Mark 13:24-27 ESV

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our sermon text for this Last Sunday of the Church Year is the Gospel reading recorded in the 13^th chapter of St. Mark.

Since this is the Last Sunday of the Church Year it should not surprise you that our attention this week is again focused on the end of this world, the return of Christ and the life that is yet to come.

Last week we heard from both the prophet Daniel and from Jesus himself that things will get really bad right before the end. A time described as great distress such as never has been in the history of the world. And I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe that time had at last begun when I was reading the news and came across this disturbing story: Kellogg’s reported that they will have an Eggo Waffle shortage in the upcoming months. What? No Eggo Waffles! How can this be unless it is the end? Couple this Eggo Waffle shortage with the fact that the New Orleans Saints are 9-0 this season what other conclusion can one draw: The end must be near!

No not really. But there are many who choose to try and interpret the signs this way in order to determine if the end really is near. The first big chunk of our text today, v. 24-31, teach us that we really do not need to interpret the signs because when it happens it will be so obvious you can’t miss it. Jesus says it will be as obvious as the lesson of the fig tree, "As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates."

The end of this world will be obvious. You can’t miss it. And the end of this world is a guaranteed fact. So since you cannot change it and since predicting the end precisely is not only impossible, but also not necessary because it will be obvious our attention should be turned in a different direction. Jesus hints at the direction when he says, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."

Our attention, our focus should not be on the things that are condemned to pass away into oblivion but rather on the eternal thing: Christ and his words. What ‘words’ are Jesus referring to? Only the ones in red? Of course not. I bring up these red-letter editions of the Bible because indirectly they teach a very bad lesson: They teach that the words in red are somehow more important than the other words of the Bible. But this simply can’t be. Not if we believe that what the Gospel of John says is true. John teaches us that, "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." Jesus is the Word made flesh. Why would we only highlight the words he spoke in the flesh? He spoke all of the words. If Jesus is the Word in the flesh, as John teaches, then the whole Bible should be in red. It is all His word.

And this Word is more than just a book. More than just letters upon the page. This Word is written yet also living. For behind the written words of the page stands the living Word: Jesus Christ himself. And through the written words read and heard the same Jesus Christ creates faith and so many are saved.

Listen to the Word’s own testimony: "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges thoughts and attitudes of the heart." "For you have been born again not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, though the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.’ And this is the word that was preached to you."

Many more passages of God’s Word could be brought forward to bear similar testimony. But the message is clear: God’s Word is not only living and active, it is eternal in him and through him who lives and reigns forever and ever, Jesus Christ our Lord. To be found in Christ in the midst of a dying world that one day will end is truly bliss. For to be found in Christ is to be joined with him who is eternal and thus the world’s end is not our own but truly is just the beginning.

This thought leads us to the second half of our text. The theme for the second half of the text can be summarized through three imperatives given by Jesus: The first, "Be on guard." The second, "Keep awake." The third, "Stay awake."

In light of the fact that Jesus has set our minds not on the temporary, that is the end of this world; but rather on the eternal, that is him and his words we can easily deduce what is we are to be on guard for and the purpose for our staying awake. It is not the end of this world and all its awfulness that we are to be on guard for but rather on guard for Jesus and his return. Jesus is the object of our watchfulness. Given the promise of eternal life granted through faith in Jesus Christ our eyes are drawn beyond the apocalyptic signs of destruction to the one who stands at its end. This faith which looks beyond the suffering and devastation of this world to the eternal life we have in Jesus is confessed quite simply in the words of the Nicene Creed, "I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." Notice how, "the one, holy, Christian and apostolic Church," pays no mind to the destruction of this world but simply looks past it to the reward brought by Jesus, "who will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end."

That answers who we are on guard for and for whom we stay awake. Only one thing remains: How? How do we stay on guard? How do we stay awake so that we will be ready when Christ returns? I am pretty sure that ‘No Doze’ and Mountain Dew are not the answer. The call to be on guard and to stay awake is a call to steadfastness, a call to persevere until the day of Christ’s reappearing. This steadfastness and perseverance is not something that you do on your own. It is something that is done to you as you encounter Christ himself in His Word.

We have talked much about Christ and his Word this morning. In that Word are many things, some of them quite a challenge. Some of them seemingly impossible. One time when Jesus was teaching, challenging and seemingly impossible things, many people left Jesus. They no longer followed him. Jesus then asked the twelve disciples, "Do you want to leave too?" Peter replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." That is a steadfast faith. A faith that perseveres even in the midst of things one does not yet completely understand or know. It is steadfast and perseveres because it is a faith whose object is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone.

As we look past the end of this world awaiting the life that is yet to come in Christ Jesus may that same Christ Jesus keep you steadfast in your ever-watching faith waiting to be fulfilled. "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

This morning we will look at all three texts to learn a lesson of thanks as it connects to Jesus’ person and work as our Savior.

The First Reading

John 6:1-14 NIV

I Thessalonians 4:13-14 NIV

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our sermon text for this All Saints’ Day is from the 4^th chapter of First Thessalonians, "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep."

All Saints’ Day is a day of remembering and of giving thanks to God for all those who have died in Christ. But it is especially a day of remembering and giving thanks for family members or loved ones who have died in Christ. Amidst the remembering and the giving thanks All Saints’ Day also thrusts upon us the reality of why we are remembering and giving thanks for these people. We are doing so because they have died. And so on this day when our thoughts are drawn to many happy memories with loved ones they are nonetheless interrupted again and again by the reality: They are no longer with us. They have died. Those thoughts in turn often lead to bigger thoughts and questions concerning the temporary nature of this life and what does it all mean anyway. Those thoughts and questions are leading in one very definite direction: The realization that death was not just their lot—it is also mine.

In the Middle Ages the plague brought with it great fear of dying and death. Death was very much an in your face part of life. Part of the response to the amount of death and the fear it inspired was the creation of a type of literature known as Ars moriendi—The Art of Dying. They were writings meant to encourage Christians in the face of certain death to die well—that is to die in faith.

