Blog Archives
the Repentant
Zacchaeus:
The Question of Who BenefitsFrom “My” Work
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ so transform you that you know the excitement and joy that leads you to see others needs…and meet them!
Part 1: Fruit of His Labors
When we hear Zacchaeus was a tax collector, I think we paint a picture in our minds. A small man, perhaps with squinty eyes, and hands that are moving way to fast. A glint in his eye when money is involved.
We probably assume he is evil, that he robbed people left and right of what they earned. After all, aren’t tax collectors the ultimate example of evil? There are some noble used car salesman out there, and even some very honest politicians and lawyers.
But a tax collector though? A government worker whose job depended on collecting enough revenue? Who had legal authority to fine and who received a bonus, or a cut, of all he took in, he is one who needs to repent, right?
So if he can repent, we have hope, right?
If Zack can be transformed by God’s love, then we are a much simpler job, right?
No. I don’t think so. I think we make a mistake in saying he was more evil than we are, just because of his role. Certainly, the little guy was hated more than anyone else, but he we can’t assume that he was more corrupt, more self-centered.
Certainly he was not a hero to his people. Look at how they grumbled because Jesus went to him!
He hoarded his wealth; he was successful in that we find out why he needed to repent. We see the change in him after he encounters Jesus. Instead of sharing, he hoarded. Instead of meeting needs, he made sure he had none. He didn’t care about those around him; he cared about himself.
It may be considered as American as apple pie, but greed is still a sin. Not loving your brother, and responding in love to his needs is still a sin. We don’t like hearing that, we want to enjoy the fruit of our labors, and not share it with others. We want what we deserve, the pay we earned with our own hands.
Which brings up an interesting question – why do we do what we do? To serve God, or to serve ourselves?
Zacchaeus served himself, but even as a wealthy man, a man who did his job well, that wasn’t enough. Throughout scripture, you see this – over and over, as those who are only focused on themselves live empty lives. Ethics and morality are reduced from living a life that benefits others, to lives that don’t rob from others.
We hear this in the first epistle of John,
16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; 1 John 3:16-19 (NLT)
This is our call to repentance this evening, this is the call to confession, to pray that God would help us to change.
That He remove from us the lack of compassion that has a grip on our souls. That He would remove from us a heart that is self-centered and only cares about its own needs.
As we enter a time of silence, let the Spirit convict you, show you where you need to have Him change you, and grant you the forgiveness you need.
( after confession of sin, confession of what we believe and why we have hope, part II begins )
Zacchaeus Part II
It probably never entered Zacchaeus’ mind that Jesus would be coming to dinner. He would be willing just to get a glimpse of him, maybe if was lucky, get a selfie with Jesus in the background.
Why would a prophet, why would a rabbi invest time in him? It is as inconceivable as Ebenezer Scrooge leaving his entire net worth to the elder’s benevolence fund. Or Mr. Grinch bringing Christmas presents for everyone in Whoville. Or Mr. Zacchaeus returning the tax money he collected to those in need.
No priest, no pastor would give him the time of day, he was a spiritually wounded man on the road to Jericho, and he really needed a Samaritan, a Savior. Even though he was a Jew, even though he probably donated money, how would he ever learn that he could repent of his sin? That he wasn’t a complete write-off in the eyes of God. He needed someone to tell Him,
And Jesus did.
He said let’s eat together – at your place.
I am interested in your life Zach; I want to be part of it.
It may be the first time any religious leader had said that to him, and it changed Zaccheus’s life forever.
Come, let us feast together, let me come to you.
My friends repentance doesn’t start with us promising God to make things right; it doesn’t start by our deciding we need to change. It starts like it did with Zacchaeus, with the Lord reaching out to us, loving us, wanting to be involved in our lives.
That love that interest in what is happening with us changes us heals us, makes us complete. It is the granting of repentance, the transformation from sinner to saint.
And it comes to all believers, as God comes to us and says, let me come with you, and let’s feast together this day…
Its time for us now, to hear that invitation. We too have realized that we don’t know always choose to love God with all we are, to love our neighbor as ourselves. But He’s come to make that possible, to show us His love.
