Monthly Archives: March 2024
Can I Get a Witness? The Witness is the Same! a sermon on 1 Cor. 15:111
Can I Get A Witness?
“The” Witness is the Same!
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
† Jesus, Son, Savior †
May the grace of God our Father, shown to you in the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus, assure you of His love, as the same power is at work in your life!
Can I get a witness?
It’s been years since I heard the phrase, but I remember a church that I guess preached at once, where the pastor asked after the sermon, “Can I get a Witness?”
And person after person would talk about how God had redeemed them or reconciled a relationship that had been trashed by sin.
It’s been probably close to forty years since I was there… but I remember the people shouting and testifying to how good God was, and how he rescued them.
As our journey together changes from the weeks of Lent to the weeks of Easter, we go from looking at the broken people at the foot of the cross to the work God did and is doing.
That is the content of the witness and the impact of the witness.
It’s not about the witness but the witness.
Paul will state the witness clearly in verse 3 of our Corinthians reading this morning,
“I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said
Christ died for our sins
He was buried
He was raised from the dead
Three short points – that change the world – that change our world….
And no matter who preaches Christ, that is their message.
Christ died for our sins,
He was buried
He was raised from the dead…
That is the witness we need today, for it is the only witness that will change those who are broken…
- I don’t want the witnesses; I want what their witness
In the epistle, Paul then proceeds to document the witnesses. Peter, the 12, 500! James, everybody, then Paul.
If you asked any of them, they would agree with Paul, that they weren’t worthy to see the risen Lord, never mind account themselves as worthy to witness the fact that He died, that he was buried and Alleluia! He is risen!
They are right in a way, because they didn’t deserve to witness the cross and the resurrection any more than we do. And the witness isn’t about them, though it will change them, though it will change us.
It is about the idea that Christ has died, Christ was buried. Christ has risen, and He is coming again!
Someone should make a song out of that… 😊
When I look at social media, most of the critique of the church and of Christianity has nothing to do with the witness that Christ has died, Christ was buried, Christ has risen. Often that is because the witnesses are talking about other things—usually the sinful behavior of others, or why that denomination’s not right, or that pastor or politician is evil.
Even yesterday while writing this – out of the first 25 posts were negative religious posts, and only one mentioned Good Friday or Easter. It wasn’t one side or the other; it was both sides.
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God – that’s a given – we don’t have to show everyone’s sin publicly. Or assume what someone else shared about someone’s sin is accurate?
What has happened to those who have the witness?
Can I get a witness? Can I know what the Lord has done?
- We all preach the same message – you believed.
We have to get back to following the example of the early church!
11 So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.
We have to get back to it, not because this is our duty. If I say you must go share your faith, I am robbing you. All I would be doing is making your work the focus, taking the attention and focus away from what Jesus has done.
That wasn’t how the early church worked…
They saw what God did—they told others about it!
They experienced His love and peace, and they shared it with others.
16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:16-19 (NLT2)
Therefore, the witness is so important –not it is critical!
The witness reveals God’s love, our identification with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection changes everything.
That is the message we need to stand firm in the only message that will save us.
Christ has died!
Christ was Buried!
Christ is Risen! and
Christ will come again!
All for those who know this – who bear the witness…
Who answer the call, “Can I get a witness!”
And respond with Jesus! AMEN!
By My Hands, For My Sake: The Centurion – A Good Friday Sermon
Concordia Lutheran Church – Cerritos, Ca , at dawn on Easter Sunday
By My Hands, For My Sake
The Centurion
Matthew 27:54
† Iesou, Huios, Soter †
May the grace of God our Father, who sent Jesus to die for you, overwhelm you so that you have to confess with the centurion that Jesus “truly is the Son of God!”
- The Confession
It wasn’t part of the traditional reading tonight for the passion of Christ. But it is still part of the story. So here it is…
54 The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:54 (NLT2)
As we’ve looked at the hands involved in the crucifixion, these hands, and those he was commanded, were as guilty of Christ’s murder as any. Adam was the first to sin, causing a sacrifice to be needed. The Centurion was as silent as Nicodemus, to scared to raise his hands to ask a question, so he waited till midnight to show up and ask. That silence was not unlike Judas’s kiss, which betrayed Jesus, or Peter’s denial. His actions, like Mary Magdelene’s, the Thief on the cross or Barabbas, were as guilty as this centurion’s, which held the order to be crucified.
And though he wasn’t a Jew, those hands complicit in the death of Christ, would be among those Jesus died for, on that Friday which we celebrate today!
- The Irony
There is not much known about this centurion, except for that which we know, because of his title.
