God Needs Nothing From Us

This week, as I was studying the Gospel text that we have before us this morning, I was led to contemplate the God we worship–I was led by the Spirit to think about who He is and what He has done and is doing.  And my thoughts turned to the fact that God needs nothing from us.  He needs absolutely nothing from us.  The ancient Jews understood that God was complete and whole in and of Himself.  He has all power; all authority; all might; all wisdom; and all knowledge.  He created this world, and it and everything that is in it belongs to Him.  In the relationship of the Holy Trinity, God has in Himself all the love, joy, care, and compassion that He would ever need.  Because of this, He needs nothing from us.  He does not need our prayers.  He does not need our money.  He does not need our worship.  He does not need our actions or our goodness.  He needs nothing from us.

But the opposite is not true.  We cannot say that at all about God, for we are completely and totally dependent upon Him.  God provides all that we need.  God gives us this earth and its resources for our food, clothing and shelter.  God sustains this world and upholds it–He need only to remove His hand from it for catastrophe to befall us.  God gives us knowledge and understanding and minds that can comprehend such things so that we can build and work and prepare.  As Luther says in his explanation to the petition of the Lord’s Prayer “Give us this day our daily bread,”: God gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all wicked men; but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to know it, and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.  Oh how blessed we are by God!!  For most of us who gather here this morning have roofs over our heads; we have clothes on our backs; we have food in our homes and refrigerators; we have cars to drive to worship and other places; we have a bit of money in the bank; we are not wondering where our next meal is coming from or whether or not our home will be taken from us.  We have so much!

But I am struck by how often we seem to want so much more.  I have been reading through the Old Testament, and I am in the midst of the book of Deuteronomy.  This means I have just finished reading about the Israelites being freed from slavery in Egypt and their meanderings until they are about to head into the Promised Land.  All along this journey, God has provided for His people.  He first of all freed them from deplorable conditions in Egypt; He freed them from rulers who demanded that all of their first born sons be killed.  He utterly demoralized the Egyptians to the point that when the people left, the Egyptians were giving the Israelites gold and jewelry as they left–filling the Israelites with wealth and riches.  God gave the Israelites commands and rules to live by promising that should they follow them, then all would go well with them.  God provided them direction by a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night.  God protected them from armies that were raised against them.  God gave them enough food for every day of the week.  And yet, the people were not satisfied.  The people oftentimes cried out and complained against God.  The people actually longed for a life of slavery back in Egypt.  They were not content with all that God had done and was doing for them.  Their example is our example.  For we too seem to never be satisfied.  We too seem to long for more.  We cry out to God for more financial security; for a better job; for more prestige; for more power.

We are not unlike those Israelites being led through the wilderness.  We are not unlike Jesus’ very own disciples as they walked with Him on a daily basis.  This leads us straight to our Gospel lesson today from the ninth chapter of the book of Mark.  Jesus and His disciples are traveling through Galilee.  They are staying away from the crowds because Jesus is giving them some very important instructions.  “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.”  This is the second time in the book of Mark that Jesus makes His assertions about what it means to be the Messiah.  We heard the first one last week.  That session didn’t turn out too well for His disciples.  This one won’t either.  We get a hint of this right off the bat as Mark then tells us that the disciples didn’t understand the teaching, and they were too afraid to ask.

This is really not surprising.  Remember, the disciples were all good Jews.  They had been taught from the time that they were little that the Messiah would rise up and do three things: He would cleanse the temple.  He would defeat those who were oppressing the Jews, and He would usher in the Kingdom of God.  It was expected that these things would be done by a mighty hand raising a mighty army.  The end result would be a world governed by Israel.  All of this was common knowledge.  It was deeply ingrained into Jewish thought, and what Jesus taught was completely and totally different from this.  What Jesus taught was insane.  No one believed that the Messiah would be betrayed, suffer, be killed, and rise again.  No one.  The disciples couldn’t understand this.  It was too mind boggling.  It was too out there.  If they were to accept it, they would have to literally rethink everything they had once been taught about their faith.  Folks, most of us are totally and completely unwilling to do such a thing.  So when we, like those disciples, hear something that challenges our faith, we won’t seek to understand it either.  We tend to be afraid of it.  That’s probably why the disciples wouldn’t ask Jesus about it.  They didn’t want to be challenged by it.  They didn’t want to have to wrestle with it.  It was much easier to hold onto the comfortable teachings of their youth.

And so they did.  I am quite sure that at this point in the gospel of Mark, the disciples really believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but they rejected that he would suffer, die, and rise.  I am quite sure they thought that Jesus was just pulling their leg and that He would ascend to become God’s chosen king of Israel.  And that left them with a burning question.  If Jesus was the Messiah and He was going to be King of Israel, where would the rest of us end up?  Which one of us would be second in command?  Which one of us would be Jesus’ personal adviser?  What part will each of us have in the Kingdom of God?  And so they began to argue about which one of them was the greatest.  Oh, I can hear the argument now.  “Well, don’t you think it’s Peter.  Isn’t he sort of our spokesperson?”  “Yeah, but don’t you remember that Jesus called him Satan? There’s no way Jesus will pick him.”  “But what about James and John, they went up on the mountain with Jesus.”  “Yeah, but have you seen the temper on those two. There’s a reason they are called the sons of thunder.  Surely that is a major strike against them.”  “Matthew?”  “Tax collector.  You know they all cheat.  Can’t be him.”  And on and on and on the conversation went.  On and on and on they argued–not satisfied listening to Jesus’ teaching and content to be walking with the Son of God, but instead focusing on their desires for more power and prestige.

Jesus knows what’s going on.  Like any good teacher, He knows when He’s lost His class, so when they arrive at their destination, Jesus confronts them.  “What were you arguing about on the way?”  Dead silence.  Like a kid whose mom caught him with his hand in the cookie jar, the disciples know they’ve been busted.  They know they should have been listening to Jesus.  They know they’ve been focusing on their own agendas and endeavors.  They know they’ve been seeking their own personal satisfaction and well being.  Guilty is written all over their foreheads.

Jesus’ reaction is rather stunning.  Unlike when He confronted Peter, there is no anger.  There is no chiding.  Jesus sits down.  Now, this is actually a pretty important point that the scriptures are making here.  In the rabbinic tradition, when the rabbi sat down, that meant he was saying something really, really important.  In those days, the teacher sat and the students stood when an such a point was being made.  Just a hint: this means, the teaching Jesus is giving us now is really, really important. 

