straight schlueter

Sermon on the Lord's Prayer - 3rd and 4th petitions

2012-01-06T11:34:00.000-05:00

This is a preview of this coming Sunday's sermon (January 8) that I will preach at St. Paul Chuckery. We are beginning 2012 with a series on the Lord's Prayer. Enjoy!

Grace mercy and peace be to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“Here we now consider the poor bread basket, the necessaries of our body and of the temporal life.”

Today in our ongoing series on the Lord’s Prayer we consider the 3^rd Petition as well as the 4^th. Thy Will be done and Give us this day. We have begun with the bread. We have begun with the 4^th.

In the 4^th Petition we pray for bread, but this prayer is for much more than just mere bread. Bread is only the finished product. It is that thing that we need to eat and to live. But bread doesn’t appear all by itself. Before there can be bread there must be someone to bake it, there must be flour and grain and eggs and sugar, there must be a farmer to grow and to harvest the grain, cattle and chickens for milk and eggs, land to plant the seed, sunshine and rain to make it grow. Daily bread is much more than just a prayer for bread. IT is a prayer for everything that goes in to making and preparing that bread. It involves all of commerce and all of life. This simple prayer is a prayer that God would provide all of those things as much as we need them. We pray that God would support us in our earthly and physical life.

Last week we mentioned that the prayer that God’s Kingdom come was not a prayer for our election cycle – God’s Kingdom is not of this earth, so a prayer for God’s Kingdom has nothing to do with who is president in Washington, Beijing, Moscow, Baghdad or Tehran. But, here in the 4^th Petition good government is included. (we can’t after all make a living and eat our bread in peace unless there is a government to help us protect it. God provides this. God takes care of us, of his world and his whole creation by creating our various stations in life: bakers and farmers and presidents and autoworkers and soldiers and teachers and mothers & fathers. He gives each station each office for our good and then he calls various ones of us to fill those stations. Tom, you bake bread; Marsha, you be a nurse to bandage and heal; Al, you go farm – plant and harvest; Jill, go paint and draw – and since you’re so good at it teach others to do it!

It’s God’s world, God’s creation. He makes it. He keeps it running. He enlists us and calls us to participate in this work together with him.

When you, the Christian pray this prayer you do not simply pray it for yourself – Lord I want my pantry full. You pray this prayer for all people, for your neighbor. Notice that the prayer is not singular. Give me this day my daily bread. It is profoundly plural. Us and Our! We pray not just for ourselves but for each other. Lord you have blessed me with more than I need, but I have noticed that my neighbor has a need. You pray for your neighbor and for that need. And if you are going to pray for it, you also should help to fill it.

Remember the words of James in chapter 2 of his epistle. What good is it my brothers if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace be warm and well fed.” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith, if it does not have works is dead.” (James 2:14-17)

Remember the preaching of John the Baptist? “Whoever has two coats is to share with him who has none. Whoever has food is to do likewise.”

Even as we pray that God would fill us it is our duty to fill others.

So we pray this prayer on behalf of our neighbor. But we also pray this prayer against Satan. Luther says that “for all his thought and desire is to deprive us of all that we have from God and to hinder it. He is not satisfied to obstruct and destroy spiritual government by leading souls astray with his lies and power. He also prevents and hinders the stability of all government and honorable, peaceable relations on the earth.” [LC III p 80]

Wherever there is dissention and disagreement know that the devil is at work. Wherever there is want and poverty and need, know that the devil is at work.

“If it were in his power and our prayer (next to God) did not prevent him, we would not keep a straw in the field a penny in the house, yes even our life for an hour.” [LC III p 81]

In the 3^rd Petition our Lord teaches us to pray, “Thy will be done.”

I will warn you dear Christians, think twice before you pray this prayer.

This first petition that we have covered is one that we can readily agree to pray and eagerly get behind. Lord give me bread, preserve my wealth and health and stability. While you’re at it do the same for my neighbor. We like that prayer, but this next one – the one that comes directly before it – Thy will be done – that is a terrifying prayer.

It’s terrifying because it means you have to die.

The Small Catechism tells us that the devil, the world and our sinful flesh get in the way of God’s will. They do not want God’s Kingdom to come or his name to be kept holy and so they fight against it. You are on the devils side in this fight. You might not agree. You might not care to hear that. But it is true. The Catechism says that it is. St Paul says it is. “For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good but I cannot carry it out.” (Romans 7:18)

The Apostle John says the same thing. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

In order for God’s will truly to be done. In order for God to really and completely and totally have his way with you, it is necessary that you die. It is necessary that your will, your priorities, your aspirations, your pursuits, your pleasures, your achievements to be set aside. And there are many of them. Some of them are temporal – careers, personal records and achievements, family goals, financial goals. These become gods that take the place of the One God. Some of these goal are even spiritual goals – your commitment, your goodness, your effort to do the right thing, your rightness and righteousness ,your prayer life! The Christian does not look at herself and say, “I need to be a better Christian, I need to be a more devout Christian. I need to pray more, be more sincere, be more faithful, be a better husband or wife or sister of brother.” The Christian looks to Jesus and simply prays, Lord may your will be done with me. And if you are to do better, to know more, to grow more deeply, God will do it.

God’s Kingdom first came to you when He first gave you His Name. Our Lord fulfilled the first two petitions – Hallowed be thy Name and thy Kingdom come – when you were baptized. He gave you his name through His Word and according to Faith he made you an heir of His Kingdom. The Gospel has come to you and made you a Christian. And that’s just it. That’s where your death began – you died to yourself and to your sinful flesh and to your own quest for wealth and power and glory – to you own will on the day that you were baptized.

Paul writes in Romans 6:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:3-11 ESV)

In the Large Catechism Luther writes, “In God’s Kingdom, although we have prayed for the greatest need – for the Gospel, faith, and the Holy Spirit, that He may govern us and redeem us from the devil’s power – we must also pray that God’s will be done. For there will be strange events if we are to abide God’s will. We shall have to suffer many thrusts and blows on that account from everything that seeks to oppose and prevent the fulfillment of the first two petitions.” [LC III p 61]

So your death that began at your baptism and is God’s Will for overcoming your will is accompanied by trials, by struggles, by temptations. Our sinful flesh always wants these things to be gone as soon as possible. Our sinful flesh wants to return too quickly to the 4^th petition where God gives us bread and peace and prosperity. That is the god we want. But that god is a false God. Jesus calls you to die. Jesus calls you to take up your cross and follow him. Jesus calls you to postpone present glory for the sake of that which is still to come. Heaven. Un-spoiled peace. Unspoiled prosperity. And more than just bread – a feast.

The Christian faith is a faith that is lived in the present with an eye to future. We live today, but in the hope of tomorrow. The gifts of today can seem to sparkle and shine but they will fade when compared to the future hope of eternity. Lord get us to that day. Give us bread for today. But as far as tomorrow, as far as forever is concerned – may your will be done and not mine.

Amen.

Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas

2011-12-21T11:05:00.002-05:00

The other night my kids watched one of the latest holiday children's specials that are on network tv this time of year. They were watching Kung Fu Panda. As they watched one things that stood out to me was the fact that the special never mentioned what holiday it was that they were celebrating. They were celebrating "the holiday" and getting ready for "the winter feast". There was never a word about what holiday or what feast they were going to celebrate.

It seems to be a pattern that the more recent the holiday special are the less there is any specific mention of Christmas. Compare the Charlie Brown Christmas special. There are no bones about what holiday is celebrated, they are celebrating Christmas. They are looking for a Christmas tree. They children perform in a Christmas program. The Peanuts Gang even reads the Christmas narrative from Luke 2. They are celebrating Christmas. More than that they are celebrating a Christian Christmas. The Peanuts Special still airs on TV, most likely for the sake of nostalgia. Today the specials seem to follow the trend illustrated by Po the Panda.

My Christians sensibilities are tempted to be offended by this, to see it as an affront to the Chritsian faith. But as I reflected further it occurred to me that this is not entirely a bad thing.

For the Christian this time of year is about Christ. It is a celebration of God coming to his creation to redeem us and save us from sin and death and Satan. This has everything to do with the Gospel of Jesus. We celebrate because this is God taking action to accomplish our salvation. To mark this celebration we decorate with evergreen trees that remind us of the ever lasting life that is ours because of Jesus. We use lights and candles because they remind us of the Light of the World who has come to enlighten our hearts in faith. We give gifts to remind us of the greatest Gift that God has given to us in the person of his Son.

It just so happens that there is another holiday that occurs this time of year. It happens to coincide with the Christian celebration of Christmas and there are many similar customs and traditions. There is gift giving, tree decorating, lights, and color schemes, but in spite of their similarities they are not the same holiday. They are different. One is a celebration of God's salvation come in human flesh to save the world from sin. One is a celebration of God's greatest gift to us, the other is a celebration of our gifts to each other. Some of these gifts we give are in the abstract; things like Christmas spirit, or peace or joy or good will. Some of these gifts are material; gifts like a diamond engagement ring, a new BMW, a Lego set, or a Kohl's gift card.

Television is all about selling those gifts. It is primarily a medium where product manufacturers sell their products. NBC, CBS, ABC don't produce programming out of the goodness of their heart or because they really want to tell a story or because they have a message to proclaim. For the broadcasting companies television isn't about the programming at all. It is about the commercials. The programming is only the incentive to get us to watch the commercials. NBC and all the rest want want to be able to charge as much as possible for that air time so they need to make their programming as broadly appealing as possible. There are lots of people who celebrate a holiday in December and who will be potential customers for the advertisers. Some will celebrate Christmas, some will celebrate Hanukkah, some will celebrate Kwanza, some will just celebrate Santa Claus. So Kung Fu Panda doesn't decorate for Christmas, he decorates for "the Holiday". He doesn't have "Christmas Dinner, he has a "winter feast". And I am okay with that. Because at least he is being honest.

