Blog Archives
I Will Trust in My God! A sermon for the second week of Epiphany!
Epiphany!
I will Trust My God!
Isaiah 49:1-17
† In Jesus’ Name! †
As the light of Christ’s glory shines in your hearts, may you know how great His mercy, how complete His peace, and how deep His love for you is!
Is it him, or me?
When we look at a prophecy in the Old Testament, there are some things we have to consider.
How was it in originally fulfilled.
Is it primarily about Jesus during the time from His incarnation to his
But there is a third application of the prophecy – whether it is just a lesson for us, revealing Jesus, or whether it is directly applicable to us. For example, in the 23rd Psalm, or in Psalm 51 or 139, the words are as applicable to you and me as they are to David.
But what about today’s selection? Is it like those Psalms that are more about Jesus, or the ones that tell us more about ourselves?
Are we the ones who were named by God before our birth, while in our mother’s womb known by God? Or is it Jesus?
Are we the ones hidden in the shadow of His hand, who serve God the Father and will bring Him glory, or is it only Jesus who is so aimed, whose words will cause people to know God’s decision that declares them righteous?
Who is this passage about? Jesus, our Lord, the one who brings the light of His glory into our darkness, or are these words of Isaiah about you and me?
Al – don’t say it!
Could He know the despair?
If I were to make the case that it is about us, what would seem to make that point is found in verse 4.
4 I replied, “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
That sounds like something you or I would say, far more than it sounds like something the only begotten Son of God would say.
Think about those words for a moment. Do these words of despair sound like they would come from the mouth of the Lord Jesus? From the same lips that blessed bread and fish and fed thousands upon thousands? From the same lips that calmed storms, and called the little girl and the widow’s son and Lazarus back to life? Could Jesus, who forgave the adulteress, and healed the blind and paralyzed, could he have uttered such words of hopelessness?
Doesn’t this lead us to think these words, therefore, must be just about you and me?
Or is this what the writer of Hebrews means when he says,
15 We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. 16 So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.
Hebrews 4:15-16 (MSG)
If so, then this passage could still be about Him. If it is, then we have a God who doesn’t just look down on us, but can be there for us, knowing the challenges. He just doesn’t sympathize with us, this God who lights up our darkness with His light, it is His empathy that drives Him to do so!
If this passage is about Jesus, then it brings a whole different understanding to our faith. It isn’t n vain, and it isn’t a leap. Our hope is an expectation, just like Jesus’ faith is expressed back in verse 4,
“But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the LORD’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.
Somehow, Jesus was able to trust the Father, He was able to leave it all in the Father’s hands. Dealing with Peter and James and John and the wishy-washy disciples, dealing with Herod and the religious leaders who wanted to kill him. Dealing with the rich young ruler who walked away.
Did Jesus know those days when it seems like nothing works, that nothing makes a difference, and simply trusted in the Father’s will?
yes.
It is both, because we find life, in Christ!
So is this passage only about Jesus? Or can we utter those words as well? Can we leave it all in the hands of God, trusting in God to see us through?
Is He the only one who God formed to be his servant? Is he the only One who God uses to bring back those who’ve wandered off, to bring salvation to all who are far off, even to the ends of the earth? Who will see the powers and authorities of this world bowing before?
While it is about Jesus, it is about us as well, for we find our lives, the lives the Holy Spirit calls into existence, cleansing us from sin, in Christ Jesus. It is true of us because it is true of Him. For in the book of Acts Paul tells some gentiles in Athens that their poets had it correct when they said, “In Him we live and move and have our being”.
That is what it means to be in the season of Epiphany, to share in the glory of Christ Jesus. This is what it means for Him to be here, shattering our darkness. As we realize His presence anew every time we commune at the altar, every we time we hear His voice speak to us, as the Holy Spirit uses the gospel to create life within us!
We see this the last verse, where Isaiah says to those in Christ, it is the LORD, the faithful One, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you…
This is not about the one who is spoken too, it is not about their faith, but the faithfulness of the LORD who speaks. It is about His faithfulness in saving us, in lighting our way, in ensuring we endure, ensuring we hear His call of us, by name. The name for the church throughout scripture is this very term – the chosen or called ones. Called by name, kept in the hand of God, given a message to deliver to the nations.
This is our life, spent in Christ, our journey in the light of His glory, the glory that came when He came to dwell with man, and in our baptism as the Spirit comes to give us this wondrous life.
This is our focus during Epiphany, this is why we sing, as we recognize His glory has appeared here, where the Lord is with you! AMEN!
Words of Divine Wisdom from ???? him???
