tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39476538048879540732024-03-17T20:04:34.436-07:00Beyond The Sanctuary - Más Allá del Santuario David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.comBlogger402125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-4879693935189562802024-03-17T20:02:00.000-07:002024-03-17T20:03:33.084-07:00The Truth Is - Sermon for Judica, the Fifth Sunday in Lent<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Judica - Fifth Sunday in Lent<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">March 17th, A+D 2024<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Custer and Hill City, South Dakota<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The Truth Is <br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Genesis
22:1-14, Hebrews 9:11-15, John 8:42-59</span></span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Audio of this sermon is available <b><a href="https://beyondthesanctuary.podbean.com/e/march-17th-sermon-for-judica-the-5th-sunday-in-lent/" target="_blank">HERE</a></b>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Truth is, everything the Lord has ever
said to us is true.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God cannot lie.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So, understanding and living within His Word
should be easy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We have the Word of God,
we have ears to hear, eyes to read, and wills to follow the Truth.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But of course, it is not easy for us to
discern, accept and live within the Truth of God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This morning we will reflect a bit on
understanding the mission of God from the perspective of knowing the Truth, the
Truth of Christ, which is true for the Black Hills, and for Bangladesh, true
for everyone, everywhere.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">A bit before our reading, Jesus spoke these
famous words to the Jews who had believed in Him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">“If you abide in My word, you are My
disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set
you free.”</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Through the centuries,
many speakers have borrowed the end of our Lord’s saying, “The Truth shall set
you free.” </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Many have used it for their
own unique purposes.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And this is
understandable, since even in this broken world, truth is better than
lies.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is remarkable the varied range of voices who
have appropriated this saying:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Antislavery crusaders and civil rights leaders from the 1830s through
the 1960s used it to fight against slavery and racism.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Today’s Constitutional Conservatives use this
saying as they seek to revive the principles of America’s founders.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It has been appropriated by boxers, and door
to door salesmen, by communists, by anti-communist freedom fighters, and by
Hollywood stars.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So many different
voices have appropriated Jesus’ words; they cannot all be referring to the same
truth.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We are Lutherans, excommunicated cousins of
Roman Catholics.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We were thrown out
because we did not accept the idea that the “truth” was whatever the Roman Pope
declared.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Most people in most places
have suffered under similar delusions, the idea that the Truth is determined by
what some fallible human told you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Maybe
it was a King or Queen, maybe a high church official, a presidential candidate,
or the U.N. Panel on Climate Change.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It doesn’t matter if you agree, or if the math
adds up.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The truth is as they say, or
else.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The demand by the powerful to be obeyed
without question is a perennial problem.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But much worse for all of us has been the assault on Truth itself.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The very idea of Truth has fallen on hard
times.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is a widely accepted “right”
that any person can demand to define the truth however they want.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If you dare to object, you risk being shouted
down as a bigot, or worse.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Whatever you
do, don’t point out contradictory facts.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so, a boy is a boy, and a girl is a girl, unless they feel their
truth is the opposite, or something in between.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The truth about God is whatever you want it to be, just so long as you
don’t say your truth about God is more correct than anybody else’s
version.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Take care if you dare to defend
the Truth today, lest they pick up stones to throw at you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Well, I have good news.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Bracing news, but good, in the end.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And my good news is that the Truth </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><u>is</u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Period.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Truth is real, and Truth is not malleable; it is not subject to our
whims.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Truth has unchanging content,
and substance.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We poor miserable human
beings can rail all we want about our truths, but </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>the</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Truth is
not going away.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Because the Truth is a
Person, who meets us in the Liturgy, that is, in the assemblies of God’s people
gathered around His Word, and His Font, and His Table.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This Person who is the Truth has revealed His
Truth to us through His Holy Word, recorded for us in the Old and New
Testaments.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Hence, we are not free to interpret that
Truth however we would like, twisting God’s Word to suit our preferences or to
deflect the criticisms of the world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">When we misuse and twist God’s Word, we do not really change the Truth, because
the Truth is Almighty and Eternal.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If we
reject the truth, all we are doing, sadly, is separating ourselves from Christ
and His Life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We need to accept Jesus at
His Word, because at the heart of that Word is the Truth made flesh, Jesus
Christ, come to save, lifted up for the Life of the World.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But oh, how we struggle to accept God’s
Truth, because it is full of so many hard truths.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Truth is, the Lord’s demand that Abraham
sacrifice his son Isaac was not unjust.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">From
the moment of our conception in sin we are naturally enemies of God, and each
time we sin, we demonstrate our rebellion.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We deserve nothing but wrath and punishment.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Abraham and Isaac deserved nothing but wrath
and punishment.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">No one is just, no one
is without sin, and the wages of sin is death.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is the harshest of Truths, too hard to bear, except that God
intercedes, providing a substitute sacrifice, for Isaac, and for you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The truth is, God has no eternal use for
our sacrifices for sin.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Isaac’s death
would have served no purpose.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Neither
the blood of Isaac, nor the blood of bulls and goats in the Tabernacle and
Temple, nor your resolutions and efforts to amend your life, none of these can
make up for your sins and your sinfulness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Truth is, justifying, that is, making you right with God, and also sanctifying,
making you holy, both of these do require blood.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">They do require death.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But a much better blood and death, a blood
and a death of infinite holiness and power.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Abraham told Isaac the Lord would provide
the sacrifice.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And He did.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Truth is, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, has
been provided.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He has made the necessary
sacrifice, once and for all.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God was
using that strange encounter we heard in our Old Testament reading to prove the
power of the faith He had created in Abraham, and to provide a picture of His
ultimate salvation plan, the plan to provide a better Sacrifice, the Lamb of
God, similarly trapped in thorns.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus
was lifted up, for Abraham, and Isaac, and even for the men who drew His blood,
nailing Him to a cross.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Truth is
Jesus was lifted up, for Custer and Hill City, for all the world, even for
those who want to twist His Truth and declare a way of salvation that leads to
nowhere.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is especially Good News
for us, that Jesus’ sacrifice is for </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>all</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> those who have sought to follow
and declare a different truth.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Because
all of us have, at one time or another, maybe just yesterday, all of us have
twisted God’s Truth to suit our sinful desires.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so, truly and humbly confess your
errors, your sins, your falsehoods, your guilt.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Confess it all before the Truth of God, and the blood of Jesus will
cleanse you from all sin.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is not
some mere conceptual cleansing, restricted to the realm of ideas.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Truth will not set you free abstractly,
somewhere, someday, but rather you are set free right here, right now.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Truth is that blood of Jesus cleanses
you from all sin.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It enters your ears,
regenerates your heart, and cleanses your soul with the Word of Forgiveness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This gracious Word even enters </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>into</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
you in the Holy Supper, to give you strength for the road ahead.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is the Mission of God, here in the
Black Hills, and all around the world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">You
and I by grace through faith are caught up in God’s Mission, as the Lord goes
with us, and even in us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Through our
vocations, through the efforts of our congregations, and through your everyday
life, God is at work, through His forgiven children.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is the truly blessed life, that Christ
goes with you, to speak His Truth to a world trapped in errors and lies.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God grant His Truth to sound forth, in
South Dakota, across America, and around the world, for the salvation of many,
in the Name of Jesus, Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-5992829932918577732024-03-10T14:19:00.000-07:002024-03-10T15:20:19.882-07:00Bread King, or Eternal King? Sermon for Laetare, the 4th Sunday in Lent<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The Fourth Sunday in Lent<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">March 10<sup>th</sup>, Year of Our + Lord 2024<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s
Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Custer and Hill City, South Dakota<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Bread King, or Eternal King? <br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Exodus 16:2-21, Acts 2:41-47, John 6:1-15</span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Audio of Sermon available <b><a href="https://beyondthesanctuary.podbean.com/e/march-10th-sermon-for-laetare-the-4th-sunday-in-lent/" target="_blank">HERE</a></b>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus could be your Bread King, but His goal
is to be your Eternal King.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Which is to
say, our relationship to bread is complicated.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVVxPAJ-d2G3r9jLDgQHYAljwfAeLZrg9sqKV2Q4jxOjQhuvb6SM6dETIZY-9obmxIwvOGAnEA-_MvqrsmBbXYNST3Eo6Jnmp8WHPfrQjK7X3dTLaXHam05rirD0mjPEpM0S_WtZMZ2MW9yS4I2rPioIIGBBC_mNfzHXYROpcn2DziOjIHlB1vl8-Vv0/s291/Five%20loaves%20two%20fish.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="173" data-original-width="291" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVVxPAJ-d2G3r9jLDgQHYAljwfAeLZrg9sqKV2Q4jxOjQhuvb6SM6dETIZY-9obmxIwvOGAnEA-_MvqrsmBbXYNST3Eo6Jnmp8WHPfrQjK7X3dTLaXHam05rirD0mjPEpM0S_WtZMZ2MW9yS4I2rPioIIGBBC_mNfzHXYROpcn2DziOjIHlB1vl8-Vv0/s1600/Five%20loaves%20two%20fish.jpeg" width="291" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I suppose that today, in our age of
remarkable food abundance, some people may not<br /> like bread.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But not many.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Certainly in many places in the world still today, and everywhere a
century ago, not liking bread would seem suicidal.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ever since the LORD expelled Adam and Eve
from the Garden, we have been raising grain to make bread.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">“</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Because you have listened to the voice of
your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying,
‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil
you will eat of it All the days of your life.
<b><sup>18 </sup></b>“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field; <b><sup>19 </sup></b>By the
sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall
return</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.”</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> God connects bread to death, but also to life. No longer could Adam and Eve simply walk
around the Garden, pick yummy fruit, eat, be filled, and live forever. Now staying alive would be sweaty,
frustrating work, a reminder that starvation and death are never that far
away. And yet, bread is wonderful,
evidence of God’s great desire to bless us.
For along with the struggle for daily bread comes the delight of bread, the
way it tastes, the joy of being filled with baked goodness. A Pharisee once rejoiced to Jesus: “<i>Blessed
is he who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God!</i>” </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">(Luke 14:15) </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">What seems more heavenly than freshly baked bread? So comforting and delicious, by itself, or
serving as the foundation for some almost miraculous meal. Bread makes pizza possible. And cinnamon rolls. Rueben sandwiches, and honey toast. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Fresh bread is wonderful. But it’s wonder fades, quickly. A slice of bread, no matter how good, quickly
becomes hard and disgusting if left out in a hot, dry place. Too much moisture, and nasty mold ruins your
appetite quickly. Bread plays a leading
role in the Bible, certainly in the passages assigned for this Sunday. Today is called Laetare Sunday, which means “Rejoice!”,
the first word in Latin of our Introit:
“Rejoice!” But the Israelites in
our Old Testament reading weren’t rejoicing. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Just rescued from bondage in Egypt, the
first pang of hunger in the wilderness leaves Israel grumbling, complaining
against the LORD. God had just freed
them from slavery under Pharaoh, redeeming them by His mighty arm, performing
through Moses never-before-seen wonders and signs. Despite this, their grumbling stomachs
quickly made them long to be slaves again: better to be well fed in captivity
than face starvation in freedom, they whined.
Didn’t it occur to them that the Mighty One, who had made a dry path
through the Red Sea and struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, might also happily
provide food for them? But instead of
praying humbly and faithfully, Israel grumbled.
Which angered the LORD. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> I think we would be better off if our desire
for God were connected to our stomachs, instead of our hearts. Sinners do desire God. Despite our fall, their remains in the human
heart a question, an interest, to find and draw near to God. But this good urge, this conscience, this God-shaped-hole
in our hearts, fails us. Our desire for
God is weak, and easily overcome by other bodily appetites. But imagine if, when we had not heard the
Word of God for a few hours, we felt hunger pangs in our stomach! </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Despite His anger at His people, God
responded to their grumbling with the Manna, bread from heaven. Both a blessing to fill their hunger, and a
test, a daily discipline to teach them faith.
God would send manna every morning, daily bread, to fill their bellies. Israel was to collect just what they needed
for each day, then double the amount the morning before the sabbath, the day of
rest. Storing up bread because you
doubted that God would give the manna tomorrow was forbidden. A daily reminder of God’s providence and
faithfulness. And a daily test of
obedience and attention to the Word of the LORD. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> <i>Man does not live by bread alone, but on
every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.</i> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">(Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4,
Luke 4:4) </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> But the threat of hunger is more than our
hearts can resist. Jesus, the Word made
flesh, knew his guests. The congregation
of Jews who had followed Him out into the wilderness, seeking His teaching and
His healing, would soon lose heart. They
might even faint on the way home, for lack of bread. So, the same God who had compassion on Israel,
back when Moses led them in the wilderness, now has compassion on the
crowd. There’s a lot going on in the
feeding of the 5,000, not least that the wonder-working God of Exodus now
revealed Himself to be the Man, Jesus of Nazareth. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> God usually gives the gift of daily bread through
a long process of sowing seed, raising grain, harvesting, milling and baking. Jesus short-circuits this process, and
delivers a bounty of fresh-baked loaves, in an instant. The Creator-King of the Universe, the power
behind all the good things we receive, is more than capable of achieving the
same blessing in a moment. The One who
created the laws of Physics shows Himself to not be bound by them. Yes, Jesus could easily have been their Bread
King. But His goal was to be their
Eternal King. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Jesus’ goal was that the crowds, and the
disciples, and you and me, would hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness. He is more than happy to provide our daily
bread and every need of the body. If
only we would understand that having righteousness is better. Indeed, if we have righteousness, if all that
went wrong in the Garden of Eden, and all that has gone wrong since, were set
right, then all the needs of the body would always be satisfied as well. God our Heavenly Father will not let His holy
children starve. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But our appetites, for food and other bodily
satisfactions, preach much louder than even the miracle of bread in the
wilderness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God, in the Man Jesus of
Nazareth, had come to His own people, in order to give them the righteousness
that is truly the first need of every descendent of Adam.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But the people can’t see past the loaves.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Whatever hunger for righteousness Christ may
have stirred in them is overwhelmed by the possibility of filling their
stomachs with endless, bountiful bread.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So
Jesus, perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to
make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus withdraws because the blessing of
eating bread in the Kingdom of God is not a matter of supply and demand.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rather, gaining entrance to the eternal feast
is a matter of sin, and satisfaction.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Of
sacrifice, and trust.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The ingredients
for this righteous loaf are not in our pantry; the only thing we have to offer
to the recipe is our sin.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Plenty of
sin.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Sin so pervasive in us that the
Creator can appear, right in front of us, and we still quite naturally ignore
Him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus can be standing right in our
midst, and yet we are still prone to bow down to worship the created things He
gives us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Our greatest need is to receive God’s
forgiveness, His guidance and correction, His grace and mercy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Along with these gifts of righteousness, the
LORD promises also to provide for our bodies.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus promises: </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His
righteousness,</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> and then all your worldly needs will be filled as well.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But how do we divide our time?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">How faithfully do we seek God’s
righteousness?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">How much hunger or want,
or simple boredom with the things we have, how much does it take does it take
for us to ignore God’s Word and the righteousness He offers?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">How quickly do we forget the Spirit’s voice,
and instead expend all our energy satisfying our earthly appetites?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We could learn from our friend Kim.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">His cancer has damaged his body’s ability to
receive nourishment.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Lately, it has
taken away his appetite, for food.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But His
appetite for God’s Word, his hunger and thirst for the righteousness of Christ
has never been stronger.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The crowd of 5,000 didn’t hunger and thirst
for righteousness, and we continue to struggle in much the same way.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus, knowing us better than we know
ourselves, </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">and yet still loving us</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, filled this need as well.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God’s-Son-made-man spent every moment of His
life seeking righteousness, for us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Forty days He went without bread, in order to reverse our enslavement to
Satan, relying perfectly on His Father’s Word, trusting that all His needs
would be fulfilled in due time.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Thirty-three years He journeyed steadily toward His goal, a Cross of
Wood, a dead tree, where He would re-open our access to God’s Tree of
Life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Knowing that earthly bread could
not feed our greatest need, He gave His own sinless body to be the True Bread
from Heaven, that we might eat it, and never die.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">See your Savior’s hunger and thirst, for
you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">See His love, and hear His promise,
the menu He has prepared for you and me, the heavenly sustenance that reverses
the curse, which has plagued us since Adam’s fall.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Hear the Word of Life, the Apostles’
teaching, which reveals </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">all that God has
done and continues to do to give you the righteousness, the holiness, the
forgiveness that brings you into God’s Kingdom.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0rmss9OyS7LwxDkxK1sHFZnK49gP55UID2UI32cPasqaFsrkHvzMERfTjNoDtTjdNvC5Vqaefoctv9T_cdTxupEuzAvF0ZRBYWt1ExRflA1Eg-ZmYv7KpzyUNh2EHGWFAUopNZAju0eusRSJ-7MWmQRd2fJFzFcj3mtVK_d9ZlH96jclrhMFylGsSOGE/s190/Communion%20Ware%20and%20Bible%20at%20St%20George.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="107" data-original-width="190" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0rmss9OyS7LwxDkxK1sHFZnK49gP55UID2UI32cPasqaFsrkHvzMERfTjNoDtTjdNvC5Vqaefoctv9T_cdTxupEuzAvF0ZRBYWt1ExRflA1Eg-ZmYv7KpzyUNh2EHGWFAUopNZAju0eusRSJ-7MWmQRd2fJFzFcj3mtVK_d9ZlH96jclrhMFylGsSOGE/w400-h225/Communion%20Ware%20and%20Bible%20at%20St%20George.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /> Rejoice in the simplest meal, the breaking
of the bread, earthly bread and wine, transformed by Christ. Satisfy your hunger and thirst for God, by receiving
His body broken and His blood shed, for the forgiveness of all your sins. Take, eat, take, drink, and God’s meal will
fill your conscience with peace. Confess
your sins and come to the table of Jesus, so that He can feed you for
life. Be fed with the love of God, in
Word and Sacrament, so that in you and through you, God can love your
neighbors, in body and soul. Ponder the
mystery of the Bread of Life, so that you will be ready to give an answer to
those who will ask you the reason for the Hope that is in you. <p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in
the Kingdom of God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so we are.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We are blessed to eat the Bread of God,
trusting in our Creator and Redeemer, invisible, but truly present for us,
today.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He transforms our hearts and
minds, to be reminded of the heavenly banquet every time we sit down for an
earthly meal.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so, we give thanks for
daily bread, and for the Bread of Heaven, our forgiving Savior and Eternal
King, Jesus Christ, who is the same for you, yesterday, today, and forever and
ever, Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span> </p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-86016791172245565822024-03-03T13:42:00.000-08:002024-03-03T13:53:24.967-08:00Seeing God’s Mercy With Our Ears: Sermon for Oculi, the Third Sunday in Lent<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Third Sunday in
Lent, <i>Oculi</i> <br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">March 3<sup>rd</sup> , Year of Our +
Lord 2024<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Our Redeemer and
Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches, <br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Custer and Hill City, South Dakota<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Seeing God’s Mercy
With Our Ears<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Exodus 8 and Luke 11</span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><i>Sermon audio available </i><b><a href="https://beyondthesanctuary.podbean.com/e/march-3rd-sermon-for-oculi-the-3rd-sunday-in-lent/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</b> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">See with your
eyes, hear with your ears, and turn to the mercy of God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>sounds</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> right.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbcyNFTWTl-tNolLDLxxNKsCEWN6agA1lxh6N38-0jH94rEAXE2bzwtwAzjKadzz4GZfk2pbr3sAEFJamoz1GMC8tve9yQTehyphenhyphenR16LkFUgu15dqocWfHtlDVDi5iO9bMKaOQ8056p4nnDLeF4U-8B8IbUyC9-2HDehyVpGpaeVG2_W-ssKJSDi6Wwp6c/s403/MaryAtFootOfCross.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="334" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbcyNFTWTl-tNolLDLxxNKsCEWN6agA1lxh6N38-0jH94rEAXE2bzwtwAzjKadzz4GZfk2pbr3sAEFJamoz1GMC8tve9yQTehyphenhyphenR16LkFUgu15dqocWfHtlDVDi5iO9bMKaOQ8056p4nnDLeF4U-8B8IbUyC9-2HDehyVpGpaeVG2_W-ssKJSDi6Wwp6c/s320/MaryAtFootOfCross.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But it doesn’t work that way.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God has revealed and declared His Kingdom,
His merciful plan to rescue us from every evil of body and soul and bring us to
live with Him in perfect happiness, forever.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If only we will see with our eyes and hear with our ears.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But our eyes deceive us, our ears are stuffed
up with the noise of the world, and we too often seek relief anywhere but in
the one place God has promised to deliver His mercy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Some fools make themselves deaf and blind,
because they don’t really want mercy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Submitting to God and begging for mercy clashes with their self-image.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pharoah is one such wise-fool.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As are the opponents of Jesus in our Gospel
reading, who accuse the Lord of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul,
the Devil.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">These are really the same
people, even though almost 1,500 years lie between them.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And such proud souls are still easy to see,
all around us in the world today.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Intelligent, well-informed people who can see the evidence, but refuse
to acknowledge the presence of God, doing His mighty works.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God’s mercy puts a big crimp in our plans for
personal greatness and self-actualization. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There’s a reason that many elites don’t just
reject Christianity, but rather they hate and attack it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Such wise fools, ancient and modern, make up
lies and false accusations, denying the truth they can see.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Instead of acknowledging God, they instead promote
lies that serve their selfish desires, for the short term, at least.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Other souls recognize their need for God’s
help.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And Jesus is attractive to
them.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But when they see what God’s mercy
truly looks like, they avert their eyes.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It’s too hard to look at it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God’s plan of salvation is such a downer.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Except when it’s worse, when God’s mercy
looks downright terrifying.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Such folks
want to maintain a connection to Jesus and His mercy, but without really
looking too closely.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">They avert their
eyes, and point out some side show.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">They
nod a bit toward the finger of God in their midst, but prefer to shift
attention, their own and everyone else’s, away from the stark realities of
mercy, to focus on softer, secondary things.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We can see this view displayed by the woman in the crowd.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This dear woman has just seen and heard a
preview of the great drama of salvation, the final conflict between God and
Beelzebul, between the Creator and that fallen angel who had </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">enslaved humanity.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Somebody’s house is about to fall.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus is about to engage in the final battle
with the strong man, in order to plunder his kingdom.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Which is to say, Jesus is about to fight
unto death in order to win sinners back from the power of death, and hell, and
Satan.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">‘Fix your eyes on Jesus’ is the proper
cry; ‘watch Him fight and die, for us.’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But no, that’s too intense.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At just this moment, to change the subject, our
unnamed woman in the crowd decides to sing a hymn of praise to Jesus’ mother, Mary:
“Blessed is the womb who bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This woman redirects us to Mary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other misguided souls might encourage us to
treat Church as just a social club, or to elevate doing good in the community <b><i>above</i></b>
repentance for sins and forgiveness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
desire to focus on anything but Christ crucified is still strong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And yet this woman’s words are true
enough.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There’s nothing wrong with
celebrating the amazing and mysterious fact that God chose an unknown Jewish girl,
Mary from Nazareth, to conceive and give birth and nurse His eternal Son.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">A sign from heaven, indeed.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We should marvel that the Christ entered into
His eternal battle, through Mary’s womb.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In fact, we have a big holiday every December, to celebrate just this
event, through which Mary is truly the most blessed woman, ever.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But Mary’s big role in the Divine Drama is part
of the opening act, not the climax.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As
Jesus approaches the final battle, it is not time to sing praise to Mary.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is time to open our eyes and unplug our
ears, to see and hear clearly what God is doing.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In fact, even in the middle of her opening
act, there was just a </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">little</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> praise for Mary.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">From the beginning, the focus was the finger
of God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The focus was always on God’s
saving acts, performed in this world, within our human calendar.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Just listen to Mary herself.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Mary gave us a great song of praise, the
Magnificat, which she sang in response to the words of her cousin
Elizabeth.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Elizabeth had first celebrated
Mary, the mother of her Lord, because Mary in that moment carried God’s Son,
Elizabeth’s Savior, in her womb.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Quite
right.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In response, Mary sings.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And, in all of her magnificient song, Mary
says just one thing that </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>could</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> be understood as self-praise: “All
generations will call me blessed.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But
the rest of her song reveals that even </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>that</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> statement gives all
the glory to God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For Mary goes on to
declare her blessing is that the Mighty One did a great thing to her.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">She sings of God, fulfilling all His promises
to reverse evil, to cast down the self-important and mighty, and to show mercy
to the lowly.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">All this God was doing by sending the Savior,
who, two millenia earlier, He had promised to Abraham.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The long awaited Seed, the Savior of the
whole world, was the Baby growing in Mary’s womb.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And she is truly a great preacher, because
her song points us to Christ.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Mary never
teaches us to praise her, but rather consistently tells us focus on Jesus, and
to listen to Him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Following His mother’s example, Jesus gently
redirects the woman in the crowd, turning her away from celebrating Mary, and
calling her to hear God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus corrects
this woman’s focus on His mother’s maternal service by proclaiming,</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">“Blessed rather are those who hear the Word
of God and keep it!”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Like Mary did.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But, we don’t hear so well.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Our hearing is very imperfect.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We prefer to see things with our own eyes.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Still, as precious as our sight is, we are so
easily deceived by images.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Today many
worry about the power of Artificial Intelligence to create pictures and video
so good that our eyes can hardly distinguish from reality. But, this is just
the latest iteration of an ancient problem.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We innately believe what we see, even though time and again events teach
us that our eyes are easily fooled.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">People are worried that AI will mean we won’t be able to tell what is
fake on the internet.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This overlooks the
fundamental reality that </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>everything </i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">we see on the internet and
television is fake.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It’s a copy, an
image of the real thing.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">To one degree
or another, what we see on screens is at best a copy of reality.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That copy that may be more or less
accurate.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But what we see on our screens
is never the real thing.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Screens with their flickering and flashing
light can intensify the fakery, transfixing our eyes, and our minds, and our hearts,
like cattle at a feed trough.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And the digital
feed we are given is often very unhealthy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Screens also isolate us from the real world and real people.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But remember, the real world is full of
deception too.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Just consider how big
trucks are sold as the way for men to look really rugged.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Or think about make-up, hair dye, girdles and
push-up bras, high heels for women and lifts in men’s shoes.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">False-fronts on downtown buildings, and
manufactured ‘stone’ siding on the front of our houses.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The world is full of visual deception,
because we so much want things to look better than they really are.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Our propensity for and susceptibility to
visual deception can create real difficulties in our daily lives.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Being fooled is humiliating.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And maintaining a fake image is exhausting.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Much more serious, however, is our natural
tendency to view the things of God through the same faulty lenses.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Seeing with our eyes ought to work.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But we cannot see the things of God
rightly.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And we do need to see them
rightly.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">No matter how intelligent,
anyone who refuses to submit to God and seek His mercy is a fool.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And, however warm our feelings for the young
woman who bore and nursed the Son of God, nostalgia will not save us from the
power of Beelzebul.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So Jesus calls us to
‘see’ in another way.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Our Savior is mercy incarnate.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He is the infinite compassion and love of God
revealed in the flesh and blood Son of Mary.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">To deliver His mercy, Jesus decrees a temporary re-wiring of our
senses.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He institutes a new way for us
to see.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Christians are to see with their
</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">ears</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, until that great Day when He will bring us fully into His Kingdom,
when we will finally see God with our own eyes, face to face.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">What does it mean to see Jesus with our </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>ears</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In matters of salvation and Christian living,
Jesus tells us to distrust our own eyes, and to disregard every voice except
His own.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Without the Word of God,
without the Word of Christ, without the voice of Jesus our Shepherd, our eyes
are blind to God’s mercy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So, in mercy,
Christ declares the difficult truth that is behind the finger of God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We are called to rightly understand what our
eyes see, but only through the Word which reveals the hidden truth of God’s
mercy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Exodus of Israel from Egypt, with all
the mighty wonders God did through Moses, the long history of Israel, full of
great battles, the selfless and heroic service of Mary and Joseph, called to
care for God’s Son, from conception through infancy, childhood and adolescence,
all these wonderful stories of God’s faithful people are prelude.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">None of this history has any lasting value
apart from the final act.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The great
finale of God’s Drama of Deliverance, the Story of Salvation, reveals the King
who was born to die for His people.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
Cross is the final revelation of the finger of God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Hidden in the painful sight of Christ
crucified is the love of God, poured out to take away the sins of all
people.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But then the glorious risen
Christ, the ever-living victor over Beelzebul, only showed Himself to a few
disciples, from time to time, over just forty days.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Christ chose to deliver to the world the Good
News of His forgiving love only through the Words of His Apostles.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">No blazing bright victory tour, no slick and
dazzling media blitz.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Just a few
transformed souls who heard and finally understood the mystery of God’s hidden
display of forgiveness and love and new life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Apostles and the Early Church imitated
Jesus by forgiving each other, as God in Christ had forgiven them.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So also, we forgive one another.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As Peter and Paul made people see the true
Savior through their simple words, so also we walk by faith, not by sight.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We live by faith in Him whom the Holy Spirit
has revealed to the eyes of our heart, through the vision of our ears, which
have been opened by God’s truth.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">These sins which Paul warns against today,
sexual immorality and impurity, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talk, crude
joking, these are all tools of deception, tempting distractions that seek to
take our eyes off the saving finger of God, the great work of Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Imitating God starts by hearing daily the
Good News of Jesus, which sets us free from sin and unites us with God, today,
and forever.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The sins Paul warns against
are all part of the natural darkness of this world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But the light of Christ has dispelled this
darkness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The pleasure and distraction
sin offers do not last.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Sin brings pain
and destruction into our lives.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But even
more, sin seeks to deceive us into wandering farther and farther from the true
and eternal victory, Christ’s victory, hidden in defeat, the new life that was taken
out of death, the new life, which He won for us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so we pray:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Holy Spirit, shine the light of Your truth in
our ears, that our hearts may ever be fixed where true joys are found, in the
mystery of Christ Jesus, risen from the dead and reigning on high to prepare
our place in the Kingdom of Heaven.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Guard us by Your Word in this true faith, until that great Day when we
will see the Father face to face, with You and the Lamb, Christ Jesus, reigning
in glory, forever and ever, Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-66001939167688620492024-02-25T21:12:00.000-08:002024-02-25T21:16:17.821-08:00<h2 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Second Sunday in Lent – Reminiscere<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Feb. 25<sup>th</sup>,
Year of Our + Lord 2024<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Hill
City and Custer, SD<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Called to Struggle and Fight for Peace and
Reconciliation<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Genesis 32, Romans 5 and Matthew 15</span></b></h2><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Audio of the Sermon available<b> <a href="https://beyondthesanctuary.podbean.com/e/february-25th-sermon-the-second-sunday-in-lent/" target="_blank">HERE</a></b></span></span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFf6u8CSnwAdwcZx1cW_mnxoHQW6bYcOmXETQc5RtBz0wqJLe9C2JGlufiat1sKq1mYhc4DdWrIavAs6i_-9BJe44g_MXarRVV8zNaK6Ue63ywIAMaK-jrQFA0iWhd4MzS6KTlpbGKZafSnPi5OWlvr0MakoNH72WJ24FEYmtYqQCU_ESAUPCy0dDs8IY/s1443/Jacob%20wrestles%20with%20God.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1443" data-original-width="1319" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFf6u8CSnwAdwcZx1cW_mnxoHQW6bYcOmXETQc5RtBz0wqJLe9C2JGlufiat1sKq1mYhc4DdWrIavAs6i_-9BJe44g_MXarRVV8zNaK6Ue63ywIAMaK-jrQFA0iWhd4MzS6KTlpbGKZafSnPi5OWlvr0MakoNH72WJ24FEYmtYqQCU_ESAUPCy0dDs8IY/s320/Jacob%20wrestles%20with%20God.jpg" width="293" /></a></i></div><i>The same night [Jacob] arose and took his two wives, his two female
servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of
the Jabbok. <b><sup>23 </sup></b>He took them and sent them
across the stream, and everything else that he had. <b><sup>24 </sup></b>And
Jacob was left alone. And a man </i><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">wrestled</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> with him until the breaking of the day. </span></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Faith, hope and love remain, and
the greatest of these is love. God’s
goal for us Christians is to forever enjoy the fullness of His peace, the peace
which passes all understanding. And yet,
there’s a </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">lot</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> of fighting in the Bible. What’s
that all about? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Last week, we heard about young
David conquering Goliath with a slingshot, finishing off the enemy with the
giant’s own sword.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The second sin recorded
in the Bible is Cain killing his brother Abel.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jacob, the weakling son of Isaac and brother of Esau, used deception and
trickery both to steal his brother’s birth right, and secure the final blessing
of their father.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Now Jacob has a
strange, night-long wrestling match with a man.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This man turns out to be God Himself, making a mysterious appearance on
earth.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In our Gospel the Canaanite woman
duels verbally, first with the not-very-manly disciples, who whine to Jesus to “make
her go away, because she’s pestering us.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">She goes on to struggle with the Savior Himself, fighting to win a
miracle for her daughter, who was losing her battle with a demon.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">What are we to make of all this?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Certainly there is a lot of
violence in our world today.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Christian
wisdom includes interpreting the world around us using the truth of Scripture.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">With God’s Word, we might better understand
our current culture’s schizophrenia regarding fighting.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There might even be a connection between our
fallen human nature and our predilection to violence.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">How we as Christians should
understand and respond to the culture’s perspective on violence isn’t always
clear.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">On the one hand, “polite” society
pretends to disdain violence and fighting: little boys are restrained from
being little boys, and manly virtues like strength and bravery are driven from
our midst.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But then “mostly peaceful”
protests burn and destroy whole neighborhoods in some of our cities, and some
voices shout their approval.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Meanwhile, the men and women we
pay to actually fight for us are ordered to spend time learning how to avoid
“misgendering” their comrades in arms.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Which is important, because our tax dollars are paying for some misguided
soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, “transitioners” who decide that God made