Even if he called his "winter feast" Christmas he wouldn't really be celebrating Christmas. He wouldn't be celebrating God's gift of salvation through the birth of the Christ Child for the salvation of the world from sin, he would be celebrating a generic holiday that recognized our gifts of peace, good will and gift cards to each other. Kung Fu Panda, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Shrek Donkey and Fiona, and the Madagascar Penguins only want to sell those things. To leave it at that and call it a holiday keeps things honest and leave the Christmas feast to the Christians. When it gets down to it, I am okay with that. Po can wish you a "Happy Holiday". I will wish you a Merry Christmas!

True Christmas Spirit

2011-12-05T10:07:00.000-05:00

There is a kind of romance that comes alive every year with the approach of Christmas. It is an eagerness and an expectation that fills the world with excitement. The bright lights, the Christmas trees, the wrapped packages under the tree all add to the joy and the anticipation. We call it Christmas Spirit, and it is catching. It fills people and moves them to acts of generosity, to feelings of good will and peace toward men. It opens their hearts in joy. The realist in us, quickly acknowledges these as romantic notions, but there is something about it that you can't escape. Why else would the Salvation Army bell ringers stand out in the cold unless there was some timely spirit of generosity that invaded the season?

But this Christmas Spirit doesn't last. December 26th comes, the parties are over the family gatherings are done. The ill-fitting gifts are returned and soon the world is like it was. The joy, the expectation, the generosity, they all fade with the season and come down with the decorations.

But does it have to be that way? Is Christmas Spirit reserved only for the month of December? Can it be Christmas in January or July? Is it necessary for the Christmas joy to fade and the Christmas generosity to wane? Is it possible that peace and good will toward men could last throughout the year and not be things that we put on and then take off like a Christmas sweater? Yes!

Christmas Spirit is a God given gift that is year round. Angel Choirs sing just as much on New Years Eve or even All Hallows Eve as they do on Christmas Eve. And for the Christian, the spirit of generosity and joy and good will toward men are year round fruits of the spirit that aren't just reserved for a holiday.

We all remember the angels who visited the shepherds on the hillside with the message that they brought good news of great joy that would be for all people. But Luke, the same Gospel writer who tells us of shepherds and angels tells us of further joy.

Those same angels who rejoiced at the birth of the Christ child burst into heavenly delight and song when one sinner repents (Luke 15:7)

Jesus' disciples were filled with joy when they saw their Lord alive on the third day after he died on the cross. (Luke 24:41) After they saw him ascend into heaven they returned to Jerusalem where they were continually worshipping God with great joy.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that joy is a fruit that is produced in the heart of a Christian when the seed of faith is watered by the Holy Spirit so that it grows up and produces a harvest. Christians can't help but rejoice because of what God has done for them in Christ!

If joy is for the whole year, than how much more is good will. Usually when we consider "good will toward men" we make the assumption that this good will is a general feeling of favor that we feel toward each other. We think of it as just being kind, lending a helping hand, paying it forward. These are all fine, but they are meaningless with out God's good will toward us.

The catechism reminds us of God's good will. "God's will is done every time he breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow God's name or let his kingdom come; and when he strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die. This is the good and gracious will of God.

Elsewhere, St Paul tells us that according to the purpose of God's good will we were predestined to be adopted through Jesus Christ as God's own children, his sons and heirs. (Ephesians 1:5) Jesus tells us that it is the Father's good pleasure to give to us his Kingdom. (Luke 12:32) And because God's will has been accomplished in us, that is to say because we have come to repentance and faith through the power of the Spirit we are able to will and to do what is good. (Philippians 2:13)

And then there is that issue of generosity. Typically charities depend on the Christmas season for their coffers to be filled because it is a time when the Christmas Spirit motivates people to give. Yet Jesus tells us that when he returns on the last day to judge the living and the dead his Christians will be commended for how generous they were with Him, seeing him cold and naked and sick and suffering and caring for his bodily needs.

Dr Martin Luther puts it like this: "This is an outstanding praise of hospitality in order that we may be sure that God himself is in our home, is being fed at our house, is lying down and resting as often as some pious brother in exile because of the Gospel comes to us and is received hospitably by us. This is called brotherly love or Christian charity; it is greater than that general kindness which is extended even to strangers and enemies when they are in need of our aid. Even the accounts of the friendships of the Gentiles, like those of Theseus and Hercules, of Pylades and Orestes, are nothing in comparison with the brotherhood in the church; its bond is an association with God so close that the Son of God says that whatever is done to the least of His is done to Himself. Therefore their hearts go out without hypocrisy to the needs of their neighbor, and nothing is either so costly or so difficult that a Christian does not undertake it for the sake of the brethren." (Quoted from Treasury of Daily Prayer)

The joy of Christmas is that God himself came down to earth from Heaven to save sinners and set them free so that they could live in eternal joy. The world can muster up joy for a season, put on a happy face for a month or so and give away a little Christmas cheer. But it doesn't last. It can't last. True joy comes from Jesus. True selfless love and generosity comes from the working of the Spirit so that we give to one another because we have been given to by God. True good will does not originate in us but comes from God who accomplished his will by sending his Son, born of a woman, laid in a manger, worshiped by shepherds and angels so that he could live and die under the law, so that you and I could believe and have life. True Christmas Spirit is Christian Spirit and that is yours year round.

Christ and the Economics of Christmas

2011-11-29T11:16:00.001-05:00

Over the weekend it was reported that US retailers saw a profit of about $52 billion as as 226 million shoppers took to the malls this past (Black) Friday. The numbers were higher than expected (about 74 million more shoppers than predicted) and set records for sales. Economic analysts are hoping this is a good sign.

Over the past several years everyone has felt the economic pinch of recession. People have been out of work, businesses have been forced to close, those who kept their jobs have had to take a cut in pay. Everyone is hoping that this year is the year we turn the corner and go back to better and more profitable times. Yet, there are those who believe the records set by holiday shoppers are based on false hope and misplaced optimism.

Our current recession did not happen by accident. It was a credit bubble that got us here. People were overconfident in their ability to pay back loans taken out to buy homes and cars and hdtv's that they couldn't afford. When it came time to pay back the loans, they did not have the cash and so they defaulted. On the surface it appeared that the economy was booming, but it was based on promises to pay that could not be met. Since the bubble burst, we have all had to cut back and tighten our belts. We have had to live in our current homes, drive our old cars and watch our old tv's. We want to go back. We want what we had a decade ago. We want free spending and big piles of packages under the tree at Christmas.

Christians know that Christmas is CHRISTmas, it is the worship of the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God who has come to save the world from sin. He comes with salvation and he comes to bring peace on earth and good will toward men; but he comes bringing heavenly blessings and heavenly salvation for a heavenly kingdom. He comes to bring forgiveness and eternal life. There is a competing god who comes at Christmas. He brings gifts, but they are earthly and material. They are wrapped in paper and come with low monthly payments but a high interest rate. We are all looking for our god to come at Christmas, but not everyone calls him Christ!

People who know more than I do have predicted that our economy is still over-valued. They are predicting the likelihood of a further fall from economic glory. The bottom could completely fall out. The optimism on display over the weekend could be just the thing to send us back down into the depths of recession - people bank on optimism and false hope instead of cash in hand and money in the bank. It wouldn't take much to restart the tumble.

Yet still we are told to spend. Christmas is coming, go shopping. Keep the economy moving. Spend your way to salvation! But isn't that what got us into the recession in the first place?

For Christians, this serves as a good reminder. False gods don't ever provide what they promise. They are always built on a false hope and give promises that they cannot keep, and like a high interest rate on a credit card, there are always strings attached. You will have to pay and when you can't, when the bubble bursts you are left with nothing.

But the other god, the true and Triune God, he also comes at Christmas. He comes with real love and with real salvation. He comes, not to give you everything on your wish list, but instead to give you what you need; forgiveness and salvation from sin, the promise of eternal life free from judgment and just punishment. He comes to serve and to heal and to protect and to save. His gifts are free, with no strings attached, no hidden interest rates. Not backdoor fees, just free.

A friend of mine just made it back from a trip to a national retailer. He was wished a generic "happy holidays" by a clerk who admitted to having been instructed not to mention Christmas. How sad. The one who came on the first Christmas is kept from the celebration of the current one. He has been replaced by another god. Yet, of the two gods coming, both promising to bring salvation on Christmas, only one will deliver a salvation that will last and a salvation that will matter.

Come Ye Thankful

2011-11-28T11:40:00.003-05:00

This is the text of the sermon I preached for Thanksgiving
Grace mercy and peace be to your from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
An almost universal favorite out of all the thanksgiving hymns is the hymn Come You Thankful People Come. It is a thanksgiving classic. From its harvest theme to its familiar tune, it is well loved and enjoyed especially this time of year. While this hymn is thoughtful and meaningful in it presentation of the harvest of earthly goods that we celebrate on Thanksgiving, there is a more profound message in this hymn. We will explore those themes this evening as our meditation is guided by the text of the hymn. We will sing the first stanza now:

Come you thankful people come, raise the song of harvest home
All be safely gathered in ere the winter storms begin
God our maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied
Come to Gods own temple come raise the song of harvest home

Come You Thankful People Come is a harvest hymn. And harvest is a time of celebration. You who are farmers know just how much planning and preparation went in to those fields. There is the plowing and planting, pre-planting prep work that is done in the fields before the seeds can be sewn. The seed is purchased and then planted in the soil for what you hope will be an abundant year. But you never know. You do the best you can to buy the best seed, make the fields the most hospitable for that seed, you put it in the ground, pray that the weather doesn’t too anything too extreme and then hope for the best. Some might say farming is a gamble. Others might say it’s an exercise of faith. But then, when the work is done, the crops have grown and ripened, all the work of harvest is complete and the grain is in the barn, there is joy and relief. There is money in the bank and bread on the table for another year. It’s a time to thanks God for his goodness and to be glad for the blessings of the year.
All of this is evident in the first stanza of our hymn. Come you thankful people. Raise the song of harvest! It’s done. And It’s time to celebrate. God has provided for our needs, he has supplied our wants. He has given us reason to sing.