So come, and eat with Jesus. He’s come here to be with you today. Here.
AMEN.
God’s Schematics, the Hope of our New Life in Christ
God’s Schematics
Phil. 3:17-4:1
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ convince you of the transformation that is making in your life.
It’s nearly 25 years since professional sports underwent a radical change in America, because of a partial quote. A professional basketball player named Charles Barkley was quoted in 1993, saying, “I’m not a role model, just because I dunk a basketball.”
Like many quotes of the man named as “Sir Charles” (and quite a few other people, it was taken apart by the media. Many thought that he was saying he wasn’t responsible for living a life that others look up to when he was saying that parents should be the role models for their kids.
It didn’t matter, people accused him of not living up to the responsibility he had as a public figure. After all, many of us grew up with sports heroes, or military heroes, or even political heroes. Since then, the short comings of many of the potential heroes of our children have felt no compulsion to be a role model.
Not just athletes, though, just about every vocation you imagine has determined that they are not to be a role model.
I understand.
It’s why I reluctantly preach on the passage today from the epistle reading.
It’s a scary thought to preach this,
17 Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine and learn from those who follow our example.
It is a heavy burden to be a role model, whether it is too a nation, a congregation, or to a child.
Even more, when what we are to model is a life that encourages them to strive to live a life God would call righteous, to live apart from sin and shame, a life where we love. A life where we even love our enemies.
How many of you are comfortable with people imitating you, when they will be judged by God for what they did, and didn’t do?
How many of you are comfortable with people imitating your faith, and the holiness of your thoughts and words? Knowing that they will be responsible for those thoughts and words before God?
NO wonder people don’t want to be role models…
The Option?
The problem is that we are, and there are two kinds of role models out there.
The first kind Paul weeps over, and that gives you a hint about what the second kind is like.
He talks of their conduct being such that they are enemies of Jesus. That they are on the course to destruction, on the road to hell. What is their crime? What is so evil about them?
Paul says their god; their idol is their appetite, not just as in what is for lunch, but their need to get what they want when they want it. Whether it is food, or power, or sex, or money. They consume, and use what they consume, rather than bless others with it.
He goes on to say that they brag; they are focused on shameful things, disgraceful things. This is a little different than just desire because you can focus on things that are bad, not to enjoy them, but to condemn those who are caught up in them. You get obsessed with evil or the conspiracies. We can actually be obsessed with what we hate, to the extent that our desire to be free from it enslaves us.
The last thing that identifies someone as heading for destruction and hell is that they can only think about life on earth, they live for the moment, to enjoy life to its fullest because they don’t know anything else. They can’t even imagine that life has eternal consequences, and that means that life is a do what feels good, or do what you think is correct. This is the ultimate form of idolatry, as we put ourselves, our feelings, our logic and emotion as the final judge of what is right, and what is wrong.
It is these people that too often become role models because the burden seems to great, and those who should abdicate the responsibility.
The Grace of Transformation
Paul doesn’t leave us in that position; there is another group of people, those who have learned to follow Paul’s example, even as he followed the example of Jesus.
They are people who realize being a good example, being able to encourage others to imitate you, is not because your that good. Rather it is because they need the hope you have found as God works in your life and through your life.
The hope of God coming to us, in our weakest, most sinful state and changing us, I love the word for the how God takes and changes us.
Meta-schematizo
God changes our schematics, our wiring our blueprints. Last week we talked about repentance being a change of mind, this week scripture talks of God changing us at a level that is so deep and so simple. He changes us at a level that changes not just how we act, but how we think, subconsciously, consciously, how we plan and how we react.
This is what we need; we need to be that transformed, and God is working on it. That is why Paul talks of us patterning our lives, living in symmetry with him, even as he lives in symmetry with Christ Jesus. This is what happens at the cross, as we died with Christ, and as we come alive in Him.
