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Time to get back to work….
Devotional thought of the day….
Finally, grow strong in the Lord, with the strength of his power. 11 Put on the full armour of God so as to be able to resist the devil’s tactics. 12 For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the principalities and the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world, the spirits of evil in the heavens. 13 That is why you must take up all God’s armour, or you will not be able to put up any resistance on the evil day, or stand your ground even though you exert yourselves to the full. 14 So stand your ground, with truth a belt round your waist, and uprightness a breastplate, 15 wearing for shoes on your feet the eagerness to spread the gospel of peace 16 and always carrying the shield of faith so that you can use it to quench the burning arrows of the Evil One. 17 And then you must take salvation as your helmet and the sword of the Spirit, that is, the word of God. 18 In all your prayer and entreaty keep praying in the Spirit on every possible occasion. Never get tired of staying awake to pray for all God’s holy people, 19 and pray for me to be given an opportunity to open my mouth and fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel 20 of which I am an ambassador in chains; pray that in proclaiming it I may speak as fearlessly as I ought to.
Ephesians 6:10-20 (NJB)
4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed 19 and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people.”
Luke 4:18-19 (TEV)
This morning as I looked at FB during breakfast, my heart broke.
Not over who one the election. That event doesn’t change who I am, or what I do. Simply put, the job of the church, and of its pastors, is to bring the same message that Jesus quoted from the Book of Isaiah. That doesn’t change, the message is the same, no matter who is in office, no matter if it is proclaimed Sunday morning in a Cathedral, or Wednesday afternoon in Starbucks. If doesn’t matter if the government is working with the people of God, or as it was when Paul wrote that passage in Ephesians 6, killing those who trusted in God, (as Paul himself once did.)
It is time for the church to re-focus, to speak the words of life to a world, not just a country, a world where brokenness abounds, where families need healing, where forgiveness must be offered… and received. Where people are willing to love, and serve, and show mercy.
We aren’t each others enemies. Those who don’t agree with us in regards to morality, are not those we are to do battle with, drawing lines in the sand. For those in the church are not any less of sinners – the only difference is we know where to turn to for help – and they do not. Our battle isn’t with presidents or governors – our battle is for souls that fear death, that despair under the oppression of Satan, and who are in bondage to sin. THe only way to see them freed – is by sharing the hope we have in Christ – it cannot be done in the ballot box, or in loud speeches, or in bemoaning (or being triumphant) on FB and Twitter. Note that even as Paul talks about the armor of God, it is all about trusting in His promises, and that it is used not to condemn and do battle, but to share the gospel.
You want real change?
Here is the promise of it:
7:12 Then one night the LORD appeared to Solomon and said, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. 13 At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. 14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 15 My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. 16 For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.
2 Chronicles 7:12-16 (NLT)
We are His Temple… we are dear to His heart…
Cry out “Lord have mercy” and know He has…
Three Sermons, Three Servants, One Passage:
On Sunday, three of the men I get to work with, two vicars and a deacon served people by proclaiming the Gospel. All three wrote solid sermons, and I couldn’t pick one over the other two, so here are all three. Enjoy and be blessed!
From Vicar Mark:
Mark 10: 17-22
Greetings brothers and sisters in the name of Christ who considered it pure joy to go to the cross for our sin and in whom we now live forever!
Alleluia, amen!
You ever have one of those days that seem like a perfect day and nothing can go wrong?
You think you’ve got it all figured out. Everything is firing on all eight cylinders, the coast is clear. All systems are go!
In the words of Marsha Brady, “The birds are blooming and the daffodils are singing!”
Then things hit the fan and you realize you have locked your keys in the car and your not in it or that perfect dessert you made for the church potluck and are so proud of is now face down on a street somewhere because you left it on the roof of the car and forgot to load it.
Maybe you crammed and studied like crazy for that test and you know that you are going to ace it until you realized when you get to class that you studied the wrong chapters.
You sound like that young, wealthy ruler who thought he had everything in his pocket and under control and then meets Jesus on the road and asks Him,” Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
What must I do?
You, you, you. Me, me, me. I.I I.
Between this account in the Gospel and you and I it appears to be all about us! Tell me what to do and I’ll make it happen, I think. Did he really want to know or did he want confirmation that he had already done it by his own accord?
Jesus answers this self-confident young wealthy ruler by saying, “ Why do you call me good? No one is good but One-God.”
