Category Archives: Devotions
We all know God loves us, but far too often the stresses, anxieties and problems in life crowd Him out of our view. Here find a moment to re-focus and remember how incredible it is that God loves us, and what it means to live in His presence, in the peace that passes all understanding…
Cast out, and Brought Back In, the Comfort of the Sacraments
Thoughts that drive me to Jesus, and to His cross!
19 “But you must follow me and obey the laws and commands I have given you. You must not serve or worship other gods. 20 If you do, I will take the Israelites out of my land, the land I have given them, and I will leave this Temple that I have made holy. All the nations will make fun of it and speak evil about it. 21 This Temple is honored now, but then, everyone who passes by will be shocked. They will ask, ‘Why did the LORD do this terrible thing to this land and this Temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘This happened because they left the LORD, the God of their ancestors, the God who brought them out of Egypt. They decided to follow other gods and worshiped and served them, so he brought all this disaster on them.’ ” 2 Chronicles 7:19-22 NCV
That to which your heart clings and entrusts itself is, I say, really your God.
4 The purpose of this commandment, therefore, is to require true faith and confidence of the heart, and these fly straight to the one true God and cling to him alone.
Is it too presumptuous to interpret this extraordinarily scintillating image of suffering “outside the city” in the spiritual context of the basic liturgical rule laid down in Matthew 5:23–24, according to which the Christian, before bringing his gift to the altar, must go first to be reconciled with anyone who has anything against him? Does the Cross erected outside the city not also mean that in Christ God is under way to his unreconciled children, to whom he draws near with a love that does not wait for the other—the guilty one!—to take the first step?
ALL hail! King of mercy. Hail! Thou Who art the life, the joy and the hope of our souls. We miserable children of Eve cry unto Thee. We long for Thee, sorrowful and weeping in this vale of tears. Hail, therefore, O Lord Christ! Thou Who dost intercede for us with God, turn Thine eyes, beaming with mercy, upon us, and show Thyself unto us, Thou blessed Son of God and of Mary, when the days of our misery shall have passed, O gracious gentle, sweet, and lovely Jesus Christ. Amen.
Yet Luther does not replace one tyranny for another; his argument for a return to the biblical understanding of the sacraments is moderated by a consideration of traditions and external practices in relation to their effects on the individual conscience and faith.
The dedication of Solomon’s temple is an amazing discourse, and Solomon’s prayer forms the basis of much of my understanding of our need for the sacraments, those tangible moments where grace overwhelms our reason and strength. In all of my readings this morning, it seems to be the focus, starting with God’s response to the prayer of Solomon.
It is not a nice response, as it prophetically indicates that people will have various idols to deal and to which they will trust their future, and their emotional stability. This is idolatry, whether it is praying to or worshipping an image an artist painted, sculpted or cast, or whether it is chasing after money, sex, fame, even health. Whatever we think will bring us peace, cause the end of anxiety and stress—they are idols.
Following such idols, leads us to a dark place, away from God. In the Old Testament that was “outside the camp,” away from the community of God established by Him, that He and His people could walk and live together. What we call church – not the buildings, but the meeting as His community together–our idolatry removes us from that….our sin drives us out into the wilderness. Eventually, we thirst for God, for a way to come home,
Pope Benedict’s point about Jesus dying outside the temple – outside the city of God hits hard. He dies outside the camp, where all the sinners are. Jews, Romans, everyone passed by that hill, where he was crucified. It is there we find the King of mercy, who came out to the sinners. He came out of heaven for us, He died, outside the city of God, theplace where God put His name for us, to show us His mercy, the mercy we need to cling too, and we need to cry out for, the mercy shown by Jesus, as Loehe says, the Son of God and the son of Mary.
