risk taking in our daily lives and as a congregation.  Maybe I was wrong.  Because if this text is about stewardship and a failure to use our gifts as we should; and if this text indicates our salvation is dependent upon how we use the gifts given to us by God, then we are all in a lot of trouble.  None of us use our gifts as we should.  None of us.  Furthermore, if indeed this text indicates that our judgement will be based upon the use of our gifts, then why does Matthew even bother to head to the cross?  Every other world religion and philosophy judges a person based upon his or her works.  Is Christianity just like every other religion after all? 

    Hardly.  In fact, as I studied this parable this week and listened to numerous sermons and consulted several commentaries, there were some things that started jumping out at me–things that I had never considered before or tried to reconcile.  Why?  Well, because I was stuck in dealing with the interpretations I had been hearing all my life.  I was stuck in hearing all the chatter about what we were supposed to do as Christians.  I was stuck in hearing this parable as a commentary about what we were supposed to do instead of leading us and pointing us to what God has already done.  And so, this morning, I would like to share with you some of the insights I came upon as I studied this parable.  I’d like to perhaps help you see it in a different light, and then take us to its application–all the while being faithful to the certainty that Christianity is not primarily focused on what we do, but on what God has already done through Jesus Christ.

    And so we turn to this parable.  It begins innocently enough.  A very, very wealthy man decides to go on a journey, and he summons his slaves.  He entrusts his property to his slaves according to each slave’s ability. 

    Let’s stop here for just a moment.  Let’s make sure we understand a few important details.  First, the men the man summoned are slaves.  They are not servants.  They are not hired help.  In the ancient world, slavery was an acceptable practice, and oftentimes a person sold himself into slavery.  Why?  Well, there was no such thing as bankruptcy protection in those days.  If you found yourself deep in debt, you had to come up with the money somehow.  To pay off the debt, you would sell yourself into slavery and gradually work your way out of debt.  Slavery was not a life-long proposition, but it was a tool to pay off one’s debt.  Slaves were also appropriated in military conquest.  They also had the capability to work toward their freedom in such cases, and it is important to note that ethnicity was not a governing factor in such slavery.  There were slaves taken from all over the world, of every tribe and color.  So, at this point, do not associate the kind of slavery in this parable with the kind of slavery that happened in the history of our nation.  They were two different things.

    And yet, these men were still slaves.  They were indebted to and completely dependent upon the master.  He governed their lives and had control over them.  As such, as slaves, they had nothing.  Let that sink in a moment.  The master allowed them to use his property, but the slaves had nothing themselves.   Even in this story, the talents which are given to the slaves are not the property of the slaves!  They are the property of the master!  Are we clear so far?  I hope so.

    Each slave is gifted differently.  They have differing ability, so the master entrusts his wealth according to the slaves’ ability.  To one the master gives five talents.  To another two.  And to the last, one.  The master is shrewd in his dealing, minimizing his risk. 

    However, the master is still risking a lot!  A talent was a measure of weight.  The talent could be silver or gold, and it was worth 15 year’s wages.  You mathematical types are probably already calculating.  If it were silver, you are talking about a million dollars.  If you are talking about gold, you are talking about a whole lot more.  So, in effect, the master is entrusting these three slaves with millions upon millions of dollars, and then he walks away.  He leaves. 

    The next part of the parable is straight forward.  Two of the slaves go out and begin working with their master’s money.  They invest it.  They trade with it.  They put it to work, and each doubles what he was entrusted with.  The third slave goes, digs a hole in the ground, and buries the talent.

    Now, before we deal with the master’s return, let’s talk about how reasonable it was for the third guy to bury the money in a hole.  The guy is obviously playing it safe–some might argue too safe.  In our day and age we would argue that at least he should have put it in the bank, maybe in a CD and accumulated a bit of interest.  We will see that the master even makes this argument later.  However, we need to remember that during this time in history, there was no such thing as the FDIC.  There were no checks and balances on banks.  Investing in them was no certainty of keeping one’s money safe.  The banks invested in caravans and other such things which could be wiped out, and then one’s money would be gone.  Those who wanted to retain their money–wanted to keep it safe–did exactly what this third slave did: they buried it.  It was the only way to ensure that one’s money would not be lost.  So, the guy is simply doing what every other very wealthy person would do–keep things safe.

    Now, after a long time, the master returns.  He comes to settle accounts.  He calls the first slave, and the slave says, “Master, you gave me five talents.  I’ve earned five more.  You now have ten talents.”

    The master is overjoyed.  He says, “Well done good and faithful slave.  You have been trustworthy in a few things.  I will put you over many things.  Enter into the joy of your master.”

    Let’s stop here for just a moment because in a sermon by D.A. Carson, I heard something I had never considered.  Listen to what the master says again, “You have been trustworthy in a few things...”  A few things?  This slave was given millions of dollars!!!  A few things???  The master considers millions upon millions of dollars a few things!!!  This speaks perhaps both to the wealth of the master AND the master’s view of money.  Millions of dollars are considered small fry to him.  Think about that.  Secondly, D.A. Carson points out, the idea of a master inviting a slave to enter into his joy is unreal.  A slave’s purpose is not to share in the joy of his or her master.  A slave’s purpose is to serve the master.  Period.  The slave is responsible for bringing his or her master joy, not entering into it.  This says something rather profound about the master as well.  This master is generous enough to bring a slave up to his level of joy.  Quite an astonishing thing, don’t you think?

    And the master doesn’t just do this to the one slave.  He also does it for the second slave who accomplished the feat of doubling the master’s initial entrustment.  “Well done good and faithful slave.  You have been trustworthy in a few things.  I will put you in charge of many things.  Enter into the joy of your master.”

    Now, the third slave comes forward.  The exchange is quite different: “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” 26But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

    I want to approach this snippet a little differently.  We see what the slave says, and we see the master’s reaction.  Everything seems to hinge upon what the slave has done, but I want to look at this carefully.  I want you to look at it carefully and begin asking the question that I asked myself as I read this.  What can be taken away from a slave who has nothing?  “For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

    Interestingly enough, as I listened to another sermon, it was pointed out that this is not the first time Matthew has used this particular phrase.  Matthew also used this phrase in chapter 13.  I had to look it up.