God is the potter; we are the clay. He shapes us, transforming us from brokenness to Christlikeness, from concerned only about today, to living our life in expectation of our reunion with Him in heaven. The Holy Spirit brings about these promises in our lives, as both God’s word and sacraments reveal to us His love, His promise, His faithfulness. That is what He does when He changes our schematics, when He brings us to repentance. When He makes us role models for those who will follow us, not because of any other reason than we trust Him to keep His promises.
This is why we are here; this is why we invite people, to see God give us hope, to transform us, to make us like Jesus.
Which is why we worship and praise Him. AMEN!
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.
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?
Struggling with Division in God’s Church… WIll We Die With Him?
Devotional Thought of the day
8 Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. 9 And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. 10 So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen. 11 This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. 12 If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. 13 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is. 14 Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them. 2 Timothy 2:8-14 (NLT)
Augustine tells us that, one day, he tore himself away from his friend Alipius in order to be alone in the garden with his misery, his temptations, his inner conflict. In that moment of overwhelming agitation he thought he heard a child’s voice calling repeatedly to him: “Tolle et lege—Take and read!” He arose, found a Bible, and read these words: “Put on the Lord Jesus!” This was the turning point of his existence. Augustine had, in that moment, discovered the word of God. (1)
Over the years I have spent in ministry, I have struggled with how we deal with division, denominationalism and sectarianism in the church.
Some have the ancient answer, “in essentials unity, in non-essentials freedom(liberty), in all things charity (love, grace, mercy.) The problem is that they divide soon after based on what is essential, and insisting on non-essentials, and dismissing charity as being weak.
Others handle the division by misquoting Romans 16:17, and the idea that we should toss aside those with heretical and even heterodox doctrines. I say this because the context includes causing divisions in the church by use of these doctrines, these teachings. Whether they be teachings about theology or practice. Heretical meaning that they are against God and His desire to save all of mankind. Heterodox meaning that they aren’t giving glory to God in their teaching and practive as God deserves.
I’ve been part of both groups at times, and I can tell you the sincerity and intent of both groups are noble. Even as they fail to apply it properly. In being a participant and observer of this, I have reached a conclusion.
We are all broken. We all have our heretical and heterodox practices. As we all have those things that glorify God in their holiness, proving God has set us apart for Himself Even in the beloved churches I’ve been blessed to be part of, whether it was St Joe’s – Salem NH, St. Francis Church in Lawrence, MA, First Baptist, Salem, The Crystal Cathedral youth group, OVBC, North Orange Christian, Arrow Hwy Wesleyan, West Valley Christian, First Christian YV, Good Shepherd Lutheran YV, Shepherd of the Valley, Anze, and now Concordia Lutheran – Cerritos. I’ve named them all for a reason; I can think of people in each of those church’s who were holy and broken. Whose doctrine needed to conform to Jesus, and yet who Jesus worked through in diverse and yes, miraculous ways. Who indeed needed to grow, but were growing.
So how do we do this? How does a splintered, fractured church see Christ’s church? Does it welcome people of all beliefs and say that doctrine and practice don’t matter? Does it instead force everyone to become clones? I can’t agree with either perspective. Indeed, I think both extremes of full inclusion and full exclusivity miss the mark. That’s being nice; I believe both are sinful.
If we can admit we have areas of our theology and/or practice that are broken, then we have some hope.As we find healing for our brokenness in Jesus, that healing will bring us the unity we need.
We have the opportunity to do what Paul was setting as an example for Timothy. We remember His death and resurrection, and the fact that He has united us to Him, bonded Himself to us in that event, so that we can know life, both now and everlasting.
This is what made the difference, this gospel, in Augustine’s life. To see, to hold in your hands the story of God’s love for you, revealed! That is our turning point and over and over in our lives we need to have it. The best example I can think of is a swordsmith, who folds the steel over and over on itself – each time gaining more strength. So too as we remember Christ, as we hear and read and speak of His love, that strengthens us. As we hear of the promises given to us in baptism, that strengthens us, as we eat His Body and drink His Blood we again encounter His presence, a presence that leaves us in awe, as we realize His mercy and love.
This is our God, here in our lives. Listen to Him, Know Him….