them wrong.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That they need to become the
opposite sex, as if surgery and drugs can make a man, or a woman.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Violence is not to be used to
get ahead in life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But increasingly,
speaking true words is declared to be violence, a deception that has become a powerful
weapon, deployed by those using victimhood as the means to get their way.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Meanwhile, we are becoming numb to the horror
of truly evil people taking guns into “gun-free zones” and doing real violence,
often destroying young innocents.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Not to
mention the spiritual numbness that we inflict on women and men when we
celebrate the lie that killing an unborn child is to exercise freedom and agency.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Indeed, you will be labeled as “violent” if
you speak the truth about abortion and euthanasia, if you dare to say they are
tragic and horrible violence, inflicted on people who can’t defend
themselves.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We should be concerned about
violence.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We should also be distressed
by our inability to look away when images of violence are delivered to our
smart phones.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">“Entertainment” today is
sooo violent. We have countless first-person shooter video games, and CGI
movies that show us violence our eyes cannot distinguish from reality.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In sports we even celebrate
flesh and blood women who fight and bleed in cages.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The most popular spectacle in America is the
Super Bowl, a sanitized form of combat, yet with some fans as rabid as Romans
in the Colosseum, cheering on their gladiators.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Today’s politics are largely reduced to shouting matches, full of
violent rhetoric on all sides.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Lord
willing, this will remain rhetoric, words about violence, and not actual
violence.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So, maybe the Bible with all its
tales of violence and struggle is God’s way of helping us understand our
society.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Just trying to stay relevant
to the way we really are.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Struggle and fighting and yes, violence are
not going away.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But we can learn a
better way to deal with them, by considering how the Holy Spirit treats them.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why would God take on the form
of a man for a night, and wrestle for hours with Jacob?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, to keep His promise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lord had made Jacob a promise, the same
promise He made to Abraham and Isaac.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Through Jacob, the Lord had committed to fulfilling His battle plan
against the serpent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through the Seed of
Jacob, through one of his descendents, the salvation of the world would be won.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peace and reconciliation with God would be
revealed, the free gift for all who believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, to keep His Promise, God needs to keep Jacob in the fold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He needs to create and sustain faith in the Promise,
to keep the flame of faith alive in the heart of the tricky, grasping younger
son of Isaac.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More than fourteen years
earlier, Jacob fled the wrath of his brother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Remember how Jacob dressed up in animal skins and stole the blessing blind
old Isaac intended for his favorite son, Esau?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>During his escape, the LORD had appeared to Jacob, descending a stairway
from heaven, to assure Jacob that He would never abandon him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The LORD then blessed Jacob, through trials,
as he worked fourteen years to win Rachel, the girl of his dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jacob learns a good bit about conflict, as
through his uncle’s trickery and his sister-wives’ rivalry, he ends up with
four wives, and 11 bickering sons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Now Jacob is headed home, back
to the Promised Land, back to face Esau, and, he hopes, reconcile with him. He travels in hope, but is also afraid that
Esau will still be angry, and perhaps even kill him. The Lord comes to Jacob in this moment of
crisis, to reassure him that he is still God’s chosen, that the Lord is still
looking out for him. Also to teach Jacob
that struggle is a normal part of life as God’s child, living in this fallen
world. For Jacob has always displayed a
hope that God would make everything go smoothly for him, all the time. Kind of like us. But avoiding struggle and strife is
impossible in a world shot through with sin, and for people still given to
sin. The Godly life this side of glory
includes struggling and fighting. So,
the Lord needs to teach us </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">how</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> to struggle, and against what and whom we </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">should</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> be fighting. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So, a man comes to Jacob, a man
who turns out to be God, the Son of God making a mysterious appearance in His
Creation, centuries before entering it once and for all in Bethlehem.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This Man wrestles with Jacob all through the
night.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He restrains His almighty power,
like a father wrestling with his toddler children, teaching Jacob to hang on,
to struggle and cling to God, come what may.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Adding words to His kinetic
instruction, God even gives Jacob a new name, Israel, which means he has and is
to continue to struggle and prevail, with God and man.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Keep up the fight of faith, no matter what.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Israel, both the man and the People of God,
are to believe the LORD’s promises, cling to God, hate evil, and love their
neighbors with the same love they have received from the Man of Promise, Jesus
Christ.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Which is to say, we are to fight
like the Canaanite mother.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Although a
despised foreign woman, she has heard and understood and believed the promises
of God in Jesus Christ, that He has come to be the Savior of all people.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Although a dirty Gentile, she is a true
Israelite, a believer, unwilling to let go of God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">She clings like a dog to a bone, refusing to
let go of the Man who is also God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">She endures
rejection and insult, for the sake of her beloved daughter.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For the sake of the truth that God desires to
rescue all people from the power of the devil and his demons.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Violence, whether evil and
unrestrained, or justified violence by the earthly authorities set in place by
God, in the end, all violence is the outworking of Satan’s hate, a consequence of
the evil with which he has infected all of us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Sometimes violence is even required of God’s people, to protect the
family, to defeat those who would hurt Jesus’ little lambs.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But as much as it depends on us, we are to
live in peace with all people.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Violence
should be rare among us, a last resort used to protect our neighbor.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But struggle is to be our constant
companion.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">With words, prayers and
self-sacrifice, we are always to struggle and fight for the weak and
lowly.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Like the Canaanite woman.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Sometimes, the right thing to
do is suffer.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Like the Canaanite mother,
sometimes we must suffer the slings and arrows of the world, the insults and
rejection of those who think they are better than us, to suffer in order that
the truth of God be proclaimed.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus, knowing the depth and
strength of her faith, used her to teach His disciples the truth about God’s
love and mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The greatest blessing
we in South Dakota enjoy today is to still receive and rejoice in the Gospel of
forgiveness and the presence of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our blessing is an outworking of the Gospel Mission Truth that Jesus
taught the Twelve 2,000 years ago, through the momentary struggle of this
nameless Canaanite mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Praise be to
God for her struggle. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Struggle and fighting and
violence are often required for true peace to be achieved.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Just consider the Man, Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For the sake of Gentiles being drawn to the
God of Israel, Jesus made a whip out of cords and drove the money lenders and
animal sellers out of the Temple.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Unloving
Israelites had taken over the space God had assigned for the Nations, that they
too could draw near to the LORD and pray.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus violently re-established the Temple as a house of prayer for all
Nations.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus regularly enraged the
Pharisees, Elders and Priests of His own people, in order to get them to
falsely accuse Him before Pilate, so that He could die on a Roman Cross, for all
of them, and for all of us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">By His
glorious battle, on our behalf, Jesus has forever changed the state of the war.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As citizens of the world, the reality of evil
and the call to protect the weak and defenseless mean that violence may still
at times be required, even of God’s people.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But normally, daily, as the Church of the Resurrected Victor, we seek
peace, even risking to turn the other cheek, to suffer for the sake of showing
forth the truth of God’s peace.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For we
know that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the
spiritual powers of evil, still at work in this world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We fight demons and even the Devil, without
fear, because we know Jesus has already defeated them.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so, as Church, we have but
one sword, the Word of Peace and Reconciliation with God, Peace and
Reconciliation that Christ died to win, for all the ungodly.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This Word of Christ is the weapon we the
Church have been given wield, and it’s the only weapon we need.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">By the Word, the Holy Spirit keeps us
clinging to the Man Jesus and all His promises.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Through the Word, God grants us repentance for our sins, and also washes
us clean again, by the blood of Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Through the Word, God sustains the world and restrains evil, for the
sake of His Mission.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">With the Word, the
Holy Spirit convicts sinful hearts and reveals the Peace of Jesus, to all who
hear.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is the struggle we, the New Israel of
Christ, His Body the Church, have been called to engage.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">With prayer and praise and sacrificial
service to our neighbors, we are used by God in His ongoing work, to give true
peace to all people.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So, as we go forth
and continue in the good fight of faith, we pray the Lord will help us to also
rest in this peace, the peace of God which passes all understanding, and which
keeps our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, unto life everlasting,
Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-17470319383819714982024-02-18T20:48:00.000-08:002024-02-18T21:20:00.190-08:00Our Champion - Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent - Invocabit<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">First Sunday in Lent - Invocabit<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">February 18<sup>th</sup>, Year of
Our + Lord 2024<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Hill City and Custer, South Dakota<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Our Champion – 1 Samuel 17 and Matthew 4</span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrG8ZXkRnd4s_iatO1Zt6z6V_lL2iB4sJ10ST17O7BGmZoQjUEGaJQbz0b5qmh7RazC3hk0WXzdTOCU0S29FyHQ18rSsiKJXxShTczO2ksktLmNG1gBq-L_7uhoDOeFkm4a9JCN37EhagTPGLk4knm5yz5MLAmDpXCwpTyp9qnSJcT5ahp_ahcyVlA7-o/s381/David%20and%20Goliath.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="299" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrG8ZXkRnd4s_iatO1Zt6z6V_lL2iB4sJ10ST17O7BGmZoQjUEGaJQbz0b5qmh7RazC3hk0WXzdTOCU0S29FyHQ18rSsiKJXxShTczO2ksktLmNG1gBq-L_7uhoDOeFkm4a9JCN37EhagTPGLk4knm5yz5MLAmDpXCwpTyp9qnSJcT5ahp_ahcyVlA7-o/s320/David%20and%20Goliath.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"><o:p>Audio of Sermon available<b> <a href="https://beyondthesanctuary.podbean.com/e/february-18th-sermon-the-first-sunday-in-lent/" target="_blank">HERE</a> </b></o:p></span><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">What can we say about
David?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Goliath, the arrogant, blasphemous
champion of the Philistines, the great enemy of God’s people Israel, is no more.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">This terrible warrior, who struck fear into
all the peoples’ hearts, lies dead.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Young David has taken the giant’s own sword, and cut off his head.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">And so, a question: Does this victory make
David the greatest hero, the greatest champion that ancient Israel ever had?</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">He’s got some competition.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">There’s Moses, the plague-bringer, the
sea-separator, the Law-giver.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Or Joshua,
who fought the battle of Jericho, and dozens more. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">And there were some great judges, like doubt-filled
Gideon, who nevertheless led Israel to great military victories.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">And Samson, the strongman who killed enemies
by the dozens with the jawbone of a donkey.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">In the end, blinded and brought out to be mocked by his Philistine
captors, Samson prefigured Christ, sacrificing himself to destroy them.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">He used one last gift of strength to topple the
stone columns of the place where they tortured him, bringing tons of stone crashing
down on them all.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">After David came
Elijah and Elisha, prophets with an edge, who slew false prophets and pagan
priests.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">It’s quite a list of
champions.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">So, where does David
rank?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Is he the GOAT, the Greatest of
All Time, of Hebrew heroes?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Hard to say.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">But, at the time of David’s victory over
Goliath, pound for pound he had to be the greatest champion of Israel.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">All these other heroes were mature men when
they fought.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">David was just a youth; did he even weigh 100
lbs?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">David’s faith in YHWH, his trust
in the LORD God of Israel, and the bravery which this faith created in him,
made him an ideal warrior for the Almighty.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">David’s heart dwelt in the LORD Most High, no evil would befall
him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">The shepherd boy did not fear
opposing Goliath, who was mocking Israel and denigrating the LORD.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Though armed with just a slingshot, he knew
he would be victorious, because the LORD would fight for him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">David’s battle speech is epic:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">David said to the Philistine, “You come to
me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in
the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel, whom you have defied. <sup>46 </sup>This
day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you
down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of
the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of
the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in
Israel, <sup>47 </sup>and that all this assembly may know that the
Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's,
and he will give you into our hand</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">David believes he can defeat any
external enemy, any foe who speaks ill of God, or opposes his people, Israel,
because the LORD will fight on his side.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">And he’s right.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">David will go on
from this battle to win many, many more.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">David will defeat enemy after enemy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Under his bold military leadership, Israel gains safety from her foes, is
united under David’s reign, and becomes a great power.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">But there was one enemy that
David could not defeat.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">The enemy
within.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">David performed marvelously
against countless external enemies.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">But
within his heart there lie an enemy that was his master.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">As when David saw Bathsheba, the beautiful wife
of Uriah, one of his most loyal warriors.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">To want to steal Uriah’s wife was wicked.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">No matter, the lust of David’s heart led him
to take her for himself.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">When she became
pregnant, instead of confessing, David sought to cover up his sin, more and
more desperately.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Finally he involved
his general Joab in a plot to abandon Uriah on the battlefield, murdering him
through the weapons of the enemy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Later, David’s pride led him to
take a census of his warriors, to measure the greatness of his power, an
arrogant project which led to God severely punishing all of Israel.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">David’s heart tripped him up again and
again.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">His sinful weakness kept him from
properly disciplining his children; as a result, hateful rivalries tore his
family apart, and led to civil war in Israel.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">When the enemy was out there,
threatening from the outside, David was as great a champion as any.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">But David could not defeat the enemy that was
his own sinful heart. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">To defeat the
enemy within, a very different champion would be needed, and a very different
battle would have to be fought.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">David’s victory over Goliath is
certainly a foreshadowing of Jesus’ victory over Satan.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Goliath represents Satan, who mocks God and
God’s people, and is too strong for any man to face.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">David, a youth, without armor, armed only
with a sling and five stones, does not appear capable of the victory.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">And yet David wins.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Jesus, the promised Son of David,
is mild-mannered and gentle.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">He doesn’t
seem the type to defeat the Devil.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">But
in fact, beating the Devil was the easy part.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvPt5xf82fAS0qb0Uo-gmrScgV-7ohvSEeIXlK4_dzV-UwMItuAWkp2J56qd22bSiFfvmJ_nMY8Kbber3PuR-KuiTwnhegbaoeNk-VYa_FmZcnIvWEHxQLaUiwHKvyK_qVwjkGkwOVupcBN3RNPR8Crmph1ChjaIpbWibTMPd23z7TdDF6UGX9L4ocrc/s1540/H-28%20Lent%201%20(Mt%204.1-11%20).tif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1540" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvPt5xf82fAS0qb0Uo-gmrScgV-7ohvSEeIXlK4_dzV-UwMItuAWkp2J56qd22bSiFfvmJ_nMY8Kbber3PuR-KuiTwnhegbaoeNk-VYa_FmZcnIvWEHxQLaUiwHKvyK_qVwjkGkwOVupcBN3RNPR8Crmph1ChjaIpbWibTMPd23z7TdDF6UGX9L4ocrc/s320/H-28%20Lent%201%20(Mt%204.1-11%20).tif" width="319" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">The Gospel for this first Sunday
in Lent recounts that victory.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Adam and
Eve in the Garden easily gave in to temptation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">They gave in to tempting but forbidden food, gave in to doubts about
God’s promises and provision, gave in to the temptation to make themselves like
God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">The New Adam, the New Man, Jesus of
Nazareth, heads out into the wilderness to avenge this defeat.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">After weakening Himself with a 40 day fast,
Jesus quickly defeated Satan’s attack.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">For
this New Adam trusts in His Father completely.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Instead of doubting like the woman, Jesus uses God’s Word to reject
temptations to sin with food, to test God’s protection, and to gain worldly
power by worshiping someone other than God, namely the Devil.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Jesus, the Son of God now entered into human
flesh, easily rejected and defeated Satan.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">This was not that hard for Him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Indeed,
Jesus could have easily annihilated Satan when he first rebelled.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">The much harder battle was
saving David, and all the rest of us, from the enemy within.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Ever since we fell into sin and so became
enslaved to Satan, destroying the Evil One would also have meant destroying us,
destroying all men, women and children.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">So long as our sin left us bound in Satan’s chains, defeating him would
have also cast us into the outer darkness with the Evil One, to suffer there, forever.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">This defeat God would not
accept.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">His whole objective was always
to have us as His holy and beloved people, forever.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">So, the real challenge of Jesus’ mission was
overcoming our internal problem, our problem with sin, in order to set us free
from the Devil’s power.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">And so the confrontation with
Satan in the wilderness was just the first skirmish in the war.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">The hard part to come was submitting to evil,
to give in to Satan and his human minions.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">The hard part was volunteering to load up all our sin on His own back
and carry it to the altar of the Cross.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">There Jesus offered Himself as the atoning sacrifice, to redeem sinners,
to buy back David and you and me and all the rest of humanity.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Jesus has freed us from the power of Satan,
by destroying the power of our sin to accuse us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Now that Jesus has paid the full price, in
Him, sin and its threats are finished, once and for all, forever.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Jesus could face and win this
immense battle only because He was more than just a man.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">He was and is a man, a true human being,
drawing his humanity from David, through his descendent, the Virgin Mary.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">But Jesus is also the eternal Son of
God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Truly a man, but having no sin of
His own, Jesus could both suffer and die for our sins.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Truly God, the eternal Son of the Father was
great enough and strong enough to take into Himself all human sin, and bury it
forever.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Jesus Christ, Son of Mary and
Son of God, could and did accept the full price that God’s Justice, His perfect
Righteousness, demands.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Once and for
all.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">One Savior, one sacrifice, one
time, sufficient for all people, and all our sins.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">So, Jesus is the true GOAT.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">He is by far the greatest Hero of all time,
the Champion of Champions, without equal.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Do you struggle with the enemy
within?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Do you have a desire to flee
from sin, but find yourself still falling?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Of course you do.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">As do I.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Even St. Paul did.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Every human being, indeed every Christian in
this world, still struggles with the sin of the heart, from which also flow
outward, visible sins.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We cannot conquer
our inner enemy on our own, anymore than David could.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">And so we need our Hero, our Champion, to be
with us, every day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We need to be
reminded of His great victory for us, on the Cross, every day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We need to turn to Him, confessing our sins
and asking His pardon, every day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Many people, Christian and
non-Christian, do a pretty decent job with outward sins.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We can usually avoid murder and violence and
terrible crimes.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We can see the benefits
of appearing to be a good person.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">So
most of us do pretty well maintaining this image, most of the time.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">But we know how we are on the inside.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We know how we are when we think no one can
observe us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">This is the harder problem,
that plagues us all, the inner problem we cannot solve.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">The blood of Jesus is the only
medicine to heal this inward weakness, the stumbling block that is our sinful
hearts.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">The victory of our Champion is
the only thing that can defeat the enemy that is within us all.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Since you need Him so much, your
Champion does not leave you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">You may
feel small and alone on the battlefield, a puny David facing the Giant Goliath
of sin.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">But you are not alone.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Christ who claimed you in Holy Baptism has
given you His Spirit, the Spirit who prompts you to cry out Abba, Father,
forgive me my sin, wash me clean.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">And so
you are clean, forgiven, and washed, a beloved child of the Father.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Do you want to do better, to sin
less?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Would you like to avoid some of
the terrible consequences our sins still inflict on us, and on our loved
ones?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Then confess your sins daily and seek
the forgiveness of the Lord; make this your daily habit.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">For we daily sin much.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">But, whenever we come to Him with contrite
and repentant hearts, seeking forgiveness for the wrongs we have done, God
renews our hearts.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">By the blood-bought
forgiveness of Jesus, God the Holy Spirit renews our hearts, and we begin again
to pursue a Christ-like life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Forgiven
and restored to God’s family, we pursue holiness, not from compulsion or
threat, but from joy, the joy of Christ’s holiness, poured out upon us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">This is the source and rhythm of true
Christian living.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Satan has no true power over you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Jesus has totally disarmed him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">He can only lie, whispering in your ear when
you sin, whispering that God will not forgive you, God will not love you, you
should run and hide.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">But you have the
answer for the Evil One:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Be gone, Satan,
for Christ is my champion.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">The Risen
Savior has claimed me, and so your lies mean nothing to me.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">I trust in the voice of the One who has won
the battle for me, today, and forever and ever, Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p></div>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-23003507631160902222024-02-14T20:41:00.000-08:002024-02-14T20:56:41.273-08:00Your Forever Valentine, Rising from the Ashes - A Sermon for Ash Wednesday <h3 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Your Forever Valentine,
Rising from the Ashes<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">A Sermon for Ash Wednesday<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">February 14th, Year of Our + Lord 2024<br /></span></b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;"><b>Our Redeemer and Our Savior's Lutheran Churches<br /></b></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;"><b>Custer and Hill City, SD</b></span></span></h3><div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;"><b> </b><i>Audio of this sermon available </i><b><a href="https://beyondthesanctuary.podbean.com/e/february-14th-sermon-ash-wednesday/" target="_blank">HERE</a></b></span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHlw3SBwVGWYwGb3VOlmOzt2U8ol2FE3A_PWVkRt7aTzjGKEgk6-iZsIq8tx6AormpagtC4wSunQQGtrJqMWXJWcTMreR2e6wIUAt5t_TPEb9TL1Q85PV3_cKLlCyZGCaub5bkQpqIVz_nGt-MWJe-1QLv0sQ4pOv3VNNZ_ctjxtmRa4RoKGrqkJe4AA/s272/Valentine%20Flowers%20and%20hearts.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="185" data-original-width="272" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHlw3SBwVGWYwGb3VOlmOzt2U8ol2FE3A_PWVkRt7aTzjGKEgk6-iZsIq8tx6AormpagtC4wSunQQGtrJqMWXJWcTMreR2e6wIUAt5t_TPEb9TL1Q85PV3_cKLlCyZGCaub5bkQpqIVz_nGt-MWJe-1QLv0sQ4pOv3VNNZ_ctjxtmRa4RoKGrqkJe4AA/w200-h136/Valentine%20Flowers%20and%20hearts.jpg" width="200" /></a></div></div> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Two ancient, annual, and Christian
observations collide this afternoon/evening.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">One, Valentine’s Day, is ancient and still widely observed, although
corrupted beyond recognition.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The other,
Ash Wednesday, is ancient and largely neglected.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Indeed it is mocked and eclipsed in popular
culture by the party that just precedes it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This pre-Lent party goes by several names: Mardi Gras, Carnaval, or Fat
Tuesday, parties that are at turns gluttonous, lewd and decadent.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">What are we to make of all this, in this A+D 2024,
when Valentines and Ash Wednesday coincide?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Well, as the mythical Phoenix rises from
the ashes to reveal its new life, the true King of this Ash Wednesday, (and of
every other day) will rise in our hearts and dispel our confusion and distress.
By His Spirit He will point us to a brighter day, illuminated, ironically with
an ashen cross, a symbol of hope for those wise unto salvation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which is older: St. Valentine’s Day, or Ash
Wednesday?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We would say St. Valentine’s
Day, which was declared a feast day by the Roman Church in 496 A+D.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ash Wednesday as we observe it didn’t really
get established until sometime in the 11<sup>th</sup> century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, repenting in dust and ashes goes back
much further, at least to Job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And of
course the Lord reminded Adam, as He drove him and his wife out of Eden, that
he was dust, and to dust he would return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You can barely get any older than that event, which is the negative
touchstone, upon which, partially, our Ash Wednesday observance is built.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCj5AMOhQNR7S_avV5-AAN-GBJhtek4CQ6UeAa8dLB0xFahYqVtHSsp0cFua_qS6pcjwAmyc2nu5KTKehmetXl56udG7tcCuM9yP7phlRtqYuNF0c_yh9x4qElVR0BB3METDj5uybYxqzIlcYDV6e3D-tkS7VTGKa5JjKSbMW7YbAIFU-JutKLFGXpVDk/s225/St%20Valentine%20Icon.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCj5AMOhQNR7S_avV5-AAN-GBJhtek4CQ6UeAa8dLB0xFahYqVtHSsp0cFua_qS6pcjwAmyc2nu5KTKehmetXl56udG7tcCuM9yP7phlRtqYuNF0c_yh9x4qElVR0BB3METDj5uybYxqzIlcYDV6e3D-tkS7VTGKa5JjKSbMW7YbAIFU-JutKLFGXpVDk/w200-h200/St%20Valentine%20Icon.jpg" width="200" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">St. Valentine is most likely an amalgamation
of three or four different heroes of the Early Church, all named
Valentinus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">They were pastors or other
servants of the Church who stood up to evil and paid for it with their
lives.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Worthy of our consideration. But
as we still do with our heroes today, the truth becomes too boring, or too
spare, or too difficult to consider.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We
want extra stories of amazing, brave and even miraculous deeds.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so, many legends were appended to the
memory of these Valentinuses.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Their faithful ministry and martyrs’ deaths,
which led the Church to celebrate February 14</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> as St Valentine’s
Day in the first place, receded into history.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Slowly the romantic, shallow, and saccharine sweet traditions which make
up our Valentine’s Day took over.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus promised His disciples that they would
do greater works than He did, after the Resurrection.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Instead of a day to see this promise
fulfilled in the faithful and brave words and actions of Christ’s followers,
Valentine’s Day all too often is a guilt or shame trap.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Many are guilted into spending too much in
order to please their significant other.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Many others pass the day in quiet sadness, as they worry they are the
only soul left in the world without a significant other.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We might be tempted to burn it all down, and
forget St. Valentine forever.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But, since
there’s money to be made selling flowers, candy, expensive dinners and whatever
else on February 14</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, Valentine’s will not be discarded
easily.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We might try, but likely
Valentine’s Day would rise from the ashes, like the mythical bird, the
Phoenix.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trying to get rid of
Valentine’s Day in our culture would be a fool’s errand.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And besides, kindergarten students exchanging
Valentine’s cards with their friends is a sweet and relatively harmless
tradition.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Some husbands and wives, and
some future husbands and wives, do use the day well, as an opportunity to
simply and truly celebrate the love they share.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rather than burning Valentines Day down,
what say we redeem it?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In this Year of
Our + Lord 2024, when Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s coincide, let us accentuate
our Resurrected One, who, like the Phoenix legend, went through a fire, and
came out on the other side.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Indeed, and whether
this was wise or not I’ll let the hearer consider, pious Christian writers
throughout the centuries have tried to use the legend of the Phoenix as a way
to introduce and proclaim the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">A beautiful and powerful being descends into
flames and dies, only to rise again, rising from the ashes of defeat to reveal
new life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Certainly, there are
similarities between Christ and the legend of the Phoenix.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Similarities, yes.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But even more differences.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For the Phoenix has never been seen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The date and place of its supposed death and
resurrection have always been hidden in the mists of time.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And the significance of the Phoenix is left
to the interpretation of those who ponder its legend.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Not so our Christ.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In a specific, known place, at a specific
point in known human history, a particular man, Jesus of Nazareth, died on a
Roman cross, suffering the baptism by fire appointed for Him by His Father.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He did this to buy the whole world back from
the damning accusation of Satan.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Five
hundred eyewitnesses, led by the Apostles, boldly confessed the truth of Jesus,
recorded the writings we cherish as the New Testament, and faced incredible
trials and suffering with confidence and eternal joy, all because they had seen
and believed.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And blessed are those who
have not seen, and yet have believed, by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit,
that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, the only way for sinners to come
to Father.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The specific historicity of the Gospel
narrative allows critics and scoffers to try to disprove the Christ event.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But they fail, and they always will fail.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Indeed, while we have only scant evidence to
support the existence and deeds of the various men named Valentinus, the
existence and impact and reality of Jesus are un-assailed by serious historians.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Unbelievers can and do still deny the miracle
of His Resurrection.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But the evidence
that Jesus lived, and taught, and was crucified outside Jerusalem around the
year 30 A.+D., is beyond reasonable doubt.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And there’s more evidence to consider.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The growth of the Church the disciples of
Jesus founded is indisputable, and incomparable.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">From a few hundred backwater Jewish
Christians to a movement that took over the Roman Empire in 400 years.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">How did this happen?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Why were they so bold?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Because Jesus really did rise from the
ashes.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">On the Cross He suffered the
worst that humanity had to inflict.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Even
more, much more, He passed through the Hell of fire that human sin deserves,
burying our guilt in His own body and paying our debt to God, once and for
all.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Then, on the third day Christ rose
again to reveal the love of God, poured out for all sinners. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Phoenix pretends to rise from the dead to
inspire misguided people to strive towards a better life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus rose to forgive and renew and claim dying
sinners as His very own.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He rose to
share His indestructible life, a free gift, for all who trust in Him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Whoever the various Valentinuses were and
whatever they did, they along with thousands upon thousands of other Christians
went to their deaths confessing the Name of Jesus, their Risen Savior.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Brave Christians today continue to face
persecution and death, rather than deny Christ Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WESEKD-YKAUEfiPv7297vo3k009bggSmq8bS-b_zZOU2yvleTQWfnfjUOW634Ij2yhgaDk6r_ewz9-5hLg8BQBtXp6JRo6ARJqzNX28KUN-fADQKjWbaH5TMVneuH0bV66CUQH8KZFAKZsbLYLCEpFgzNrKZznCwYa8zakJcR5D7gcEHfhk0y-w8pN8/s275/ash%20cross%20forehead.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WESEKD-YKAUEfiPv7297vo3k009bggSmq8bS-b_zZOU2yvleTQWfnfjUOW634Ij2yhgaDk6r_ewz9-5hLg8BQBtXp6JRo6ARJqzNX28KUN-fADQKjWbaH5TMVneuH0bV66CUQH8KZFAKZsbLYLCEpFgzNrKZznCwYa8zakJcR5D7gcEHfhk0y-w8pN8/s1600/ash%20cross%20forehead.jpg" width="183" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">On this Ash Wednesday, we begin again a six-week
journey with Jesus, to Golgotha, that we might grow in our faith, and learn
again to abhor our sin and love our Savior.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Knowing how God brings victory from defeat and life out of death, we
step off on our journey marked with Ashen Crosses, knowing that He who passed
through the fire for us is still with us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">will bring us through to the
end, to enjoy His victory, come what may.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">A Happy, Ashy
Valentine to you all, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-19579183700187998222024-02-11T17:22:00.000-08:002024-02-11T17:22:37.615-08:00Can You See the Love? - Sermon for Septuagesima Sunday<h2 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Quinquagesima<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The Sunday 50 Days before the Resurrection<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">February 11<sup>th</sup>, Year of Our + Lord 2024<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Can You See the Love? <br /></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">1<sup>st</sup>
Samuel 16:1-13, 1<sup>st</sup> Corinthians 13:1-13, Luke 18:31-43<br /></span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s
Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Custer and Hill City, SD</span></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Audio of this sermon is available <b><a href="https://beyondthesanctuary.podbean.com/e/february-11th-sermon-can-you-see-the-love/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixj5Fbc4t9vGtHdEwuv-36RAI1DMCBDglLiC9fObgA913hZtfdV_MdI4lajjO20Qp8H05LymhWvC2TdUXBzeZQy_GrjeR1aJ73Vve8MhkiNdNnNml1vZKPim7MlgJK6yhP8gq4XI0PMRKppXMTXSERTrtIl2xz0pDCCjiRaOFOWKf23-yGi1tI4ezfCKg/s650/Luther%20rose%20with%204%20solas.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="650" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixj5Fbc4t9vGtHdEwuv-36RAI1DMCBDglLiC9fObgA913hZtfdV_MdI4lajjO20Qp8H05LymhWvC2TdUXBzeZQy_GrjeR1aJ73Vve8MhkiNdNnNml1vZKPim7MlgJK6yhP8gq4XI0PMRKppXMTXSERTrtIl2xz0pDCCjiRaOFOWKf23-yGi1tI4ezfCKg/w200-h200/Luther%20rose%20with%204%20solas.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Can you see the love today? I know, that sounds a lot like a certain
Disney movie anthem, but I am not talking about “The Lion King.” Rather, I have in mind the Lion of
Judah. And my question is not “Can you <i>feel</i>
the love?,” but rather “Can you </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">see</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> the
love?” This vision question flows from
the readings set before our eyes this Quinquagesima Sunday. Which is a little strange, since “Faith
Alone” is the traditional theme of this Sunday before Ash Wednesday, this 50<sup>th</sup>
day before Easter. Faith, which grows
from the Word implanted in our ear </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">(James 1), </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">enables
us to live “not by sight” </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">(2<sup>nd</sup> Corinthians 5).</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> And yet faith </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">is</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">also</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> a matter of sight, for I was
blind, but now I see. </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Godly vision, or better, God-given vision,
is an important idea in our readings this morning. Faith is, truly, all about “seeing the love,”
truly perceiving what love is and from whence it flows. Which is ironic, since in Hebrews chapter 11
faith is also defined as the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction
of things </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">unseen. </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">And so we see that the Holy
Spirit and His human co-authors never tie themselves down too tightly to any
particular metaphor. As when Paul, who
famously declared that faith comes by hearing </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">(Romans 10),
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">also offers this prayer for his beloved Ephesians: <i>I
pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what
is the hope of His calling</i>. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">(Ephesians
1)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> The 1980s singer Bonnie Tyler crooned about
a “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” a rock-ballad which mourns being battered by
the vagaries of human love. It’s pretty
deep for a pop song. But, St. Paul’s “enlightened
eyes of the heart” rises to an entirely different level. It is not about fallen “eros,” the romantic
love we are so inclined toward. Rather
“enlightened eyes of the heart” is about “seeing” divine love, <i>agape </i>love,
the love of God which is unconditional. <i>Agape
</i>means God loves you in spite of you, and He won’t stop loving you. Can you see it? This is Paul’s prayer. Indeed, with “enlightened eyes of the heart,”
Paul coins a poetic and original description of faith. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Now, if you are suspicious of the idea of
“seeing the love,” you are not a fool.
God warns us in His Word, again and again, not to confuse seeing with
believing. Like when Samuel was sent by
the LORD to Bethlehem to anoint a new king from among the sons of Jesse. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> As soon as he laid eyes on Jesse’s eldest
son, tall, handsome, impressive Eliab, Samuel assumed this was the one the LORD
had chosen. Even his name was terrific, and
faithful: Eliab. Eliab means “God is my father.” It was plain to see that Eliab was God’s choice
for the new king. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> But no.
<i>The Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his
appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him</i>. Samuel examines all seven sons that Jesse brought
before him, but none of them looked good to God. Then little David, Jesse’s after-thought,
youngest son, was finally called in from watching over the sheep in the field, and
the Lord saw His chosen, His anointed. The
new king for God’s people Israel. Now
David, as is often the case with that name, David </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">was</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> a good-looking
kid. But the LORD didn’t and doesn’t
care for outward beauty. Rather, He looked
into David’s heart and saw a faithful Israelite, a true believer in YHWH, the LORD
God of Israel. The Lord even described
David as “a man after my own heart.” </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">(1
Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22) </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">High
praise, indeed. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Speaking of hearts, and eyes, we heard that
David had beautiful eyes. I wonder if
the Holy Spirit is speaking of David’s literal eyes, his organs of physical
sight? Or, looking forward to the turn
of phrase He would give St. Paul a millennium later, might the Spirit already
have been thinking of the beautiful eyes of David’s heart? Yet another question for us to ask when we
arrive in glory. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> As far as we know, the Twelve Disciples had
24 fully functional eyes. But their
vision was dim. As they are making their
final journey to Jerusalem with Jesus, He tells them, for the 3<sup>rd</sup>
time, what was about to happen: “<i>See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and
everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. <o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> <b><sup>32 </sup></b>For he will
be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully
treated and spit upon. <b><sup>33 </sup></b>And after flogging
him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Jesus speaks clear words about Good Friday,
about His suffering and death, and about His Resurrection on the third day. But the Twelve cannot grasp it. The words are hidden from them; they just
can’t see it. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> The idea of Jesus being tortured and killed
by the Gentiles, that is, by the Roman overlords of the Jews, well, this is too
horrible even to imagine in their mind’s eye.
They certainly couldn’t see the mystery, that Jesus was actually
describing love, God’s <i>agape, </i>His unconditional, overwhelming love,
revealed in the death of the Son of Man.