Martin Luther lived in the later Middle Ages and was well aware of these writings as well as being painfully aware the plague and the fear of death that it caused. In 1519, still the early period of the Reformation, Luther was a sent a request by his friend Georg Spalatin to help Mark Schart, a friend and supporter of the University of Wittenberg, who was having distressing thoughts regarding the reality of death. Luther’s response was his own contribution to the literature known as The Art of Dying and shows that Luther’s pastoral care is born not merely of theological study but also personal experience. The booklet was titled A Sermon on Preparing to Die. And in it Luther goes through some twenty different points to bring peace and comfort to Christians as they come to terms with the reality of their own death. The first point is simple: Since death marks a farewell from this world make sure you have your will written. The next nineteen points deal with the reality that we must also leave spiritually.

As we deal with the reality that death is the lot of us all I would like to highlight some of Luther’s points on preparing to die, for in those points on preparing to die there is in fact life. In the sermon Luther works three images that are not unfamiliar to you. They are the big three: sin, death, and hell. At the time of death these are the big three the Devil will throw at you in order to torment and tempt you into losing your faith. Luther points out that when you are dying it is not the time to meditate on your sin. That, he says, should be done during one’s lifetime. It is when we live that we must be made conscious of our sin so that we rely on Christ. Yet, that is when the Devil hides our sin from us in order to make us think everything is okay. In death when the reality of our sin is already obvious and there should be only life, grace and salvation the Devil suddenly brings up all of our sins. He brings them up so that you might believe they are too big to forgive. So the Devil is always at work against us even in the hour our death.

There is a remedy against these three evil images of sin, death, and hell. It is the answer to every Sunday School question: Jesus Christ. How wonderful it is that the hour of death such terrifying images are stopped by clinging to the simple name of Jesus Christ. Luther says that Christ is the, "living and immortal image against death, which he suffered, yet by his resurrection from the dead he vanquished death in his life. He is the image of the grace of God against sin, which he assumed, and yet overcame by his perfect obedience. He is the heavenly image, the one who was forsaken by God as damned, yet he conquered hell through hi s omnipotent love, thereby proving that he is the dearest Son, who gives this to us all if we but believe."

Did you catch it: The Devil’s three threats are undone in Christ. The Devil can frighten you with death. So what? Jesus has risen. Death has been minimized to a mere passing into eternity. The Devil can bring up your past sins. So what? Jesus has paid the price. The Devil can threaten hell. So what? Hell is conquered and heaven is mine. The Devil can throw whatever he wants at you in the time of your dying. The big three or maybe something else. It doesn’t matter. Jesus Christ will trump his hand every time.

In addition to these big three of sin, death and hell another fear associated with death is the sense of being all alone to do battle against them. Here too Luther offers some powerful encouragement. He writes, "In the hour of his death no Christian should doubt that he is not alone. He can be certain . . . that a great many eyes are upon him: first, the eyes of God and of Christ himself . . . then also, the eyes of the dear angels, of the saints, and of all Christians . . . In that hour [of death] the work of love and the communion of saints are seriously and mightily active." And of course they are: If Christ is with us at the hour of death then it necessarily follows the whole Christian church in heaven and on earth is also with us for the whole Christian church is the body of Christ—the communion of saints. If Christ is there at your death, His body must be there as well. A body that is very much alive.

Death will always bring with it grief whether it is the death of a loved one or the contemplation of our own. Perhaps in that simple yet profound way all of humanity bears witness to the fact that death is not natural. Grief expresses that there is something wrong in death. Grief reveals that we were meant for immortality. But because of Christ our grief in the recognition that death is not right does overwhelm or lead us into despair. In the words of First Thessalonians that we began, "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep."

Christ has won the victory over sin, death and hell. And in Christ you are not alone, not even at the hour of your death but rather are surrounded by Christ and angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. With the assurance of such victory and life we can boldly say at the hour of our death the words of the poet John Donne,

Amen.

Daniel 12:1-3 ESV

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our sermon text for this 24^th Sunday after Pentecost is the Old Testament lesson recorded in the 12^th chapter of the prophet Daniel.

Before we get into our text from Daniel I would like to begin with a quick look at our Gospel reading for this morning because in it a question is asked that perhaps our text from Daniel can be of some assistance in answering. In that Gospel reading from Mark 13 Jesus and his disciples are leaving the temple area. A comment is made that evokes from Jesus a prophecy concerning the destruction of the entire temple mount. The disciples, perhaps disturbed by this, ask Jesus later, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?" The disciples ask Jesus these questions because for them destruction of the temple meant not just the end of the temple but the end of all things. They are asking in a manner of speaking that age old question that everyone wants an answer to: When is the world going to end?

Jesus gives an answer that gives some information concerning the course things will take but of course does not directly answer the question. But who needs Jesus when you have those ancient people of Mesoamerica: the Mayans. Thanks to the Mayans we have the answer to that question we have been so curious about. The Mayans created a calendar centuries ago and that calendar mysteriously ends on December 21, 2012. So there you have it. And if you want the details about how it is all going to happen well, again you don’t need Jesus. You don’t need Jesus because Hollywood has made a feature movie about this impending disaster. Between the Mayans and Hollywood we have it all figured out. Aren’t we humans smart?

This is all of course silly stuff but it does illustrate a certain truth: People in every religion have always tried to figure the doomsday date of planet earth even today and Christians are no exception. While Christians are no exception regarding their curiosity of when the Last Day will come I believe the Christians’ interest in trying to determine the exact date of the end of the earth are most objectionable. Mostly because a Christian’s interest betrays a lack of faith in God. For a Christian to pursue, in some cases quite vigorously, an exact determination of the end of all things is to try and circumvent God himself in order to satisfy their own selfish curiosity. True faith accepts the teaching of God’s Word, especially when God’s Word has spoken so clearly on a subject. And on this subject God has indeed spoken quite clearly: Jesus says, "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." No one knows. That’s it—no one. No one except God the Father.

