We Pray to the Lord of the Harvest that: Everyone Would Be Identifiable (as His) – a sermon on Ephesians 4:17-52
We Pray to the Lord of the Harvest that
Everyone Would Be
Identifiable… (as His)
Ephesians 4:17-5:2
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ reveal to you your true identity as a child of God, and empower you to live in that identity!
Who am I
I haven’t done a pastor parker’s poignant parable in a while, a real-life story that completely illustrates the lesson about Jesus, and His role in our life.
So today’s parable – the Kingdom of God is like the first day of preschool. Or the first day of college. It really doesn’t matter, for on such days, for life becomes radically different, and people are different, the order of our days are different, and even sleep patterns becomes different!
And in the middle of it all, we are unsure of ourselves, and because we lost all we have used to identify ourselves, things become crazy.
If we lost our identity, and if people don’t know who we are, we lost everything that governs our lives, and we have to re-learn who we are, and because of that, how we live.
But the Kingdom of God establishes our identity, much as the crowns given on the first day tell us (and our teacher) who we are….
Mistaken Identity
Do you remember the first day at a new school? The confusion, the lack of direction, being completely ignorant of the rules—not just the official ones of the schools, but the rules of society, the unspoken rules of the community? Or maybe it’s a new job or a new church, and there are some, well let’s say different people there.
Now hear the words of Paul, 17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.
You are in a new place, you don’t know anything—never mind which of the voices you should listen too. So rather than listen to God, the temptation is to listen to whoever says “do whatever you want!” “do what makes sense” rather than – obey the rules.
This is noting new, the wisest man in history, King Solomon, wrote,
18 When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful. Proverbs 29:18 (NLT2)
What would happen if a teacher walked out of the classroom for 30 minutes, or you left 40 freshman alone for a weekend at your house? Without guidance, people run wild…and some translations phrase it—they perish.
Is it no wonder why? Look at the behaviors that lack confusion brings about,
25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
And, 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language.
And, 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.
Notice how many of these are sins of passion, an indication of a lack of control, a lack of an identity that defines who we are, and how we behave.
He identified you as His own
Our thoughts, our words, our actions all depend on who we are, and how we identify ourselves.
No, let me restate that – it depends on whether we realize how God identifies us. The key verse in all our readings today,
Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
When the children showed up on Monday, Elizabeth had crowns prepared for them with their name on them. The reason I made the connection to the sermon was those crowns, for when God identifies you as His child, that crown is guaranteed, for we are children of God, children of the King.
That’s what we are talking about – for once the kids are settled, once they realize that they mean the world to their teachers, they settle in, give lots of hugs and get excited to be here, where they know they are loved.
It becomes second nature to behave within the rules then. They aren’t perfect, just like their teachers aren’t. But they soon get used to the environment, they get used to the rules, because they know they are loved, they know they are known, they know they belong here.
The same is true for us, the world changes when we realize who we are, who loves us, in whose presence we belong. That’s why it ends with this…
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us,
As we learn to walk with Jesus, as our hearts open up and His love pours out as we love others, everything is different in life. We are invited into this life filled with love, a love proven as Jesus paid for our sins with His blood on the cross.
He knew it was coming, he knew it would cost Him that much. And so He died for us. And it is in His death that we find out identity,
11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. Colossians 2:11-12 (NLT2)
Romans talks about the same thing as we are united to Jesus in our baptism, as we are cleansed from all our sins, and we are forever made one with God, as the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us, and marks us with God’s name.
We are identified as His, and as we learn from Him, we become like Him, reflecting Hi loves and glory into this confused world.
This is who you are, children of the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. That is your identity, all our identity, as we look towards life eternal in the presence of the God who loves us, and identifies us as His own.
AMEN!
We Pray to the Lord of the Harvest that… everyone’s roots would grow down into God’s love! A sermon on Ephesians 3:14-21
We Pray to the Lord of the Harvest that
Everyone’s Roots Would Grow Down into God’s Love
Ephesians 3:14-21
† Iesou, Huios, Soter †
16 I pray (for you as Paul did for his people) that from his (God’s) 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!
The Prayer
Anyone notice I replaced the usual blessing, “May the grace of God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ, with the prayer of Paul for the church in Ephesus?
Good, well at least for some of you…
The blessing, taken from the beginning of each of Paul’s epistles, and this prayer get ot the same point—desires the same growth in each of you—that results with you being at home with Jesus sharing in your life, being “at home” with you.
This is why we are here this morning, this idea that you trust in Jesus, and that your entire life finds its roots, its foundation, its life, deeply in Christ Jesus. This is why we have services and Bible studies in English, Mandarin and Tagalog. It is why we have a preschool and school age care.
To help people’s roots, their heart and soul, grow deep into God’s love.