Devotional Thought of the Day:
Fellow Israelites, be careful what you are about to do to these men. 36 *Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important, and about four hundred men joined him, but he was killed, and all those who were loyal to him were disbanded and came to nothing. 37 After him came Judas the Galilean at the time of the census. He also drew people after him, but he too perished and all who were loyal to him were scattered. 38 So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. 39 But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” They were persuaded by him. Acts 5:35-39 NABRE
His name was Gamaliel, one of the greatest of Jewish Rabbi’s, not just of his time, but in history.
Not exactly a friend to those who followed Jesus; though, in this situation, he certainly had words of wisdom that were beneficial to them.He’s not the only one throughout history who was not a believer, yet God used to deliver and guide his people. Jethro’s father was one, and Cyrus the Persian for another. I’m not sure that Balaam’s ass was a believer, but God even spoke through it.
So how do we deal with such things?
We know that there are two forms of revelation, that is two ways in which we know about God. The first is through scripture, specific revelation. This is where we get to know God deeply. He tells us who He is, how much he loves us, how Christ came and proved that love. The second way is what is called general revelation, and is what we can discern of the Creator through nature, through observation, through the various sciences.
Even the observations and thoughts of man that create idols and establish man-made religions have some truth in them, some portion that is written based on how God has ordered things. For such false religions were created based, not in a vacuum, but withing God’s creation, within His world, by humans who are made in His image, and have a portion of the truth.
Remember – they aren’t His enemies, though they may fight against God, and struggle with His direct, specific revelation.
That doesn’t mean they have the complete truth. Or that we should just accept what they can observe as being equal to what we interpret from scripture. But we can consider their wisdom, measure it against scripture ( not just our interpretation of scripture). and rejoice where it is found consistent.
Is this easy or fast? No. Sometimes testing their belief means that we spend a few hours in scripture, and in prayer. But Gamaliel’s advice is similar – let’s see if God is at work in this. And hold fast to the truth we know!
Does it change how we relate to those who believe other than we do? Yes – we see them as people who are looking for God, and doing what they can to deal with their own brokenness.
This change in attitude leads us to a position that means we aren’t opposition, but rather working alongside them. There may be a line in the sand – but that isn’t to divide us, it is to remind us of what has been specifically given to us, through Christ’s life, death, burial,and resurrection. There is the line – that love of God revealed in Christ. That specific, merciful, glorious revelation of His love.s
In the midst of all of this, praying and asking God to bless us, we find a very special ministry, that of seeing all reconciled to Jesus.
And that my friends, is worth it. .
New American Bible. Revised Edition. Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. Print.
If I Only Had A Fork
If I Only Had a Fork!
Luke 14:1-14
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ be so evident in your life, that you rejoice at the thought of a meal, knowing it is a foretaste of the most wonderful of feast, that you’ve been invited to…
A portable feast…
Last Sunday, on the way back from dropping off our trailer in Hemet, we stopped in Riverside for dinner. I was kind of tired, and ate less than half my dinner, but it was so good, I had them pack up the rest to bring it home. It didn’t make it.
There was a man in the parking lot, and as we left, he asked if we had any money for food. He didn’t look homeless necessarily, and as my first thoughts doubted his sincerity, I decided to test him, and asked him if what he really wanted was food.
A simple nod, and I was hooked, I handed over the cashew nut chicken….
He didn’t even look me in the eyes as he said thanks, and quickly took off across the mall parking lot.
As we drove through the parking lot, I didn’t see him until we got to the street at the light. There he was, sitting on the curb devouring the food with his hands, oblivious to how sticky and messy it was…..
If I had only known how hungry, if I had only known how desperate,
Then the light turned green, and as I pulled out onto the road and then onto the freeway, I struggled with my thoughts, I could have got him a drink, or a gift card for more food – or at least a fork.
The challenge
As people entered the rabbi’s house, their neighbor was in severe discomfort. I assume no one tried to help him, not one asked Jesus if he would heal this man. Instead they rushed to find a place to recline, close to the host, and able to easily hear the conversations between him and this guest, this wandering miracle worker.
Why didn’t they ask the miracle worker to care for their friend? Why was their first priority to make sure they got the best seat, the freshest coffee, the perfect donut?
Are you and I any better?
Do we rush by people, seeking to talk to someone else? Are we more concerned with getting to “our place”
Jesus also talked about who we invite over, or those we go out with, do we only invite those who can invite us back? Its the same thing – not that we should be hospitable, but that we have agendas going, agendas that serve ourselves, but also cause us to look past those struggling around us….