So what do we know? Our text from Daniel is a good summary of what we do know about the end of all things. First, we know what everyone else also seems to know about the end of all things: It will be a time of trouble such as never has been. How bad is that? I don’t know—go see the movie. I do know that the curiosity we have about wanting to know seems to be driven in part by a fear of these awful events such as the world has never seen. But is such fear really to be a part of the make-up of the Christian’s faith? Maybe in our weaker sinful moments but overall we would have to say, ‘No.’ Fear of the end has no part in the faith of a Christian.

This leads us to second thing that we know about the end of all things: While it will be terrible the archangel Michael has charge over us. In that moment of great terror and destruction for everyone else we shall be delivered, everyone that is whose name shall be written in the book.

What is this book? Spiritual speaking there are two kinds of books: The book of deeds and the book of life. In Revelation we are told that everyone is judged according to their book of deeds but those whose names were written in Jesus’ book of life are granted eternal life. Your works cannot save you. They won’t save you. Only Jesus can save you and through faith in him your name is inscribed in his book of life. You are spared, delivered, saved because Michael is sent from the throne of God at the command of Jesus Christ and as Michael reaps destruction on the earth he has the book of life in his hand. He knows who it is that he is to deliver from the devastation of the planet.

Dramatic as these words from Daniel are they only apply should you happen to be alive when these things occur. If you die before the end of all things you will be spared this time such as never has been. But you are not left out all together. When this terrible time of destruction is at an end the dead shall arise and will also be judged. Some will be granted everlasting life and some will be granted everlasting shame and contempt. This is the first designation made at the end of all things: The separation of believers and unbelievers. The removal from God’s presence those whose names are not written in the book of life.

Our text from Daniel then leaves those who are damned behind and looks upward to the life of those who have inherited eternal life. Our final verse describes two groups of people. The first group is described as, "those who are wise." The context would suggest that this is a designation of all those who have been saved. They are wise because, as it says elsewhere in the scriptures, they have been made wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The second group is described as, "those who turn many to righteousness." This group is a subset of the first and serves as an honorable mention of those who were not only wise unto salvation but were also bold in bringing the wisdom and righteousness that is Jesus Christ to others.

To summarize: What we do not know: The day or the hour of the end of the world. What we do know: When that day and hour for the end of the world comes it will be terrible for those who are alive but the believers in Christ will be delivered. Everyone will rise from the dead. Some will go to hell, others will go to heaven. In heaven the believers, especially those who brought others to Christ, will shine like stars in the brightness of the sky as they reflect the everlasting glory of their Savior Jesus Christ.

If we believe these truths about the end then it must be true that this clearly is a day that those who believe in Christ should look forward to rather than dread.

If we believe these truths about the end then it must be true that it is a far more important task to bring Christ to others than to try and figure out the day and hour of the end of the world.

The end is not our business. It is the business of God the Father. Our business is to do the work of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. Our business is to do the work of Christ—to make disciples of all nations through his means of grace.

Consider this: Worrying about the end and when it will happen has no value eternally. But what you believe about Christ and who you share it with does. What a joyous thing it will be to be in heaven. What an even more joyous thing it will be to be tapped on the shoulder in heaven and have someone say, "Thank you. Thank you for sharing Christ with me. Otherwise I would not be here."

As you look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come the Lord bless you as you bear witness to Him so others too may shine like the brightness of the sky forever and ever. Amen.

　Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The book of Ecclesiastes states, "A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything."

My guess is that the idealist in you, especially the Christian idealist in you, hates that statement. But, if you play the lottery by way of example, you also reveal there is a part of you that believes it is true. You believe if you just win that money then everything will be okay.

Regardless of how you feel about the idea that, "money is the answer for everything," it is a fact that money goes a long way to control what gets done and what doesn’t. And money also is the great revealer of hearts: What you spend your money on is what you think is important.

Jesus understood these two important truths regarding money when he taught the following from the Gospel of Luke, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Jesus says, "Do not be afraid." Afraid of what? The context reveals that the, "do not be afraid," has nothing to do with being afraid of sin, death and the power of the devil. The, "do not be afraid," is a, "do not be afraid," to let go of your earthly possessions in order to good to others. My guess is most of you read a passage like this and the idealist in you says, "Yes, absolutely correct. This is something of the heart of being a Christian. Throwing the accumulation of personal possessions to the wind and using my money to serve others. And doing so for the simple reason that the kingdom of heaven is mine in Christ." Again that’s the idealist in you talking. But Jesus has a way of checking your ideals against your actions and so he adds, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Times are hard, particularly in certain professions. The numbers on the country’s economy on the whole have not been great. This recession has hit some very hard. I don’t know how the recession has touched each individual in this congregation. But as you have taken losses or are preparing to take losses I just have a question for you: As you have had to cut back is it your offering to the church that has gone first? If you are going to make cut backs in your spending what is the order of the cuts: church, then the gym, and lastly cable? If the church is first on that list what does that say about your faith as you wrestle with the words of Jesus, whose Father has been please to give you the kingdom, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

That’s the faith side of things regarding your money. How you spend it reveals where your heart is. How you spend it with regard to the church reveals how important you think the on-going ministry of the church is.

Giving to the church can take place in a variety of ways one of which is the direct giving to the congregation to which one belongs which leads us to the other point: Money goes a long way to determine what gets done and what doesn’t. The amount of money the congregation receives determines in great part the amount and type of ministry we can do. Jesus understood that money in and of itself is not bad. He saw the great good it could accomplish. Hence he encouraged to take what you have and use it for someone else’s good. To be a part of a Christian congregation means that this is the chief place in which you engage the ministry of the kingdom of God and therefore is the chief place in which your money given to support ministry should go. That money determines to a great degree what we can and cannot do over a certain period of time.