There to find comfort, peace, and the inner strength we need.
It is the prayer a pastor should, no must pray for his people.
It is the way to evaluate a pastor as well, does he help you experience that love of God, does He help you explore the width, the length, the height and depth of it, and even if you can’t explain it.. do you know it.
Do We Not Understand? He’s home
In the gospel reading this morning, after seeing Jesus feed 5000 families, and calming an incredible storm after taking a walk across a sea, the apostles are confused. It says there, “52 for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in.”
It is amazing to me, as we talked about yesterday, that the apostles didn’t understand the reason for the miracles, that they didn’t understand the healings, or even the plain teaching. In this case, three miracles in what 12-15 hours? Feeding of thousands, Jesus taking a stroll across a storm maddened lake, and calming it with a word….
But what they didn’t understand was why… they didn’t intimately know the purpose of this work of God they witnessed. Is it just about Jesus being that powerful, about his exerting his Lordship, about Him proving He was God Almighty?
I can understand the world not getting it, about them seeing nothing special about the altar, about them making fun of what they do not understand. But when the church doesn’t, it scares me.
There is only one reason for all the ministry God does in our lives, it was what Paul wanted them to know, to explore every dimension of, to experience fully, even it is was beyond our ability to understand.
Intimately know, to experience!
What the apostles needed to know was the absolute love of God for them, a love that compelled Jesus to feed thousands, heal people, teach and shepherd them. It was His love that didn’t leave them in that storm, but calmed them with the words, “do not be afraid.” And it is this love that drove Paul’s most pastoral prayer!
Hear again what Paul wants the outcome of the prayer to be,
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.
As I talked over the passage with William, who is preaching it for the Chinese congregation, I kept on going at the idea that we need to fully explore God’s love—and Saturday—I came up with the idea of a child at their first visit to an amusement park, as every ride is amazing experience and a new favorite to talk about over and over and over again.
Not to lecture about how steep the drops are, or what the g force the rollar coaster pulls, or the angle of descent, but the sheer joy of something you so amazing, you really want to get back in line for, or just stay on the ride!.
We saw that at the school on Friday, as a student and a mom realized it was the last day, and bought the staff lunch, and then, after the student was picked up at 12:30, came back at 4 to get a picture with Elizabeth and Lorena!
That’s the love of God, once you experienced it, once you realize it never ends, and you can’t escape it, you want to just stay in the midst of the experience.
Even if we can’t explain it… maybe especially because we can’t explain it.
We simply know it…
I have to admit, while I love to talk about God’s love, the task of ensuring you experience it, in every service is more than daunting, it is terrifying. If it were just up to the sermon, I couldn’t do it..
You experienced the love of God when you heard you were forgiven.
You will experience it, when you are told by me, and everyone else here – that God’s peace is with you always.
And you will experience it, as you hear that Christ’s body was broken and His blood was shed “for you”! You will experience it as Bob and I serve you.
That’s why after saying the words of institution, I hold up the plate and the chalice a moment longer, too give us a chance to let the words sink in
This is my body…. This is my blood… and the words “for you!”
It is why to prepare we sing the Agnus Dei – here is the Lamb of God …. Come and eat! You are welcome here!
For the Lord is making His home with you… so stretch out, and grow your roots deep into His love.
AMEN!
Stolen Images: DaVinci’s and Something More Hideous…
Thoughts which drag me back to Jesus, and to the Cross…
“Then I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom can I send? Who will go for us?” So I said, “Here I am. Send me!” Then the Lord said, “Go and tell this to the people: ‘You will listen and listen, but you will not understand. You will look and look, but you will not learn.’ Make the minds of these people dumb. Shut their ears. Cover their eyes. Otherwise, they might really understand what they see with their eyes and hear with their ears. They might really understand in their minds and come back to me and be healed.”” (Isaiah 6:8–10, NCV)
If, in view of something apparently more important, we push God to one side in order to give precedence above all else to the happiness of the human person, we do not thereby become more free to establish right order in the world, but rather lose the standard and eventually come to despise mankind. Only one who regards humanity from God’s perspective is capable of loving mankind. Only one who knows God can love mankind—even the most wretched, the weakest, the defenseless, the battered, the unborn, the inept. That is why the “Hear, O Israel” stands irremovably at the beginning of all our ways.
Now, this is Christ. I see him hanging on the cross, not beautiful, nor greatly honored; but I see him hanging in disgrace, like a murderer and malefactor; thus, reason must say that he is cursed before God. The Jews believed this to be true and they could only consider him the most cursed of all men before God and the world.