Right away Jesus keys in and tells this guy that no one is good except for God! Only God is righteous and Holy. No matter what this guy says or thinks he falls short in his ‘goodness’.
Jesus tells him, “ You know the commandments: do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, don’t defraud and honor your father and mother.”
I’m sure at hearing this; the wealthy, powerful young man had to be thinking, “Not a problem, I got this. It’s a homerun!”
He answers Jesus, “ Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth.”
Well this is where things go bad for the rich guy in his way of thinking. After what Jesus says next, our boy’s day is going to be a dreary dismal day for sure in his eyes!
As Jesus looks at him, Mark tells us something else that is incredible. We learn that not only did Jesus look at him but Jesus loved him as He says, “ You lack one thing, Go and sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have your treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me!”
Jesus didn’t look at him with scorn and ridicule or sarcasm but instead looks at him with love in the same way that He looked at those who hung Him on that cross and said, “ Father forgive them.” He looks at him the same way he looks at us when He says, “Follow me!”
Upon hearing this Mark records that He was disheartened, he was stunned by what Jesus tells him and he went away grieving because he had many possessions.
So in order for you to follow Christ, you must sell everything and give it to the poor.
Is that what Jesus is saying here?
Yes and no.
Three things really come to the forefront in this account.
- A. Goodness. As the man raced to ask Jesus, he called him Good Teacher and Jesus responded that only God is good.
Only God is perfect, righteous, holy and good. No matter how good and how hard we try to be good by what we think we do and by trying to keep the commandments, we are not righteous, holy and good by and on our own.
Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Thus young ruler thought that he had kept the commandments since he was a youth and maybe he did in deed or action but throw in thought and word and he like us was not able to keep those commandments. He wasn’t good and neither are we.
So that brings us to the second thing.
2. Idols.
An idol is anything that becomes your god, a false god and takes the place of and prevents you form seeing God. It can be anything from football or your job or your kids or pride in yourself and your accomplishments. It can be things even at church.
For the young man it was his possessions and his wealth. Basically it boils down to Jesus telling him and us that if anything gets in the way of your view and focus of God, dump it, get rid of it. It’s garbage! For the real treasure, follow Christ.
Matthew 6: 20 says, “But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
This brings us to the third point and the most important part.
The relationship.
Did you notice in our Gospel today that something was missing? When the young man asked Jesus and Jesus quoted the commandments back to him, he left the first three out. Jesus quoted what is commonly referred to as the Second Table or the Commandments for living and dealing with your fellow man. Why would he do that being God and all, did He forget them?
No, not at all!
You see the first three Commandments or the First Table tell of our relationship with God. They confront our basic belief and structure about God. They talk about the perfect relationship that God created for His children. It’s an invitation to a give and take relationship. Don’t we see that in the Sacraments? “Take and eat and take and drink.” He willingly gives us forgiveness of sins, salvation and eternal life through this gift given to us through His Son as we gatheris SonH and we as His called and redeemed children thank, praise and glorify His name calling on Him for everything because He is our loving Father and because He is God.
This rich man’s relationship was lacking in this because he was focused on the idol of himself and his idol of wealth and fortune. So Jesus told him to dump it and follow Him in that perfect relationship of grace, peace and love bought and paid for with His holy blood. Jesus tells us that exact same thing and we hear it and read it in His Holy Word. Our relationship with God has been rewon and regained and taken back from the sin that we caused to break it in the first place. Through our High Priest who is the Christ, perfect atonement and fulfillment of that priestly sacrifice we are now made His. It is only through Christ that we can ask Him to smash those evil and unholy idols that prevent us from the very relationship with Him. It is only through Jesus that we have the strength given to us in our Baptisms and shared with us in the foretaste of the feast to come found in that meal of Holy Communion.
It is only through the glory found at the cross that any of this is possible and that we are now counted as righteous and holy and good enough to be in the sight and presence of God.
Think about what’s been done for you. God says call him by His name, YAHWEH, then we Have Jesus tell us and His Father that he is not ashamed to call us brothers and we because of YAHWEH’s plan of redemption through Jesus are now heirs of Heaven.
The rich young man didn’t get it that when Jesus called him to follow, He ws calling him to inherit gifts far beyond the measure of a mortal man.
Instead he went away dejected, stunned and disheartened because he couldn’t let go of his idol while the Good Teacher set His face like flint and proceeded to walk that path to the cross, “ Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2.