So I need you to keep these two things in your heart and mind as I share with you the following numbers: Keep in mind first, the challenge of Jesus not just to give a nod to the ideal of giving boldly but to actually give boldly. And second, the realities of what it costs to do ministry annually in this congregation.

For 2009 the year-to-date average monthly expenses of the congregation are $21,796. This number does not include the fact that during a tough spot in the summer we had to pay the mortgage out of the building fund. In other words this number is the truest number regarding monthly expenses if the building fund wasn’t there to bail us out.

For 2009 the year-to-date average monthly giving of the congregation is $19,196. This leaves an average monthly deficit for 2009 of $2,600. Keep in mind however, that this number would be worse had we not received a substantial gift in 2008 designated for the 2009 general fund. That gift has been prorated over 12 months in the reporting of the year-to-date average monthly giving. On the one hand those 2008 gifts given for 2009 are a great blessing. It is money we do have so it is being reported. However, if such a generous gift is a one-time gift it says that the gap we will have to close for 2010 will be larger than the present average deficit of $2,600.

In case you have gotten lost in the details here is the short story: We are running an average deficit every month this year of $2,600. This means that the anticipated annual budget shortfall for all of 2009 will be approximately $30,000.

As we head in to 2010 the proposed budget, after making as many cuts as possible, freezing any raises for all employees, and adjusting for the hike in insurance rates and a few other fixed costs managed to keep the anticipated average monthly expenses for 2010 to $29 less than monthly expenses in 2009. So we are basically looking at the same amount of monthly dollars for 2010 as 2009 in order to run the ministry of this congregation.

That’s the numbers. The challenge: Go home and figure out your cost in helping bridge the gap so that the work of the kingdom in this place can be accomplished. As you do so I would like to say a word about special gifts. We have over the years received money designated for specific things. When we were raising money to build this facility and the general budget was being met, even exceeded, such gifts were helpful and greatly appreciated. However, in the present situation, in dealing with short-term budget falls in the general budget, such special gifts do nothing but hamstring your volunteer leaders as they try and manage the finances of the congregation. It does no good to have money sitting around in special funds for future projects when, for example, we can’t pay the mortgage.

I know what I am saying is risky. My cautioning against special gifts could make people take the attitude to not give at all rather than giving to the general budget. Nonetheless, I think this needs to be said and believed: Giving to the general budget should not be seen as unimportant or less special. The majority of real ministry work is conducted through the general budget of the church, not through special gifts. It is good, meet, right and salutary to give memorials to the general fund. Giving to the general fund does not do less honor to your loved one you are memorializing. In the long-run a return to specially designated gifts is good. But in the short-run when we are fighting to manage a budget short fall those gifts only frustrate those volunteers charged with managing the budget.

So again your challenge is to go home and decide your personal cost to support the actual costs of doing ministry in this congregation for the next year. And to do so in the spirit and belief that giving to the general fund is not simply a good thing but also goes a long way to showing respect for your elected congregational leaders and their task of managing the finances of the church with their volunteer time.

One final note: I believe some people will necessarily say or believe something to the effect of, "Pastor gets to say these things but does he even give anything? Or does he just stick us with the bill." It is an unfortunate attitude, but I am happy to answer. Not out of pride but because I believe that if a leader is going to ask the people to not just talk the talk but walk the walk then he should not only do the same but be the first. Two years ago I gave ten percent of my gross salary. This year I gave twelve percent of my gross salary. For 2010 I will continue to give twelve percent of my gross salary. It is the first check I write every week not the last. Is there opportunity cost in my giving? I’m sure there is but I don’t really think about it. I give what I give simply because I believe. I believe that the support of the ongoing ministry of the gospel in all its various facets in this place are the most important thing. That’s the lead—your challenge is will you follow. Time will tell.

"Do not be afraid, little flock,[to give generously] for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Amen.

[6] Seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel, [7] O you who turn justice to wormwood and cast down righteousness to the earth!

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our sermon text for this 19^th Sunday after Pentecost is the Old Testament lesson recorded in the 5^th chapter of the prophet Amos.

Our text begins with a call to repentance: "Seek the LORD and live." The alternative to this life in the Lord is destruction. Amos describes that destruction as the Lord breaking out like a fire in the house of Joseph and there will be no one in Bethel to quench it. So the first, very basic questions we must ask is why Joseph? And why Bethel?

In order to help you understand these designations I have provided for you a map on the back of your bulletin. The map is a map of the land allotments for the 12 tribes of Israel after they conquered the promised land. Remember the 12 tribes of Israel all came from the 12 sons of Jacob of which Joseph was one. Do you see Joseph anywhere on the map? Joseph isn’t there. Here is why: The tribe of Levi was assigned the duty and responsibility of being the priests for the whole nation of Israel. The priesthood then was to be their inheritance not a parcel of land. However, in order to be complete there still needed to be 12 land allotments. Joseph’s sons were named Ephraim and Manasseh. Now look at your map: Do you see Ephraim and Manasseh on the map? Yes. What you will notice is that Ephraim and Manasseh clearly make up the largest land allotments in the north. The land of Ephraim and Manasseh is the house of Joseph. Amos is preaching during the time of the divided monarchy, Israel to the North and Judah to the South. In our text ‘Joseph’ is a prophetic designation for the northern kingdom of Israel since Joseph’s land allotment made up the majority of what became the northern kingdom. So Amos’ prophetic call for repentance is directed at the northern kingdom of Israel.

Why Bethel? Or more pointedly why would the northern kingdom of Israel look to Bethel to quench the fiery wrath of the Lord? That question can be answered by looking to the early days of the divided kingdom and the first king of the northern kingdom Jeroboam. Jeroboam was concerned that the hearts of his people would be turned away from him by worshiping the Lord in the southern kingdom of Judah in Jerusalem. So Jeroboam had two golden calves made and then proclaimed to Israel, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." One calf he placed in Dan and the other Bethel. At Bethel Jeroboam created a high holy place and there anointed his own priests not from the tribe of Levi. This was complete apostasy from the Lord. When Amos proclaims repent or the wrath of God will come upon you Israel would naturally look to their gods who dwell at Bethel to protect them. But Amos has made it clear: None from Bethel will be able to stop the fiery wrath of the Lord. Amos is saying to Israel, "Your false gods will not be able to stop the righteous wrath of the Lord God."