All the world is God’s own field, fruit onto his praise to yield
wheat and tares together sown unto joy or sorrow grown
first the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear
Lord of harvest grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be

There is a solidarity that the farmer shares with the Lord; both after all are farmers. Both have gone out into the world to sew seeds hoping for a fruitful harvest but all the while fully acknowledging that where the seeds have been sewn there are also weeds that will grow. While you sew your seed into the ground, our Lord sews the seeds of his Word of life into the hearts of men, so that the seeds will produce a yield of faith – so that Christians will grow up from these seeds who will mature and ripen and produce fruit. Some seeds will produce a yield. But some will not. Jesus tells us that Satan sews weeds in the Lord’s field. Fruitless stalks that mimic the wheat, but that have no faith and produce no fruit. Lord may we be those stalks that carry the grain! May we be counted among the faithful and the fruitful. May we hear your Word, take it to heart, believe it and live it so that on the last day we might be considered wholesome and pure.

For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take his harvest home,
From his field shall in that day all offenses purge away,
Give his angels charge at last, in the fire the tares to cast
But the fruitful ears to store, in his garner evermore.

These past weeks you have been out in the fields. And to your joy, from what I have been told ,the Lord has blessed you with an abundant harvest. In spite of the wet spring and the late planting, God provided the conditions that were just right for your crops to grow and be fruitful. God knows what he is doing.The days are coming when our Lord will go out into his harvest field. Jesus even said to his disciples that the harvest is plentiful. The workers are few. Who will go out into the fields? Just like the Lord has provided heat and light and moisture for the corn and soybeans to grow, the Lord has provided just the right amounts of the necessary things for faith to mature and grow. Luther taught that faith matures from meditation, prayer and testing (or temptation).

Just like the plants require moisture and sunshine for their growth, Christians require the Word of God and prayer for their refreshing and growth. Christians receive the Word as it is given by God just like the soil soaks up the rain. But then, after the crops have received that refreshing, they require heat, some nice warm days to really get those seed to germinate and to push those seedlings into mature corn or wheat or beans. And so do we. We need just the right amount of heat, we need our faith to be tested through temptations and trials. To accomplish this our Lord turns up the heat, he sends trials and temptations to us that make us grow, that help us to mature in faith by teaching us just how desperate we are for Jesus, so that we receive his gifts and are thirsty for more. And then, when the Lord sends out his angels on the last day to bring in his harvest he will find you mature and ready and fruitful.

Even so Lord quickly come to your final harvest home.
Gather now your people in, free from sorrow free from sin
There forever purified, in your garner to abide
Come with all your angels comes raise the glorious harvest home.

Driving around earlier today I could see a good number of fields that have been harvested. The crops have been brought in, the grain has been stored away or sold and the field is lying there waiting for the winter to come. But not all. There are a few still to be harvested before the winter comes. Until that time there is work to be done.Likewise with our Lord’s fields. He has brought in his harvest from the seeds that have been planted, but not all. There are still fields with crops standing waiting to be brought in out of the cold of the world and in protection from the winter to come. The cold winter of the Lord’s judgment is coming. It will be here soon. May we work while there is still time so that no one is lost and no grain is wasted.Thanksgiving is a harvest celebration. Tomorrow as we are gathered around our tables we will be giving thanks to God for all that he has provided throughout the year, he has blessed us greatly and abundantly. Our thanksgiving feast, as good and rich as it will be, is only a poor comparison to the feast that we will enjoy on the last day, when the Lord of the harvest has brought in his harvest from his fields, where we will celebrate with him forever.Amen.And now may the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Veteran's Day

2011-11-20T20:16:00.001-05:00

Marysville Ohio has a Veterans Day Memorial Program every year. This year I was privileged to be asked to offer an invocation and a benediction. This is what I wrote: Dear Friends and Fellows Citizens, I would like to begin with a word of thanks. I am truly honored to be here, to address you today. I am here on behalf of the clergy of our county and it is my privilege to offer an invocation; to call on the name of God and request that he bless our nation, its citizens, its leaders, those who serve and especially on this day, those who have served to defend her. On this Veteran’s Day, we ask God to offer his protection to our Nation’s Armed Forces even as they have risked themselves for our protection. May God be with them all. St Paul the Apostle, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote these words concerning those who govern us. He said, “They are God's servants for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.” (Romans 13:3-4 ESV) If we are to have rulers with the power to bear the sword then here must be a hand to hold that sword. A hand that is strong and ready to wield its power at the very moment it becomes necessary. And if there is to be such a hand, there must be soldiers, men and women trained and equipped to fight, who are prepared to operate the machines and the weapons of war so that those who do wrong might receive just recompense. Because here, in the exercise of justice, law abiding citizens are kept safe so that we can go about our lives and conduct our business without threat, both to our safety and our way of life. Therefore, on this Veterans Day we gladly honor the men and women who have served as the hand on the sword ready to pick it up and fight for us and our way of life when threatened by our enemies. I invite you to pray with me if you wish. O Lord, our Heavenly Father, You are a God who prefers justice over injustice, order over chaos, and peace over conflict. I pray on this day that you would ensure that our nation be a people committed to upholding justice, maintaining order and promoting peace both within our own land and throughout the world. Lord, I pray that you would curb all wickedness and sin among us. Bring justice where there is injustice. Bring order where there is upheaval; bring peace where there is conflict. Lord, I give you thanks that you have provided our nation with authorities to govern. May they be servants committed to the peace and general welfare of all people. Lord you have given to our authorities the power to maintain order. So that there may be peace and order you have provided the men and women of the Armed Forces. On this day I give special thanks to you for our veterans. I thank you for their willing service and their resolute dedication. May the citizens of our nation honor them for their service, respect them for their courage, and emulate them for their selflessness. Finally Lord, I ask your blessing on our proceedings this day. May our attitudes and actions reflect the honor that is due those who have served with honor, even as you have served us through their hands to provide for our protection and for all that we need to support this body and life. I pray this and all things in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Benediction I am privileged to serve as the pastor of St Paul Chuckery Lutheran church and School. St Paul is a congregation formed in the Lutheran tradition, borrowing its name from the 16th Century reformer, Dr Martin Luther. Martin Luther was a theology professor but he was also a pastor and it happened that one who was employed as a soldier came to Pastor Luther with a troubled conscience due to the often violent nature of his vocation. The work of a warrior,after all, involves fighting, and at times even killing. Pastor Luther wrote to this man a letter hoping to calm his conscience and allay his fears. In his letter of response, Dr Luther wrote to him that the office and work of a soldier is honored and instituted by God, that ultimately it is God's work and God's judgment executed in the world to punish those who do wrong and protect those who do right. Elsewhere Luther writes that peace and good government are gifts of God provided for us just as he provides for us our daily needs of food and clothing and a place to live. [SC LP 4th Petition] Clearly without the work and the service provided by our soldiers, both active and retired, our world would be much more dangerous and much less hospitable for honest work and good living. We owe our armed forces a great debt. Union County Ohio is a peaceful community. We have the freedom to assemble here together today giving honor to our veterans, and not one of us is afraid to be here. We are here of our own choice and by our own free will. No one has forced us to come or threatened us if we chose to stay home. Yet even in our own day there are nations around the world whose citizens do not have the same freedom. They do not have freedom to assemble,freedom to speak their mind, freedom to pray to the god of their choosing. We can give thanks to God that we enjoy these freedoms and we can give thanks to God that he has provided us with the men and women willing to serve to protect these freedoms. As we make our way back to our jobs and to our homes let us give thanks to the men and women who have served, often at great risk and always at great cost; as we go home to our families may we remember those who because of their service are separated from theirs; as we leave this assembly to assemble again in our free houses of worship and prayer let us give praise and honor to God who has instituted this right and good office, who defends us from dis order and chaos, who provides for our peace, and who serves us with honorable men and women willing to take up arms and go to fight so that we can live here in peace and prosperity. May the God of all peace and all comfort bless our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Still in the Whirlwind

2011-08-29T12:56:00.004-04:00

Over at CNN Belief Blog, Stephen Prothero (My Take: God No Longer in the Whirlwind) has an interesting piece, interesting especially in light of Michelle Bachman's recent comments in Florida claiming that the earthquake and now Hurricane Irene are a wake up call to the politicians in Washington. I would agree with the author who looks for rationale in science and explanations in tectonic plates, etc. Yet, being a Christian, I also believe that God has control over those tectonic plates, ocean currents, and air pressure. There is a secularized Christianity that looks for explanations to these events only in the scientific. I disagree. Yes they are related to the movement of natural phenomenon, yet what kind of a god is God if he has no control over these events - the name for this view is Deism: a god who is uninvolved and distant and who lets the world take care of itself. I find this god to be somewhat small and emasculated. The flip side are the vocal "conservative" Christians who open their mouths and sound like kooks. They rightly honor God as Lord of the wind and the waves but then pretend that they have a special access to him that the rest of us must respect (usually for a fee paid to their "ministry"). Interestingly enough, the Old Testament had a litmus test for those who pretended to speak for God; 100% accuracy. The penalty for a swing and a miss was death. (Deuteronomy 18:20) I wonder what the likes of our modern day prophets would think about that?

