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The Repentant: King David
The Repentant
King David: Pride and the Altar
1 Chronicles 21:1-19
†In Jesus Name †
May God’s grace not only call you to repentance but give you hope and expectation as you await the joy that awaited Jesus as He journeyed to the cross!
This is not that story
As we hear the stories of the Repentant, the lives God would change so much that all heaven would rejoice, most people who know the Bible would expect me to bring up David at some point.
I won’t disappoint you.
Well, I will, because I am not going to talk about the little affair he had with Bathsheba, and killing her husband. Simply because that sin, while horrible, doesn’t measure up to the sin of counting his soldiers, of counting the people God entrusted to His care.
Wait, are you saying that counting people is a grievous, horrendous sin?
Hmmm. Dane, have you counted how many people are here tonight? If not, maybe you shouldn’t?
There are, and there are not, greater and lesser sins. In this case, the sin was directly disobeying God, which adultery and the murder of Bathsheba’s husband also are. SO in one way, the sins are equal. It is in their impact on others that these sins differ.
One affects two families and children. That is the sin we know about, the story of lust and jealousy. This one has far more serious repercussions. David chooses his punishment even, and even that stands out. His sin, this time, affects 70,000 of the people for whom he was responsible.
70,000.
For disobeying God.
He was tempted by Satan, and he sinned gravely.
Innocent people had to die because of it. Well, they were innocent of the sin David committed.
Just like every sin we commit has consequences that affect others.
Even though we might repent, even though we might ask forgiveness, the impact of our sin’s damage on others is felt. Families are divided, friendship’s shattered, lives crushed, because we chose our way, rather than listen to God’s direction, to the life He clearly describes for us to live, that we might bless others.
Disobedience, which boils down to telling God that we know better than He does, that we should be God.
Distressed by the realization of the impact
David asked forgiveness, but there are days where we ask for forgiveness, and while we want to be forgiven, we think that is enough. We don’t always want reconciliation; we just want to be free from punishment. We don’t always want to be repentant, and we just want to be sorry….
As David looks upon the innocent suffering, as David sees the Angel of Death ready to destroy his people, the reaction is different. He is distressed by his sin, he realizes the consequence, hear His words,
“I am the one who called for the census! I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? O LORD my God, let your anger fall against my family and me, but do not destroy your people.” 1 Chronicles 21:17 (NLT)
This is part of what repentance is, the distress of realizing the depth of our sin, and that sin isn’t victimless. It is what drives us to confess our sins….and beg God to spare the innocent, even as David did.
(after this first half of the sermon, we have a time of silent confession and prayer, and express our hope in God, that is described in the Creed)
The Repentant
King David: Pride and the Altar
1 Chronicles 21:1-19
†In Jesus Name †
May God’s grace not only call you to repentance but give you hope and expectation as you await the joy that awaited Jesus as He journeyed to the cross
The Altar & the Promise
Even as David and leaders are face down, praying that God’s wrath will be limited to those who are guilty, there is a strong lesson in grace, a lesson that is overlooked.
You see, that place where the angel stands, the place where God commands the angel of death to stop, where he tells him it is finished, is a special place in Jewish history.
It is the temple mount, the very place in the temp that would be called the Holy of Holies. A place of grace, a place where sin would be atoned for, with the blood, portraying the blood of Jesus, the innocent, holy Son of God, taking on the curse of sin, once and for all. The plague would stop, the power of death would be shattered, and repentance, the transformation that occurs to us because of Jesus, is made sure.
For repentance is not just the feeling of sorrow, it is not even just the distress caused as we look at the effect of our sin, repentance is not just the removal of sin crushed hearts and minds, but it is effected by the blood of Christ, the love of God being poured out upon us.
You will notice that God ordered the stoppage before the repentance was complete, and that’s because of His desire to bring us back, the joy of the father seeing his prodigal son seeing the dust from his son’s feet in the distance.
I can’t make this point enough – our repentance, our realization of how badly sin has crushed us.as that repentance becomes real, as it occurs in even just one of us, the joy of heaven is beyond belief. It is as if the entire company of heaven is looking done in wonder as God takes us and heals us.
A moment of great joy, a moment beyond our comprehension… a moment to find His peace and rest and healing… for like David, and Naaman and Josiah, we’ve become the Repentant.
AMEN!
Not Again! The Problem of Evil….in…
Devotional Thought of the Day:
21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. Romans 7:21-25 (NLT)
But again I said, Who made me? Did not my God, Who is not only good, but goodness itself? Whence then came I to will evil and nill good, so that I am thus justly punished? who set this in me, and ingrated into me this plant of bitterness, seeing I was wholly formed by my most sweet God?
There is no doubt that the world can appear evil at times. All we have to do is look at news, and whether local, national or international, we will hear of evil being done, sometimes even in the name of Jesus.