He walked that path in complete obedience knowing what was waiting for Him.
Was it death and destruction? Yes, through Jesus dying for our sin and idol worship it was the destruction of death and the grave and through Jesus dying for all it was the death of the power that sin had on us. We now have abundant life that no idol could ever give us but only through what God can give us and keeps on giving to us.
So I guess the final question again comes down to this. Do you have to get rid of everything you have to follow God?
Quite simply yes, if it has become an idol to you and prevents you from seeing God and His goodness, grace and love for you.
We can only truly trust and have faith in He who claims us as His knowing with certain hope and confidence that we who confess Christ as King and Savior will all gather at the throne with Him for eternity and that will be the perfect day where only things go perfectly right!
“Come and follow me!”
Alleluia, amen!
From Vicar Eddie
Sermon 10-14-12
Mark 10:17-22 (using HCSB)
Concordia, Cerritos
The story of the rich young ruler causes some to pity the man…he was so close…if only he had trusted Jesus more…if only he knew. But perhaps there is more to this story if we scratch the surface…if we scratch the surface we might see that we are more like the rich young man than we would like to admit.
Right from the start this story is different than most accounts in the Bible of people coming to Jesus…usually those that approached Jesus were looking for healing either for themselves or a loved one…or they were trying to find fault with the teachings of Jesus. But this man asks a completely different question…maybe one you yourself have contemplated during your life…he approaches Christ, calls him “good teacher” and then asks how he might attain eternal life…AND, he is not asking what he has to do…he is not asking where he can buy it…but how should he align his life, what should his purpose in life be so that he might inherit eternal life…inherit eternal life. How do I get this gift that can only come from God? How do I get eternal life? Jesus knew this young man was on to something, so He asks him, “Why do you say I am good?” Only God is good…are you saying I am God? Are you saying I can give you the gift of eternal life? And then Jesus skips the commandments that have to do with God and lists the commandments that have to do with other people, and the young man says he has kept all of them close to his heart. Jesus accepts this… He does not call him a liar but instead hits him right between the eyes…very well then… sell everything, give the money to the poor and follow me. Stunned…shocked…flabbergasted… he realizes Jesus is asking him to give up the one thing he knows he cannot give up… his treasures! Why did it have to be that? Why couldn’t it be spending more time at the synagogue? Why couldn’t it be helping out those less fortunate? Why couldn’t it be spending more time in scripture? No… he asked the young man for his wealth…a dark cloud comes over the man and he went away dejected, sorrowful, he went away grieving. It is indeed sad…some might say that the young man rejects Jesus, that he turns his back on Jesus, but the young man was seeking God, the young man was looking for a closer walk with God, and yet there was a barrier…a barrier so large that it kept him from fully experiencing the grace and mercy of Christ. A barrier so large that it kept him from the inheritance he so desperately sought… and so that begs the question…What barrier have we created? What keeps us from fully experiencing the grace and mercy of Christ?
You see this story is not just about a rich young man… this story is about us…each one of us has put up barriers that keep us from fully experiencing the love and grace of Christ; we have all created barriers that keep us from having a closer walk with God and maybe that is why Jesus skipped the 1st commandment when He spoke to the young man. Jesus knew that this young man had other gods…as Luther explained the first commandment in the Large Catechism; a god is something on which we set our whole heart. Jesus knew that this man had placed his wealth ahead of God, he trusted in his wealth above trusting God…and so what have we placed before God? You see it doesn’t always have to be wealth…it can be anything that we treasure in our hearts above God. And it can take a numerous of forms – it can come in a bottle that we desperately need after another rough day; it can be the football games that keep us from worshipping God with our brothers and sisters on Sunday mornings, it can come in the form of a keyboard; a keyboard that logs us into facebook for hours on end instead of spending time in scripture, or it can be staying up late to view adult material and feeling ashamed that we do, so we draw away from others for fear they might discover our dark habit. Really we can fashion anything into a barrier between is and God; even something we would find good, like family, exercise or even work. These things that God has given us to bring us joy, relaxation and a sense of accomplishment can become so important in our lives that they interfere with our relationship with God. They draw us away from God.