He may not have guarded Jesus, but his men did.
The men he commanded would have been the soldier’s that whipped and mocked Jesus.
Again, he supervised those who hung the sing on the cross which testified to Jesus being the King of the Jews, and the hands which handled the spikes driven through Jesus’s wrists, and his ankles. Those hands held the order to crucify three men that day, one of which everyone knew was innocent.
And he was either the man who plunged the spear into the side of Jesus, or he issued the command.
This is the man who was responsible for the torture and murder of Jesus. And yet…
So are we.
For he would be nailed to the cross because of our sins, as well as the centurions. We would be the enemies for which Jesus would die. We would be strangers and aliens trying to find a home in a place where we did not belong. We sinned in thought and inaction as he did, we sinned by breaking His law.
And as Jesus died for this centurion, he would die… for us.
As Jesus was revealed to be truly the Son of God to this commander, so we have had Jesus revealed this way to us.
- The Revelation and the Hope.
The entire life of Jesus, the incarnation, the missing years, the ministry and teaching all of history boils down to this time, as Jesus hangs on the cross, grasping for every breath,
However it happens, Jesus is revealed to this man, in his death, as the Son of God. Heck he may not even know what that title means yet. But for him it is a change of allegiance as well, for that was a title Caesar, his commander-in-chief claimed. You don’t take your C-in-C’s title and give it to someone else. Especially a title that presupposed divinity. That would be blasphemy–unless the One you are talking of is truly God.
In doing so, the Centurion fulfilled the commandment to have no other gods, by declaring Jesus to be truly God.
And that would give him hope?
Even as Christ died.
Something was revealed to him through Jesus’ temperament, through it all–through the words on the cross, including the words that forgave the centurion and all of us.
“Father forgive them – they don’t know what they are doing!”
What kind of peace this would bring—to her from Jesus himself, while He hung on the cross…
As the Holy Spirit revealed Jesus to be God so to full have the authority to say them…
Including the man whose hands handled Jesus death…
Who hands were among those by which Jesus would die..for who sake He did die…
Even as we are part of the cause—and the ones who benefit.
Look at the cross, know the love.
AMEN!
By My Hands, For My Sake: Mary Magdelene – A Good Friday Sermon
By My Hands, For My Sake
Mary Magdalene
Luke 8:2, John 19:25, Matthew 27:55-56
† Iesou, Huios, Soter †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ free you from whatever oppresses you!
Hands once oppressed, and sin filled.
As we have wandered into and out of lives that were involved in the death of Christ, we have seen broken men, the Father of the thief and Barabbas, men who we don’t normally think of as broken, Peter and Nicodemus, and those we don’t think of as being redeemable- like Judas.
This afternoon, we look at a lady, one identified by name at the foot of the cross in each of the gospels. But to imagine what she had endured, only would leave her more distraught, more feeling abandoned as she stood at the foot of the cross.
Her hands, her sin, would require Jesus’s death, a death she would prepare him for by washing his feet with her tears, and anointing him for burial with the costliest perfume.
Yet to look upon Him, as He hangs on the cross…for her sake.
It is perhaps, one of the most compassionate things in scripture, that she would be the first to see him on Sunday morning…
To understand the importance of her, realizing that Jesus was risen, we need to understand where she had come from, from what she had been rescued.
Who is She?
We know only a few things, her brother and sister’s name, and that she was a prodigal, a lady of the evening who became wealthy, but at a great cost.
Mark’s gospel explains..
9 After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. Mark 16:9 (NLT2)
I do not know how this lady became possessed by demons, but it is nothing to dismiss.
A horrid life, full of trauma, full of pain, full of demonic torment. We don’t know if she ever knew love from parents, or a husband. Used and abused by men, full of despair, robbed of all hope.
Most of us have sins that haunt us that most others do not see. Her sin was more visible than others. But all of us are haunted by our sin, all of us had the moments when we dwelt in darkness.
It is that darkness she worried about as she saw Jesus on the cross, it must have been that darkness that fell, even as His blood dripped to the ground. How her anxiety would grow as she watched Him die.
It is has been said that it is always the darkest before dawn.
But what if you do not know dawn is coming. What if it doesn’t come for a few days.
Do we realize the power of sin had over us, as Mary did? Would we more than sickened at the cross, if we didn’t know there was a resurrection coming?
She knew Jesus rescued her from the darkness before—that is why she would show adoration at a pharisee’s house, even though she would be dismissed and mocked.
She knew what Jesus had rescued her from…
Do we?
We look back and know….