The Twelve can only hear of horror, and avert their eyes. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_j0EN1sDH2Axj7HghNzTq_xw0S-Y4J1oQBGSNM5Lah0aAVBSOtDws9jnZNq6kHa8qf4VGiu0i3ebO-3aoiPreh7TfX8VL5rb7s9AAvr4LHRMFm0gwVcZYVnGljpSVHUsWE5IZDC580WykbxstINA2TMJ-sZC6LZKbyp7RJ6c__BtIdnZXVaHRdRX4l90/s1568/H-26%20Quinquagesima%20(Lu%2018.31-43).tif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1540" data-original-width="1568" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_j0EN1sDH2Axj7HghNzTq_xw0S-Y4J1oQBGSNM5Lah0aAVBSOtDws9jnZNq6kHa8qf4VGiu0i3ebO-3aoiPreh7TfX8VL5rb7s9AAvr4LHRMFm0gwVcZYVnGljpSVHUsWE5IZDC580WykbxstINA2TMJ-sZC6LZKbyp7RJ6c__BtIdnZXVaHRdRX4l90/s320/H-26%20Quinquagesima%20(Lu%2018.31-43).tif" width="320" /></a></div><br /> But, the blind beggar can see it. Bartimaeus can see the love. We know from Mark’s Gospel that Bartimaeus is
the blind man’s name. When Bartimaeus
hears that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by, he recognizes his opportunity and seizes
it. Even though he was blind, the eyes
of his heart are open to see, to know, to trust that this Jesus is the Son of
Man, and the Son of David. He is the
Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ of God, sent to reclaim the throne of
King David and reign over God’s chosen people, forever and ever. <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Somehow, the blind beggar could see what the
disciples and crowds could not: Jesus
has come, in mercy, for </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">him</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">, to
rescue Bartimaeus, and every other poor, broken, downtrodden soul. Jesus has come, to pour out the love of God
for all people. Seeing this, Bartimaeus
does not protest against the Way that Jesus will save. He simply knows he can cry out to Him for
rescue, for mercy, no matter his problem.
No struggle, no disability, no sin is too big, or too small, to present before the Son
of David. So Bartimaeus cries out, he
shouts his prayer: “Jesus, Son of
David, have mercy on me!” And he won’t stop. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> The crowd following Jesus tries to shut him
up. Don’t bother the Master. He doesn’t have time to see </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">you</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">. He has more important things to do, like
fulfilling </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">our vision</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> of
what God’s Savior will do for us. Most
people who saw Jesus’ mighty works and heard His teaching were blind to His mysterious
vision quest. For the Son of Man had
come to save sinners, by becoming “The Sinner.”
The crowd was blind, just like the Twelve. I mean, how could one so wise, so powerful,
able to heal the sick, raise the dead, and feed thousands from just a few
loaves of bread, how could He suffer?
How could He lose in a struggle with the Romans? How could He die? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Surely, they thought, Jesus will lead us
from victory to victory, until we once again rule our own land, and are mighty
and great, like Israel was under King David, and King Solomon. Their lying eyes had blinded them to the
facts. The kingdom was indeed great
under these men. But David was beloved
by God for His faithful heart, not his military victories. Solomon’s wisdom was not his great wealth and
power, but rather it was to fear the Lord, and trust in Him only. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> We all want
love. And that’s good and right. Our problem is that our eyes think they see
true love in all the wrong places. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> The love of
money will leave you spiritually bankrupt, because money and things cannot love
you back. Rather, if you love your wealth
too much, it will consume you. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> We often think
we can gain the love and admiration of our peers, our family and friends, by
impressing them, or by buying their affection. But purchased love is not true brotherly
love. When you fail to impress, or run
out of money, such purchased love is revealed to be bitter and traitorous. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> The quest
for <i>eros</i>, romantic love, by the young, or the young at heart, is a
God-given desire, part of His plan for us to multiply and fill the earth. But if we receive our husband or wife, or
someone other than our husband or wife, if we receive a partner as a means to
the end of selfish pleasure, we are likely to see the bitter pain of break-up,
of divorce. But when, by God’s grace, we
see our spouse as a gift from God, first, last and always, a gift given us to love
and cherish, come what may, well, then things are looking up. Then we have the promise of seeing long and
good days. Such Godly marital love will
draw us closer together by drawing us closer to Christ. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Jesus sees
you and me like this. His eyes are
always on His Beloved, His Bride, which is collectively the whole Church. Blind to our many faults and betrayals, Jesus
has poured out His love unconditionally, no holding back, in order to love and
cherish us, today, and forever and ever.
Can you see the love, the <i>agape </i>love of Jesus, willingly
sacrificing Himself, for you? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> And so
faith, hope and love, these three, abide.
They endure forever. And the
greatest of these is love. Not just any
love, but rather the <i>agape, </i>divine, unconditional, freely-given love of
God, revealed in the Cross of Jesus. <i>Agape
</i>love is the greatest, because God, who is greater than all, is love</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">. (1 John 4)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Biblical
faith, true, saving faith, is to see that the very thing that was unthinkable
for the Twelve, is actually the highest love.
This is love: that the Son of Man has suffered at the hands of sinful
men. Even more, He died under His
Father’s wrath against human sin, taking it all upon Himself, in order to set
us free from our sin, and have us as His very own, forgiven, declared
righteous, beautiful in His eyes, today, and forever and ever, Amen. See His love, for you.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Today, for
a time yet, we must see with our ears, praying that the eyes of our hearts be
ever focused on the sure and certain Hope that is Jesus, risen from the dead and
ascended on high, for you. And one day
soon, we will see the Son of David face to face. Seeing Him at the Father’s right hand, faith will
turn into eternal knowledge, hope will be fulfilled in the glory of God, and we
will fully enjoy the love of God, moment by moment, and forever and ever. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> For now, we
cry out: Jesus, Son of David, give us
eyes of faith to see your love, tongues to sing your praises, and feet to follow
you, come what may. Amen.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p> </p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-70271441051094145952024-02-04T19:21:00.000-08:002024-02-04T19:30:40.463-08:00Relief from a Self-Inflicted Famine - Sermon for Sexagesima Sunday, February 4, A+D 2024<h2 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Sexagesima Sunday, February 4<sup>th</sup>, Year of Our
+ Lord 2024<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Custer
and Hill City, SD<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Relief from a Self-Inflicted Famine<br /></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Isaiah 55, Hebrews 4, Luke 8</span></h2><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Audio of sermon available <b><a href="https://beyondthesanctuary.podbean.com/e/february-4th-sermon-relief-from-a-self-inflicted-famine/" target="_blank">HERE</a></b>.</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Hear the Word of the Lord from the prophet Amos, chapter 8:<i>“Behold,
the days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a
famine on the land - not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of
hearing the words of the Lord. <sup>12 </sup>They
shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and
fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it. </i></span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">(Amos
8:11-12)</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Word of the Lord appointed
for us today is all about the Word of the Lord.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Today is Sexagesima Sunday, the 2</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">nd</sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Sunday before Ash
Wednesday, and “Sola Scriptura,” Scripture Alone, is our theme.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The salvation of God flows from His grace
alone, as we discussed last week, only because He is kindly disposed toward us,
not because of any merit or worthiness in us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And this “by Grace Alone” salvation gift is defined and revealed and
delivered to us by Scripture, God’s Word, Alone.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God chooses to work His rescue
through His Word.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Holy Scripture,
the Holy Writing that we most commonly call the Bible, is the sole norm and
source of Christian teaching.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">When we
gather and hear the Word of the Bible, Jesus promises that we hear Him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And His Word is effective, always achieving
the purpose for which the Lord sends it into our world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God gives us His Word as a lamp unto our feet
and a light unto our path, a solid rock to which we can always return, for
correction, restoration, comfort and instruction.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">By the Word of God the universe was called
into existence.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The things that are seen
were not made from prior visible things, but from nothing, </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">ex nihilo</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, by
the strong Word of the Lord.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">By His living
and active Word, the Holy Spirit enlivens and strengthens and guides His Church.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God does this collectively, for congregations
and synods, and also for each individual believer, through His Word.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We depend on God’s Word.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Which makes the words of the prophet Amos
shocking.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Amos proclaimed a warning from
the Lord God, that He would send a famine on the land, not a lack of bread or
water, but a famine of the Word.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For
ancient Israel, whose whole existence had been founded upon and flowed from the
Word of the Lord spoken to them through Moses and the Prophets, Amos’ words
must have been terrifying.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And they
should frighten us, too.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As Christians, you have heard
and have begun to understand God’s Word.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">You’ve begun to grasp how He is working through His Word to uphold the
world, sustain His Church with forgiveness, and call sinners to repentance for
sin and faith in Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Isn’t it kind of
hard to imagine losing the Word of God today?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It’s freely and widely available.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The printing press, recording technologies, radio and T.V., and of
course the internet, these technological spaces are all new since the Bible was
first written.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Through them, the Bible is
everywhere.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There could not be a famine
of the Word in our day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Except that there is.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Despite the ubiquity of good translations of
the Bible, still today </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">most people are
starved of God’s Word.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The culture is at
best apathetic, and at worst openly hostile to the message our gracious Lord
has recorded and protected through the centuries in the Good Book.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Biblical literacy used to be
commonplace in our land.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">George
Washington peppered his writings and speeches with allusions and quotes from
Scripture.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In 1783 he exhorted all
citizens to do justice, love mercy, and humbly imitate "the
Characteristicks of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion." </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He didn’t need to give any references,
because almost everyone knew without explanation he was paraphrasing the Bible,
Micah chapter 6, to be precise.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Lincoln’s “four-score and seven
years ago” that opens the Gettysburg Address is a riff off Psalm 90:10, where
the span of a man’s life was said to be “</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">threescore years and ten; and if by
reason of strength, they be fourscore years.</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In the same speech Lincoln made many Biblical
allusions, and several other straight quotes.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">"Judge not that we be not judged"</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> comes from Matthew,
and </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">"Woe unto the world because of offenses!"</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> was taken from
Luke. Early in his political career Lincoln famously declared that </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">“a
house divided cannot stand,</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">” which comes from Matthew 12.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Quoting and referring to
Scripture was routine for American presidents, because this was how Americans
talked. I don’t pretend to know the
personal faith of any of these men. But
this does demonstrate how central to American conversation God’s Word used to
be. And that seems, in retrospect, like
a good thing. We poor sinners will in
this life always fall short of Biblical truth, standards and ideals. But upholding ideals as </span><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">good</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> is a necessary first step to fulfilling them, even partially. Having the sharp sword of God’s Word coming
to our ears even from our civic leaders is a good thing. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The two current leading
candidates for president in the fall elections do not rise to such
heights.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">One is nominally a member in
good standing of a Christian Church that is a strong voice for the sanctity of
human life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But that message hasn’t
penetrated.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Instead, protecting the
right to kill an unborn child throughout nine months of pregnancy is a
fundamental plank of his campaign.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">During
the 2016 election, the other leading candidate famously professed to be a
Christian.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But when in an interview he was
asked about repentance and seeking forgiveness, he said he’s not into that. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Repentance, forgiveness, and love for human life
are the most basic features of Biblical Christianity.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I do not pretend to know the heart of either
man, that’s not my point.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">My greater
concern is that neither candidate has paid a significant political price for
these anti-Biblical positions.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">No one seems
to care, because the Bible and a Biblical perspective on life no longer holds
an important place in the lives of most of our fellow citizens.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In such a culture, what was not
so long ago unthinkable is now more than thinkable, actually commonplace.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Biblical marriage and family have been the
bedrock of our civilization since Christianity took over the Roman world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We sinners have never done marriage and
family perfectly, but there was a faithful and fruitful Biblical ideal that
kept nudging us back toward better things.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">On top of marriage and family grew civilization, and the population, and
the economy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We Americans started out
calling our first president the Father of his Country, un-ironically.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">George Washington was seen as a paragon of
virtue, and no one could think of a better honorific title to confer on him
than ‘father.’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Fatherhood is not so highly
esteemed today.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Vanishingly rare is the
media portrayal of a dad as anything but a buffoon or a beast.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Motherhood, the vocation through which our
Savior chose to be delivered into our world, is still often held up as
noble.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If that’s your choice, of
course.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If you prefer to dispose of your
baby, well, that’s great too, according to the world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Whatever you do, don’t expect
anyone to support the idea that a mother and her child might need and deserve
to have a husband and father around to help.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Surely Mary could have fled to Egypt on her own, without Joseph’s
assistance, right?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Men and women need each other,
and do better in mutually supportive, monogamous and committed relationships.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But affirming this, affirming Biblical
marriage is, according to our cultural elites, to hate women.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It’s perverse.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Our culture marginalizes men as backward and
unnecessary, and tells women they can do anything, on their own, without a man.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Such messaging makes both men and women
worse.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Many hopeful young couples today,
who dare to try to form a family, sadly have such thoughts in the back of their
minds.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">These lies make them prone to
treating each other badly, and all too ready to give up.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Many bail on the marriage at the first
difficulty, often before it really gets started.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so children suffer, if they even come
into the world in the first place.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Speaking of lies, the Bible
teaches us not to bear false witness against our neighbors.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Twisting the truth to get ahead, or avoid
accountability, or to hurt someone you are upset with, all such lying used to
be widely frowned on in our culture.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Why?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Well, because Jesus said so,
in His Word.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Not so today.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Huge swaths of our economy are built on
promoting lies, and nobody seems to care.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Public officials lie in real time, then change their stories in a few
days, and we collectively shrug.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Students lie to their teachers, and teachers and administrators lie to
students, and parents and unions defend the lies of their favored side.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So-called medical professionals
nod and agree that men can become women and women can become men.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rioting and stealing get labeled as mostly
peaceful or understandable, given the norms of this or that so-called community.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Which of course never does anything wrong.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rather, they’ve been marginalized, so we
can’t expect different.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I’ll stop.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It’s exhausting to think about.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Worst of all, today’s most popular proclaimers,
the “internet influencers,” and the talking heads, routinely proclaim these
depravities are good.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">They are presented
as imperatives, as human rights.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It’s
abundantly clear that the Biblically informed perspective, which for centuries
held vast influence in our culture, is lost.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Bibles are super-abundant, freely available.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But very few are listening.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so we reap the harvest of a
self-inflicted famine of the Word.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Brothers and sisters, what can we do?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">What can we, hearers and believers of God’s Word, do to fight back and
resist this self-inflicted famine of the Word?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Well, we might start with repenting.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">None of us can claim to not be influenced by the lies and degrading
entertainments of our modern world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Garbage in will produce garbage out; we can all repent, and choose to see
and hear less of the preaching of the world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We can repent, and then sow the
seed like that crazy farmer Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In
today’s parable, the Sower of the Seed casts it all over, willy-nilly, even
though much of it will get eaten by birds, or die on the rocks, or be choked
off by weeds.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Repenting of believing the
world’s lies is how the soil is prepared for receiving the good seed.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But most human soil is hard.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And yet, Jesus casts His seed far and wide,
despite the shameful way it gets rejected.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If Christ cast the seed like this, we Christians can do likewise. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We can cast the seed of the Word
into our society as if we believed Isaiah.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Lord promised through the prophet that His Word will not return to
Him empty, but will accomplish the purposes for which He sends it out.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This promise frees us to send out the Word
with confidence.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We may not see the
harvest, but God in His Word has promised it will be bountiful.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So cast the seed boldly.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We can cast the seed into our
own ears, so we will have strong enough faith to try to cast it somewhere
else.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Bible calls you to serve
yourself with God’s Word, to tend to your own garden.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">You should devote time and effort to feeding
your own faith, for your own good. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But
feeding your own faith is never just for your own good.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Holy Spirit is saving you by planting His
Word in your soul, and through that He is also preparing you to be His
mouthpiece, His instrument, to cast His Word farther still.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">To ‘let the Word of Christ dwell in you
richly’ is both self-serving wisdom, and evangelistic preparation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We can cast the seed, and
rejoice.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Despite the sad state of our
culture and our world, the message of the seed, the central teaching of the
Bible, is that Jesus has come and brings pleasure eternal.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">His strong Word comes to break the darkness,
and shine with the light of forgiveness and new life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Suffering Servant, who bore our sins, by
whose stripes we are healed, He is the heart and center of the Word.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Christ crucified and resurrected is the
kernel of the seed, which fell into the ground, and sprang up on the third day,
bearing a harvest of forgiveness for sins, all sins, and the promise of eternal
joy with God and all His holy ones.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">My failures and your failures to
hear and heed and cherish the Word of God, our shameful indifference, even these
are forgiven, washed away, by this same Word.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We might, with a renewed zeal for hearing and reading and sharing God’s
Word, we </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">might</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> see a change in our world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is our prayer.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Still, come what may, in Christ’s Word, your
salvation is assured, the Father’s pleasure with you is revealed, and the
Spirit tells you your future is glorious, in the Name of Jesus, the Sower of
the Seed, Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-88452487928609547652024-01-28T20:10:00.000-08:002024-01-28T20:19:12.957-08:00Wisdom for Living in Grace, from a Talking Donkey - Sermon for Septuagesima Sunday<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Septuagesima – The Third
Sunday before Lent, January 28<sup>th</sup>, A+D 2024<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s
Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Custer and Hill City, South
Dakota<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Wisdom for Living in Grace,
from a Talking Donkey<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Numbers 22:22-35 and Matthew 20:1-16</span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Audio of this sermon is available <b><a href="https://beyondthesanctuary.podbean.com/e/january-28th-sermon-wisdom-for-living-in-grace-from-a-talking-donkey/" target="_blank">HERE</a></b>.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> I will instruct you and teach you in
the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without
understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not
stay near you.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Palm 32:8-9</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Don’t be like a mule.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Instead, be like a donkey!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVUZhq3P8aE9TnIdPMbojXb8OGjwcu2AOwBCjtls_66mJWm6Y_dUE5LAMgDh7x6aFpQBIQPx10HTIdkfKKbOL2UpzM-AoKhHeu21PHQBtq3gcpWPtIz4HIy0wWpUwMwBjFnCJllv-7p8nC8ZQZ_9TCed4T76XaqRgQWF-F79Fdm-40RZKLyejkr_jmzY/s2048/Vineyard.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVUZhq3P8aE9TnIdPMbojXb8OGjwcu2AOwBCjtls_66mJWm6Y_dUE5LAMgDh7x6aFpQBIQPx10HTIdkfKKbOL2UpzM-AoKhHeu21PHQBtq3gcpWPtIz4HIy0wWpUwMwBjFnCJllv-7p8nC8ZQZ_9TCed4T76XaqRgQWF-F79Fdm-40RZKLyejkr_jmzY/w200-h150/Vineyard.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Today is Septuagesima Sunday, the 3</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">rd</sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
Sunday before Lent, and our readings lead us to<br /> consider the wondrous truth
that salvation is by God’s grace alone, simply a consequence of His generous,
loving heart.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Which is wonderful.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But ‘Grace Alone’ also comes with an edge,
because, astoundingly, we human beings do not always receive God’s grace well.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We see this in Jesus’ parable about the
workers hired into the Master’s Vineyard at various hours of the day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Good News is the owner’s remarkable
grace, how generous he is with his money.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He freely chooses to pay a full day’s wage to anyone who will come to
work, no matter how late in the day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
Bad News is the entitled greed of the workers hired early in the morning, who
hate seeing others being blessed, want more for themselves, and feel they have
a right to tell the Master what to do with his own money.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">They are so convinced their long hours of
work have earned them a special status with the Owner.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Their pride leads them to demand special recognition,
and even to despise the Master.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Yikes!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> <br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2Oiw0dmic6H18602IPPkSia8R6cuOfElNdKG41817mMs-tFDXmsl01c8XIhHgUOQNlLnXkcI8cLIl7i9Z6nBP4IpzDpPHYOjh17hyphenhyphen9prEPNvboOp6fkhTffxzSsrK4_LvnqxhoAYlj3HN677nqb4-HupOV50Hf99k1a301TXn-WdtmMuWjqi_MR8t0U/s1616/H-36%20Lent%205%20(Jn%208.46-59).tif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1616" data-original-width="1604" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2Oiw0dmic6H18602IPPkSia8R6cuOfElNdKG41817mMs-tFDXmsl01c8XIhHgUOQNlLnXkcI8cLIl7i9Z6nBP4IpzDpPHYOjh17hyphenhyphen9prEPNvboOp6fkhTffxzSsrK4_LvnqxhoAYlj3HN677nqb4-HupOV50Hf99k1a301TXn-WdtmMuWjqi_MR8t0U/w199-h200/H-36%20Lent%205%20(Jn%208.46-59).tif" width="199" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It’s helpful to remember that Jesus is using
the example of a vineyard to talk about the Kingdom of Heaven.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Paying a full day’s wage to workers who only
work one hour at the end of the shift would be a strange way to run a literal
vineyard, here on earth.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But Jesus is
not teaching Mogen David how to run their business.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rather, He speaks of how His Father’s Kingdom
works, and the Kingdom of Heaven runs on grace.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God’s generosity, His desire to bring people into His Kingdom, freely, by
grace, this is the point.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Just to break it down, the vineyard
represents God’s Kingdom.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Master or
Owner is the Lord God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Hiring workers to
come into His vineyard equates to salvation, to sinners being taken out of the
kingdom of Satan, and brought under God’s righteous rule and reign.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Which is a gift, freely given.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That’s grace.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’ve ever been out of work, not sure
how you were going to feed yourself and your family, and then suddenly someone
offers you a good job, then you have an inkling of the relief and joy being
hired can give.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, you have work to do.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But you’re <b><i>IN</i></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have a future; you’re not going to lose
your car or your home, your kids are not going to go hungry, or be forced to
beg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Even more, when God in His grace reaches out
and converts a sinner into a believer by the forgiveness of sins, the only
reasonable response is to thank and praise, serve and obey our gracious Master.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And yet how perverse and unthinkable is our
human foolishness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Sadly, we are all
capable of receiving God’s gifts, and yet grumbling.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Like Israel did, during the Exodus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God’s newly-rescued-from-slavery people were
traveling in the wilderness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God through
mighty signs and miracles had just snatched them from under Pharaoh’s dominion
in Egypt.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This same Lord was leading
them across a wilderness, a barren desert, leading them to a land flowing with
milk and honey, which He promised to make theirs.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Just because.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That’s grace.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But how did the Israelites respond?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Again and again they grumbled.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">They’re in a desert, and they get thirsty.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But instead of a faithful prayer for relief,
they complain and grumble.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">“Why did you
bring us out of Egypt to die of thirst?”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">First pang of hunger, same complaint about starving.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In response, God gave them water from the
rock, and bread from heaven, daily manna, to simply pick up and eat.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But, in time, the Israelites loathed the
manna and complained about it, too.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Did the
Israelites really think that being liberated from the most powerful nation on
earth and transported across a desert to a Promised Land would be totally
smooth and hassle free?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Apparently
so.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Or, maybe they just never stopped to
think about it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Likewise for us: we are on our pilgrimage,
our journey, an Exodus of undetermined length, from this world full of trouble
and strife, headed to our eternal Promised Land.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But the Master is with us, and has already
guaranteed our final victory, as a free gift.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That’s grace.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But should we think
this journey will be all rainbows and unicorns?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We dying sinners have been given new life in Christ, and we have been ‘hired’
by Him to serve in the tasks of His kingdom, until we reach our home.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Now, of course, </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>we</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> would never
let the work we do in the Kingdom make us begrudge other dying sinners.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We would never look down on other Christians,
just because they were rescued and brought into the kingdom later than us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Or would we?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus told His parable for a reason, and the
reason is that yes, we do grumble and complain on the Way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We saved-by-grace sinners do seek status and
special privilege, and demand recognition for our work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see other sinners, like us, but latecomers
to the Vineyard, and we are tempted to demand they know their place and give
deference to us, the earlier workers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
want credit for our work in the kingdom, earthly prestige.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We forget that love of the world and its
glory leads to hatred of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
foolish to despise the One who made and sustains our world, and who is the only
source of true and lasting glory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus
tells the parable of the workers in the vineyard to warn us against swelling
pride and any sense of Christian entitlement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We have what we have by God’s grace alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we get full of ourselves, and are not
corrected, such sinful selfishness could even extinguish our faith, and lead us
to abandon our place in God’s Kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lord have mercy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so we run to Christ, confessing our
sinful pride and foolish self-centeredness, every day, or more often, as
necessary.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And, in His super-abundant
grace, the Savior washes us clean again, and restores our faith.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Alleluia.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And yet it’s not pleasant, to be brought to
repentance, to realize, (by God’s grace), that we have been headed off on our
own path, again, turning our back on God and putting our eternal life in jeopardy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We all do it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so our gracious God has given us Absolution, the Word of Forgiveness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And He’s given us the Holy Supper, as
rock-solid fountains of grace which we can always return to, until He brings us
all the way home.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But it would be nice
to once in a while avoid the whip-saw of falling into terrible sin, and needing
rescue.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We will not entirely escape sin in
this life, but a steadier walk with Jesus would be good.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We need an example to follow.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Where might we find a helpful guide?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Well, to be sure, Jesus is an example for us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">“What would Jesus do?” is a a legitimate
question for Christians.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The problem is,
He is so much better and greater, and many things He </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>would do</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> are
one time things He has </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>already done</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, and we cannot duplicate
them.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">What would Jesus do to solve this
or that problem with human sin?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Well, He
would live a sinless life and then submit to crucifixion, die, and on the third
day rise again, for the salvation of the world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Good News, the very best news.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But
this is not something that we can do.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Might we find some other, less lofty example
for Christian living?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4Qu6ZK7aBLC9Ohg6MdWqQCmSX7lSO9J1spDMf_r4-XZ0NCgfL5s-kMX0FcBL_riIMdg18piD4VZKRKA1Qr9Zg-EMkdmvcKyx7MAoXTnUfMTuac5dv9m61gQwP1FVJylmKCg_K1M51kU81QF8NNG1mEv-93Cwtv5LnhVxu2BgXqPcl87UFdpFBIyVVcc/s275/Donkey%20Side%20View.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4Qu6ZK7aBLC9Ohg6MdWqQCmSX7lSO9J1spDMf_r4-XZ0NCgfL5s-kMX0FcBL_riIMdg18piD4VZKRKA1Qr9Zg-EMkdmvcKyx7MAoXTnUfMTuac5dv9m61gQwP1FVJylmKCg_K1M51kU81QF8NNG1mEv-93Cwtv5LnhVxu2BgXqPcl87UFdpFBIyVVcc/s1600/Donkey%20Side%20View.jpg" width="275" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Well, what about the donkey?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Balaam’s donkey, that is.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We could do a lot worse than to emulate the
example of that little beast.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Our Old Testament reading is set during
Israel’s wandering in the wilderness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Balaam was a sorcerer, a holy-man of a sort, a freelance prophet for
hire.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">An enemy of Israel wanted to hire
Balaam to curse God’s people.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But the
LORD God intervened, instructing Balaam in this transaction, so as to show His almighty
power.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But Balaam’s heart was not in the
right place.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">His eyes were not fully open
to the LORD’s plan.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So, as Balaam
saddled his donkey and went on his way to consult with Israel’s enemy, the
Angel of the Lord came to confront him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As part of this confrontation, God gave the
donkey some marvelous gifts.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Wisdom and
human speech might be the first ones that come to mind.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Who ever heard of a talking donkey?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Outside of the Shrek movies, of course.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The donkey spoke truth and wisdom to his
master, Balaam, who was stubbornly following a path against the Lord’s
will.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The donkey is God’s mouthpiece to
prepare Balaam for repentance and conversion, and so Balaam would do the work
which the LORD prepared for him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Against
the enemy’s will, Balaam was to bless Israel, and not curse them.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Which of course would not please Balaam’s
employer.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God might use you and me in similar ways in
our lives.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Often, when Christians refuse
to do things the world demands because they are evil, suffering comes into our
lives.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Today, many medical
professionals, nurses and doctors, suffer economically, or are even leaving
their field, rather than take part in giving hormone therapy or body-mutilating
surgery to children who think they need to “change” their sex.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And similar examples are multiplying across
our culture.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And yet, it is right there,
in the midst of suffering for refusing evil things, that Christians are given
opportunity to speak God’s truth, as part of His saving plan.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">A wisdom-speaking donkey is great.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But there was also a prior, and more fundamental
gift that God gave the donkey, the gift which we should seek, first, last, and
always.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The donkey was brave to refuse
Balaam’s foolish commands, and was wise to speak the saving truth, because </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>first</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
his eyes had been opened to see the Angel of the Lord standing in the path,
drawn sword in His hand, blocking the way to evil.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This should be our first prayer, that the
Lord would open our eyes, open the eyes of our hearts, to see and trust that
Christ and His angels are with us every day, on the Way, warning us away from
evil destinations, and pointing us to the straight and narrow way that leads to
the Kingdom of Heaven.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, and
knew to obey Him, rather than his earthly master. And, through the donkey’s
actions and words, Balaam was rescued.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Balaam was saved from disobedience, and also given eyes to see the Angel,
and hear His instruction.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">What our grace-filled God did for Balaam
that day long ago in the wilderness, He does every day for you and me.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We might prefer more spectacular revelations
of God’s truth and presence.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Who doesn’t
want to see a talking donkey? </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But, as
St. Peter taught us last week, we have something even more sure.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Even more sure than seeing the glory of
heaven shining from Jesus’ body at the Transfiguration, we have His prophetic
Word, written down and preserved for us in the Bible.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Page after page points us to see and trust in
the super-abundant grace of God, fully revealed and delivered in Christ Jesus,
crucified and resurrected.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We do not have bread from heaven every
morning around our houses to simply pick up and eat, nor water springing from some
rock in the desert.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We have better.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We have the solid meat of God’s inspired
Word, the full story of God’s salvation miracle, given to strengthen our faith
and shape our lives.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We have the flesh
of Christ, and His very blood, in, with and under the bread and wine, the
Gospel we eat and drink for forgiveness, and to gain strength for the journey,
and for doing our tasks.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We have the one
time bath of Baptism, the heavenly washing which endures forever, the hiring
contract of the Spirit, which makes us members and workers in God’s
Kingdom.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">These are God’s means of Grace,
by which He blesses us, today and forever, and through which He prepares us for
service in His Vineyard.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so, let us pray:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">O LORD, you opened the eyes of Balaam’s
donkey to see your Angel and obey Your will.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Through this gift and the suffering it caused the donkey, you revealed
your power and your will to save, as you spoke truth and wisdom through the
mouth of the animal, convicting and preparing Balaam for conversion to faith in
You.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">By your amazing grace, grant us,
Your servants, eyes to see Your ongoing presence and protection in our daily
lives, so that we might ever flee to the means of grace You use to sustain our
faith, and so be prepared to serve in Your Vineyard, according to Your holy
will, through Christ Jesus, our Lord, Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-55554619951280181462024-01-21T16:17:00.000-08:002024-01-21T16:41:29.115-08:00<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The Transfiguration of Our + Lord<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Celebrating the Sanctity of Human Life<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">February 21<sup>st</sup>, Year of Our + Lord 2024<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Hill City and Custer, South Dakota<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">God’s Special Dirt Makes People Special</span></b></h3><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;"><i>Audio of the sermon is available </i><b><a href="https://beyondthesanctuary.podbean.com/e/january-21st-sermon-gods-special-dirt-makes-people-special/" target="_blank">HERE</a></b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">“Moses, Moses, do not come any nearer!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And take your sandals off your feet, for the
place on which you are standing is holy ground.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Thus spoke the LORD God Almighty from the Burning
Bush, revealing why the festival of the Transfiguration of Our + Lord is a most
excellent day to celebrate the sanctity of human life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For it is Jesus, the Angel of the LORD, who
sanctifies, or makes holy, human life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Indeed, He redeems and sanctifies the whole creation, which groaned
under the burden of sin.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus has come
down to our dirty, broken world, and makes it holy ground again.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so we rejoice, and we uphold the value of
every human life, for which Christ Jesus gave His all.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJRjcqIhWov4-ik4Jex8bgpfZjs_meCW8Nn-prZMx77YRez2o4lLo2mXbnYz2Es2fuFc0YjljX9mBeAUIBCnkEkdhARq4J8gIA5itDhKKiE5z7j4uBIZx78Pznu0GFnS5G9WrlaVPdRH8AZdQ440iT7smE9RKsxgJ36Mt1zdZYIWKmp5cYNEWws9quFE/s1000/burning%20bush.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJRjcqIhWov4-ik4Jex8bgpfZjs_meCW8Nn-prZMx77YRez2o4lLo2mXbnYz2Es2fuFc0YjljX9mBeAUIBCnkEkdhARq4J8gIA5itDhKKiE5z7j4uBIZx78Pznu0GFnS5G9WrlaVPdRH8AZdQ440iT7smE9RKsxgJ36Mt1zdZYIWKmp5cYNEWws9quFE/s320/burning%20bush.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Holy ground.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">From the Burning Bush the LORD warned Moses he was standing on<br /> holy
ground.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ground set apart and dedicated
for God’s loving purposes.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Holy
ground.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In Hebrew, </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Adamah Qodesh</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Which is so cool, don’t you think?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It’s been weeks since we’ve learned any
Hebrew, so I’m sure your eager to unpack </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Adamah Qodesh</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> this
morning.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Qodesh</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> is the noun
form of the adjective which the Four Living Creatures sing as they fly around
the throne of the Almighty: <i>Qadosh,
Qadosh, Qadosh</i>, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD God Almighty. <i>Qodesh</i> is a noun, which means the
quality of holiness, of being dedicated, set apart for God’s purpose. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ground in Hebrew is </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">adamah</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And if you’re thinking you hear an echo of a
certain famous someone’s name, you’d be right.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The LORD God formed Adam, the man, from the dust of the </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">adamah</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">,
the ground.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Man was formed from the
ground, </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Adam</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> from the </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">adamah</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God’s fondness for inspiring plays on words in the Bible began already
in Genesis 2, and continues throughout the Good Book.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Angel, or Messenger of the LORD comes
down and occupies the bush on Mt. Horeb, where Moses was tending sheep.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The presence of the Angel makes the bush burn,
but does not consume it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This flaming
mystery served to attract the attention of Moses, to draw him near, in order
that he might hear and deliver the LORD’s message to Pharaoh.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But not too near.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The presence of God’s Messenger made the
ground, the dirt beneath and around that bush, to be holy, special, set apart
for God’s purpose.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And of course anything
taken and used by the LORD will also be made sinless, since He is without
sin.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Holiness includes and presupposes
sinlessness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So the sinner Moses bowed
his head to the ground and took off his sandals.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This Angel, this Messenger of the LORD does
a mysterious thing:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He speaks as God
Himself.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Moses is afraid to look at the
bush, for he is afraid to look at God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Somehow sent from the LORD, and yet also being the LORD, this Messenger
is more fully revealed on the Mount of Transfiguration.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus (whose name, btw,</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">means “the LORD saves”), took Peter, James
and John up on the holy mountain and revealed a bit of the glory that was
hidden within His flesh.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Son of Mary
is the New Adam, the New Man, who is also God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so, from His flesh shines forth glory, the glory which gives light
to heaven.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The glory of God was always
present in the flesh of Jesus, but it was normally hidden.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Lord at the Transfiguration revealed His
glory, for a few moments, to Peter, James and John.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRfjJdnUrie8a8GoYlGqCTdj36UivKvulJYCC7PhxNqRyd7RoP6iCvPsTEiuIp5h7oH-onhTlgDkkVECReZzYrNUeb5UmQnj8uSJw3GDNfRAuywmfyThkpQFds1a1Fh79PLUK43YGyPWITT3dxpeIJU0-qX1kf5s7UYTWApddb1IR1rJLljcPCsfXYY6E/s393/Transfiguration.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRfjJdnUrie8a8GoYlGqCTdj36UivKvulJYCC7PhxNqRyd7RoP6iCvPsTEiuIp5h7oH-onhTlgDkkVECReZzYrNUeb5UmQnj8uSJw3GDNfRAuywmfyThkpQFds1a1Fh79PLUK43YGyPWITT3dxpeIJU0-qX1kf5s7UYTWApddb1IR1rJLljcPCsfXYY6E/s320/Transfiguration.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Transfiguration kicks off Jesus’ march
toward Jerusalem, where He would rescue His people from the dominion of Sin and
Satan.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is much like the encounter
some two millennia earlier, when God met Moses at the Burning Bush, to kick off
the Exodus, God’s rescue of His people Israel from the wicked domination of
Pharaoh.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This similarity makes sense,
since truly, the Exodus and the Passion of Christ are two stages in the same
story, one prophetic and foreshadowing, the other messianic and
fulfilling.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The first shows God’s Way of
restoring His fallen humanity, and the second finishes the project.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Adam, made from the </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">adamah, </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">had
brought curses down, on himself, and every other part of God’s good
creation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The very ground, the </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">adamah</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
from which he was formed, was cursed because of Adam’s sin.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But God loves the ground; He loves His whole
creation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Amazingly, God even loves us,
the sinners who invite all the tribulations and struggles that we see in the
world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The ground is cursed when we sin,
when we abandon God’s holy, special, set-apart will for our lives, and instead
chose our own way, thinking we can live independently from the Creator.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Adam did it first, and we all have naturally
followed in his way.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">By our nature, we
cut ourselves off from the only source of life, the only source of goodness and
love, and make ourselves unholy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Which is the height of foolishness and the
greatest tragedy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For the LORD is the
great I AM.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He is not some petty god,
like Zeus or Thor or Osiris, pretend gods who are subject to error and failure
and defeat.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I AM who I AM, declares God,
the One Being from whom all other beings, all other existence, flows and
depends.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The One Source.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The One True God, who always has been and
always will be.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Our existence, and our
happiness, now and for eternity, depend entirely on Him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Adamah Qodesh, </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">holy ground, is
decidedly good news.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For at the Burning
Bush the Holy, Holy, Holy LORD God Almighty began to show that He is willing to
get down into the dirt, to come down to His own </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">adamah, </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">in order to put
right everything that Adam and Eve, and the rest of us, have made wrong.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The ground re-made holy, as the LORD works to
remake and sanctify fallen humanity.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This glorious truth of God’s complete
commitment to our rescue is revealed on the Mount of Transfiguration.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is who Jesus of Nazareth is: the eternal
Son of God, who entered time and took on flesh from the Virgin Mary.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus came to rescue humankind, by joining
Himself most intimately, and forever, to our race.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Human life has dignity and value simply
because God is our Creator, we are fearfully and wonderfully made.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But even more, we are sanctified, made holy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We have the highest value in God’s eyes,
because Jesus became our Brother.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus
honored our species by becoming one of us: in His humanity, like us in every
way, except without sin, but in His divinity, in His God-ness, utterly higher
and greater, the Source and Author of life, now also a Man, the New Adam.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Transfiguration gives us a special
window into why Christians are “for life.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Every human life has value, is worthy of love and protection, because
Jesus came for every human life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He came
to shed His blood which covers all sin, all the sins of all the people, from
Adam and Eve down to you, and you, and me.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">At the Transfiguration, three of Jesus’
Apostles glimpse Jesus’ glory, which would help them as they followed Jesus on
the long, dark road to Golgotha.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">To be
sure, knowing Jesus held the glory of heaven within His body must have made His
suffering and death that much harder to understand.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But on the third day, glory returns.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus left the Tomb with a glorified
heavenly body, which He revealed now and again, over 40 days, to His chosen Apostles
and disciples, that they be restored and forgiven and empowered to carry His
message of repentance and mercy to the ends of the earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> And so, we Christians live differently. I for one, as an American citizen living on
the ground in 2024, am tempted to depression about the coming year, and the mud
that is sure to fly politically.