Moses had to set up a serpent of brass, which looked like the fiery serpents, but did not bite, nor harm any one; it rather saved the people. Thus, Christ also has the form and the appearance of a sinner, but has become my salvation; his death is my life; he atones for my sins and takes away from me the wrath of the Father. If man believes that the death of Christ has taken away his sin, he becomes a new man. The carnal, natural man cannot believe that God will gratuitously take away and forgive us all our sins. Reason argues: You have sinned, you must also atone for your sin. The gospel of Christ says: You have sinned, another must atone for you. Our works are nothing; but faith in Christ does it all
I have see Social Media blow up over the opening of the Olympic Games in France. I have seen a lot of fear, a lot of hatred, a of condemnation. Because they took license (in both meanings of the words) with a man’s depiction of the Last Supper.
But what should the church expect from people who do not know God? What should we expect from that part of humanity that is “wretched, weak, defenseless (against evil and temptation) battered by sin, etc. I think the fact the church has a different expectation of the world is sadder than the world’s attempt to mock the church.
But the world needs to learn a lesson about how to mock, how to completely pervert something, for it can only take what is good, and try to make it look evil. It has no power to take what seems evil and make it good. That’s why Isaiah says they have no clue, as they refuse to listen to God. For if they had, they would flip things from bad to good….as Jesus does.
Consider Luther’s point about the serpent – the one who delivers the judgment for rebellion against God. God mocks Saan there, by using the image of the serpent that causes such pain and death- to bring healing and life. The difference is God’s serpent didn’t bite us, it bit death.
The same with Christ on the cross. A hideous form of torture, an unbelievable amount of pain, as one hangs on the tree – accursed because of sin.. not his own, like other criminals and rebels, but ours. And so the church mocks sin, Satan death, and the world by preaching Christ crucified – earing crosses and crucifixes–parading them before the entire world… shattering the world and perverting the world sense of justice, by punishing the Innocent One in a humiliating, ugly, and traumatic way.
The irony of the Cross is its brutality, its horror, it injustice leads to perfection, to holiness. The irony of the cross is His death leads to eternal life. Its irony is that what sought to permanently divide us from God, eternally united us to God.
And those who think they mocked the church, those that think they were deliberate profane, we pray that they understand the irony, and find the hope in Christ Jesus, and in His sacraments.
Ratzinger, Joseph. 1992. Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. Edited by Irene Grassl. Translated by Mary Frances McCarthy and Lothar Krauth. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
Luther, Martin, and John Sander. 1915. Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year. Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern.
Despair, Depression and Burn out… Is there hope?
Photo by Wouter de Jong on Pexels.com
Thoughts which draw me closer to Jesus and to the Cross…
1 These are the words of the Teacher, a son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 The Teacher says, “Useless! Useless! Completely useless! Everything is useless.”3 What do people really gain from all the hard work they do here on earth? Ecc. 1:1 NCV
58 So my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Do not let anything move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your work in the Lord is never wasted. 1 Cor. 15:58 NCV
Faith is not just a matter of feeling, something that we pursue as a private matter in addition to the ordinary pursuits of every day because, after all, man has a longing for religion. Faith is above all the orderliness of reason, without which it loses its standard and the ability to judge its own goals
For such times, when our heart feels too sorely pressed, this comfort of the Lord’s Supper is given to bring us new strength and refreshment.
I have yet to meet anyone over the age of twelve, who hasn’t encountered the feeling that Solomon so perfectly explains this morning. It is a sense of fatalism, a lack of meaning, which attempts to extinguish our meaning. It hits us all, some of us because of things in the world we can’t change, others because of things in our lives, relationships, health, work, And when all those things gang up….what I call righteous depression sets deeply into our lives. And if we are dealing with some form of clinical depression at the same time… life becomes even more miserable.
Even for Solomon, the wisest man in history, one of the wealthiest and famous men in ancient history, who clearly was at a low as he wrote this book. Which is exactly why its in scripture, for if he could survive such, we who have the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, can do the same.
St. Paul shows the counter, that our depression isn’t an accurate feeling, what we are experiencing in the dark shadows of life isn’t what is real. It may seem this way, oh the darkness seems so real, so traumatic, and we seem so alone. But God promises something radically different a we walk with Him, a promise sthat we need to cling to, a hope that goes beyond our sensibilities, that defies our logic.
A promise that points out that God’s love and peace is beyond our understanding, untouchable by our logic. A peace that is found when we depend on God, (for that is what “to have faith” means) and we let God’s reason overwhelm our reason. We trust His reality more than what we perceive.
ANd this is the reasons for the sacraments. Something physical, something tangible, something which comforts as we realize we are being ministered to by God… as much as Elijah was, when he ran away from his victory. When we hear the words-they should shock you enough to move past your old logic that is failing, for something that is healing, for something miraculous.
This is our hope when we think all is vain, to cling to the hope of Christ, in who nothing is vain.