I worked for many years with a company that had such an outstanding president of sales. We used to say that she could sell ice to eskimo, and we knew she worked hard, but we didn’t realize to what extent. During a sales meeting in New Jersey, her husband called and told her that he wasn’t feeling good…that he really wanted her to come home. This was very odd behavior on his part – they talked often when she would go away on trips, and as president of sales, she traveled extensively, but he had not once ever asked her to come home. She said, she couldn’t leave…this sales meeting was too important and that she would be home the next day. Well, he didn’t make it the next day and she never forgave herself for not going home. Work had become her god, above family, above her own health and even above God.
Certainly we know we are going to have activities outside of church, certainly we know we will have other interests and certainly we know that we can’t keep all of God’s commands perfectly, but it comes down to priorities. Is God a priority in my life? Or is God an afterthought…a parachute we grasp only when we run into problem; when our life seems to be spiraling out of control? In Luke 9:23 Jesus tells us “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” This is not to say that we need to try to bear the weight of our sins and thus by our own power overcome our sinfulness, but instead we are to daily surrender our sinful and lustful desires to Christ…and follow him.
But our story of the young man does not end there. Yes, the young man goes away dejected, lost and maybe even ashamed, but what about Jesus? We know that Jesus was on His way to the cross of Calvary and we know that in His death and resurrection we find the very thing that young man sought…life everlasting…eternal life. And Jesus did this with JOY! Hebrews 12:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
You see God knows that we cannot of our own accord lift ourselves over the barriers we have created; He knows that we cannot overcome the sin that keeps us from Him. At the cross which is meant for torture and death we find life…at the cross we find the gift of eternal life. And this gift is not just for that young man, it is not just for those of us that showed up this Sunday morning…no this gift of eternal life is a gift God has given to the whole world. Just as Jesus invited the young man to leave behind those things that hindered Him from fully experiencing the love, grace and mercy of God, Jesus extends that offer to the entire world even today. Jesus stands ready to walk with you, each and every day of your life. With joy Jesus went to the cross, knowing He was breaking the bondage of sin that impeded this man from fully experiencing the love, grace and mercy of God. So, we have a choice…we can either walk away with our baggage…those things that bring us shame and draw us away from God, or we can leave them at the foot of the cross and walk with Jesus…Jesus invites you to walk with Him each and every day of your life…will you walk in the JOY of Jesus today?
and from Deacon Don
Sliding into a Culture of Death
Devotional Thought of the Day.
As a society, we love to play God.
And we are fascinated by death – both physical death, and spiritual death.
All you have to do is peruse blogs and facebook this day, and see that we are doing battle over death constantly. First there is the HHS mandate, and the idea that anyone but churches need to pay for abortions – that is, we need to pay for our insurance to pay for the option to abort. Church leaders of many denominations are fighting this, and sometimes – they are fighting other church leaders who hold the opposite view. It is very sad, even more so when we realize that the pro-life movement is re-trenching around this. We used to challenge abortion as a whole, now we are reduced to fighting who is responsible for it.
Even as all the focus is on abortion and the Health Care Mandate, there is another battle brewing on the horizon. In Massachusetts, the state where I was born, the looms a battle over Doctor assisted suicide. It is on the ballot there, as it has been in Oregon. Again we as a country are being decided whether some have the right to play God, and determine whether a life has the value or lacks it, and should be terminated with prejudice. Yes – prejudice, for if we make the decision that a life, whether in the womb or in their 90’s isn’t worth it, we are deciding the issue based on prejudice.
But I would bring up one more way that we, as the church, are faced with “sliding into a culture of death”, although sliding may be a bit of an understatement. We condone spiritual death with much more ease and much more frequency than we do physical death. We do this, in two ways, one very active and violent, the other, passive and without care or compassion.
ACTIVE CONDEMNATION: This is the first way in which we embrace a culture of death. When we outright condemn others – (for instance, those who back abortion or euthenasia) because we feel they are too evil. In doing so, we steal the authority of God and make a determination only He has the right and authority to make. (Yes, God gives the church the authority to bind the sins of those in our midst who are unrepentant – but that is so they will learn to repent – and more importantly, its in regards to those we are actively and personally calling to repentance) When we condemn someone, when we mock and deride them (see the Sermon on the Mount) we are committing murder in thought and word even as others commit it in deed.
We can judge them, call and encourage them to depend on God’s mercy, without damning and condemning them.