It’s a question about why we are here really, are we hear to love God and those He brings in our lives, or do we live to serve ourselves?
I encountered that question in my devotions yesterday, as the author wrote,
“They confuse renewal (God’s work in our lives, healing us) with comfort.”
And often we do this – and get upset with God when things aren’t as comfortable as we would want.
Sometimes it is better to be uncomfortable, if in doing so, we understand the incredible love of God that we see revealed in the life of Jesus. As He embraced discomfort to care for people, for us.
The Invite
As we consider the lesson – the idea of stopping to care for the broken, the being humble and taking a seat in the servant’s area, and in inviting those who can’t pay you back, we see Jesus being not only one speaking this, but living it.
He doesn’t just stop to heal the man with edema, as He came to the cross, he came to die to heal you and me. His blood, poured out on the cross brings healing to our brokenness.
He didn’t run to the top spot, to lose the world, but he became a servant, and God the father would call him to sit at His side, He embraced the servant’s role, the life lived in the poor section, to minister to you and I, to care for us, to make sure we knew we are invited to the feast in heaven, even at the cost of his death, and that death on the cross.
He is our host, He says we belong here – with Him. He shares His life with us, even as the Father makes us co-heirs with Christ.
When Jesus offers us a feast – when he says, “
Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you, from the creation of the world!”
That’s what He is talking about here, and making sure, than in our desire to be there, we leave no one behind.
What a Blessing!
In the original division of the readings the gospel reading stopped at verse 14.
One of the nice things about doing our own bulletins, is I get to fix it, when I think they made it too long, or in this case , too short.
Let’s read verse 15 together,
“15 Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!”
There is a man hungry enough for God’s kingdom that he wouldn’t care if he had a fork or not! It’s time to dig in…
Because of Jesus – that is you and I are attending that banquet, and in a moment, we get a little taste of it.
We’re invited, we been saved and healed and we’ve got great seats, and even a fork!
AMEN!
Ministry is About Enabling All to See and Hear
Devotional Thought of the Day:
3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! 4 Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. 5 Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The LORD has spoken!” Isaiah 40:3-5 (NLT)
397 Don’t place obstacles in the way of grace. You need to be convinced that to be leaven you must become a saint, and must struggle to identify yourself with Him. (1)
Some may recognize the passage from Isaiah 40 quoted above as being fulfilled in John the Baptist. For he was the first to cry out that Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Savior was near, that the glory of His cross would soon be revealed to everyone.
John’s call for repentance leveled the playing field, for no man could stand higher than another, and when Christ was lifted up, all could see him. No longer would wee little men need to climb trees to see Jesus. All would be drawn to Him; all would be able to know the hope of salvation.
The problem is that we forget that we share in this ministry of making Christ accessible. The problem is that many of the obstacles, the hindrances, the mountains and canyons are ones we built. Perhaps not intentionally, perhaps to give us a better view, but they still block the view, they still delay people who are bring drawn to the cross.
We have to stop treating ministry as if people are to serve it, rather than it serve the people. It is wrong to make the one being drawn to Christ detour for miles or weeks or years to get around the trenches we dig, the barriers we put up to keep things safe and neat. We need a call to repentance, especially among those who are to shepherd the church, or who serve the church as the priesthood of all believers.
We need to hear these words, Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all the people will see it together, and recognize that in these words our commission is clear.
They need to see.
We cannot continue to get in the way, but rather, we are called to help them respond to Christ drawing all of us to Himself, to hear the answer to our prayer,
Lord, have mercy upon us, sinners,
(1) Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 1548-1549). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Soul of the Mission: The Lord’s Supper?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
6 In our union with Christ Jesus he raised us up with him to rule with him in the heavenly world. 7 He did this to demonstrate for all time to come the extraordinary greatness of his grace in the love he showed us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s gift, so that no one can boast about it. 10 God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus he has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do. Ephesians 2:8-10 (TEV)
For where God’s Word is preached, accepted or believed, and bears fruit, there the blessed holy cross will not be far away. Let nobody think that he will have peace; he must sacrifice all he has on earth—possessions, honor, house and home, wife and children, body and life.
66 Now, this grieves our flesh and the old Adam, for it means that we must remain steadfast, suffer patiently whatever befalls us, and let go whatever is taken from us.
67 Therefore, there is just as much need in this case as in every other case to pray without ceasing: “Thy will be done, dear Father, and not the will of the devil or of our enemies, nor of those who would persecute and suppress thy holy Word or prevent thy kingdom from coming; and grant that whatever we must suffer on its account, we may patiently bear and overcome, so that our poor flesh may not yield or fall away through weakness or indolence.” (1)
The sacraments, however, especially the most holy Eucharist, communicate and nourish that charity which is the soul of the entire apostolate.