May you find someone to day to encourage you to look to Jesus, and may you do the same for several others.
“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. 226.
Martin Luther, “The Large Catechism,” Tappert, Theodore G., editor. The Book of Concord the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mühlenberg Press, 1959, p. 449.
God At Work in Our LIves: The Thesaurus Sermon…. on Ephesians 1:3-14
God at Work IN OUR LIVES!
God Adopts US! The Thesaurus Sermon
Ephesians 1:3-14
† In Jesus’ Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ assure you—that you are a child of God!
Double the praise!
As I read the passage that we are looking at this morning, I thought Paul was in what I call “Thesaurus Mode.”
He wasn’t just doing the ancient technique of repeating what he said twice, He repeated, then summarized it, then retaught it, then restated it, then he explained it, then he said it again!
I think that means he wanted us to get the point he was trying to make—
A really basic thought, but one so incredible that he has to surround it with the only thing that made sense.
Verse 3, “3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”
And verse 14, “we would praise and glorify him.”
The anticipation and reaction of this incredible message begins with us in awe, worshipping God and ends with us praising and glorifying Him,
So what is the message? What is the word? What is the news?
His Plan, His Decision, His Will, His Promise
Well, the first part of the message is to communicate that this was always what God wanted to happen.
In verse 4 it says, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ.”
In verse 5 it repeats the idea , “God decided in advance”
And
“This is what he wanted to do”
He keeps the idea going,
Verse 9, “God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan”
and going,
verse 11, “for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.”
Verse 12, God’s purpose
And finally in verse 13, whom he promised long ago.
Seven times in 11 verses, Paul tries to reveal that this is not some last-minute reaction to do something about our brokenness, it is something that from before day 1 God determined to do.
I think we need to realize that, more importantly, I think God, who inspired St. Paul to write these words, knew that we would be broken, and that we needed to know how deliberate God was in dealing with that brokenness.
And how the sin of the world, the sin of our community and our own sin breaks us, for it certainly does.
We need to know God was always prepared to deal with this brokenness, this sin, and bring healing to us. He reveals that over and over in the Old Testament, as you see in the Psalms and the minor prophets.
God knew… and God planned to take care of us… even at our most broken.
Even if that is today… He’s loved and chosen, decided, wanted to, mysteriously planned, chose in advanced and promised to act in our lives….
DO you see what I mean by saying this is a message communicated using a thesaurus?
Blessed, United Brought, Adopted , identified, His inheritance, His purchase
But it’s not enough to tell us God’s intent… we have to know what God intended to do to us….
So, verse 3 blessed us with every spiritual blessing because we are united with Christ,
Verse 4, loved us and chose us in Christ, to be holy and without fault in His eyes
Verse 5, God, adopted us into His own family by bringing us through Jesus Christ,
Verse 6, we see God pouring out His glorious grace on us who belong to His dear Son.
Verse 7 He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins,
Verse 8 showered (baptized us ) with kindness and with all wisdom and understanding
Verse 10, God brings us along with everything under the authority of Christ,
Verse 11, He gives us (the ones who were broken) an inheritance from God, and makes it all work according to His plan.
It goes on to describe this as being for all us, both Jewish people who were the first to trust in Christ, and the Gentiles who heard and believed, in verse 13 are saved and identified as His own…
It says there also that He gives us the Holy Spirit , and verse 14, He gives us that inheritance, to all He has purchased to be His own people!
So to summarize, He blessed, united to Christ, loved, chose, made us holy and without fault, adopted us, bring us to Himself through Jesus, poured His glorious grace, purchased all of us with Christ’s blood, baptized us with kindness, wisdom and understanding as He places us in Christ, gives us His inheritance, saves us, identifies us as His own, gives us the Holy Spirit… and again purchased us—so that we can be HIS OWN PEOPLE!
Wowza….
Praise and Value
Seems like we should value and recognize all that work that God has done!
That is what it means to praise and glorify Him, as we recognize all of this!!! That is what it means to praise and glorify Him—because of what happened as Christ died on the cross, and rose from the dead, and what He does as He baptizes us, as He justifies and sanctifies us…..
This is our God, this is the message God wants to us to know, and what He communicates through St. Paul…
This is why we praise Him, not just because He is almighty, and all knowing… but because He reveals to us His love, and the action that love for us who are broken… and He makes us His own….
Amen!