“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”

This was not expected.  No one wanted to be a servant.  Everyone wanted to climb the ladder of power and prestige.  Everyone wanted to be at the top of the totem pole.  The entire society was governed by status and privilege.  No one wanted to be at the bottom.  No one wanted to live down at the dregs.  Servants were lowly. They were held in contempt.  They could give you nothing.  Couldn’t help you in any possible way. What in the world was Jesus saying?  This couldn’t be possible.

Jesus doesn’t back down.  Jesus then illustrates His point. He takes a child, puts that child into their midst, then wraps His arms around that child. He embraces that child.  Oh, we need to picture this.  We need to get this image in our heads.  Don’t picture some kid who looks all neat and washed and clean. That was not what kids looked like back then.  Imagine a kid whose hair is all disheveled; who is wearing stained and dirty clothes.  The kid has dust and dirt all over her body; grime underneath her fingernails; smudges on her cheeks.  This is who Jesus embraces, and then He says, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

Jesus’ comment goes far beyond just welcoming children.  There is a much deeper meaning to this.  Because children in Jesus’ day were not like children today.  Today, we’ll do anything for kids.  We’ll spend tons of money on them.  We’ll give them preferential treatment.  Oftentimes, we’ll cater to their wishes and desires before our own.  Kids have a special place in our society, but they had no such place in Jesus’ day.  Kids were looked at as “not having arrived.”  This meant that they were resource drains on society.  They couldn’t contribute anything.  They were unable to work and produce.  In a society where most folks were living day to day wondering where their next meal would come from, children meant extra work for parents who had to provide.  There was an extremely high infant mortality rate, so a child could easily die from sickness or exposure.  There was no use getting attached.  Children represented the lowest of the low–those who received but who couldn’t give.

Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.  Whoever welcomes someone who is at the bottom rung–whoever welcomes someone who cannot give you anything; who cannot provide you anything; who drains your resources without giving you anything in return–when you welcome someone like that, then you are welcoming God Himself.

Let’s rephrase that for just a moment–whenever you welcome someone who needs you but you don’t need them, you welcome God Himself.

This, my brothers and sisters, cuts to the heart of the Gospel.  You may wonder just how, but remember how I began this sermon?  Remember how I talked about how God doesn’t need us?  And yet, what did God do for us?

When we sought only ourselves and what we wanted, God sought us.  Whenever we rebelled against God, God loved us.  Whenever we wanted to go our own way and shook our fist at God for not giving us everything we wanted, God welcomed us.  When we stood in front of God, guilty of breaking His commandments; guilty of chasing after false gods, guilty of hating our neighbor, God forgave us.

And when we deserved just punishment for our sins; when we deserved the fires of hell and torment; when we deserved death and eternal separation from God for all that we have done, God paid the price to redeem us.  God paid the price to ransom us.  God gave His only begotten Son to die for us so that when we trust in Him and His action we have abundant life now and eternal life with Him.  This is sheer grace given to us by our Father in heaven. It is grace that costs us nothing, but it cost God everything.  He gets nothing from us, but He gave everything for us.

When we are grasped by this grace.  When we are grasped by this kind of love, we long to be like the Father; we long to be like Jesus; we long to give to those who cannot give us anything in return.  And so we must ask: who are those around us who can give us nothing?  Who are those around us who need us?  Who need our time?  Who need our money?  Who need our energy?  Who are unable to repay or give anything in return?  Are we seeking them out?  Are we longing to care for them and welcome them?  For when we do such things we are not simply following a command; we are not simply doing the right thing; we are imitating God and we are welcoming God.  We are doing what God has already done for us.  We are receiving and we are giving sheer grace.  Amen.

Jesus' Help Wanted Ad

I wonder what it would be like to write a “Help Wanted” add for church membership?  I mean, if you were going to write something trying to get people to join the church, what might it look like? 

Here’s my tongue in cheek version:

Come to church so that Jesus can give you your best life now.
Easy, flexible scheduling.  No commitments.  No pressure.  Work church around your current lifestyle.
Receive irrevocable benefits with no obligation on your part.  Attend when you want, involve yourself where you want, little or no financial obligation necessary.
Be comforted that you are loved and accepted just as you are with no need to change or grow, and receive assurance that the problems you are experiencing are just temporary and are caused by something outside yourself.

Okay, maybe that’s a little bit over the top, but maybe not by too much.  I tend to think that we like our Christianity easy.  We like our Christianity comfortable.  We want it to be like that free ice cream cone some restaurants give you as you walk out: sweet, satisfying, leaving you with a pleasant taste in your mouth and a smile on your face.

But Jesus’ own help wanted ad, is far, far different from such a thing.  Jesus’ help wanted ad that he sets forth today is far less sweet, far less pleasant, and far less appetizing.

It all starts when Jesus and his disciples are walking around Caesarea Philippi.  Ever the teacher, ever the instructor, Jesus asks his disciples: “Who do people say that I am?”  What’s the going word on the street?  What do people think about all the things that I’ve done? 

Jesus gets an ear-full.  “Some say you are John the Baptist.  Other folks think you are Elijah.  Some say you are a prophet.”

It’s not much different today.  All sorts of folks have their opinions about who Jesus was.  Some say he was just a great moral teacher.  Others put him as a founder of a religion on the par with Buddah or Mohammed.  Others even say he didn’t exist.  There’s all sorts of stuff going on about who Jesus was and what he really did or didn’t do.  The more things change the more they say the same. 

But, ultimately, the question of who Jesus is isn’t about those folks out there. Ultimately, the question of Jesus identity comes down to every single one of us in here (points to heart).  And Jesus knows that.  Jesus understands that greatly, and so he brings it home.  “Who do you say that I am?”

I’m sure there was a pregnant silence.  I’m sure the disciples sat there for a few seconds waiting.  Thinking.  What was the right answer?  What should they say?  They’d seen a lot.  They’d seen Jesus feed the five thousand. They’d seen him calm the storm.  They’d seen Jesus cast out demons; heal the paralyzed; and bring the dead back to life.  They’d heard his preaching and teaching.  They had knowledge that few others had.  What could they say that would bring it all together?  How could they answer and account for all of these things?

Peter finally breaks the silence, “You are the Messiah.”  And Jesus sternly warned everyone to keep quiet.