That is the pronouncement: "Turn to the Lord and live. If not, not even your so-called gods will be able to protect in the day of the Lord’s wrath." After this pronouncement Amos then levels the charges against Israel. Everyone of them is a complaint against the social injustices of the day: Treating justice and righteousness with contempt. They hate honest judges who speak the truth. They trample the poor by ripping them off with an unjust tax burden. And off the backs of the poor they have built mansions and pleasant vineyards. The bribe is the price of justice and so the innocent suffer. The needy are ignored since there is nothing to take from them.

There is a connection between these accusations and one’s relationship with the Lord: If you are not right with the Lord then society falls apart as well. When you are right with the Lord then society is right and just. Amos isn’t the first nor is he the last to preach social justice. What makes Amos’ preaching unique is the answer: Seek the Lord and live.

The Christian Church has always wrestled in its history with whether or not Amos’ approach is the correct one. Theologian H. Richard Niebuhr identified five different models by which the church has engaged the world, its culture and government throughout its history. You have five blanks on the back of your bulletin so you can keep track if you like. (The following comes from "Render Unto Caesar . . . And Unto God, A Lutheran View of Church and State, CTCR Document.)

The first model is "Christ against Culture." This view is an, "uncompromising defense of Christ’s authority for the Christian." This view, the view taken by separatist groups like the Amish, emphasizes the Lordship of Christ but ignores the God-instituted, God-designed functions of civil government. It also overemphasizes the ability of a Christian community, isolated from the world, to actually be pure.

The second model is "The Christ of Culture." This view, "presents Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the hopes and aspirations of society." The profound weakness of this view is the lack of any tension or real distinction between society and the church. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and its new policy accepting homosexual clergy in committed relationships is an example of this view. Society sets the policy on accepted behavior. The theologians then work to make Jesus and the Bible fit the norm set by society.

The third model is "Christ above Culture." In this view Christ does not grow out of the culture nor contribute directly to it. Christ replaces the culture and restores the proper institutions of a true society. The problem with this view is that this view ironically needs to be imposed by force to a resistant culture and so the church becomes an institution of the Law while the Gospel takes a backseat.

The fourth model is "Christ and Culture in Paradox." This view understands the human encounter with God as complex as God engages them according to both Law and Gospel. Law through the civil government and Gospel through the church. This view deals most honestly with the struggle of Christians to be in the world but not of the world.

The fifth model is "Christ the Transformer of Culture." This view, "has a hopeful attitude toward the potential of human culture to serve Christ." This view believes that ultimately a government and society can eventually become Christian. This is the view of Evangelical lobbyists in Washington. However, their lobbying shows that their view must be imposed through law as opposed through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What the evangelical lobbyist always seem to miss is that while they may win the battle in the legislature they do not win the hearts of people. Laws reveal man’s sinful behavior but they do not change it. They may curb human behavior for the majority but not even the strictest punishments change man’s heart. Consider prohibition in the 1920’s. Many people just kept on drinking. Some people stopped but when prohibition was repealed they began drinking again. The law had changed no one’s hearts.

These models of course are not absolute. They only help begin to give a picture of the different ways the church has engages the immorality and sin of the culture and society in which it must live. Of the categories before us however, the fourth, "Christ and Culture in Paradox," most closely matches the actions of God as he deals with his people as revealed in the Bible. This view deals with the reality of both the purpose of the church and the purpose of the state. The former being an institution of the gospel, the latter being an institution of the law—Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit the authority behind them both.

The question for you as one who has dual citizenship, a citizen of the Kingdom of God and a citizen of the United States is a difficult one. One way to phrase that question is: How can I live as a citizen in the United States and yet be an obedient citizen in the kingdom of God. Even Jesus said you cannot serve two masters. You will hate the one and love the other. The apostles had some wisdom to offer in this regard: Be obedient to your earthly government and society in so far as it agrees with God. But when the earthly government and society goes against God you must obey God rather than man.

For the prophet Amos that obedience found its voice in the call to repentance and faith: "Seek the Lord and live." Our activities as citizens of the United States may be successful in preserving the framework of a moral society—but again it does not win hearts. And that’s okay if it doesn’t. The law is good and keeps a sinful world somewhat in check. The purpose of the civil law is to curb sinful behavior not to create faith in the law. The prerogative of the church, however, is not merely to curb sinful behavior but transform hearts from evil to good. And for that purpose the church has been given not the Law but the Gospel. The church is chiefly about proclaiming this Gospel of Jesus Christ and the degree to which people hear this message and put their faith in it is the degree to which society as a whole will change.

Amos understood this: If Israel sought the Lord they would live. And in seeking the Lord they would be seeking good. The evil they had been doing would change because through repentance and faith they had changed.

Jesus understood this as well: Have you ever wondered why Jesus never corrects a Roman centurion for serving in the army of an evil, pagan government? Have you ever wondered why Jesus never started any social programs? Jesus was going for the source not the symptoms of a corrupt and evil society. Jesus was going for the heart. He wasn’t interested in the band-aid approach. The church in a free society has a lot of things at its disposal to influence that society. A lot of band-aids as it were. But the greatest gift given to the church is the Gospel itself—the power to go to the heart of the matter and change it for good. Through the Gospel of Jesus Christ the church brings about the most effective change. As Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

Our society has gone a long way to reject rather than seek that life. It may continue down that path never to return. Never mind, "Our citizenship is in heaven." And while we, as the church, still have time we will continue to offer that life found in the Lord Jesus. We will preach the Word; being prepared in season and out in the hope, no matter how bad the odds, that someone else will seek the Lord and live. Amen.