Experiences beyond words……Where Theological and Exegetical Knowledge Fail
Thoughts which drive me to Jesus, and to His cross…
3 But those who prophesy are speaking to people to give them strength, encouragement, and comfort…..5 Those who prophesy are greater than those who can only speak in different languages—unless someone is there who can explain what is said so that the whole church can be helped. 1 Co 14:3-5. NCV
19 I am teaching them to you now so that you will put your trust in the LORD. NCV Pr 22:19.
The Imitation of Christ admonishes us: “Even if you knew by heart the whole Bible and the sayings of all the philosophers, what would it profit you without the love of God and his grace?” “Everyone has a natural craving for knowledge, but of what avail is knowledge without the fear of God?” “An unlearned person who serves God is surely better than a learned one who proudly searches the heavens while neglecting himself.” “Give up your excessive desire for learning. Therein are to be found only illusion and inner emptiness.”
How a man is born again may easily be told in words. When, however, it is a matter of experience, as it was with Nicodemus, it is a hard matter to understand and it requires effort to attain the experience. To persevere in this, when it becomes a matter of experience and when we are really tested, requires pains and labor.
Nicodemus was a brilliant scholar among the Jewish leaders. Yet he had to approach Jesus by night, and then the simplest thing, the idea of being born again, befuddled him. (I like that word befuddled – I dont’ know why!) He was confused, as many were with Jesus’ simplest teachings.
There are some things in life that you do not learn with your mind, you can only experience them, and let them transform you. Paul the apostle talks about two things – God’s love and His peace in a manner that clearly states that they are beyond our ability to understand, but are easily experienced. The Holy Spirit causes us to do causes, in ways beyond words. And if we focus on trying to explain it, we lose track of the experience.
There is more to it than that, as Paul discusses above when the saints in Corinth. There is a purpose to our words that can easily get lost as we pursue any gift–the ability to use that as a tool to help people experience the love and peace of God. We are called to bring each other strength, encouragement and comfort we are called to help all those called together–all those God desires to save. And the pursuit of knowledge can distract from that.
This is why Solomon, the wisest man in history would write that the purpose of his scriptures was to help us put our trust in the Lord, not in Solomon! And Pope Benedict XVI ( aka Joseph Ratzinger) the brilliant theologian Scholar, would quote another saying the natural craving for knowledge is worthless, compared to an unlearned person in a relationship with God. Brilliant men, gifted with knowledge and wisdom, dialing it back–to know God.
Another brilliant pastor I know, had an advanced school of preaching – 5 courses…. an introduction then 4 deeper classes. the first deep class was 45 hours learning who we were in Christ – not pastors, but children of God, who God was forming. THe last class had “nothing” to do with scripture–at least directly. Instead, we were study our people, to know what they were going through. We were given ways to learn their hurts and pains, to get behind the walls they set up. to laugh and cry with them (as St. Paul advised) because then we could see the Holy Spirit using our words to reveal that comfort that only comes from experiencing God’s love, that comes as we dwell secure in His peace. I look at those two classes as being the most formative of my preaching, even though they taught me nothing about studying scripture, or Greek or Hebrew. Instead of that Schuler, made us live in the love and peace scripture revealed, and then encouraged us to understand how we would help reveal it to others.
One of my other mentors, a brilliant Hebrew scholar, is also such a man. His gift goes beyond languages. While a good preacher (except for his ubiquitous mentions of USC football), his primary ministry I will always see as how he helped his congregation experience God’s love and peace in the Lord’s Supper. It was visible to me, as I assisted him, that his people savored this moment of communion, as they experienced Christ’s Body and Blood, given and shed for them. Body’s relaxed– smiles broke out, tension faded in weary, anxious bodies, as peace settled over them–as they knew they were loved. This is what I hope I can do… far more than anything else…this is what is needed – and important!
Don’t get me wrong, study is still a discipline I need, – but what is needed more, what we need to pray for, and focus our ministry on, is that God loves us, and calls us to Himself. Everything else must serve that purpose… for then the church is a place where broken people find healing, while helping others heal.
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. 223.
Luther, Martin, and John Sander. Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year. Augustana Book Concern, 1915, p. 247.
Should I Want to Please People? The Answer is surprising…
Thoughts which drive me to the crucified Christ….
31 The answer is, if you eat or drink, or if you do anything, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Never do anything that might hurt others—Jews, Greeks, or God’s church—33 just as I, also, try to please everybody in every way. I am not trying to do what is good for me but what is good for most people so they can be saved.
11 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Co 10:31–11:1. NCV
Sovereign Love is found only in charity; the love of hope is imperfect, and consists more of feeling than fact, without charity; yet as a motive power nothing can exceed hope, and therefore we say that through hope we love God supremely.
321 Apostolic soul, that intimacy between Jesus and you—so close to him for so many years! Doesn’t it mean anything to you?
I read a different Bible translation every year for a reason, I want to do more than just read it, I want things to strike me differently, to challenge me, to gnaw at my brain until it burrows into my heart.
Today is one of those days, and it was caused by Paul’s advice that we are to imitate him by pleasing everybody in every way. I had to admit, this struck me odd, so I went back to my old familiar translations, NLT, NJB, NKJV even the old KJV, and all of them had the same concept… we are to please every body.