Hopefully nothing worse than mud will fly. Our nation and our polity seem frayed and
brittle. Violence between neighbors and nations,
fighting over internet memes and worthless patches of ground, is on the
rise. I pray the Lord will bring us
through this year without major troubles, but I’m not confident that this is
His will. Enough said. I have my worries, and you have yours. But as </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Christians</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, we
know better. The One who revealed His
glory on the Mount and fulfilled His glory on the Cross now rules in heavenly glory,
at the Father’s right hand. The events
in this world are not beyond His control.
We know how this all ends, for each individual believer, and for the
Church in total. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We may suffer.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We may have to live through uncertain and
even dangerous times.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But my future and
your future, the future of Christ’s Church is absolutely secure, secure in the
nail-scarred hands of the New Adam, Jesus our Savior.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Even now He is interceding for us before the
throne of heaven, guaranteeing our future glory, by His victorious reign.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so we Christians lift up our heads.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trusting in the wonderful future that is
ours, we are bold to speak and act and even sacrifice for other human
lives.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Because our life is guaranteed
glorious.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Freed from fear by the Ascended Christ,
Christians also see others with the eyes of Christ, who came to be the Savior
of all.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We learn to value others
specially, selflessly, faithfully.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">To be
sure, loving our fellow man is not always easy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We ourselves are not, on our own account, all that loveable.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But we are not lovely or loveable on our own
account; we are lovely to God, beloved even, because we are joined to Jesus
Christ by Baptismal faith.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And the
Spirit who drew us to Christ is capable and is seeking to draw all men, women
and children to Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so, let’s
pray to the Lord of the harvest to impress us with a bountiful multiplication
of His Church.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Let’s even dare to fight
for life, with truth and love, to fight in the public square, and in our
private lives.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Let us ask God to make us
as innocent as doves and as shrewd as serpents, as we fight against the wolves
who devalue and seek to end innocent lives.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Nineteen months ago, in the Dobbs decision,
the Supreme Court ended the deadly tyranny of a nationalized “right” to
unfettered access to abortion throughout nine months of pregnancy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This was a good thing.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But we should not have been surprised that
the enemies of life have fought back fiercely.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">States with strong pro-death movements are even promoting abortion
tourism.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Human life is still devalued in
much of our society and the world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Abortion is hardly the only threat to the sanctity of human life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The fight has changed, but it goes on, just
as it has since the Garden of Eden.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Sadly, this fight will continue until the Father calls time, and the Son
returns on the clouds in glory.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And precisely because the fight goes on, our
opportunity to be part of God’s rescue continues.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In the midst of death, there is life, because
of Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In the midst of the sometimes
brutal struggle for life, there are always opportunities for the Holy Spirit to
use our words, our confession of Christ and His glorious love for life, to
convert our enemies, to bind up the broken-hearted, to give new life and joy to
the hopeless.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so, God grant that we Christians
continue to be about the work of loving life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We are eternally optimistic because Jesus is risen and reigns on
high.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We are continually compassionate,
because God has poured out His compassion on us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We are hopeful in the midst of troubles,
because in Jesus, we have perfect hope.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As Peter, James and John hid their faces on
the holy ground of the Mount of Transfiguration, they received strength for
their journey, through their glimpse of Jesus’ hidden glory.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That was great.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But, as Peter writes, we have something more
sure, the prophetic Word, the Holy Scripture, which tells the finished story of
Jesus’ victory.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This prophetic Word, the
Word of Christ, has the power to save.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In His Word and in His life, Jesus has
declared us holy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Today, He continues to
make the dusty ground of this troubled world to be holy, wherever and whenever
His Gospel is spoken, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit, Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-1145137988538653032024-01-14T13:02:00.000-08:002024-01-14T13:02:27.299-08:00Seeking God's Glory, Rightly - Sermon for the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany<h2 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><a name="_Hlk155869345"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The Second Sunday after
Epiphany <br /></span></b></a><a name="_Hlk155869345"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">January 14<sup>th</sup>, A+D 2024<br /></span></b></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer
Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Hill City and Custer, SD<br /></span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Seeking</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> the Glory of God,
Rightly <br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Amos 9:11-15 and John 1:43 - 2:11</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Episode Audio available <b><a href="https://beyondthesanctuary.podbean.com/e/january-14th-sermon-seeking-god-s-glory-rightly/" target="_blank">HERE</a></b>.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wine can be glorious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or, it can be a problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wine can be a problem, but that sure isn’t
how the Holy Spirit tends to speak about wine in the Bible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much to the dismay of some of my Baptist
friends, a close reading of Scripture will reveal that for every passage which
warns against abusing wine, there are three others in which God speaks about
joy and paradise and eternal salvation through the language of enjoying good
wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFHR3wxh6geVTT1ckSeExzSxFEnZ2oUFRuITE-ZhKZZoh6k9pQDtgOao9Bk5TPGQMKP6ZITrU4G3lGUOO5Ybu38ysh_09MrJ6u0iL_0euQNfHiKU3PiQSUOdfnx8i8UDq-ja_AdIttu-eKMvZn4FM0d_qD20RXgj-2QeWRWUq5lG8clSy_yR7ena1vYs/s2048/Vineyard.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFHR3wxh6geVTT1ckSeExzSxFEnZ2oUFRuITE-ZhKZZoh6k9pQDtgOao9Bk5TPGQMKP6ZITrU4G3lGUOO5Ybu38ysh_09MrJ6u0iL_0euQNfHiKU3PiQSUOdfnx8i8UDq-ja_AdIttu-eKMvZn4FM0d_qD20RXgj-2QeWRWUq5lG8clSy_yR7ena1vYs/s320/Vineyard.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As in our reading from Amos this morning: </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">“Behold, the days are coming,”
declares the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>, “when the
plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows the
seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with
it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That sounds like a lot of vino!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or consider our Gospel, in which Jesus
manifested His glory, revealing just how great life with Him would be, by
producing gallons and gallons of the best wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Wine can be a problem, because </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">we</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> do not always handle it well. The nature of a sinner is that we are capable
and sadly prone to abusing the good gifts which God gives us. But our frailty and perverseness do not
change the goodness of God’s gifts. The
Lord’s desire is to have us with Him forever, “rejoicing with exceedingly great
joy.” A celebration, a super party, if I
dare use the term. Rich food, even a
feast of fats, and wonderful wine, these are among the good gifts mentioned
again and again when the Bible describes God’s eternal celebration. God the Father is the host of the heavenly
wedding feast, </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">and</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">
He is the cheerful Giver of every good gift in this world, despite our tendency
to misuse them. Our sin cannot change
the essential goodness of God, nor of His gifts. And so, the believer’s desire to enjoy God’s
gifts, even to enjoy His glory, isn’t essentially wrong, no matter how prone we
are to mess it all up. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> Moses gave us one famous example of the </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">right</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> way to seek the highest, most glorious gifts
of God, without sinning. In Exodus
chapter 33, Moses expresses his desire to see God’s glory, to see His unveiled
face. Moses spoke with God face to face,
but there was always something that shrouded God’s presence: a pillar of fire,
a pillar of cloud, etc. Moses wanted to
see God’s </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">full</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">
glory, to see His face directly. Which
is the right goal to have, because it is God’s goal that we bask in His glory,
in heaven, before His throne, forever and ever. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">All in God’s good timing.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">But, Moses didn’t want to wait.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">However, and this is crucial, Moses made his
request with humility, and in obedience: “Please show me your glory.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">The LORD went on to explain this could not
be, no sinful man could see God’s face and live.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">But God would tuck Moses into a cleft in the
rock, and then let him see all His goodness pass by.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Finally, He would let Him see His back.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Which is all pretty glorious, by earthly
standards, even though not the full glory of the LORD God Almighty.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Moses, in faith and submission, sought a
wonderful thing.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">He did not receive his
precise request, because he couldn’t, not yet.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">But God was happy to give Moses a very great gift.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">The examples of God’s people pursuing God’s
good gifts in wrong ways are too numerous to count.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">The men of Babel ignored God’s instruction to
fill the earth, and instead tried to gather everyone into one mega-city, where
they would make a name for themselves by building a tower into heaven.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Getting into heaven and having a good name
are both worthy goals, but neither can be a do-it-yourself project for
sinners.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any name we make for ourself, however
impressive it may seem to our friends and neighbors, is stained by our sinful
thoughts, words and deeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we try to
force our way into God’s glorious presence, that will not end well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, to protect mankind from mankind’s
misguided desires, God came down and confused their languages, forcing them to
abandon their tower and scatter around to fill the earth, as the LORD had
instructed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> Abraham and Sarah desired the fulfillment of
God’s promise that they would have a child, despite their old age. But they doubted that God could </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">really</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> make this happen, since Sarah had been unable
to have children her whole life, and now she was old. So, Sarah gave Abraham her maid Hagar as a
concubine, and Abraham agreed. They
thought Hagar could have a child who would somehow truly be Sarah’s. Their surrogate mommy plan didn’t work out so
well. Sarah became intensely jealous and
spiteful to Hagar and her baby. Their
plan brought strife and pain into the family, not promise. And yet, despite their faithlessness and sin,
God did not abandon His promise. By
God’s grace, Sarah </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">did</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">
conceive and bear a child, the old-fashioned way, with Abraham. In joyful laughter, they received the
promised son, Isaac, through whom the People of God and the Savior of the world
would come. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> Tamar’s desire to have a baby was also good. She was the daughter-in-law of Judah, Abraham’s
great-grandson. She was also twice a
widow, of Judah’s two oldest sons, both of whom were evil, worthless men, and the
LORD put them to death. Tamar was
frustrated that Judah didn’t follow through on his obligation and promise to
give her his third son as a husband, and so she was left childless. Tamar </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">had</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> been wronged.
But her method of achieving the noble and wonderful goal of motherhood
left quite a bit to be desired. She took
advantage of Judah’s sinful nature, disguised herself as a prostitute, and
became pregnant by Judah. Both Judah and
Tamar failed to live out their sexuality as God intended. It’s all a terrible mess. But here’s the crazy thing. God did </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">not</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> approve of their sin. Nevertheless, He overcame their sin and gave
Tamar not just one child, but twins.
From one of them, Perez, the human lineage of the Messiah would
flow. Tamar too, along with Judah, is an
ancestor of Jesus our Savior. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">The first human king of Israel, King Saul,
sought the blessing of the LORD before entering into battle.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">But Saul was impatient, and did not follow
God’s instruction to wait for Samuel the Prophet to come and make the offering
to the LORD.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Saul sought a good thing,
the blessing of the LORD upon the armies of Israel.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">But he did not do things the way the LORD had
instructed.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Even though Samuel had told
him to wait, Saul made the sacrifice himself, taking upon himself an office and
a task the LORD had not bestowed.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Saul
showed his lack of faith, and the LORD withdrew His favor from him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">He instead chose David, a man after God’s own
heart, to replace him on the throne of Israel.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Sadly, there seem to be far more examples of
God’s people pursuing good things in an ungodly way than there are of the
faithful pursuit of God’s blessings.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">This is true in the Bible, and if you look around, in our lives as
well.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">And even still, despite what we
have earned again and again by our “do it my own way” approach to Christian
living, God does not and will not abandon His promises.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Nor will God discard a good thing, just
because we sinners abuse it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">God grant
that we trust His promises, and also grant that we arrange our daily lives in
keeping with His good plan and provision.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">In our daily lives, we are free to pursue
good gifts, but always with the greater gifts first in our minds.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Pursuing God’s good gifts, be they children
or a good living to support your family, or a fine bottle of wine to enjoy with
a special meal, such pursuit is good and right for Christians.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">But, we are called to pursue these good gifts
only in ways that are in keeping with God’s Way, His Order, His Plan.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">A few examples:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">We rejoice to come to God’s house and be
treated kindly and graciously by our Good Shepherd.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Violence and coercion are fruit of the Fall
into Sin.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">God is love, and, while He has
battled fiercely to defeat the power of Satan, He does not coerce us, or
mistreat us, despite what our sins deserve.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Then we are sent out to make our way in the world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">If we who gather to receive the mercy of God
turn around during the week and speak harshly, deal cruelly, and make our way
by brutality and force of will, our witness is not Christian.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Jesus said: They will know you are Christians
by your love.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">If instead to get by we seek
to dominate, and give scorn and insult, then who are we, really?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">To pursue a good income, a good salary, but
to do so by working and dealing in a less than honest way, is an insult to God,
who placed His good name upon you in your Baptism.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> To support your family by working hard, or
to seek some recreation together out in God’s creation, both of these are fine
and good. But not if work or play end up
keeping you or your loved ones away from the services of God’s house. For it is </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">here, among God’s gathered people, </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">that
God has promised to come and distribute His greatest gifts: forgiveness and new
life in Christ. Here is where God
invites you to approach His glory. A
rich earthly inheritance or a thousand vacation photos will mean nothing to you
or your loved ones, if in getting them you cut yourselves off from the
inheritance Christ has for you in God’s eternal glory. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">And don’t get me started about Christians
who say they can just read their Bible at home, that they don’t need to be part
of a Christian congregation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Jesus makes
us members of His Body when He saves us, and the Body of Christ is the
Church.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Obstacles may sometimes prevent
some Christians from regular Church attendance, others end up entirely unable
to attend.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">But other people stay away
because they find gathering with God’s people, (a bunch of sinners), to be distasteful
or tedious.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">They prefer to go it
alone.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">When I get the chance, I always
ask such people where in the Bible they heard God commending this idea of
“lone-wolf” Christianity.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Spoiler alert,
it’s not in there.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Thinking our faith can survive just fine,
while we despise gathering with our local congregation, or while we live in an
un-Christian manner, these are dangerous ideas.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Such thinking and living can easily morph into an idol, a self-made
religion that twists God’s Truth, eventually twisting it into a lie that cuts
one off from Christ.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Oof.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Heavy stuff.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Between all the bad
examples in Scripture and the frailty of us Christians today, it’s a good thing
we have the examples of Nathanael and Mary to bookend with Moses’ good example
that we started with.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Because Nathanael
and Mary both help us understand how we are to seek God’s good and glorious gifts,
and also give us a window into the unrelenting will and drive of God to deliver
on His Promises.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">I always wonder what Nathanael might have
been thinking about while he sat under that fig tree.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">His conversion is amazing.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">One moment he doubts anything good could come
from Nazareth, and the next he declares Jesus to be the Messiah and the Son of
God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">And his conversion seems to be
triggered by a fairly minor miracle, that Jesus “saw” him under the fig
tree.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Was there something about
Nathanael’s thoughts under that fig tree, some message from the Holy Spirit, which
prepared him for a sudden conversion to faith at Jesus’ words?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">St. John doesn’t tell us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">But Jesus does promise Nathanael much greater
visions of God’s glory, and takes him along to the wedding at Cana, where He
began to manifest, to reveal His glory, through the miracle of water made
wine.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">And Nathanael demonstrates how a
true Israelite, a true believer, lives: he follows Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">He accepts the simple invitation to “come and
see,” and then he follows Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">(BTW,
that’s not a bad outreach plan.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">We could
simply invite skeptical people to “come and see” Jesus, coming into our midst through
His Word and Sacrament, and then we can pray and encourage and trust that Jesus,
through His word, will make them His followers, new disciples.)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Finally, there’s Mary.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Because she knows the great things the Lord
had done for her, she trusted in His goodness and power to help anyone with
anything.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Her heart goes out to the
newlyweds at Cana, who will suffer public embarrassment if more wine is not quickly
found for their wedding banquet.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">She
does not tell her Son what to do, but simply presents the problem to Him, and
waits.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Jesus, for some reason that would
require a whole other sermon, tells her the request is badly timed.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">But God loves to give, to help, and Mary
knows this.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">So she tells the servants,
literally the deacons, to do whatever Jesus tells them.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">And what do we learn?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">First, God is love, and as His disciples, we
are free to ask Him for big things and small things, trusting that whatever
form His answer takes, it will be the best.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Jesus’ answer will be glorious, a little window into the future glory
that Jesus is preparing for all true Israelites, all His true believers, all His
Christians.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Second, in the day to day, we are wise to
listen to Mary and do what Jesus tells us to do, even if it seems foolish or
impossible.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Fill six big jars to the
brim with water?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Why?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Stick with my husband or my wife, despite all
the challenges?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Can there really be lasting
joy in marriage?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Gather to hear some
feeble preacher speak God’s Word, and then kneel to eat and drink a bit of
stale bread and a sip of sweet wine?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">How
can that do anything?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Dare to simply
invite people to “come and see Jesus?”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">How could that ever make a difference?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> These seemingly foolish things make </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">all</span></i></b></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> the difference. They are joyful and glorious, because through
them, Jesus chooses to manifest His glory.
Through them, Jesus draws our eyes up and away from our worries and foolish
pursuits, and fixes our eyes on the culmination of Jesus’ glorious ministry. Which, to our great surprise, was revealed on
a Roman Cross. High and lifted up, the
despised and dying Jesus was in truth finishing the way for us to access God’s
glory. And so, it is finished. In Christ crucified, eyes of faith can
finally see the face of God, loving sinners, unto forgiveness, resurrection,
and eternal life. In, with and under the
Bread and Wine, eyes of faith know that at this Table, Christ feeds us with the
Good News of His glorious forgiveness and salvation. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155869345;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected, is
the glory of Israel, the Promised descendent of Abraham, Sarah, Tamar, Judah
and King David.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">Look to Him, trust in
Him, follow His Word, day by day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;">And
the Peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus, unto life everlasting, Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-25309753434907761452023-12-31T13:00:00.000-08:002023-12-31T13:00:43.410-08:00My name is Simeon, and I rest in Peace - Sermon for the 1st Sunday after Christmas<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">First Sunday after Christmas, December 31<sup>st</sup>, A + D 2023<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Custer and Hill City, South Dakota<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My name is Simeon, and I rest in Peace - Luke 2:22-40<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><a href="https://beyondthesanctuary.podbean.com/e/december-31st-sermon-my-name-is-simeon-and-i-rest-in-peace/?token=c7d9fe7a51170e6ce62cad4f6f304830" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Podcast
Link</span></a></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Merry Christmas! </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How nice to be here with
you today! As always, it is a pleasure to gather around Christ Jesus, the
Anointed of the Lord, the Savior of the world, and the Glory of Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9S-1O2MYa8WwbLvFU66K7lOODUznCDNtwCBFU3spBk9zVFOo5o4RU0tdhTlbEsVD7fXsixMqZ226F6mRiw2hsjtDs_jxT04XkqkrTCPaU_WuJoYQfW7Icgo6ebNbAO6uzuvXGtB7WgQm9u4opkotrTceY13oMaKyp9vREXbEe9vOrhiVCgmM7I2ZEJlc/s1524/B-12%20Christmas%20Dawn%20(Lu%202.15-20).tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1509" data-original-width="1524" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9S-1O2MYa8WwbLvFU66K7lOODUznCDNtwCBFU3spBk9zVFOo5o4RU0tdhTlbEsVD7fXsixMqZ226F6mRiw2hsjtDs_jxT04XkqkrTCPaU_WuJoYQfW7Icgo6ebNbAO6uzuvXGtB7WgQm9u4opkotrTceY13oMaKyp9vREXbEe9vOrhiVCgmM7I2ZEJlc/s320/B-12%20Christmas%20Dawn%20(Lu%202.15-20).tif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">My name is
Simeon. Yes, </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>that</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Simeon.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was in the Temple when the Holy Family came to perform<br /> everything
according to the Law of Moses. My fame, thanks to Saint Luke, comes from
the blessing of having been in the presence of Christ, of holding Him in my
arms, when He was just 40 days old.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
was the fulfillment of a promise I received from the Holy Spirit, that I would
not see death before seeing the LORD’s Christ. Oh, how I looked forward
to that day, so eager to see the Savior, and then leave this life, in peace and
joy. </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I know this makes me unique, very blessed by
what the Lord promised and did for me. But I was not the only one waiting
for the promised Messiah. Waiting for the Savior was what it meant to be a
faithful Jew. Have you ever noticed the fascination we Israelites had to
maintain genealogies? Already in Genesis 5:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">At thirty, Adam fathered Seth. And Seth
lived a hundred and five years, and begat Enosh. And Enosh lived ninety
years, and begat Kenan, and on and on it goes.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But why? Why was it so important for us to remember our ancestors
and the generations?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Certainly it is important to honor ancestors,
simply because we come from them, because the Lord God worked through them to
give us our existence.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But the main reason
for Israel’s fascination with genealogies was always </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>THE</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Descendant,
the promised Seed of the woman, who would crush the serpent’s head.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Later, Eve’s Seed was further revealed </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">to be the Seed of Abraham, the Promised Savior
of God, who would come to correct, to recreate, all that was shattered by sin.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We Jews tracked our genealogy in search of
the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed Savior sent from God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Through the centuries, through the birth of
generation after generation, we finally arrived at the Virgin Mary, chosen by
God to be the mother of the Christ, the mother of the Son of God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">There’s another thing I want to explain. Luke
in his Gospel calls me righteous and devout, a godly man.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">And so it was, and so I am. But don't
misunderstand, my righteousness was not my achievement. I was not always
perfectly patient. I did not always wait faithfully, without doubt or
error in my thinking and hoping. I was a sinner, like all the others.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">If not, I would not have been waiting for a
Savior. I was righteous and godly by way of my faith, the faith that the
Lord gave me, my trust in His Promise.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The difference between salvation in the
Old and New Testaments, between the time before Christ and after, has only to
do with timing, and the fulfillment and revelation of the Divine Plan. Whether
we walk this earth before, during or after the life and ministry of Jesus,
salvation is found, and has always been found, in Christ alone.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">As it was for Abraham, and for Mary, as for
you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The fact that I am just and pious
is entirely the consequence of God's work for this sinner, granting forgiveness
and new life to me, for Jesus’ sake. Like He does for you. Luke
makes me seem exceptional, but by my own works and holiness, I was nothing
special.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Uniquely blessed, yes. But
I am who I am, a sinner declared to be just and devout, only by the grace, love
and action of God. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The truth is, it was
difficult to wait, difficult to maintain a good attitude. I mean, there
were so many distractions, and temptations, that the devil tried to use to
divert me from the path of faith. In the first century, we Jews, or
Judahites, the leading tribe of God’s Chosen People, were living under the control
of the Romans.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">And don’t be fooled by
the famous name for that time: the Pax Romana.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Things were generally peaceful, true.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But that peace was always and only maintained
at the point of a Legionnaire’s spear.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Besides having Roman
overlords, Greek philosophies had infected our religion. Many Jews doubted
or even denied basic teachings of Moses, especially concerning the promise of
life after death.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our Temple in
Jerusalem had been rebuilt by the wicked King Herod, certainly no man of
faith. We had not heard the voice of a new prophet for 400 years.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">There were so many reasons to doubt God’s
promises, to believe in something different. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is it still the same for
you? Is it easy to continue on the path of Christ?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Or do you have distractions and temptations,
philosophies contrary to faith, or different attractive religions surrounding
you? I suspect it remains the same today.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Even after 2,000 years, I suppose that following in the Way of Christ is
still a continuous struggle. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, let me say this, as
an encouragement to you:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, as then,
focusing on Jesus Christ and hearing His voice is the key, because He is the
source of all love and wisdom, of true righteousness and piety. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">From the fountain of
Christ’s Word I drank, and I continued on the road.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I kept hearing and reading the many promises
of the Messiah, and then I prayed and watched and waited for His Advent.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Through the habits of my parents, and their
parents, all the way back to Abraham, through a habit of hearing the Word and
walking in the traditions that God gave us through Moses, my faith
survived. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">So, there I was, waiting
for a special, exceptional promise, the opportunity to see the Son of God, born
of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so
that we could receive adoption as sons, heirs of God’s kingdom. How
strange and tremendous it was, to have </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>that</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Child in my hands, a helpless
baby, who, I knew, was also the very LORD God Almighty, made to be a human. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">What a great moment for an
old man. I was ready to leave the fight of this life; I didn't really
want to continue. But in that moment, as I hugged the Infant Jesus, I
realized that, although tired of life, I did not so much care anymore whether I
lived or died.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">With the Author of Life
in my arms, I understood that Christ is my all in all, whether I live and
continue on in this broken world, or whether I die and leave all tears behind.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">With Christ, both were and are wonderful
options.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbCxVpMvplGTniSKFRRIPjl6DWZYBqNJfLgLOlOHftlDnWD3DZWW4DV3G0S_se2MWeOGMxUFq50_jj81WXBaII5K1gyf4WySr1HgLN7Xu_fOpiwBSRWT6RJV8zPraHihYC_mZeNwYbzpNHIZC1HnraqARPyWEzq8PobVK_OJ5HoiVdfQEI4EDBjMJbzE/s1544/F-15%20Nativity%20of%20St.%20John%20(Lu%201.57-67).tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1544" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbCxVpMvplGTniSKFRRIPjl6DWZYBqNJfLgLOlOHftlDnWD3DZWW4DV3G0S_se2MWeOGMxUFq50_jj81WXBaII5K1gyf4WySr1HgLN7Xu_fOpiwBSRWT6RJV8zPraHihYC_mZeNwYbzpNHIZC1HnraqARPyWEzq8PobVK_OJ5HoiVdfQEI4EDBjMJbzE/s320/F-15%20Nativity%20of%20St.%20John%20(Lu%201.57-67).tif" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Of course, the only suitable preparation for
death is to find and know the Christ, or rather, to be found and known by Him.
Which was my blessing.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I do not want to suggest
that other faithful souls who never had the opportunity to see and touch Jesus
are not saved.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Spirit does his work,
in many different situations. From Adam and Eve to my day, no one saw the
Christ, but God saved many. But it is better, much better, to have more
tangible evidence. Like the concrete, tangible evidence I held in my
arms.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">And so I sang with great joy:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now Lord, you dismiss your servant in peace
...</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was ready, resting in peace,
and trust. But that day was not without sadness. The Word I received
to proclaim, with all its joy, also had a sharp and painful side, which I proclaimed
to Mary. Jesus' saving ministry was not going to be a quiet or gentle
project. Quite the opposite.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">That
Child was set forth by His Father for the fall and for the rising of many in
Israel, and to be a sign that would be opposed by many. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The false ideas that had
infected Judaism would not give up their position of power without a battle.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus was going to suffer a lot accomplishing
His mission. And through His suffering, a sword came for the soul of
Mary, and for every person who knew and received the love of Jesus Christ, and
then lived to see His Passion, the sword of watching this Child suffer
unjustly, in order to give liberation and life to all. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This was the painful truth
for Mary, and Joseph, and all the faithful. There was no other way to
achieve the salvation of men. And the saddest part is that Christ
suffered not only for the sin of others, but also for my sin. Even though
God declared me to be righteous and godly by faith in His Son, the knowledge
that Christ also suffered for my sins gives me pain.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Even Mary, most blessed among all women, had
to face the fact that, in order to be her Savior, her Son would also
suffer for her sin.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But through
suffering, God brings restoration, relief, and eternal renewal.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Those days were spectacular,
intense, unique. For my part, the euphoria of knowing that the work was
under way washed away all the pain. And the life, death and resurrection
of Mary’s Child is clearly the most important event in history, including for
unbelievers and enemies of Christ and His Church. It is no small thing
that the “before and after” of Jesus Christ still determines the global
calendar.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The world can say “Common Era”
instead of “Year of Our + Lord” all it wants.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But Jesus is what makes the era “common,” for He came to be the Savior
of all mankind.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is also good that
there are still so many observations of this season. Yes, I understand
that many people celebrate Christmas but avoid the essential part, the meaning
and real importance of the Birth of Jesus Christ. Don't worry too much
about that.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It was the same or worse in
my day; the world naturally seeks to ignore and denigrate God and His
work.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But there is no earthly power that
can stop God's plan in Christ, and so whenever His Name is spoken, there comes an
opportunity that another sinner will truly hear. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yes, it was spectacular to
have the Son of God in my arms, an unforgettable moment.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But in a very important way, you have it
better today. I was still waiting for the consummation of His
mission. The Cross and Empty Tomb were still 30 some years away.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But you live in the Resurrection.
Today.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The sword has already pierced the
soul, because the blow of Divine Justice has been absorbed, and the obstacle to
our salvation has been reduced to nothing. Now, today, even though you
cannot embrace the child Jesus, He has embraced you, with glorious nailed-scarred
hands. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The risen Lord has united
you to Himself in your Baptism. You wear Christ as your robe of
righteousness, your baptismal dress, that makes you a worthy guest at the
eternal wedding feast. Today you are invited to receive His true Body and
Blood, in, with, and under the bread and wine, invited to eat and drink the
forgiveness of sins.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Until the new
heavens and new earth are revealed, there is no more intimate connection with
the Lord. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">One more thing. I know
that my song, that is, the song the Spirit gave me, has been sung from the
beginning of the New Testament Church.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">For
centuries and centuries it has been chanted as the faithful enter the night.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have always loved that.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But I really like what you Lutheran
Christians did a hundred and fifty years ago, in your liturgy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is very fitting how you sing my song at
the end of the Sacrament.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">How perfect to
sing of seeing the salvation and glory of the Lord hidden in a very humble Supper,
because Christ is there. This is so much like the Lord Jesus, to hide His
glory under seemingly weak and common things. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thank you for the
opportunity to talk with you a little today. I know you will sing my song
in a few minutes, after the Supper.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But
maybe we could sing it again now, together, an old man and the people of God,
rejoicing in the Savior, who has come to save us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sing it with me.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">If you need the words or music, they are on
page 199 of your hymnal. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lord, now lettest Thou thy servant...</span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-77566550615680064482023-12-26T16:29:00.000-08:002023-12-26T16:32:42.730-08:00The Mystery of the Word - Sermon for Christmas Day<h3 style="text-align: left;"> <b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Christmas Day, Year of Our + Lord<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Our Redeemer Lutheran
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Church<br /></st1:placetype></span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><st1:placetype w:st="on">C</st1:placetype>uster, South Dakota<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Mystery of the Word <br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">John 1:1 and 1:14</span></b></h3><div><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Audio of Sermon available <a href="https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-bx6mp-1534256" target="_blank">HERE</a></i></span></span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among
us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full
of grace and truth.</span></i></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Words are all around us.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We can communicate without words, to a </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">certain</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> extent.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But for me to really get my point across will
normally take words.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For us to truly
understand each other will require a conversation.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We need words.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Manipulating words is the lifeblood of human
society.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In our information age, images clamor
to displace words, but they cannot.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Images
flicker and distract, but gain much more power combined with words.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Words still retain their importance.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We can speak with people all over the world,
instantly, from our homes on our computer, or from anywhere we are close to a
cell tower.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We can send and receive
words, written and spoken, over radio waves, to be produced on a printer in the
next room, or to be heard on another continent, or to be seen on a million
different screens, all at the same time.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And these new communication medium carry real information.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It’s tremendous, if you stop to consider it a
bit.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Of course, plain old human speech is just
as amazing.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I pass air over vibrating
cords in my throat, and then shape the resulting waves with my mouth.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They pass through air, and if those waves hit
your ears, you hear sounds that mean something.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Something that my mind intends.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Something that may well cause you to react in the way I want you to
react.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">My greeting may elicit your
smile, my warning may make you duck, my question may make you answer.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Words are powerful.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Words have even more power when they are
set to music.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The music is most people’s
favorite part of Christmas services, for good reason.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Music carries a message of its own.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Just hearing the first four notes of Silent
Night can bring about a change in our physical posture and mood.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We will choose our music carefully, if we are
wise, for when music is joined skillfully with words, hearts can be warmed, or
they can be hardened.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Beliefs can be confirmed,
or destroyed.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Emotions are aroused
without our consent, and the words you hear stay with you longer because of the
music that carries them.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">True words set
to a memorable and fitting melody bless us.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They can be the Spirit’s means to save a soul.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We don't have to look far to see that
words are powerful.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is harder to
understand is how this is so.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">How is it
that sound waves, electrical charges running down a wire, radio waves, and
patterns printed on a page, how is it these mediums can convey specific
meaning, meaning that guides people's actions and shapes our lives?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Words and communication are so common that we
may not ever stop to think about how they do what they do.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If we do stop to ponder, we quickly realize
that the how and why of words are deep mysteries.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But we do not often stop to ponder, perhaps
because we are drowning in a sea of voices.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Waves of words constantly washing over us, deafening our ears and
blurring our eyes.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Words that sell,
words that excite, or frighten, or entertain.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A kind word can lighten our burden.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But so often it is a pretense for manipulating words to come, so we
learn to be on our guard.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We all know
how kind words can be cynical emotional preparation to make us susceptible to
the coming sales pitch or political mantra.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The mystery of communication, one of the highest gifts of God to
humanity, so often gets debased to mere marketing for someone else’s campaign
to get ahead, or make a few extra bucks.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> <i>God.</i> Now this is a different word. A special word. The Greek behind it is logos, and it does
mean word. But logos is a deep word, it means
a lot more. In Spanish this word from
the beginning of John's Gospel is translated Verbo, that is verb, action word. That captures another aspect of logos. The meaning of Logos is very deep: Word, Idea, Intelligence, True Statement that
establishes Truth, Reality. The Action
word. The Logos is the Mind of God, the
thinking that is behind everything else, the whole universe. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> John teaches us that the Logos, the Word,
which is God, is the source of power for every other word. The Word that is from the beginning is the Truth
from which every other truth proceeds.