    Matthew 13 actually begins with the parable of the sower.  The parable where the sower casts seed all over the place.  It falls on rocky ground.  It falls among weeds.  It falls among the path.  It falls upon the good soil.  Only the good soil produces fruit.  After Jesus tells the parable, the disciples ask, “Why do you speak in parables?”  Jesus says, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” 

    Let’s come back to the parable of the talents.  Remember the slave’s initial response?  “I knew you were a harsh man reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter seed.”  We are told that the seed in the parable of the sower is the word of the kingdom of God.  Is God the only one who sows that seed?  Is Jesus the only sower of the Word?  No.  Absolutely not.  Yet, is God the only one who reaps?  Is Jesus the one who comes and gathers the fruit?  Absolutely.  Do you see the connection?

    And what is given?  The secrets to the kingdom of heaven.  What is the secret to the kingdom of heaven?  Well, if we understand the Gospel, we know that the secret of heaven is that Jesus has come into the world as the Messiah to reconcile the world unto God.  We know that Jesus has come to be the spotless lamb of God to be the perfect sacrifice of atonement satisfying the wrath of God because we could not do this.  Jesus’ action has revealed to us that we are now free to respond to the acts of God without fear of punishment.  We do not have to act out of our own self interest to please an angry God.  We are free to seek the will of God instead of trying to save our own skin.  This is the reality of the Gospel.  This is why God sent Jesus into the world.  For God so loved the world...

    But what about that slave?  Whose interest was he seeking?  “I knew you were a harsh man...so I was afraid.  I hid your talent.  What you have is yours.”  The slave was afraid.  Afraid of what?  The master’s wrath.  The master’s anger.  The slave didn’t want to endure it.  He didn’t want to face it.  He played it safe because he was seeking his own self interest!  He didn’t care about the master; he cared only for himself!  He was trying to save his own skin.

    And what was the master’s response?  Well, he wasn’t happy about it at all.  Which leads us to that final question: what can be taken away from someone who has nothing?  Obviously, the slave has nothing–nothing in the way of material possessions, but he does have something even more precious.  He has a relationship with the master.  The master who provides for him; who feeds him; who shelters him.  Because of his self-interest and his self-centeredness, the master takes even this away from him and casts him out into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

    I have said before in sermons that hell is separation from God, and the way we end up in hell is not by doing all the wrong things, but by seeking something other than God.  When our hearts are captured by our own self interests and our desire to save ourselves, then God will allow us to seek that from eternity.  We will end up separated from Him, and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  But if our hearts are captured by the Gospel–when we know that salvation has already been accomplished on our behalf, our hearts are changed.  We are freed from our self interest in trying to satisfy God; we are freed from fear; and we are captured by the desire to seek the master’s goodness and expand the master’s kingdom instead of our own.  Indeed, this parable takes us right to this place–it takes us squarely to the foot of the cross where we can look upon what Jesus did; lose our fear; and then act with reckless abandon as we too seek to expand the Master’s kingdom by spreading His word.   Amen.

In Defense of Revelation

There really shouldn't be a battle between science and religion. 

But there is in some circles, and one of the major sticking points is the understanding of how knowledge is acquired.  Science uses the scientific method to obtain knowledge, and it is a very, very useful tool.  Religion claims another type of knowledge: revelation. 

Some scientists are not too keen on revelatory knowledge (see Dawkins, Richard or watch a few videos of Hitchens, Christopher).  They see this kind of knowledge as inferior. 

I would personally argue revelatory knowledge is inferior within the scientific process as well; however, I would argue scientific knowledge (as obtained by the scientific method) is inferior in the relational process.   In relationships, we depend upon revelatory knowledge. 

For instance, I challenge anyone who believes revelatory knowledge to be inferior to push their logic to the extreme.  In their personal relationships--with spouse or partner; friends or family--they can only deem credible the knowledge they have obtained in studying someone else.  They can only consider knowledge credible which has been verified, measured, and replicated. 

How intimate do you think your relationship will be?

Short answer: it will not be intimate at all.  You will never, ever fully come to know another person unless that person reveals himself or herself to you.  You will only get a surface analysis, but you will not know exactly what that person thinks or believes.  You will not begin to know the thought processes which make that person make the choices he or she does.  You cannot know those things unless that person tells/reveals those things to you.

For instance, during college, I ate an unusual amount of Ramen Noodle Soup.  Externally, one might look at me eating the fare multiple times and come to the conclusion that I loved to eat this food; that I considered it a delicacy; and that it was very satisfying.  They could be correct.  Another might look and consider that as a college student, I didn't have a lot of money, Ramen was cheap, and so I ate it often because I could get nourishment for a small price.  They could be correct as well.  Another might look at me eating Ramen and think I was addicted to said soups and needed to consistently eat them in order to function.  They could be correct as well.  Not bothering to ask me, each person could come to this conclusion based upon the observable data.  Each could argue their positions.  Each could claim to be correct based upon their observations (and their assumptions). 

But if I do not reveal myself to them and my own processes, then they could all be wrong.

For the record, I ate lots of Ramen because it was cheap AND I liked the taste, and you would not know this unless I told you.  Even in a virtual relationship, you can only get to know me if I reveal things to you.  In a very real way, scientific knowledge when applied to relationships is inferior.

Which means, if there is a God (I personally believe the evidence points us toward that conclusion), then, if that God is a personal God, then that God would have to reveal Himself to us in some way, shape or form.  God would have to communicate with us in some sort of fashion which revealed to us His nature; His thought processes; His self. 

Such knowledge would in no way be inferior.  Not in the least.

Heroes with Clay Feet

  

 Do you remember the first time you discovered one of your heroes had clay feet?

    It’s a bit of a disturbing thing for many of us.  I mean, I think there is a part of us which constantly looks for another person to look up to and admire.  I think there is a part of us which seeks out examples and role models.  There is a part of us that desperately wants to see and know a real, life, flesh and blood person who has it all together; who is successful in all endeavors; and who lives up to the expectations we have within us for a hero.  I think everyone holds out hope to find such a person in life.

    Oftentimes, we find someone who seems to have all these qualities.  We latch onto that person.  We hang on their every word.  We follow their every action.  We start imitating the way they talk; the way they think; and the way they act.  If they are famous, we may buy their books; watch their television shows; or attend lectures or gatherings where they are in attendance.  We quote them in our conversations.  We strive to be just like them.

    And then we find out, they are only human.

    How many of you remember Michael Jordan?  If you grew up in the ‘80's and ‘90's and were a basketball fan, you know exactly who I am talking about.  Jordan was simply an amazing player.  Some would argue–and I personally think they are right–that he was the best basketball player to have played the game thus far.  He won numerous MVP awards and championships.  Advertisers cashed in on Michael Jordan.  Nike especially.  McDonald’s was another.  Gatorade was another.  Gatorade even had a slogan, “Be Like Mike.” 