The other way is more subtle, and shows a lack of care, and indeed a lack of compassion. It is when we decide, actively or passively, that there is no need for them to know Jesus, to be embraced by His love and mercy, to be given the opportunity to know the life that is germinated as faith and repentance is given to them. We know how it happens, in hearing the gospel, in the Holy Spirit working through word and sacrament to create and nurture that life. And we passively and again with prejudice, let them continue to live without the knowledge of God, save what they can learn through nature.
In all four of the above ways, we see the church and the world sliding into death. Sliding into the seemingly inevitable consequence of sin’s dominion. Death, both physical and spiritual.
Except that it is not – there is always God’s gospel, the call to not take life, but to sustain it. The call to not terminate, but to enourage. The call to not condemn, but to talk and offer forgiveness. There is One who embraced death, so that we would not have to – that we could live, and even if we physically pass, we shall live forever. For that is where death is defeated, as Jesus hangs on the cross, and asks the Father to forgive us all….
May we realize He has, and even as we realize how that frees us to live, may we help others to see it as well.
Lord Have Mercy… and thank you Lord, for letting us know You have!
The Need for Spiritual Discipline/Formation/Growth
May you realize that you live in God’s Kingdom, and desire greatly to see its beauty!
I am on the road this morning, with a friend as he begins his journey towards being ordained into the ministry. During the journey by planes, (although it seemed we walked nearly that far!) I came across this in my reading.
“It is quite common to find, even among apparently responsible and devout Catholics, the error of thinking that they’re only obliged to carry out their familial and religious duties. They seldom want to hear any mention of civic duties. The problem is not selfishness; it’s simply a lack of formation.” de Prada, Andres Vazquez (2011-04-18). The Founder of Opus Dei: Volume III, The Divine Ways on Earth (The Life of Josemaria Escriva) (Kindle Locations 9415-9417). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
It started my mind wandering on this idea of formation. Surely there is a great benefit to the normal route of ordination, and in the “alternate” routes which are simply adaptations of the norm. There are a few differences as well between my friends over on the other side of the Tiber, and those of us who are Lutherans.
But Spiritual Formation is, in my opinion, critical, and in these days, critically overlooked. It’s been that way for a while. Hear the writer of Hebrews comment:
5:11 There is much we have to say about this matter, but it is hard to explain to you, because you are so slow to understand. 12 There has been enough time for you to be teachers—yet you still need someone to teach you the first lessons of God’s message. Instead of eating solid food, you still have to drink milk. 13 Anyone who has to drink milk is still a child, without any experience in the matter of right and wrong. 14 Solid food, on the other hand, is for adults, who through practice are able to distinguish between good and evil.
Hebrews 5:11-14 (TEV)
We see it there as well – as the author notes the inability of these people to get their butts of their spiritual couches and serve (by teaching) others. Instead the would rather take it easy, and simply re-digest the same simplistic lessons. They should be able to share the incredible blessings they have received, the basics of their faith. Yet… they can’t
I love the comment by Escriva’s position on this – it isn’t because they are weak, selfish, and self-centered! It is because they haven’t been formed. They haven’t been discipled. The very things that they need to learn, need to be shared, modeled. The depth of God’s love isn’t just “He saved me from my sins”, it is an incredible thing, long planned out – every step taken toward the cross, and away from the empty grave.
And the deeper you go, not into academia, but into living in that grace, rejoicing in it, seeing it revealed to you in the words of scripture, being comforted in prayer, even in things like making sacrifices, little ones for sure, in order that others may see God. As we live in Christ, as we are clothed in His righteousness, that overcomes what might appear to be selfish and infantile faith.
And we begin to share with others this glorious thing we’ve found. A last thought, describing maturity in Christ:
1Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now God’s salvation has come! Now God has shown his power as King! Now his Messiah has shown his authority! For the one who stood before our God and accused believers day and night has been thrown out of heaven. 11 They won the victory over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the truth which they proclaimed; and they were willing to give up their lives and die.
Revelation 12:10-11 (TEV)
That, my friends, is a description of us, the mature believers who trusted in the God who comes to them – not a bunch of selfish, infantile believers.
May Mark and Eddie and the rest of the seminarians that start this week be so formed… may our churches have the same attitude, may I as well.
Godspeed this day….