But the evil that is most ominous, that is the most dangerous is the evil that lies within our hearts. In the quotes above, we see Paul and Augustine reaching a level of transparency, a level of honesty, where the struggle becomes real. Both are writing from the perspective of a believer, a believer deeply in the process of conversion, exhibiting what we call a repentant spirit; they are experiencing a transformation of their nature. Repentance that allows them to face evil straight on, but not the evil external to their life.
It is, quite obviously, a pain=filled journey into the darkness of their souls, one that most of us do not want to participate in, and get anxious when someone else call us to make it. We know we need to repent, but the hold that sin on us is great, or at least the appearance of the sin’s possession of us is great.
We need to encounter that sin, a journey called penitence. For until we do, we cannot see that the darkness, the sin, doesn’t have the grip on us that we think it does. Until we hit the despair that Paul and Augustine encounter, we can’t really how desperate we are to escape sin’s hold on us. Until we admit we are unclean, we can’t truly understand the joy of repentance, of finding the hope that removes the despair, the sin, the guilt and shame.
For there, as we encounter and face our sin, as we would “own” it, and take responsibility for it, we encounter the Cross as well. We find that evil that we once tried to justify, that we once entered into proudly, be taken from us, and laid on Jesus. That which caused us to despair is lifted from us; its hold on us shattered. The damage it has done begins to heal, and we can learn to dwell in peace.
This is repentance; this is the transformation that Ezekiel describes as God taking our stone dead heart and replacing it with one that is alive, and which the Spirit breathes life through, as our lives are cleansed. It is the repentance that Paul describes as a change of our mind , a being clothed with Christ, a change of our schematics, a being conformed to the image of Christ, which we reflect into the darkness of the world.
There is hope for dealing with evil, and it is finding the faith, the courage to cry out, Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner” and knowing He has, and does, and will. And in faith and confidence, embracing the peace He calls us to in repentance.
Augustine, S., Bishop of Hippo. (1996). The Confessions of St. Augustine. (E. B. Pusey, Trans.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
the Repentant
Naaman’s Sin
2 Kings 5:1019 Part I
†In Jesus Name †
May you hear God’s call to repentance…until you answer it with joyous expectation!
It is one of those things they tell you when you are trained to help people. Expect the backlash, even hatred, when you tell them what they don’t want to hear, but desperately need to hear. It may be the rehabilitation therapist who pushes you or the doctor who orders that invasive test that we only see as uncomfortable and embarrassing.
Lifeguards are told to expect it when saving the life of someone who is drowning. To the point where the technique of knocking the drowning person unconscious is practiced.
Too bad they don’t have a similar technique for prophets and pastors when we are called to do that which is uncomfortable and embarrassing.
Like calling a person to repentance, or calling them to let God heal their hearts, souls, and lives.
Like Naaman in the reading this evening.
A powerful general, in fact, Naaman is the one, the armies of Israel, feared more than any other. This isn’t just the equivalent to ISIS, but the equivalent to Hitler’s best generals. A man feared, honored, respected. Enough so that a King would call for peace so that he could be healed by the God of his enemy.
It’s all set up, healing has been promised, not just a procedure recommended, but after all the trips, after all the investment and travel is made, Naaman’s sinful pride reacts.
10 But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.” 11 But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the LORD his God and heal me! 12 Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage. 2 Kings 5:10-12 (NLT)
Do you believe this man? He has been promised complete healing, absolutely complete healing, and he rejects it because he doesn’t like what God calls him to do. Instead, he wants to rely on his own wisdom, his own strength and do it himself.
I mean, who does he think he is, to bargain with God?
I mean, it’s not like he’s an even a believer, he’s not even Lutheran. Why does he think he knows better than God? Who does he think he is, to say those other rivers are better than the Jordan? Who is he to get mad at God and storm off? Really???
What kind of self-righteous sinner is he? The worst of the worst, to turn away angrily from the loving mercy of God our Father…
Yes, he is the worst kind of sinner, the same sort of rebellious sinner as you and I, and the rest of the sinners in the world.
We do the same thing when we ask why we have to repent, or why we have to obey commands which we don’t like. I mean, how many of us really like and eagerly obey the command to love our enemies and pray for those who would persecute us?
Or how many of us understand the mind of God when he tells Peter to repent and be cleansed of your sin, and be transformed by the renewal of your mind.
We don’t, so we argue that our sin isn’t as bad as theirs, or that it’s not that bad of a sin, that we are just doing fine spiritually, that there is nothing to repent of.
You might even get mad at me, when I remind you that there is, or you might not like it when Chris plays that song, that reminds you that you need to have your heart and soul and mind healed.
But you do, he does, I do….
But we need to the Spirit to work in us, to guide our confession and prayer, to lay all this sin before God… and that is what we shall do right now.
(time of confession, followed by reading of the gospel and a sung Creed)
Naaman’s Sin
2 Kings 5:1019 Part II
Peter’s epistle tells us that God is patient, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. We see this in the passage, as first the slave girl to a general comes to him with the hope of a cure. A slave girl, addressing the top general of the land?