We of course know now, not only would she see the risen Jesus, but she would see Him before Peter and John, before all the others, whose hands were involved…
We will hear that story soon…
When we do, remember the feeling now, as we stand with Mary, an realize the depth of the sin that threatens to overshadow us… and know that it won’t..
And adore Him. AMEN!
By My Hands; For My Sake — Peter’s Hands – A Last Supper Sermon
By my Hands, For My Sake:
Peter’s Hands
Mark 1:16-20, Mark 14:47, 1 Peter 3:21, Mark 14:22-31
† Jesus, Son and Savior †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ bless your hands, as God works through them, to bless the world!
- The Hands
During the midweek lent services, the theme has been hands and the cross
Adam’s hand that held the fruit he ate, the first time the cross was needed to correct actions…
Nicodemus’ hands which couldn’t be raised to ask a question, but would later remove Jesus from the cross.
Judas’ hands, as they toss the bribe money back, Barabbas’s hands that were freed from restraints, and last week, the hand of a son, nailed to a cross next to Jesus, but in heaven just a few hours later….
And tonight, we deal with look at the Apostle Peter’s hands, and how they were a part of the story of the cross.
- The Fisherman’s Mark 1:16-20
The first time they were encountered, Peter’s hands were working oars, and hauling nets. Rough hands, calloused, hard working hands. But hands which were meant for different work, for fishing for men rather than fish, for healing life rather than taking it, for writing scripture rather than keeping logs.
So many of us, like Peter, don’t use our hands for what God intended, until we know Him, until we experience His love. To encounter Jesus means everything, and changes everything in Peter! The Gospel of Mark’s retelling of Peter’s recruitment,
17 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 18 And they left their nets at once and followed him. Mark 1:17-18 (NLT2)
This simple fisherman gives all of his craft up in a moment, and changes! But that same impetuous nature, will get him into trouble over and over!
- The Swordsman – Mark 14:47 (John 18:10)
Such as the time Mark, who was Peter’s assistant, tells us about that Peter, who uses his hands for evil. Mark writes,
46 Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 47 But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear. 48 Jesus asked them, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? 49 Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there among you teaching every day. But these things are happening to fulfill what the Scriptures say about me.” 50 Then all his disciples deserted him and ran away. Mark 14:46-50 (NLT2)
Though Mark won’t tell us who “one of the men” was, John does. It’s Peter! He yanks out his sword, swings at a man’s head…and mostly misses !He just barely cuts off the ear!)
Jesus will heal the man, correcting Peter’s action, just as He is being arrested. Peter’s hands, like his mouth, didn’t have a way of filtering out the ideas he had. He just reacted, and so often that reaction was sinful, and didn’t consider the work God was trying to do!
We often sin like that, not thinking about what we are doing, not thinking about the temptation, but just falling into it. Other times, like when Peter is warming his hands by the fire, denying he knew Jesus, we know we are going to sin, and in our weakness, we can’t overcome temptation… and we fail…
But that is what this night, tomorrow and Sunday are all about… the fact that the things our hands have done… caused Jesus to die on the cross… but it was for our sake He did die.
The Baptizer ( 1 Peter 3:21)
Peter’s hands, along with the other apostles, would be used for something different. On Pentecost, the hands which Peter cried into, having betrayed Jesus, would be wet again, but this time from the water where they baptized 3000 men and their families!
He would write to the rest of the church,
21 And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 3:21 (NLT2)
Those hands, used to oars and ropes, nets and swords would pour water over people, and not because of the water but because of Christ’s promise, they would be united to Christ, and receive promises that were incredible….hear them again…
38 Peter said to them, “Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God’s gift, the Holy Spirit. 39 For God’s promise was made to you and your children, and to all who are far away—all whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Acts 2:38-39 (TEV)
This is what Peter’s hands were repurposed to do, to catch people, to bring them to Christ as he made disciples by baptizing and teaching them… but there’s more…
- The Rememberer (Mark 14:22-31)
Try to imagine the first time, after the ascension, where Peter took bread, repeated the words of Jesus, broke and distributed His body and Blood?
Imagine the emotions running through Peter as he remembered this night, and Jesus’s words—understanding what they meant—and how that would impact him.
It would be overwhelming, especially knowing that it was just after that, that Peter said he would never leave Jesus, that He would die with Him. (see the Mark passage – paraphrase it into your words)
How could that not be on Peter’s mind as he said the words of institution,
Even as he realized. Because of the cross – he was forgiven.
What a moment that would be.. what a moment it is for us..
TO share in Christ’s Body and Blood – even as they did.. even as our hands were once as sin-filled as any…. But now…they are welcome to feast with Jesus….