The Communion-Community of Christ
Discussion/Devotional Thought of the Day:
“544 The Communion of the Saints. How shall I explain it to you? You know what blood transfusions can do for the body? Well, that’s what the Communion of the Saints does for the soul.” Escriva, Josemaria. The Way
As a pastor, one of the things I do is to bring the Lord’s Supper to those who cannot make it to church, to those too weak or sick, to those who were once quite active, but now are counted as shut-ins. In doing so, the discussion always includes their asking about how things are going at church, it never fails to astound me, how concerned they are for their brothers and sisters in Christ. Often they talk of their desire to get well, to gain strength, just so they can once again commune in the sanctuary, with their friends, the people they love, with whom they have walked through their lives, even if they only knew the people at church for a small while.
We are on their hearts and minds.. and in bringing communion to them, they are reminded that they are part of the community. It is bittersweet, for they realize they are part of the community that Christ has established.
How I wish we were in the future, and we had transporter units like in Star Trek. Then we could beam them into the sanctuary, and fulfill a desire that they would have. (It would also be cool if upon “reassenbly” their ills and pains and weaknesses could be quarantined and separated from them!
St Escriva’s words hit home a lot today, as I consider one of the people I visit, who I can’t anymore. I know how much visiting him meant to me, how in many ways it was like the transfusion spoke of in this quote. Yet in bringing him communion, he two received a transfusion I am learning. The very life of the church was shared, the life we share in every time we gather and we eat together and drink together. For sharing in the Lord’s Table, kneeling at the Altar together is a community, thing, just as our life as Christ’s body is a community thing.
It is tragic that we don’t comprehend this blessing we have in sharing in the feast of Christ – that we would relegate it to less important than other things we do, that we place limits on its time, both the time we spend preparing for it, and the time we spend celebrating it. That we reduce the precious words to a formula, a incantation, rather than savor them, listen intently, and hear and absorb them. It is tragic that the gathering of God’s people is an afterthought in many lives.
As a pastor, I am partially responsible. If you know not why a priest, or a pastor, could describe the gathering of God’s people together around His sacrament as a spiritual transfusion, we haven’t done our job as those who proclaim the world well enough. If we haven’t taught you to treasure this incredible time, we have, in large part failed. If we don’t keep you in prayer, and help your prepare for this incredible gift, then perhaps we need to reconsider what our job is, to preach the word in its fullness, and to administer the sacrament – that those who are broken can encounter His healing, His mercy His presence.
Keep us, all the pastors and priests – and the deacons and elders and worship leaders who stand alongisde us, ready to serve, to minister to you… in your prayers. That we would feed you so richly that your heart would long for the next gathering the next time His people gather around His word, and His table.
“Lord Have Mercy!” we cry, and as we kneel and take and eat… and drink of the Blood shed that sins would be forgiven, we realize how much He has had the mercy we pray for!
Love your neighbor and your enemy, actively
Discussion/Devotional thought of the day:
5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Matthew 5:43-45 (ESV)
It is challenging enough to love one’s friends, one’s neighbors. Yet Jesus calls us to love as He does – to love even our enemies – as we love ourselves. Some may hear this as law – noting the impossibility of such love, and use that as an excuse for not fulfilling this law – or even trying to fulfill it, citing Christ’s fulfillment of the law. They dismiss the command, and seek a cheaper form of grace – one that is reactive, not proactive.
St Paul in Romans 6 would highly disagree – noting that we shouldn’t continue in our sin, that grace would abound more. Instead we should strive to obey and love our enemies – asking God to turn their hearts toward Him. A challenge indeed. I love how one of my favorite authors put it.
440 When you have finished your work, do your brother’s, helping him, for the sake of Christ, with such finesse and naturalness that no one—not even he—will realize that you are doing more than in justice you ought. This, indeed, is virtue befitting a son of God! Escriva, Josemaria, The Way (Kindle Locations 1083-1085). Scepter Publishers.
Love results in action, it’s not just “being nice” or feeling good about someone else. It brings a cup of cold water to someone working, then takes their place while they work. It goes two miles with the person who demanded (fairly or not) that you go one with them one.
Love your enemies – this will not only take the mercy of God, a true level of realizing how much you are in Christ and depend on His strength, but it will give you a new appreciation of His love for you!
Lord have mercy! And as you do, help us show your love and mercy to our enemies and our neighbors,
( by the way – this includes those politicians you’ve been complaining about recently!)
Deliver us, from our complaining and judging!