The reason we earthly creatures cannot fully understand how words can do
what they do in our world is that their source is not of this world. The source of all words is God, the Creator
and Sustainer of this world. <i>F</i></span><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">or in Him we live
and move and have our being</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. Our ability to use words comes from Him. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Words can be used to build up and comfort,
or to tear down and depress.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Words can
be kind, or brutal.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So during this
season of Peace on Earth, we normally all agree to do our best and make this
Christmas a good one, which mostly means minding our tongues.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We dedicate ourselves to serving each other with
our words, and deeds, to finding joy in this life, at least for a little while.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We may even accomplish a happy holiday.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But God wants more for us.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;"> </i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And
so</span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">, the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Christmas is the
arrival of God's Word, Jesus Christ, the message of love sent from God, not in speech,
not in a letter, e-mail, text or meme, but in a Baby.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Words spoken into the air or sent over the
Internet can change things.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But the
change that God desires takes more than what human words can accomplish.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So God's Word became a human.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Our words and actions can make things
better, or worse, they can ruin or cheer the holiday.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But what we cannot accomplish with our words
to to make a Holy Day.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">This is why the
Word became flesh, not to give us a brief bright spot in darkest time of the
year, but rather to make holy that which has become profane.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">To create a new day of lasting peace found in
a sure and certain hope.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We can watch what we say and do all we
want, and we should.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But true holiness
in word and action is beyond our ability.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And yet holiness, purity of thought, word and deed, this is what God
wants for us.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So, the Holy Word of God
became flesh, the eternal Son of the eternal Father became an infant, poor and
lowly, in order to </span><b style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>be</i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> God's message of love to the world.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Logos, God’s message, </span><b style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>that</i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
Word, made flesh, invites us to stop listening to other voices.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Those other voices of the world offer all
kinds of solutions and distractions.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Many worldly words promise that we can find holiness and happiness by
our own striving after God.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Other
voices, having crashed into the brick wall of that lie, run in the opposite
direction.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">These words declare that
holiness and goodness are just ideas made up by people, people trying to
control you.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They say holiness and
goodness are human inventions without real meaning.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Material success in this material world is
all that matters.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A tempting
life-philosophy, but in the end, it is a screen, hiding another brick wall,
ready to crumple all who pursue this lie.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Of course, sometimes, most of the time,
the noise does not pretend to offer any profound truth.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Much of the time, the world just drones on.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In this droning lies an implicit admission that
nothing being said has any lasting meaning or value.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But no matter, the noise drones on, in an all
too effective attempt to keep us numbly paying attention, so we don’t stop and
consider how pitiful our conversations are.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The droning distracts us from bitter truths, and flashing and flickering
images help to keep our eyes and ears tuned into the meaningless banter.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And so it prevents us from hearing God’s better
Word, the Logos, that first spoke to us through the cries of a Baby.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God in Christ invites us to stop listening
to the droning, to stop listening to everybody else.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Stop and listen to Jesus, the Word made
flesh.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For the cry of the Baby in the
manger carries more power than all the words of wisdom in the world.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He cries out: here is wisdom, here is life,
here is joy, in this male child, who already in the first days of His life was
taking the sins and sorrows of all humanity onto Himself.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">This is the glory revealed in the Word made
flesh, the glory of the Cross, where Jesus proved the wonder of His love, and
glory of the Resurrection, where Jesus' victory is revealed to be your
victory.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Cry of the Christ means
sins forgiven, and new life with God, by the power of the Holy Spirit.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So many souls dismiss this Cry, this Word
of pardon and peace.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But our dismissal
or disregard do not change what God has said, what He has done.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The completed work of the Christ Child, the
Logos, the Word made flesh, His loving and forgiving victory is reality, the
highest reality.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And that reality, that
meaning, is God’s gift, for you.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Word that had to come in the flesh to
be the Savior still comes to you in more than just sound waves.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He comes in the water, washing away sins,
giving new birth.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He comes under the
bread and wine, in His Body and Blood, given and shed to set you free.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He comes, and declares your sins are
forgiven.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Holiness and never-ending happiness
are yours, in the Word made flesh.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Of
the Father’s love begotten, ere the worlds were made to be, Infant Holy, Infant
Holy, David’s Son and David’s Lord, Oh come let us adore Him, Jesus Christ the
Lord.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Amen.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-63554786377221231402023-12-24T12:35:00.000-08:002023-12-24T12:35:47.657-08:00The Reign and Rain of Righteousness - Sermon for the 4th Sunday in Advent, Dec. 24th, A+D 2023<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Fourth Sunday of
Advent<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">December 24<sup>th</sup>,
Anno + Domini 2023 <br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Our Savior’s and
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Hill City and
Custer, South Dakota<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Reign and Rain
of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Righteousness – Isaiah 45:8, John
1:19-28</span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">Podcast of the Sermon available <a href="https://beyondthesanctuary.podbean.com/e/december-24th-sermon-the-reign-and-rain-of-righteousness/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rorate Coeli!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the
clouds rain down righteousness, that salvation and righteousness may bear
fruit!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The anticipation of the Advent season
nears fulfillment.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Christmas is almost
here.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Have your longed for loved ones
arrived?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Are all your gifts
wrapped?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Menus complete?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John the Baptist was full of anticipation,
anticipating the just-about-ready to be revealed righteous reign of God, the
renewal of the Kingdom of Israel, to be brought by the Messiah, the promised
Savior, the Prophet like Moses, only greater.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John sees and knows that his Cousin, Jesus, is the Promised One, and so
he eagerly awaits the fulfillment of the Kingdom, the new righteous reign of
the Son of David, the Christ of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And yet, as we considered last Sunday,
there were aspects of Jesus’ reign that it seems John the Baptizer did not
anticipate.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Especially that Jesus’ reign
would rain down freely from heaven, showering the righteousness of God far and
wide, even watering the unrighteous and undeserving.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rorate Coeli! </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We English speaking Christians are blessed
with a terrific play on words this morning.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Because Isaiah declares the Righteous ‘r-e-i-g-n’ Reign of God comes in
showers, it ‘r-a-i-n’ rains down.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is
as if the Lord wanted to share His righteousness with </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>all</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> people.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rorate Coeli! </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The ‘r-e-i-g-n’ Righteous Reign of God is
certainly what Jesus came to establish.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">‘R-e-i-g-n’
reigning has to do with kingship, with ruling over a people and a place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without doubt Jesus came to do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wise Men came and worshiped the newborn King
of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Jews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Child came to re-establish the throne of
David, which the Lord had promised would last forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus came to bring God’s Righteous
Kingdom.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But the </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>way</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Jesus
would establish and populate His Righteous Rule and Reign is very surprising,
probably the most-surprising thing ever.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Most kingdoms are established at the point of a sword; new subjects must
submit to the laws and ways of their new ruler, or else.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But the prophet Isaiah, speaking of the
coming Savior, declared that the heavens showered down righteousness,
righteousness scattered abroad like the ‘r-a-i-n’ rain.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Which seems weird to us, because righteousness
implies uprightness, law-keeping and worthiness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But the ‘r-a-i-n’ rain falls on the righteous
and the wicked, without distinctions for levels of holiness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rorate Coeli! </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is how it must be, or there will be no citizens
in God’s Kingdom.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John the Baptizer knew
well the level of righteousness that God requires.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The crooked must be straightened, the wicked
swept away.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Only the holy can walk the
Lord’s highway.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But then, where will we
find worthy citizens for God’s Kingdom?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For all have fallen short.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We are
all by nature children of wrath; there is not one who has earned God’s favor.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Even the faithful prophet John declared
without hesitation that he was not worthy to untie Jesus’ sandal.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We are all sinners, falling short of God’s
righteousness, every day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So, God came.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Immanuel, God with us, God’s Son came, not to
demand righteousness from us, but rather to fulfill all righteousness, for us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">To perfectly keep God’s commandments, not for
Himself, since Jesus is God, He had no need to keep His own commands.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But rather, he kept them for us, in our
stead.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The infinite and almighty man who
is the Son of God, achieved all the active righteousness, all the good works
that God requires of every man and woman.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And then, because we all have a great debt of sin which requires
payment, Jesus also paid that debt for us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">All righteousness fulfilled, once and for all, on the Cross.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is finished.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That’s the promise of Christmas.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That’s the fulfillment revealed on Good
Friday and Easter morning.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So now, having done all our good works for
us, </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>and</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> having taken away the sin of the world, Jesus is free to
rain down righteousness, to give it away, as a free gift.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rorate Coeli! </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is the great insight Martin Luther gained
from God’s Word, which changed him from a tortured, guilt-ridden monk, into a
free, bold, amazingly Gospel-focused preacher and teacher.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The righteousness of God is not the standard
we sinners must achieve, in order to be accepted by God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rather, the righteousness of God is His free
gift, given to every sinner who is brought to faith, made to trust in Jesus and
His blood bought forgiveness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This amazing news of free forgiveness,
received by faith, apart from human works, the surprise that God rains down
righteousness for all who trust in Jesus, this life-giving message changed the
world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God’s ‘r-e-i-g-n’ reign is
expanded by the ‘r-a-i-n’ rain </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">shower of
righteousness that the Holy Spirit brings, every time the Good News of Jesus showers
through the proclamation of His Word. </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rorate Coeli! </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">An Infant King, born in a stable, worshiped
by shepherds, chased into Egypt.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Nothing
in the early life of Jesus would make us think He was our everlasting
king.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And truly, not much in His later
life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Nothing, for sure, in His bitter,
sufferings and death.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But because He
rose from the dead, never to suffer or die again, the Son of Mary is truly our
dear Lord Jesus Christ, the one who rains down righteousness far and wide.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rorate Coeli! </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Indeed, Jesus stretches the rain metaphor,
choosing to establish as His initiation rite for entry into the Kingdom the
washing of water with the Word.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Plain
water, combined with God’s Name, God’s promise, God’s victory, this shower delivers
the righteousness of Christ far and wide.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">When you wash your face or take a shower, remember your Baptism, where
God claimed you as His beloved child, and gave you Christ’s righteousness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rorate Coeli! </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Christmas anticipation, focused on the
Babe who is our King, is excellent preparation for the life of Christian
anticipation that we are all called to, the perspective on life which looks for
and prays for Christ’s final return, soon.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Returning to the manger reminds us that Jesus has redeemed every part of
human life, from the womb through childhood through adult life, and even</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">unto death.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Receiving daily His forgiving shower of righteousness leads to the fruit
of good works in our lives.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We live in
the anticipation and confidence that His Everlasting Kingdom and ‘r-e-i-g-n’
reign will continue forever.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">From Christ
the King comes the ‘r-a-i-n’ of righteousness which washes us clean from our
sins, and makes us beloved citizens in God’s kingdom.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God grant you to eagerly anticipate and
rejoice always in the Good News that Jesus comes to you, pouring out His
Righteousness, in His Word, in your Baptism, in His Supper.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rorate Coeli! </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Shower, O heavens, and bind us ever
closer to Jesus, today, and forever and ever, Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-45866120422434754732023-12-17T18:32:00.000-08:002023-12-17T18:32:29.654-08:00John's Doubts, and Ours, which Jesus Relieves [ Sermon for the 3rd Sunday in Advent<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Third Sunday in Advent<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">December 17<sup>th</sup>, Year of Our + Lord 2023<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s
Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Custer and Hill City, SD<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">John’s Doubts, and Ours, which Jesus Relieves <br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Matthew 11:2-11</span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRa9aC1tPa8jt6-ecDZ-mHuvAHWXiVqFj0AWUUkbr72g2_5X0RzuuG-ZokY7u1b0Z3-qDglYUSUqdFmfgzYvokFsd2RC5aGty5EnudIgE-YBPUY-tcjxxA43PjMdL8sai3MPjmzF2Gh5Bf_Vwhs0iNE4mv8D1RNsE5PTqABia_SWdq6DCfw_aY3tYLvU/s630/Adv%203H%20J%20Baptist%20and%20Candles%20combined.tif.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="630" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRa9aC1tPa8jt6-ecDZ-mHuvAHWXiVqFj0AWUUkbr72g2_5X0RzuuG-ZokY7u1b0Z3-qDglYUSUqdFmfgzYvokFsd2RC5aGty5EnudIgE-YBPUY-tcjxxA43PjMdL8sai3MPjmzF2Gh5Bf_Vwhs0iNE4mv8D1RNsE5PTqABia_SWdq6DCfw_aY3tYLvU/s320/Adv%203H%20J%20Baptist%20and%20Candles%20combined.tif.png" width="320" /></a></div><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John the Baptizer is rotting in prison,
unjustly.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Unsurprisingly, I think, John
begins to question reality, to ask why things are as they are, or if things
really are as he thought they were.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John’s not in solitary confinement; some of his disciples, his
followers, are allowed to come and visit him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And as John hears in prison about the ministry of Jesus Christ, the One
whose way John had prepared, the Baptizer has questions.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He dispatches his disciples to go ask his
questions.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Questioning reality is an age-old
phenomenon, although it certainly seems to be a more acute problem today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our culture in recent decades has cut itself
off from the power that the Word of God has to shape our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it’s not surprising that our areas of
confusion have changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bible-quoting
John the Baptizer asked whether Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Messiah, the
promised Savior of Israel, or if they should expect someone else? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a Biblically informed and profound
question.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The current confusions of our Biblically
illiterate society are much more basic.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">What
is a man? What is a woman? What is a family? A marriage?
Is mankind destroying the creation, and if so, what should we do about
it? Is it evil to be manly? Are we free citizens, obligated to contribute
to the governing of our society? Or are
we more or less helpless subjects of the government? Are we ultimately dependent on the wisdom of
the state, because things are just too complicated for us to understand, let
alone be in charge of our own lives?</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Z1Fa1VGJdaZcTS-QY85we0CNSAi6dYlaRdc-g2oMi3Ztdqs60tb4s7Zp_5PLYOEyslie-992L8wSfkI2jzt9iJn6peG_qmXJFYyIWscfXVYbGLIoSD1rf_o9ljLpMza8wzoi4zH65tF9zFZPUFlBdCfLmdxZatZPk4XiGhRiVMvVVO2Q0bUhquyLclQ/s936/Canceled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="936" height="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Z1Fa1VGJdaZcTS-QY85we0CNSAi6dYlaRdc-g2oMi3Ztdqs60tb4s7Zp_5PLYOEyslie-992L8wSfkI2jzt9iJn6peG_qmXJFYyIWscfXVYbGLIoSD1rf_o9ljLpMza8wzoi4zH65tF9zFZPUFlBdCfLmdxZatZPk4XiGhRiVMvVVO2Q0bUhquyLclQ/w200-h82/Canceled.png" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">You may not be confused about what a woman
or a man is, or about the nature of family.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We may even be relatively clear about the nature of good citizenship for
people blessed to have been born into a democratic republic, based on the rule
of law.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But I doubt any of us are immune
to the social pressure to not speak obvious truths, lest someone be offended.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The terrorists’ veto may not affect us much,
but the heckler’s veto sure seems to.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Nobody wants to get shouted down.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> <br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John didn’t worry much about the opinions
of others, just the truth of God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And
yet he still expressed doubts.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Perhaps
digging into John’s confusion and doubts could be useful for us today, as we
seek clarity and a Christian response to the ever increasing confusion of our times.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John the Baptizer sends a question to
Jesus:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Are you the Christ, or should we
look for another?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Given the fact that
John’s whole adult life has been dedicated to preparing the way for the Christ,
the Savior of Israel, such a question would seem to have been excruciating for
John.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Had he wasted his ministry?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Was he mistaken when he pointed to Jesus and
declared: “Look!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Lamb of God, who
takes away the sin of the world”?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I’ve heard three different approaches to
explaining John’s question, and his mental and spiritual state.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">First, there are the pious defenders of John
the Baptist.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John is a good guy, a key
player in salvation history, the Forerunner, preparing the way of Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It seems a bit embarrassing, damaging to
John’s reputation, for him to be doubting.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So, some argue John wasn’t </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>really</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> doubting.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He only asked his question to test his
disciples, to teach them and point them to Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is, I suppose, possible.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But this interpretation has always left me
flat.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">First, as John effectively
confesses when he declares his unworthiness to even untie Jesus’ sandal, there
is only One sinless man.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John was a
sinner.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">A prophet, very close to God,
yes, a very serious follower of the Lord.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But still a sinner, and so still prone to doubts.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For it is doubting God and His goodness and
wisdom that leads us into sin.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Reading
into the text to say John didn’t really doubt seems to me a weak interpretation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Second, many say that John’s confusion
came from his misunderstanding of Jesus’ mission.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John, according to this school of thought,
expected more fire and brimstone from the Christ.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He had proclaimed that the Messiah now in
Israel’s midst was going to clear the threshing floor, and burn away all the
chaff, which is to say, destroy all the wicked.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John instead hears of Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead, and
generally preaching good news.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This
interpretation of John’s question seems plausible to me.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John, who saw the priests and Pharisees who
came to hear him and called them a brood of vipers, a bunch of no-good snakes,
seems like the kind of person who is eager to see evil punished.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That Jesus had come to destroy the power of
evil by submitting to it is hard to fathom.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That His ultimate act of love is to accept against Himself the wrath of
God against human sin, this is the great surprise of the Gospels.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That even John struggled to fully grasp with
the Way of Jesus doesn’t seem strange to me.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOp0rG_WsIz_5ZojXKcVJ-tjy3KEvf31zGr3YnyhxQf-o2dghn9ui_bS4hefEo-d9Zp58CXxUJMhnWtpx8BB4kkempyJ1oR2QESUzRWvwj1LjgIxnWfP83FL3MyEUjuX6L3cCQ4XJIGZGT2PwJjdJjxveSQ3-GcqfRnkP09zc8d8qiOtl2OjkZqLjPlg/s1758/B-34%20Lent%203%20(Jn%202.13-22).tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1758" data-original-width="1554" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOp0rG_WsIz_5ZojXKcVJ-tjy3KEvf31zGr3YnyhxQf-o2dghn9ui_bS4hefEo-d9Zp58CXxUJMhnWtpx8BB4kkempyJ1oR2QESUzRWvwj1LjgIxnWfP83FL3MyEUjuX6L3cCQ4XJIGZGT2PwJjdJjxveSQ3-GcqfRnkP09zc8d8qiOtl2OjkZqLjPlg/w177-h200/B-34%20Lent%203%20(Jn%202.13-22).tif" width="177" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We certainly look for an avenging
Messiah.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We say we are on the side of
God, like John.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We see evil all around
us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We even see sin and evil being
praised as good in America today.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">People
are drawn into all kinds of evil, destructive behavior and thought, and the
culture celebrates it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Shout your
abortion. The weirder your sexual
appetite, the better. Anything Christian
is at least foolish and outdated, and at worst bigoted and dangerous</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We see and hear such madness, and we long for
a Warrior to come and clean<br /> house.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We are not wrong to hate the evil we
see.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But, we need to be careful with the
attitude that hopes for utter retribution.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We need to be honest and consider just how close to home the punishment
would come if our desire for Jesus to “punish evil now” were to be
fulfilled.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If we ask Jesus to destroy
sinners, right now, what happens to us?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">What is going on in our hearts and minds?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Do we really want a Messiah who comes to
crush all sinners, and grind them into dust?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Finally, not so long ago I heard a third
way to understand John’s doubts.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Is it
possible that John, sitting in prison, asks his question because he feels left
behind, neglected?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">He hears of Jesus,
healing and feeding and blessing the poor and lowly, throughout Judea and
Galilee.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But John sits in prison.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Had he not done all that God had asked him to
do?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Had he not eaten locusts, lived in
the wilderness, and preached the truth, that God hates sin, but is ready to
forgive every sinner who repents, who in sorrow turns away from sin and looks
to God for mercy?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If John thinks he had
fulfilled his calling as a prophet well, he is in good company, since Jesus
says of him that “no one born of woman is greater than John.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Is it possible that suffering in prison
caused John to doubt God’s promises to him?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Did he ask his question because he was doubting that his calling had
been real?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Did his suffering make him
doubt that Jesus really was </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>his</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Messiah, the Christ of God, come
to redeem him?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I don’t know.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>was</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> a sinner, and sinners
under duress tend to doubt God’s promises.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I don’t know if this was why John asked his questions.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But I do know that I doubt God’s promises.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">When days are difficult, I wonder if this
thing I’ve believed and followed is really true.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I have such dark doubts.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">What about you?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Whatever was the cause of John’s doubts,
whatever the cause of our doubts, they all stem from the same error:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">A misunderstanding of the nature of things,
as God has created and ordained them.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Basic misunderstandings of the order of creation drive much of the
insanity of our current culture.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Our
advanced scientistic age produces tremendous technological marvels, which we
all enjoy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But along with all the
technological progress has come an ideology that requires all who want to play
in the big leagues to reject the Authority of God, to reject the Authority of
the Bible, to reject any Authority that puts limits on the power of so-called human
progress.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And that Authority of course,
is Yahweh, the Creator, the true God of Israel, revealed in the man, Jesus
Christ.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4WYd4D47yBLodmqnQizWw7dsGLSJzLF8TT7-rbLL2sZaoxkyW3RexMBzS0vI2LOPXR0WhoifiEqPV07RFgedNLM826uoeZMVnPt0yCAa5Z7AYIQkRK3Uhia_OJcRlybBzvJqKKXHDrX9kTpscnG6Ws1Aa8NiSXpxOoicW8DUVwel6gF4tRRwaOWULfuQ/s275/Brick%20Wall.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4WYd4D47yBLodmqnQizWw7dsGLSJzLF8TT7-rbLL2sZaoxkyW3RexMBzS0vI2LOPXR0WhoifiEqPV07RFgedNLM826uoeZMVnPt0yCAa5Z7AYIQkRK3Uhia_OJcRlybBzvJqKKXHDrX9kTpscnG6Ws1Aa8NiSXpxOoicW8DUVwel6gF4tRRwaOWULfuQ/s1600/Brick%20Wall.jpeg" width="183" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The world hits brick walls because it
rejects the Order of God’s Creation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Just ask the many detransitioners who will tell you how foolish they
were to believe that girls can become boys and boys can become girls.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Just ask the millions of aging Americans who
chose against the traditional family, whose hearts now ache for the children
and grandchildren they don’t have.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Certainly, we Christians are not immune.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We confess faith in God on Sunday, but we are tempted to let the world’s
godless perspective shape our daily lives.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We confess that the Holy Spirit creates and sustains our faith, and
shapes our lives, by His Word.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But do we
make reading or hearing God’s Word a significant and regular part of each
day?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We say we believe the Church and
our family are the most important priorities in our lives, but how often do we
spend our time and money on pastimes that leave little for our congregation or
our loved ones?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Even worse, we tend to forget the Nature
of God and His Order of Salvation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God
is just, absolutely committed to right being upheld, and evil being punished,
in every instance.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God is also love,
absolutely committed to the people He created for His own possession, willing
from before the creation to save us from ourselves, no matter how high the
cost.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so the Way of Salvation taught
and lived and revealed by Jesus Christ is the only Way.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqBpVGprFIAinGPu8S2JflsbLOJ8TXaV-Li68cA0WKj1vYgfc1wqafa2RRUqUS4fXUjUQUE3ciBgRRjXFN1e35xKX8OWZAFJT7WhkygQC6nQIjIkpEQuB4VXnEz89KEO_pbvikNPOpqHC4Z5xg3BFVhv-T_WfzjrIEiV1tkynBoELYsWeVLFx__eVpqI/s936/Cristo%20Crucificado%20Basilica%20Valle%20de%20los%20Caidos.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="936" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqBpVGprFIAinGPu8S2JflsbLOJ8TXaV-Li68cA0WKj1vYgfc1wqafa2RRUqUS4fXUjUQUE3ciBgRRjXFN1e35xKX8OWZAFJT7WhkygQC6nQIjIkpEQuB4VXnEz89KEO_pbvikNPOpqHC4Z5xg3BFVhv-T_WfzjrIEiV1tkynBoELYsWeVLFx__eVpqI/s320/Cristo%20Crucificado%20Basilica%20Valle%20de%20los%20Caidos.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The only way to reconcile God’s Justice and
His Love, was for God to take our<br /> injustice, our brokenness, into Himself and
atone for it, pay for it, make it right, in Himself.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The wood of Jesus’ Manger always pointed to
the wood of His Cross, which always pointed to the wood of His Table, where He
serves us with the fruit of His suffering, the blood bought forgiveness of
sins, in, with and under the bread and the wine.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection,
and then the Proclamation and Distribution of the gifts, this is the order, the
eternal plan and purpose of God, for your salvation, through Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Lord grant us to know and cherish His
Authority and Order for Creation </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>and </i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">for</span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Salvation, in bad
times, and in good times, until Jesus’ final Advent, when He will gather all
His people to Himself, forever.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I do not claim to know what caused John
the Baptizer to ask his question of Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But Jesus’ answer is as much a blessing for us as it was for John:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">“Go and tell John what you hear and
see: </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><sup>5 </sup></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">the blind receive their sight and the lame
walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up,
and the poor have good news preached to them. </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><sup>6 </sup></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And
blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Why would anyone be offended by
Jesus?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Well, for the rule makers and
rule enforcers, Jesus offends by rejecting man-made hurdles put up to prevent
sinners from getting to God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Indeed,
Jesus proclaims that He is God, come to us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For the scoffers and mockers who like to live as if God didn’t exist,
the Holy Spirit taps on the shoulder and declares that God is in control of
history, and Jesus is the protagonist.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We can be reconciled to His Truth, or we can keep crashing into unseen
brick walls.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For the deceived souls have
been taught that to please God we can and must straighten ourselves out, first get
right, before we get holy, Jesus offends by plainly saying: you can’t do it,
you don’t have it in you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Many take offense at Jesus and His
remarkable claims.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Truly, the sinner who
remains in each of us is time and again offended by the Savior.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But for all who, despite being offended, give
up their pride and confess that we are but grass, destined to burn, Jesus comes
with the best of news, with rescue for the lost, sight for the blind,
forgiveness for the sinner, family for the lonely, and life for all the
dying.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God grant us not to be offended by Jesus,
nor to question His Way.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rather, let us
find in find in Him our Authority, our New Nature, our forgiveness and joy, and
eternal life, which begins today, in Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-16832131517344603942023-12-11T19:01:00.000-08:002023-12-11T19:01:57.836-08:00End Times Posture - Sermon for the 2nd Sunday of Advent<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">2<sup>nd</sup> Sunday of Advent<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">December 10<sup>th</sup>, Year of Our + Lord 2023<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Hill City and Custer, SD<br /> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">End Times Posture</span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Now when these things begin to
take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your
redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:28</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">How’s your posture?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">As Jesus teaches about the End Times and how
His disciples are to behave as they seen signs of the Last Day, He calls for us
to have good posture, to stand up straight and hold our heads high.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> I hope that Jesus doesn’t
literally mean that my physical posture effects my readiness for His Final
Return on the Last Day. Because my
posture isn’t great. In my study, and at
home, I work on a kneeling chair, with no back.
It pretty much forces me to sit-up relatively straight. Otherwise, in a regular chair, I will quickly
slide down till I’m almost falling off.
Seven years with the Marines means I know </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">how</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> to stand up straight, when I have to. But my natural tendency is to walk around
staring at the ground right in front of my feet, especially if I’m thinking
hard about something. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Good posture is a blessing they say, good
for your health and good for the impression you give people around you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">But your physical posture is not what
determines your eternal fate.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Although,
maybe the things good posture does for you in daily life can help us understand
why Christ calls us to straighten up.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">When you straighten up and lift up your head, you can see what is going
on around you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">You can see what’s coming
your way, who’s near you, what’s about to happen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">With good posture, you can better bear the
weight of whatever loads you must carry, without making your back sore, or
causing an injury.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> Jesus is teaching us about the
End Times </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">again </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">today. We’ve had a lot of End
Times Scripture lately, especially if you’ve been coming to our midweek Advent
services. Hearing about the Last Days
toward the end of the calendar year is traditional, and fitting, as the
darkness increases and the temperatures drop.
And we should </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">always</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> be hearing a good bit of what the Bible has to say about the End Times,
because we are living in them. Jesus
very specifically tells us we don’t get to know when the Last Day will be. But we know when the the End Times began:
when He Ascended into heaven, 40 days after His Resurrection from the dead. The Time of the Church is the End Times, for
however long they last. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Recent news of the world and the
discord in our society certainly seem pretty “End-Timey.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Whenever there is a major shooting war in
Eurasia, as there has been in Ukraine since Russia invaded last February,
people instinctively worry that we are seeing the “these things taking place”
that Jesus mentions.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We wonder how
directly we should connect the news to Biblical prophecy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">To say nothing of our reaction when violence
and fighting gets worse in the Middle East.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Add in the street protests and chants of “intifada” going on in our own country.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">With large numbers of young people in the
U.S. publicly siding with the terrorists who brutally attacked Israeli
civilians Oct. 7, hearing the Bible describe the End Times may be even more
unsettling.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> But fear not. As Christians, people of the Word of Christ,
we </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">should</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> interpret everything through the Truth the Holy Spirit has given us in
the Bible. As we have the Church
decorated for Christmas, hearing these End Times Bible passages this morning might
not be our first choice. But again I
say, fear not, there is good news of great joy for you today, rock solid
promises from the One born in a barn in Bethlehem, gifts of grace to make you
ready to rejoice on the Last Day, and to help you deal with whatever disturbs
your life today. Indeed, the key to
having a faithful, Christian, Biblical perspective on the Last Days is right
there in the name of our two congregations. You see, whether our physical posture is good
or bad, today our Savior calls on us to spiritually straighten up and lift
our heads, because our Redeemer is drawing near. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> As baptized believers in the
crucified and risen Jesus, signs that the Last Day might be very near are </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">good</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> news for us. Because on that great
and awesome Day, our Savior, our Redeemer, our God, is coming to gather us into
His glorious presence, forever. And,
through the power of His preached Word, through the loving promises of His
Baptism, through the mystery of His Supper, the One who will one Day come
visibly to us on the clouds <i>is also always with us</i>. Hidden from our physical eyes, but visible to
the eyes of faith, Jesus is present with us to bring us through each day, until
that great Last Day. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Not that living in the End Times
is easy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">If it were, I don’t think Jesus
and His Apostles would have filled the New Testament with so much teaching
about how Christians are to live in these latter days.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Straightening up your soul and lifting your
head to look confidently for your returning Savior is hard, because so many
evil things try to beat you down, try to make you duck and cower.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We have been blessed as
Americans; we have not had a shooting war on our soil since the Civil War,
which ended 158 years ago.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Maintaining a
hope-filled, faithful Christian outlook on these things is decidedly more
difficult if you are literally caught in a war zone.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">But Christians do it, and have done it, for
almost 2,000 years.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">War is hell, but
wartime is also a time of great faith.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">How
does that work?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Sickness and death stalk all of
us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We rightfully celebrate every broken
bone that heals, every cancer that goes into remission, every successful
surgery.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Thanks be to the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who heals us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">And yet faith knows that our true and permanent healing, the eternal
health that Jesus promises to all His beloved, doesn’t come until the End.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Jesus died a physical death, in order to win
eternal life for you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">As His disciple,
you too will pass through physical death, unless He returns on the clouds
first.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Come Lord Jesus, come.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">But until that Day, the journey through physical
death is scary, for everyone.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">And yet
Christians for centuries have faced death with a calm peace.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Where do we find such confidence?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Our most precious earthly
blessing, our families, are very often also the source of our greatest
struggles.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We love, and we crave to be
loved, but our love for each other is always imperfect, and sometimes breaks
down altogether.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">The culprit of course
is us, each one of us, sinners who fail to love each other as Christ has loved
us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We are tempted by the world, which
derides and denies and attacks God’s plan for marriage and family.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We are tempted by our own sinfulness, which
only wants to be served, and never to serve.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">And yet, the Christian family endures, fathers and mothers and brothers
and sisters and grandparents serve and sacrifice and forgive, thanks be to the
Spirit of Christ.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">What is the key to
family harmony?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Ironically, to straighten up and
lift up our heads requires us to bend over and bow our heads.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">When Jesus ascended into heaven, and disappeared
from sight into the clouds, the Eleven disciples were there, standing up
straight, heads lifted, staring into heaven.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Until two heavenly messengers appeared and corrected them.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Don’t stare up into the clouds.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Jesus will come back in the same way you saw
Him go.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">In the meantime, you need to get
to doing the things He has given you to do.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Which, for the Apostles and for the Church they built, meant putting
their noses in the Book, studying God’s Word, so they could preach it, and so
the Apostles could write more of it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Standing straight as Christ’s
faithful Church has always meant bowing down, in prayer, and kneeling to
receive the Body and Blood of Christ in His Supper.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Straightening up and looking for Jesus has
always meant reading and hearing and praying and pondering His Word.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">For it is in and through His Word that the
Holy Spirit straightens our souls, and lifts up our heads with the Word of
forgiveness, free forgiveness that flows from the Cross.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">This is the encouragement of the Scriptures, written
for us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">By God’s grace His Word also
sounds forth among us, Sunday by Sunday and day by day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">All the scary signs of the End,
wars and rumors of wars and famines and earthquakes and discord and violence
and hearts grown cold, all of these evils, including the evil of your sins and
my sins, all of these have been taken off our shoulders, when Jesus took them
on His own shoulders, and paid for them, through the cruel instrument of a
Roman cross.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">The Babe of Bethlehem, born
to die, is not a tragic story.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Rather,
it is the story of Love, God’s love for sinners, and the story of victory,
revealed when the same Jesus who bore our sins and died our death, didn’t stay
dead.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Your God and Savior rose to reveal
new life, eternal life, founded in Jesus, and shared with all who trust in
Him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Jesus did all this, to redeem the
world, to save you, to win your place in God’s family, today, and forever and
ever.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">With His story ringing in our
ears and comforting our hearts, we live each day in these End Times.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Because of the promises and the victory of
Jesus, we are set free to live as His disciples, in the midst of the troubles
of this world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We know to flee from
drunkennness and dissipation, from pursing evil and futility, because by His powerful
Word, the God of hope fills us with joy and peace in believing.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">By the power of the Holy Spirit, we abound in
hope.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We live with hope in this broken
world, because, despite our ongoing sin, indeed because of it, our Redeemer
comes to us daily, with forgiveness and strength for living.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">We learn, in fits and starts, to live
together in love, welcoming each other with forgiveness, because this is how
Christ Jesus has welcomed us, for the glory of God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">How do we straighten up and lift
our heads to joyfully await the visible return of Christ on the Last Day?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Well, it is less that we do this, but rather
the Holy Spirit does this in us, by the power of the Word of Christ, which
forgives, restores and strengthens us, day by day, and forever and ever.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">God grant us the wisdom to hear Him and trust
Him, for ourselves, for our families and neighbors, for the world that He died
to save.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">God is faithful, He will do
it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;">Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-74291491272446572552023-12-04T06:37:00.000-08:002023-12-04T06:37:45.566-08:00Why the Donkey? Sermon for the 1st Sunday in Advent - Dec. 3, 2023<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">The First Sunday in Advent</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">December 1<sup>st</sup>,
Year of Our + Lord 2023<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">Hill
City and Custer, SD<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">Why the Donkey?