How much would officiating at commune overwhelm Peter? How much would receiving it??? How would He be able to do so???
Because of His cross…he could. Because of the sacrifice which he knew was for him, he could.
The same is true for us, as we share in His Body and Blood – we don’t deserve it, we have betrayed Him, and yet…we caused the need for His sacrifice… and yet… it was for our sake… He went there..
Let’s share in that feast!
(the Lord’s supper follows)
Eat up! There is a Long Journey Ahead! (some thoughts on the Eucharist for Holy Week)
Thoughts that pull me closer to Jesus, and to the Cross… (and the altar)
29 Jesus answered, “The work God wants you to do is this: Believe the One he sent.”
30 So the people asked, “What miracle will you do? If we see a miracle, we will believe you. What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the desert. This is written in the Scriptures: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven; it is my Father who is giving you the true bread from heaven. 33 God’s bread is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Jn 6:29–33 NCV
Believers go from place to place,
With cares and griefs oppressed;
But when they’ve run their earthly race,
They’ll find a glorious rest.
When from the things of time they cease,
God brings them to the port of peace;
The seed is sown with hopes and fears,
But soon the precious fruit appears.
How happy when our race is o’er—
Our journey at an end;
Our spirits, bound to earth no more,
To glory shall ascend!
Clearly God had commanded the fathers concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices, but what Jeremiah is condemning is an idea of sacrifices that did not come from God, namely, that such worship pleased him ex opere operato. He adds that God had commanded faith. “Obey me,” that is, “Believe that I am your God and that this is the way I want you to know me when I show mercy and help you, for I do not need your sacrifices. Believe that I want to be God, the one who justifies and saves, because of my Word and promise, not because of works. Truly and wholeheartedly seek and expect help from me.”
We have just barely begun Holy Week, aka Basic Training for Disciples. and I am tired. My faith, my ability to trust in and depend on God should be strengthened.
And yet the journey of this week is barely a speck in the journey we take, that Luther describes with so much passion–a journey into the glory of God, where He has the place for us,
The journey’s difficulty is compounded when we think the effort, physical, mental and spiritual, needs to be our responsibility. That we have to understand everything, sacrifice all the right things, at the right times, that we have to do this to earn the grace, to be worthy of it, otherwise it isn’t ours.
We then project these standards onto others, and except them to do what we cannot. This disappointment divides us from them, rather than unites us in a desire to journey in God’s grace together. All our sacrifices together are not enough, they cannot please God, they cannot erase our sins, and therefore they cannot sustain us during this Holy Week, anymore than the sacrifices of Jesus day meant anything–they had no power on their own, and because they weren’t done hearing God’s direction – they were meaningless.
There is one thing that isn’t worthless, the Bread of Heaven Himself. Jesus is our Bread Of Life. It is from Him we can expect help, it is from His His body and His blood that the promises of His sustaining presence are revealed. Jesus is the sacrifices that God the Father ordered, the one He finds acceptable, the one that eliminates our sin and saves us.
The Lord’s Supper is not merely some practice we do, as if we have to make it meaningful, as if we have to come suitably prepared. It is the meal for pilgrims, for those without resources, for those who need it provided for them, for us.
It is all that Jesus promises, all that He would give us, and what we need to be sustained on the journey. Not because it works on its own, but because of the promise that God gives us through it.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for providing Your conduits of grace, found in scripture and the sacraments. Help us depend on You and the promises You pour out on us through these conduits of grace. AMEN!
Luther, Martin, and John Hunt. The Spiritual Songs of Martin Luther: From the German. Translated by Thomas Clark, Hamilton, Adams, and Co., 1853, p. 146.
“Apology of the Augsburg Confession: Article XXIV The Mass” Tappert, Theodore G., editor. The Book of Concord the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mühlenberg Press, 1959, p. 254.
A Father’s Proudest Moment? Yeah! A sermon on Luke 23:32-43
By My Hands, for My Sake
A Father’s Proudest Moment
Luke 23:32-43
† I.H.S. †
May the grace and peace of God our Father assure you that you too will be in paradise (though not today!)
- St Dismas Church.
It would be centuries after his son died, but a beautiful church would be named after his son. Hand carved sones make up the walls, and the pews and all the word work done by members of the community. Even the stain glass windows were made onsite – by another member of the community…
It is a beautiful place, a sanctuary for those who can climb the hill to enter the church, where the grind of their daily lives would be lost in the peace, and even the joy of such a beautiful church.
I could imagine the dad’s smile, thinking what a blessing it was…
One former member of the community wrote,
I can honestly say that the only breath of fresh air in that wretched environment was that church. An absolutely gorgeous structure which does grant reprieve from the drudgery of every day life.