    Oh and how many of us tried to be like Mike.  We wore long shorts.  We wore wrist bands in the same fashion.  We walked with a swagger.  We tried incomprehensible basketball shots.  We tried to air walk and make difficult moves as we flew through the air. 

    Of course, we failed, but that was minor.  We had a hero who almost seemed superhuman when he took to the basketball court.  If you want to know Jordan’s influence, know that nearly all my friends who were born and raised in Texas rooted for the Chicago Bulls without reservation or thought of the Spurs, Rockets, or Mavericks.  Jordan captivated us. 

    But as time passed, we found out even Michael Jordan had limits.  He retired three times.  He came back to play twice.  Does anyone remember when he came back and played for the Washington Wizards?  I do.  It was a miserable thing to watch.  Michael Jordan had grown old.  He no longer had many of his abilities.  Kids who never saw him play with the Chicago Bulls wondered what the fascination was with this old player who could no longer dominate games like he once did. 

    And then, there was Jordan’s attempt at team ownership and general managing.  Those were abject failures.  While Jordan the player was awesome; Jordan the general manager, owner, and even coach were awful.  Success in one area did not guarantee a golden touch in all other areas.  No one I know wanted to be like Mike once he became old and left the court for good.  He was only human after all–much to the chagrin of many who truly admired the man.

    Examples of this abound.  They abound everywhere.  Everyone has a skeleton or two in the closet.  Everyone has something in their lives that can be used against them in one fashion or another.  There have even been books written about Mother Teresa criticizing her for some of the decisions she made in caring for the poor and needy.  More than a few pastors and televangelists have been brought to their knees by scandal–monetarily and sexually.  Politicians are rocked by scandals on almost a weekly basis now.  And people who put their trust in these individuals find themselves disappointed and upset that their heroes are imperfect and not completely trustworthy.

    Sometimes, it shocks us.  And it really shouldn’t.

    I mean, I’m a pastor.  For as long as I can remember, I have learned, taught, and preached that we are all both saint and sinner.  We have both good and bad within us.  I know this cognitively, but there is still a part of me that longs to find someone to completely trust.  And I thought I had found someone I really admired in Timothy Keller.  I’ve quoted him a lot in sermons and in other places, and I will still quote him by the way.  But I couldn’t help but feel a bit of disappointment the other day when I was trying to find some sermons he preached.  I went to his congregation’s website.  I clicked on the links to find sermons and found that they were being sold for $5 a pop.  Five bucks for a sermon!!  Five bucks for what was preached as an exposition on God’s Word?  What happened to St. Paul’s statement, “I proclaimed the Gospel freely!”?  I was disappointed.  But I shouldn’t have been.  Everyone has clay feet.  Everyone.

    Of course, this is hard for us to admit.  It’s hard for us to look in the mirror and say, “Self, you are broken.  You don’t live like you should.  You don’t care for others like you should.”  We don’t like telling ourselves such things.  In fact, usually, we’d like to think we have it all together and that it is the other person out there who has the problem.  We are just fine the way we are.  We are good enough.  Sure, we might make a mistake here and there, but we are basically good.  We are basically upright.  We are basically okay.  Not like those people out there.

    Jesus had a word or two to say about such folks in our Gospel lesson today from the book of Matthew.  He says, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.”

    This is an interesting statement here.  Some have commented that Jesus is being sarcastic, but I don’t think so.  I think Jesus is serious in what He tells His followers.  Why?  Because the scribes and Pharisees are teaching the Law of Moses, which, of course, was given by God.  We are supposed to follow and do what God tells us to do.  When someone tells us to follow God’s laws and instructions, we should listen.  So, what is the problem and why does Jesus say, “But don’t do as they do?”

    Let me put it in this fashion.  Let’s say I get up on Sunday morning and I tell you, “We must love God with all our hearts and souls and minds, and we must love our neighbor as ourselves.”  And I preached a long sermon about such matters with all kinds of illustrations and arguments which urged you to do such matters.  You and I hopefully know Jesus said that all the commands of God are summed up in these two commandments.  They are Jesus’ instructions to all of us.  Of course, we are all supposed to do these things.  We are supposed to live them out.  This is why Jesus says, “Do what they tell you to do.” 

    But this is the problem.  Number one, no one fully loves God with all their heart and soul and mind and strength, and no one fully loves their neighbor as they love themselves.  No one.  Period.  You can try to argue with me on this one, but I think I could convince you in a matter of moments that none of us can implement this teaching at all.  We may not like hearing that, but it is true.  The second part of the problem would be this.  Let’s pretend, at the moment, that after preaching that sermon, I actually believed I was doing it.  Let’s pretend that Pastor Haug thought in his mind that he actually loved the Lord with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength and that he loved his neighbor as himself.  Let’s pretend for a moment that this gave Pastor Haug a deep sense of satisfaction that he could actually accomplish this faith thing, and because he believed he could accomplish this faith thing, he felt like people should look up to him.  He felt like people should honor his work.  He felt like people should admire him and do things for him because he was so good at following God’s commands.  Let’s pretend that Pastor Haug started wearing a very big cross around his neck and walking with his chest puffed out.  Let’s pretend he started wearing shirts saying, “Want to follow Jesus?  Just ask me how.”  Let’s pretend he tried to tell everyone at every moment what they could do better to be a better Christian and to improve their own lots in life as if he were some sort of expert in being a super-Christian.  What would you think of Pastor Haug?

    Some of you may be saying, “And in what way is this different than the way you really are?”  Duly noted. 

    You probably wouldn’t like Pastor Haug very much.  You would probably think he was an arrogant you-know-what.  You probably wouldn’t have much nice to say about him because there are very few who truly admire someone who is self-righteous.  Very few.  And those who do usually admire them until something happens which exposes them in their hypocrisy.  

    “Do what they teach you, (about following the commands of God),” Jesus says, but don’t do what they do.”  What are the Pharisees and scribes doing?  Exactly what our hopefully hypothetical Pastor Haug is doing.  They are being self-righteous.  Listen to what Jesus says they are doing, and this comes across plain as day.  “4They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. 5They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. 6They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, 7and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have people call them rabbi.”  All of these things smack of self-righteousness.  All of these things smack of people who have inflated thoughts of themselves.  And when someone is so full of themselves, they have no room for God.  They do not believe they need God.  And so, they break the first and most important commandment–even though they think they are following it.