</span></b><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Matthew
21:1-9</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 15pt;"><i> </i> </span></b><span style="font-size: 15pt;">A conversation among 12 men, on a particular Sunday
evening, during the spring of a particular year, in a village a short distance
outside Jerusalem. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15pt; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXpcOokhK0bsnbYsHdV15yFZKuPC6gVJ_GF7Ah3NPto0wP5MKmPzE7nwjNVSfGIE2ytGbwPbQkYN8ghW2pDDICATtM2haphmdkgDegd08-nAkmyXaLJkgK56HVjoMx4C6ZThKq8z6pcn_IedIp5ilS_Lclp-6Bna8A2o25QzMgHMZeamJGOEJ0m3nWwc/s700/Palm%20Sunday%20Jesus%20donkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="700" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXpcOokhK0bsnbYsHdV15yFZKuPC6gVJ_GF7Ah3NPto0wP5MKmPzE7nwjNVSfGIE2ytGbwPbQkYN8ghW2pDDICATtM2haphmdkgDegd08-nAkmyXaLJkgK56HVjoMx4C6ZThKq8z6pcn_IedIp5ilS_Lclp-6Bna8A2o25QzMgHMZeamJGOEJ0m3nWwc/w200-h132/Palm%20Sunday%20Jesus%20donkey.jpg" width="200" /></a></i></div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> “Say,
Bartholomew,” Thomas calls to his friend as the evening light fails, “Why did
Jesus have us go get those donkeys for Him to ride as He came into the city
this morning? I mean, I have some ideas,
but I doubt I’m right. You always paid
more attention in Synagogue. Help me out
here, would you?” </span></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> Grinning in the darkness, Bartholomew
quips, “Well, I think the Master wanted the mama donkey along so that the colt
would be calm and let Him ride it.
Nobody wants to get bucked off, you know… not even the Son of Man.”</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> “Knock it off, Bart,” Thomas snapped, “I know plenty about
donkeys. And you know that’s not what
I’m getting at. I’m trying to sort out
what it all <b>means</b>. It makes me
think of a bunch of stories from the Book, like Zechariah’s promise of Zion’s
king coming to her on a colt of a donkey.
And of course the people were shouting Hosanna to the Son of David, so
they were thinking the same. But which
of Zion’s stories apply to today? The
whole Scripture can’t all be connected to this morning, can it?” </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> “Can’t it?
Why not?” asks Bartholomew. “Come
on Tom, you can’t always be doubting God’s Word. If there’s one thing Jesus has been teaching
us for the last three years, it’s that all of it, Moses, the Prophets, the
Psalms, <b>all</b> of it is about Him.” </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> Matthew, drifting off in the corner of the
house in Bethany, tries to rouse himself from sleep. “This should be interesting,” he thinks. “I should take some notes, so I have this
stuff when I write my biography of Jesus.
There could be some great details.”
Matthew lifts himself up on one elbow to listen. </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> “O.k., Tom,” says Bartholomew, engaging
his friend, “Let’s work through it.
Which stories from Scripture are you thinking of?” </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> “Well, there are lots of donkey stories. I guess the first one is Abraham and Isaac
heading up Mount Moriah, with a donkey carrying the wood for the sacrificial
fire. But I’m not sure that fits.”</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLsNbgmYqp9IHpphW97JY5OA10IeONChnwGlWF7VqT9bCCqVDur0JNYE08SvnRXkJetsFR-fefs6Qhh2pROVE0MVO-DTJWt0M-8c1IjALgvhnA7R5H1fMeH4grV6DmgIhACdX__mBXEU4-N6ocO5ugm6ZKYlTQ8FbZhA0a6g3WD1dQx6ZzA7VaoG7_9Y/s550/Stayed%20Sacrifice%20of%20Isaac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="550" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLsNbgmYqp9IHpphW97JY5OA10IeONChnwGlWF7VqT9bCCqVDur0JNYE08SvnRXkJetsFR-fefs6Qhh2pROVE0MVO-DTJWt0M-8c1IjALgvhnA7R5H1fMeH4grV6DmgIhACdX__mBXEU4-N6ocO5ugm6ZKYlTQ8FbZhA0a6g3WD1dQx6ZzA7VaoG7_9Y/s320/Stayed%20Sacrifice%20of%20Isaac.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> James, John’s brother, jumps into the
conversation: “I <b>hope</b> it isn’t connected. <br /> This is going to be a bad week if Jesus is
fulfilling what almost happened then, the sacrifice of the only son, the son of
the promise… Of course, Mt. Moriah is
where Jerusalem was built, and Jesus did say that He is coming here to be
arrested and killed. I was hoping He really
didn’t mean it. You don’t suppose that’s
what Abraham meant when he said, ‘The Lord will provide the sacrifice’?” </span></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> James, the other James, the son of
Alphaeus, speaks up: “Back to the whole
donkey-colt thing. I know the mother
donkey’s presence would calm the colt, but did anyone else still expect that to
go very badly? First rider on its back,
and the colt lets Him sit there, like he knew his Rider. I guess Balaam’s donkey isn’t the only one
who’s smarter than he looks. Still, I
wish the colt could speak, to tell us what he was thinking, like God let
Balaam’s donkey do.”</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> “Balaam’s donkey taught us that animals sometimes
recognize the presence of the Lord and His angels better than we do,” offers
Bartholomew, “so why should we be surprised that the One who can walk on water
can also calm an unbroken colt? And
since the people today recognized Jesus as the Son of David, we should remember
how King David rode a mule.”</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> “Say, Bart, I’m just an old fisherman, so I
get confused with all this animal husbandry stuff. Tell me again, what’s the difference between
a donkey and a mule?” No one says it out
loud, but Peter’s bad jokes always make them wonder why Jesus singled him out
as a leader among them. </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> Bartholomew continues, trying to ignore
Peter, “Well, donkey or mule, the prophet Zechariah was certainly referring
back to Solomon, the son of King David.
You remember how David, when he was getting close to death, put Solomon
on his own mule and had him ride into Jerusalem, to let everyone know who the next
true king was. It certainly seems Jesus was
trying to make that point about Himself today.
That is for sure what the crowds understood, when they hailed Him as the
Son of David.” </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> “Then the Master <b>is</b> trying to get Himself killed,” says Thomas grimly. “The Romans are not going to like hearing all
this ‘new king’ talk, and you can be sure the priests will let them know…” </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> “Another Scripture comes to mind,” adds
Bartholomew. “Did you notice that we
entered the city from the east, from the Mount of Olives? And then Jesus accepted the worship of the
people, making the Pharisees crazy. Like
He did with the Canaanite woman, and those women who have come and anointed
Him, today Jesus acknowledged that the proper place of worship is at His feet.”</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> “Yes, just like the blind men in
Jericho.” “Don’t forget the Samaritan
leper.” “Or Peter, in the boat, at the
great catch of fish.” Simon Peter has no
joke to reply to this memory. </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> “Well,” continues Bartholomew, “I’m
remembering how the prophet Ezekiel tells of the departure of the Lord from the
Temple, out the East gate, departing to the Mount of Olives. And then Ezekiel later promises that the
Glory of the Lord will return to the Temple, from the East, from the Mount of
Olives. And after his donkey ride,
entering Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, what did Jesus do? He went straight to the Temple and cleansed
it.”</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> “Again,” says Thomas, “trying to get
Himself killed.”</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> “I don’t know about that,” said
Bartholomew, finishing his thought, “but if Jesus is the Son of God, like Peter
said, didn’t He fulfill the prophecy of Ezekiel this morning, the Glory of the Lord
returning to His Temple from the east?” </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> “But if Jesus is the new King David, why
isn’t He gathering an army? Simon, the
other Simon, the zealot, joins the conversation. “Instead, He goes around unarmed,
unprotected, and taking such risks, always challenging the Pharisees, and the
Priests, giving them plenty of ammunition to accuse Him to the Romans.” Simon cannot understand how Jesus thinks He
is going to re-establish the kingdom of Israel when he is always insulting and angering
the Pharisees, the Priests and the whole Sanhedrin. Plus, why doesn’t He start building an army? None of them understand. Not yet. </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> The Church has historically opened the
season of Advent with the account of Jesus entering Jerusalem on the Sunday
before His Crucifixion. But Advent is
the season leading up to Christmas, to our celebration of Jesus’ coming into
our world as the Babe of Bethlehem. So,
this fast-forward to Holy Week seems odd, out of sequence, at least to our
one-thing-after-the-next way of thinking and living. But God is not bound by time, and all of His
comings, all of His Advents have similarities.
When the Lord comes to His people, His holiness brings dread to sinners. But Jesus comes in Peace, and gives joy by announcing
God’s forgiving love. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> We can make many connections between His
Palm Sunday entrance and the stories of prophecy, kingship and priestly
sacrifice that fill the Hebrew Bible.
Our imagined conversation only hits a few highlights. In His Palm Sunday entrance, Jesus reveals
that He is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> The Advents of Christ, in the Old
Testament, at His conception, at His birth, and His entrance into ministry, all
of these have similarities, most especially the Holy Spirit’s continuous call for
all to repent and believe that Jesus is Lord.
In every Biblical account, the Spirit calls us to repent of our sins,
including our foolish idea that God should come to us in the way that we want
and expect. The Spirit calls us to
repent of our sinful thoughts, words and deeds, repent, and believe, even
though we cannot fully understand, even though we can’t completely connect all
the dots. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_a6k_yp3qJbuVfXovyQQI3j6r7Jo9g53-7BwPHxkeQSgvCylA7dZ8xYV7hlGhBFxY87hcoyAYu-qNBVsCdkGS3kQWbuRSSckXAQdjZbvV2adCNZptQk6Rs2BYxuGSrYwi5vjr8Zuxi37o7bvYQ_n4HOlFa2B4anNmGOLl2h6adizNFc8llhaB5wlm8c/s1209/Christ%20returning.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1209" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_a6k_yp3qJbuVfXovyQQI3j6r7Jo9g53-7BwPHxkeQSgvCylA7dZ8xYV7hlGhBFxY87hcoyAYu-qNBVsCdkGS3kQWbuRSSckXAQdjZbvV2adCNZptQk6Rs2BYxuGSrYwi5vjr8Zuxi37o7bvYQ_n4HOlFa2B4anNmGOLl2h6adizNFc8llhaB5wlm8c/w320-h178/Christ%20returning.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> Faith comes as we begin to understand that
at the center of every Biblical story is a connection to the Cross of
Christ. From Mount Moriah where Abraham
went to sacrifice his only son Isaac, to the manger, where the True Sacrifice of
God lay; from Balaam’s donkey, who spoke the truth of God, to the angels sent
to the shepherds, bringing good news to all God’s flock. We enter Advent anticipating the celebration
that the coming of Jesus brings. For He
came to us, long ago in Bethlehem, and on Palm Sunday. He entered into Jerusalem to be the
Sacrifice, even as He enters in our midst today, in His Word and Supper. And someday, maybe not for a long time, or maybe
tomorrow, Jesus will come visibly, once more.
Someday, in God’s timing, Jesus will make His final advent, riding the
clouds, fully revealed in glory, to bring His faithful into His everlasting,
perfect, joyful, and glorious kingdom.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Today I have imagined this conversation of
the Apostles that evening after the </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">original Palm Sunday.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">The conversation is imaginary, but the
connections to God’s Word are true, and they are only part of the story.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">This Advent and Christmas, God grant us to
grow more and more in our understanding of Jesus, of His Advent, of His
Purpose, and of His forgiving love.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">He
is our coming King, coming with healing, mercy, peace and joy, for you, and all
people, the true gifts of Christmas, yours already today.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> “Say,” murmurs Thomas, just as everyone is
drifting off to sleep, “When Mary was pregnant with Jesus, do you suppose she
rode a donkey into Bethlehem? And what
about when they fled from Herod to Egypt?
Somebody should remember to ask her, and write it down. That would be a pretty cool.” </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"> That we know of, nobody heard or followed Thomas’s
suggestion. So we are left to wonder
whether Joseph really found a donkey for Mary, as we tend to portray it in our
minds and artwork. Scripture doesn’t
tell us this detail, but we do know all the important parts of the story. And so, with the story of God’s Advent and
our salvation filling our ears and hearts, we wait with confidence and peace,
knowing we can ask the Lord ourselves, someday, face to face, when He comes
again. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Come Lord Jesus, come,
Amen.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span> </p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-87208228242164901022023-11-27T09:24:00.000-08:002023-11-27T09:24:02.482-08:00Anticipating the Arrival of Our King - Sermon for the Last Sunday of the Church Year<p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">Last Sunday of the Church Year<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">November 26<sup>th</sup>,
Year of Our + Lord 2023<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s <br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">Custer and Hill City, South Dakota<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">Anticipating the Arrival of Our King <br /></span></b><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal;"><i>Matthew 25:31-46</i></span></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Imagine for moment that you a Brit, and a
fervent supporter of the British monarchy.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Life circumstances cause you to live in America, but you are all in for
the House of Windsor, including it’s relatively new head, King Charles the III,
sovereign of the United Kingdom.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">You
have his picture hanging in your living room, follow all the news of the royal
family, and generally think they are the bomb.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Then, to your great excitement, you find out
King Charles is coming to visit America.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">He’s even coming to your town, to see you, specifically!</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">You haven’t been told when, exactly.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">But soon, you are promised, by people in the
know.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">How would you behave?</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">What would you do to prepare for the king’s
visit?</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">What would say to your American
friends and neighbors about his imminent arrival?</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">I think you might get your things in order
and organize your life so that you would be ready and available at a moment’s
notice to attend to your king.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">You’d
probably tell your American neighbors about it, and with pleasure.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Now, you’d likely have to do some explaining
to them, as to why you are so excited.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Because, while some Americans will tune in to watch a coronation or a
royal wedding, most of us don’t tend to be all that interested in British
royalty, or any royalty, for that matter.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> Which is too bad. Not because I care much about King
Charles. But we American Christians,
along with Christians from every nation, </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">are</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> waiting for </span><b><u><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">our</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> King. We could learn a thing or two from how we
expect our hypothetical British friend to behave when he finds out that King
Charles is coming to visit him. Indeed,
one of the most difficult challenges of Christian life is Christ’s call for
believers to live watchfully, eagerly expecting His Final Return, and to have
this reality shape our lives every day.
A difficult challenge, because it has been a very long time, and Christ
has not yet returned on the clouds, as He promised.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Three Sundays in a row, our readings have
focused our attention on the Final Return of Jesus, with the Parable of the
Wise and Foolish Virgins, the Parable of the Talents, and now today, with
Jesus’ vivid description of the Final Judgement, when He will separate the
righteous and the wicked, the sheep and the goats.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">These three Gospel readings come one after
the other in Matthew, chapter 25.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Chapter 24 was all about the End as well.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Directly
following today’s Gospel, the betrayal of Jesus unfolds, our Lord transforms the
Passover into the Eucharist, the Holy Supper, and the drama of salvation
reaches it’s climax.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">The last topic
Jesus chose to teach the 12, before entering suffering and death, was all about
the End, His Final Return, and how He expected His servants, His disciples, His
Church, to behave while they waited.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">From the Wise Virgins, we learned of
Christ’s call for us to watch diligently, by keeping our lamps and flasks full
of the oil of God’s Word, so that when the cry goes out and our Bridegroom
returns, the flame of our faith will be burning, and we will be welcomed into
the wedding feast.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">We are to watch for
our King’s return, not by staring into the heavens day and night, but rather by
being continually filled up with His Word, by which the Holy Spirit creates and
maintains our faith.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Let the Word of Christ
dwell in you richly! </span><i style="font-size: 15pt;">(Colossain 3:16)</i><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> Do not give up gathering together,
as is the habit of many, but encourage one another, especially as you see the
Day drawing near! </span><i style="font-size: 15pt;">(Hebrews 10:25)</i><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Oil turns to silver in the Parable of the
Talents, as Jesus instructs us to invest the treasure He left His Church,
before His Ascension to God’s right hand.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">That treasure is, first and foremost, the Gospel, the teaching of the
faith, the Bad News of our just condemnation by God’s Law, because of our sin,
and the life-giving Good News of free forgiveness, won by Christ for every
sinner, when He shed His blood on Golgotha.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">We, the Church, are not to bury our talent, keep our treasure to
ourselves.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Rather we are to invest it in
the world, so that God may receive a return.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">God’s desired return is more and more forgiven and restored people,
recreated as His children, to live with Him forever.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Indeed, the many material blessings and time
and energy that the Lord gives each one of us are to be stewarded for the good
of our greater stewardship, the stewardship of the Gospel, a project in which
the Lord has graciously included us.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">The Virgins teach us that waiting for our
King is to include constantly receiving the faith, the teaching of Christ, for
the sake of keeping our own faith alive.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">The Parable of the Talents teaches us that
in these End Times, our Coming King wants us to invest the treasure He has left
us, that the Lord’s desire for His Church is that we share the faith, not bury
it in a hole.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">One natural and expected
consequence of saving faith in the Gospel is the desire to share it, to support
and even participate in the proclamation of that same Good News to others.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">With His description of the Sheep and Goats
Judgment, given just before finishing His salvation course, Christ Jesus
completes an End Times trilogy.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Jesus
moves naturally from one aspect of End Times living to the next.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After first teaching us to always be
receiving the faith, then to always be sharing the faith, finally He describes
the kinds of good works which will flow from Christian faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Faith alone saves, but faith is never alone;
it always produces fruit, good works of love in the lives of Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The loving work of Christ in us sinners
always produces works of love towards other people in our lives, including the
least of these brothers and sisters of the King.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> The righteous sheep do not think they are
earning Christ’s favor when they serve their neighbors. Nor does Jesus say that the sheep are saved </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">because</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> they feed the hungry,
welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, or visit the sick and the
imprisoned. But our King is immensely
pleased with these good works, because, as He explains: the Lord of heaven and
earth receives these good works, done for the least of His brothers, as good
works done for Him, personally. Just as
Jesus informed the persecuting Pharisee Saul that his attacks on Christians were
really an attack on Christ, so also, a good deed done for a Christian is truly
to bless and serve God’s Son, our Coming King! </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">And should the good works of Christians spill
over and benefit unbelievers, Christ also rejoices, because He died for all,
and is reaching out to all, through His Church.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Receiving the Word of Christ and sharing the Word of Christ fill
Christians with the Love of Christ, which spills over into good works for people
in need.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Often, the Holy Spirit uses
these good works as a bridge for the Gospel, moving from some good gift to the
best gift, from a material blessing to the blessing of the Gospel.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">And thus God draws more sinners to Himself,
through His Church. </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">This is the shape of
the life Christ the King teaches His disciples to live, as they await His
return.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">From the virgins we also learned that a
failure to keep our lamps and flasks full of the Word of Christ is a sign of
unbelief.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Believers in Christ need His
Word, love His Word, and seek His Word.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">But the unbeliever, the sinner, who sadly remains in every Christian throughout
this life, can gain the upper hand.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Our
sinful nature tempts us to drift from, or even to despise God’s Word.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Then our personal faith is endangered, and
eventually, our flame can be snuffed out.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">From the Talents, we learned that a failure
to invest the treasure of the Gospel in the lives of others also flows from
unbelief, from false faith, like believing the lie that our Lord is a hard
master, someone to fear.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">So also, from the goats we learn that a
failure to serve the least of these is a sign of unbelief.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">A disciple who is loveless is obviously not
filled with the love of Christ, which comes to us by faith.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">For it is the love of Christ which both creates
our trust in His forgiveness, and moves us to love our neighbors.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">The Sheep and Goats Judgment that our Lord
describes has always been troubling for Christians, for the Church, in every
age.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">As it should be.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">It is good and right that you should be
worried about whether you will be counted a sheep or a goat.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Because all of us behave like goats, far more
than we care to admit.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">The world and the
sinner within tell us to take care of ourselves, and to not get involved with
needy people.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Because that will cost you.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">And who knows how much?</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">And, this is true.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Helping others is an imposition; it can be
unpleasant at times; it can be hard, a real sacrifice.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">But it is also the best way to live, the way
to truly find joy.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">How do we know
this?</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Because our King Jesus did
it.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">God’s Son had it all: glory, power, the
adoration of the heavenly hosts.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">But He
set all that aside, to come and serve.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">To
help broken, dying people.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">To save you,
and to save me.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">This was Jesus’ will,
His desire, because it was His Father’s will and desire.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">So for the joy set before Him, Jesus came and
humbled Himself and served the lowest of people, even though it cost Him His
own life.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Before any of us were born,
Jesus came and served us, taking our sin and brokenness and death, so He could
give us His righteousness and eternal life in return.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">This is your King, who comes to you through
His Word and Sacrament every day.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">This
is your King, who is coming, visibly, someday soon, riding on the clouds.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">He will return </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">to welcome all His faithful people into the
inheritance that the Father has prepared for you from the foundation of the
world.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Trust in in your King.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Look forward to His return, and ask Him to
help you learn to serve, even to find joy in serving the needy people He brings
into your life.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">You don’t have to travel
far to find people to serve.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Start close
to home.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Start in your home, in your
family, in your neighborhood, in</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">your
congregation.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Seek to serve others, as
you have been served by Jesus.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Pray that
your King will help you serve.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">He who
has fulfilled your every need will do it, and heaven will rejoice, in the Name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"> </span></p><p></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-21495145940801501402023-11-19T20:39:00.000-08:002023-11-19T20:40:18.803-08:00Gospel Stewardship - Sermon for the 25th Sunday after Pentecost<h3 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">November 19<sup>th</sup>,
Year of Our + Lord 2023<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Hill
City and Custer, SD<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Gospel Stewardship –Matthew 25:14 - 30</span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It’s not about your money. Today's parable is not about you money, not really. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Money makes us uptight…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I once heard a high Synodical official make
the following stewardship pitch:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Money:
You got it, we need it, let’s have it!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He may have been kidding, a little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I hope so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nevertheless, his
slogan went over like a … well, you can supply your own metaphor to describe
how badly his little aphorism was received.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Talking about finances makes us
uptight.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I think maybe this is because
money seems like a miracle.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Some
commentators describe the miracles of Jesus as shortcuts.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus did things that could have been
achieved by normal means and processes, but as Master of the Universe, He could
do them without all the time, material and human effort normally involved.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When our Lord wanted to feed the 5,000, He
had no need for vast fields nor to sow seed.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Nor time or climatic conditions to foster growth.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">No effort required for harvesting, milling,
baking, or transporting the finished bread to the hillside.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus, Lord of all those processes, jumped
straight to passing out plentiful food for all His guests.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And money seems a little like that.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It isn’t, really, but we like to think
so.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If I have enough money, that
wonderful communal technology that gives me power over the work and material
goods of others, I too can quickly put together an amazing meal for friends, or
secure medicines and treatments to heal a loved one, and so on.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So, unsurprisingly, we like to control money;
it makes us feel like little gods.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With enough
money, we tend to believe we can purchase safety, power, ability, popularity,
happiness.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It’s all an illusion, really.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But we love the illusion.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">At any rate, talking about money messes us
up.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Money talk especially prevents us
from hearing rightly.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Consider the
talents in our parable.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A man, the lord
or master of a household, seemingly a sizable estate, is going on a journey.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He leaves his servants, his slaves, in charge
during his absence.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He charges three of
them to manage large sums of money, five, two and one talents,
respectively.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Scholars disagree about
the value of a talent, which was a certain weight of silver.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It was worth a lot of money.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Other scholars use a more technical term: a
talent was worth “a whole lot” of money.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Significant cash.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Each servant
was given a lot of silver, and told to steward it for the master.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">From the results, we learn that the master
expected them to put his money to work, to invest it for the purpose of growing
it.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Don’t be stingy, don’t consider your
master a hard man, don’t fear failure, don’t be like the third servant.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Invest the talents your Lord gives you.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Put them to work, be bold.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Don’t be miserly.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">All true.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Thousands of sermons, </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">newsletters,
books and seminars have launched from here to describe a dizzying array of
stewardship programs, including some as crude as: “You got the money; we need
it; so let’s have it.”</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But is Jesus even talking about money?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Let’s break it down.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Who’s the master, the lord, in this
parable?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">(As He so often does, Jesus
is talking about Himself.)</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Who are the slaves, the servants the master
calls to be stewards?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">(For sure the
Apostles, and the pastors and teachers who followed in their calling. But also, I would argue, every Christian in
some way is called to be a steward of the talent the Lord gives.)</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is this journey that the lord goes on,
and when and what is His return?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">(Remember,
our Gospel was first spoken just days before the Cross, when Jesus spent a lot
of time talking about His final coming, on the Last Day. The journey is Jesus’ exodus, through the
Cross, out of the Tomb, and back into heaven, to the Right Hand of power in His
Father’s glory. The return is when Jesus
comes back, visibly, once more, to usher in the new heavens and the new earth.)</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> O.k., then, to understand Jesus correctly,
how many talents of silver did Jesus leave with the Eleven Apostles, when He
went on His journey? What’s that? Zero? Jesus
gave His Apostles no money, no silver or gold, when He sent them out to build
His Church? Well then, what treasure </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">did</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Jesus leave for the
Apsotles to steward? <i>(The Gospel,
the Word of Law and Gospel, of forgiveness and salvation for sinners, found in
the blood Jesus shed on the Cross.)</i> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If we are going to use the parable of the
talents to talk about stewardship, and I think we should, let’s start by
understanding what the thing is which the Lord calls His servants to
steward.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Christ did not leave earthly
riches for His Church to steward.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Sometimes the Church has been poor, sometimes rich, but that has always
properly been a side issue.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The fundamental,
for sure, true stewardship we have been given, as the Apostolic Church, as
Christians, as pastors, is the stewardship of the Gospel. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If we are properly stewarding the Gospel, our
Master is pleased.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If we are afraid to
invest the Gospel, if we hoard and protect and keep it buried in a hole, our
Master is not pleased.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And, as we see in
the frightening case of the third servant, a failure to put the Gospel to work
is actually a sign of unbelief.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Lord
have mercy!</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Christian Church, pastors and people
together, has a calling to steward the Gospel, each contributing according to
the shape of our various vocations.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Your
stewardship and my stewardship, the stewardship of a parent or a child, or the
Gospel stewardship of a believer living out her days in a nursing home, each of
these stewardships will have its own shape.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">All together, Jesus has called us to steward His Good News.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So, all of our stewardship conversations
should stick close to this truth.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So then, what does it take to steward
something?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Where do we begin?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is the first requirement for a person,
called to be steward, to exercise good stewardship?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">You can only steward what you have been
given, what you have in your control, in your temporary possession.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For example, if I ask you to take care of my
dog Maggie while I am on vacation, but I don’t put a leash on her and pass her
off to you, how can you steward her?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If
she is loose, running around the Hills, how well can you care for her?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">You have to receive Maggie, before you can
care for her.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">You can’t be a good
steward of something you don’t have.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">You
can’t put your talent to work, you can’t invest it, if your Master doesn’t
first give it to you.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So, if Christian stewardship is fundamentally
the stewardship of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, what is the first step of
Christian stewardship?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Receive the Gospel.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Step one in Christian Stewardship is to be
filled with the Gospel.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Receive,
believe, and continually deepen your faith and understanding of God’s
Word.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Once you have her on a leash, you
will do better taking care of my dog Maggie, if you are acquainted with her,
know what makes her tick, how you can best care for her.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Same thing with the Gospel:</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">the deeper and fuller your acquaintance with
the story of Jesus and His Church, the better steward you will be equipped to
be.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Happily for us Christian stewards, the Lord
has clearly told us how and where and when we can get ahold of this Gospel we
are supposed to be stewarding.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In His
Word.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God delivers the Gospel, and we
are called to receive it, wherever and whenever we can.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">This especially happens in the gatherings of
God’s people that we call congregations, where the Lord goes so far as to
invite us into a family feast, full of Cross conversation.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He even connects His Gospel Word to Water,
Wheat and Wine.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And, God the Holy Spirit
comes with the Word, to open our minds and hearts to believe and understand,
more and more.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Not sure how to be a better steward? Then get more Gospel. Be filled to overflowing with the Good News
that, despite who you are, despite your sinfulness and your many sins, despite
what you deserve, God through the blood of Jesus Christ forgives you, makes you
alive, binds Himself to you, and goes with you, to guard and keep you day by
day, until He brings you into His joy, forever.
Fill up on this Gospel, and </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">then</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> consider how you might best steward it in your
life. Think and pray about how, where and
when you could invest the Gospel in the lives of others. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Step one in Christian Stewardship: Be filled
with the Gospel.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Step two: Home
first.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Your home and your local
congregation are the first mission concerns of every Christian.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus went on a journey, to carry the Good
News of salvation into heaven, presenting the scars of His victory before the
heavenly altar, so that the hope of every Christian is eternally secure.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Where did He leave His slaves?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He left them at home to steward His
talents.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Now, to be sure, Jesus does send some of His
stewards on earthly journeys as well.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We
call them missionaries.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But most of the
Master’s slaves are directed first and foremost to work around the house.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Christian homes and healthy local
congregations are God’s Plan A for growing His Church.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Even more, traveling stewards, missionaries, also
depend on local congregations.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Remember,
it was the Church at Antioch who sent Paul and Barnabas out to plant
churches.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And that greatest persecutor
turned missionary wrote his letters primarily to help congregations and pastors
understand how to be healthy congregations, in the place where they were.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The first missionary concern of every
Christian is local, in the home and in the congregation.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Think of how tremedously the overall Mission
of God would be boosted if every congregation and every Christian were properly
focused on receiving and understanding and promoting the distribution of the
Gospel at home, to their fellow members, to their families, and to their local unbelieving
neighbors.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Step three:</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When the Gospel starts to overflow and overfill souls in your local
congregation, then you are ready to look beyond.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Look to your neighboring town or
neighborhood, that lacks a faithful church.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Look to you neighboring congregations, your circuit, to see if you and
your congregation might provide some valuable support to them.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And of course, get to know and seek to
support the farther flung Word and Sacrament missionaries of your Church.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Be connected.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Know their work, pray for their ministry, support them as the Lord gives
you opportunity.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Now, for a moment, it’s finally time to talk
about that very common stewardship tagline: Time, Talents and Treasures. Except I don’t like that slogan. I mean, it’s useful, but we’ve corrupted the
meaning of talent, and of treasure.
Biblically, from our parable, talents are the Gospel, which is also our
true treasure. But </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">we</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> think of talents as
abilities, and treasure as money. We
need a better catch phrase. Time,
Abilities and Currency? Time, Skills and
Material Blessings? Not too catchy. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I don’t know if there’s a better slogan.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But certainly an important part of supporting
the Gospel ministry of your local church, and beyond, is dedicating time.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Time dedicated to deepening you and your family’s
knowledge of God’s Word, and time spent doing the things needed to make a
congregation function.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Lord puts
many different tasks before us, from music to cleaning to bookkeeping to
ushering to knowing and caring for your brothers and sisters in Christ.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Doing any of these things takes time, and
what a wonderful way to use the time God has given you.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It is also helpful when members with
particular skills and abilities offer them up in service to the congregation.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Although we should also remember that, very often
in the Church, willingness to take responsibility is more important than having
specific skills.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God will provide the
necessary abilities, often in surprising ways.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Finally, as we see throughout the Gospels,
Acts and the Epistles, financial donations are needed to make the earthly side
of church things run, so the Gospel can be proclaimed and received.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That ox of a preacher is not to be muzzled
while he grinds the grain, and all that. A warm, well lit room can be a great
aid for receiving the Gospel.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And acts
of love, of mercy and care, for your fellow members and for your nieghbors, is
a primary way that God attracts the attention of unbelievers, that they too
might be drawn to Christ and His gifts.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Gospel-cheered believers are to be
encouraged to joyfully support the ministry of the Gospel, with their time,
their energy and abilities, and with their material wealth.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We are wise to do this, for ourselves, for
our family, and for the world.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With the
reality of true Gospel stewardship firmly in the front of our mind, we should
specifically think and pray about how we use our earthly blessings in support
of Gospel ministry.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Not feeling it?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Return to #1, and double down on receiving
the Gospel.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Having a hard time prioritizing the
Church?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As Jesus focused on the End
Times in the days before Good Friday, think about what you will be remembering
and cherishing and wanting to have around you as your earthly life draws to a
close.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Will you want to check your bank
balances, or your social media likes, or your favorite team’s odds in the next
game?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Or will you want your family and
friends around you, and a confident peace that your death is but a doorway to
the joyful presence of Christ?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Burning out?
Giving and serving leaving you feeling empty? Be served.