Pray for the Candidates

2011-06-16T09:42:00.004-04:00

I am not sure that this is widely known, but just as was the case a year ago, there are seminary graduates and candidates for placement who are still waiting to receive a call. I happen to have one of these men in my own charge at the moment. He was serving a convertible vicarage, the original congregation was not able to keep him, and we were blessed to have him come serve the remaining months of his vicarage here with us. He has served very, very well. He has been a much needed help while he has been here. Every member of the congregation will mourn the day that he (together with his wife) packs up to leave for his permanent placement.

There are a few things to say here. The first is that I am terribly impressed at how well prepared this man is to serve. Our seminaries do an amazing job of training these men to do the job that our LCMS congregations will ask them to do. He has a solid grip on law and gospel. He is a wonderful teacher and Bible study leader. He is a wonderful preacher. If he is any indication of the caliber of candidates our seminaries are turning out, then our synod is (and will be on into the future) blessed by him and those with him.

The second point builds from the first. From what I know there are 8 candidates still remaining, waiting to receive calls. There are approximately 200-250 congregations vacant and looking to call. Now, certainly not all of these congregations would be a suitable match for a candidate. But I am sure that many would. However, there seems to be this notion (I believe it is inherited from the business world and has crept in to the church) that a pastor needs to be tested and experienced before they will offer a call. They are afraid that calling someone "inexperienced" will be a risk. I believe that this is a false notion; one not consistent with theology; one that places institutional and administrative expertise over the authority of Christ to forgive sinners through the means of grace.

A pastor is the voice of Christ to speak His Word of consolation and forgiveness to sinners and to the suffering and grieving. He is the man Christ has appointed to exercise His keys, locking heaven for the unrepentant and unlocking heaven for the contrite. He is the one authorized by Christ to counteract the accusatory lies of Satan that burden the consciences of sinners. Certainly years in the Office will assist these men in applying the Gifts more pointedly or peacefully. But each of these candidates, once called and ordained are just as authorized, just as equipped, just as ready to serve as would be Luther, or Chemnitz, or Walther, or any of Lutheran heroes.

And so when your new, fresh from the seminary, wet behind the ears pastor stands up to absolve you, your sins are not less absolved because he lacks experience. When he presides at the Supper, Christ is not any less in with or under the bread or wine because he has only spoken the words of institution once, twice, or eight hundred fifty seven times. Your newly baptized son or daughter is not any less forgiven or sealed by the Holy Spirit because your pastor lacks administrative expertise. Remember Paul's charge to Timothy: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12) Your new pastor is Christ's man given to you to do the job he has equipped and authorized him to do. Trust Jesus. Don't trust the man, no matter how many years he has served.

These men still anticipating placements and calls are well trained to handle the Word of God. They are well prepared to offer Christ's gifts of forgiveness and healing. Our congregations should not let the world deceive them into a misplaced fear. Instead they should welcome these men who are and will be His gifts to His Church.

From God's Lips to Your Ears

2011-05-09T10:13:00.002-04:00

There is no bigger conversation killer than to tell someone you've just met that you are a pastor. If it has happened to me once, it has happened a thousand times, I am engaged in a nice conversation with someone I've just met, I tell them I'm a pastor and that little piece of information changes the entire tone of the conversation. They suddenly back track, feel the need to explain previous comments, tell me about the church they attend and how active they are. The fact that I am a pastor makes them feel insecure and guilty. I am willing to bet I am not the only pastor with this experience. Satan does his best to rob Christians of the gifts Christ has given to his Church.

The Christian life is one that is filled with troubles. Christians are sinners, they live with other sinners. Therefore we all sin against each other. I sin against you. You sin against me. It has a tendency to make life complicated. As if that were not enough, there are untold disasters and diseases that occur all the time that again make life complicated. "Why is this happening to me?" "Where has God gone?" "Does God still love me?" God has given pastors to Christian to help with these very issues.

You have troubles, you have sins, you have frustrations, but because of the Satan induced stigma, you can’t tell the pastor. You don’t want him to know. He will make you feel guilty.

Jesus says “Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.” Jesus says to his pastors, “If you forgive the sins of anyone they are forgiven.”

Jesus has not given you a pastor to judge you. Jesus has given to you a pastor so that when you tell him your sins, you have an ear that will listen. Jesus gives to you a pastor so that after he has heard your sin there will be a mouth and a voice to speak to you forgiveness. Jesus has promised that when pastors speak forgiveness it is Heaven's forgiveness. Jesus promises that when a pastor speaks consolation and comfort, it is Heaven's consolation and Heaven's comfort.

God gives pastors to his church. God gave Peter to the Jews to be their pastor. They were cut to the heart (Acts 2:37) and he told them of Christ’s forgiveness (Acts 2:38-39). God has given a pastor to you. His voice delivers to you Jesus. His ears deliver your cares to Jesus. His voice forgives your sin. Do not let Satan take this away from you.

Drought or Flood?

2011-04-28T08:56:00.001-04:00

Will the rain every stop? I am sure that is the question we are all asking these days. From the farmers among us who can’t get out into their fields until they dry out to the weekend warrior who wants to cut his grass, to the little child who would just like to go out and ride her bicycle, I am sure that all of us are looking for a break in the clouds and fewer mud puddles.
Yet, while at this moment we are wishing for a hiatus from the rain, the time might soon come when we will be wishing for more. Often it happens that as the summer months drag on, the heat of the summer months dries out the ground and dries up all the water. It can happen that the muddied earth becomes dry and dusty and cracked. In those moments we pray for what we feel at this moment is more than enough.
If there is one lesson we should learn from history, it ought to be that God send His Word often the same way he sends the rain. God gives His Word and grace in torrential downpours that drench us and soak us through, not to bone but to our very soul, with His living waters. That Word refreshes us, causes us to grown in faith and life, it blesses us and strengthens us for our battles with sin and Satan. Yet foolishly sinful hearted human beings often despise this Word of God, feel like we have had our fill of it, and convince ourselves we could get by without it.
Dr. Martin Luther put it this way. “God’s word and grace is like a passing shower of rain which does not return where it has once been. It has been with the Jews, but when it’s gone it’s gone, and now they have nothing. Paul brought it to the Greeks; but again when it’s gone it’s gone, and now they have [Islam]. Rome and the Latins also had it; but when it’s gone, it’s gone, and now they have the pope. And you Germans need not think that you will have it forever, for ingratitude and contempt will not make it stay. Therefore, seize it and hold it fast, whoever can; for lazy hands are bound to have a lean year.” [American Edition, 45:353]
Luther was warning the German churches that they take hold of the Word while it was present. When sinful hearts despise that Word, God takes it away and when it’s gone it’s gone. Consider his example of the Jews. They had the Christ, the apostles, Pentecost, the Holy Spirit and the Church. Yet they denied Christ, despised the Word and they have become for the most part and unbelieving people. Consider the Germans. The Lord blessed them with the Reformation. They made a staunch and soled confession of faith at Augsburg. They enjoyed a period of vibrant growth as they held tightly to the faith that they fought for. Yet they eventually gave in to rationalism and in modern times the German church is largely a secular church. The showers came. The Word of God poured down upon the people. They were refreshed and enlightened with faith. They despised that Word and now the Lord has taken it away. (Isaiah 5:1-7, Hebrews 6:1-7)
Our own American churches are following that identical pattern. Consider the mainline denominations. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church USA, they were once vibrant worshipping Christian communities. They have despised God’s Word and laid it aside to subject it to academic scrutiny. Those Churches are withering in the drought. Consider the large mega churches. Instead of preaching the Word of God and Christ crucified they preach pop psychology and self-fulfillment. The world loves these messages and so they have numbers and money and fancy buildings. They do not preach the Word of God. Instead they are like tumble weeds that are blown the direction of the latest fad. (Psalm 1:4) The Church in America has despised the Word of God. His clouds of Grace are beginning to break and the heat of his wrath may soon dry up what remains of his grace.
The question for you to answer, St Paul Chuckery is this: will you go the way of the Jews, the Germans, and follow the footsteps of the churches that remain around you? You have God’s Word. Will you despise that Word so that God takes it away?
Only this past Sunday we were gathered together around God’s gifts of Word and Sacrament to be fed by God for faith and life. Just as your backyard is drenched and soaked with rain, so are you drenched and soaked with God’s Word and Grace. It has puddled up around you so that you have it in plenty. Yet do you despise that Word?
Our catechism teaches us that we ought not “despise preaching and His Word but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” (Explanation to the 3rd Commandment) Have you received God’s Word and grace as that thing that is the most important? Are there other areas of life or even of the church that you have come to see as more necessary to you and your existence beside the Word? What is it that has replaced that Word? Sleep? Recreation? Sports? Money? How to run the church? That person who sits in the pew beside you? There are lots of things that Satan would use to distract us from God’s Word and Grace. (Matthew 13: 18-19) Do not be lead into that temptation. See the warning. Repent and receive God’s grace.
And God gives that grace in plenty. (John 1:16) Just as the rains fall from the sky and have the water ways brimming above their banks so does God give His grace. He pours it out like a monsoon that keeps coming and coming and coming. And the ensuing flood is a flood of forgiveness that washes away sin. The rains fall and cleanse and refresh and well up in a rushing flood that washes away the litter and pollution of sin that we have left to rot along the banks. God’s pure word overwhelms our sin and drowns our sinful nature so that we are once again made clean.
And after the flood comes growth. (Isaiah 45:8, Psalm 46:4) The water gives life to our life so that we become green and grow and bear fruit. We reach up our branches into the light of His grace and offer up our fruit to Him as a sacrifice of praise. (Psalm 1:3, Isaiah 55:10-11, Ezekiel 47:12) He prunes us, digs around us, fertilizes us so that we are a productive garden of believers. (Luke 13:6-9)
So let us heed the warning. Give attention to the history, not be made fools by our own carelessness. Instead let us hold God’s Word sacred. Let us receive it with joy and thanksgiving so that we gladly hear and learn it.