Genesis 2:18-25 ESV

　[18] Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." [19] So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. [20] The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. [21] So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. [22] And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. [23] Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."

[24] Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. [25] And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our sermon text for this 18^th Sunday after Pentecost is the Old Testament lesson recorded in the 2^nd chapter of Genesis.

In the early 4^th century A.D. the Roman Emperor Constantine granted legal status to the Christian religion. For many at that time the change was welcomed relief: No more persecution, seizure of property, or even execution. They could worship their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in peace, as well as proclaim their Gospel to others without fear of punishment.

Very quickly however, many Christians became uncomfortable with this new direction of their religion. And the reason was simple: With the emperor granting such favor to Christianity it now became politically expedient to share the emperor’s interest in this religion. To many the church was becoming corrupt by the influence of the Roman state, and quite frankly, their observation was not inaccurate.

In response to this new unpleasant situation the choice of some was to retreat. Retreat to the desert and live a life of quiet contemplation in complete solitude. These were the earliest monks of the Christian church and they preferred to live alone as individuals. However, very quickly many of these monks figured out that while they preferred living alone they could not in fact live alone. They needed the assistance of others in order to survive, thus quickly followed the organization of a group of monks into a monastic community. They were committed to keeping themselves away from the world and its temptations but they very quickly learned the truth that God recognized at the very beginning, "It is not good that the man should be alone." A monk could live away from the world but he could not do so alone.

In regard to this statement of the Lord God, in the beginning, the English poet John Milton said, "Loneliness is the first thing which God’s eye named, ‘not good.’" Every day of creation God said, "It was good." At the end of all his creating, God beheld that it was not only good but ‘very good.’ But as soon as man was animated God, even before the fall into sin, called man’s loneliness ‘not good.’

I was at a Rotary fundraiser on Friday and one of the groups the fundraiser was supporting was STOPS, an acronym for St. Tammany Outreach for the Prevention of Suicide. The representative from STOPS shared a rather alarming statistic: St. Tammany Parish has the highest rate of successful suicides in the state. I mention it because whatever the cause of a human being to take such a drastic act ‘loneliness’ often plays a role. If you believe someone can help you—then you know there is a way out because you are not alone. If you believe someone else has gone through what you have gone through and has made it you have a chance—you have a chance because you are not alone. The suicide rate of our own parish says many things. Perhaps at the most basic of levels it says there are a lot of people living in our own community who believe that they are alone. And people who believe they are alone, lose hope, fall into despair and do desperate things. The Lord God, not this surprises us, could not have been more right and true when he said, "It is not good that the man should be alone."

Prior to the fall the Lord God’s answer to loneliness was to provide Adam with the gift of woman. Yes, I said, "the gift." But, I also said, "Prior to the fall." And through the gift of a spouse in Eve, Adam and Eve were both given the gift of community. In the gift of Eve, Adam and Eve were to be fruitful and multiply thus establishing yet another gift in the arsenal against loneliness: the family. Husband and wife and through them family were to be the foundation of God’s answer to loneliness, the one thing "not good" in the beginning.

How nice it would have been had the fall into sin not happened. But of course it did. And from the start we see the diminishing of that intended intimacy between husband and wife as they each blame someone else for what happened. And we see the diminishing of family as Cain sees not support and companionship in his brother Abel but rather a rival and so he murders him.

The fall is a long one isn’t it? The relationship between husband and wife ruined. How many married people through the years have felt lonely, perhaps even all alone, in the midst of the very relationship intended to be the answer. The relationship of family ruined. How many children have felt all alone in the midst of even a large family. So many people yet somehow they sense that they are so very disconnected. Loneliness strikes. Marriage isn’t the sure thing as it once was in the beginning. Family is also not a sure thing. And if marriage and family aren’t working to cure the horrors of loneliness then none of the other relationships of society, which are all derived from these basic relationships of marriage of family, are going to be wholly intact either. If before the fall the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone," then it is exponentially NOT GOOD for man to be alone on the other side of the fall. And yet precisely because of that fall it happens: People find themselves lonely—and it is not good.

This loneliness is not good because it is a result not merely of sin but of a lack of faith. People can feel completely lonely even in the company of friends because they do not believe. They do not believe their friends or anyone else for that matter can help them. What the lonely person needs above all things is faith. It can happen this way that the lonely person puts his faith in marriage but it fails. The object of his faith was misplaced. The lonely person puts his faith in family but it fails. The object of his faith was misplaced. The lonely person says, "I’ll try the church." But even the church, as a community, fails. Church people can be the meanest, most unforgiving people there are. The object of the lonely person’s faith is once again misplaced. Marriage didn’t work. Family didn’t work. And church didn’t work either. It would seem there is nothing left to try. The conclusion of the man with such a misplaced faith: I am lonely—and it is not good.

But such a conclusion is premature: There is another place to go besides marriage, family and church. There is Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ you are not alone. The farewell promise of Jesus Christ is a promise that in him there is no loneliness, "Lo I am with you always even to the very end of the age." If Jesus Christ is the object of your faith then you will never be alone. It seems too simple I realize, perhaps even trite. Perhaps you sit there incredulous: Do you really mean to undo this huge, dark problem of loneliness simply by bringing up Jesus Christ? Well . . . Yes. Yes, because no matter how huge the problem or how dark the problem of loneliness Jesus Christ is the answer. The problem isn’t with Jesus and his power to keep his promise to be with us. The problem is with our faith. Our faith always wants to cling to the wrong things. But there is only one thing that faith must cling to: Jesus Christ. So the truth of Jesus Christ must be proclaimed over and over again so that you may hear it and by hearing it you may believe and by believing you may be saved.

It is not good for that the man should be alone. In Jesus Christ you are not alone, not now, not ever. Amen.

Isaiah 35:4-7a  ESV

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our sermon text for this 14^th Sunday after Pentecost is the Old Testament lesson recorded in the 35^th chapter of Isaiah the prophet.