Do you wonder why Jesus said this?  Do you wonder why, after such a big announcement, after such an important revelation that Jesus would demand silence?

It’s really no wonder if you understand what everyone believed the Messiah was supposed to do.  The Messiah was supposed to cleanse the temple.  The Messiah was supposed to defeat Israel’s enemies.  And the Messiah was supposed to bring God’s justice to the world.  Of course, the way the Messiah was supposed to bring God’s justice was to enthrone himself as the king of Israel, and Israel would then rule the world.  These were the expectations of the Messiah.  This is what every single good Jew was taught about the Messiah.  This is why the Jewish people longed for the Messiah.  They wanted a temple free from corruption.  They wanted their enemies, in this case the Romans, off their backs.  And they wanted the power and prestige that came from being the world’s powerhouse.  For Peter to announce that Jesus was the Messiah and for Jesus to offer him no correction otherwise was a HUGE deal. 

And Jesus knew that.  Jesus knew what the expectations were, but he also knew he would accomplish them in quite a different fashion.  For he would cleanse the temple–but not as expected.  And the enemy he would seek to overthrow was not any earthly power, but a power that enslaved every person on earth–from the most powerful king to the lowest slave.  The power and enemy that must be overthrown was the power of sin.  And God’s justice would be revealed in the most unexpected of places–on a cross at Calvary.  Jesus knew all of these things.  Jesus knew that his path was far different than the expectations of his followers and of his fellow Jews.

And so, Jesus began to break them in.  Jesus began to teach them, openly and plainly.  He didn’t want to sugar coat it.  He didn’t want to leave them with any doubts or questions.  “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” 

This was too much for the disciples to hear.  This was too off.  This wasn’t right.  This was unheard of.  Never had this idea ever been expressed by any single teacher of Israel.  Never had this idea entered into any conversation about the Messiah.  This could not be the way that things would happen.  Jesus must be out of his mind, and so Peter takes it upon himself to correct Jesus.  In fact, it’s a bit stronger than correct.  You see, the Bible here reads rebuked.  Peter rebuked Jesus.  This is the same word the Bible uses when demons are rebuked.  Peter thinks Jesus has a demon.  Think about that for just a minute.  Peter speaks to his teacher in the same way his teacher spoke to demons.  That’s not good.

And Jesus responds in kind.  Jesus rebukes Peter in the strongest of terms, “Get behind me Satan for you are setting your mind on human things instead of divine things.”  Somehow, Jesus’ response is much more forceful.  Somehow Jesus response puts Peter to shame.  It might just be because the same voice that calmed the storm and brought the dead to life is now the one offering the rebuke.  And that rebuke stings.  There is no hint of softness in it.  There is no hint of tactfulness.  There’s no, “You might want to think about what you are saying, Peter.  Your opinion might be wrong.” 

No.  I’m quite sure that if Jesus would have said this in a church, there would have instantaneously been a movement to get rid of him.  “He needs anger management.”  “He needs counseling.”  “No good religious leader should ever call one of his flock Satan.”  Jesus’ actions here are very, very uncomfortable.

But he’s not done.  If you think his words to Peter are out of bounds, just wait until you hear what he says next.  Just wait until he gives you his help wanted ad.  “If anyone wants to be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For if anyone wants to save his life, he will lose it, but if anyone loses his life for my sake and the sake of the gospel, he will find it.”

This is discipleship according to Jesus.

This is discipleship according to the Bible.

Deny yourself.  Give up your expectations.  Give up your hopes.  Give up your dreams and desires.  Give up all the things you wanted and what you wanted God to do for you.  Put them all away.  Deny your self.

Pick up your cross.  Do you know how the disciples would have heard this?  Do you know how revolted they must have been when Jesus said this?  Jesus basically told them, prepare to die.  When we think of carrying a cross, oftentimes we think of the trials and tribulations we face in life.  And they are tough, boy are they tough.  It’s tough to face a chronic illness.  It’s tough to work at a job you hate.  It’s tough to deal with broken relationships in your family.  There are many, many tough things we face in life, but they are not the cross.  The cross was an instrument of torture and death.  If you were carrying it, you were headed towards suffering.  You were headed towards pain and agony.  You were headed towards death. 

Give up all your hopes and dreams and desires, prepare to die, and follow me.  For if you want to save your life, you will lose it.  But if you lose your life for my sake and the sake of the Gospel, you will find it.

That’s discipleship.  That’s the job description.  There is no sugar coating it.  There is no explaining it away.  This is the demand Jesus puts on his followers.

And if you are like me right now, you are thinking, “There’s no way.  There’s no way I can do that.  There is no way I can give up all of my hopes and dreams and desires.  There is no way I can die to all of these things.  There is no way I can lose my life like this.  This is impossible.” 

And it certainly is impossible.  The disciples couldn’t even do it.  When Jesus was arrested, they all ran away.  When Peter tried to follow and was confronted, he denied Jesus three times.  None of them were willing to face the cross.  None of them were willing to lose their lives.  They all fell far short of Jesus’ call.  And they knew it.  They, like we know that we haven’t even come close to what Jesus demands.

At this point you may be sitting there thinking, “Then why am I even here?  If Jesus’ disciples couldn’t do this and if I can’t do this, then why do I even bother showing up here?”

It’s because Christianity isn’t primarily about what you do.  It’s about what God has done in Jesus.  It is darn near impossible for us to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Jesus.  But guess who did deny himself?  Guess who did pick up his cross? 

You know the answer to that question.  You know who carried his cross to Calvary.  You know who was hung on that cross, and you know who suffered and died on it.  He did this precisely because he knew that we couldn’t.  He knew that the power of sin is too great within each and every one of us.  He knew that the power of sin would keep us focused on ourselves; would keep us trying to preserve ourselves.  He knew we couldn’t break out of sins power on our own.  And so he died for us.  When we couldn’t follow him and didn’t deserve to be his disciples, he died for us.  He bore our shortcomings.  He bore our sinfulness.  He suffered on our behalf.

And then he gave us his righteousness.  He gave us his glory.  He gave us his status as a beloved child of God.  We didn’t earn this status.  We didn’t deserve this status, but it is given to us by sheer grace.  And when we are grasped by that sheer grace; when the Gospel becomes real to us, something happens.  We are changed.