This is why the sacraments are so needed in our time. The comfort of take those broken by sin, and seeing them cleansed in baptism, the comfort shown as the pastor/priest announces on Christ’s behalf that you are forgiven, the comfort of the Body and Blood of the Lord, given and shed for the forgiveness of sin, all tangible moments where God comes to us! We aren’t holy enough, we are perfect, we are broken, and God transforms us. Not magically, not because of an incantation or vain repitition of words, but because this is how and what God promised. What He makes known throughout scripture.
Such and incredible comfort!
I would dare walk into someone’s home uninvited, just barging in, but we walk into God’s presence, we find home there, because of what occurs in as the Holy Spirit points to our being united with Christ’s death and resurrection.
We are his, we belong in the city of God, in the Holy of Holies where He dwells. For He went outside to get us, and bring us home. AMEN!
Martin Luther, “The Large Catechism: The First Commandment.” Tappert, Theodore G., editor. The Book of Concord the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mühlenberg Press, 1959, p. 365
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. 173.
Lœhe, William. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Translated by H. A. Weller, Wartburg Publishing House, 1914, p. 355.
Herrmann, Erik H. “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church.” Church and Sacraments, edited by Hans J. Hillerbrand et al., vol. 3, Fortress Press, 1520, pp. 9–10.
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 — 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)
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.
The Hands, washed and innocent? A Lenten Sermon about Jesus… and Pilate
By My Hands, for My Sake
The Hands, Washed and Innocent?
Matthew 27
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ help you understand what it means to have clean hands, and therefore no guilt or shame….
- Who was Pilate kidding?
Barabba’s hands were freed, Judas’s hands threw back the money, Nicodemus’s hands took the Lord Jesus, down from the victorious cross. Adam’s hands would not die, but would work the ground…While their sin was the factor in Christ’s death, only one set of hands could had done anything about it…
And he decided to wash his hands.
As if that would remove the blood that was shed, as the spikes entered the wrists and ankles, and the blood and water which poured out as the centurion’s spear entered Christ’s sacred side…
Who the heck did Pilate think he was kidding?
He wasn’t fooling the Jewish leaders, they realized that with enough voices shouting, they could get him to back down.
He wasn’t fooling his army, they would go ahead, and crucify him according to Roman standards
He wasn’t fooling his wife, who told him to have nothing to do with the holy man.
And he wasn’t fooling Jesus… for God knew his heart.
While Pilate claims he isn’t guilty of the death of Jesus, he needed Jesus to die as much as any of us.
Paul will write of Pilate and his friend Herod,
“7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 1 Corinthians 2:7-8 (NLT2)
Pilate, no matter how hard he tried, was as guilty as any of the death of Jesus…it was by his hand the order was given to crucify Jesus….
He didn’t fool anyone… it was by his hands… and ours.
- Do We Try to Duck Responsibility for our Decisions?
Over the years, I have heard people talk about Christ’s death, and “who killed him.” Even today some people want to blame the Jews, or at least the Jesus leaders. Others want to blame the soldiers, or the Roman politicians.
Like so much of what goes on in this world, we want someone to blame! Someone to hold responsible for causing the mess, so that we have someone to hold responsible for cleaning up the mess caused by the sin.
I don’t care if it is a big issue, like wars and homelessness. Or something in your home, like who left the garage door open, or who forgot to flush the toilet.
We all know the name of the guilty person, some illusive guy named “not me!” or perhaps, “not us!”
Pilate’s answer would work to- “I am innocent – you are responsible!” And so more damage is done, as sin breaks apart another relationship.
Some of us even have the nerve to blame God for the mess, the sin, the decision.
And we like Pilate – try to wash our hands to prove we are innocent!
- It was for Our Sake…
In researching this sermon, I came across an interesting passage about Pilate. It was written by an early church writer and leader named Tertullian, who wrote, “All these things Pilate did to Christ; and now in fact a Christian in his own convictions, he sent word of Him to the reigning Cæsar, who was at the time Tiberius[1]” Other writers insist that he was a martyr, who was killed because he wouldn’t give up on his being a witness to Jesus’ death… and came to believe he rose from the dead.