Devotional thought of the day:
5:9 Do not make complaints against one another, brothers, so as not to be brought to judgement yourselves; the Judge is already to be seen waiting at the gates. 10 For your example, brothers, in patiently putting up with persecution, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name; 11 remember it is those who had perseverance that we say are the blessed ones. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and understood the Lord’s purpose, realising that the Lord is kind and compassionate.
James 5:9-11 (NJB)
In my devotion today ( i read some scripture – and then one of several devotional books) I came across this quote:
“Many false apostles, in spite of themselves, do good to the masses, to the people, through the very power of the doctrine of Jesus which they preach—even though they don’t practice it.
But this good does not compensate for the enormous and very real harm they do by killing the souls of leaders, of apostles, who turn away in disgust from those who don’t practice what they preach.
That’s why such men and women, if they are not willing to live an upright life, should never push themselves”forward as leaders. “(Escriva, Josemaria . The Way (Kindle Locations 1024-1028). Scepter Publishers.
I have to confess, I have my own list of such false prophets, men who do preach Christ crucified that people come to know the love of God, but then whose lives are filled with things that don’t quite resemble the God-man who gave up heaven to come down and live humbly among us and die, that we might live. Or those that encourage us to try and obey God, and then call for the stoning of those who don’t live up to the expectations they have placed on others. Such hypocrites (the greek for judge is krites btw) do, as Escriva points out – cause much damage – even as God uses what they planned for evil, for good. (see Gen. 50:20 for the first time someone planned evil and God used it to bless others- the cross is another example)
To me it is amazing that God can and does use their words to bless people. But hear Paul’s words about this:
1:15 It is true that some of them are preaching Christ out of malice and rivalry; but there are many as well whose intentions are good; 16 some are doing it out of love, knowing that I remain firm in my defence of the gospel. 17 There are others who are proclaiming Christ out of jealousy, not in sincerity but meaning to add to the weight of my chains. 18 But what does it matter? Only that in both ways, whether with false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and for that I am happy; [19a] and I shall go on being happy, too,
Philippians 1:15-18 (NJB)
What really begins to get me – is when I realize – that when I condemn those I consider hypocritical, i am acting exactly as St. Escriva describes. That is, my judgment and condemnation simply is living very inconsistently with the message I preach – for I proclaim clearly that the hope of sinners is found in Jesus’ love, in His cleansing them, and that there is hope. Yet when I condemn these men, (not just warning them, or warning others to stay away from them and why) when I bitterly judge them, when I gossip about them, or even compromise and do not confront them (if such is my responsibility) then I have become the kind of pastor I loathe most. It was once said that we need to preach about real sin – not the sin of those unlike me, but the sins that assault and tempt me and mine. And condemning those who preach and are hypocritical – in a way different than mine, doesn’t bring healing of my own sin-wracked life.
It is then, i need to hear what every hypocrite does – what every false prophet does. That there is no reason to delay our repentance, that God is willing to forgive and does. Then, refreshed by His forgiveness, encouraged by His love – we can return to preaching about Him, and living in Him. ANd perhaps, knowing my own hypocritical nature is forgiven, I can help others find that same forgiveness,… and peace!
“Lord Have mercy!” we cry! To our great relief, even as we cry it, we realize He promised to… and has!
Keeping God’s Commandments… a deeper look..
“All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me, therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to keep all I have commanded you, and lo I will be with you always, to the end of the age.!
It’s an incredible passage, one Christians and pastors – especially those who are focused on the mission of the church know well, at least we think we do.
Some focus on the going..
Some focus on the making of disciples…
Some focus on what it means to baptize,
Some focus on what they think teaching them to “keep” all that have I commanded you”
Some rightly focus on the incarnational presence of God – with us – for there is no way we could live our lives in Christ without knowing we do that which we do…
Been there, done that, have the t-shirts, the bible studes, the sermons i have written on all five of those great things….heck – talked people into going places and doing things – and those who did the right thing… may have done it for the wrong reason….
In the last few years – I’ve spent some time thinking and dwelling on this idea of Keeping and what is that which is “commanded” . Obviously this is a major part of our responsibility of the church – the vocation of all of us. So it bears a look into it.