And as that happens, the issues that divide us that shouldn’t fade, and we will realize a unity not based on our faith, but His faithfulness. And together we can cry, “Come, Lord Jesus!” AMEN
(1) Ratzinger, J. (1992). Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. (M. F. McCarthy & L. Krauth, Trans., I. Grassl, Ed.) (p. 327). San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
The Lord Is With You! What Does This Mean?
Devotional Thought of the Day
And from that day the name of the city will be ‘The LORD Is There.’” Ezekiel 48:35b (NLT)
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Colossians 3:12-15 (NLT)
Being saved means being loved and only the love of God can purify damaged human love and restore the network of relationships that has been fundamentally alienated. (1)
7 First of all, there is in this article no disagreement among us concerning the following points: That it is God’s will, ordinance, and command that believers walk in good works; that only those are truly good works which God himself prescribes and commands in his Word, and not those that an individual may devise according to his own opinion or that are based on human traditions; that truly good works are not done by a person’s own natural powers but only after a person has been reconciled to God through faith and renewed through the Holy Spirit, or, as St. Paul says, “has been created in Christ Jesus for good works.”
In church gatherings following what is called the traditional liturgy(3) there are two phrases, a statement, and a response, which I have come to treasure.
The pastor/priest/bishop says, “The LORD is with you!” And the people respond, “And also with you”, or perhaps in some forms, “and with your spirit”.
As I write this, the 1001st blog on justifiedandsinner, I can think of no better phrase, nor better promise to explore. If justification is the core doctrine in theology, this statement is the heart of theology. In fact, it is the sole reason for justification. Justification exists in order to draw and unite to God, a people who weren’t a people, to create His family, to give those who did not have a real god, but followed idols, a God that loves and cares who heals and forgives, who is merciful, and therefore just.
That is what it means; that is the bottom line promise throughout scripture. It was the promise in the Garden, and the promise of the Exodus, the promise of the restoration of Israel, as Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel foretold it. Though we can’t realize it, this promise was fulfilled and made real at the cross. The promise was restated as Jesus promised at the Ascension that He would never forsake us, and at Pentecost where the Holy Spirit came to abide in those God called and made His own. In the people, God is transforming and making into the image of His son.
This freedom from sin God gives us has a dramatic effect. It changes us into God’s workmanship – not just someday, but even now. That is what repentance is, not just some heartfelt apology, but the transformation of our mind, the putting on of Christ.
Side effects of the Lord being with you are well described above, but few highlights
- We are clothed with love Paul says, not as a command, but as the promise of our Baptism, a love that flows out to others. This isn’t some matter of force, or of obligation. It is a transformation God works inside us, the effect of the Holy Spirit taking up residence in us.
- We become those who walk in good works, as the Lutheran Confessions describe. Again, it is not a matter of obedience of our will, but the effect of reconciliation and renewal.
- We see relationships in a new light – that they are healing and healed by the power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead
These are incredible blessings, things beyond our ability to see and lay hold of perfectly. That again proves it is not ours naturally, but still something that becomes more and more our transformed nature, the effect of the trust in God the Holy Spirit works in us. It is part of what this idea that God is with us means.
But it is not the primary, glorious meaning to the Lord is with you….
The primary, glorious meaning of this simple phrase, is the phrase itself…..
HE is with YOU!
Revel in that, knowing that nothing can separate you from His love. AMEN!
1) Ratzinger, J. (1992). Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. (M. F. McCarthy & L. Krauth, Trans., I. Grassl, Ed.) (p. 221). San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
2) Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (p. 552). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
(3) What traditional liturgy means fluctuates greatly over time and denominational affiliation -but the basic outline is similar.
The Transformations of Easter, God changes our Demographics
The Transformations of Easter
The Change to Our Demographics
Acts 10:34-36
† IHS †
May the mercy of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ so heal and transform our lives that we continually hear His desire that all come to the same healing and transformation. And may we dedicate our lives to this very work!
Whose conversion would leave you “out of your mind”?
Have you ever been so confused that you felt out of place? That life all of a sudden was so jumbled that you wondered if you were out of your mind? That life didn’t make all that much sense, that your world seemed to be turning upside-down, inside-out and backward,
You aren’t alone. I’ve had those days myself. Matter of fact, I’ve had more than my share of them!