Sounds like an impressive place! He goes on…
Clinton correctional facility is the embodiment of hell on earth. Nevertheless retired Priest (Father Bill Edwards)and ,Deacon Dibeck are truly blessed man and will always hold a place in my heart. Imagine signing up to take a job in a maximum-security prison as a Priest and a Deacon.. I would otherwise refer them to seek psychiatric help but they are clearly blessed by the Lord and are carrying the good word to those in need. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVuftGUjRBE)
Oh, did I mention the man’s son was the only person in scripture who Jesus said would see him in paradise, thus declaring Dismas a saint?
And the church named after him is a church set placed in a maximum-security prison named after him?
St. Dismas Church…
As we’ve looked at various hands throughout this lent, tonight I want you to consider what went through the mind of the father of the man who died alongside Jesus, who shared the crucifixion…
And the day that was undoubtedly the proudest day, and the most meaningful day possible for a dad.
- Did my sin lead to his?
But let’s go back and put our feet in the shoes of this man on the cross’s father. Can you imagine the pain of hearing that sentence being placed on your child?
We don’t know how long the son had been in trouble in life, but crucifixion was for capital crimes. It was for someone who committed such a horrible act that society, both the Jews and the Romans, wanted to publicly torture him on the cross for hours, even days.
This was a crime they wanted no other person to think of, never mind commit.
I doubt this was a onetime loss of focus, and I don’t think he was stealing a nice BLT from the local sub shop.
I don’t think the father’s distress was all caused by the sentence either. Sure, I doubt he talked to his neighbors about that, I am sure rumors were spread, and the family felt shame and hurt because of their son.
But I can imagine the father’s shame was more personal. I can imagine him questioning how he failed his son. Was he not there enough, did he not pray with him enough, did he not send him to the right synagogue, the right school, did he not train him up in the ways he should go?
Not all thieves and murders had parents who did the same, yet I can easily imagine the man’s father lying in bed at night, wondering how his own sin, how his sin influenced his son. Did the things his son saw him do set such a bad example that his son thought there was nothing wrong with sinning? After all, the son must have thought- if my dad didn’t care if he sinned, if he didn’t feel remorse, why should he?
Did the dad see in his son’s sentence to death his own failure, his own guilt, his own shame?
Was the weight of his own sin crushing him even more as he looks on his condemned, dying son, as he realized its impact on the son he held as a baby…. And wanted the best for?
He knew what his son had in him, he knew his heart – and yet what happened… and did he take on the blame?
- The Proudest Moment—and one that gives hope for me..
As the son hung there with the son of God, the interaction reveals that hearts of both sons,
The one son, who is sorry for his sin, who confesses it, much as Judas did last week. God was working in his heart—and the compassion he showed there, showed that he, like most of us, was not completely corrupt, his sin—while strongly gripping him—did not own him past the point of redemption.
Those words may have helped the dad a little, but the words of Jesus to his son, oh how glorious those were…
“today, you WILL BE with me in paradise.”
Ultimately, I do not think there is anything more incredible to know about anyone we love who has struggled in life, than to know God’s love has broken through—and that they will be in His presence eternally. That they will finally know the peace we want them to know, even as they seem so hardened by sin.
The proudest day—far more important than a wedding day, far more important than a graduation, it would even overshadow the death on the cross…
His son was going to heaven…to walk boldly before the throne of God pure, holy, sinless… godly.
The prodigal saved into the arms of His heavenly Father.
I am making the assumption here that the father was at least a nominal believer, history tells us he was—though not much more than that..
But I can imagine him, as the weight of his sin and guilt was lifted as well, as he saw in his son’s salvation. The guilt and shame for not raising his son well enough disperses but so does all the other sin, for Christ’s death secures the promise of forgiveness for all who believe.
It may take even to Pentecost to sink in, until the father is baptized, but the joy and its healing began then, even as the skies darken, as first Christ dies, and then his son.
This gives us hope, as we pray for our families and for our spiritual families. For those who think they can avoid God, or dismiss Him… and those of us who wonder what we could have done differently.
This is the power of the cross, the ultimate victory, the ultimate moment of glory—as God proved that He loves us, and the people we love whom we worry about, who frustrate us….
Keep praying for them, and remember the story of Dismas and his dad… and the Lord who loved them both… and loves us.
AMEN!
Lord, Don’t Ask Me That….
Thoughts which drive me to Jesus, and to the Cross
6 When Jesus saw the man and knew that he had been sick for such a long time, Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be well?”