First let’s deal with “keep”, which is sometimes erroneously translated “obey”. It is far more than simply obedience. And understanding the difference between keep and obey is critical. Keep in English is from the old English term for that place where you put that which you treasure, the castel keep was where the kings heirs, his wife, and the treasure – his and that of the people – when they are under attack, with they are oppressed. So to it is in Greek – it comes from the word for guard, to protect – to keep safe because it is a treasure. You can obey someone – without treasuring them…
That is far greater than the simple idea of blindly or knowledgeably obeying that which we are directed to do. We have something which is a treasure – it is more incredible than anything else we have! This which we teach to those who walk with Christ and those we are instrumental in bringing to walk with Christ – is something they are to treasure, something that will mean more to them than anything else that they have – could ever have.
So what is the treasure? What is it we ar to guard, to hold onto, to KEEP?
Our translations call it what Christ has commanded.
I have always thought it referred to the Ten Commandments, or the entire list of do’s and don’t in scripture. It’s more – to grasp that – we have to look at what did God “command”
Look to Creation…
He spoke the word, and there came into existence..
Look to our Re-creation…
The centurion’s cry, “only say the word and my servant shall be healed..
the demoniacs were dismissed by the command of the Lord…
We were declared righteous and holy… by the command of the Lord…
Our being called – our being cleansed and brought back to God, as St Paul says – “we are His worksmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” He commissioned us, He has commanded that we are cleansed and given life…. life with Him. Think of Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones… and the Son of man commanding the bones to join and become enfleshed, to stand – and the command given to the Spirit to breathe life into those bones….
Yeah – that’s the treasure that Christ has commanded.. the Creation and Re-creation – of our lives with God.
That’s our treasure… that is what, as we make disciples, as we baptize them…. that is what we teach them to treasure, to keep, to guard….
AMEN!
Flashcards or Word Problems? How do we disciple?
On facebook these days, there are a lot of pictures of people graduating from high school or college… many of them the children of my high school peers… (which is weird because mine is only 5! – that’s another blog) But it has gotten me thinking about my school days….and the teachers that I liked the most, and now I look back at how they taught, and what it means to educate someone… and then, I look at how we disciple people in the faith.
Do you remember flash cards? You know those things you used to memorize stuff – either math facts ( 2+2=4 or was it 5?) or definitions of words in your early years of school, and languages and formulas and such later on? I hated them – because if you showed you knew the stuff once, for months they still made you practice with them! The answers were easy, and I suppose it gave you a sense of accomplishment. But it was data – and you basically ended up as a computer printer – able to print out whatever was told to you to print out.
Probably because of my dad – I learned to love those things I have heard others dread – word problems. Driving around with my dad -he would ask practical things – like how many bags of cement would we need – to extend our stone wall, or make a planter. How fast he was going over the speed limit.. Or what Carl Yazkremski’s batting average would be if he went 2 for 5 against the Yankees But then I loved them in school. There was something practical that would develop from knowing at what time the two trains coming from point a to point b ( I always rewrote the question to assume they were on the same track!) But the difference in educational strategy is simple – one causes us to spit back the right answer – the other develops in us the ability to apply what we’ve learned…
In discipleship, while making people memorize things is good, we can’t leave it there, or we have created robots, not people in relationships with a loving God who wants to be part of their life, and share His life with them. Memorizing the creeds isn’t enough, if what they teach can only be spit back, but never taken to heart. Remembering what hymn # 347 is in the old hymnal, (and getting upset when the numbers are all changed in the new one!) isn’t beneficial, enless those words as well, pierce the heart and there is a deep connection to what they are saying. Sometimes that connection is sub-conscious – sometimes not… but it is good to think through them and see how they relate to our life.
Ultimately, “word problem” faith is the kind of faith that allows us to see how God sustains us, in the midst of things we cannot understand. It gives us the ability to see God’s word as more than just laws, but the way in which He has designed us to live, how to reach what Maslow called self-actualization, what the Army calls being “all you can be” (though neither really gets it) or what we call holiness – being set apart for a special relationship, to live in a special community, one that God has crafted for Himself, and His people. It is the kind of life that finds joy in the midst of sorrow, grace and mercy in the midst of betrayal and sin, light in darkness, life in the face of death. Far to often we reduce what God has commanded to “flash card” status, not realizing that what He has commanded (See Matthew 28), (better translated commissioned ) is Creation… and for us… our new birth, that He has created us anew.
The “Word” in the midst of the problems… which aren’t so big anymore….for we have the WORD (another of Jesus’s titles) present in our lives… always.. and we get that!
So this day, as you are going about, working with the Father, crafting disciples…..teach them to treasure, to guard that which God has commissioned…