This change was evident in the lives of the disciples.  You know, the ones I told you about earlier who ran when Jesus was arrested; who denied him when confronted.  Those same disciples, when Jesus appeared to them after the resurrection and offered them peace; offered them forgiveness; then went out into the world and suffered for him.  They went out into the world leaving behind themselves and most of them dying in proclaiming the love of God in Christ Jesus.  When they understood how much they were loved and how they had been forgiven, they were changed.  And they gathered together to hear what Christ had done for them so they would never forget the sheer grace of God.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, you have received the same love that the disciples received.  You have received the same grace that the disciples received.  Jesus has poured out his life for you and redeemed you.  When you walk out into the world and find that you are being dragged away from discipleship; when the cares and concerns of the world try to entice you and whisper sweet words of temptation; when the Evil One tries to tell you that you aren’t worthy to follow Jesus; look to the cross.  Look to the Savior who is the Messiah.  Let your heart be filled with His love and His power, and you will find something surprising.  You will find something contrary to the way the world works.  You will find that you are denying your self.  You will find that you are seeking God’s will instead of your own.  You will find that you are losing your life, but that you have found something much greater.  You have found the Risen Lord; you have found Jesus. And in him, you have found abundant life.  Amen.

You're Not Getting Paid--Romans 4:1-9

There was an elderly gentleman who lived just down the road from a junior high school.  Everyday, two young boys would walk by his house and bang on his garbage cans.  No amount of yelling, cussing, or threatening would stop them.  So, one day, the old man changed tactics.

When the young boys came by and banged on his trash cans, the old man spoke, “Hey boys.  Stop what you are doing and come here for a moment.  I have a deal I want to make with you.”

The two boys cautiously approached the old man who had yelled at them countless times.

The old man spoke, “Gentlemen, I have had a change of heart.  I used to hate you banging on my trash cans, but I have discovered that it is now music to my ears.  Here’s what I’m going to do.  I’m going to pay you each a dollar a day to bang on my trash cans to your heart’s content. Is that a deal?”

The boys couldn’t believe their luck, and they readily shook.  Everyday the following week, they banged on the trash cans with reckless abandon.

After a week, the old man called the boys to his porch. “Boys,” he said, “I hate to tell you this, but the landlord went up on my rent.  I’m only going to be able to pay you seventy-five cents a day next week.”

The boys said, “That’s okay,” and then proceeded to bang on the trash cans another week.

After that week, the old man called the boys up once again.  “I’m sorry, boys,” the old man said.  “Cable t.v. went up.  I’m only going to be able to pay you fifty cents a day next week.”

The boys looked a little forlorn, but they said, “Well, I guess that’s okay.”  And they proceeded to bang on the trash cans every day the following week.

The next week (you know where this is going, right?), the old man called the boys once more.  “Boys, I hate to break it to you,” he said, “but the old lady had to have dental work, and I’m out quite a bit.  Next week, I’m only going to be able to pay you a quarter each day.”

The boys then said in disgust, “There’s no way we’re going to bang your trash cans for only a quarter.  We quit!”

And the old man has enjoyed his afternoons of quiet ever since.

Now, we can talk about all kinds of things with this joke: the wisdom of the elders, how to trick folks, even the foolishness of living in a home near a junior high school, but what I would like to spend a bit of time on is being paid for your labor.  This joke effectively highlights that if we don’t feel like we are getting paid for our labor–even if we are tricked into it; then we get angry.  We have been taught that our time and our efforts are extremely valuable.  We have invented a system of commerce–capitalism–that hinges on the idea that our time, energy, and efforts are valuable and worth compensation.  We believe that if we work hard enough, our efforts should pay off.

Get a good education, and you will receive a good job.
Work hard at your job, and you will be paid, appreciated, and get a raise.
Dedicate yourself to improving your abilities, and you will climb the corporate ladder.
Practice hard enough in a sport, and you will excel.
And the list goes on.

This is so deeply ingrained in our being that those who believe in God oftentimes apply it to their life of faith.  We are basically taught that if you are good enough, then you will receive God’s blessings.  If you do wrong, God will bring curses.  More than a few have a deeper belief in karma than anything else.  If you do ill, then eventually, the universe will pay you back.  And we generally believe we are on the good side of the equation.  I mean, if you think about it, what is at the heart of that age old question, “What did I do to deserve this?”  Have you asked that question?  I’ve heard it numerous times.  I used to say it.  What did I do to deserve losing my job?  What did I do to deserve getting sick?  What did I do to deserve my family breaking up?  What did I do to deserve my car breaking down?  At the heart of that question is the idea that you don’t think you deserve this to be happening to you.  At the heart of that question is the thought that you’ve been doing enough good to deserve good in return.  Basically, you are thinking that you are owed a good life because you are working to be good.

There are many preachers and pastors who actually preach this kind of thing and grow large churches by this preaching.  Just believe enough.  Just pray enough.  Just put enough in the offering plate.  Just attend worship enough.  Sing loud enough.  Say the right words in prayer.  Do all the right things, and God will rain blessing down upon you.  This message resonates deeply because it gives us control–control over our lives and control over God.

St. Paul would have gone ballistic against this kind of thinking!!  First off, he would have argued vehemently that you don’t deserve any sort of blessing in your life.  From Romans chapter one verse 18 through chapter three verse 20, Paul has laid out his case that all have fallen far short of God’s required ways of living, and the only thing we deserve is God’s wrath.  But in a shocking twist, Paul says we have been made right with God–not by any action that we undertook, but by God’s action through Jesus Christ.  “We have been saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus whom God set forth as a sacrifice of atonement.”  When we deserved death, God gave us life–as a gift, Paul says.

And now, Paul is going to go through great pains to show that this was how God sought to make people right all along.  Not through their work.  Not through some sort of quid pro quo.  But through sheer grace–effective when we trust in God.  And Paul will use the example of Abraham to show this.

We begin in Romans chapter 4 verse 1: What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? 2For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3For what does the scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’   Paul reaches back into the deep history of Judaism to start with Abraham.  Abraham is considered the patriarch of the Jewish faith–the one to whom God made the covenant to start the Jewish people.  If Paul can show that Abraham was justified by faith and not by works, Paul gives Christianity a very, very strong footing.

Paul revisits the argument we dealt with last week about boasting.  If Abraham were justified by his works, then indeed he would have something to boast about; but Paul says Abraham does not–especially before God.  Why is this important?