7 The sick man answered, “Sir, there is no one to help me get into the pool when the water starts moving. While I am coming to the water, someone else always gets in before me.”
8 Then Jesus said, “Stand up. Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was well; he picked up his mat and began to walk. John 5:6–9. NCV
He fills our souls with hope,
That we shall yet arise
To dwell with Him in realms of bliss—
In mansions of the skies;
There through eternity to raise
The sacrifice of endless praise.
828 Have you ever thought how you would prepare yourself to receive Our Lord if you could go to Communion only once in your life? We must be thankful to God that he makes it so easy for us to come to him: but we should show our gratitude by preparing ourselves very well to receive him.
I have heard many a sermon, and more than a few lectures in pastoral theology about the question Jesus asks the man poolside in Siloam. Most of the time it is to make the point that “most” people are comfortable in their brokenness. It doesn’t matter if the issue is physical or spiritual–the point the preacher/professor is trying to make is that all people don’t want it, that all people will not have the desire to resolve the issue.
As someone who has battled physical and spiritual issues all my life, I am revolted by that kind of talk. For the despair that steals desire puts that desire often beyond my reach–sometimes far beyond my reach. If I mention that, some doubt my faith, some doubt my prognosis, and some simply discount me and treat me like I am worthless, already dead. Make no mistake, Jesus knew the answer – as he knew the man’s capabilities, and the stage of burnout he was in at the time.
I am willing to write this because I have also preached those sermons, I have given those lectures, and I regret it.
St. Josemaria’s words I read this morning, made me think of the one thing I can do – I can celebrate God’s presence in the Eucharist, in the Lord’s Supper. For there, just as in life, He comes to us, He nourishes us, He forgives and comforts us. And it is not only once, it can be weekly, even daily! While I appreciate St Josemaria’s words on how we come, with reverent expectation, it is He who comes to us there, to minister to us. That is the preparation we need – to realize how much we need Him–and to go tto the sanctuary, to go to the altar, expecting His work to be done there… in our lives.
God knows our weakness, our brokenness, the level of burnout and hopeless that paralyzes us… and He comes and asks – knowing the answer. He then brings healing into our lives…as He takes our burdens on himself.
It is there we rise from the lives were we thought we had no assistance. It is from there, burnt out, broken, without hope we are able to rise and take up our mat. Oddly enough, the man will try and minister to those who think they are well! (that is just a seed being planted – don’t assume it a failure!)
It is there – as Christ comes to us…that we find healing. If you can’t make it to church, let the leaders of the church bring the church to you. Jesus will be there… ready for you…even if you think you aren’t ready for His healing.
Luther, Martin, and John Hunt. The Spiritual Songs of Martin Luther: From the German. Translated by Thomas Clark, Hamilton, Adams, and Co., 1853, p. 144.
Escrivá, Josemaría. The Forge . Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Suffering we need to embrace..
Thoughts which drag me to the cross…where I find peace?
17 God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. 18 People who believe in God’s Son are not judged guilty. Those who do not believe have already been judged guilty, because they have not believed in God’s one and only Son. 19 They are judged by this fact: The Light has come into the world, but they did not want light. They wanted darkness, because they were doing evil things. 20 All who do evil hate the light and will not come to the light, because it will show all the evil things they do. Jn 3:17–20. NCV
As unconsoling as this might sound it needs saying that healing is seldom without pain–a pain St. John of the Cross frequently refers to as a “cautery.” Healing burns, stings, wrings tears and often leaves on feeling very weak. Yet if healing comes from the Lord, it is never without hope of recovery. We need this pain, this discomfort, to receive healing fully.
It is a thoroughly Christian impulse to combat suffering and injustice in the world. But to imagine that men can construct a world without them by means of social reform, and the desire to do so here and now, is an error, a deep misunderstanding of human nature. For suffering does not come into the world solely because of the inequality of possessions and power. Nor is it just a burden from which men should free themselves.
Oh, help us, Lord! while here,
To know the ways of peace;
The Saviour’s name to love and fear
Till time with us shall cease;
That we may join that glorious song,
And mingle with the ransomed throng.
St John of the cross knew his Greek, for his reference to the burning nature of healing and cleansing us from sin comes from the word we get cauterization from-the sugeical process of burning the flesh to “melt” it back together. In ancient days this was done by pouring alcohol and maybe a little gunpowder on the wound, and lighting it off. It sealed the wound, stopped the blood flow, protected it from infection and hurt like hell.
Today it is done with special tools, and if you are sedated, it would still hurt like hell.
The gospel in my readings today show the problem, they show the damage of sin, the inability to believe because of the love for evil and sin, partially because sin has such a strong grip on man that we cannot see the existence of God, and therefore we don’t know healing is possible!