Get more Gospel. And also, be
careful not to let Satan trick you into spending too much time </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">thinking</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> about your
stewardship. Naval gazing is always
dangerous. Take stewardship seriously,
but don’t worry constantly about whether you are doing or giving enough. Don’t believe the lie that the Church will
fail if </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">you</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> don’t give more or take on one more responsibility. Stewardship in the Church is not an
obligation, but a privilege for those who know and trust in our True Treasure,
Jesus Christ, God’s Son and our Savior. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Concerning Christian stewardship, I would
suggest you take just a couple of weeks each year to prayerfully consider your
stewardship and make a plan for the following year.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then, barring some unexpected and major
change in your life situation, leave it alone.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Try not to worry about it till next year.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I even have a form to help you do this.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Check it out,</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">make an annual plan.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then
relax.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Live in Christ, revel in the
Gospel, marvel at the blessings God provides, and stick to your plan until the
next year rolls around.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">True stewardship starts by receiving the
Gospel.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">This means that, in the midst of
your stewardship efforts, your Lord and Master Jesus Christ will be holding you
close, forgiving your sins, and giving you great joy as He works in you and
through you.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Because caring for you is
central to His Mission, as well as His Mission to your fellow Christians, and to
your neighbor, and to the ends of the earth.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Rest in Christ and and rejoice in the Gospel
Talent He gives to you.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For in this
Gospel, you have the sure and certain promise that Jesus is with you now, and
will one day soon bring you into His Father’s joy, forever and ever, Amen.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-12815460208520615192023-11-12T21:00:00.000-08:002023-11-12T21:00:38.183-08:00Don’t be a Moron, be a Gregory! - Sermon for the 24th Sunday after Pentecost <h2 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; layout-grid-mode: line;">Twenty-Fourth Sunday after
Pentecost<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; layout-grid-mode: line;">November 12<sup>th</sup>, Year of Our + Lord 2023<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; layout-grid-mode: line;">Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s
Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; layout-grid-mode: line;">Custer and Hill City, South Dakota<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; layout-grid-mode: line;">Good Advice for End Time Living: <br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; layout-grid-mode: line;">Don’t be a Moron, be a Gregory!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <br /> </span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; layout-grid-mode: line;">Matthew 25:1-13</span></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Good news, Gregory
is not a moron!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Gregory is not a
moron.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">O.k., I’m a coward.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I should have preached this sermon when my
good friend Greg Westerfield was still an elder at Our Redeemer.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But I’ll send him a copy, I promise.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">More fun
with words this morning, but this time, we will look at some words that we
actually know and maybe even use in common conversation.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTa4poi2IdATCbX2h5QEFr1UNoVdINBcNe9Oe1bLom2rP_SI1cIGC6SKIVRxjQdd_BXDizLFIwc2xxzfx7Also3nzS0wjMyjQcuDvPBfnVtSjXOKSDaYYTv8Xu_WnHaatwkrcSwhKZ4D9Fo3c5EWvwmXk-OmFUhy00cmJaMXmnzXAlGgB2IrfLPYtl9Ig/s1504/H-81%20Trinity%2027%20(Mt%2025.1-13).tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1504" data-original-width="1492" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTa4poi2IdATCbX2h5QEFr1UNoVdINBcNe9Oe1bLom2rP_SI1cIGC6SKIVRxjQdd_BXDizLFIwc2xxzfx7Also3nzS0wjMyjQcuDvPBfnVtSjXOKSDaYYTv8Xu_WnHaatwkrcSwhKZ4D9Fo3c5EWvwmXk-OmFUhy00cmJaMXmnzXAlGgB2IrfLPYtl9Ig/s320/H-81%20Trinity%2027%20(Mt%2025.1-13).tif" width="317" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Our words
of focus this morning are ‘foolish,’ and ‘watch!’</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">These are two of Jesus’ most important words
in His parable today, which could be summarized in a bumper sticker:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Don’t Be Foolish, Be Watchful!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And here’s where the fun with words
begins.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The foolish virgins are
morons.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Greek for foolish is ‘</span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">moros</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,’
which descends directly through the centuries into English as moron.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You didn’t know you were insulting people in
Greek, did you?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">No, no, you don’t call
people morons, I hope.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As soon as we
far-from-perfectly-wise people start categorizing the wisdom and intelligence
of others, bad things start to happen, for them and for us.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But Jesus, who knows all things, who is the
Wisdom of God in the flesh, does call some people morons, fools, because He
wants to save them from their foolishness.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Greek
to English connection of the command “watch!” isn’t quite as direct, but we do
use the Greek word behind it, as the name Gregory.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The development of this name is a decidely
Christian Church thing.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">Gregoreite</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
is the Greek command “Watch!”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And
watchfulness is such an important command from Jesus that Christians started
using it as a name: Gregory, a watchful one.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As in St. Gregory of Nazianzus, and Pope Gregory the Great.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And of course, centuries later, our friend
Greg, now residing in Buffalo, WY.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And so, we
could distill this parable of the wise and foolish virgins into an even more striking
bumper sticker: Don’t be a Moron, be a Gregory!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwgyimVvgPgg-a7ILMy-YiavnWjRTA0sNF736ebhIU32VD_vmco6_FP1Do7xjsZDst_akwAkU6eFEG1bihv6UclRzZJDA8MVAGMSZxjHZLxKSSB5u83lHHc1McqgJS_zXGacR9mEGaKNVDGUpTv7vk_BUXnFeBt5UV8tQshojsfrRdEJ3BQbGdOE2-Wo/s1580/H-40%20Good%20Friday%20(Jn%2019.23-37).tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1580" data-original-width="1548" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwgyimVvgPgg-a7ILMy-YiavnWjRTA0sNF736ebhIU32VD_vmco6_FP1Do7xjsZDst_akwAkU6eFEG1bihv6UclRzZJDA8MVAGMSZxjHZLxKSSB5u83lHHc1McqgJS_zXGacR9mEGaKNVDGUpTv7vk_BUXnFeBt5UV8tQshojsfrRdEJ3BQbGdOE2-Wo/w196-h200/H-40%20Good%20Friday%20(Jn%2019.23-37).tif" width="196" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jesus
teaches this parable to His disciples just days before His crucifixion.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Watching their Lord and Teacher suffer and
die was going to seem like the End of the World to them, which is perhaps why
Jesus teaches so much about the Last Day during that first Holy Week.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">An
important theme in Matthew’s presentation of the Cross is the occurrence of End-Times-like
events.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In the first Gospel, God’s judgement
against human sin at the Cross of Calvary comes with earthquakes, darkened
skies, and bodily resurrections of the saints.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">‘Day of the Lord,’ or ‘End Times’ phenomena provide the backdrop for
Jesus’ great work of Atonement.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We can
and should consider the Last Day and the Final Return of Christ through the
lens of Good Friday, especially because in Good Friday we find hope.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Because of the darkness of that Day, and the
glorious light of the Resurrection on the third day after, now all who are in Christ
have nothing to fear.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In Jesus, you have
nothing to fear, not even of the frightful events leading up to the End of this
world.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But perhaps
the parable of the foolish and wise virgins disappoints us, as it seems to
burden us with a task of watchfulness that we don’t completely understand.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We may even fear it.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">All ten virgins appear to be Christians, part
of God’s people.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">They are collectively a
symbol of the whole visible Church of Christ on earth, waiting for His Final
Coming.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But according to the parable,
there is a requirement, a wise action necessary for these virgins to be
welcomed into the wedding feast.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And
half of them fail at the task.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Is Jesus
teaching against salvation by faith, apart from human works?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Is He saying that in the end there is some
work required of us, in order to be saved?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It almost seems that way.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
better dig deeper.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jesus is
teaching His disciples, and us, about how we are to live in the End Times, in
order to be prepared for the Day of the Lord, His Final Coming.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The End Times, by the way, began at Christ’s
Ascension and continue until He appears again.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And Jesus is not saying anything contrary to the rest of His teaching,
which clearly proclaims that our salvation depends solely on God’s grace,
revealed in Christ’s saving work.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Even
faith, which we must have to receive forgiveness and entrance into the Kingdom
of God, even saving faith is a gift, created in us by the Holy Spirit, working
through the Word of the Gospel.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> The parable
of the 10 virgins says the same thing, using a dramatic metaphor to heighten
our understanding of the stakes. Because
the sad and frightening truth is that we are capable of wandering from the
faith, of losing our gracious connection to the Savior, and bringing
condemnation down upon ourselves.
Indeed, by our own reason and strength, we are </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; layout-grid-mode: line;">only</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> capable of squandering the
gift of the Gospel. We need the Holy
Spirit’s constant help to stay in God’s kingdom. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2VfYEqYmFEvKxpm0yhvJMQnpgzoq7zwk5ewFTliE5oX648WvYNisS3J86nkbc5JoyXUgbztL6TuarclrbMa9V-2YlKhaMOivL-SFVMpnKUuodDlmQuNwiuR4RXAQHRVPbY4VHxyycTf5YJq0Dc8HnRldqk9915h8jT-HHWyvk4uN3ij0qHyg2gn_eFw/s667/oil%20lamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="667" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2VfYEqYmFEvKxpm0yhvJMQnpgzoq7zwk5ewFTliE5oX648WvYNisS3J86nkbc5JoyXUgbztL6TuarclrbMa9V-2YlKhaMOivL-SFVMpnKUuodDlmQuNwiuR4RXAQHRVPbY4VHxyycTf5YJq0Dc8HnRldqk9915h8jT-HHWyvk4uN3ij0qHyg2gn_eFw/s320/oil%20lamp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">The wise
virgins understand this reality, and so they keep their lamps and flasks full
of oil, which is to say, they keep filling their faith with the Word of Christ,
which is what created their faith in the first place.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Word of God is the only fuel capable of
keeping the fire of faith burning.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">To use a
different metaphor, if you were drowning, and then from up above a hose and
mask was thrust onto your face, giving you life-saving air to breathe, you
would be very focused on keeping that mask on your face, until you could reach
the surface.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Christian faith works in a
similar way.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Holy Spirit comes to
sinners with the Word of Christ, and breathes new life into us.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The new creature, the believer re-created in
you and me, naturally craves that Word, stays close to that Word, breathes that
Word to stay alive.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Or, to switch back
to our parable, wise virgins keep their lamps of faith filled with God’s Word,
so that their light will still be burning, no matter how long the Lord tarries
before returning, no matter how long your earthly life endures.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Godly
Wisdom is this: first, to know and cherish your dependence on the Word of
Christ, which rescued you through Holy Baptism, and second, to then order your
life so that you are being regularly filled with that Gospel, in the Word
proclaimed, sung, heard, read, prayed, and connected to Wheat and Wine.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This is to be a Gregory.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This is to be watchful as Jesus intends.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Watchfulness
does not involve trying to determine when our Bridegroom Jesus will
return.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Christ has specifically told us
no one will know the day or the hour.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Neither
does watchfulness involve scurrying about, trying to do enough good things to
make ourselves look worthy in the eyes of the Bridegroom.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He has already loved us perfectly, unto death;
nothing we can do could make or break His love.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The only
way for us to be lost is for our faith to die, for our lamp to be snuffed
out.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So, watchfulness is to dwell in the
courts of the Lord.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And we don’t need to
go to Jerusalem to dwell in God’s House.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In the New Testament Church, we are incredibly blessed, as the Lord
comes to us.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We are blessed to be able
to receive Jesus through Hi Gospel, again and again, in the weekly gatherings
of God’s people, and also on a daily basis.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Wisdom is to fill up our souls with the Good News of Jesus, which lights
our fire of faith, and keeps it burning.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Foolishness,
moronic behavior, on the other hand, is to take faith for granted, like a lucky
rabbit’s foot that can be left in a drawer to wither and decay.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The foolish virgins fumbling to get their
empty lamps burning represent outwardly Christian people who have cut
themselves off from God’s Gospel for so long that they no longer know it or
believe it.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">On the Last Day, when the
trumpet sounds, and Christ returns visibly, it will be too late to kindle
faith.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So, are we wise or foolish?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Are we Gregory’s, or are we morons?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The evidence cuts both ways, doesn’t it?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We are here today, that’s good.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">To attend a faithful church is the centerpiece
of wise Christian living, God’s ‘Plan A’ for keeping your flask full of the oil
of the Gospel.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Weekly attendance at the
Divine Service is our Biblical baseline.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">God grant us hearts that rejoice to gather with His people, around His
Word.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What about
the rest of your week?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Are you letting
the Word of Christ dwell in you richly Monday through Saturday?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We have, today, many advantages over
Christians of earlier times.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Accessing
faithful translations of God’s Word has never been easier.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">From Portals of Prayer to the devotions
included in our weekly readings insert, to a dozen other faithful resources
that I will gladly point you to, there is no good reason that any of us should
not hear and ponder God’s good Word, every day.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But we do
have our destractions, don’t we?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Time
slips through our fingers like sand.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Rushing
around like head-less chickens seems like a normal state of affairs.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And there are so many distractions.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Light and sound and flickering images
surround us, 24/7 if we let them.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And there’s
always more that we could do at our job, or for our home, or on our favorite
hobby.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">There’s always another quick
video to watch, another snack to get, another score to check.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Many of our
distractions are harmless, or even beneficial, in limited quantities.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Others are shameful, sinful denials of who we
are called to be in Christ.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Who among us
doesn’t spend time and attention on worthless, foolish things? Who among us
would not benefit from 10 more minutes a day, quietly spent with God and His
Word?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">That would be wise.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Lord, save us from being foolish morons!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> I warned
against taking faith for granted, that is, to remember that your faith is a
living thing that needs feeding.
Ironically, to do this, we need to remember that faith actually </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; layout-grid-mode: line;">is</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> granted, that is, given. Faith is given to us sinners by God’s
grace. But God protect us from thinking
faith is just a dry truth that we acknowledge, but then tuck back in a dusty
shelf of our mind, like multiplication tables or the names of state
capitols. True faith in Christ is front of
mind, a living connection of mutual love between Savior and Saved. True faith is a communion with God that grows
and grows. This is the only way for us
dying sinners to be kept alive. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">One last
thing from our parable.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I am always a
bit troubled to read how the Wise Virgins would not and could not share their
oil with the Foolish Virgins.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It seems
uncaring.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But remember, Jesus always
tweaks the earthly stories and institutions that He uses for His parables.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For example, real first century farmers did
not willy nilly cast their seed in the rocks, among the weeds or on the hard
ground along the roadside.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Earthly
shepherds are unlikely to leave 99 sheep alone on the mountainside to go look
for one moronic sheep that gets lost.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And the bridesmaids invited to a literal 1</span><sup>st</sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> century wedding
feast didn’t have to stay up all night waiting at the gate, in order to enter
the feast.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jesus
describes the wedding preparations this way because, as Scripture teaches in
many places, on the Last Day, Christ will come suddenly, and the opportunity to
repent and believe the Good News will be gone.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And, whether our moment of truth comes at the Last Day, or on the last
day of our earthly life, each of us will have our own faith.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We will have either true faith in Christ, or
a false faith in something else.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And
this difference will determine our eternity.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Either we will trust in Jesus and His forgiving love, or we will trust
in something else, some idol, which cannot forgive us, and so cannot save us.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And, as
much as I might want to, I cannot believe in Jesus’ forgiving love for you.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You cannot believe in Jesus’ forgiving love
for me, nor for your spouse, nor for your children or friends.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Our sinfulness isolates us, and only the
grace and mercy of God can bring us back into communion, into community, into a
forever family, with God and all the saints.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This is why the Wise Virgins of the parable could not and did not share
their oil, not once the trumpet had sounded.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> But, we </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; layout-grid-mode: line;">can</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> share our oil now. Keeping our flasks full of the oil of God’s
Law and Gospel is our wise and joyful task, for our own blessing, today and for
the rest of our lives. And yet the
Christian’s oil flask is made to leak; it overflows, actually. Your light can shine with the fire of God’s
love. Your mouth can share the
faith-igniting story of Jesus, our Bridegroom, who has written our invitation
to the eternal feast in His own blood.
Every Christian has a role to play in spreading His oil around, of
supporting and participating in the telling of the Good News of Jesus. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Christians
of every time have wondered why the Lord delays His Final Coming.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Often elderly Christians and others who
suffer from painful diseases wonder why the Lord tarries in taking them
home.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Part of the answer is always that
the Lord is still seeking to win more hearts, to fill more flasks, and so fill
more seats at the Heavenly Banquet.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And
He does this work through us.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Yes, the
Holy Spirit is always the One who changes lives, bringing sinners to repentance
and creating saving faith in the heart.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But He speaks His Word through us, through His Church, through all the
Gregory’s, all the wise, watchful virgins, men, women and children, who watch
for His return by daily filling their flask with His Word of Promise.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Don’t be a
moron, be a Gregory!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Fill your flask
daily, resting in the promise of all that Jesus has done for you.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Watch for His return by hearing and reading
and praying and singing His Word, and by feasting at His Table, for your
eternal blessing, and to have oil to share, until our Bridegrooms appears.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In the Name of Jesus, Amen.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-63357831306384973932023-10-29T21:11:00.000-07:002023-10-29T21:11:16.054-07:00What to Wear on October 31st - Sermon for Reformation Day (Observed)<h3 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Reformation Day, (Observed) October 29<sup>th</sup>, anno + Domini 2023<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches, Custer and Hill City, SD<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">What to Wear on October 31<sup>st</sup> - Matthew 11:12-19</span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What
will you be wearing on October 31</span><sup>st</sup><span style="font-size: 14pt;">?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> At the seminary in Fort Wayne, they tell the
story of a professor who was offended by Halloween. I mean, at a Lutheran seminary of all places,
October 31<sup>st</sup> should not be given over to goblins and ghouls and
tooth decay. Rather, it should be a day
of reflecting on and celebrating the Reformation. Kids included. So convicted, this professor organized an
event at the Luther statue that towers over the entrance lane into the
campus. He suggested appropriate
costumes for the kids: Bible characters, or monks, nuns, medieval noblemen,
historical figures from 16<sup>th</sup> century Germany. He himself went dressed as, wait for it, the
great Reformer, Martin Luther. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> It turned out to be a doubly disappointing
deal. For the kids, it was disappointing
because the prof stood in front of the giant Luther statue and lectured about the
Reformation. He didn’t even pass out any
candy. It was disappointing for the
professor, because the kids (and their seminary faculty and staff parents)
ignored the costume suggestions. They
came as princesses, firefighters, ghosts and monsters. And, unsurprisingly, they left his event as
soon as they were able, to go trick-or-treating. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> Halloween, celebrated on October 31<sup>st</sup>,
is an abbreviation of All Hallows Eve, the night before All Hallows Day, that
is All Saints Day, November 1<sup>st</sup>.
Halloween is kind of an opposite, or anti-holiday, a dark day
contrasting the white light of holiness.
There are traditions like Halloween in many different parts of the
world, including Christianized places that developed anti-festivals the day
before or around All Saints, like El Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead,
in Mexico. In contrast with the November
1<sup>st</sup> celebration of God’s holy people, alive forever in Christ, on
Halloween many people celebrate the wicked and the dead. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> Of
course, October 31<sup>st</sup> is also Reformation Day, celebrating that day 506
years ago, when Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the Castle Church door in
Wittenberg, Germany. He called for a public
debate about Church teaching, and this sparked the Reformation. The Reformation was founded on Luther’s
rediscovery and explanation of the pure Gospel of free and full forgiveness for
all who believe in Christ. So, it’s not
hard to understand the professor’s frustration.
To spend October 31<sup>st</sup> dressed like a monster, or something worse,
while going around begging for candy, is to miss out entirely on the Good News
of Jesus that was rediscovered during the Reformation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> But dressing up isn’t all bad. In fact, it is quite Biblical. Think of John the Baptist. He dressed and acted like a prophet of the
LORD. He wore camel skins, lived in the
wilderness, ate honey and locusts, and preached repentance for the forgiveness
of sins. John dressed this way and did
these things because he </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">was</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> a
prophet, the final forerunning prophet.
John was the new Elijah, chosen and sent by God to prepare the Way for
the Messiah, the promised Savior. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> Jesus also appeared a certain way, like a 1<sup>st</sup>
Century Jewish rabbi, or teacher. He
preached in the synagogues on Saturday.
Then He spent the rest of His time walking around the countryside,
teaching His close followers, and the larger crowds that gathered to hear Him. I don’t know exactly how rabbis dressed, but
they would have needed something to stand out, distinctive clothing or
mannerisms, to be recognized. Jesus
played the part, not to pretend anything, but because He </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">is</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> the Master Teacher, the Wise
One sent from God, come down to give light and life to all people. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> But, as Jesus pointed out, the Jewish elite
didn’t like the looks of either of them.
Pleased with themselves, they would not mourn with the self-denying John;
he was too harsh. They labeled him a
lunatic, demon possessed, for his ascetic lifestyle and his bold preaching,
which happened to condemn most especially them, the Jewish elite. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> Neither would they rejoice with the
life-giving Jesus, who was too extravagant with His favor, associating with
tax-collectors and sinners. Jesus did
not mimic John by living in the wilderness and eating bugs. No, even more shocking, He made a habit of
talking to, blessing, and even eating and drinking with despised and lowly,
sinful people. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> “What are you wearing on October 31<sup>st</sup>?”
is a good Christian question. At
Halloween, children and adults enjoy pretending to be something they are not,
putting on a costume and play acting in a make-believe role. This can be good or bad. But the reality is, all of us are donning
outfits and play acting all the time. We
can’t avoid it really; it’s been this way from almost the beginning. Ever since Adam and Eve tried to take on a
new identity, when they tried to be like God.
Sadly, they ended up exposed as sinners, naked before the Holy, Holy,
Holy LORD. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> And how did the LORD help them out? Well, first He made a promise, the promise of
a Seed who would come from the woman and crush the serpent’s skull. And then, God made them clothing from animal
skins, covering their nakedness and shame, until it could be taken away
forever. Some un-named animal, perhaps a
male sheep, gave his life to clothe our first parents. And so, in Scripture alone began to sound the
saving Word. These first blood-bought
animal skins foreshadowed the robes of righteousness, which Isaiah prophesied,
clothes that cover sin and save sinners.
Jesus accomplished the sin-covering atonement, and so revealed the
righteousness of God, found in Christ alone.
This is the free gift that saves, which is received by faith alone. It is not necessary for us to earn this gift:
then it wouldn’t be a gift. And thanks
be to God for this, because we could never do the works required to earn
it. God rejoices to give salvation to
you, without any payment <i>from</i> you.
Clothed in Christ, the Father declares that we are holy, saints of God,
by faith in Jesus. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> But why does believing in Jesus gain you this
new outfit, clothing from heaven, robes of righteousness? Because Jesus wasn’t just the rabbi who most
perfectly fulfilled the teacher’s role.
He was not just a physician who most perfectly fulfilled the healer’s
role. He was not just a man who led His
people, showing that a truly good king loves and serves His nation. Jesus of Nazareth was all of that, yes, but
even more, He is God, become a man.
Jesus, the all-powerful and ineffable LORD, the eternal Son of the
Father, put on human flesh, being born of the Virgin Mary, the One truly Just
Man. The Righteous One. And this Incarnation miracle was not just a
temporary costume change. Jesus took on
our humanity forever, in order to perfect it, to fulfill our calling as the
crown of creation by trusting completely in His Father. Then He sacrificed Himself, so that He could
share His perfection, His holiness, His righteousness and goodness, with
us. Because He is forever the perfect
Man, we have forever perfection, in Him.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> What are you wearing on October 31<sup>st</sup>? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> I would prefer that none of us wear costumes
that contradict and corrupt who we are in Christ Jesus. It can be harmless fun to put on a costume
and pretend for a while. But be wise,
because harmless fun can turn dark quickly.
You might dress up as Bigfoot.
But pretending to be an ax-wielding murderer or a flesh-eating zombie
would be to celebrate violence, and death, which is the enemy. Maybe you want to go to a Halloween party as
a medical professional. Fine. But not as a “sexy-nurse”. This is not what God, who has given you your body,
and gave His Son to redeem it, would have you do with your body. We who have been clothed in Christ are called
to keep our garments pure and spotless.
We can and should make wise choices about the personas we adopt, even if
only for a night. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> But we do not keep our robes of
righteousness pure and clean. Even if we
swear off Halloween altogether, and spend our October 31<sup>st</sup> reading
Martin Luther and the Bible he translated, even still, we daily sin much and
soil the righteous robes that Jesus has won for us. Reading Luther, and especially reading the
Bible, are wise and wonderful things to do, on October 31<sup>st</sup> and
every day. Indeed, the more consistently
you hear and read God’s Word, the more easily you will see the sin that remains
within you. Which sounds bad, but truly
is a good thing. God through His Word
will always point out where and when you fail to live the holy life He has
called you to live. But do not despair,
for along with conviction for sin, the Word also delivers redemption from sin. Even as the Spirit shows you your sin, He
also shows you your Savior. The Lord is
patient with you, bringing you to repentance, in order to restore you with His
forgiveness. All of this to say that each
day God in His Word calls you to wash your robes and make them white again, in
the blood of the Lamb. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> Wisdom is justified by her deeds. Jesus closes our Gospel reading today by
switching metaphors; but in this switch, He ties all His teaching
together. How should we understand
this? Do our wise deeds justify us? No!
This is what the Jewish elite, the Pharisees and Scribes and Rabbis all
thought and taught. This is the same lie
that had choked out the God’s truth in the medieval Church, the darkness that
God dispelled through Luther’s rediscovery of the pure Gospel. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> Our deeds, our works are neither wise, nor
can they justify us. If we human beings could
justify ourselves, if we could make ourselves right with God, then there was no
reason for Jesus to sacrifice Himself on the altar of the Cross. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> Wisdom is a person, and that person is Jesus
of Nazareth, the Christ come down from heaven, the Word of God made flesh. He is justified by His deeds. Jesus is justified, shown to be good,
righteous and holy before God His Father, through His life of love, the
darkness of His death, and the brilliant light of His resurrection. And the Good News, the Gospel, is this: His justice, His righteousness, is so great,
that He can and does share it with all who see and trust in Him. By faith, John the Baptist is caught up in
the justifying work of Jesus. And so are
you. Enlightened by Jesus’ glory,
justified by His work, you stand innocent and holy before the Father, covered,
dressed, in the perfect work of Christ. Our
Teacher, our Savior, has gone before us to the eternal Judge and has secured
our “not guilty” verdict. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> What are you wearing? The right answer is the same, whether we
think of October 31<sup>st</sup>, November 1<sup>st</sup>, or any other day
between now and that great Day when Jesus will appear again on the clouds, to
usher us into the new heavens and new earth.