Sermon for Palm Sunday, Confirmation Sunday

2011-04-22T11:55:00.001-04:00

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This is the audio from Palm Sunday, Sunday of the Passion, which was also Confirmation Sunday at St Paul Chuckery

Jumping the Shark While Wearing a Meat Dress

2011-04-18T12:47:00.006-04:00

In television they call it "jumping the shark". A particular series has run its course and is no longer producing interesting content. The producers need some way to keep the audience tuning in, so they create some outlandish and over the top scenario to generate interest. In the waning episodes of the Happy Days series, the Fonze jumped a shark on water skis in an Evil Kanevalish sort of way. Hence the term.

Over the weekend it was reported that Lady Gaga is releasing a new single in which she romances Jesus' disciple Judas via the perspective of Mary Magdalene. I think Lady Gaga is perhaps one continuous study in jumping the shark. She dresses in meat. She dresses up like an egg (when she dresses at all). I wonder if the musical content lacks the musical quality to generate its own interest so that it becomes necessary to draw the audience through some other means.

The irony is that she is attacking Jesus by means of Judas, someone who is already a Biblical scoundrel, and Mary Magdalene, who has already been pegged as a prostitute. Much more offensive was the implication of a carnal relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus via Dan Brown and the DaVinci Code. But even then, Mr Brown was far from the first to make that connection. It appears that Ms. Gaga is trying to concoct some new controversy, but with this latest attempt it is doubtful that few are going to care. If she is going to perpetually jump the proverbial shark, she might generate that attention she so craves if she were to make the shark less than proverbial and dig the famous meat dress out of her closet (or would that be her freezer?).

Promises Promises Reflections on Confirmation

2011-04-14T09:27:00.004-04:00

This coming Sunday is Confirmation Sunday at St. Paul. We have three young men who will stand up and publicly confess the Christian faith and promise to be faithful to Christ and His Church for the duration of their lives and suffer all even death rather than fall away from it. This is a remarkable thing.

To begin with it is remarkable because kids are making a promise that most adults these days would not be able to make. We live in a world where people make their promises a lot like an insurance company. They make their promise to get what they want from you (your money, your respect, sex, etc.) But then, when that promise comes back to cost them something they look for an excuse to get out of it. Not much of a promise, if you ask me. Our teen aged kids are making promises of greater weight and with greater commitment than most of the modern adult world.

While this promise that they will make is truly remarkable, it does not occur in a vacuum. They are not blindly devoting themselves to a lost cause. They are not foolishly committing themselves to a god who may or may not honor their commitment. This is not Islam where the only guarantee of salvation is death in jihad. This is Chrstianity. We make promises to God. But these promises are based upon promises that he has made to us. Promises that he has made and kept.

God does not ask us to promise anything that he has not already promised to us. In fact, each promise that these kids are about to make has a companion promise that God himself has already given and already delivered upon.

Do you believe in God the Father Almighty? ... In Jesus Christ, his only Son? ... the Holy Spirit? They then confess the Apostles Creed. This creed is the baptismal creed, confessed by Christians prior to baptism since the Church first began. And there at baptism God made promises to them. In baptism God promised them forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38 Acts 22:16). God promised them salvation from death (Romans 3:5). God promised them Christ's righteousness (Galatians 3:27). God promised them that they would be rescued from Satan and the world (Colossians 2:11-12). God promised them salvation (Mark 16:16 1 Peter 3:21). God promised them eternal life (Romans 6:4) God promised them the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

These kids will promise to be faithful members of Christ's church and of their congregation, St Paul Chuckery. I think Christians these days tend to take that promise for granted. They think of this promise as a pledge that they will be Christians in a general sort of way and that they will belong or attend some church, although not necessarily this congregation. They make this assumption to their own spiritual detriment.

When Christians come to faith and become believers it is not and has never been a strictly individualist sort of thing. God unites Christians together in a body, a community. (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:12ff) God promises Christians that as they are joined to him they are joined to each other for their mutual benefit and building up. "If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored all rejoice together." And so we are able to share with each other the love of God that we have received. When a Christian promises to belong to a congregation they are blessed by God through that community of faith.

The biggest and scariest of the promises that Confirmation students make is the promise to be faithful unto death. Here in the USA we can make that promise without breaking too much of a sweat because it is the rare occasion that we are called upon to keep that promise. Christians are free to practice their religion and faith however they choose without threat. This is guaranteed by our constitution. But it could happen. Regardless, this promise is made in light of a promise that God has made and that God has kept. We promise to sacrifice our life for Christ in light of the promise that he kept to sacrifice his life for us. Jesus died for us. He gave his life as a ransom for ours.

Confirmation is about promises. Promises that kids make to God and these days that is a remarkable thing. Most teenagers are thinking about video games and sports and movies, etc. Not these kids. They are thinking about transcendent and eternal truth. They are staking their lives on it. But their promises are only a response, the second beat of the rhythm initiated by God as he made and kept promises to them.

On Pitying the Evolved

2011-04-13T15:44:00.002-04:00

I recently ran across an article from CNN's Beliefnet website entitled "Would Jesus Believe in Evolution". It's by Karl W Giberson. Find it here.

The author has very much to say and goes on for quite a bit, but his premise is easy to debunk on a fairly fundamental level. Elementary Logic warns against a common error that is made in argumentation. This is known as “begging the question”. Question Begging occurs when one assumes one's premise to be true without actually taking the time to prove it.
The author assumes that evolution is true. Based on this assumption he assumes that Jesus, being a practitioner of truth, would agree with evolution. He does not prove his assumption. He makes lots of strong statements about evolution being true, saying things like “It’s more certain that the earth going around the sun.” and “it has been established by careful study and research.” This is only rhetoric and does not prove anything.
The fact remains that there are plenty of scientists who practice their craft with just as much diligence and care as any other, yet who do not share this particular author’s belief in the current evolutionary dogma. There are many scientists who are quite capable of releasing the air from his balloon and have successfully made the case. (There are links to some of these works if you are interested to do further research)
As to Jesus believing in evolution. This again is only rhetoric. Jesus was definitely one who was concerned with truth. The Gospel of John records him as saying, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Jesus also said, “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” (John18:37) In other words, Jesus is truth. Those who want to know truth listen to Jesus. (Compare that to the author who has purported that he has decided what is truth and everyone must listen to him). According to Jesus, who is truth, the Genesis account is more than myth and it is more than general nice words. Jesus viewed it as historically authoritative. In Matthew 19 Jesus quotes Genesis 1 that says that God made Adam and Eve from the beginning. Clearly Jesus, who has claimed that he himself is truth and that those who are interested in knowing truth will listen to him, believes the Genesis account of creation to be historically accurate and authoritative. Jesus would not have believed in evolution.
Ultimately I have three problems with this man’s article. 1. He argues poorly with a logically flawed argument, assuming his conclusion without proving it. 2. He has constructed a theory that he believes explains the origins of life. That is fine. But it is a theory. It is nowhere close to being as certain as what he claims. To say as much is to leave science behind and enter into the realms of a religious dogma of sorts. This makes him a hypocrite. 3. His attempt to assimilate Jesus into his dogma is to undermine the Gospel that tells us that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for sinners so that there is a hope of salvation that transcends this man’s hope of a next great mutation. He turns down what is wonderful in the interest of what is mediocre at best. In my mind, he is to be pitied.

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A - Advent 4 - Isaiah 7.10-17