But we need the healing, we need the Light of the world to eliminate our darkness. We desperately need this healing…
but it will hurt….
NOt as much as it hurt the Lord who provides the cure, but cutting away, healing us and protecting us from sin will hurt… because we have to let God into the depth of our lives to do so. We have to, as Luther puts it, be helped by the Lord, and then we can join in with the massive group, which praises Him for what He has done, the impossible thing He has done.
But that tis the goal – to know the peace of God which can only be known as we are relieved of the burdens of sin, shame, guilt, resentment, jealousy and anger.
But we need God to do that work, we need God to pay the price for it, and when we realize He has already done that, by sending Christ to embrace our darkness, to swallow up our sin, then we rejoice, we are relieved, we have a hundred thousans ways in which we are amazed….as we are flooded with peace.
This is our faith…. this is what we depend upon, why we have hope, and how we know we are loved.
So relax, and know this will only hurt a moment…
Fr. John Hanson, Coached by Josemaria Escriva, (NY, Scepter Books, 2024), 61
Luther, Martin, and John Hunt. The Spiritual Songs of Martin Luther: From the German. Translated by Thomas Clark, Hamilton, Adams, and Co., 1853, p. 140.
Ratzinger, Joseph. Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. Edited by Irene Grassl, Translated by Mary Frances McCarthy and Lothar Krauth, Ignatius Press, 1992, p. 63.
I Got Shotgun! A sermon on Matthew 10:32-45
I got shotgun!
Mark 10:32-45
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ give you the ability to concentrate on what Jesus said, and in those words, find peace and hope!
ADD or something worse?
I’m not sure how it started, but from my earliest days, back before seatbelts, if we were going somewhere in a car in my family, we all yelled out “shotgun” if either one of our parents were not going.
Whoever said it first got to sit up front, leaving the other two in the car.
We “played” the same game in High School, both on the east coast and out here, as we piled way to many people in our cars. I’ve even heard older church leaders call out shotgun when carpooling together… and I might have done it…once or twice
It is a lot like the passage in the gospel – as two of the apostles think they get the best seats in heaven, or at least they are trying to get them!
Let me re-tell the story in Pastor Parker’s Poignant Paraphrase.
Jesus: Hey guys, we are heading to Jerusalem, so I can be betrayed by one of you, beaten up, tortured, put through 2 sham trials and then crucified…
James and John: Jesus – we are going somewhere? Awesome! Can we get the best seats?
Apostles: You two are mean!
Jesus: (shakes his head!) Okay – let’s go over this again….
Did I mention that the apostles have a problem listening—and a very short attention span?
I mean, Jesus is distraught by his imminent crucifixion, and looking for a little support, trying to prepare them for the biggest trauma in their life… and what does he get in response?
“I got shotgun!”
Sacrifice
Let’s go back to Jesus words – we need to hear what they missed.
Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him. 33 “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man* will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans. 34 They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.”
A couple of things to notice here.
The first is the phrase. “once more!” This is not the first time Jesus has talked about it, and he will bring it up after the resurrection, They will remember what he says—later!
Far more important is that phrase that ends Jesus words,
“but after three days he will rise again!”
I can’t imagine Jesus didn’t say that without a huge smile, and glint in his eyes! Especially after talking about the betrayal, the trials, the mental and physical torture and death…and oh by the way – three days later…I will be alive…
I cannot imagine anything Jesus saying in the three years the 12 followed him that was any more shocking, any more important!
I am going to be murdered – you will witness it—and then, I will live again!
“Shotgun!”
Sigh….
Sin & Narcissism
As someone who stands up here, I sort of understand people loosing track of what I say, it happens. But I am not sure if this is just an attention span issue, or if there is something deeper at work in this.
Something deeper like a sense of privilege, “We deserve to sit beside you on the throne of God Jesus! By the way, if one is on the right, and one on the left – where does God the Father sit?
You see, that’s the problem with sin, and desiring what we truly don’t understand. We don’t consider the implications and consequences of what we “want!” We don’t the capacity to understand that this sin, which seems so small, can set off a war, damage relationships, hurt our future,
In this case, the other 10 apostles, heard James and John, and the translation says, they were indignant! I thought that meant ticked off, but it actually means grieved and hurting. This stung – whether they simply beat them to it, or that someone would demand Jesus put them first, indicating the others were 2nd or 3rd class.