One engages in the apostolate through the faith, hope, and charity which the Holy Spirit diffuses in the hearts of all members of the Church. Indeed, by the precept of charity, which is the Lord’s greatest commandment, all the faithful are impelled to promote the glory of God through the coming of His kingdom and to obtain eternal life for all men-that they may know the only true God and Him whom He sent, Jesus Christ (cf. John 17:3). On all Christians therefore is laid the preeminent responsibility of working to make the divine message of salvation known and accepted by all men throughout the world. (2)
I was recently reading a document which described the mission field as one where suffering may be more likely than not. It wanted to prepare (and or scare off) potential missionaries, warning them that life would be hard.
But it is not just missionaries in exotic foreign places who are to live life in that manner. It is as well those who are missionaries here. All people who pray that God’s kingdom would come. All who understand the grace of God, having received it in awe, and in awe spent time in adoration and thanksgiving. This is the glorious work that God has given all the church, both its shepherds and sheep to do.
Luther is deadly with his recognition that there is a part of us that we balk at living lives full of suffering. We don’t want to be self-controlled, living simply to put first in our lives God’s priority – that of bringing the message of salvation to the world, making it know and helping all to accept it. Being brutally honest, I think sometimes we are glad when they are repulsed by it, or when we offend them enough to drive them away. It is easier to say “we tried and failed” than “we tried, and because we love them, we will keep praying and trying.” Vatican II says it well – it is our preeminent responsibility, this work of the gospel.
Being missional, being part of the apostolate (same term) requires us to suffer, to be patient, to be driven by the Holy Spirit, enduring to the end that people know Jesus.
Throughout this article, I haven’t used the other word, Sacrifice. I have not used it, because honestly, giving up money or fame, separating ourselves from our idols and false gods is not sacrifice. At least we learn it is not, as we find ourselves at the cross. That was sacrifice. Our giving up things, our endurance is simply the process of sanctification, as God himself separates us from that which distracts us from His love, from His presence, from the sacrifice of Christ’s love.
It is for that reason the passage from Vatican II calls the sacraments, and especially the Eucharist, Communion, the Lord’s Supper, the soul of the apostolate, or as some would know it, the soul of being missional. It is there, in that intimate moment as God gives you and your family Christ’s Body and Blood, as the covenant is renewed and celebrated, that we find again what is so precious. Time with God, the refuge of peace that overwhelms us that assures us that He loves us, that He will heal us, that He cares for us. God is our refuge, our strength, our very help in time of suffering.
This celebration of Christ’s sacrifice which unites us to God is the soul of our mission; it is what is so amazing that we know others must know it as well. That life is simply not the same without it. We have to reveal it to others, we are compelled, not by force, but by love to do this.
It doesn’t matter whether we are in the mountains of Papua New Guinea or the coastal towns of Sicily. It doesn’t matter whether we are in the suburbs of Boston, or in the urban city of Bellflower, California. It doesn’t matter whether we are risking our lives preaching the gospel in the Sudan, or in Istanbul, or having breakfast with friends in Cerritos.
The need for us to reveal God’s desire to meet their deepest needs, to bring healing to their brokenness exists.
This is our mission; this is why we are part of the apostolate, those who walk with Christ bringing light and salvation to the world.
We are Christ’s masterpiece. We are united to Him, and doing the good words God has created in our lives.
(1) Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (p. 429). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
(2) Catholic Church. (2011). Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity: Apostolicam Actuositatem. In Vatican II Documents. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
The Blessing of the Communion of Saints
Devotional THoguht of the Day
Here is my servant* whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased. Upon him I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations.2 He will not cry out, nor shout, nor make his voice heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed* he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 He will not grow dim or be bruised until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands* will wait for his teaching. Isaiah 42:1-4 NABRE
Thomas Aquinas even went so far as to explain the scientific nature of theology in terms of this text. He says that theology, too, is in this sense a “secondary science” that does not “see” and “prove” its own foundations. It is, so to speak, dependent upon the “knowledge of the saints”, on their conviction; this conviction is the reference point of theological thought, which vouches for its legitimacy. The work of the theologian is, in this sense, always “secondary”, always ordered to the real experience of the saints. That is the humility that is required of the theologian.… Without the realism of the saints, without their contact with reality, which is what it is all about, theology becomes an empty intellectual game and loses its character as a science. (1)
“With Angels and Archangels and all the company of heaven we exalt and magnify Your glorious Name, evermore praising You and singing…” (2)
I am still caught up a little, in the message from yesterday, and the action Jesus takes, not just in delivering a man tormented by demons, but the action Jesus takes in sending the man home. Back to the people he tormented, to the relationships that were shattered in the course of the possession. He sent him back to give the people hope, to proclaim to them the way God worked in His life.