    Now, listen as Jesus wraps this little segment up.  He says, “8But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. 9And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. 11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted. “

    Let’s unpack this because I think it’s crucial.  Who does Jesus want us to focus on?  In these three statements, where does Jesus want each and every one of us to place our trust, our hope, and our view of a role model?  “You have one teacher...You have one Father–the one in heaven...You have one instructor, the Messiah.”  Jesus wants us to focus on God the Father, and on Him as the Messiah.  He wants us to look up to them and them alone.  No one else.  Why?

    Here’s why.  Every single role model you choose; every single instructor you view as great and fantastic; every single father figure you look to on this earth will let you down.  That is simply the reality.  Every single hero; every single pastor; every single professional athlete; every single parent; every single teacher; every single astronaut and politician and police officer and the list goes on will let you down.  They are not perfect.  They are not blameless.  They are not free from selfish motivation.  They will do something or say something which will hurt you.

    Not only this, if you allow yourself to have everyone look up to you and think you are an awesome role model, you will eventually become self-righteous, and you will let down others.  It’s a horrible, double edged sword.

    Not only will you be disappointed in others, others will become disappointed in you.  Why?  Because they cannot be perfect; and neither can you.  They cannot live up to your standards, and you can’t live up to someone else’s.

    There’s only One who can.  There’s only One who can live up to the standards of perfection and serve as the perfect role model.  There is only One who, when you point the way to Him will not disappoint others.  His name is Jesus.

    For it is in Jesus that we find the cure for self-righteousness.  It is in Jesus that we find the perfect role model.  It is in Jesus that we find humility and the strength to try to do what we should do even though we stumble and fall time and again.

    How does Jesus do this?  How does Jesus keep us from becoming self-righteous?  By dying for us.  By giving us salvation when we didn’t deserve it.  By granting us grace when we had clay feet.

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him will 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 save through Him. 

    When you realize your salvation did not come from anything you did–from your own ability to please God and love your neighbor and follow all the rules; when you realize your salvation was given to you precisely when you were not pleasing God and loving your neighbor; you can’t get a big head.  You can’t become arrogant.  You can’t walk around looking down your nose at others–like the Pharisees and scribes.  You are humbled.  You realize you have clay feet and are not worthy of what Jesus did for you.  But you also do not become self defacing.  You don’t feel like a horrible piece of dirt because you were valuable enough that Jesus died for you.  You realize you are indebted to Him for what He has done for you, and so you seek to follow Him; to learn about Him; to have Him instruct you and show you how to live in this world.  You realize He places upon you a burden, but He does more than lift a finger to help you with it.  He willingly dies to lift it.  He does not wear any special garments, He hangs on a cross.  He does not demand to sit at the head of the banquet; He invites you to come and dine with Him. 

    And when you realize this about Jesus, you are filled with thankfulness and joy.  You are filled with satisfaction.  Deep within, you know the sinner you are is transformed into a saint by what Jesus has done.  And you become a role model–not in pointing to what you do, but what God has done.  And this precisely one of the main reasons we celebrate All Saint’s Sunday.  We remember those who have gone before who also pointed to Jesus.  Amen.

The Importance of Reformation Sunday

  

 Why is Reformation Day so important?

    C.S. Lewis, in his appendix to the book The Abolition of Man showed how nearly every single culture in the world; every single philosophy; every single world religion espoused one particular axiom.  In effect, C.S. Lewis showed that the axiom “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” is a universal truth and teaching found in every culture and teaching.  That’s a rather astounding thing considering how diverse cultures are throughout the world.  It’s rather astounding since they all begin with different assumptions about how the world works and how it came into being.  It’s rather astounding that as varied and as different as we are as human beings, there is one universal thing we all claim to grasp and understand.  We should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. 

    But there is an interesting corollary to this universal axiom.  It’s a corollary that is not usually talked about in various academic circles.  Because if the axiom “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” is indeed a universal teaching, the corollary which follows is, no one does it.  No one does to others what we would like them to do unto us. 

    Think about it.  Think about it really hard, and think about it honestly.  How many of us are as patient with others as we would like them to be patient with us?  How many of us as are considerate of others as we would like them to be considerate of us?  How many of us are forgiving of others as we would like them to be forgiving of us?  How many of us truly talk as kindly of others as we would like them to talk kindly of us?  How many of us are as generous to others as we would like them to be generous to us?  And the list goes on and on and on.  If we are honest with ourselves, we do not even come close to following this universal axiom.

    And if we are honest with ourselves, we know we have no excuses.  We know what we should do.  We know how we should act.  But we don’t do it.  Either because we can’t or because we won’t.

    St. Paul knew this.  He knew it well, and so he penned these words from the third chapter of the book of Romans, “Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.  For ‘no human being will be justified in his sight’ by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.”

    What is Paul saying?  He’s saying exactly what I just said about doing unto others.  We know we should, but we know we don’t.  And when we are honest with ourselves, we are silenced.  We know we have no room to talk.  We know we have no room to tell anyone else to shape up because we are out of shape.  We know we have no room to condemn anyone else for failing to follow the teaching because we don’t follow it ourselves.  Our mouth’s are silenced.  And if this axiom comes from God–which most folks believe it does, then we must be held accountable to God because we have broken His command.

    And here’s where things begin to get a little interesting.  Because here is where Christianity begins to make a clean break with the rest of the world.  Every other philosophy and every other religion’s answer to accountability is thus, “Try harder.”  Yep, you heard right.  If you aren’t doing such a good job of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, try harder.  Work harder.  Try to be a better person.  Satisfy God and justify yourself by following that command. 

    And why shouldn’t that be the answer?  I mean, that is what we are taught from the time we are infants and throughout adulthood.  When you are starting to walk and you fall down, parents say, “Get up and try it again.  Sooner or later, you will get it!”  When our kids have trouble in school learning math or reading or writing, we say, “Practice, work harder.  You will get it!”  When we start working at a job and not doing so well at it, our supervisor (if he or she is patient) says, “Keep after it.  You will figure it out before too long.”  Over and over and over, we get told this.  Over and over and over, we implement it.  Sometimes we are successful, and oftentimes we get the idea in our heads that if we simply just keep trying; if we just keep after it long enough; things will come together and we can accomplish anything!  Nothing can ever hold us back!  And where does that lead us if we truly have this mindset?  Where does this lead us in regards to others who struggle and have a hard time?   Do we become patient with them?  Do we become understanding with them?  Do we offer them positive encouragement over and over and over?  Maybe some of the time, but certainly not always.  For it is far too easy to become contemptuous and angry at those who don’t seem to get it as quickly as ourselves.  It is far too easy to become self-righteous and say, “I was able to do it; they should be able to do it too.”  And we look down our nose at others.  Do unto others...do you like it when others look down their nose at you?  Of course not.  Very few do.  But this is inevitably where “try harder” gets you.  It gets you right back to breaking the command–the very place you tried to get away from to begin with.