That sounds so contrary to how I’ve been taught to minister to people! We are supposed to do what is right, not what makes everyone happy! When we preach, when we plan worship, when we are counseling them regarding sin and trauma, I’ve heard that from pastors and professors for years, especially in regards to worship practices.
I think the anxiety rises because we equate people pleasing with compromise, and that leads us to think we would compromise something important, like the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus which was accomplished to join us to Himself by erasing our sin. I have heard such conversations about those who want to appease those in their church by honoring traditions, and by those who want to offend them in order to “please” others.
I think please them is less about compromise than we think – it is about making people comfortable in the presence of God, removing the stumbling blocks that distract them from resting in the presence of God. Think abut a hot day, where you are working hard outside, and someone offers you a cold soda just as you finish your work. That can be a moment where you are pleased, where nothing stops you from taking a deep breath and being satisfied with the day.
It is that kind of moment of intimacy with God, the assurance that He is with them, that being pleased is all about. That allows the anxiety and tension, the stress and overwhelming emotional overload to be vented, and to leace us in a moment of bliss, in a moment where salvation is recognized and rejoiced in, even if just a quietly said, AMEN! (meaning “this is real and true)
The desire for people to come to those moments is what Josemaria is talking about, as he addresses those who want to save the world. For it is those moments of intimacy with God, those moments that should mean everything to us…that should fuel our apostolate (Roman Catholic term – some contemporary protestants would say our missional attitude.) It is that which fuels the hope that brings us to God who gives us that hope, and helps us to realize how meaningless life is without it.
That is the core of evangelism – and what would lift people up and give them more pleasure than they’ve ever experienced, to know by experiencing it– the height, depth, breadth and width of God’s love for them, revealed in Christ. And the more we realize that pleasure, that joy, the more dominant giving it to others becomes….
Of the Love of God. Translated by H. L. Sidney Lear, Rivingtons, 1888, p. 79.
Escrivá, Josemaría. The Way (p. 54). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
We Pray to the Lord of the Harvest that: Everyone Would Be United in Christ – a sermon on Eph. 4:1-16
We Pray to the Lord of the Harvest that
Everyone Would Be
United in Christ
Ephesians 4:1-16
† In Jesus Name †
May the experience of indescribable love of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ help you realize you are united those in Christ Jesus!
7 Mentions of the Collateral Blessing
As a historian, and one who is fascinated with naval ships, I have often heard the word collateral, especially in terms of damage. The term comes from the earliest days of mortar fire, from days when ships were propelled by the wind.
The idea was that you would shoot the cannon fire, with the new exploding cannon balls over a high arch, clearing obstacles and landing inside an area and then exploding. But firing these mortars was not an exact science, as humidity, temperature, wind resistance, imperfects in the “ball” all could affect the flight path, and how the fuse ignited before the mortar cannon fired.
Collateral damage would happen when the shell didn’t travel far enough and exploded over your own troops. Or flew too far, and exploded among civilians in a nearby village, rather than within the fort walls. Or on rare occasions, the shell would explode inside the mortar cannon, and if that happened, the ship was destroyed. These reasons collateral damage occurred were unintended and were beyond calculation.
In today’s reading from Ephesians, we do not see collateral damage—we see a collateral blessing, mentioned 7 times.
And make no mistake, this collateral blessing was not unintended. It was specifically an intention of God to cause this blessing, and while not the primary blessing of the cross, it is incredibly power, important and necessary.
The intended collateral blessing is this.
UNITY.
Why Can’t We See this Unity?
In order to see Unity created, whether in a family, a church, or a nation, we have to recognize what distracts from true unity, and what destroys it.
The simplest way to identify a lack of unity is when we start using pronouns to designate differences. For example, rather than saying we have a problem, we say there is something wrong with them.
Or when we divide territory and possessions. The husband who says those are your parents, rather than say our parents, is indicating that there is a bigger problem at stake, one that is threatening the unity of the marriage. Or a church that says, this is your vision to one groups, means that they aren’t united in vision, for there is no mutual ownership. Or when a nation is divided over a problem, and one group says,—Homelessness—that’s your problem—deal with it—rather than recognizing that the problem is the entire nations and it will take the entire nation to deal with it.
These sins develop out of pride and its sister, insecurity. In both cases, the division forms from the idea that one side must be right, and the other must be wrong. And that whoever is wrong is somehow threatening whoever is right.