Every day, by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus, we go on our way, dressed
in the righteousness of Christ. To be
sure, when we look inside ourselves, when we examine our hearts and minds and
actions, we feel like we are just wearing a costume. But the Holy Spirit constantly calls us to
look up, to look outside ourselves. Look
to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who hung naked on the Cross in
our place. Jesus despised the shame and
accepted the suffering, in order to win the victory for us, for you. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> Christians are little Christs, because we
are clothed in Him. God the Father looks
at you believers and sees His beloved Son, and so you are also beloved. And God is not the only one who sees
you. As you live by faith, depending on
God’s grace, as you walk humbly with your God, seeking to love others as you
have been loved, as you daily repent, and seek the robe-washing forgiveness of
the Lamb, others will see you. Souls who
do not yet trust in Christ will see you, and wonder. Some may ask, and you get to tell them the
reason for your hope. All of us together
get to invite them to join us to find the perfect clothing, in Christ Jesus
alone, today, on October 31<sup>st</sup>, and forever and ever, Amen. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span> </p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-8048394496252772672023-10-23T12:05:00.000-07:002023-10-23T12:05:09.716-07:00The King Is Coming - Sermon for Lutheran Women in Mission Sunday<h4 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Lutheran Women in
Mission Sunday<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">October 22<sup>nd</sup>, Year of Our + Lord 2023<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Our Savior’s and
Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Hill City and Custer, SD<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">The King Is
Coming!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Matthew 11 and
Isaiah 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P42_-HPbk6qNRZD_khz_yx2FxZsMzPZmiA2c-95vJDU_m6dOK2VbyN9ISSAxgUbt4Dv3MXYgkGQUCCy5g9G4IEK_4DL247WwAavNstHNfuTLvPYKjtNnmA1AaXvOXHKVG71uMnZL_BLMVHFoPOzNqDNZXWFcrCenMxZ3N0zxH4uM5odtxPA7tO8He0c/s2500/2023%20LWML%20logo%20the%20king%20is%20coming.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="2500" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P42_-HPbk6qNRZD_khz_yx2FxZsMzPZmiA2c-95vJDU_m6dOK2VbyN9ISSAxgUbt4Dv3MXYgkGQUCCy5g9G4IEK_4DL247WwAavNstHNfuTLvPYKjtNnmA1AaXvOXHKVG71uMnZL_BLMVHFoPOzNqDNZXWFcrCenMxZ3N0zxH4uM5odtxPA7tO8He0c/w255-h255/2023%20LWML%20logo%20the%20king%20is%20coming.png" width="255" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">The King is coming!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">The King is coming, with salvation in His
train, coming to rescue His people by offering Himself as our ransom.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">The King is coming, and so the question before
us is, of course, how many Hebrew and Greek words should we learn today?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Today we especially celebrate the work of
our faithful women, in particular the work of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary
League, those purple-clad gals who do so much, locally, nationally and
internationally, to enable, support and participate in the extension of God’s
Kingdom through the proclamation of the Gospel, and the demonstration of love
towards our neighbors in need.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Maybe
such a focus doesn’t make you long to expand your acquaintance with the
Biblical languages.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">If so, you are
missing out, and you could learn a thing or two from the Dorcas Circle at Our
Redeemer.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">A couple of Mondays ago I led a Bible Study
for their monthly meeting.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">I passed out
Psalm 73 in two translations, the New King James and the English Standard
Versions, side by side in two columns.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">I
wanted to use differences in the two translations to get at significance of the
Psalm, to show how their different approaches to various verses help reveal the
original Hebrew’s meaning, which can be hard to render in English.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">I only meant the discussion of differences
in translation to be a minor part of our study.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">But immediately the questions started coming.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">“How can two versions differ so greatly in
a given verse?” “How come the NKJV is so
much shorter that the ESV, here and here and here?” “Why do different translators arrive at such
different end products?”</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">And of
course, </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">“Which translation is best for us to use in our personal devotions?”</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">I went about twenty minutes over my alloted
time, barely covered the Psalm, and didn’t begin to respond adequately to all
their questions.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Which is great.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">And so why not dig into the languages again a
bit today, on Lutheran Women in Mission Sunday?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Perhaps expound a bit on the subtle differences between ‘piel,’ ‘pual’
and ‘hithpael’ forms of Hebrew verbs?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Or
the distinctions between ‘aorist’ and ‘imperfect’ imperatives in Greek?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Or, maybe not.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">To be honest, beyond looking up and repeating
those terms, I couldn’t really say much more, other than by reading out of a
dusty textbook.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">I was never great at the
details of the grammar of Biblical Hebrew or Greek.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">I got by in seminary by knowing vocabulary, by
recognizing words, the way kindergartners learn to read.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">So maybe we could look at just two words in
our readings today.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Lord willing, these
two won’t make your eyes glaze over, but rather will open our eyes to see and
understand our coming King a bit better.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Our two words this morning are‘chrestos’ and
‘torah.’ </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Chrestos comes from the end of
our reading from St. Matthew’s Gospel, and means good, kind, or merciful.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Torah comes in our Old Testament reading from
the prophet Isaiah, and means, well, ‘torah.’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Torah is a Hebrew word a bit like the New
Testament word Gospel.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Gospel most
simply means ‘good news.’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Through the
centuries, however, it has taken on various meanings.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Today, it can refer a style of music, or be
used to indicate something is really true, as in “that’s the gospel truth!” </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Biblically, Gospel can refer to any of the
first four books of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, or to the
overall teaching of Christ.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Or, Gospel can
narrowly refer to the Good News that, despite our sinfulness, God in Christ has
achieved our salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWW1xyEbIzGb2aZ-6pbUzrJxxwZMnm3c8_ZY_X9EgakUUTpoTO2MFK5smm34JoiRHKZniJY7GeB4Zx_jJc3_-WGAfEwLBRkyLUFsRmY2S8u5jFOLit4WSKRaXe2e_HVAow_888WUFkjiz0WY-IrApa0eLeqe3L5Eo7bzyS2PusVzm_y2BAoLy5g1A6yMQ/s768/Torah%20scroll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="768" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWW1xyEbIzGb2aZ-6pbUzrJxxwZMnm3c8_ZY_X9EgakUUTpoTO2MFK5smm34JoiRHKZniJY7GeB4Zx_jJc3_-WGAfEwLBRkyLUFsRmY2S8u5jFOLit4WSKRaXe2e_HVAow_888WUFkjiz0WY-IrApa0eLeqe3L5Eo7bzyS2PusVzm_y2BAoLy5g1A6yMQ/s320/Torah%20scroll.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Similarly, ‘torah’ means the teaching, or
the instruction of God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;">It is also used
to refer to the Books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and </span><span style="font-size: 19.3333px;">Deuteronomy</span><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;">, the first 5 books of the Old Testament.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Unfortunately, in our English Bibles, most
often ‘torah’ is translated with ‘law.’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">There
are a number of reasons for this that we won’t get into, since I promised to
only talk about two words.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">And the Torah of God certainly does contain
the law.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">As in the 10 Commandments found
in Exodus and Deuteronomy, and all the other rules, regulations and commands of
the LORD, recorded by Moses.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">But
translating ‘torah’ with ‘law’ loses the best part.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Moses didn’t just preach the Law, he also
proclaimed God’s promise and plan to save sinners.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">The law of God is good and right; but it
leaves us without hope, because we cannot fulfill it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">But the Torah of God includes the Gospel, the
good news of God’s gift of salvation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">We might do better to translate ‘torah’ with
‘law and gospel,’ but that would be cumbersome.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Perhaps ‘teaching’ or ‘instruction’ would be better, but those words are
very generic, and lose touch with the Biblical content of ‘torah.’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">So, as many Hebrew scholars encourage, in our
Isaiah 2 passage, I left the Hebrew ‘torah’ as simply ‘torah.’</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">I think
this is especially helpful today, when our theme is the “The King is Coming.’ Isaiah
declares the Torah goes out from Zion, and the Word goes out from Jerusalem.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Then Isaiah declares this Torah, this Word,
is a person, a man with authority, sent from God, who will judge between the
nations and end all the fighting that plagues the human race.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Mankind’s weapons, swords and spears made for
killing, will be re-purposed, beaten into plows and pruning hooks, for
cultivating food.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">This man who is the
‘Torah’ and the ‘Word,’ is the reason that the nations are attracted to God’s
holy mountain.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">He is the resident in the
House of the Lord, and He gives light, a light that enables us to walk together
in Way of God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Putting all of Scripture together, like from
St. John’s prologue where we learn the Word who is God became flesh and dwelt
among us, to give light and life to men, we realize that Isaiah is teaching us
that the message of Moses, the Torah of God, is more than rules and teaching.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">The Torah is the Son of God Himself, made to
be a man, our flesh and blood Savior.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">He
is the coming King who both fulfills the ‘torah’ of God, and </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><i>is</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">
the Torah, God’s total message of warning and redemption, of law and gospel, of
salvation for sinners, fulfilled and revealed in the man, Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Jesus of Nazareth is the ‘torah’ in the
flesh, and that news is very good.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozYxfp_1PELtNL1t7qdE2vqzUuLGy7_T4rN55VmMbdo3Jbz3Vf1UVzs3UuI64OWLSnwgBawT64PUDWXkAMH2Q-LPysIPC4GYLjAm_oHldLOb6A-63mI3xydXiQALceA2KEgYsDLvM5wwlxTInEEwp9_lTAQ2_JD-v4mDvhear_OuAS30AbGj-Dvxil58/s525/Yoked%20Oxen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="525" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozYxfp_1PELtNL1t7qdE2vqzUuLGy7_T4rN55VmMbdo3Jbz3Vf1UVzs3UuI64OWLSnwgBawT64PUDWXkAMH2Q-LPysIPC4GYLjAm_oHldLOb6A-63mI3xydXiQALceA2KEgYsDLvM5wwlxTInEEwp9_lTAQ2_JD-v4mDvhear_OuAS30AbGj-Dvxil58/s320/Yoked%20Oxen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Good, as in ‘chrestos.’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Just as I replaced ‘law’ with ‘torah’ in our
Isaiah 2 reading,<br /> I also changed one word from the ESV translation of our
Gospel.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">And maybe you heard it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">At the end of our Gospel, Jesus
proclaims:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">“Come to me, all who labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. <sup>29</sup>Take my yoke upon
you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls. <sup>30</sup>For my yoke is good, and my burden is light.” </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">“My yoke is good?”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Is that how you remember that verse?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">How is it usually rendered?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">“My yoke is </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><i>easy</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">This is where our second word ‘chrestos’
comes in.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Jesus says my yoke is
‘chrestos.’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">And almost every translation
goes with something like ‘easy.’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">But here’s the thing: in every other case where
the word ‘chrestos’ is used in the New Testament, it is translated with ‘’good’
or ‘kind’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">or ‘merciful.’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Only in Matthew 11:30 is ‘chrestos’
translated ‘easy.’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">I suspect ‘easy’ is
chosen by translators to match the next adjective, the ‘light burden.’ </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Translators at least since Jerome, translating
the Bible into Latin in the 4</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> and 5</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> centuries, have
said Jesus yoke is ‘easy.’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Now, I’m not
saying I know better than all those other translators through the
centuries.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">I could be wrong,</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">and ‘easy’ may be the best translation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">But ‘good’ is certainly also a correct
translation, and I think it opens up a lot of meaning.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBp-mRG81F4CI0cqgqp1qae7mBw84VoRZf9QhEghAQWMHMPmGkHWvgoMruhQ56gstlYOwbH-p5Va-EesLd83u02KZVecSM2h2SoIlDNqo1kNGb_pVv0DjGhqINhvD7ENeeviRQ7DYNWxozNdsC5X30LAxZlpKIfPCxWSY-JpNkU_Z-RKkqcSIJ215UMkE/s1542/B-44%20Holy%20Tuesday%20(LHP)%20%20(Mk%2015.16-20).tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1527" data-original-width="1542" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBp-mRG81F4CI0cqgqp1qae7mBw84VoRZf9QhEghAQWMHMPmGkHWvgoMruhQ56gstlYOwbH-p5Va-EesLd83u02KZVecSM2h2SoIlDNqo1kNGb_pVv0DjGhqINhvD7ENeeviRQ7DYNWxozNdsC5X30LAxZlpKIfPCxWSY-JpNkU_Z-RKkqcSIJ215UMkE/s320/B-44%20Holy%20Tuesday%20(LHP)%20%20(Mk%2015.16-20).tif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Because, what kind of yoke would we ever
think of as ‘easy?’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">This is not an egg<br />
yoke, by the way.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Rather this yoke refers
to a heavy wooden bar that goes over the neck of a beast of burden, to which
ropes are tied, so that the beast can pull something.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Like oxen or draft horses pulling a cart or a
plow.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">So, what is the “yoke” of which
Jesus speaks?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">I cannot hear this verse
without thinking of our Lord bearing His cross up Calvary Hill, to be stretched
out upon it, nailed in place, as He bore the burden of the sins of the whole
world.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">“Take my yoke upon you” is very
similar to Jesus saying, many times, “take up your cross and follow me.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">And so, as we wrestle with how best to
translate “my yoke is chrestos,” let me ask you:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Was Jesus’ yoke, His burden, His central
task, ‘easy?’</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Was His yoke ‘easy’ or was
it, while being the most difficult thing ever accomplished, also the very
highest ‘good’? </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">And, as a follower of
Jesus, is bearing His yoke, bearing the crosses He brings into your life, is
this task ‘easy,’ or is it ‘good’?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christian husbands, when your calling is to
suffer, even unto death, for the good of your wife, as Christ did for His
bride, the Church, is this ‘easy’?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
dare say not, but it is definitely good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mothers, you must suffer in order to bring new life, a new soul, into
this world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is this God-given task
easy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it good?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is most definitely good, but, as I have been
told and have observed, it is certainly not easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Believers in Jesus, you are plagued by the
same diseases that threaten and kill all people, but we are called to bear them
as Christians.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Sickness is given us to bind
us closer to God, and even to use our physical suffering as an opportunity to
show forth and share our faith in Christ.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Is this easy?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">No, but it is
definitely good, a good witness to encourage your brothers and sisters in
Christ, and to proclaim His Good News to those around you who do not yet trust
in Him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Christians, when the world, including your
friends and neighbors, make living as a Christian and confessing God’s truth difficult,
is this easy?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Sometimes it is just
smirks and snide remarks.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Sometimes it
is direct insult, or mocking.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Sometimes
it becomes real persecution, a threat to your relationships, your job, your
livelihood, or even, to your life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Is
confessing your faith in Christ easy?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Is
it good? </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Yes, it is wonderful!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Bearing the yoke of Jesus is good.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">It is not always easy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">But it is, in the end, always a light burden,
when you dare to shoulder it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Not light
because it is easy, but light because of the One who bears it with you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Your King has come, and He is still coming to
you, day by day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">When you heed His call
to take up His yoke, you are never alone.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Your yoke, dear Christian, is never a single yoke, for you to bear by
yourself.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">The yoke Christ calls you to
bear is always double, because He is always there, right beside you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">He yoked Himself to you in your Baptism, and
He will not leave you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">You bear yokes
alongside the Torah of God become a man, and He does all the heavy
lifting.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">And so, whether you are a member of the LWML
or not, you can rejoice to know the King, who has come, who has borne your
burden and lifted all the weight of sin and guilt and death from your shoulders.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Your King is with you, always, until the end
of the age, when He will come visibly, to lead you and all His people in that
final triumphant procession into the glory of His Father.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">This is the reason for our hope, the fount
of goodness and mercy which leads us to care for our neighbors, and most
especially to share the Torah, to share the Word of the Lord, with everyone we can.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">For our King has borne the burden of all
sinners, and wills to share His good yoke with all people.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">How good it is to know the Torah, and to be
yoked to Him, today, and forever and ever, Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> <br /></span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-74699786222719174572023-10-15T18:27:00.001-07:002023-10-15T18:27:30.788-07:00Come to the Wedding Feast - Sermon for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">October 15<sup>th</sup>,
A+D 2023<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Hill
City and Custer, South Dakota<br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Come to the Wedding Feast! – Matthew 22:1-14</span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Come one, come
all, come to the Wedding Feast of the Beloved Son of the King!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsRetuv_mYbK5fviHqKE5FBcUFC1WXI8IbOdMZ-nosmam9M74rHhAg1UCQ8ZPOq6gn7zJWXt2oAEsw4sABa9joHwsjd_6sbGTZsFkynGh4I-M2-3QlfMJXLSRvEFxkxwWP0vOUe7ePiATkBbNCgtN5xAZk8eS2P1zSiIjZdKPi_NfRsJcYLqmZOb1z_M/s1063/Adoration%20of%20the%20Lamb%20Ghent%20Altarpiece%20van%20Eyck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1063" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsRetuv_mYbK5fviHqKE5FBcUFC1WXI8IbOdMZ-nosmam9M74rHhAg1UCQ8ZPOq6gn7zJWXt2oAEsw4sABa9joHwsjd_6sbGTZsFkynGh4I-M2-3QlfMJXLSRvEFxkxwWP0vOUe7ePiATkBbNCgtN5xAZk8eS2P1zSiIjZdKPi_NfRsJcYLqmZOb1z_M/s320/Adoration%20of%20the%20Lamb%20Ghent%20Altarpiece%20van%20Eyck.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">What’s that you say, you have nothing to
wear?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">You feel you cannot come, that you are not
worthy, because you have no garment fit to wear to the King’s wedding
feast?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">No worries, the Father of the
Groom knows you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">He knows you and your wardrobe
better than you know yourself.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">And so, with
His invitation to the Wedding Feast, He provides your wedding garment.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">So, come, come to the feast and rejoice!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Our Lord used many parables to proclaim the
coming of His new kingdom, I think because they are vivid and memorable,
treasured human activities that God can use to help us understand and believe
in His divine act of salvation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Planting
and growing and harvesting wheat.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Fishing.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Building a house upon
sand or rock.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">And as we just heard, a
wedding feast, a joyous family celebration following the beginning of a new, no
holding back, all-in-for-love relationship.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Now, God’s Kingdom and His plan for your
salvation do not work exactly like a normal farm, or a fishing boat
operation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">The Church of God is not
literally a building. And the wedding of Christ and His Church is unique, not
like any earthly marriage.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">But all that
is good and joyful and true in a wedding feast and a marriage is used by the
Holy Spirit to help us understand the depth and height and length of the love
of God for His Church.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">It is challenging for us when God mixes and
stretches His metaphors.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Throughout the
Bible, God uses human activities and institutions to describe His relationship
to His Church.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">But He never allows
Himself to be bound by earthly rules or realities.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">The Lord expresses truths that go beyond
earthly limitations, for our good.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">For example, the entirety of all Christians,
taken together, is called, in the singular, the Bride of Christ, the one for
whom He laid down His life, in order to present her pure and spotless before
His Father.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">At the same time, each individual Christian
is invited to come and dine at the wedding feast, to don with great joy the
garment provided by the Father, and join in the party, celebrating the wedding
of the Son, along with all the other invited guests.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">How can it be that we are collectively the
Bride, and yet individually we are also invited guests, called to enter into
the wedding feast with joy?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Don’t try too hard to figure it out.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Rather, ponder both sides of God’s
salvation-as-marriage metaphor to understand just how great the Good News of
Jesus truly is.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Nax_GL4S2GwMgVGEibSrBTU24coKFZ7QHk0Xs7ML63pUiu_YprdxP7nmK9PuBceShAyETwHUsLEsnzVYiGB2OaMV8kL_NkAR2cKN3KV2goG_tFhyuGkjFSMqHOrg4VdgcMLsurndBWAPv6cHLeXr0jryvxYgZ5ow7gMMczkA9Z7URzZpmU0d7HVZS1I/s403/MaryAtFootOfCross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="334" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Nax_GL4S2GwMgVGEibSrBTU24coKFZ7QHk0Xs7ML63pUiu_YprdxP7nmK9PuBceShAyETwHUsLEsnzVYiGB2OaMV8kL_NkAR2cKN3KV2goG_tFhyuGkjFSMqHOrg4VdgcMLsurndBWAPv6cHLeXr0jryvxYgZ5ow7gMMczkA9Z7URzZpmU0d7HVZS1I/s320/MaryAtFootOfCross.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Christ desires to win His Bride, and so in
love He comes and does more than we can fully grasp to win her hand in
marriage.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Even though she had repeatedly
rejected Him, He still lay down His life, taking all her sins, that is, all our
sins, taking them upon Himself, in order to win her hand. The dowry paid,
the victory won, the joyful banquet prepared, now the Father calls out to all
humanity: Come one, come all, come to the Wedding Feast of the Beloved
Son of the King! </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">But some prefer their busy-ness and worldly
things more than the free invitation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">They scorn it, rejecting the message.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Some abuse and even kill the Father’s messengers.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">They come to regret their mistake. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Nevertheless, the Father will have His
banquet hall filled.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">So He sends His
messengers to call out to one and all, regardless of their worthiness, the evil
and the good, even providing them with the wedding clothes they need to attend
the feast.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">To all those who rightly understand the
filthy rags of their sinfulness and their need for a Savior, the Lord reveals
the depth of His love.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Because it’s true:
You are not worthy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">You have nothing fit
to wear to God’s wedding feast.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">And for
precisely this reason, the Father of the Groom, who knows you better than you
know yourself, sent His Son to weave a robe of righteousness for you, woven
from the Body and Blood of Jesus, broken and poured out for you, for the
forgiveness of all your sins.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJ3wS5I3o95IePLckoS-sz5529wnjMzdZ6NCVkg6-YfioG64YCZXocihUXA_uf7G_1eKdUobBU9PmNf33sZPTT3kLK79hZNNWDUEAKGl8U7wbyhoSBqtWNGoJgsZDRFtEt3LXXyvrESC7r3Ah8rJwcZBRl42pnvkEHMIDW0ty_htlyYjIokK4lv-rVeU/s960/20201004%20Zuria%20bautizandose%20por%20Isaac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJ3wS5I3o95IePLckoS-sz5529wnjMzdZ6NCVkg6-YfioG64YCZXocihUXA_uf7G_1eKdUobBU9PmNf33sZPTT3kLK79hZNNWDUEAKGl8U7wbyhoSBqtWNGoJgsZDRFtEt3LXXyvrESC7r3Ah8rJwcZBRl42pnvkEHMIDW0ty_htlyYjIokK4lv-rVeU/s320/20201004%20Zuria%20bautizandose%20por%20Isaac.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Implicit in the invitation to the Wedding
Feast of Jesus Christ is the truth that the Groom, sitting at the head table at
the right hand of the Father, proudly bears scars in His Body, scars that
proclaim your unworthiness is forgotten, it is washed away.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Christ’s robe of righteousness has been given
to you in your Baptism.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">His holiness
covers you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Believe this good news, and
come rejoicing to the feast the Father has prepared!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">There are two unpleasant interruptions of
our happy parable.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">First, neither God
nor we can take any pleasure in the destruction of those invited guests who
scorned the Father’s invitation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Their condemnation
is just, they knowingly and openly rejected the invitation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">But it is sad and grim, nonetheless.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Protect us from foolishly rejecting your
invitation, dear Father in heaven.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Harder still perhaps is what happens at the end of the parable.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">A guest is found by the Father, a guest who
has entered into the banquet, but without the wedding garment he had been
given.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">That’s a no-go.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">He is cast out from the bright wedding hall,
into the outer darkness, to suffer for his unworthiness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If the Father desires all to come to the feast, why does He throw this
man out?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Because the wedding garment the King gives
to each guest is absolutely necessary.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">The wedding garment is necessary, for you, and for me, and for any other
sinner, necessary for us to sit at the wedding feast, that is, to enter into
God’s kingdom.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Because on our own, in
the clothes of our own deeds, we are unworthy sinners.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">The wedding garment is, as we have already
observed, the very righteousness and holiness of Christ, which is granted to
you by faith in the invitation, faith in the promise of Christ, that, even
though we all are sinners, who sin and deserve the eternal condemnation of God,
in Jesus we have perfect forgiveness and eternal life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">To try to enter into God’s kingdom, into the
wedding feast, without wearing the garment Christ provides is to try to enter
based on our own righteousness, our own holiness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Which is impossible, because we have
neither.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">But, God in His grace and mercy
has provided the way, the way of Christ and His blood bought righteousness,
which He shares with all who hear and believe His Word.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Repenting of our sins and resting in the
grace of Christ, our seat at the eternal wedding feast is assured.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">But if we try to claim our own right to
enter, if we try to weave our own wedding garments, we have nothing to
say.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">If we should reject the Father’s
mercy, we would damn ourselves.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">The eternally fateful error of the guest who
tried to come in his own filthy rags is the fundamental error that Christians
most often fall into.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Self-righteousness
is the error we must all be constantly vigilant against.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">As you clearly stated in your call to me to
be your pastor, I have the responsibility and privilege of declaring the truth
of Christ, of announcing the free invitation to the wedding feast, to all who
will listen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">I do this as the public
minister of this congregation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">And every
Christian is also called to be ready to declare this truth, the reason for our
hope, to anyone they meet in their daily lives.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">So, through our words, and prayers, yours and mine together, we look
forward to welcoming many people to the Wedding Banquet.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">The Church calls all people to repent of trusting
in dead human works, and to trust instead in the free gift of the Bride Groom,
Jesus Christ.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">And so, what joy we have today.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">For the heavenly wedding banquet is not some
far off event, to which we can only look forward.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">No, the Eternal Feast has begun, and we have
access to it every time we eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ for the
forgiveness of all our sins.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4frLvxoyGkMruH2UF7oioKoHSbGHfpeVrwvlz1VVWkkPDZksv00jRuzP_0aG_8WlpLXlG744KgtjGzT6X0qkGLVE70rASOt_sybIpNlRjaHXzM86A3_8_e8UTjRFOqzH4d5V3dlJRHCmANKPf-GnngLr63dwT7nnf3hORYIF37CAfKUIPcU6we4G7DoI/s1280/Caliz%20en%20la%20mesa%2020151101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4frLvxoyGkMruH2UF7oioKoHSbGHfpeVrwvlz1VVWkkPDZksv00jRuzP_0aG_8WlpLXlG744KgtjGzT6X0qkGLVE70rASOt_sybIpNlRjaHXzM86A3_8_e8UTjRFOqzH4d5V3dlJRHCmANKPf-GnngLr63dwT7nnf3hORYIF37CAfKUIPcU6we4G7DoI/s320/Caliz%20en%20la%20mesa%2020151101.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">The same Christ who will host us at the
heavenly banquet is also present<br /> here, feeding us week after week.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">At the Lord´s Table, as humble as it may seem
to our eyes, we truly receive a foretaste of the feast to come, and divine strength
for our remaining pilgrimage on this earth.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">In the age to come, our banqueting will be in
the visible presence of God, fantastic beyond our dreams, and without pause.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Oh, how we long for that promised vision to
become sight!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">And yet we also rejoice
today, for in each Supper, eternity breaks into our time and space, to wash us
clean of all our sins, again, preparing and preserving us for the eternal
wedding feast of the Son, Jesus Christ.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">So, every chance you get, come.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Come one, come all, come to the Wedding Feast
of the Beloved Son of the King.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Come
confessing your sins, and eat and drink forgiveness, rejoicing in your
beautiful wedding garments, woven for you by Jesus, Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-78731787659191403462023-10-09T12:31:00.008-07:002023-10-09T12:31:48.211-07:00This Is the Day! Sermon for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">October 8<sup>th</sup>,
Year of Our + Lord 2023<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Custer
and Hill City, SD<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">This Is the Day! </span></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Psalm 118,
Philippians 3:4-14, Matthew 21:33-46</span></i></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> “This is the day that the Lord
has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Wait a minute, that’s just how
the sermon started last Sunday. And,
despite the cheery sound of that verse, things took a humble turn. Humility, not rejoicing, was what we talked
about. Or better said, we talked about
humility first, and then how Christian humility leads to rejoicing. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> “<i>This is the day that the
Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it</i>.” This verse, Psalm 118:24, has been on my mind
a lot lately. I’m not sure if we still
have it, but for years, through many moves, Shelee kept a window cling of Ps.
118:24. It looks like stain glass, but
it’s soft plastic, or latex, or something, so it sticks to glass. There’s a rainbow, I think, and the verse:
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in
it.” At our last home in Spain, it
adorned the window in our kitchen, which has been its usual location through
our many moves. As far as I know, we
don’t have it up right now. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> I really like that window cling,
because of the verse. Each day is a gift
from God, given to us for our joy and celebration. This a Christian truth. We know God the Father, and we belong to Him,
and He provides for us, day by day. As
we recited a few minutes ago, this is how Martin Luther explains the 1<sup>st</sup>
Article of the Creed. God is our Creator
and Sustainer and Provider, every good thing comes from Him, freely, from His
merciful heart. And so it is most
certainly true that I should always thank and praise, serve and obey Him. Easy-peasy.
You always feel that way, right? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Many days are wonderful, but not
all of them. On Wednesday afternoons,
the young faces piling out of the van and into Our Redeemer for CSC<sup>2</sup>
are usually full of smiles and happiness.
But not always. Some days, even
their young hearts are weighed down. At
the other end of life’s chronology, plenty of the members of Our Savior’s and
Our Redeemer have remarked that the golden years aren’t so golden. Unless of course you’re referring to all the
gold you have to pay your doctors and the pharmacy. Life is good, except when it isn’t. At any age, sometimes the not-so-great days
can pile up, and make the verse “<i>This is the day that the Lord has made; let
us rejoice and be glad in it</i>” a little hard to take. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Last week I used this verse as
pivot, to talk about humility. This
week, we’ll dig into Psalm 118 itself, to see what more the Lord means to teach
us with this verse. What kind of day is this
day, which the Lord declares is worthy of our rejoicing? Can we figure out if God is referring to some
specific day? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Would you believe that the
marvelous day God has made for rejoicing is the day the wicked tenants murdered
the lord of the vineyard’s son? Or,
probably better said, that day, combined with the third day, when the Son was raised
victorious from the dead. The Son’s
Resurrection Day can never be separated from the day of His death. Without the once-for-all death that preceded
it, the Empty Tomb has no good meaning for anyone except Jesus. But combined with the death of the Son, the
Resurrection means everything, for you, and for me, and for all people. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Listen again to verses 22
through 24 of Psalm 118, which served as the heart of our Introit, our entrance
Psalm, this morning. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The stone that the builders rejected, has become the cornerstone.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> This is a great and difficult
mystery. The rejection of the Stone is a
work of the Lord, along with it’s elevation to the head of the corner. The Crucifixion of our Lord, even as it is
terrible, is also marvelous, wonderful in our eyes, the eyes of faith. Jesus’ interpretation of this Psalm as the
explanation of the terrible parable of the wicked tenants makes this connection
inescapable, as does the context of this conversation and the events which
followed soon after. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> I wonder how the people of
Israel understood Psalm 118:24 down through centuries. As they sang it in the Temple, the Synagogue,
and while they went about their days, did they ask who or what exactly was this
stone rejected by the builders? And what
is the structure for which the rejected stone became the head of the corner,
the cornerstone that holds it all together? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> That Psalm 118 was seen as a
messianic psalm, a song about the promised coming Savior, is evidenced by the
Palm Sunday crowds shouting the next verses from it while Jesus rode the
donkey’s colt into the city. From verses
25 and 26 the crowds cried out to Jesus:
Hosanna! That is, “<i>Save us, we
pray, O Lord! <b><sup>26 </sup></b>Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord</i>.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> The crowds believed John the
Baptist and Jesus were at minimum Godly prophets. On Palm Sunday they went further and praised
the Nazarene as the promised Messiah, the Christ come to save and rule forever
on King David’s throne. Jesus in His
teaching to the Chief Priests and Elders affirms this association. He is the Son, sent by the Lord to receive
the harvest of souls that the Father desires.
But by the parable, Jesus prophesies His elevation, His vindication, in
surprising, frightening terms. As the
Lord of the Vineyard’s Son was killed by the tenants the Lord had left in
charge, so also Jesus would be killed by the Elders, Priests and Pharisees,
delivered to death through false accusations presented to Pontius Pilate, the
Roman governor. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> And yet, </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">this</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> is the day that the Lord has made.
So let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Every day is now a day for rejoicing, because the frightening death of
the Son and the glory of His Resurrection create a new reality. And we live in this new reality every
day. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> There are many troubling things
happening in the world today, from Ukraine to Israel to San Francisco, to the halls of
our schools and the homes of our communities.
Our ubiquitous screens bring all of it before our eyes, instantly, and
constantly, if we let them. But your
reality is not determined by today’s bad news, nor by the fraying and decaying
of our society. I’m not suggesting these
things aren’t important. I’m not saying
we don’t need to recognize the times and repent of the many ways we go along
with the debauchery. God’s people are to
live in this world as long as the Lord wills, but we are not to be </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">of</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> this world. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> We are called to be holy, set
apart, to stand out by the message we carry, the Gospel message that gives
life. It is certainly true for me, and I
suspect also for each one of you, that we would benefit from more of God’s Word
in our ears, and less of the world’s distractions and temptations. God’s Word will lead us to pray, and to serve
our neighbors, and to remember who we are in Christ. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> I’m not saying that the world is
not in trouble, that the days are not dark in many ways. What I am saying is that nothing can change
the fact that your ‘today,’ Christian, is always defined by the events of those
three special days almost 2,000 years ago.
The Stone has been rejected, </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">and</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> has been elevated to the head of the corner. That Stone is Jesus Christ, and the building
He holds together is His Church, the Temple of living stones that the Spirit
builds by the washing of Water and the Word. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> This day, the New Day of the
Crucified and Resurrected Christ, is what shaped the Apostle Paul’s radical
perspective. Paul’s past as a Jewish
scholar and zealot was impressive. In his
present circumstance, as a persecuted and imprisoned missionary for this
strange new sect called the Christian Church, Paul might well have been tempted
to long for his prior days as a Pharisee of Pharisees. But no, they are garbage to him, worthless. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> From prison, Paul declares: “<i>whatever gain I had, I counted as loss
for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the
surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered
the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain
Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes
from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness
from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his
resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead</i>.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> If Paul’s ‘today’ was a good
day, a day when he could teach and preach and enjoy the fellowship of his
Christian brothers and sisters, then Paul rejoiced in the salvation he received
as a free gift from Jesus. If Paul’s ‘day’
was full of rejection and suffering for the Gospel, he still rejoiced, because
this rejection was also a sign that Paul was connected to Jesus. Every day was an opportunity to hear and
rejoice again in the gift of Christ’s righteousness, which gives forgiveness
and salvation to every sinner who hears and believes. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> What was true for Paul is also
true for you. This day, and every day,
is the day that the Lord has made for you, the day of your salvation. So without question we should rejoice and be
glad in it! Because you have already won. Your future and your today are both secure in
the nail-scarred hands of the Christ. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> In one sense, we only celebrate
Good Friday and Easter once every year.
In another sense, every Sunday that we gather here we return to Calvary,
and the resurrected Jesus comes to us with His peace. And so we cry out, <i>“Hosanna, blessed is He
who comes in the Name of the Lord</i>.” </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">And,</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> in between Sundays, every day that you wake up and remember that you are
a child of God, this day is also a celebration of the Cross and Empty
Tomb. Every day is truly the day the
Lord has made, the day of Jesus Christ.
Rest and rejoice in His victory, for you, Amen. </span> </p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947653804887954073.post-25836740141285858532023-10-03T12:33:00.000-07:002023-10-03T12:33:19.303-07:00Funeral Sermon for Jim Kor - October 3rd, Year of Our + Lord 2023<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">James Roger Kor<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Born November 9<sup>th</sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, </span>Year of Our + Lord 1945 </span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">in Pierre, SD<br />
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Baptized
into Christ January 12<sup>th</sup>, Year of Our + Lord 1947, <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">at Zion Lutheran Church,
White, SD<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Married in Christ August 28<sup>th</sup>,
Year of Our + Lord 1970<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">at the Catholic Campus Chapel,
SDSU, Brookings, SD<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Confirmed in Christ, <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">May 28<sup>th</sup>, </span>Year of Our +
Lord 1972<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">at Mt Calvary Lutheran
Church, Brookings, SD<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Died in Christ <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">September 4<sup>th</sup>, </span>Year of Our + Lord 2023<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">at home with family, in Custer
County, SD<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Soli Deo Gloria – To God Alone Be Glory</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Rose, Aaron, Katey, David, to
all the family and friends of Jim,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Grace, mercy and peace to
you, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“</span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">For everything there is a
season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a
time to die; … <b><sup> </sup></b>a time to weep, and a time to
laugh</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">.”</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“A time to laugh.” </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It’s right there, in the Bible.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So, this being Jim Kor’s funeral, it seems we
should be allowed at least one joke, don’t you think?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I was no greenhorn pastor when I was
installed here at Our Redeemer, I’d known lots of interesting Lutherans,
including some who liked to tell jokes.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But I have to admit that within a few months, Jim Kor got me pretty
good.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It was after a Sunday service, and
Jim, who was the Head Elder, stood up in the pew after service to make some
announcement.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">His dear wife Rose, who
had just recently begun to attend services after some serious health challenges,
was right there next to Jim.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As Jim went
on, I could tell he thought he was about to say something he thought was funny.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">To emphasize some point he was making, Jim
said, “It’s like I used to tell my first wife…”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I don’t know how my face looked, but I didn’t hear whatever Jim said
next.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I was too busy thinking “Man, Jim,
that’s terrible.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Why would you say that,
with Rose sitting right there?”</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I couldn’t
help myself, my gaze went to Rose.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Who,
to my surprise, was just rolling her eyes and shaking her head.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She hardly seemed fazed.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Slowly it dawned on me that Jim’s </span><b style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>only</i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
wife was still technically his </span><b style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>first</i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> wife.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Ha ha.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I looked back to Jim, who was looking at me with that big grin, very
pleased to have zinged at least me with his one-liner.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I’m sure we could go on for a long while,
remembering bad jokes that Jim told.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But
Jim would not be grinning if we did.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Because,
as much as Jim loved jokes, he let me know early on that his funeral was to be
a Lutheran funeral, that is to say, one focused on Christ and His great saving
work on our behalf.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He absolutely did
not want some sappy emotional tribute to Jim Kor.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Because a Christian funeral is an opportunity
to give people the one thing necessary, the true Word of Christ, the message of
human sin overcome by God’s love and grace, through the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In the best cases, we can proclaim Christ </span><b style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>and</i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
talk quite a bit about the deceased, by speaking of how the Gospel was clearly
evident in his or her life.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And we can
surely do that today.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Because evidence of
his faith in Christ Jesus abounds in Jim’s life.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Each one of us remains a sinner until we
leave this life, and Jim was no exception.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Knowing this, Jim consistently gathered to hear Jesus and receive His forgiveness,
and all His gifts.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jim also eagerly and
regularly served as a leader in his congregations.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Another
clue to a man’s faith can be the faith of his family.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And Jim’s family has followed his example in
many ways.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They are faithful Christians
who serve the Church in important roles.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For which we all rightly give thanks and praise to God.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The readings today were picked by the family,
and reflect well on their Christian maturity, which in turn is more evidence
for the work of Christ in Jim’s life.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The day Jim died, Aaron specifically asked me that the funeral be a
clear presentation of the Gospel.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The readings
the family picked couldn’t have set me up any better to do so.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">From Ecclesiastes we heard the realistic
perspective of God’s people in this world.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Christian life is not some rainbows and unicorns imaginary life without
challenges and problems.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Human sin has infected
and damaged every aspect of life on this earth, and God’s people must learn to
deal with it.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Which we can, because God
has not abandoned us to sin and death.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Rather He is determined to rescue us, and promises to walk with us
through both the joys and the bitter struggles of this life.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">King Solomon in Ecclesiastes lays it
out:</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">birth leads to death.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Tearing things down is sometimes necessary; other
times we are blessed to be able to build.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Mourning and dancing.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Keeping and
casting off.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Sewing up, and rending,
tearing our garments in repentance.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It’s
quite a list.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But note, the list ends with peace.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A foreshadowing of Easter evening, when the
resurrected Jesus, fresh from His victorious battle to destroy sin and death
and rob Satan of all his power, appears to 11 frightened followers, and begins
His message with “Peace.”</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Peace with God
for sinners.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The peace that passes all
understanding, which Christ won for His enemies.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The peace of everlasting life that Jesus won
by dying our death, this peace is God’s goal for all people.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">This is the victory that He has now delivered
to Jim, the salvation the Lord delivers to all who die, trusting in Jesus.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What Ecclesiastes teaches in poetry, Paul
lays out in no uncertain terms in Ephesians chapter 2.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">These 10 verses are perhaps the most comprehensive
and yet concise proclamation of Christ and our salvation to be found in all of
Scripture.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">You doubt that sin is really
such a problem?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Paul declares we were
all once, by our nature, by our inheritance from Adam, children of wrath,
destined for destruction.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> But God</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. But God is rich in mercy. He does not desire the death of anyone. He does not wish eternal condemnation for
us. And so, <i>because of the great love with which he loved us, <b><sup> </sup></b>even when
we were dead in our trespasses,</i>[God]<i> made us alive together with Christ. </i>Christian faith centers on Christ Jesus,
and so the Christian can face the end of life in this world calmly, knowing
that whether we live or whether we die, we are alive in Christ and so will live
with God forever. Christian faith knows
it’s all God’s doing, all a free gift to us.
For we were already dead, spiritually, before physical death even began
to threaten us. And what can the dead
do? Nothing. But the living God can do things. And He has, and He still does. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">For by grace you have been
saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the
gift of God, <b><sup>9 </sup></b>not a result of works, so that
no one may boast. <b><sup>10 </sup></b>For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">From the beginning at Pentecost, the biggest
problem Christ’s Church has had to struggle against is the constant temptation
to change this Gospel of salvation by grace, a gift received by faith, without
any works on our part.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Every Church
body, every congregation, every Christian is susceptible to twisting this Good
News into a false teaching that in some way, large or small, the salvation of
sinners depends on the works of sinners.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God must save us first, so we can begin to do the good works that He has
prepared for us.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God’s salvation is
always a free gift, delivered to you through the power of His Word, and
received by faith.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so I thank God that the Kor family chose
Ephesians chapter 2 for us today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all
need to hear this truth, again and again, until the day the Lord takes us
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What Paul in Ephesians lays out in plain
language and precise teaching, faithful old Simeon gives to us in song and
through touch.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Gospel which Paul
declares is not just words about grace.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Gospel also a person, a man.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A man who was at one time a baby, who at 40 days old was brought to the
Jerusalem Temple to do as the Law of Moses required.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Savior came to Simeon, a faithful
Israelite who was patiently waiting to see and touch the Lord’s Christ.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Simeon sees his Infant Lord, and comes and takes
the Babe from His startled mother, rejoicing to hold his Savior in His
hands.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">“Lord, now you are letting your depart in peace, according to your word; <b><sup>30 </sup></b>for my
eyes have seen your salvation, <b><sup>31 </sup></b>that you have prepared in the presence of all
peoples, <b><sup>32 </sup></b>a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In the Church today, we sing Simeon’s song
after we receive the Lord’s Supper.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The
same Savior who came as a baby to Jerusalem to confirm Simeon’s faith and give
him joy and peace as he departed this life also comes to His people today.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus comes to give the same peace and joy to
His Church, Sunday after Sunday, and many days in between.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Baby Jesus in Simeon’s arms didn’t look like
a powerful Savior, and the bread and wine of the Supper don’t look like the
medicine of immortality.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But God says
they are.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus promises that He is truly
present, giving His Church to eat and drink of His Body and Blood, for the
forgiveness of sins.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The joy and
confidence of Simeon is also the birthright of everyone born anew by Baptismal
faith.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Everyone who trusts in Jesus is
invited to eat and drink and rejoice, for our victorious Savior is with us,
strong to save.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The joy of Simeon was the last thing I was
privileged to share with Jim.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In late
August, when Rose told me Jim had entered into hospice care, I headed out to
the house to see them.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Along with heavy
hearts, and a couple of bad jokes, we also sang with Simeon.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We heard the Word of Christ and prayed for
His blessing on all of us, and we celebrated the Lord’s Supper.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I had a trip to make and didn’t get back to
see Jim again before the Lord took him home.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But no worries, the Lord was with Jim.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God surrounded him with family and gave him peace, peace that Jim’s soul
now enjoys at a level we cannot yet imagine.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And yet this peace is ours, too.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus
comes for us, for me, and for you, with grace and forgiveness and peace and joy.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus is truly present, whenever His Gospel
is proclaimed, whenever another sinner is washed clean in Baptism, whenever
God’s people kneel to eat and drink Holy Communion.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jim Kor lived a good life and died a good
death, the best possible death, connected to Jesus, covered by His forgiving
love.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I pray that God grant each one of us
here today the same wise faith, that will carry us into eternal joy, with holy
laughter and big grins on every face, today, and forever and ever, Amen.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>David Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918297690271504922noreply@blogger.com0