2010-12-19T06:41:00.001-05:00

Did you know you could try God's patience. Ahaz did it. God gave him a command, to ask for a sign, some visible and tangible evidence that God would do what he said, that God would keep the promise that he gave and Ahaz pretended to be pious. "far be it from me O Lord to put you to the test." A pretty thin attempt to be humble and righteous. And God was not impressed. He saw through the King's attempt to brown nose and gave him a sign any ways.
"The young woman will conceive and bear a son and will call his name Immanuel. And by the time the boy is old enough to know right and wrong the kingdom would fall to the Assyrians."
You see, Ahaz was a wicked king. He worshipped false gods. He even sacrificed his own children to those gods, to the Baals. (2 Chronicles 28) He was not faithful to the Lord and therefore the Lord would give him over to his enemies in judgment for the sins he had committed. The words of Isaiah the prophet are a warning. A call to repentance. A call to turn from sin and believe. But Ahaz heard without listening. He listened without understanding. And the words of Isaiah came true. The Assyrians came and took the kingdom of Judah from Ahaz so that he received his just reward. He was punished for his sin.
That same message of warning and punishment that same plea for repentance could be spoken today. Indeed it must be spoken today.
If you go back and read the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 28 you can find out all about King Ahaz. He was a wicked king. He walked completely in the ways of the world. The world of Ahaz was an idolatrous place - all kinds of false gods that people worshiped and prayed to. 2 Chronicles tells us that Ahaz even burned his children in the fire to these false gods. A reference to the ancient practice of child sacrifice. Sounds rather barbaric, at least until we remember how many children have been killed in our own day and age as their parents peruse the gods of wealth, a career, a reputation. Our age is just as wicked as those that came before us.
But God knows. He knows the condition of His world. He sees what is going on. He sees the sin and wickedness in men's hearts. It is nothing new. And so while he sent Isaiah to speak words of repentance to King Ahaz, he sends His Christians into the world to call for repentance. And that includes you. As you go off to work, to school, to college campuses. You are called to be a witness to the truth of the word of God.
(And by the way, usually the image we have of this involves brash bible thumping or picket signs. Often Christians forget that they can make a ready defense of the Christian faith in a logical and well reasoned way with sound rational arguments. The world does not necessarily hold the intellectual high ground - we however often give it up to them.)
The world needs to hear that there is a God. That there is a creator. That the words of the Bible are true. The world needs to hear the implications of this. That if there is a creator, then it is true that there is a judge. There is a judgment day, when this creator will return to call each of us to account. We need to be ready for that day, and therefore, like King Ahaz, the world needs to repent. Turn from sin and turn to the Savior. Because God is merciful and he has provided a way of salvation.
This text that was one of warning and judgment for Ahaz, was not just warning. There was a promise tucked away in there along with that call to repentance. A promse of a savior. A promise about Jesus.
"A young woman will conceive." This was a sign for Ahaz. A woman he knew would have a son and name him Immanuel. And Ahaz would see the boy grow and could watch the Lord's promised events unfold as the child grew. But that child who served as a reminder of God's judgment was also a sign of God's mercy. That boy would point ahead to another boy who would be born years into the future. Born to another young woman, this one a virgin. And Isaiah's promise would come to roost in the life of this second child in a greater way than the first.
Matthew the author of the Gospel text for today helps us to understand that these words spoken by Isaiah find their greatest fulfillment, not in the time of Ahaz but in a future time. Matthew's ties those words to Joseph and to Mary. Mary, the virgin who conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus the boy who was Immanuel - not just by name, but by his person.
Immanuel, the name Immanuel, in hebrew literally means "God is with us". Now this is true in a general sort of way. We believe that when we worship, as we pray, as we have our devotions God is present with us. But with Jesus it was different, it was more. Jesus was literally God with us. God among us. God present in the flesh with His people. The God who is bigger that the universe and holds all power and authority reduced himself to human stature. The God who will come again to judge the living and the dead on the last day. This God, the True God. The Only God.
Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, is exactly what this world needs. Our world that is so misguided and wrong headed, our world that insists on heading in the wrong direction needs this child. Our world needs the forgiveness that he came to provide. Our world needs the salvation that is found nowhere else in all of heaven and earth. Our world needs Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life.
You see, the miraculous birth of this little baby was a precursor to the greater miracles that he would accomplish later in his life. Of course there were the healings, the walking on water, the mastery over the wind and the waves, the release of those held captive by the devil. But the greatest work of this Christ child, this God with us was his death. His vicarious atonement, where he was our substitute, where he took God's judgment for our sin so that he could pay the price for our sin. And then, to prove that this work was done, he was raised from the dead. Because he was victorious over our sin, he was also victorious over death. Death, the wages of sin, now has no power because of what Jesus has done. The boy, the baby born to a virgin, has saved us.
The Christ has come. Immanuel, God-with-us has come. He came at Christmas born to be our savior. But he is coming back. And when he returns he will come with judgment. In the days of the wicked King Ahaz God enacted judgment through the Assyrian army. When he comes again he will do the job himself. So the world needs to be ready. The world needs to be prepared. We have God's salvation. We have Jesus who died and suffered that judgment in our place. May we speak as clearly as Isaiah. Amen.
And now may the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen

Gifts from the Giver - Christian Congregations and Stewardship Programs

2010-10-07T09:21:00.003-04:00

Churches need money. It's a fact of life. There are bills to pay. There is payroll to meet. There are laborers to hire, insurance to pay, office supplies to purchase. There is postage, missions programs, Bible Study and Sunday School materials to purchase. The list is virtually endless. As an "institution" that exists, in some part, in the Kingdom of the Left Hand, churches need to set budgets and plan for income. To that end, churches are dependent upon the generosity of their membership. Enter the "Stewardship Program".

Being a pastor, there are almost daily offerings of new stewardship programs that come across my desk. Some are slick, with nice websites and full color brochures. Some, in the vain of good stewardship, are more spartan. Each will make lots of promises. Each comes with multiple testimonials. Each promises to increase giving at your congregation.

Now this is not necessarily bad. The Bible talks about money. It talks about Christians giving their money for use in the church. In fact, God even wants Christians to give their money in the church. The problem, however, with many if not most of these stewardship programs is that they find the solution not in the Spiritual power of the Word of God, rather they locate that power in the worldly means of the law.

There is a song that plays in high school gymnasiums and reception halls called the “Cha Cha Slide”. The song calls out for those on the dance floor to “Slide to the left, Slide to the Right”. I think the church dances sometimes with two left feet. We are of the Right Hand Kingdom but also in the Left Hand. We spend too much time in the left hand and not enough in the right. It shows up in our stewardship programs.

Businesses and corporations live in the Kingdom of the Left. They exist to generate revenue by selling a product so they can pay their bills, expand their influence in the marketplace, and earn income. Often Churches mistake themselves to be a business. They view their pastor as their CEO who guides them into the market place as they seek to generate revenue (offerings), increase market share (expand membership), and grow their bottom line (“build the ministry”). Stewardship programs are often geared toward this crass commercialism.

Yet, even those that are more spiritual do share a similar flaw. They, like their secularized counterparts, view the main goal of the stewardship program to be the growth of the bottom line and ultimately the good of the institution. Stewardship Programs promise that your church will have more money. The pastors offering the testimonials claim that their church saw an increased revenue of so many thousands of dollars over a period of time. Pastors encourage their members to give because the church needs their money and unless they give the church will shut down and their programs will not continue. Congregation Inc. should not exist for the sake of itself. It should exist for the sake of the Gospel, to preach the Gospel for repentance and the forgiveness of sins, for the sake of the sinner. Remember, Jesus did not come to seek and to save the local congregation. He came to seek and to save the lost!

A second flaw of Stewardship Programs is that they confuse various doctrines of Scripture. Namely, stewardship programs often confuse law and gospel. Stewardship programs confuse Biblical Stewardship with the Doctrine of Vocation.

I believe the confusion is accidental. I believe that pastors are hesitant to preach the full force of the law against sins that have to do with people money. People don't like the Sunday Sermon to hit them in their wallet and often will complain when it does. Pastors want to soften the blow so they will preach that stewardship is also about your time and your talents in addition to your treasure.

Scripture already has a doctrine that has to do with your time and your talents. It is the Doctrine of Vocation. The Doctrine of Vocation teaches Christians that they are a kingdom of Priests called into service of their God and their neighbor. Christian serve their God in their calling as parents and workers and employers and employees. By virtue of their vocation they already serve God. They don't need to be told that they can only serve God at Church (and heaven forbid, in worship!). To do so confuses law and gospel and creates fear and terror in the conscience of the Christian.

A third flaw of Stewardship Programs is that they deny the power of the Gospel to change the hearts of Christian to become generous supporters of the congregations ministry. The power to change selfish and self serving sinners into open handed and generous givers lies in the life giving Word of the Gospel. Christian give because they are moved by the Spirit to acts of love and
mercy.

Christians hold on to their money because they are sinners. Christians are selfish and greedy and they want to keep their money for themselves. Christians are also idolaters who fear the economy or job loss or disasters instead of God and they look to their money to save them. Only God according to His Gospel can calm the fears of the fearful and only God by means of the Power of the Spirit working in the Means of Grace can create generosity out of greed and idolatry.

Instead Churches fall to the temptation to treat stewardship as information. They say that Christians need to be "trained" to give. They give Christians "principles for giving". They believe that ff they have the right information then the appropriate stewardship will follow. If this is true than the power for Christian living lies in the human heart, the ability to change lies in our ability to make the right decision. No wonder so many congregations and ministries flounder.

Christian Stewardship is a spiritual matter. It is a matter of faith. Christians struggle with stewardship because we are sinners, we are selfish and we are idolatrous. The Word of God provides Christians with the solution to sin. It is the Gospel. It is the power of the Holy Spirit. It is God's Gifts of Word and Sacrament that washes away our sin and then create in us a desire to share those lesser gifts with our neighbor who needs them. Instead of sewing sparingly, let us sew with generosity and read the blessings our God has to give.

Back to School clothes for my blog

2010-08-10T14:02:00.001-04:00

So there's a new layout and design. With all the kids getting dressed up for school to start, I though my blog could use some new duds.

The Dad Life

2010-08-10T13:34:00.003-04:00

Yes, I have been gone for a while. Who knows how many of you actually read my posts or how often you check back, but this is pretty funny. And, yes... this is my life.
Not a bag gig... dawg.

My Own Convention Recap

2010-08-09T16:49:00.003-04:00

There are a few things that have been on my mind. I got back from Houston about three weeks ago. I was privileged to attend the LCMS convention. Was a good convention. Other than the heat, the long sessions and the umpteen points of order, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Got to room with an old friend. Got to reconnect with several others. Made a few new friends. And got to witness the election of President elect Matt Harrison. (a very dramatic moment, btw) For those things, I couldn't be happier.

But there were a few things I think worth commenting on.

For starters, I was not terribly enthusiastic about the devotional theme chosen for the convention; “One People Forgiven”. “Forgiven for what?” is my question. Obviously I have no problem with forgiveness. I need it every day, first from God, then from my neighbors. But I kept feeling like we were asked to confess sins I am not convinced we all had committed.

The “sin” was typically had to do with disunity and infighting. We were told we needed to be reconciled. Yes, but for what? There seemed to be this idea that the thing that divided us was disagreement over adiaphora – things like politics or structural and governance. This was the BRTFSSG convention. It was hinted at that those who were opposed to structure and governance had a spiritual problem. By inference, then, the sins necessary to confess were those disagreeing with the structure.

Our disunity and disagreement is not over structure. There are honest to goodness doctrinal differences. There is false doctrine within the synod. False doctrine needs to be confessed. False doctrine needs to be repented of and true doctrine believed by faith. The structure, etc. needs to be debated and scrutinized with our best human reason. Bottom line; I felt we were asked to confess sins that were not sins, and the false doctrines that are sinful were overlooked so we could “move forward”.

That was the first thing.

The other thing that troubled me was the response of many of my confessional brothers as the convention was winding down.