The way described in the passage I came across in my devotions in Isaiah this morning. The care Jesus showed, the tenderness showed even to the demons ( Why not just trash them? Why not just send them into the pit? Why respond to their plea for comfort and mercy?) .Look at Christ, caring for the man, and for the village that rejected him!
I then came to the theologian’s quote and heard the words of our liturgy. They both speak about the fact that we don’t live in a vacuum. That life isn’t restricted to what we see, but that our worship joins with those before us, that their encounters with God. We need to realize that the list of people that lived by faith in Hebrews 11, and those that followed in their steps as they followed in Christ, are those whose voices we join in praise.
And it is their experience; it is their stories that become part of our story (I think someone might say meta-narrative – but I don’t know what that is!). It is their experience of God that undergirds our study of theology.
Not because they are holier than we are. Not because they were more intelligent! (though in my case – they are significantly so!) It is because they experienced the love of God! They saw Him bring healing and forgiveness into their lives, they walked with Him, even through the valley of the shadow of death! To those who have gone before us, we see the impact of God revealing Himself to them. It is imperative that we realize the communion of saints that we include in our confession of faith that we call the creeds. We have to realize we are part of that, that they are part of our lives as well.
If we are to describe theology as a science, a pursuit to discover truth, and to gain an ever-deepening understanding of it, the lives of saints, past and present is the laboratory part of the course. It is where we see the truth of Jesus in real life, experienced, observed, known.
It is something we need to know, to know Jesus has walked with others, healed others, delivered others, and sent others out, to minister to those who will be the next generation of the communion of saints.
What a blessed gift God has given to us, to help us journey with Him in life!
(1) Ratzinger, J. (1992). Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. (I. Grassl, Ed., M. F. McCarthy & L. Krauth, Trans.) (pp. 198–199). San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
(2) A paraphrase of the Lutheran prayer said as we prepare for communion
Will God, Really? or Does the Church need to be there?
Will God, Really?
1 Kings 8
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace and peace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen your dependence upon Hi m and help you pray, knowing God is here.. for you dwell in His presence.
Is it good enough for…
Twenty-seven years ago, I was looking in display cases in a store in San Dimas, Ca. I had already spent a lot of time in other stores, trying to find the perfect ring to go on Kay’s hand, when we got married on July 1st.
Although I didn’t have a lot of money, that wasn’t the issue as much as finding a ring that would make her smile, that she would proudly wear and that she would show off, saying, look!
I found it, got out my life savings… (which was last week’s paycheck) and purchased the ring. I remember thinking, until the time I saw her smile, will she find it good enough? Will it be good enough!
I have to think my anxiety was nothing compared to what Solomon was going through as he dedicated the temple. Can you imagine the pressure, for the dream was not just his dream, but King David’s dreams, and the fulfillment of a promise that went all the way back to Egypt and Moses, and even before that 4 centuries to the time when God made a covenant promise to Abraham, having him look up into the sky, to see the number of his descendants.
All of the Israel was there, to dedicate a sanctuary, the temple, to be the place where God would dwell with man.
And as he looks out on the people of God, his nervousness causes him to ask a question.
But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built!
We could, no, we should ask the same question here today, for this place, as we stand in this place, where God has put His name.
How can Concordia contain the presence of God, who cannot even be contained?
The answer is found in why the Temple was dedicated as the house of God, and to see this place dedicated to the same purpose!
Why Solomon had Faith God Would hear.
It is amazing to me sometimes, when people take a question like Solomon’s and only read the question, assuming that God would not answer, or that because Solomon asked, it meant the issue would be in doubt. I’ve heard people say that churches and sanctuaries dedicated to being the place where God meets people are no different than a forest, or a beach. Because God is everywhere, and therefore, any place is as good as another.
But Solomon doesn’t ask this in a rhetorical manner. He asks it because he knows the answer, the very character of God is to dwell with His people. He walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden, and was close enough to know Cain and talk to him. Enoch walked with Him, as did Noah, and of course Melchizedek, the prince of peace who would help Abraham know the prophecy about Jesus, the incredible Prince of Peace. He walked with Isaac and wrestled with Jacob. He met Moses, and dwell on Mount Sinai, and led His people as they struggled to be faithful in the wilderness.