Then, as he stormed off angrily, so violently that he was going to miss the healing God has promised, his officers were used by God to call him to repentance. For those of you in the service, does anyone just walk up to the commanding general and tell him he was wrong? They did, they reasoned with him, and he heard the call to hear God, and he listened and obeyed.
And God healed Him. God had mercy on him and transformed him, just as God promised through Elisha.
It cost him nothing to be transformed, the man of God didn’t even want an honorarium.
Something more incredible happened than the healing. Hear Naaman’s words,
“Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. 2 Kings 5:15 (NLT)
That is the gospel that is repentance; that is the transformation that happens when God works in our life when we trust Him. Naaman came to repentance, to the realization that we aren’t God, that God is not to be manipulated, questioned or controlled. Instead, we embrace Him and become calmed by His love.
Naaman tried to honor God, to give him something back, through the prophet. When that happened, he did something odd, he took home some dirt, a trunk or two full. Something that would bring home the memory, and help him be humble, to help him remember that God is in charge. Seems like an odd thing to bring home, doesn’t it?
We need such reminders, both of our need to be humble, and of the grace of God, which brings us to wholeness. We need to celebrate the joy of repentance, of restoration, of reconciliation. This is why we remember our baptism, why we celebrate the Lord’s supper, why we gather together. To be reminded of His presence, and the joy of God’s work in our lives.
Can you imagine Naaman’s words upon arriving home? Hey Honey, I’m home, and you will never guess, not only am I healed, I brought home some…dirt! For the God of Israel is the true God, the God who cares for His people!
And something else, the blessing of the prophet, who said, Go in peace.
And now, as one of the repentant, he did
Amen.
A Lenten Sermon: With This Gift I Acknowledge…
(you can find the audio for this sermon on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQLSG0ngxU8 )
With this Gift I Acknowledge
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
† I.H.S. †
May you become so aware of the grace, mercy and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ that you respond to God with your entire life!
When????
As we enter Lent, a lot of the readings we will hear are about the journey to the promised land, and they often take place in what I call the “in-between time.
The “in-between” time starts with the rescue of Egypt, where the Red Sea split and they crossed through that sea until the time they crossed the Jordan river, and they headed west into the Holy Land.
That’s the in-between time, the time between the crossing, between the rescue and the delivery.
Often we compare that time to the time we live in now. In such a comparison the land of the promise becomes the equivalent of heaven. We’ve been told we’ve been saved, but we haven’t arrived yet. We follow that pattern, then we are in the journey toward the promise land. We can take the same comparison and compare the season of lent to the time wandering around in the wilderness. And the promised land becomes the celebration of Easter.
It lines up nice and neatly, and there are some interesting parallels. Such a study helps us build up the anticipation of heaven, and the glory and rejoicing we will see when we all get to heaven.
As I was preparing this series, some of my thoughts went along that journey, as the idea written about in the old song came to mind. “Sing the wondrous love of Jesus, sing of His mercy and His grace, in His mansion, bright and blessed, He’ll prepare for us a place.”
What a day of rejoicing that will be, the chorus says, but an odd thought struck me.
Are we expecting to rejoice only then? What about now? The song doesn’t say wait till then to sing of the wondrous love of Jesus, wait till then to know His mercy and His grace.
Then I looked at this passage and the idea that when we get “there” when we enter the land, we are to prepare an offering.
“With this gift, I acknowledge to the Lord God that I have entered the land He swore to our ancestors He would give us…”
And so we think of heaven… for isn’t that the promised land?
And we aren’t there yet, I mean all you have to do is look around and see that is so…we haven’t entered the promised land, right?
Wrong.
We have entered into what was promised; our problem is that we can’t see it yet. Which is why we have to understand what Paul means when he says, “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth, for you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”
That sounds more like we have entered the promised land… except that life doesn’t look so heavenly… does it? How can we be in the Holy Land, the Promised Land, when it doesn’t sometimes seem like we’ve left behind struggling with God in the wilderness?
We Cried out to the Lord
If we are going to make a parallel to the wilderness journey that is described in Deuteronomy, we need to figure out what verse 7 is talking about.
“we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard our cries and saw our hardship, toil, and oppression.”
Where these words find their place in our lives, is when we were in bondage, not to Egypt, but to sin. Where our hardship and struggle were the futility that comes in life that is self-centered and only worried about its own happiness, its own contentment.
I will be the first to admit that there are days where we act like Israel, doubting God and wanting to return to the lives unrestricted by God, but enslaved to “our” own desires.
But does that mean that we are back in Egypt? Does that mean we are living on manna and quail and wandering around like Jacob/Israel?
The question comes down to this my friends. Are we living in the Kingdom of God, in the promised land, or are we living in the wilderness, cared for and waiting for the promises of God to come true in our lives?
For the land God promised us isn’t primary geographical. Rather, it is the land where God clearly rules, where He is Lord and King, providing for His people. It is the place where His people find rest and refuge, a sanctuary of peace and a place where His love evident.
A place where Deuteronomy describes as the place which in our special possession, the place where our inheritance, what God has promised His people has become a reality.
You see, that’s what bothers me about the passage being only a parallel to our journey to heaven.