The Hebrew language most often uses one word for ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’. That word is Shalom. Shalom is usually translated ‘peace.’ And the word certainly conveys that concept. But peace is too simple, too one-side. Peace for many simply means the cessation of war. But what fills the absence of the void created by the cessation of war? For the Jews what fills that absence is shalom. To wish someone shalom is to wish for them, ‘life as it should be.’ That certainly includes life without war but also includes much more.

For the people of Judah in Isaiah’s day "life as it should be" would have been identified chiefly with the life of prosperity under the reign of King Solomon. I Kings defines "life as it should be" in the Israelite psyche very simply, "And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon."

In Isaiah’s day things were much different than those glorious days under Solomon. The Kingdom of Israel had split into two: The northern kingdom retained the name Israel. The southern kingdom took the name Judah. Both kingdoms continued to break the covenant God had made with them at Sinai. But the north especially struggled with idolatry. For their sin and their refusal to repent the powerful kingdom of Assyria had swooped down and carried them off into exile.

The message to Judah couldn’t be clearer: If you continue to follow in the footsteps of Israel the same will happen to you. The proclamation of the prophets was simple: repent or you too will be taken into exile.

Our text for this morning begins with the assumption that the hearts of God’s people are anxious. Now you know why: Life was not as it should be. People were not living in safety underneath their own vine and fig tree. Their relationship with God was damaged because of their sin. And they were about to feel God’s wrath and punishment.

Soon after this prophecy Sennacherib, King of Assyria sent his troops to lay siege to Jerusalem. The hearts of everyone, even King Hezekiah were anxious. Anxious as they sat locked up in the besieged city of Jerusalem. What should they do? Then the general of the Assyrian army offered up a great temptation: "Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine and each one his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink water of his own cistern." What an offer: If only they would surrender the Assyrians promised that they would have shalom—life as it should be. Each one under his own vine and fig tree.

Hezekiah was a good king. Anxious as he was he sought the counsel of Isaiah. Hezekiah prayed and the Lord delivered Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib, King of Assyria. And for a time Judah again had shalom—life as it should be. It would not last however. Judah would again fall into sin and idolatry and be handed over into exile by the Babylonians.

I think it is safe to assume in many cases that the hearts of God’s people today are often anxious as well. And they are anxious for the same reason: Life is not as it should be. And the list of reasons for why life is not as it should be is long. But to all of those anxious hearts, for whatever reason they are anxious, the Word of the Lord speaks a strong word of encouragement through the prophet Isaiah, "Be strong; fear not! Behold your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God He will come and save you."

Perhaps there is a struggle with these words that suggest the vengeance and recompense of God. The general consensus today is that such concepts have no good moral value whether they come from God or man. But if we take the theology of the Bible seriously then we must contend with the truth it proclaims. And the Bible clearly proclaims that God is holy and just. And as a result God is also a jealous God who accepts no equals. Therefore God cannot allow sin and rebellion to go unpunished. Otherwise he would be neither holy nor just and his jealousy would be capricious.

There are two ways, biblically speaking, that God’s vengeance relates to his people. One, God avenges his people. He fights for them. Two, God brings vengeance on his own people who constantly disobey him, break his covenant and refuse to repent. In our text for today the vengeance of God is clearly the first sort: God fighting for his people. So whatever you think of vengeance is it not good news to your anxious hearts to know that God fights for you? Is it not good news to know that when life is not as it should be that God is in fact fighting for you that life may be as it should?

Of course the other thing to note about this vengeance business is that God is not a God of vengeance only. He is also a God of mercy. God’s vengeance on his enemies is for your benefit, your salvation. But God’s mercy is so much larger than his vengeance that his mercy is not just for your salvation but to all who put their faith in him.

The vengeance of God and the mercy of God meet head to head at the cross. There the vengeance of God was poured out for the sins of the world in one huge blast. And there all of that vengeance was absorbed by Jesus Christ the Son of God. Jesus Christ willingly took on the vengeance of God: The vengeance of God owed upon his own people who broke his covenant. Jesus Christ paid their price. The vengeance of God owed upon the enemies of God and his people. Jesus Christ paid their price too.

With the price paid there is salvation. And with salvation there is shalom, there is life as it should be. Our text from Isaiah concludes with a vision of life as it should be that is so much grander than simply living in safety under one’s own vine and fig tree. Isaiah describes life as it should be, a life given in and through Jesus Christ, in this way, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water . . ."

Life in this world is not always as it should be. Be strong; fear not! Jesus Christ has promised, "I am with you always even to the end of the age."

Life in this world is not always as it should be. Be strong; fear not! Jesus Christ is coming back. And when he returns life will be as it should—and so it will be forever.

Shalom in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our sermon text for this festival of the Holy Trinity is the first reading recorded in the 2^nd chapter of Acts, in particular v. 32-33, "This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing."

A professor of mine, quoting a church historian, made the statement that you really only need to study the first 500 years of church history. After that the church simply keeps repeating the same heresies and false teachings over and over again. So, if you know the first 500 years of the history of Christianity, in general you know all of it. In regard to church history the author of Ecclesiastes should be cited, "There is nothing new under the sun."

One of the most often repeated of those errors is trying to find a way to connect with God apart from Jesus Christ. At the root of this lies that theme as old as the Bible itself of trying to create God in our own image. In the popular book The Shack almost every one of the ancient heresies regarding the Trinity is put forth in an effort to explain who the Triune God really is. It isn’t the heresies in the book that are interesting—they are nothing knew. What is interesting is the popularity and adulation with which they are received. So many have read this book and walk away feeling they at last understand the Trinity. Actually, unbeknownst to them, is that what they now understand is every heresy about the Trinity.