And as Solomon mentions, God kept the promises made to David, Solomon’s father. That God always keeps the promises He binds himself to in covenant.
God always shows love to those He calls to be His own; that is why we are devoted to Him. It is because He doesn’t fail us.
And he doesn’t’ fail us because He dwells with us, not just because He is everywhere. He makes His home with us, in our midst, to care for us, love us, reconcile us to Himself
That we struggle to believe that is the nastiest side effect of sin, the belief that God won’t care about the people He created to be His own.
Which is why we put up buildings like this one, it is why Solomon built the temple; it is why Jesus cleared out the money changers and those who made a profit selling sacrifices in the temple.
Because these places where God has said, “My name is there”, where He urges us to call upon His name, is to be a place of peace, a refuge, a sanctuary.
Which is why we can pray here, which is why we feel at peace here at the rail, as God strengthens us, for He hears our cry, as He hears our Kyrie…our plea for His love and mercy.
Will God Really Hear my Prayer?
It took me a while to understand this passage, this prayer of Solomon. Because the very first thing he asks for is that God would hear all of the prayers prayed in the Temple – actually within the temple courtyards, and area 8 times the size of our Concordia property! A million people could easily fill the courts, and can you imagine how they would sound singing the Nunc Dimittis? How they praises would ring as they realized that God was welcoming them, drawing them into His presence!
What is so amazing, what needs to be realized is that when the people of God pray, the promise isn’t to give us the American Dream of Life, liberty, wealth, fame and the pursuit of happiness, the promise is to give us…
Mercy
Forgiveness,
Pardon,
To give us the loving comfort of realizing God doesn’t walk away from us, that He will cleanse us up, that he won’t bar us from heaven, but He will make us as clean and share His glory with us!
If we are devoted to Him, this only ensures a deeper devotion. A more single-hearted adoration of the God who comes and dwells among us. There is no great answered prayer than this,
You are my children, and I will love you and care for you, by the stripes Christ wore on His back, you are healed!
Will God Really Hear Theirs?
That is there in the prayer of the heathen that Solomon would have God really hear as well. We get distracted by the “grant whatever they ask”, in fact, I sometimes wonder if I can be a unbeliever for a day, get 400 or 500 prayers answered, and then believe again. ( We’ll talk about that in Bible Study!)
But they are to pray so that they can be in awe of God’s presence as well, so that can know and fear God, even as His people do. That is what Solomon prays for those who aren’t the people of God, who aren’t in the covenant, that are drawn to God by the work of the Holy Spirit.
That they would know Him, and come into this relationship, this wonderful relationship where God answers Solomon question with smoke so thick that they priests can’t do anything.
Smoke that testifies to His presence, just as the bread and wine, body and blood testify to the presence of Christ in this place.
Solomon asks, “will God really dwell on earth?”
God answers, “Be at peace, I am with you…” AMEN!
You Were, You are, I am! A Sermon on Isaiah 12:1-6
You Were, You are, I am!
Isaiah 12:1-6
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace and peace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ bring you great comfort.
Have you ever seen….
He was so angry that his nostrils flared.
He couldn’t control his breathing, as his strongly worded rebuke comes out with great deliberation and focus. His face was bright red, the kind of anger that you wonder whether his heart or mind will explode before you.
If it weren’t for the control over those words, you would wonder if there was any control left in Him.
The anger so powerful, that you can’t focus
I don’t think this is exactly what we were picturing when we chanted the gradual, when we said, “fix your eyes on Jesus…”
I think most of us have a hard time seeing God this angry, especially Jesus or the Holy Spirit. I mean – how does a dove get angry? God the Father maybe, but God that angry? But then we think of the parable of the prodigal, and that Father wasn’t all that mad…
That furious? So much so that it physically was revealed?
Who was God that mad at????
For the definition of the word angry describes someone based on physical appearance, so angry their body cannot hide it.
You were…
Who was it Isaiah was quoting when he wrote, “You were angry with me, O LORD”.
Most of us would love to point at someone else, and say – God must have been mad at, and name a name. Most likely a name that betrayed and hurt us in the past. Or maybe someone who is breaking the laws, or threatening our way of life, our future or children/grandchildren’s future.
This is what we need to realize, God was that angry with us.
Angry with us because of our sin, because of our rebelling against Him, angry as we rejected His love and his care.
I think sometimes we would prefer to think he was disappointed, or maybe a little upset. That because God is understanding, that he doesn’t get emotional over our idolatry, our gossip, our sexual sin, our jealousy, and coveting. Somehow I think we want to minimize the things we do wrong, we want to justify them, argue that their right, say that the Greek or Hebrew doesn’t really mean that its wrong, just that it isn’t as good as God would hope for us to be.