So did the apostles. Imagine how you would feel if at the next combined service – with two hundred people to feed, we only had 5 filet-o-fishes from McDonald’s, and Jesus said, “No problem, let me pray and then hand out what you’ve got?”
Or the time Jesus was asleep in the middle of the storm, wakes up and tells the sea to be still. That one left them more afraid of Jesus than the storm.
Think about how things changed that night when Jesus, who they witnessed dying on the cross, just walked into the room and told them to stop being afraid, to stop being anxious. That confused them a bit, don’t you think?
The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus transforms everything in our lives, and sometime, okay, most of the time, we aren’t even ready for it.
Like in the story from Acts today, when the Roman soldier and his family, the enemies of Israel are saved. The word for amazed in our translation is the word existemi – to be displaced, or more bluntly, to be out of your mind.
That’s what happens when God transforms your enemies into your brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.
Yeah, your enemies. God wants to transform them and welcome them to our family.
Whether that is the ISIS leader, some politician you don’t like, your neighbors whose dog keep you up last night, there is someone whose salvation might confuse you a bit.
You see one of the transformations of Easter is God changing the demographics of His people, to include people of every group on earth.
Including you.
the Challenge of Grace
As we walk through life, we are going to encounter those people who are described with words like enemies, adversaries. They may seriously threaten us, or they may simply irritate us.
For the most part, the Romans were counted among the former group in Peter’s day. And the animosity and fear were mutual. Jews were taught that non-Jews were not people because they weren’t allowed to be people of God. That isn’t what the Bible taught, but it was so often heard in synagogues that it became part of the religion.
This resulted in a culture of fear, and the oppressive Roman government didn’t help much, nor did the extremists like the zealots, who made every issue a critical one. Jewish men weren’t supposed to go into the homes of Gentiles, whether, Greek or Roman.
We may not feel this way about a nationality or race of people today, but most of us do have people we find hard to love or accept. Maybe it is because they are of a different economic class, or because they belong to a different political party. Maybe they are family, these people who you would struggle with, And maybe your own reaction to them causes you to grieve, to be filled with anxiety, to even give up hope for reconciliation and healing.
Maybe we have even been dealing with the brokenness of a relationship so long, we believe it beyond God’s ability to heal?
For the Jewish people, these relationships with Greeks and Romans, even with their Samaritan neighbors, had long since been shattered. Even though, God had promised Abraham that his descendant would bless all nations, even though David and Isaiah wrote about it, even though Solomon dedicated the Temple to both Jewish and non-Jewish people praying to God there….
The relationships were shattered; there was nothing there but animosity, fear, resentment, division and hatred. Simply put, they were shattered by sin.
As have our relationships…indeed all relationships… until the hope of Easter transformed our relationships.
Among the things we can “take away” from this passage, it is the hope that realizing how “out of their minds” the Jewish believers were, when they witnessed their natural enemies and adversaries being touched by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit who they counted on, who they were comforted by, who transformed their world, in a moment healed the broken relationship Cornelius’s family had with God, and therefore healed all the brokenness between them.
It is as radical as if we got a call from the leaders of Isis, to come share God’s love with them, and we ended up baptizing them and their families.
It is as radical as the guy who killed and captured pastors, coming to know Christ’s love, and becoming an incredible missionary,
It is as radical as God saving you, or I.
Making us the body of Christ, the people of God, the friends of Jesus.
As it happens, as God transforms this Roman military commander, and his family and household, there is confusion and joy and a myriad of emotions as they realized that God doesn’t have a list of types of people that are welcome before His throne.
There are people of every nation, every culture, every language, every economic class. People who grew up worshipping idols, people that grew up knowing of God, but needing to know Him. All types, all kinds, all ages,….
And those who, when God begins working in them, cause us to pause, to wonder, and then to be beside ourselves with joy!
That is why we don’t lose hope for those we struggle with; that is why we try to live at peace with them, care for them, love them. That is our hope for dealing with them and seeing reconciliation happen.