I hope these testimonies are true!
The man who tried to wash his hands of the sin of signing the death warrant, cleansed of the sin by being united in baptism with the Lord?
The hands that once tried to place the responsibility in other hands accepting it, and having it forgiven! What an incredible story!
It is almost as good as our sins, which we blamed on others, being forgiven!
We don’t have to pass the buck anymore, and the buck doesn’t stop here. It stops there – Paul says it is nailed to the cross, where Jesus took on its incredible burden.
That’s the point – Jesus died at our hands, but He died for our sake.
He washed us, as He did the disciples’ feet, and to quote what He said to Peter,– you are clean indeed.
This is true for all who have confessed their sin, seeking not to justify it, but to accept and receive God’s promise of forgiveness.
[1] Tertullian. “The Apology.” Latin Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian, edited by Alexander Roberts et al., translated by S. Thelwall, vol. 3, Christian Literature Company, 1885, p. 35.
Heaven on Earth? Are We Looking in the Wrong Place?
Thoughts which drive me to Jesus, and to the cross…
But before all these things happen, people will arrest you and treat you cruelly. They will judge you in their synagogues and put you in jail and force you to stand before kings and governors, because you follow me. 13 But this will give you an opportunity to tell about me. 14 Make up your minds not to worry ahead of time about what you will say. 15 I will give you the wisdom to say things that none of your enemies will be able to stand against or prove wrong. 16 Even your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will turn against you, and they will kill some of you. 17 All people will hate you because you follow me. 18 But none of these things can really harm you. 19 By continuing to have faith you will save your lives. Luke 21:12-19 NCV
When we at rest shall be
Where sorrows cannot come,
In our blest fatherland above—
Our own eternal home.
If this be not Thy will, and it befall that we be swallowed up in the waters, by Thy good pleasure, to become food for the fishes of the sea, then, Lord, surely Thou wilt stretch forth Thy hand to grant us a blessed death.
The Eucharist, at each new celebration, must be recognized anew as the core of our Christian life. But we cannot celebrate the Eucharist adequately if we are content to reduce it to a ritual of—more or less—a half-hour’s duration. To receive Christ means to worship him.
There is a great drive in Christianity, both Catholic and Protestant, to achieve some kind of contemporary utopia. Some do this by trying to liberate people–but fail to see that they are trying to liberate them from God. Others take the opposite tack, and pin their hopes to a Utopia found in a Christian state, or Christian country, as if that would solve the problem of sin, and the damage it does to any community. This even includes the church, as we seek to argue people into conversion and into being holy–as if we can manipulate in a moment what the scriptures tell us will take until the return of Jesus. (Phil. 1:6)
I am not saying these people aren’t sincere, but this desire to see a perfect world, a perfect church, a place without broken people and those who struggle with God is insane, simply because it contradicts the testimony of scripture. We aren’t the governors and kings that people are brought before, we are the people who are brought before them, and testify to where our hope lies, in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
That testimony, that includes we are sinners in need of Jesus work at the cross and His resurrection, admits that there is no utopia. The church has no ability to create the perfect world, so it shouldn’t try to through earthly means. It does have the ability to guide people into the presence of God, where they will live in His presence eternally. It can also help them get to the point where their needs are met, so that they can focus on God. But that is by feeding the poor, visiting the lonely, helping the homeless. One on one ministry, not lobbying and trying to create a Christian kingdom.
Utopia won’t exist in this world, but we have god’s presence, to comfort, guide and heal us… I think that is the far better option.
Luther, Martin, and John Hunt. The Spiritual Songs of Martin Luther: From the German. Translated by Thomas Clark, Hamilton, Adams, and Co., 1853, p. 127.
Lœhe, William. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Translated by H. A. Weller, Wartburg Publishing House, 1914, p. 208.
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. 81.