As the convention wore on, it became clear that the confessionals were winning the elections by significant numbers. The old guard was out and new blood was in. The candidates supported by Jesus First seemed to be loosing. The confessional candidates kept winning. The numbers and margins are quite striking. Occasionally I heard my confessional brothers taking credit for this. Honestly, I found this somewhat arrogant and foolish.

I am a big fan of Matt Harrison and I am glad that he has a team to work with who will be supportive of his vision and direction for the synod. But no one person can claim credit for this. In my mind there are a handful of contributing factors that made it happen, none of which involve the planning and preparation of those taking credit.

The first was the cancellation of Issues Etc. In previous conventions, LCMS confessionals have had their hats handed to them several times over. This was in part because they were divided and disorganized. Each party supported its own “confessional” candidate and then divided their votes between them while everyone else voted for Kieschnick. But then, a few years ago, a popular and effective voice of confessional Lutheranism in Missouri was canceled by the LCMS higher ups. Official explanation cited “business and programmatic reasons”. But nobody bought it. Issues Etc is a solidly confessional and doctrinal program that takes positions contrary to the direction the Synod leaders wanted to go. So the show was canceled. This was a severe miscalculation. It was assumed the program would die a quiet death and fade into the background. It did not. It came back a few months later independently funded and free from the restraints of the LCMS bureaucracy. Now the host and producers could say and do what they wanted. They could even speak against the direction of the synod. If the show was a problem while it was affiliated with the Synod, it became a bigger problem after it was independent. In addition, it made a lot of people angry. The fans of the show were sad to see it go away. Even the nominal fans recognized its cancellation was an injustice. Cancelling the show gave Synod bureaucracy a black eye and it gave the confessionals had a rallying cry. The cancellation of Issues Etc was the first step in the LCMS power shift.

The second factor as I see it is the fact that the Synod is financially troubled. It is no secret that Synod has been losing money. Contributions to the synod continue to go down. Spending and programs and either maintained or added. The Ablaze initiative has also seen its financial problems with huge fund raising costs and limited success. It was easy to see that the Synod needed a new financial plan. Bureaucracy acknowledged this. The BRTFSSG was convened around the purpose and intent that the Synod be streamlined so that overspending and waste could be eliminated. In addition, the Synod decided to sell KFUO FM. KFUO has been a symbol to many of the forward thinking evangelistic outreach of the LCMS and there was a good deal of synodical pride attached to it. Selling it was unpopular. I am not sure that the convention was willing to fix blame on anyone, after all the past decade has been financially challenging for everyone. But I believe the convention felt the Synod needed a new financial direction.

This brings me to the last point. All of these factors add up to serious dissatisfaction, but that alone wouldn't go anywhere were it not for the fact that the Confessionals were able to put forward a gifted man to take the position. They found that in Matt Harrison. Matt had all the key ingredients necessary to win the election. First, he is solidly and confessionally Lutheran. He has written ample papers and books and essays and each one comes from a confessional Lutheran perspective. He is missional and merciful and evangelistic and pastoral. Confessional LCMSers were able to rally behind him in a way that they have not in previous conventions. In addition, He is a solid manager. In a decade of financial deterioration, his World Relief and Human Care successfully administrated hundreds of millions of dollars and even floated loans to the synod at large to keep it from going under. Finally, he is likable. He is good in front of a crowd. He is humble, warm & friendly, he takes time for people. He has a bushy, trademark mustache that hides a broad smile while he strums away on his his banjo. The guy probably likes babies and kittens too. He was a guy who couldn't miss.

Lots of people in their post convention analysis wanted to take all kinds of credit and pat themselves on the back for their hard work and diligence. Hard work and preparation are good and necessary, but they don't get you anywhere without the God who provides daily bread for the hungry soul. Psalms says that the horse is made ready for the day of battle but the victory belongs to the Lord.

I believe there were a number of things that set the stage for the direction the convention went. We didn't have any control over any of these things. Rather the Lord provided a “perfect storm” of financial turmoil, unpopular management decisions and a solid alternative candidate for the job. In my estimation, this is what won the day.

The Tyrrany of "Cause & Effect"

2010-05-19T14:33:00.002-04:00

Every child, somewhere during their toddler years, learns the lesson of “cause & effect”. You fall, it hurts. Pull a dog's tail, you get bitten. Touch something hot, you get burned. And so it begins. And that lesson terrorizes us until the day we die. “Cause & effect” teaches us lessons – avoid the dog's teeth, precarious balancing acts, and open flame. Especially when it comes to faith, we mistake these lessons for wisdom. We mistake these lessons for faith.

Foolishly we believe that faith bears a “cause & effect” relationship. Sin, get punished. Repent, get forgiveness. Doubt, loose blessings. Believe, get blessings. We think it's all “cause & effect”. It isn't. “cause & effect” is law. Faith is gift. Faith is gospel. Faith is freedom.

Consider the example of joy. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. It is a gift that God gives for free through His Holy Spirit. It is ours because he has given it. Yet, we so often find ourselves less than joyful. We want joy. We don't have joy. We try to get joy “cause & effect” style.

As a child I learned to sing a song, “The Joy of the Lord is my Strength”. In that song I was taught to sing, “If you want joy you must sing for it. If you want joy you must sing for it. If you want joy you must sing for it. The joy of the Lord is my strength.” Don't you see it? “Cause & Effect”? Sing and you will get joy. The reason you don't have joy is because you didn't sing. You missed out on the effect because you forgot the cause.

The truth of the matter is that the fruit of the Spirit, joy included, is a gift God has already given. Sin, fear, “cause & effect”, worry, doubt, unbelief; these thing rob us of joy. We are too foolish to see it. So we keep singing and singing, and shouting and shouting, and praying and praying, all the while fearing and fretting that we have no joy. How foolish! It is already yours! Confess your unbelief, your sin, your wretchedness and seek Jesus.

Jesus commands us to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well.” When we seek Jesus the Holy Spirit gives us “all these things”. That includes Joy. It includes peace, patience, kindness, self control, faithfulness, gentleness. These are gifts from God that he gives for free because He wants to. He gives them in Jesus. It's not because we have sung, shouted, prayed, believe hard enough to get it. It is because He is good and He loves to give it!

Seminary or Bust

2010-04-23T13:36:00.002-04:00

Seminary kicked my butt. And I am happy to admit it. I am a better pastor and my congregation is better fed because of it. I arrived at seminary thinking I was special, that I had what it would take to light the world on fire. Seminary cured me of these notions.

My first quarter introduced me to Dr Horace Hummel. Dr Hummel kicked my butt. I had never worked so hard hoping only to pass. Second year introduced me to Dr Norman Nagel. Dr Nagel obliterated me. And I love him for it. He broke down my legallstic and limited notions of God's work and tore the roof off my understanding of the Gospel. I got to know Dr Jeff Gibbs who introduced me to the sheer joy of exegesis. I got to know Dr Fueherhann who brought thoughtful analysis to my own history as he opened up the ideas that string from generation to generation. I can personally say with no hesitation that I can see farther and clearer because I stand on the shoulders of these and other men who were my teachers during my years at the seminary.

There is currently a movement in our synod to to deprive burgeoning pastors of the treasure trove of seminary education. Through various programs such as the Specific Ministry Program, men can become pastors with little to no residential time on our seminary campuses. In my mind this is sentencing us to poverty.

Think of it this way, suppose you were the owner of a 5 star restaurant famous for its culinary delicacies. Would you turn your kitchen over to someone who studied at home via the internet? Would you want a chef trained from a video series? Or would you want a chef mentored by the world's foremost and best chefs? Would you want a chef who spent time being trained and personally tutored by those who know the craft inside and out?

It is true that there are some pragmatic reasons for moving away from a residential seminary training program. Seminary training is expensive. A three year residential program is inconvenient. Non residential programs provide an easier means for capable men to become pastors. However, at the same time there are those who resent their seminary training. They arrive, as I did, thinking seminary was a hoop to jump through. They are resent their instructors, seeing them as unreasonable and harsh for their expectations. They get through their time at the seminary with a minimum of work and effort and then brag about leaving their Greek New Testament and their Book of Concord on their shelf. I thank the Lord that he moved me to repent of these sins and see the error. Yet I fear that our current "seminary lite" programs are a capitulation to those who deny the fruitfulness of seminary training. I am afraid that our 5 star restaurant could soon become a Denny's.

Everyday Miracle

2010-04-21T13:52:00.003-04:00

In the second chapter Acts, Saint Luke records an astounding miracle. As you may well know, Acts 2 records the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. As they prayed in the upper room, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and then went out into the streets to preach, each one in a language that he had never learned or studied. Usually when we think of miracles in Acts 2 this is the one that comes to mind. But there is another. If you keep reading to the end of the chapter you will find that Luke records another miracle.

⁴⁴And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (ESV)

When you stop to think about it, this is an astounding miracle. It was only a matter of weeks before that these very same people, the residents of Jerusalem, were gathered together at the trial and execution of Jesus. They were threatening to riot if Pontius Pilate did not hand Jesus over to them so that they could murder him. And now, only about a month and a half later they have been transformed from murders into philanthropists. They have opened their hearts and their hands to share what they had in common with all those who had need. This is nothing short of a miracle.

So, one must ask, what changed?

The best answer, the only answer, is Jesus. Jesus changed everything. To begin with, Jesus died. Not for his own crimes but for theirs. And even though they were murderers, he did not hold their crimes against them. Secondly, Jesus rose. Following his death, he demonstrated his authority over death by defeating it. Death had to let him go because he fulfilled death's penalty. Thirdly, he ascended. Jesus, the God-man ascended into heaven to sit on heaven's throne and to send His Holy Spirit. Fourthly, Pentecost came. The Spirit came. He came to the Apostles and then he came into the hearts and lives of those murdering Jerusalemites through the preaching of Peter and the apostles.