Because it can, and it has….
Because of a cross, a burial and a resurrection of Jesus Christ the son of God.
Yes, because of that we can all know the peace of God, which passes all understanding, and guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
AMEN!
We Can See!
2 Cor. 3:12-4:6
May the glorious gifts of mercy and peace you receive from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ shine into your world, as God transforms you into the image of Christ!
The Unnerving Glorious Mathematical Law
As we look at the incredible Transfiguration of Jesus, we need to understand it mathematically.
That is right; I said Mathematically.
We can show this mathematically, because of the of the epistle reading. We can understand why the transfiguration is much more than what was revealed that day to the three terrified apostles. As we see Christ revealed in all of His glory, we can make a connection from that event to our lives today, to our lives this week.
To what Paul talks about in Colossians 1,
“27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. Colossians 1:27 (NLT)
Read that last sentence, this gives you the assurance of sharing His glory.
What a glorious promise, what an incredible truth!
So what about the math?
There is a mathematical axiom that dates back to the time before Christ. It goes like this.
If A=B and B=C, then….
C=A.
Simple, right?
Now let’s apply it to scripture.
In verse 18 of our epistle reading from 2 Corinthians 3, it states this.
“And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”
So the transition could look like Our Image => Image of Christ
Jesus Christ is the exact likeness, the exact image of God,
Then we are being restored to what we were created to be, going all the way back to Genesis,
27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 (NLT)
This is amazing, glorious, that we would be undergoing a transfiguration that will leave us sharing in the glory of Christ.
That is the work of God in us! This is true of you and me, for we are being remade in the image of God!
That Which obscures this in all of us
That is a heavy burden if you consider it for a moment.
Does God expect us to live, to speak, to think… like Jesus, to be like God, in whose image we are created?
Are we going to be judged based on how well we each resemble Jesus? How our thoughts are His thoughts, whether we love others like He did?
I think that is the problem the Jews had, for they measured their righteousness against the Old Covenant law. Because of that, all they could see was failure, they missed the presence of God. They hear the “you shall keep the Sabbath Day Holy” and miss the idea that we find rest in God’s presence, as He gathers us together, as His family. They hear “you shall not bear false testimony,” and look around at all the evil and unrighteousness, not realizing the comfort and security we have, trusting Jesus to care for us as promised.
Legalism comes from looking at the rules, and trying to keep them, without realizing why we do so. As we focus on the law, we are blinded to the God, who describes our life with Him in that law.
Because we are blinded, we miss Him!
If the Law is our focus, our lives our failures, for the burden is beyond anything anyone can accomplish. Judged by that law, we know what scripture tells, we all fall short of His glory. All have sinned, no one is good, no one but God!.
Even the reflection of God’s glory in the face of Moses would fade…as it did as Moses left the presence of God.
How this transformation occurs
This transformation then is not by our effort; it never could be! We cannot keep the law perfectly. That veil, that inability to look to God, to recognize His presence can only be removed by God.
Notice it says,
18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord.
We’ve had that veiled removed; it is not something we’ve done. It is the work of Christ, on the cross, and pays for all our sin. It is the Holy Spirit at work as well, who through word and sacraments like baptism and the Eucharist assures us that we are united to Jesus. United to Him in death, and then that death, that veil removed as we rise with Him, cleansed and healed. We’ve become adopted children of God our Father.
We are being transformed into His image, even as we see the glory of God in Christ, as we adore Him. As we look to Him, as our focus moves off of our sins and failures, and off of those around us, we begin to reflect that glory, it becames more and more natural…
That is why Paul tells the church in Ephesus,
4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:4-5 (NLT)
This transformation we are undergoing, it gives to God great pleasure!
This transformation, where the Spirit removes the veil in baptism, who keeps us close as we commune, as we hear that our sins are forgiven, that we can see God!
What this transformation looks like..
What an amazing change this is in life, to know God’s desire is fulfilled in reconciling us to Himself, in revealing His presence in every aspect of our life! In securing us to Jesus.