The Hands, Guilty and Ashamed: Judas – A Lenten Sermon on Matthew 27:3-10
By My Hands, for My Sake
The Hands, Guilty and Ashamed
Judas
Matthew 27:3-10
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ show you Jesus died for your sake, because God loves you!
- The Third set of Hands
On Ash Wednesday, we looked at the hands of Adam, in whose hands a piece of fruit created a burden we still bear today. Then last week, we looked at Nicodemus, to afraid to raise his hand to ask questions in a crowd, but who Jesus transformed in such a way, he would rather identify with Jesus’s death that celebrate the greatest feasts and victories of his community.
Tonight, we look at another set of hands, hands so hated, so maligned throughout history, that many would say he was most evil man in history.
In his hands just prior to the crucifixion was a bag, and in the bag 30 silver coins.
Think about Judas’s hands and the role they played. If any could say that Jesus would be killed “by my hands,” it would be Judas, and if anyone… no—we will get to that thought later.
The coins in his hands—though not for long–symbols of our greatest sin, symbols of his temptation, symbols of ours…
- Burdened by Temptation and Sin
What we know of Judas, picked up from this comment and that, isn’t pretty. He was one of the 12, handpicked by Jesus, the treasurer/bookkeeper of the group. Very focused on money and the things of the earth, critical of those he thought were wasting money, like the prostitute who cleaned and anointed Jesus feet with her tears, and with perfume that cost a year’s salary…oh did Judas get upset by that, for by that stage in his life, sin gripped his heart, and corrupted his desires.
Just as it did Adam and Eve’s hearts and souls. Just as Nicodemus knew failure. All betrayed their God, all denied Him, all of us have sinned….
Judas was not the worst sinner, he wasn’t the most guilty of sin, and there are people that feel far more shame for what they’ve done—there are people who know the same hopelessness…..
As I look at Judas, I see again the power that sin can have over an individual—that while they choose to sin the demonic powers at work against don’t give them much choice—they can be in bondage to that sin.
And it doesn’t matter which, greed—like Judas, lust, gluttony, even the desire to gossip, that burning in your gut that tells you have to share that juicy bit of news about this person, that sing, that politician or even that church. Sin is oppressive and because we have sinned, we have an equal share with Adam, Nicodemus, and yes Judas, in the death of Christ.
He died by our hands…but tonight we hear again, it was for our sake.
- What He missed – what we can’t let others miss.
In our reading tonight, Judas goes to the priests and elders—the leaders of the Sadducees and Pharisees. He is tortured by the weight of his guilt and sin…
Hear this part again, from a different translation…
3 Judas, the one who betrayed him, realized that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, 4 saying, “I’ve sinned. I’ve betrayed an innocent man.” They said, “What do we care? That’s your problem!” 5 Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left. Then he went out and hung himself. 6 The high priests picked up the silver pieces, but then didn’t know what to do with them. “It wouldn’t be right to give this—a payment for murder!—as an offering in the Temple.” Matthew 27:3-6 (MSG)
These church leaders recognize their bribe was used to arrange for the murder of Jesus! Yet their attitude to a sinner—overwhelmed by guilt and shame was, “we don’t care! That’s your problem!” The entire temple, the entire reason for it was to assure people of the forgiveness of sins, and the response was… “we don’t care.” While Judas sinned, I think I have a solid case that their sin, was worse…
Judas walks away, without the comfort of knowing not only would Jesus die by his hand, but for his sake. For even Judas’s sin could be forgiven, as Peter would find out.
As you and I find out tonight,
As every person should find out.
Jesus was beaten and crucified for our sake.
To not only forgive our sin, but to break its power over us, freeing us from it terror, freeing us from the pain it causes.
That’s why I talk about our sacraments so much, because people need to know….these burdens don’t have to be carried, this oppression- what Paul described as not being able to do what I know I should and doing what I shouldn’t—and therefore being a wretch… can be dealt with…
As we meet Jesus, and trust that it was for our sake he died.