Let’s do a bit of biblical history.  As you read through the Old Testament, you will see that God gave the Law to Moses hundreds of years AFTER Abraham lived.  Abraham did not have the Law.  He was actually outside of the Law.  The Jewish rabbis knew this, so they came up with the idea that Abraham managed to follow the Law unconsciously; instinctively.  Because Abraham was able to do this, he was considered righteous before God.

But Paul knows better.  He knows that Abraham didn’t follow the Law.  Abraham was a polytheist before God called him.  This means Abraham worshiped many gods.  Abraham also lied and said that Sarah, his wife was actually his sister during a trip to Egypt.  That caused a whole lot of problems according to the Bible.  Even after God promised Abraham an heir, Abraham worried that God was acting too slowly, and he took a slave of his, Hagar, and had a child with her to be his heir.  This was not trusting God, and Abraham certainly cannot boast about this.  Then, when Abraham’s wife Sarah actually had a son, she became jealous of Hagar’s son and demanded Abraham drive him off.  Abraham gave in to Sarah’s jealousy and drove Hagar and her son off.  Does this sound like following the Law?  Certainly, it does not.  Abraham was not righteous because he followed the Law, and Paul points to the scriptures to show this as he quotes Genesis 15 verse 6, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”

Now, I want to point out here, as did the commentaries, that the Bible does not say, “Abraham believed IN God.”  The words are, “Abraham believed God.”  Abraham trusted God.  Abraham believed that what God had said was true.  Abraham trusted in the promises of God, and this is what made Abraham righteous.  It was not any action that Abraham took.  It was not any following of the rules.  It was a trust that God would do what God said He would do.  It was not something earned.  It was something given.

This is the point that Paul follows up with beginning in verse 4Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. 5But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.  This goes back to my opening comments about being paid.  If you work for something, you expect to be paid.  You have a claim against the one who you worked for.  You can demand your rights.  You can demand your wages.  If God justifies by works, then you can demand that God pay you.  But, Paul says, you don’t work for God’s justification.  He gives it to you as a gift.  God even makes the ungodly righteous when the ungodly trust that He will do so.

This claim, that God would justify the ungodly, flew in the face of what the Law said.  For the Law unequivocally said that God would punish the ungodly.  There were many texts that could be cited.  Of course, the problem with this is that all are ungodly.  All would be punished.  The only way they can be justified is by a gracious act of God.

And Paul points that such gracious acts have not only been done to Abraham, they were done to David as well.  Paul ends by quoting Psalm 32 which is attributed to David: ‘Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the one against whom the Lord will not reckon sin.’  David knew that such sins are covered by God and not by works of the Law.  The Psalm points this out.

Now, Paul is actually not trying to emphasize David. He is trying to emphasize what God did in making Abraham righteous.  He will continue this argument throughout the rest of the chapter.  He wants to make it abundantly clear that when God began the Jewish religion, He did so outside the Law, and the founding Father was made righteous not by works of the Law, but by grace–sheer, undeserved grace.

This is a frightening thing for some.  This is a frightening thing for religious belief because it means that we are not in control of God in the least.  What do I mean?

Timothy Keller once shared an illustration of a lady whom he was trying to convert to Christianity.  He told her the Gospel and that we are not saved by our works but by sheer grace.  The lady to whom he was talking responded that this was a scary idea.  Keller pressed her to say why.  She responded, “Well, if I am saved by my works, then I can make a claim on God.  I have my rights.  I can say, ‘I’ve done this, God owes me.’  But, if I am saved by sheer grace, then there is nothing God can’t ask of me.”

Abraham knew was made righteous by God and not his actions, so when God asked Abraham to leave his family, his safety, his security, and go to a land that he knew nothing about, Abraham left.  That’s scary to think about.  That puts us into a world where we have no control.  We are totally dependent upon God.  Where we can’t know the future or plan for it.  How many of us want that kind of life?

My guess is none.  We like safety.  We like security.  We like having some control.  We like to
think that we can bargain with God and obtain rights for doing the right things.  But it doesn’t work that way.  It works in a totally different way.  We can’t claim anything from God.  Instead, God claims us.  God claims us.  And He says, “Trust me.  Above everything else, trust me.”

It would be a scary prospect to simply trust God in such a fashion.  It would be terrifying–IF WE DIDN’T ALREADY KNOW HOW MUCH GOD LOVED US.  For that is the piece of the puzzle that we must focus on.  We must remember the cost God paid for us.  It cost Him the Son.  It cost death on the cross.  God sacrificed Himself for us because He loved us.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all 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. You were bought with great price.  God doesn’t owe you anything.  He has already given everything for you.  The only question remains: will you trust Him?  Amen.

The Greatest Commands that are Never Followed

If you read today’s Gospel lesson from the book of Mark, you may scratch your head a little bit–especially if you were raised in the church. Because, if you were raised in the church, you would have heard, more than once I hope, that God considers a sin a sin no matter how big or how small. God hates sin, and so He judges all of them harshly. Starting with that premise, one might come to the conclusion that all of the biblical Laws or commands in the Bible are on an equal footing. All should carry the same amount of importance and weight. So one might think that the scribe asking Jesus to rate which Law or commandment is greatest is a head scratcher. Shouldn’t Jesus have answered, "They are all important."?

Well, in a word no. Why? We will take a little bit of time this morning to find out.

You see, it is in the nature of humankind to make distinctions and ratings. We have to work through things to figure out what is important and what isn’t important. We have to have a discerning eye when it comes to following the laws which are written, supposedly for our own good. Now, some might be a little uncomfortable with this line of reasoning so far. You might think I am going to try and excuse you from following the commandments of the Bible. I hope you will not come away with that conclusion. We will get to the commands of the Bible in a minute, but first, let’s start with a few commands that are actually on the books in the state of Texas. I got this information from the website www.lawguru.com Some of these laws were verified on other sites. I hope they are all dependable. In this day and age, one truly never knows. Now, onto those laws:

•It is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing.

•It is illegal to drive without windshield wipers. You don't need a windshield, but you must have the wipers.


•It is illegal for one to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel.

•It is illegal to milk another person's cow.