The results? Paul talks about this way of God giving us boldness, that we will never give up! That as His mercy is revealed, as we know it is mercy and love towards us, we stand in that love.
Everything else fails away, for there is nothing that compares to it. We do not have to force God’s love on people; we simply share the hope we have. We do not have to put out false images of perfect lives, we can share the hope that comes from seeing God, and that image becomes imprinted on us.
It is why Paul can use the “image” idea as he tells the people in Corinth,
33 I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I do not just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved. 1 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. 1 Corinthians 10:33-11:1 (NLT)
Going back to our math, and the A=B and B=C, we find ourselves, our eyes on Christ, running a race without thought of sin, just focusing on Him. We see that image imprinted on Paul. Knowing His love, being transformed into His image.
We find ourselves doing what Christ did, inviting people into the presence of God, making the sacrifices that would remove that which blocks them from Him. For that is what He did.
So look to Jesus, for you can see Him! He is the author and perfector of your faith, who with joy gave it all, discounting the shame, the pain! Who now waits for us at the right hand of the Father!
That is our destination; that is why the Spirit transforms us, readying us for that day. Comforting, empowering, causing us to grow and transform, as we dwell in His amazing peace. AMEN!
Why Are We Afraid of Intimacy With God?
Discussion and Devotional Thoughts of the Day:
11 I will live among you in my sacred Tent, and I will never turn away from you. 12 I will be with you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. Leviticus 26:11-12 (TEV)
What does it mean to have a god? or, what is God? Answer: A god means that from which we are to expect all good and to which we are to take refuge in all distress, so that to have a God is nothing else than to trust and believe Him from the [whole] heart; as I have often said that the confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol. (1)
78 Heroism, sanctity, daring, require a constant spiritual preparation. You can only ever give to others what you already have. And, to give God to them, you yourself need to get to know him, to live his Life, to serve him. (2)
I have pondered why the church is anemic in America.
We have incredible theologians, great exegetes, and emphasis on apologetics. We have Church Growth studies and strategies, church planters, church restorers, more seminaries than anywhere else in the world.
Yet the church in America still is in decline. It is so bad now, that we actually have experts in church viability, and strategies to close churches. The key phrase these days is a legacy church – a church which realizes it isn’t viable, and therefore determines how to will its assets to something that will live and thrive.
We’e forgotten His promises, we’ve forgotten that this faith we have, is faith in those promises, a trust that is based in not knowing about God
A trust not founded in theological treatises, or exegeting the word skuballw correctly, or in knowing which studies to use to understand a church, or which programs might work in which context. It’s a trust that isn’t dependent on using a 14th century liturgy, (or one from a red, blue or maroon hymnal) or haing the right contemporary service order. All these things are tools, they can be used in our churches, But we never, ever dare put our trust in them. They are not what we count on, they are not whom we believe on, and they will let us down.
It is a trust that comes from knowing God, and knowing Him intimately.
It is then we can study His promises and claim those promises (not promises we or others create) as His promises to us.
But it still isn’t about the promises. They are incredible, they are awesome… but our faith isn’t in them.
It is in Him.
It is in realize that He lives with us, in us, that He has come to us, and saved us, cleansed us, is healing us, and is shepherding us, His church, that we come to know Him. Yes, intimately, and we know He knows us more intimately that we will ever know ourselves. It was that knowledge that caused Him to comes to us, to die for us, for in knowing us, He loves us, and we… amazed, in awe, begin to learn to love Him back.
That love of His for us is what makes us holy.. It is what drives missionaries and martyrs. It’s what makes grandma’s and great aunt’s pray for their prodigals on their knees, It is what makes all the heroes of the faith trust in God in their darkest hour. It is what is causing the church in the “third world” or the Global South, to grow in the face of persecution, in the face of famine, in the face of spiritual warfare.
It’s time we remembered that…. its times we shared that, in chruches, and restaurants, in our homes, our workplaces.
God is with us. God loves us… and share the extent of that love.
(1) The Large Catechism of Martin Luther.