This is nothing new, and Paul deals with such division in Romans 14, as people argued over what day to worship, and whether those in a relationship with God could eat bacon wrapped scallops! (or any pork or shellfish!) And Paul says both parties are wrong, for they are treasuring something more than their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Some might ask, aren’t there doctrinal issues that we must draw the line with? Can we just accept everything? Of course not, but how we even deal with such horrible errors has to be with love. The Apostles Paul writes,
25 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. 26 Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants. 2 Timothy 2:25-26 (NLT2)
He also says that our message must be to plead with such people to be reconciled to God! ( 2 Cor. 5:20)
Which brings us back to Jesus, and the intended collateral blessing.
Where unity proceeds from
When someone is reconciled to God, they are brought to a position where they trust in His promises of His forgiveness, of the gift of the Holy Spirit and the guarantee of eternal life!
All this is because God united them to Jesus, as they were united to His death and His resurrection (Romans 6, Colossians 2). What an amazing thing this is! What a new life God creates as He reconciles them through the blood of Jesus!
The intended collateral blessing is that if you are united to Jesus, you are united to me, because I am And you are united to Zac and William, and Larry and Josephine, and George, and everyone in the English service and in the church throughout the world.
That is why God had Paul write, “Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
The primary reason for the cross is, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, to united us to the Father as we are united to Him. But it was always God’s intent that what unites us to Him, united us to each other as well!
That is why Paul said,
3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.
The effort is not expended around in a debate format, nor is it found at a discussion table
It is found in Christ, in those moments where we all realize His presence and His work, as He forgives His people, as He instills in them the faith that causes them to depend on Him, as He washes away all our sin in baptism, so that we know we have been united to Him together, and this grace, this mercy, this forgiveness we share, all intended collateral blessings, mean we are united in Him and share in His peace, and His glory, together.
AMEN!
God Acted on OUR Behalf: A sermon from Concordia on Psalm 124
God at Work IN OUR LIVES
God Acted on OUR Behalf
Psalm 124
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace, love and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be revealed to you daily in your lives.
The Scariest Meditation….think about it for a moment
I want you to open your bulletin back up to the first reading, from Psalm 124, and read that first question with me….
What if the LORD had not been on our side?
Now think of a traumatic experience in your life, and meditate on that psalm for a moment…
That’s only half a moment…keep going… what would have happened if God wasn’t there?
I have to admit, when I tried to actually consider that, and the times I’ve been through, and the times I am going through… I can’t… it’s too hard..
That and my mind keeps hearing you guys telling me… “and also with you.”
The purpose of the psalms, whether sung, chanted or read, are to help us worship—which means we need to know and be able to express why we value God….
And today, that starts by considering the desolation that is the alternative….
To be honest, I would rather not do so….
If He wasn’t their rage might have been deserved
The passage continues, Let all Israel repeat: 2 What if the LORD had not been on our side when people attacked us? 3 They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger. 4 The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us. 5 Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives.
Wow, were these people upset at Israel! The description sounds worse than war, rather more like the kind of rage that happens when a bear or a tiger is hurt, and mauls whoever is nearby whether they deserve it, or not.
The problem is, without God acting in our lives, this is hard to say, they deserve it.
The reason is that it is a hard thing to say is… get this… because that means we deserve wrath for some of the things that God has had to deal with in our lives.
The stuff that ticks people off, the stuff we’ve done that causes so much anxiety we are drowning it, and the guilt would overwhelm us…
And we could have deserved it… for Paul described us well, in describing himself, Titus, and every Christian…..
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and wrong. We were slaves to passions and pleasures of all kinds. We spent our lives in malice and envy; others hated us and we hated them…. (Titus 3:3)
Wow- pastor-you are unloading on us today!
You really think we are all that bad? Do you really think we are evil
I could point to scripture as evidence, if I wanted to take the heat off of myself… or I could point to the joy that of you felt a few weeks ago, as you brought your burdens up to the altar, and had them taken from you, so that God could commune with you…
But before you get to pounded in the ground, I would ask you to read the passage again…. Especially the underlined part…
We escaped – because He acted
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and wrong. We were slaves to passions and pleasures of all kinds. We spent our lives in malice and envy; others hated us and we hated them…. (Titus 3:3)
It goes on to talk about what happened then,
4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior was revealed, 5 he saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us. 6 God poured out the Holy Spirit abundantly on us through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that by his grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life we hope for. Titus 3:4-7 (TEV)
This is what the Psalmist was talking about when he said…
6 Praise the LORD, who did not let their teeth tear us apart! 7 We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap. The trap is broken, and we are free! 8 Our help is from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:6-8)
There are traumas that we bring on ourselves, and there are others that we do not. Do not take these words to say that all the trauma is our fault, and even as some of it is, we know this,
God did rescue us.
This isn’t about whose side He on….
That’s what the psalmist asks, “what if the Lord had not been on our side…”
The purpose of thinking about that is to thank Him for being there.