What do you think about those laws? Reasonable? I can go around this room this morning and point out several of you who have broken that first one about taking three sips of beer at a time while standing. I’ve seen you at the Ag Hall at weddings and dances and stuff. Don’t deny it. I have to ask Sheriff Jack if he’s ever arrested anyone for taking more than three sips of beer while standing before. My guess is, he probably hasn’t because it really is a stupid law. It’s of minor importance compare to much weightier matters.

And that is the fact of the matter. When it comes to following the rules and regulations in this world, we are always having to make such judgments. We are always having to discern whether we should or should not follow a given set of laws. For instance, some communities have made it illegal to feed the homeless. That, of course contradicts what we Christians have been taught to do according to God’s will. So, which do we follow? Which command is most important? We must make a decision.
If you really read through the Bible, you will see such decisions being made about all of the commands introduced throughout the Bible. You will see all sorts of conundrums being presented.

You will see people violating direct commands given by God to the people. The Jewish scholars had worked their way through the Old Testament and had declared that there were 613 commands of prohibition and of subscription given by God. And, even with that seemingly few amount of commands, they oftentimes came into conflict with one another. Therefore, the Jewish scholars debated with one another about which commands carried more weight. Which commands were the heavy commands? Which commands were lighter? Which ones must be followed at all cost? Which ones could you let slide if necessary? These debates were commonplace, and there was a running debate throughout the decades about which commandment was the most weighty. Which commandment was the most important and demanded the most adherence to? This was a legitimate question for many, many people.

And so, it is not surprising that one day, Jesus was asked such a question. Our encounter takes place after Jesus had successfully circumvented two attempts to discredit Him. The Pharisees and Herodians had tried to catch Him by asking him about paying taxes. The Sadducees tried to trap him by asking him about the resurrection. In each of these encounters, Jesus shows a masterful ability to answer questions. Seeing Jesus’ masterful answers, a very curious scribe approaches.

As one commentator pointed out, this is the first time in Mark that an individual approaches Jesus with such a question. All of the other times, groups of people come forward to trap Jesus. In this instance, there isn’t a group. It’s one person, and the exchange doesn’t seem to be loaded with any sort of animosity or anger or entrapment. The scribe who comes forth really, genuinely seems to want to know which commandment is greatest.

And Jesus does not respond like He did with the other groups. In those cases, He used rabbinic technique to respond with a question to those questioning. Here, Jesus gives a straight-forward answer. I think it is because the scribe who asked Him is genuine and really does want an answer.

Jesus responds by quoting two places in the Torah. This is an important thing to see. For you see, in our society today, there are those who bemoan Christians quoting from the Old Testament. Even on my Facebook feed, I have had folks post a meme that has Jesus holding His head in His hand and saying, "I gave them the Beatitudes, and all they quote is Leviticus." You know, I hate that meme. Why? Well, when answering the scribe’s question, first, Jesus, quotes Deuteronomy, "Hear O Israel, the Lord is your God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength." Then, Jesus quotes–guess which book? You guessed it, He quotes the book of Leviticus chapter 19, "And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.’" Jesus Himself quoted Leviticus!!! And He was absolutely right to do so.

The scribe acknowledges the wisdom in Jesus’ answer, and he responds with an absolutely mind blowing statement for a scribe. You have to remember that the scribes were intimately connected to the temple and the sacrificial system of Second Temple Judaism. They were the apologists of that system. They received their status and livelihood from that system, and this scribe whose entire life revolves around that system says, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that "he is one, and besides him there is no other"; 33and "to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength", and "to love one’s neighbor as oneself",—this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices." That would be the equivalent of me standing up here this morning and telling you stop giving to the church and give all your money to other ministries. I would be shooting myself in the foot. But this is what this scribe says.

And Jesus gives that scribe high recognition, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." Indeed. Remember earlier in the Gospel of Mark when the rich, young man asked Jesus what he must do to inherit the kingdom? Jesus answered, "Follow commandments five through ten." The young guy responded, "I’ve done that since my youth." Then Jesus looked at the young man and said, "There is one thing you lack, sell all your possessions, give your money to the poor, and come follow me." The young man went away sad because his possessions and wealth were his god. This scribe has just done the opposite. He has shown that his God is the true God, not the temple sacrificial system. He has shown that he loves God more than his job. Is it any wonder Jesus compliments him?

It shouldn’t be. These are by far the two most important commands, and when held in dynamic tension, they provide the best way of following ALL the commands of God. You can neither get caught up in mysticism and claim that you love God so much while neglecting your neighbor; nor can you get so caught up in loving your neighbor that you neglect the worship of the one who created your neighbor. And, citing these two laws give a very good measure of how to wade through the rest of the laws and commands we are called to follow.

Now, this seems to wrap it up in a nice tidy package. In fact, in my younger days, I would have simply stopped right here and said, "Christianity basically boils down to these two commands: love God; love neighbor. Just go and do that even though it is hard." In fact, there are many, many pastors who continue to preach this, and it presents a problem for the Church.

You may ask what problem it presents. I ask you to show me one person who can follow these two commands at all times. Show me one person who actually accomplishes this. Before you start trying to name names, please let me give you an illustration of what it is to follow the first command: to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your mind, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.

For those of you who have ever loved someone deeply, I want you to think about that relationship. I want you to think back to the early days of that relationship and how you dreamed about that other person. I want you to think about how you couldn’t wait to be with that person. I want you to think about how your every thought was about how you could please that person; how you longed for that person’s attention; how you longed for that person’s presence. I want you to think about how you daydreamed about that person. Have you ever been at this point? Have you ever been enamored with a person that much? That’s the kind of love we are called to have with God.

We are to think about God at every moment. We are to pray without ceasing which means our dreams are to be consumed with God. Those moments when we have nothing to think about, our thoughts are to be on God. We are to think about Him and how to please Him at all times. We long to spend time with Him and walk daily with Him. We rearrange our calendars around Him and only Him. This is what it means to love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength. Can you do this? Can you live your entire life with this kind of intensity?

And what about loving your neighbor as you love yourself? How do you love yourself? When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Most folks see one of two things: they either are very happy with what they see and love themselves a lot or they look at themselves and are not happy with what they see. If you look in the mirror and are not happy with what you see, how are you going to love others? If you do not like yourself, will you like others? And if you look in the mirror and really like what you see, what is going to happen? Do you think you will love others? In a word, no. You will be consumed with yourself and think that others should be just like you. They should think like you, act like you, believe like you. It would be nice if you could love others like you love yourself if you like yourself this much, but the reality is that most folks slip into narcissism instead of humility.