For in Christ, we already are citizens of His kingdom and heirs of His promises, He has already delivered us. We just have to understand this and trust Him on it, knowing our reality is in heaven, in Christ.
Which is why we can bring before him the gifts that acknowledge that we have been delivered. The gifts that acknowledge we dwell in Christ. The gifts that acknowledge we have been killed off with Christ in our baptism, and brought to life because of His resurrection.
That is why Paul will also tell the church in Romans 12 to present our bodies as living sacrifices, which is the appropriate worship, the reason worship, declaring what God has done.
The passage in Deuteronomy ends with this, “
It’s time to party!
11 Afterward, you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household. Remember to include the Levites and the foreigners living among you in the celebration.
My friends, Jesus has given us life, the abundant life that begins in the waters of baptism, and matures as we see the Father face to face. We aren’t waiting on that to come about some day. We are His children, now.
So it is time to celebrate, to know His love… and to include all who would come in the celebration, so that they too may understand and celebrate His love. It will take faith; it will as Paul said mean focusing on the reality of heaven, of dwelling, not among clouds, but in the very presence of our loving God. AMEN?
The Repentant: Lives Changed So Much Heaven Rejoices:
The Repentant: Lives Changed So Much Heaven Rejoices
Israel and King Josiah 2 Kings 22:3-13, 23:24-25
† I.H.S. †
May you realize the blessing and great joy of hearing God’s loving, benevolent call to repentance, even as you struggle with the fact you need it!
You Lost What?
At first, I cannot even imagine how the priests in the Temple, the King and all the people of God could have gotten to this place.
I mean, I’ve heard of people losing a lot of things, and I’ve heard of a person or two losing their Bibles. But can you imagine coming to church here, and in the sanctuary, in the office and in all of the classrooms there was not a Bible to be found?
It was worse, they didn’t even know they had lost it….
Imagine Chuck coming up to Christ and Al and I saying, “Hey look what I found out in the trailer in back, and handing us a Bible, and it taking a moment or two for us to realize what it was….”
Doesn’t that sound bizarre?
Especially in the Old Testament with all the rituals, the covenants, the readings?
They didn’t know what they were missing.
And they were missing the word of God. The promises of God, the incredible blessings that were to be passed down to everyone.
They lost it….
Seems inconceivable that the word of God was nowhere to be found. And no one noticed the difference…
It is inconceivable because we can’t imagine it happening here.
We can’t imagine losing the Bible, yet we can lose it, even while it is in plain sight. We can lose it because we are concentrating and focused on the things that surround us. They can be good things or evil things. Israel forgot God and worshiped a Bronze calf, but they also forgot God when the worshiped the bronze serpent that God had them fashion to facilitate their repentance and healing.
We lose the gospel when our lives are a struggle. When finances, or marital issues, or work challenges are so overwhelming, we don’t have the answers. When our health issues are so devastating.
Or maybe it is simply sinning that is distracting us, when our idolatry, rebellion, anger, lust, desire, gossip, and jealousy have blinded us to God’s presence, to His mercy and to His love.
Then we’ve lost scripture, and as Israel and the King, we don’t know that we lost the gospel, or that we’ve forgotten our loving, merciful God.
It is, therefore, a blessing that we have a service like Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent. A time to spend to reflect on our need for repentance, and our need for transformation. A time where we are conformed to the image of Jesus.
We need to take the time for what is called being penitent, to be reminded to reflect on our lives, and ask God to cleanse us.
So where are your sins… I gave you a list earlier, but in case, your weren’t listening have you….
Set up something in the place of God? Do you trust in something more than you trust in Him? If so, as we come to our time to confess, bring that up…
Have you misused His name? Or as a Christian, have your actions brought it an honor and praise? If so, as we come to our time to confess, bring that up…
Do you take the time to spend with Him, to know His word? If so, as we come to our time to confess, bring that up…
Do you honor those God has given responsibility for you, including parents, elders, and public officials? If so, as we come to our time to confess, bring that up…
What about your anger, and thoughts about people where you want to strike out, If so, as we come to our time to confess, bring that up…
What about lust and improper desire for those you aren’t married to, whether its just a thought, word or if you have acted on it? Or gossip, Or just desiring what others have….we need to repent…
And as I stand here, and I call us all to a time of repentance… just as the King ordered all Israel to repent, to see them rid of the sin which affected their lives… (CLICK)
(from the liturgy on screen) The Holy Spirit moves us to confess our sins to God, and to accept His mercy, the gift which is ours in and through His Son Jesus Christ, and to receive His forgiveness. Take a moment to contemplate your sins of this day and past days, confessing them to your Lord.
(after the time of confession, all are invited to be marked with a ash cross to symbolize their desire for God to forgive their sin, and transform them into the image of Christ)
( The sermon will be completed after the reading fo the Gospel Luke 15:3-7 and the confession of our trust in Christ – aka the Creed)
PART II
The story of King Josiah and the people of Israel is an incredible lesson, a lesson that doesn’t end with a simple cleaning house.