    Christianity is different; however.  Christianity offers a different path.  Instead of try harder, Paul lays out the alternative:
 
    “For ‘no human being will be justified in his sight’ by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.”  Following the law doesn’t justify us.  It only leads to despair or self-righteousness.  It cannot break us out of the cycle.  It can only show us what we have done wrong.  I wouldn’t know I was breaking the speed limit unless I saw the speed limit sign.  Because there is a sign, I know I am breaking the law!  Slowing down doesn’t justify me from having broken the law in the first place!!  So what does?  What does justify me?  What makes things right?

     “21 But now, irrespective of law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith.”  The answer Paul gives is, “It’s not your actions.  It’s Jesus’ actions.”  By breaking the command of God, you have earned His punishment.  You have earned His anger and His wrath.  You must pay the price for doing what you know to be wrong.  God cannot allow such breaking of the command to go unpunished because then God would not be just.  But instead of you facing the punishment; instead of you facing God’s wrath, Jesus–the God made flesh–stepped in on your behalf.  Jesus, offered Himself to die and endure the wrath of God upon the cross so that you wouldn’t have to.  This is the sacrifice of atonement Paul spoke of.  He took your place.  He took the punishment which you were destined for.  You couldn’t do unto others; Jesus did.

    In some ways this doesn’t make sense to our way of thinking.  If you commit the crime, you should be held accountable.  If you do the wrong, you should face the punishment.  If you break the law, you should face justice.  On one level, we know this very, very well.  But let me put it to you another way–a way I think you may grasp very easily.  Most of us who are parents have a rule for our children: don’t play in the street!  It’s a pretty hard and fast rule for many of us.  Now, what parent who sees his child playing in the street with a car approaching would allow the car to run over the child because, after all, the child broke the rule and deserves what he or she gets?  What parent would allow his or her child to be gravely injured or to die because the rule got broken?  What parent would allow this tragedy to befall his son or daughter?  None that I know of.  And yet, I know of many a parent, who would gladly and willingly run into the street, breaking the parent’s own rule to save his or her child.  I know many a parent who would gladly die to save his or her child from immanent death.  Take my life instead because I love my child.  The answer would not be try harder to follow mommy and daddy’s rule.  The answer at that point–when the rule is already broken and death is immanent–is save your child even at the expense of your own life.

    “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 by Him.”

    And now, we put our trust in this saving action.  We put our faith in this saving action.  We do not trust ourselves to follow the commands because we know we cannot fully accomplish them.  Instead, we throw ourselves on the mercy of Jesus who did follow the commands and who took our place.

    “Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.”  And since we are justified–we are made right by what Jesus has done and not what we do, can we boast?  Can we brag about how well we have done unto others?  Can we brag about how well we have followed the Law and made ourselves right with God?  Can we brag that we have done enough to warrant God’s love for us?  No.  We can’t.  Because we did nothing.  Jesus did everything.  We are justified apart from the works of the Law.  We are justified by Jesus and trust in His action not our own.

    Oh, there are more than a few folks–even within the church–who would like us to operate the way the world works.  There are more than a few folks–even within the church–who would like to think our salvation is contingent upon our actions and our ability to follow the Law.  They would gladly tell us to get our lives in order lest we find ourselves damned.  They would gladly tell us we must do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God lest we incur God’s wrath.  They would gladly tell us to stop drinking, smoking, dancing, and expressing our sexuality or the devil will play with our souls for eternity.  They would gladly tell us we must give 10% of our income to the church or God will strike us down.  They will gladly tell us God sends things like the Ebola virus or famine or drought to punish us for what we do–hoping that we will repent and cease our destructive behavior.  They will gladly try to rope us back into trying to be like every other philosophy or religion that is out there.  They will gladly try to get us to try harder.

    But that is why we need Reformation Day.  That is why we need to be reminded of the Gospel.  This is why we need the Martin Luther’s of the world–we need to be reminded that Christianity is not basically about what we do, but about what God has done through Jesus Christ saving you by His grace through faith.  Amen.

Is There Something Out There?

In a conversation with a congregation member this past Sunday, I invoked the name of Isaac Asimov.  My congregation member and I were discussing the relationship between science and faith and how there is quite a bit of arrogance on the part of both "sides" as they promote their particular points of view.

The reality, my congregation member pointed out, is "everyone has faith in something that cannot be proved."

For those who base their thought process in science, the idea everyone bases their thought processes in faith is abhorrent!  "Science is not about faith!!" they decry.  And then, in the name of science, they proclaim, "There is no evidence for God."  Their conclusion is logical.  However, I will argue, their conclusion stems from premises which are indeed faith based.  Isaac Asimov is helpful here.

Asimov, of course, was a brilliant author, biochemist and philosopher.  If you read his works, you will see that he has an incredible ability to remain logically consistent as he conveys philosophical and scientific truth.  His short stories weave these truths throughout and (hopefully) help the reader better to understand them.  In the short story "Reason" from I, Robot, the following dialogue is found as the two human characters try to deal with a "rogue" robot:

"Then, for the love of Jupiter, we've got to do something." Donovan was half in tears.  "He doesn't believe us, or the books, or his eyes."

"No," said Powell bitterly, "he's a reasoning robot--damn it.  He believes only reason, and there's one trouble with that--" his voice trailed away.

"What's that?" prompted Donovan.

"You can prove anything you want by coldly logical reason--if you pick the proper postulates.  We have ours and Cutie has his."

"Then let's get at those postulates in a hurry.  The storm's due tomorrow."

Powell signed wearily.  "That's where everything falls down.  Postulates are based on assumption and adhered to by faith.  Nothing in the Universe can shake them.  I'm going to bed."

(If one desires to deeply understand why Asimov places this in his stories, one can study and read up on Goedel's proof.)