And so we neither love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

And we don’t love our neighbor as ourselves.

We fail. We are far from the kingdom of God.

This is not good news.

But the good news is there was one who did love God with all His heart, soul, mind and strength.

There was one who did love His neighbor as He loved Himself.

There was one who perfectly fulfilled these commands of God, and instead of sitting in judgement of you for your failure, He stretched out His arms and died for you so that you could be brought into the kingdom of God. He loved you with an unbelievable love. He saved you by sheer grace; through no work of your own. He made all things right between you and God. The writer of 1 John put it this way, "10In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins." The gospel writer John said it this way, "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."

And to the extent that we trust in Christ’s action; to the extent we trust what He did instead of what we do; to the extent that our hearts are captured by the cross of Christ and the love that was poured out there, then we will indeed begin to accomplish the love of God and the love of neighbor. As the writer of 1 John concludes, "11Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us." This is what happens–God lives in us and his love is perfected in us--when we acknowledge that we are saved by sheer grace. Amen.

Cutting Off Your Hand Doesn't Work

    Last week, as we read through the book of Mark, we saw how Jesus coached His disciples in dealing with those who were not members of the “in” group.  An exorcist was casting out demons in Jesus’ name, but this exorcist was not a part of the inner 12.  Jesus sternly said, “Do not stop him for someone who does such a deed in my name will not soon turn against me.”  These are powerful words as we deal with our fellow Christians who do not believe as we believe.  Jesus name is what unites us, and doing what we do in His name renders most differences moot. 

    Then, Jesus spoke about those who do not follow Him as a disciple.  “Truly I tell you anyone who gives you a cup of cold water because you bear the name of Christ, that person will not lose the reward.”  Again, hearing Jesus’ words is important because this isn’t about the things we do–this is about how people treat Jesus’ disciples.  If a non-believer gives YOU a cup of cold water, then they will not lose the reward.  If Jesus regards even a non-believer this highly, the disciples should as well.  For Jesus came to save the world, not just a select few.  Only those who blatantly reject Jesus, whose hearts are consumed by other things, who seek their own satisfaction and self-preservation will bear some serious consequences. 

    This is why Jesus teaches what He teaches in our snippet from Mark chapter 9 this morning.  Jesus shifts the focus from those who are outside the faith, from the outer life, so to speak, to the inner life of the believer.  Jesus cuts through all external things and gets to the heart of the matter.  This is extremely important to grasp, especially since today is Reformation Sunday–a special day for those of us who call ourselves Lutheran Christians–a day when we strongly emphasize God’s grace and our inability to save ourselves.  How does this all come together?  Let’s turn to the text.

    Jesus begins with some powerful, strong words: 43If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell., 47And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, 48where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

    It is important to note that in the ancient Jewish world, people literally did blame their extremities for sin.  William Lane in his commentary on Mark says, “It was not a Palestinian custom to refer to an abstract activity but to the specific member of the body which is responsible for it.”  So, in the culture, it was acceptable to say, “My hand sinned.  My foot sinned.  My eye sinned.”  Jesus confronts this thinking and says, “Well, if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  If you foot causes you to sin, cut it off.  If your eyes cause you to sin, pluck them out.”  Jesus pushes the culture’s logic to its logical conclusion.  It’s better for you to be lame or blind than to be sinful.  It makes perfect sense, but it is horrifying.

    Not only is it horrifying, it’s also forbidden by Jewish scripture:

    Deuteronomy 14:1 reads, “You are children of the Lord your God. You must not lacerate yourselves or shave your forelocks for the dead.”

    Deuteronomy 23:1 reads, “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.”  (Bet you didn’t know that one was in there!)

    There is a reason behind these laws for the Jews understood God to be holy and whole, complete.  If you were incomplete.  If you were not whole, you were seen as further away from God.  You were seen as less than what you should be.  For Jew to hear Jesus say, “Cut off your hand.  Cut off your foot.  Pluck out your eye.” would invoke absolute horror!  The Jew would have thought, “You are asking me to separate myself from God–to become incomplete–to make myself less than I should be!” 

    But is Jesus doing such a thing?  Is Jesus telling us to cut off our hands and feet or pluck out our eye.  No serious scholar believes such a thing because of this pertinent fact: if you cut off your hand, you will still sin.  If you cut off your foot, you will still sin.  If you pluck out your eye, you will still sin.  The cause of sin does not reside in your hand or your foot or your eye.  The cause of sin is much deeper.  Jesus knows this.  Jesus has taught this.  Unfortunately, it is not sinking in.

    Remember way back in Mark seven, there was an exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees where the Pharisees were complaining that Jesus’ disciples were eating with unwashed hands.  There’s a lot that is happening in that exchange, but eventually, we get to the place where Jesus says this, “4 Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’  17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18He said to them, ‘Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, 19since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20And he said, ‘It is what comes out of a person that defiles. 21For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, 22adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

    It is from the human heart that evil intentions come.  Hear that one more time: it is from the human heart that evil intentions come.  Jesus pushes the cultural logic to its horrific conclusions to get people past the absurdity of it.  Jesus pushes the cultural logic to its horrific conclusions to show that blaming hands and feet and eyes for sin is asinine.  Sin is a condition, not of the extremities, but of the deepest recesses of the human heart.

    It is easy to blame a hand for stealing.  It is easy to blame a foot for walking into a house of ill repute.  It is easy to blame an eye for looking at another person with lust in your heart.  It is easy to blame the rich for all the world’s problems.  It is easy to blame those on welfare for their unwillingness to work.  It is easy to blame capitalism for poverty.  It is easy to blame communism for destroying human rights.  It is easy to blame Democrats or Republicans or conservatives or liberals.  It is easy to blame teachers for kids failing to learn.  It is easy to blame elected officials for failing to deal with the problems of a given community.  It is easy to put the problem “out there”, residing in someone else.  But Jesus won’t let us get away with that.  The problem isn’t in the hand.  It isn’t in the foot.  It isn’t in the eye.  The problem isn’t out there with any group or institution or form of government.  The problem is in the human heart.

    Now, most folks don’t like this.  Most folks would like to blame circumstances that are out there.  It absolves them of responsibility.  However, the Christian faith is not about shirking responsibility.  It’s about accepting it, and accepting the fact that each and every one of us is indeed sinful.  We are not just people who do bad things–who are imperfect.  No.  We are much worse.  We are rotten to the core.  We are self-centered and seek our own self-preservation. 