Let’s pray…
The Problem of a Competitive Spirit… it is not heavenly!
Thoughts which draw me to Jesus, and to the Cross…
13 Joshua was near Jericho when he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a sword in his hand. Joshua went to him and asked, “Are you a friend or an enemy?”
14 The man answered, “I am neither. I have come as the commander of the LORD’s army.”
Then Joshua bowed facedown on the ground and asked, “Does my master have a command for me, his servant?”
15 The commander of the LORD’s army answered, “Take off your sandals, because the place where you are standing is holy.” So Joshua did. Joshua 5:13-15 NCV
The very word “religion” comes from the Latin “religare” or “religio,” which means “relationship,” or “binding relationship,” or “binding-back relationship.” It is not healthy, holy, or safe to laugh at God’s pole in that relationship, but it is very healthy and even holy to laugh at ourselves. In fact it is unhealthy not to.
Awake! awake, and praise the Lord!
Dismiss your griefs and cares;
A sacred feast He doth afford—
A table here prepares.
Our hungry souls may now be fed,
And taste of heavenly meat;
Christ’s body is our living bread—
His flesh we now may eat.
Whether I like it or not, I am more than a bit competitive! It may not be on a basketball or volleyball court anymore, or in a Tae Kwon Doe dojang, but there is something about engaging with other people with the intent and determination to win that matters to me. I ant to blame the environment, growing up in a sports focused country, where our heroes, once found on battlefields are found in sports stadiums. ( I can argue the competitiveness draws men into and sees them succeed in battle as well.)
These days, competition is found in social media– as people argue about “my” sports teams, or bash “my” political views, or “my” religious views. In the latter two cases, the views don’t even have to be mine – I grieve and want to fight when someone treats either Biden or Trump without respect, or when someone takes a religious leader’s comments out of context or twists them. I see the words, and into battle I go, not interested in discourse as much as showing that I am right. (And by right, do I mean superior?)
Into my world comes Joshua, and the story of his meeting Jesus – the commander of the Lord’s Armies. I so understand Joshua’s comment – “you are on my side, right!?” For if the COmmander is on the other side, then I am in the wrong, and I do not like that! The Commanders reply take Joshua by surprise, and turns Joshua’s world upside down. A lesson I need to learn- and relearn, and apply, and start again.
Peter Kreeft, the great philosopher/apologist, makes the same kind of point with his comments about religion. (Which I lvoed and filed away for those who “hate religion” but love “relationships.”) He reminds me that I need to laugh at myself! That I am the part of the relationship that has the capacity to be in total flux, We get blown about , stressed out, get narcisstic (me?) The grace of God, what Kreeft refers to His pole – is stable, and tied to it through our religion/the relationship we are bound into, keeps us safe, and if we thought about it, dwelling in His peace!
This is where the Luther Hymn finds its meaning, defining a place ofr us, where we know the strength of our being bound to God. It is in the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, the place where we meet God, and He shows us His love, as we remember Jesus, broken and His blood poured out–for us. FOR US ALL!
We don’t have to compete at the altar to be the most loved, or to receive the greatest reward, or to even have a spot! Indeed, our desire grows to be to see all at that altar. Our enemy is no longer our adversary, but the demonic that would deny the gospel being shared with someone we will come to love. Imagine the joy found in the broken relationship healing at the altar, and then completely healed before the throne. The one we compete with singing God’s praises next to us, the voices being one. This is heaven, this place at the altar, where we feast with God, together!
That’s a vision that will be so incredibly awesome we will laugh and cry, with joy! May God help us to see it! AMEN!
Kreeft, Peter. Ha!: A Christian Philosophy of Humor (p. 68). St. Augustine’s Press. Kindle Edition.
Luther, Martin, and John Hunt. 1853. The Spiritual Songs of Martin Luther: From the German. Translated by Thomas Clark. London: Hamilton, Adams, and Co.