(2) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 493-495). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Rebuilding the Broken Churches and Our Broken Faith
Devotional Thought of the Day:
10 When the builders completed the foundation of the LORD’s Temple, the priests put on their robes and took their places to blow their trumpets. And the Levites, descendants of Asaph, clashed their cymbals to praise the LORD, just as King David had prescribed. 11 With praise and thanks, they sang this song to the LORD: “He is so good! His faithful love for Israel endures forever!” Then all the people gave a great shout, praising the LORD because the foundation of the LORD’s Temple had been laid. 12 But many of the older priests, Levites, and other leaders who had seen the first Temple wept aloud when they saw the new Temple’s foundation. The others, however, were shouting for joy. 13 The joyful shouting and weeping mingled together in a loud noise that could be heard far in the distance. Ezra 3:10-13 (NLT)
“The place may have powerful significance, but it is God’s purposes that must be made visible and tangible. When we say, “I’m in charge of the ruins,, it must mean that we are guardians of a vision, not curators for the department of ancient monuments” (1)
455 When they were fishing for you, you would ask yourself where they got that strength and fire which burned everything in sight. Now as you pray you realise that this is the source that wells up within the true children of God. (2)
I’ve spent a good deal of my time as a pastor, working with churches that, like the Temple of David, had seen better days, and even lie in what others might see as “ruins”. Significant research has been done, and many now see a life cycle of a church as being 25-40 years, unless something is done to re-create the vision of the church. I would add, often that is simply recreating the original vision.
Such was the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, one rebuilding the temple, one rebuilding the community of God, restoring the people of God and the place He put His name, that they could come and pray, that they could come and receive His promises, that they could be assured of their place in His family.
So as I as doing my devotions this morning ( I am presently using the Celtic Prayer Book -which I highly recommend) I came across both the reading from Ezra and the part of the meditation that is quoted in green above. Obviously, for someone who has and longs to see God bring life to and from that which was dead… these words resonate deeply in my heart.
I’ve seen the people who shout for joy because of new birth found in Christ. I’ve see those who weep and cry out in pain, because the renewed temple/church/people of God don’t quite resemble the glory of what was, of what they so dearly remember. There is a deep tendency in us to guard not the vision, but the memory, To look back and miss what was, not seeing the hope that others are crying out in joy over. How does one minister to both groups simultaneously? Or do you neglect one for the other? How do you keep them from grating on each other’s nerves, for Romans says we should be in common – weeping with others while they week, rejoicing while they rejoice. But when both groups are reacting, and pouring everything they are into their tears or cries of joy…. ? When others see the vision becoming reality, and others struggle to see the vision through their tear flooded eyes?
There is only one place I know of, where you can do both simultaneously…. that is in the presence of God. To realize that He is the comforter of the broken, the strength of those who are weak. That the congregation, that the building finds it existence, not in its past, or its future, but in His purposes. To redeem, to reconcile, to justify and sanctify for God a people of His own calling. There is the room for joy and tears, for repentance and for submission to God’s vision for the future. There is healing, and the Spirit working through us to use that which God has blessed us with, including our churches, including the places where God puts His name – for His people, and for those who need to come, and find out He is real.
For a critical, no, the critical part to seeing the foundations built upon, for seeing the bones of Ezekiel’s dry bones live and have the Spirit breathed into them, is that intimacy with God. It is where the prophets and priests and people of the Old Testament found their strength, it is where the apostles and pastors and saints still find their strength today. It is what brings comfort and strength, it is why we treasure the past as visions came to be. It is the reason we have hope for the future, knowing that same vision will come into being as well – because that is God’s heart. As God refocuses our buildings to be used powerfully for His purpose, He first does the same with out hearts, calling us into a relationship with Him, a relationship that deepens, that grows, that reaches out in love to draw others in, that they may know the healing, the hope, the love.
We need to rebuild so many of our churches, to re-purpose them to the very visions that they were built to see happen. But the power, the strength, the determination that will succeed is found, not in us, but in seeing the building used for His purpose. And His purpose is fairly simple – that we would be His people, His offspring, and that we would know HE is our God..
(1) Celtic Daily Prayer Book – Aiden reading July 8th
(2) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 2010-2012). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