Sorry,
God was mad; he was angry, so angry that it caught there attention.
He caught our attention.
He was that mad at us, that angry at our sin,
There is a need to recognize this, that we can cause God so much anger that He must pour it out on someone, for if we don’t understand this, we don’t understand the cross.
We can’t understand the wrath of God that was poured out upon Jesus, that He bore out of obedience.
What happens if we don’t understand how angry God was with us, is that we don’t worry about our sin, and we continue to dwell on it, and we will struggle with the need for repentance, with the need for more than a quick “I’m sorry.”
We need to look at the cross from the point of seeing God so angry, that He needed to pour out that anger, and instead of pouring it out on us, He chose Christ Jesus.
You are…
Hear those words again,
In that day, you will sing: “I will praise you, O LORD! You were angry with me, but not any more. Now you comfort me. 2 See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The LORD GOD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.” Isaiah 12:1-2 (NLT)
You were angry O LORD- not His title but His Name…
You were angry, but not any more… now you comfort me.
Now you comfort me.
All because of the cross. Where that anger was satisfied, where the sins met the wrath of God and were consumed. The cross where the people who had no god, who had walked away from Him saw His love overcome to His anger, and broken, and crushed, we were given life in Jesus.
Yes, we ticked God off, more perhaps than we can ever understand.
He didn’t set it aside, He dealt with it, as Christ Jesus was nailed to the cross.
He was angry, but because of Jesus- He is no longer.
And that is why we worship and praise Him, that is why we tell the world what Jesus has done. The wonderful things He has done, that we make known around the world.
That He has brought people from around the world to hear about.
He was angry at us, not any more, now He comforts us…literally in Hebrew, He allows us to breath easy. He allows us to sigh in relief and drink deeply of His cup of salvation!
I am…
This is the reason for our joy! That one little verse, not even a whole verse, talks of our sin angering God, and the rest of the chapter praises Him. It is that joy that springs up from seeing what was crushed, restored, what was broken healed.
At first, we cannot believe it, and then we are in awe… then life becomes incredibly infused with the love of God.
Hear the last words of Isaiah’s reading this morning
6 Let all the people of Jerusalem/Concordia shout his praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”
A Measure of Congregational and Christian Maturity: The Sacrifice of Preference
Devotional Thought of the Day:
But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God. 7 And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.(Heb 7:6–7) NLT
Her purpose has been to adapt the Gospel to the grasp of all as well as to the needs of the learned, insofar as such was appropriate. Indeed, this accommodated preaching of the revealed word ought to remain the law of all evangelization. For thus the ability to express Christ’s message in its own way is developed in each nation, and at the same time there is fostered a living exchange between the Church and the diverse cultures of people.
I have an older member of my congregation; she is tone who loves a traditional liturgy with organ accompaniment going full throttle. She said to me one day, “Pastor, I prefer the older liturgy, but I hear people singing the new liturgy, and I see where it is a blessing to others. Keep doing it.” I have another member, who learned the Lord’s prayer from a modern translation, without the hallow ‘d’s and Thy’s. But hearing the passion in the voice of the older folk who say it, he wants to hear them say it, their way, and not steal their comfort by forcing them to become modern.
I hold them out to you, dear reader, as an example of Christian maturity.
Why? Because they understand that being blessed by their preferences being satisfied is not as important as helping others know Christ Jesus, to experience His love and His mercy.
As the writer of Hebrews explains it, it is Christlike, it is the more mature that blesses, and what greater blessing is there that you can give someone, that to have the gospel communicate to them in a way they “get.”
That’s what I like about the statement from Vatican II. It recognizes the purpose of the church to make sure that can grasp the gospel. To express Christ’s message in a way that is different, not in core message, but in view of the context it is delivered to, knowing the age, the culture, the various ethnic and language idiosyncrasies. Let me give you an example. The French spoken in Quebec is different than the French of Belgium, is different from the French spoken in Vietnam. Some is the same, but to communicate to the heart of the people, you phrase some things differently. Likewise, I would preach a sermon on the same passage differently if I was preaching it at a Harvard Chapel, or at a rescue mission. As Robert Schuller used to talk about, we have to study our milieu as much as the passage we preach.
A mature church adapts its message to the people. This is not sugar coating it, but understanding it is an act of love to bless others with a message it can grasp. That means working hard, diligently preparing messages and music, and helping others see where they too can learn to sacrifice.
This is the church; this is growing in awareness of God’s desire. This is growing in our ability to depend on God, to love, to be transformed into the image of Christ. It is proof of His work in us….