Listen to how scripture describes him, as one who “served the LORD with all his heart, mind and strength” obeying (treasuring) this covenant relationship we have with God.
It is no wonder our gospel reading for this season talks of the joy of heaven, as Jesus brings us lost sinners home.
–
You see, repentance isn’t just about feeling bad for the sins you have committed in your thought, words or actions. Repentance is a transformation of our hearts and minds. It is not something we can do by our own reason and strength, the Holy Spirit does this work in us, as God promised when Ezekiel said that God will remove our hearts of stone and replace them with His heart, a heart of flesh.
Repentance is a miracle, it is the miracle that Jesus came to make true. And as Josiah and all of Israel, as Naaman the Syrian general, as Gomer the prostitute as corrupter government leaders like Zaccheus and church leaders like Peter are granted repentance, are transformed by God, we find the same promise, the same hope, the same peace…as He carries us home on His shoulders….for He bore all our sin, as He was crucified….and He gives us life in Him. God has granted to you and me repentance, and the feast for us prodigals, Christ’s feast awaits_ that will cause us to dwell in His peace. AMEN?
Why Are We So Afraid of Repentance?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
Luke 15:7 (NLT)
18 When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”
Acts 11:18 (NLT)
994 If you really want to be a penitent soul—both penitent and cheerful—you must above all stick to your daily periods of prayer, which should be intimate, generous and not cut short. And you must make sure that those minutes of prayer are not done only when you feel the need, but at fixed times, whenever it is possible. Don’t neglect these details. If you subject yourself totally to this daily worship of God, I can assure you that you will always be happy.
Imagine for a second that you’ve been told on the other side of a chain link fence there is 4 million dollars. That it is yours if you can get past the fence. There are ways to get through it, over it, under it, but it can be done. Those ways might include a little pain, but your mortgage is due, your card just died, and the kids are just a few years from needing money for college, and your tax due just wiped out your bank account.
You grit your teeth, determine which way will work, and get to it. After all, the peace of being debt free for a while is worth the effort.
A change of scenario, the debt is not financial. It is spiritual. Do you set your mind on the end result and embrace what it takes to get to the peace you need? Or do you stay where you are at, hounded by guilt and shame, crushed by the resentment and anxiety you feel? Yet we avoid the very blessing that would free us from all that oppresses us, all that holds us bondage.
I can understand those who do not know God’s love for them avoiding repentance, but what about those of us who do? What about those of us who teach about it, and call people to repentance? Why are we so afraid of it? Are we worried how people will react? Or are we worried we will realize how much we need repentance as well?
I chose the three readings above, in hopes that they will show that there is way to get through the fence, to find the peace we need. That even as we do, all heaven, and all those who know that peace will be rejoicing, that they will be rejoicing for us and with us. And as St. Josemaria indicates, a repentant life is one of happiness, a life of cheerfulness, a life that is abundant and worth living.
Because what is on the other side of the fence brings that joy. It is the life that is intimate with God. That lets Him bear our burdens, that lets Him rid us of the anxiety, the resentment, the guilt, the doubt, the pain. It allows us to cast off this sin which so hand us in its grasp, crushing us with its bondage.
No wonder heaven rejoices when one of us repents. (and we all need to!) It is no wonder that the early church rejoiced and praised God, singing of His glory.
Today we enter the season of lent. It is not that we shouldn’t repent daily, but it is a time of learning why, of taking the time to seriously examine our lives, and not for a season, but for life make adjustments. either ridding ourselves of that which distracts us from God, or taking on something which will make us more aware of His presence. I prefer the latter, as it helps our transformation -not because of our efforts – but because we will find His peace life-changing.
Don’t fear repentance, it is time to embrace it, for the joy set before us… is amazing.
So amazing, all heaven rejoices, as will those who love and care about you.
Cry out with faith, “Lord, have mercy!” and then rejoice that He has!
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 4019-4023). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Hidden Story of Repentance….in the middle of St. Paul’s conversion
Devotion Thought of the Day:
11 The Lord said to him, “Get ready and go to Straight Street, and at the house of Judas ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying, 12 and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him so that he might see again.” 13 Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and about all the terrible things he has done to your people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come to Damascus with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who worship you.” 15 The Lord said to him, “Go, because I have chosen him to serve me, to make my name known to Gentiles and kings and to the people of Israel. 16 And I myself will show him all that he must suffer for my sake.” 17 So Ananias went, entered the house where Saul was, and placed his hands on him. “Brother Saul,” he said, “the Lord has sent me—Jesus himself, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here. He sent me so that you might see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 At once something like fish scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he was able to see again. He stood up and was baptized; 19 and after he had eaten, his strength came back. Saul stayed for a few days with the believers in Damascus. Acts 9:11-19 (TEV)
Most believers know well the events on the road to Damascus, as Saul the persecutor of the church is confronted by Jesus, and is transformed into the Apostle Paul. This scholar, missionary, apostle’s repentance is easy to see, and often held out as an example of the work God does, in giving someone a repentant spirit.