The scientist may decry, "I have no postulates.  I have no assumptions.  I base everything upon what I can see and measure."

But what assumptions are built into the statement, "I base everything upon what I can see and measure?"

Just this: you are confined to the natural world.  You are confined to only the things you can see and measure.  Nothing more.  Using science, one cannot answer the question, "Is there anything beyond the physical universe?"  Based upon a method which requires measurement, duplication, reason, logic, and observation, one cannot come up with any absolute conclusion for what may lie beyond what can be measured, duplicated, reasoned, and observed.  One is limited.  The only thing one can do is look at the evidence provided within the physical universe and deduce whether or not something may or may not be beyond it.  One cannot arrive at any definite conclusion--at least based upon the assumptions.

If one recognizes this, then one easily sees that the statement, "God does not exist," is actually a statement of faith.  It is not a statement of science.  It is not a statement of fact.  It is not a statement of pure reason.  It is a statement based upon what one tries to deduce from looking at the evidence in the natural world and extrapolating to that which is beyond the boundaries of the natural universe. 

One may ask, "Well, what is the problem with that?"

From Richard Dawkins' book, The God Delusion:

"The human brain runs first class simulation software.  Our eyes don't present to our brains a faithful photograph of what is out there, or an accurate movie about what is going on in time.  Our brains construct [emphasis mine] a continuously updated model: updated by coded pulses chattering along the optic nerve, but constructed nevertheless."

Think about that statement long and hard.  If one's assumption is "There is nothing beyond our physical universe," then one's simulation software is set to interpret any data which comes in as supporting the assumption. 

On the other hand, if one's assumption is, "There is something beyond our physical universe," then one's simulation software is set to interpret the same data as supporting this assumption.

This is why believers and non-believers can look at the exact same evidence and come up with vastly different conclusions.  It has nothing to do with the quality of the evidence.  The evidence might be just fine--for both!!  However, it has everything to do with the assumptions governing the logic!

The cold, hard fact is that we do not know what lies beyond the bounds of our physical universe.  We will actually never know.  (Asimov is helpful here too, but I won't go there right now.)  By a statement of faith we can either say, "There is something out there." or "There is nothing out there."  Neither of these statements can be proved. They are both statements of faith.   We would do well to recognize this.

It might just help to tone down the rhetoric and settle a few court battles along the way.

At least I can dream, right?

I Have No Freakin' Clue

    For the last 10 years, I have wondered in my monthly newsletter article, “What is God Calling Us to Do and Be?  For 10 years every month I’ve tried to answer that question.  But I’m going to be bluntly honest now: I don’t have a clue anymore.

    Oh, don’t get me wrong, I do know there are certain ways we are supposed to act as people of God.  I know there are certain things God expects out of His people.  Any one of us can plainly read about these things by picking up a Bible, reading what Jesus says, reading what Paul writes in his letters, and browsing through all the other writings.  There are plenty of things we are supposed to be doing.  There are plenty of ways we are supposed to be acting. 

    But we don’t.  We just don’t.

    And it’s not that we just don’t.  It’s also because we can’t.  We cannot do all the things we are supposed to do.  We cannot be the type of people God wants us to be.  If we could, there would be no need for grace.  There would be no need for the cross.  There would have been no need for Jesus to come and reconcile the world unto God. 

    But, we need grace.  We need the cross.  We need Jesus.  We are completely and totally dependent upon God for our salvation because we can’t go out and accomplish it by ourselves.

    Which now makes things a little interesting.  If we realize we are totally and completely reliant upon God for our salvation–what do we have to do?  What do we have to be?  Where is God calling us? 

    Who really knows the mind of God? 

    Then why did you spend so many years trying to answer the question, pastor?

    Well, I thought I could.  I thought I could grasp the answers.  I was arrogant enough to think I could get it; I could understand it; I could brazenly give forth the answers.  But I can’t.  I realize that now.  I have no freaking clue.

    So where does that leave me?  Where does that leave us?

    Well, I won’t speak for you.  I have to let you decide what that means in your own life and in the life of this congregation, but I know what it means for me now: simply trusting in God.

    In many ways, I feel like Abram when God first called him (Genesis 12).  God said, “Go to a land that I will show you. I will bless you so that you will be a blessing and the whole world will be blessed through you.” 

    Abram didn’t know where he would go.  He had no idea what the future held.  All he knew was God’s call.  All he knew was God’s promise.  He left all behind and trusted God.  The future took many twists and turns, but we know that God kept His promise.

    This is my last column under the heading “What is God Calling Us to Do and Be?”  I have no idea anymore.  I won’t pretend to know God’s plan.  He doesn’t necessarily want us to.  He wants us to trust in Him and be satisfied with that.  Here’s to a mysterious future; a time of adventure; a time of being blessed to be a blessing.

A New Thought (at Least for Me)

People who are wiser and have deeper understanding have probably articulated it before, but it never sunk in through my skull until a week ago.

On my way back from the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod Assembly (a meeting of church leaders throughout a geographical section of Texas and Louisiana), I reflected upon something I heard during one of the presentations.

"Faith isn't just believing.  Faith is action."

I think I understand this particular statement.  It's a statement born out of the understanding of cheap grace.  Cheap grace basically says, "Jesus died for me.  God forgives my sin, so I can do whatever I want to do.  I don't have to change what I do; how I act; or how I treat others."  Essentially--I believe, but I don't have to act.

Then, of course, there are those who focus on action.  Faith is action.  God demands action.  I have to do something so that my faith is apparent.  We must do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.  We must feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, etc.

So, which is it?  Belief?  Action?  A combination of the two?

I've written about faith before and its relationship to doubt, and this paragraph talking about Hebrews 11:1 where the author gives the quintessential definition of faith, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen.", I think, still stands:

In Hebrews 11, Christians are encouraged to live with the assurance and conviction that God exists, that Christ is risen from the dead even though they have no visible proof or evidence of such matters.  They are to live their lives following Christ with conviction and hopeful assurance that though the surrounding culture acts one particular way, they are called to a different way of life--a way of life that may face ridicule and even persecution.  This is no simple matter of opinion--it is a matter of living with the certainty of belief in Jesus Christ--a belief and faith which has consequences in life.


Perhaps stating this in much simpler terms:

Faith is not believing something in an intellectual manner.
Faith is not doing something--some sort of action.
Both of these things fall far short of the reality of faith.

Faith is, I think, a state of being.  What do I mean by that?