No matter what, all 12 were sinning, and their relationship with God and each other took the backseat, because they wanted the front seat…
We often do the same thing, placing our wants and desires in our lives in a place where we set God aside, and don’t care what happens to others, as long as we get our way… as long as way…
The blessing
It is a God thing, that Jesus will use this situation to teach a strong lesson about love, and leadership. He uses the sin, and its consequences to call them together to show them an incredible truth.
43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Here is the lesson, that what Jesus came to be about, what the Father wants is not someone who desires the power that people think is being at the top. It’s not about having the ability and authority to command,
When Jesus came into His glory, was on the cross when He died. There was a guy on his right and left – and one went to paradise to be with God for ever. That’s why talked them about being baptized, and about suffering – for that is where God’s glory shown in the greatest and most complete way ever.
As He served, as He gave His life as a ransom for you and I, and so many others.
This is why we proclaim His death until He comes again – because it is glorious – the pain and suffering He endures for our sake… that we share in because we were baptized into His death, so we can rise with Him in the resurrection.
We share in His glory, as we realize the depth and breadth, the height and width of His love for us. And the ability we have to love, because He loves us – our ability to love God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to love each other.
Are you listening? Are you reading to be crucified with Christ, that you might rise with Him? Do you want to go where He is, not today – but for eternity?
And who wants the front seat?
Let’s pray!
The Value of Church (Buildings) (and why you need to be in one-regularly!)
Thoughts which draw me closer to Jesus, and to His cross (and therefore to church)
When this happened, the followers remembered what was written in the Scriptures: “My strong love for your Temple completely controls me.” 18 Some of his people said to Jesus, “Show us a miracle to prove you have the right to do these things.” Jn 2:17–18. NCV
The sacrament was instituted to console and strengthen terrified hearts when they believe that Christ’s flesh, given for the life of the world, is their food and that they come to life by being joined to Christ.
They’ll see Him face to face,
And with Him ever dwell;
And praise the wonders of His grace
Beyond what tongue can tell:
Eternal weight of glory theirs,
A blest exchange for earthly cares!
When he shut the world behind him and entered the disciplined life of contemplation, he stepped into the reality that mattered to him most—God Alone. The cares of the world were replaced with caring for one thing only, to be in the presence of God in silence and solitude. Henri Nouwen, reflecting on his encounter with Merton, observed that this new desert transformed the monk into a fierce advocate of silence in the life of others.
People often attack “organized religion” (as if we are all that organized!) by saying the church is the people, not the building. They often use this, not as a theological support for people to work together, but just the opposite–to justify NOT gathering together with other sinners, to receive the grace God intends ofr His people, His body to receive together.
I get it, church building are filled with people who are sinners, hypocrites, some are legalists, some struggle with narcissism, or doubt or anxiety. All, everyone of them is broken, and therefore interacting with them, means getting hurt at times, and realizing that we have hurt others at times. Churches can be places where we get hurt, definitely be disappointed as they are not utopia’s–but places to prepare and help prepare others for death, and what comes after.
That’s what Luther’s hymn looks forward to, that day when the weight of God’s glorious love is fully revealed, and we are capable of receiving it! For no more will we be haunted by brokenness. We will exchange our earthly cares for something far more splendid, dwelling with Christ!
It was this that Merton sought, and while one may think his solitary and search for God was somewhat self-serving, it made him an advocate for something more – to help other’s find that Presence and love. That’s the thing about finding God’s peace, it cannot remain a solo event. This is why the early Lutheran pastors were so adamant about people receiving the Lord’s Supper–not in part, not once a year, but often – because of the comfort it gives! It is to prolong moments of such communion that drove Merton into a monastery an Nouwen to simplify his life–only to find the need to share that intimacy with God with others!
This is why as well, that Jesus was so adamant about the Temple being a place of prayer, u n constrained, unhindered by the trappings of business. Not because he treasured the building, as many Jewish people did, (and some protestants want to !) but because of the communion, the time of prayer where people interact with God, remembering they are His people. It is that the building is set apart for such sweet times that makes it a critical place in our lives. It is the restoration that happens within those doors, in those sanctuaries that makes it more valuable than any other peace of land. It doesn’t matter whether it sears 25 or 25,000, as long as people know this…
God wants to spend time with His people, and care for them, and heal them together.
“Article XXII The Lord’s Supper Under Both Kinds” Tappert, Theodore G., editor. The Book of Concord the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mühlenberg Press, 1959, pp. 237–38.
Luther, Martin, and John Hunt. The Spiritual Songs of Martin Luther: From the German. Translated by Thomas Clark, Hamilton, Adams, and Co., 1853, p. 140.
Nolasco, Rolf, Jr. The Contemplative Counselor: A Way of Being. Fortress Press, 2011, p. 97.