But in the midst of Paul’s conversion there is another story of repentance. Notable because the man who repents is already a believer. Yet, even as Paul didn’t recognize God or God’s will, neither did Ananias. Until they both repented. Until they both responded to God’s intervention.
Perhaps it is because of Paul’s incredible story, that we miss the story of Ananias, and the transformation that occurs in his life. For he repents, and goes, and shows to Saul/Paul the love of God, and brings healing to Saul/Paul’s eyes, and to his soul.
I think for those of us in the church, we often forget to repent, we often forget to hear God’s call to love Him with everything, and to love other humans as much as we love ourselves. We hang onto resentment and fear, we allow rumors and generalizaitons to fire us up and fuel division, even leading to hatred. We get defensive and hostile.
Worse of all, we lose our faith. Ananias forgot the will of God, that desires that all come to repentance, to be transoformed. He forgot the power of God that would transform Saul, and he being overwhelmed by fear, his faith in God disappeared. He didn’t hear God, he didn’t trust Him. In fact, in disobedience, he tries to correct God.
The blessing is how God dealt with Ananias, much the same as God dealt with Paul. He revealed Himself, He revealed His love, and He welcomed Ananias to share in God’s plan. This is what Jesus is talking about when He says, “15 I do not call you servants any longer, because servants do not know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have told you everything I heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name. 17 This, then, is what I command you: love one another.” John 15:15-17 (TEV)
Ananias repents, as does Paul. Both then God continues to transform, conforming them to the image of Christ. Both the believer and the unbeliever, brought deeper into relationship with God.
Two incredible stories of repentance.
Brought about by God, who desires we all experience this blessing.
AMEN.
Assistance We Need to Endure Part 1
The Assistance to Endure
Hebrews 5:1-10
May the grace of God our Father and our High Priest Jesus Christ sustain you as your endure, waiting patiently for His return
If Life Were Only Like a Commercial
Wouldn’t it be great if life were like the way it is pictured in commercials? For example, if we get ourselves into trouble wouldn’t it be great to be able to sing a little tune, and in a split second an angel would appear! He would be ready to cut a check, to do whatever it took to make things appear like new?
Wouldn’t it be great to have someone to act as our agent, our friend? Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone act our advocate, and to intercede with everything involved, till everything was restored as best it could be?
It would be an amazing thing if such were possible.
It would make life a lot easier when we got into trouble, we knew we could call out, and we would be heard. Knowing that, we could simply rest, confident in the one God sent to take care of us, to make everything work out for good.
As the author of Hebrews describes the high priesthood, he is describing such a role. The High priest who is our advocate, the intercessor, the one assigned to be the mediator who would make everything work.
That is the role of Jesus, for He is who the Father chose to care for us, to help us endure this life.
He deals gently… yet
In the job description of the high priest, our intercessor, our mediator, there is an interesting comment. It is both a bit challenging and yet, very comforting. Let me read it again,
2 And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses. Hebrews 5:2 (NLT)
Hmmm. How many of us like to be described as wayward or ignorant?
It is hard to admit we are ignorant. That we don’t know what is good, or what is best for us. After all, who knows us better than us?
Well, yes besides our wives.
And yeah, God too!
That’s the point, it isn’t too easy to admit that we don’t know. We like to be the experts, seen as the experts, We are not, and when we act in ignorance, without God’s counsel, we often find ourselves sinning.
We do things we don’t know are wrong or we don’t want to admit are wrong. We fall prey to sin, and to Satan. We need to admit that, acknowledge that we don’t know it all and let our high priest intercede.
The other challenge is that we do go astray. The word is a passive very, we are led off course, we find ourselves lost, unable to go the way God would have us go.
Neither ignorance nor getting lost is a valid excuse. Being separated from God is being separated.
It is hard to admit that, for most of us are quite proud of our knowledge, or that we don’t need to ask for directions. Some of us are stubborn, and the more we see that we need help, the more stubborn we get.
Ignorant and lost, we need someone to help. Someone wise enough to bring us back on track, someone we can trust, someone who has been through what we’ve been through. Someone who can find us, and gently show us the way back.
Someone who is able to deal with us gently, even when we are caught up in our ignorance, even when we are wayward and lost.
Someone God qualifies and equips to do that very thing; who is precise as He compassionately works on our behalf. Someone who will intercede and is willing to pay the cost.
Do We Realize the Cost He paid?
I think we need to take time to read another part of the passage again,
7 While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. 8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. Hebrews 5:7-8 (NLT)
We know Jesus cried, for he cries over Jerusalem, and at the death of Lazarus.
Yet to realize that He would cry out to the Father, is more challenging. To see him escape the crowds from weariness, from knowing the suffering, He would pray, crying out to the Father. And He would endure, for them. Even more perhaps for us, who understand what the cross is, and why he would cry in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus heard the Father’s desire for us to become the Father’s. He knew the desire of God, and lived it out, fully man, and fully God, caring gently for those broken by disobedience, and ever those who wondered off, distracted by life.