    You may not like me saying that, but let me see if I can show you the depths of your own sinfulness.  Why do you do most of the things that you do?  What is your motivation for getting up in the morning and going to work or engaging in any sort of activity?  What drives you?  I am not asking you to give me a superficial answer to this question.  I really want to know.

    You see, I get up most mornings and exercise.  I make two laps around Cat Spring doing interval training.  Most of you know I have lost quite a bit of weight in the past couple of years, and I want to keep it off.  Some of you know my motivation behind it.  A couple of years ago, my kids and I were visiting my parents.  We were going to go to the Texas State Aquarium, and my kids ran up to their grandpa and said, “Grandpa, are you going too?”  Grandpa, my dad, said, “Sorry, I can’t.  My knee is hurting too badly.”  Now, my dad hurt his knee playing football.  He is also on the heavy side.  These two things came back to haunt him.  I hurt my knees playing football.  I was on the heavy side.  I saw the future in an instant–a future that if I am blessed with grandchildren that I could face.  And I did not like that picture.  I did not like the idea of my grandchildren asking me if I could go with them and having to turn them down.  I decided right then and there to lose the weight and hopefully save my knees.  Now, who did I lose the weight for?  You could say that I did it for my children and my hoped for grandchildren.  But that is not the truth.  I didn’t want to deal with the disappointment of my grandchildren.  I didn’t want to deal with their hurt.  I didn’t want to see that in their eyes because IT WOULD BOTHER ME.  My reasons are selfish.  They have nothing really to do with my future grandchildren.  They have nothing to do with this body that was given to be by God.  My motivations are purely selfish.  Purely.

    Do I need to give further examples?  Do I need to delve into why you get up and drink a cup of coffee?  It’s because you enjoy it, right?  You like the taste.  Would you drink it if you didn’t like it?  Would you drink it if you got no benefit from it?  Oh, here’s another story putting the crosshairs directly on me.  When I was on internship at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Waco, I did a lot of visitation.  I really enjoyed visiting the little old ladies who were all too happy to provide snack for me.  They found out I liked to eat, and they were happy to spoil me.  One day, I went to visit Emma.  I was told that Emma tended to be on the depressed side.  She hadn’t done well after her husband had died.  I hoped to cheer her up.  Emma and I visited, and then she said, “I have something for you.  It’s some fresh banana bread.” 

    A little part of me died inside.  I hate bananas.  I really do, especially since the taste of a banana makes me gag.  Literally.  I will gag when I taste banana.  So, here is this wonderful lady; who went out of her way to make me this bread, who was a little on the depressed side, who didn’t need her intern making any sort of negative comments; what was I to do?  I choked down the bread.  I did something I didn’t like in the least.  Hiding my gags and chugging water, I got that darn bread down.  Self-sacrifice?  Hardly.  I wanted Emma to enjoy the visit.  I wanted her to think positively about me and what I brought to her.  I choked that bread down for purely selfish reasons.

    Are your motivations any different?  Do you engage in activities that you get no benefit from; no enjoyment out of; no satisfaction at all, yet continue to do so because it is the right thing to do?  Most of us don’t.  Not in the least.  In fact, most of us know the right things to do, but we don’t do them because it costs us.  It costs us dearly.

    Which is why Jesus says, “Everyone will be salted with fire.”  Most scholars are perplexed by this saying, but interestingly enough most of them link Jesus’ saying with Leviticus chapter 2:13, “You shall season all your cereal offerings with salt; you shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be lacking from your cereal offerings; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.”  These offerings were sacrificial offerings.  They were offerings set forth showing a radical dependency on God.  They were offerings saying, “Lord, we trust that you will get us through thick and thin, and we bring the first fruits of our grain to you to be burned in fire, with salt.” 

    But Jesus is taking this offering a step further.  It’s not the first fruits that are offered and burned and refined and salted–it is us.  We are refined and salted.  We endure the fire and refinement as living sacrifices.  St. Paul puts it this way in Romans chapter 12, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

    This is the calling Jesus gives to His disciples.  Don’t be superficial.  Don’t look at your hand, your foot, or your eye.  Look at the deep recesses of your heart and let the sinfulness of it be burned and refined.  Offer your very self as an offering to God.  Discipleship is not for the faint of heart.

    Now, anyone who grasps this and understands this should be terrified.  Really.  If you understand what I have proclaimed to you to this point, you should be shaking in your shoes.  For Jesus is demanding your entire being.  He is asking you to walk away from all the desires of your heart.  He is asking you to walk away from your own motivations and selfishness.  He is asking you to forsake your identity and your well being to follow Him.  It’s not a very good sales pitch.  Most of us, if we were honest, would say no.  We would say not a chance.  None of us here this morning would accept such terms because they are just too difficult.  The need for self-preservation and self-satisfaction is just too strong.  We are unwilling to sacrifice ourselves.

    But there is One who was willing.  There was one who was able.  There was one who did such a thing in our place.  If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it dozens of times, we must understand all scripture through the cross.  We must understand all of Jesus’ teachings through the cross.  The cross is the center of our faith and understanding, and Jesus knows you cannot and will not sacrifice yourself.  Jesus knows the depths of your sinfulness.  Jesus knows the hold that sin has over your heart.  And He must break that hold.  He must show you that following Him and trusting Him is worth the sacrifice.

    And so when you could not sacrifice yourself, He sacrificed Himself.  When you were afraid to face the fire, Jesus descended into Hell and faced that fire for you.  When you were afraid of the pain of forsaking yourself, Jesus faced the ultimate forsakenness as the Father turned His back on Him as He hung on the cross.  Jesus looked at you in the midst of your sin and in the midst of your selfishness, then looked at His Father and said, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.”  Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice on your behalf. 

    When you could not do; when you were in bondage to your self, Jesus did.  He saved you from yourself when you could not.  This was not something you earned; rather it was given to you by sheer grace.  And when you are moved by this, when those chains fall off your heart because you know you are deeply sinful yet deeply loved, you want to die to yourself.  You want to become a living sacrifice.  You want to be salted with fire.  You want to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus.  Your heart beats with a deep gratitude for the One who gave Himself up for you because He loves you.

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him.  This is most certainly true.  Amen.