Luke tells us they were cut to the heart. The Holy Spirit convicted them of their sin. Luke tells us they asked the apostles what they should do. They were told to repent and to be baptized. The murderers repented. The sinners were baptized. They received the gift of the Holy Spirit. And then, they were filled with the love of God for one another so that they gave of themselves generously and saw to it that no one was hungry and that no one had a need.

This community of Christians in Acts was truly a Spirit directed community. They were moved in their love for God to love each other. There was no need for taxes or dues or fees because they willingly gave as each one was able to each one who had need.

For us who are Christians 2000 years and a few thousand miles removed we might ask if the same miracle happened here? Yes it has. The same Spirit has come to us as we have gathered together to break the Bread of Christ's Body. The same Spirit flows through the living waters of Baptism. The same Spirit is alive and active in the preaching and hearing of the Word. This Spirit turns us from murderers and sinners and idolaters to lovers of God and one another.

Has the miracle of Pentecost moved us to the same works and gifts of love? Yes. Consider the gifts that are given each Sunday as Spirit filled Christians open their hearts and their hands to give their offerings so that they might be used to offer gifts of love to the families in our church and local community? Is that Holy Spirit who would prompt us to these gifts ever resisted through sins of greed and selfishness? Yes. Are these sins that we need to repent of? Yes. Does the Holy Spirit bring us to forgiveness? Yes.

We are baptized Christians. In our baptism the Spirit has united us to the death and resurrection of Jesus. This gift continues to be given to us brand new each day. Every night we go to bed confessing the sins of that day and every morning we wake up completely new with a clean slate. Every day we live in the knowledge and assurance that we are redeemed sinners, loved by God.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:11)

The Numbers Are In

2010-04-07T14:29:00.003-04:00

Those who follow LCMS politics might be interested to know that the nominations for Synod President have been counted. Occasionally I write for a website called Cross Focused Leadership for Missouri. This site has posted a review of these nomination tallies. The review is pasted below.

The numbers are in. LCMS congregations have submitted their nominations for the office of president, those nominations have been tallied, and the numbers have been reported. For the office of president, Matthew Harrison 1,332; Gerald Kieschnick 755; Herbert Mueller, Jr. 503; Carl Fickenscher II 5; and Daniel Gard 3. Those numbers tell an interesting story.

For the last nine years Gerald Kieschnick has served faithfully as our synodical president. Those years have been challenging and at times controversial. Yet through the challenges and even through the controversy, support for President Kieschnick has remained consistent. Even though some have questioned his approach, congregations have opted to give him the benefit of the doubt, backing him with their support through their nomination. For example, President Kieschnick received 1,055 nominations for the 2007 convention. The next closest was John C. Wohlrabe Jr. with 607. That is a difference of more than 400 congregations.

The latest round of nominations tell a new story. As the Synod faces organizational and financial challenges in addition to the doctrinal stresses of the past decade, congregations are nominating a new leader to lead us through these difficult waters. Rather than renominating our current President, who has sought to address these challenges through structural change (via the recommendations from The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Government), congregations are instead nominating a man who maintains that our problem is not structural, but relational. Our biggest problem is not that we need to become more efficient, like a business. Our biggest problem is that we have lost the ability to talk through our differences, like a family. Congregations appear to be in agreement that the structure will work just fine and the financial situation will improve if we stop brushing our issues under the rug and do the hard work of getting together to discuss those things that divide us.

Take another look at the numbers. Whereas in previous years and based on nominations the synod has given its nod to keep going with the direction Gerald Kieschnick had set, this year the margins are quite different. Kieschnick does not enjoy such a wide margin of support. In contrast, Pastor Matt Harrison, who has outlined a plan to bring the family back around to the table, has suddenly received 1,332 nominations.

So what has changed? In the past three years, Matt Harrison has demonstrated great leadership. This leadership has been evident as he spearheaded relief efforts in New Orleans following Katrina, and more recently in Haiti. He has shown himself to be a man proficient in our Lutheran Theology. He has demonstrated a knowledge of our history as a denomination and is conversant with our Missouri Synod source materials. He has a pastoral heart. In addition to his leadership, he has also provided a plan to help lead us out of our challenges and problems; financial, organizational, and relational!We are encouraged that more congregations of Missouri are putting their support behind the man who wants to keep the conversation “all in the family”. This bodes well for our synod.

We hope that delegates to the convention listen to the congregations, elect Matt Harrison as our President, and elect men and women in all offices who support his vision for cross-focused leadership for Missouri.

Vocation and Basketball

2010-03-22T13:59:00.005-04:00

It was one of the most exciting moments of the 2010 NCAA Basketball Tournament. Greivis Vasquez, the star of the Maryland Terrapins took the ball the length of the floor and scored to take a one point lead with 6 seconds left in a hard fought contest. The Spartans in-bounded to ball to Draymond Green. Green took the ball to the other end of the floor, dished to Korie Lucious who drained a three pointer as time expired.

I’m a Spartan. I love college basketball and I love the Michigan State basketball program. I have for years. I am also a basketball player (or at least I was). I have played a lot of basketball. I have played enough to know that success in basketball or in any sport is in part physical, God-given ability but it is also psychological and even spiritual. You get the ball in your hands with seconds left on the clock and you know what’s at stake: the game, the tournament, the season, Sportscenter (okay, Sportscenter was never on the line for me personally). You get a lump in your throat. A twitch in your spine. A twinge of excitement and nerves. And then you let the ball fly.

What makes it go in? At times we will claim it’s “divine intervention”. I suppose there might be some of that; after all if God directs military contests (Proverbs 21:31) he can also direct the athletic. But there is something to be said for the psychology and the nerves and the confidence that goes into that shot. There are a lot of things that can throw off your concentration and throw off your game. Not the least among them is sin.

Having the ball in your hands with the game on the line provides ample opportunity for the Old Adam to suit up and call for “the rock”. Sinful pride begs for glory and fears shame. I have had the ball in my hands with the game and glory on the line. I have felt that twinge of excitement and nerves. I have felt the urge for glory. I have felt the fear of shame. Many a shot has bounced from the rim with those thoughts in my mind. The game, for the glory of the self, is sin.

If you saw the post game press conference. Izzo and his team talked about playing for each other. Korie Lucious told the injured Spartan star, “I’ve got your back.” Even the left hand kingdom understands the negative effects of pride and selfishness. How much more the right hand! The Gospel moves the Christian to confess that pride. The Gospel sets the Christian free from that pride; free to serve. Free to work. Free even to play.

Lutherans hold to the Doctrine of Vocation. Set free by the Gospel the Christian works for the good of the neighbor. That holds just as true on the basket ball court as it does anywhere else. The game is not for glory to me, but for service to my neighbor; for the good of the team. When I finally figured this out, the doctrine of vocation actually made me a better player. It kept my head in the game. If I had the shot, I took it. Why? Because a good shot helps the team to win. If the other team was on a break away and someone needed to get back on defense, I did it for the good of the team. If I could make a pass that would set up a teammate, I looked to get them the ball. Why? Because I was set free my Old Adam who kept trying to get in my head to mess with my game.

Now, let’s be real. Coach Izzo probably doesn’t understand the doctrine of vocation. The Michigan State Spartans likely don’t understand the doctrine of vocation. But they played, not for themselves, but for the team. Kalin Lucas was on the bench with an Achilles tear. Chris Allen was on the bench with a sprain in the arch of his foot. The normal go to guys were out so Draymond Green stepped up for the team. Korie Lucious stepped up for the team.

Some people say doctrine is boring. Some people say doctrine is abstract and useless. Doctrine sets us free – not just in some intellectual and inaccessible sort of way, but in real, everyday life ways: in the work place, at home, and even on the basket ball court.

Chasing Sheep

2010-03-10T16:13:00.007-05:00

I suppose its true in any other profession, but it seems that pastors are good at professional one-up-manship. Pastors like to tell tales about the stuff they have going at their parish; building programs, stewardship, average worship attendance, etc. etc. etc. It is easy (for me anyway) to come away thinking that I need to get moving and make my congregation more like theirs.

It is way too easy to get sucked in.

I was recently reading on a friend's blog a posting by Matt Harrison (find it here) and discovered a quote that I found both inspiring and at the same time helpful.

Our vocation is not to save the ninety-nine, but to seek the one. One at a time. One here and one there. One child cared for. One person nursed to health. One life saved. One hurting soul comforted with the name of Jesus. One man loved. Our vocation is not to change Haiti, or to change the whole world, or to change the economic realities with which Haitians wrestle. Our vocation is to act and make a life-changing difference one at a time. And acting one at a time, we find that over some hours, over a few days, and over a couple of weeks, the flock of those helped in the name of Jesus has grown to be surprisingly large.

Pastor Harrison is talking about the parable of the Lost Sheep from John 15 and applying it to the needs of the people in Haiti following their devastating earth quake. He points out that Jesus went after the one. One at a time. One by one. This has been for me a profound insight.

There is always that pressure to be the church that has the budget surplus, that has the great attendance, that has the busting-at-the-seems programs. (I suppose I might confess it is easy to covet...) So churches always try to become this by implementing policies and adopting programs. "If they haven't attended in 3 years, drop them from the roles." "Let's write a series of form letters." "Let's hire a consultant to tell us how we can fix ourselves." These things don't work, or if they do work they have worked the wrong thing. Faithful pastoring doesn't mean you have budget surpluses and rear ends in the pews. It means that you preach God's Word; law and gospel. Week in and week out. And, when necessary, one at a time.

Instead of cleaning up the roles, instead of lopping off the dead wood, I have resolved to seek one. Reach out to one with God's Word. Rightly divide it. Mercifully apply it. And who knows, maybe after a time the flock will have grown quite large.