Even as he cries in the garden, for the Father to take away the trauma that was coming yet was as sure to him as Judas’s betrayal. As sure as our own betrayal. He still endured.
For the joy set before Him, this letter to Jewish Christians will tell us. He endured all the pain, all the suffering. He endures and
9 … became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. Hebrews 5:9 (NLT)
The Arch-hierus… a Testimony to His Assistance
It is amazing to see how complete Christ’s rescue is, to see how great this salvation is.
For God takes the ignorant and the wayward, and binds them to Christ.
We will talk about it more in our Bible Study; for in that rescue, in our being joined to Jesus, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit. And as God cleanses us in baptism, we take on the priesthood with Him.
You see, the title high priest, is actually “first priest” or lead priest, the one from whom all other ministry is given.
You and I, and now, little Jason, are to follow Jesus’ lead as God’s priests. We will learn to deal gently with those who are ignorant of God’s love and mercy, and with those who have wandered off, and been led away from God. We may even embrace some suffering in order to accomplish God’s will. We will learn to love as Jesus love’s, to hear God’s desire to bring others into the family, as Jesus heard.
That is the transformation of the Gospel, the work of our high priest, the one anointed by God, to be our Savior, our Lord, our High Priest. To bring us into the peace of God and make our hearts and minds safe, for we dwell in Him.
AMEN!
The Attitude of Endurance Part I
The Attitude of Endurance Pt 1
John 2:13-22
As You Journey through this life, may the grace and mercy of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ convince you of the God’s passionate care for His people!
Nothing will stand in the way
Attitude is often the difference between victory, and failure.
For a student, it is necessary, in order to master the material. Determination makes the difference, far more often than intelligence does. For some things can only be learned through slow repetition. Attitude matters then because a determined attitude will see you through the boring times
For an athlete, an attitude of determination can be the difference between victory and defeat. When an inch matters, determination can stop your opponent.
What about a husband and wife? Do they need to have the correct attitude to see their marriage survive?
What about a believer? Does our attitude help us endure, trusting in God
Or an elder or a pastor? Does attitude have anything to do with how we minister to those around us?
What about our Savior?
If we are to endure this life, and the challenges to our faith, does Christ’s attitude matter?
As Jesus clears the temple courtyard, we see His dedication to seeing us endure. An attitude we need to imitate, that we all need to model for those who need to know His love.
Why was this wrong? Some background
As the Passover nears, people gathered from all over the Mediterranean Basin. They traveled from Rome, from Greece, from Alexandria Egypt and Babylon. Two parts of their journey that mattered were paying the temple tax, and offering pure; unblemished sacrifices, as important to them as our sacraments are to us
Without doing these things, they weren’t included in the people of God. Not by their choice, by God’s rules.
So people provided what they needed, the bulls, the sheep and pigeons, and others provided the special coins needed to pay the temple tax and offering. In the process, a business came up, and some people thrived on it, some even made quite a prophet, as people had to offer these sacrifices.
It wasn’t just the extraordinarily high-profit margins that bothered Jesus. Far more critical was the location for these religious businesses.
The Courtyard of the Gentiles, also known as the courtyard of prayer.
The place set aside, the holy place where the people who were not in Covenant could come and pray. The people Solomon prayed for at the dedication of the temple, centuries before:
41 And don’t forget the foreigner who is not a member of your people Israel but has come from a far country because of your reputation. 42 People are going to be attracted here by your great reputation, your wonder-working power, who come to pray at this Temple. 43 Listen from your home in heaven. Honor the prayers of the foreigner so that people all over the world will know who you are and what you’re like and will live in reverent obedience before you, just as your own people Israel do; so they’ll know that you personally make this Temple that I’ve built what it is. 1 Kings 8:41-43 (MSG)
Imagine the noise of the animals of those people running the coin exchange and the negotiations.
Imagine the noise of Walmart at Christmas time, going on here, as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper!
People, who’ve journeyed days and weeks are trying to cry out to God, and they so need to hear him. While bath’s and moo’s and the high-pitched cry of the birds and the all the talking is going on.
Don’t you see people trying to pray amid all the distractions?
They will be able to pray soon, for Jesus will make it peaceful, just as soon as He cleans house.
Bring it home
As I read this, I wonder how Jesus would clean up the church today. It is easy to answer that for the church throughout the world, but how would he clean house here?
What things do we do, that get in the way of people knowing they are forgiven children of God? What here at Concordia would make it difficult for someone who isn’t yet a believer, find it hard to hear His voice, and see His love revealed?
Maybe these aren’t things we do for money, but that we do for our comfort. Or things we don’t do, because they would make our lives uncomfortable?
If you think about the church in Luther’s time, it’s easy.
The church did everything in a language that people didn’t understand. And in order to find complete forgiveness, there was always something attached. You needed to purchase this indulgence, go on that pilgrimage, be blessed by this relic or that.