Every week, when I study the passage, I look at the original languages. Every once in a while, this week the first line looks like this…
| What | if | the | Lord | • | had | not | been | on | our | side | |||||||||
| 6 לוּלֵ֣י | ← | → | 7 יְ֭הוָה | 8 שֶׁ | ►9 | ◄6 | 9 הָ֣יָה | → | 10 ל11 ָ֑נוּ | ← | |||||||||
My translation of this would be simpler….
If Not YHWH existed(was) with us
Or even simpler
If not God was with you!
But that is merely to get us to think…
Praise God…the Lord is with us..
And He has rescued us.
As the psalmist says, the trap is broken, we are free. Our God, who created all that we don’t see, and all we do,… is our God, and He is with us! AMEN!
The Tournament of Theology–cannot be won.
Thoughts which draw me close to Jesus, and to His cross.
20 Then Isaiah is bold enough to say: “I was found by those who were not asking me for help. I made myself known to people who were not looking for me.” Romans 10:20 NCV
That is the humility that is required of the theologian.… Without the realism of the saints, without their contact with reality, which is what it is all about, theology becomes an empty intellectual game and loses its character as a science.
It seems to me that we shall have our hands full to keep these commandments, practicing gentleness, patience, love toward enemies, chastity, kindness, etc., and all that these virtues involve. But such works are not important or impressive in the eyes of the world. They are not unusual and pompous, restricted to special times, places, rites, and ceremonies, but are common, everyday domestic duties of one neighbor toward another, with no show about them.
How does one acquire love? The human heart is so false that it cannot love unless it first sees the benefit of loving. No man can bring this love into the heart. Therefore God gave us his Son, graciously poured out his greatest treasures and sunk and drowned all our sins and filth in the great ocean of his love, so that this great love and blessing must draw man to love and be ready to fulfil the divine commandments with a willing heart. In no other way can the heart love or have any love; it must be assured that it was first loved. Now man cannot do this; therefore Christ comes and takes the heart captive and says: Learn to know me. I am Christ, who placed myself in your misery to drown your sins in my righteousness. This knowledge softens your heart, so that you must turn to him.
Now that we are removed a few days from Celtics domination of the NBA, my twitter feed is returning to deluge of those who treat theology like the ultimate sports event – a tournament seems to seek out who wins, and who loses. I see those who claim to be Catholics trying to score on Protestants, those who are protests trying to slamdunk Catholics, and even the Orthodox are involved now, both on offense and defense. It is far more competitive, far more brutal, and too be honest, bad sports abound more in this game than any sport.
For the tournament cannot be won, the game cannot be won. It is a double elimination contest, with both sides losing, and often both sides brutally, if not terminally injured in their faith in God.
I’ve witnessed too many such injuries, even recently, as I’ve worked with a few whose view of the church becomes jandiced. And I must confess to my engaging in such games (for that is all they are) and being scarred and hurting others….some deliberately.
To this problem the Apostle Paul speaks, quoting Isaiah above. The proof for those who tried to compete with Him didn’t eventually matter, for God could work, and does work, drawing people to His side, brining people into His glory, whco weren’t looking for Him. In fact, many of them were running from Him, and ran smack dab into a relationship where God’s love overwhelmed them. This is what Pope Benedict wrote of while a cardinal – and the head of theology for the Catholic church–without seeing the impact of God’s love on those who went before, theology is empty. Not that these people were great theologians, but because God worked in their lives– He became their reality.
That is the point of the Large Catechism, in noting the struggle to keep the commandments. I don;t care how well you can translate the Hebrew, that will not help you obey them, and those studies will not offer you comfort when you realize you shattered them in theological combat. The only think that matters then is the prelude is experiencing what precedes them, “I am the Lord, your God, who rescued you…”
Luther notes the only hope, though I would include the soul and mind as well as the heart. Without the love of God invading my life, without Him drowning our sin and filth inthe great ocean of His love, we cannot be Theologians. We have to be Theophilians first! We have to love- something foreign to us if we don’t experience the incredible dimensions of God’s love for us, which was revealed in Christ Jesus. Christ must come and take our heart captive, it must give us the ability to trust Him, who came to share in our lives, shattered and murdered by our own sin, to redeem and save us.
That is the core of real Theology, as the Holy Spirit leads us to experience the love of God that draws us into Christ, His death, His resurrection, and His glory. Theology should serve, not as an academic debate, but rather to assist in communicating that news, so that people may know the love of God.
Any other use is… worthless, empty, and leads to elimination of life.
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, pp. 198–99.
Martin Luther, The Large Catechism, Tappert, Theodore G., editor. The Book of Concord the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mühlenberg Press, 1959, p. 407.
Luther, Martin, and John Sander. Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year. Augustana Book Concern, 1915, p. 221.