Faith is a state of trust in some thing or some body.  It's not an intellectual assent to something.  It's not an action of some sort.  It is a deep sense that whatever it is that I am trusting will lead me to understanding ultimate reality and ultimate truth.  It's a deep sense that whatever I am trusting will impact me to live my life in a particular fashion.  Because I trust a particular thing, it impacts how I think about the world and how I act in it.

For those of us who are Christian, faith is a deep seated trust in God.  It's more than just intellectually believing that God exists.  It's more than just believing Jesus is Lord and Savior.  It's deeper.

It's more than just what we do.  Christians certainly do not have a monopoly on doing good things.  In fact, there are more than a few organizations which do the exact same things churches do, but they do them a whole lot better.   Christians are not the only ones who feed the hungry, work for justice, seek to bring healing and so on and so forth.  Some atheists put some Christians to shame when it comes to being a moral being.  Faith is not grounded in doing.

Faith lies at the center of one's being--at the core of who a person is.  From that core comes forth belief AND action.  Belief AND action is rooted and grounded in a person's faith.  For the Christian, belief AND action is rooted in the deep faith (see trust) in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

That faith--that trust--did not come to us by any action of our own.  It did not arrive because we disciplined ourselves to achieve it.  It did not arrive because we poured over Bible verses and commentaries and the latest in Christian writing.  It did not take root in our hearts because we started doing good things and helping out those in need.

It only came from one place: from the Holy Spirit.

"No one says Jesus is Lord except by the power of the Holy Spirit," wrote St. Paul.

"I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith," wrote Martin Luther the founder of the Lutheran Church.

Faith, this deep seated trust, is a gift from God Himself.  From it flows your actions and your beliefs.  I think it is time we stop trying to talk about faith as something we believe or something we do.  I think it is time to talk about faith as something we are--those who place our trust in the God who lived and who died and who rose again and who now walks with us each and every day.

Of Course. He's My Son.

Last Monday, my son had to go to the doctor.

He was diagnosed with strep throat.

These days, with this diagnosis, the treatment is a shot of antibiotics--for those who are not allergic to it.  Within hours, the treatment becomes effective, and within 12 hours or so, one is good to go.  But that doesn't stop a kid from being terrified at receiving  a shot.

As my son was waiting for his shot, my wife sent me a text, "He's being very brave."

I responded without hesitation, "Of course he is.  He's my son."

A few moments later, my wife said, "That made him smile."

Of course it did--at least for now.  Give the guy 10 years or so, and he may not claim his father for a while.  Most kids go through that phase, but give him another six or seven years after that, and then I will once more be full of wisdom instead of other things--at least in his eyes.

As I thought about this little episode, I had another picture run through my head--the picture of a Heavenly Father who looks at us when we are facing times of fear and tribulation...

When we are facing difficult decisions...

When we are facing moments of truth in how we are called to act...

When we are facing moments of overwhelming grief...

When we are called upon to weather the storm...

And He whispers, "Do not be afraid.  Have courage, for I am with you."

And lo and behold, a well of courage springs forth that we never knew we had.  A well of strength swells up inside and stiffens our spine; makes us stand up a little straighter; and helps us walk with a lighter step.

Sure, we may not handle the situation perfectly.  We still may shed tears.  We may become a little distraught, but that strength guides us through.  We make it to the other side.

Others take note.  "She sure is brave!  He sure is courageous!  I wish I could endure like that!"

God simply smiles and says, "Of course she could; she is my daughter.  Of course he is; he is my son.  Of course you can; you are my child."

And for our part, we pray a prayer of thanksgiving, "Thank you, Father, for giving me what I needed to get through.  I never would have been able to make it without You.  On my own, I am nothing.  With you, I have everything.  Amen." 

A Lesson in Trust and Evangelism: A Sermon on Doubting Thomas

     Years ago, my dad and I were discussing the fact that the Sunday after Easter was one of the worst attended in most congregations--obviously this isn't the case here this morning!  :-)  Most folks show up on Easter and then say, "Well, I'm good for the next six weeks."  But that wasn't good enough for my dad and I, and as we talked dad recognized the fact that every Sunday after Easter, the Gospel lesson is always "Doubting Thomas."  Dad reasoned, "No wonder folks don't want to come to church the next Sunday.  They go from hearing that Jesus is risen from the dead to doubting."   There might be something to be said for that.

   However, the more I have preached on our Gospel lesson in my years of preaching, the more I have come to appreciate this text.  There are so many layers of rich material to probe and learn from.  Like a many faceted, beautiful diamond, this text reveals more and more as you read and look at it.  This morning, I would like to approach this text from the standpoint of evangelism and where any one of us at any given moment might fit given the circumstances.

    First off, the text begins with the disciples huddled in a room for fear of the Jews.  Actually, if we were a little more honest with the Greek, we would probably make the word fear a little stronger.  We would probably use the word, “terrified.”  The disciples were terrified; scared; dazed and confused.  I think it interesting to note a couple of points.  First, they had already discovered the empty tomb at this point.  Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved had been there and seen it.  Secondly, they had heard the report of Mary Magdalene who had seen the resurrected Jesus.  But despite these two things: the empty tomb, and Mary’s report, they were not filled with rejoicing.  They were not filled with hope.  They were not filled with excitement and abundant joy.  They were huddled in fear.  Why?

    Well, if Mary’s report were true, that Jesus was actually alive and resurrected, then their whole view of life would be turned upside down.  It could no longer be business as usual.  They couldn’t just return to their semi-normal lives that they had before encountering Jesus.  They couldn’t go back to being fishermen, tax collectors, zealots, or what have you.  Their entire lives would be changed.  Their response to this was expected: fear. 

    Why do I say the response is expected?  Well, think about how many of our lives function.  Think about how comfortable we tend to get in our lives.  Sure, we may be busy.  We may be stretched thin.  We may feel unfulfilled, dissatisfied, hungry for something more than we are getting now, but we are reluctant to change.  We are reluctant to say no to all the things we are pursuing.  Why?  Why can’t or won’t we change?  We are afraid.  We know that the moment we begin saying no to the pursuits we have engaged in, we will face anger, we will face retribution, we will face the loss of our investments of time and energy and money.  We will face the loss of the small feelings of satisfaction and fulfillment that we currently receive.  And even though these small feelings of satisfaction and fulfillment only leave us wanting more, we dread the thought that even this will be taken away.  And so we fear change.  We fear walking away, even though we too have heard the good news.  We have heard Jesus is alive.  We have heard that when Jesus is the center of our hearts and the pursuit of our lives, we will be at peace; we will be filled.  When Jesus is the end goal of that which we seek, all things will be added.  We have heard this, but we too sit in fear and trembling.  We too sit in terror, not for fear of the Jews, but for fear of having our total world turned upside down.  The thought of taking that risk is simply too unbearable.