So think – and bless God fo the ability to communicate His love, even to those who are different!
Catholic Church. (2011). Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World: Gaudium Et Spes. In Vatican II Documents. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
Why a Lutheran Pastor Would Quote the Catholic Pope about the Church’s Mission…
Devotional Thought of the Day –
For God’s Kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of the righteousness, peace, and joy which the Holy Spirit gives. And when you serve Christ in this way, you please God and are approved by others. Romans 14:17-18 (TEV)
John said to him, “Teacher, we saw a man who was driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn’t belong to our group.” “Do not try to stop him,” Jesus told them, “because no one who performs a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say evil things about me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Mark 9:38-40 (TEV)
Of course some of them preach Christ because they are jealous and quarrelsome, but others from genuine good will. These do so from love, because they know that God has given me the work of defending the gospel. The others do not proclaim Christ sincerely, but from a spirit of selfish ambition; they think that they will make more trouble for me while I am in prison. It does not matter! I am happy about it—just so Christ is preached in every way possible, whether from wrong or right motives. And I will continue to be happy, because I know that by means of your prayers and the help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ I shall be set free. Philippians 1:15-19 (TEV)
“The Church, the holy People of God, treads the dust-laden paths of history, so often traversed by conflict, injustice and violence, in order to encounter her children, our brothers and sisters. The holy and faithful People of God are not afraid of losing their way; they are afraid of becoming self-enclosed, frozen into élites, clinging to their own security. They know that self-enclosure, in all the many forms it takes, is the cause of so much apathy.
So let us go out, let us go forth to offer everyone the life of Jesus Christ (Evangelii Gaudium, 49). The People of God can embrace everyone because we are the disciples of the One who knelt before his own to wash their feet (ibid., 24) ” (1)
If you haven’t heard, Pope Francis is visiting the USA. In green, you see one of my favorite quotes from him, one that hasn’t been pushed much on Twitter, or quoted on FB. It is both this lack of attention AND the truth of it, that makes it possibly my favorite quote of his.
Some people are excited, some people are worried, some people are mad, and want everyone to know that the visit of the one they think is “the” anti-christ, in combination with a harvest moon, in combination with the green stuff growing in their refrigerator resembling the hairstyle of a prominent presidential candidate means the means to the end is near.
I do think it providential though, that the gospel reading this week contains the middle quote from scripture. The one that has Jesus crying out, “do not try to stop him!”
Let me start out with this, According to the doctrines of the Catholic Church, some of what I preach is anathema. And likewise, some, repeat, some of the things that are doctrines the are to hold to are heterodox and even heretical. One could do several Ph.D. thesis outlining these things. And several more outlining the things upon which we agree. Those need to be discussed not hidden.
But therein is the rub. To dismiss each other entirely it is to dismiss where we agree as if it were as false. For example, the truths found in the three Creeds. Or the promises that God is faithful to the promises He makes to us, including the promises attached to the proclaiming of the Gospel, the promises attached to Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the forgiveness given us in Confession. We can never dismiss each other entirely, because the core of our creed, we share in common. We share a hope found in Christ Jesus. For me to presumptuously say everything the Roman Catholic Church teaches is wrong is to dismiss the Christ in whom I find hope, and the mission, the apostolic mission given to the Church.
With this particular Pope, Pope Francis, what resonates of his message is what is found in 1 Peter, that God doesn’t desire any person to be lost, but that all would come to repentance, that all would be reconciled, that all would know the love of God, and the mercy poured out on us because of the death of Jesus Christ, and His resurrection.
That message of his won’t make the evening news often, nor will it make the conservative or liberal blogospheres in either of our church bodies. That won’t get attention, because it won’t cause hits to come in large numbers. Controversy does that. It draws us in; it creates elitists, groups that will become, as Francis points out – apathetic. They will become apathetic to the real ministry, to the real mission, to the real apostolate. Their focus will go from that to their own personal crusade, and the Missio Dei will become a distant memory for them. Not for all, for God has promised that as well. That Missio Dei is our mission, the reason we are sent to this world, which is the reason Christ was sent,
as Francis says,
“to offer everyone the life of Jesus Christ.”
May we bring that life to all,
A life in which Jesus guards our hearts and our minds, a life of peace the world cannot give, a life of incomparable peace which the Father in Heaven desires to share with us. The peace that is the answer to our prayer,
Lord have mercy on us sinners… AMEN!
(1) From the Homily given by Pope Francis on 9/24 found here http://opusdei.us/en-us/article/canonization-of-junipero-serra/