They blocked the people from having access to God’s love, to His comfort, to knowing they were forgiven. We do the same thing, perhaps without realizing it, as we cherish our practices, without realizing why they are precious. We want to keep them, but do we realize they might get in the way of someone searching for God?
The church at large could have a myriad of examples, and that is perhaps the biggest. We don’t speak with one voice about our World’s need for God, their only hope to deal with the brokenness of sin in their lives.
Some hide the brokenness, others simply condemn it, without sharing the hope God has given us, in our brokenness. We do the same thing, depending on the sin. Some we treat as unforgivable, without knowing the person sitting next to us is dealing with brokenness because of that sin. Other sins, we overlook, knowing that we are struggling with it, or someone else we love is.
And our house needs to be cleaned out. We need God to come through, and break down the barriers we set up. We need Him to help us realize that this place is a place of prayer, for Christians, and for those He is calling to, desire that they come to repentance!
Endurance – loving God, loving those around us
This is where attitude and endurance come into play. It is not our attitude and endurance rather it is our Lord’s.
He will do whatever it takes to bring people to the Father. He will humble the proud and lift up the weak. He will comfort those who need it, come alongside those who are mourning, confront the hard-hearted believers, who believe in God, yet need their hardened hearts broken and cleansed. He will forgive those who confess their sins and cleanse them from all unrighteousness. He will also challenge those whose sin is so controlling them, that only He can free them from it.
He will hear our prayers! The Spirit will reveal God in all His glory, in all His mercy, in all His love.
As we are transformed into His image, this becomes our lives, as we struggle with those things that stop people from knowing His love, His grace, His peace. Those things will come to bug us, and we will struggle with them but realizing His grace and what it means, and that others know it,
We will endure, we will ask Him to cleanse our spiritual homes, we will ask Him to know His love. His attitude will become our attitude…
And it will happen. As we treasure His peace, they will come to know it, and know that He hears their prayers, even as He does ours!
AMEN!
Need Something to Sacrifice For Lent? Give up Your Isolation!
Devotional Thought of the Day:
19 And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, 20 so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God. Ezekiel 11:19-20 (NLT)
933 Jesus, may my poor heart be filled from the ocean of your Love, with such big waves that can cleanse me and expel from me all my wretchedness. Pour those most pure and ardent waters of your Heart into mine, until my desires for loving you are fully satisfied and I can no longer hold back my response to your divine ardour. My heart shall surely break then, dying for Love, and pour out that Love of yours which, in irresistible and most fertile, life-giving torrents, will reach other hearts that will beat through contact with these living waters, with the pulsating force of Faith and Charity. (1)
At all times and in every race God has given welcome to whosoever fears Him and does what is right. God, however, does not make men holy and save them merely as individuals, without bond or link between one another. Rather has it pleased Him to bring men together as one people, a people which acknowledges Him in truth and serves Him in holiness. He therefore chose the race of Israel as a people unto Himself. (2)
For many of us, this is the last day before the beginning of Lent.
I’ve already seen people posting on FaceBook and Twitter the things they are going to give up. The usual list appears, chocolate, sugar, alcohol, they’ll read the Bible where they used to watch their favorite television shows, they’ll give up going to the movies, using the money to help those in homeless shelters. Even some have dared say they will give up FB, or Instagram, ( maybe this explains snapchat invitations rising?
People are willing to give up things that do them damage, to attempt to control the cravings that so easily entice them, To enter into a time of discipline, to make sacrifices. Those that have been at it for a while also know they need to replace these things with better habits. If they do not the temptation will rise, and failure will happen like it did with our New Year’s resolutions.
I have a suggestion if you are still looking for something. Even if you have already decided on something, consider this as well. It will be tough; it will be challenging. It will cost you something you are not that willing to give up.
Give up your isolation, your individuality. Give up your defensive walls that have been so carefully erected and protect your pride and self-esteem. Get involved in people’s lives! Let them into your life. Even those with whom you struggle to get along. Talk to them, invite them to sit next to you at church, or go and sit near them. Find ways to let them into your life, and love them.
This isn’t easy, yet for those who trust in Jesus, it is His nature. It will take faith, not in your strength, not in the hope they will change, but in trusting in Jesus promise. Remembering God is with you, right there in those moments, you can depend on His promise, that all will work for good. He knows your love, He chose you, He will take care of you.
It is God’s design, it is how we are to live, not just loving God but loving His people, and all the people whom He would call His own. The words from Vatican II struck me this morning, as did St. Josemaria Escriva’s. The nature of being transformed by God’s love gives us a new heart, a heart from which His love pours out, to those around us.
So go and get involved in that Bible Study, even encourage someone to join you. Take a step of faith and take on a new ministry at church. Buy that homeless guy lunch; talk to that lady sitting by herself at the table next to you as you eat dinner with your family at a restaurant. (Even invite her to join you!)
Trust in God’s love! Know He is with you! See Him in each of those you meet! Then this sacrifice of you, will not seem like a sacrifice at all. It will be a great joy!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 3294-3298). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(1) Catholic Church. (2011). Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: Lumen Gentium. In Vatican II Documents. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