    But then Jesus enters.  Into the midst of that locked room; into the midst of that group of terrified people, Jesus arrives.  He stands before them and says, “Peace be with you.”  He breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit, as the Father has sent me, so I send you.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven.  If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”  When the disciples were incapable of overcoming their fears, Jesus came to them.  Jesus instructed them.  Jesus put them at peace.  Can Jesus do the same for you who are terrified?  Can Jesus enter into your life at an unexpected moment and change your heart?  Absolutely.  Do you expect Him to?  That is another question totally, but one worth asking yourself, I think.

    Of course, this encounter changed the disciples.  They went from terrified to peaceful, joyful, and satisfied.  Their lives now had meaning and purpose.  They were to spread the news of Jesus Christ, and who do you think they would first tell?  Who do you think they would first run to with the news of Jesus’ appearance?  Of course, you know, at least by the story–they would go to one of their closest friends; one who saw Jesus’ miracles; one who at one point was willing to die for Jesus: Thomas.  For some reason or another, Thomas wasn’t with the rest of the disciples when Jesus appeared, and I am sure those who saw Jesus believed that Thomas would accept their testimony.  Boy, were they wrong.  Completely and utterly wrong.  Thomas would not accept their witness.  Thomas would not accept what they saw.  He doubted.

    At this point, I want to stop for just a moment and make it clear about what Thomas doubted.  I mean, think about this for just a moment.  Who did Thomas doubt?  Did He doubt Jesus?  Did Thomas doubt the existence of God?  Thomas doubted the resurrection, of course, but he also doubted his friends.  He doubted those whom he had lived with, walked with, talked with, ate with, and bonded with over the years.  He doubted those who were witnessing to him about what happened to Jesus and what they had seen.

    I think this is such an important lesson for those of us who have found ourselves transformed by Christ’s presence in our lives.  I mean, when we have been captured by the grace of God; when we know that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life; when we know that God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but to save it; when these things are held deeply in conviction by us, we share that news.  We want others to know down deep what it means to have Christ as the center of our lives.  We want others to know the inexpressible peace, joy, and satisfaction this brings.  But we too are often met with skepticism. We too are often met with doubt.  And the temptation is to keep hammering and hammering and hammering away.  The temptation is to keep bugging and bugging and bugging others until they either walk away or give into our rambling just to shut us up.  But this does not bring anyone to faith.  It didn’t bring Thomas to faith.  Once again, Jesus steps into the picture.

    Jesus appears to the disciples once again, and rather than chide Thomas from the get go, Jesus goes straight to him.  Jesus tells Thomas, “Hey buddy, look, put your finger here in these nail marks.  Touch my side.”  Jesus comes to Thomas and brings him to faith.  It is only then that Jesus chides Thomas.  It is only then when Jesus says, “Do not doubt.  Believe.”  Of course, we must ask, “Doubt what?”  Is Jesus saying we shouldn’t have doubts about the resurrection?  Is Jesus saying we shouldn’t have doubts about God?  Is Jesus saying we must have absolute conviction in our hearts and that any fleeting thought to the contrary is sinful?  I don’t believe so.

    Remember what Thomas doubted.  Remember who Thomas doubted.  He doubted the testimony of others.  He doubted that they had actually seen Jesus.  He didn’t trust anyone else, and he only relied upon himself.

    In my estimation, there is a two-fold lesson here.  The first lesson has to do with those of us who truly want to engage others with this faith we have received.  We simply cannot bring someone else to faith through argument; through coercion; or bribe.  Faith comes from Christ Himself, and we can only plant the seeds and be patient.  We do not need to be frustrated when our efforts at evangelism fall upon ears that seem deaf.  We must do our work and then wait for Christ to do His.  This is a very, very important lesson.

    The second lesson I think we must learn has to do with trust. “Do not doubt, but believe.”  There is an element of trusting God that is implicit in this statement, but given the circumstances of this story, I think there is also an element of trusting one another.  There is also an element of Jesus saying, “Trust one another’s testimony about how God is working in your life.  Trust one another when you share your stories about how I have worked in your life.”  This sometimes is hard.  This sometimes is extremely difficult because we oftentimes doubt one another.  There is so much in the world these days which purposely seeks to divide us and cause us to distrust each other.  We also know that there is an element of selfishness which drives us.  How can I know that you aren’t trying to take advantage of me?  How do I know you are believable and not just trying to manipulate me?  These are good questions.  Tough questions.  Questions which I think we must wrestle with together.

    And that is where I think I will begin to end this sermon–by asking you what it means to develop trust.  How does a group of people come to trust one another?  How does a group of people let down their guards and become vulnerable enough to listen to one another?  How does a group of people find some sort of common bond so that they can share stories and testimony about how God has worked in each other’s lives?  Have we come to the point in our society where such a thing is forbidden?  Have we come to a point in society where we can keep people at a digital distance so that we never, ever have to truly engage another’s spirit as we communicate?  Why is it now so hard to get a group of people to really sit down and talk after worship?  Why don’t we strive very hard to establish deep, lasting relationships with someone outside of our comfort zone?  Maybe Jesus has a lot of work to do on each and every one of us.  Maybe we all are somewhat huddled in fear for fear of being hurt.  How long before Jesus appears to us to give us peace?

    Well, the good news is that the grave is empty.  Jesus is alive, and His Spirit is present right here and right now.  He does not want you to feel alone and isolated.  He does not want you to sit in fear and doubt.  He has shown His love for you on the cross and has shown you the hope you will experience in the resurrection.  And He has given you a community to connect to.  I don’t care what society says being connected means. True relationships are not built digitally.  They are built upon human flesh and blood. They are built upon trust.  Can you trust each other here this morning?  You may find it difficult, but think of this: Jesus trusts you, doesn’t He?  Jesus trusts you enough to give you His story, trusts you enough to share that story and pass it on to others, and trusts you enough to give you the Holy Spirit as your comfort and guide along the way.  Do not doubt, believe.  Jesus comes to you.  He will come to others.  Just be patient.  This is the lesson of evangelism.  Amen.