The Shack is a story about a man named Mack who has lost faith in God because of something terrible that has happened to him. So God invites him to the place where that something terrible has happened to spend some time with him. The story is basically a long conversation with Mack in the Shack with the Trinity. Only when Mack encounters God it is not through Jesus. Though Jesus is there and so is the Holy Spirit, who happens to be an attractive Asian woman. (Gee, maybe I should have been a Pentecostal.) Mack’s main encounter with God, however, throughout the book is with a large, jovial African-American woman who is supposed to be God the Father. God the Father appears to Mack in this form we are told because Mack has father-issues. In this form Mack would be open to God. This isn’t the first time someone has come up with the idea that the feminine touch is an easier approach to God—I think the Roman Catholic cult of the Virgin Mary came up with it quite some time ago. Jesus had become too mean. He was the judge of the living and the dead. Better run to his mother for safety.

Now, if we are to consider God in a vacuum—God as an idea--could God the Father appear to a man as a large, jovial African American woman? The answer is ‘Yes.’ The problem however is that God has revealed himself in history. God has done stuff. That history has been written down in the Bible. And not once has God ever acted that way. Consider Isaiah in our Old Testament lesson: No, large, jovial, African American woman there. Just a scene of unbridled power and might that causes Isaiah to fear for his life, fear for his life until his sin is atoned for from the altar.

That altar was the meeting place of God and his people. There God revealed his glory and mercy to his people through the sacrifices made on that altar. And that altar pointed forward to the ultimate sacrifice: The sacrifice of God’s one and only Son Jesus Christ. God the Father speaks to us through Jesus Christ—now and forever. God the Father reveals himself to us through Jesus Christ—now and forever. If you want to see God the Father, if you want to speak to God the Father it is done through Jesus Christ—and no one else. As it says in Hebrews, "In many and various ways God spoke to his people of old through the prophets, but now in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son." Jesus is the final revelation, the final word on how God the Father chooses to deal with his people. Again as Hebrews also says, "But when this priest [who is Jesus Christ] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." The author of the Hebrews is only proclaiming the Word of Christ himself who taught rather plainly, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

We indeed believe in a God who is Triune. A God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One God, three persons. But that knowledge only comes to us by way of Jesus Christ. And all three persons of the Trinity, the entire God-head, do desire to be in a relationship with us. But that relationship is a relationship that is only created through faith in Jesus Christ. And it is a relationship that is only maintained through the constant mediation of the one mediator between God and man—the man Jesus Christ who gave his life as a ransom for many.

Again consider our text: God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. He raised Jesus because Jesus is how God is going to deal with people now until eternity. God the Father gave Jesus the authority to send the Holy Spirit. Jesus then sends the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, forth to empower his church with the message of salvation in and through him. Everything about our relationship with God is mediated through Jesus Christ. Apart from Christ there is no calling God Father. Apart from Christ there is no Holy Spirit and his quickening gifts.

Mankind grows impatient with God rather quickly. They don’t like his ways or his timing. In ancient Israel during the Exodus it only took forty days and nights before the people were crying out to Aaron, "Come, make us gods who will go before us." And so they fashioned gods in the form they liked. They fashioned gods that they could control. And so it goes on today—fashioning God in the image we would prefer to see him. And people flock to it and say, "Yes, this must be what God is really like," while all the while ignoring the plain revelation of God in his Holy Word.

And that Word has declared that God indeed loves you. He loves you in the most powerful of ways. Not in the outstretched arms of a jovial incarnation of Mrs. Butterworth cooking in her kitchen, but in the outstretched arms of His incarnate Son Jesus Christ suffering on the cross, paying for the sins of the world. God raised that Jesus from the dead but he always bears on his body those glorious scars: Those glorious marks of God the Father’s love for you. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I Corinthians 10:16 ESV

The peace of Jesus be with you.

Our text for the sermon this evening is I Corinthians 10:16, "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?"

The Lord’s Supper is many things. Chiefly it is the body and blood of Christ given in and with the bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of faith. But in what sense is the Lord’s Supper communion? For that is what St. Paul calls the Lord’s Supper in our text. He calls it a communion. And not just any communion but a communion in the blood of Christ and the body of Christ. Most modern English translations in an effort to make this communion clearer have called it a ‘participation’ in the blood and body of Christ. Another word used to understand or define this communion is also ‘fellowship.’ So what is this communion of Christ’s body and blood? Is it participation? Is it fellowship? Or is it something else?

Friedrich Schleiermacher, a theologian given the rather suspect title ‘the father of liberalism’, taught that fellowship was "created by the voluntary actions of men, and only through these does it continue to exist." This sort of understanding of fellowship puts the church in the same boat as the country club, health club, fraternities and sororities, Rotary and any other sort of social club there is. They are all associations created by the voluntary actions of people. And of course they continue to exist in so far as people continue to volunteer. The fellowship ends when people are no longer interested.

If we apply this thinking about fellowship to the Lord’s Supper I think you will soon discover that the power of Christ and his body and blood have no purpose. The celebration of the Lord’s Supper becomes a human centered event. It becomes the willing association of people by their own voluntary act. According to Schleiermacher’s thinking on fellowship celebrating the Lord’s Supper would be about people eating and drinking only with the people they want to eat and drink with. And if people were eating drinking the Lord’s Supper that they didn’t like or held a grudge against then they might refrain from eating and drinking that day.

This view of fellowship is human centered in every way. It first of all sees fellowship as primarily about relationships between humans. And then, based on those human relationships, the person makes a decision whether or not to eat and drink with those people.

When St. Paul says that the Lord’s Supper is a communion of the body and blood of Christ this sort of fellowship can’t be what he means, for it is a definition of fellowship that leaves Christ and the power of his forgiveness out all together. St. Paul teaches that the Lord’s Supper is all about Christ and the power of his forgiveness.

What links us together in the Lord’s Supper is not our pre-determined fellowship with another. What links us together in the Lord’s Supper is what we share: the body and blood of Christ. We participate in the eating and drinking of Christ’s body and blood. Our communion then is primarily with Christ not with each other. When I go to the Lord’s Supper it is Christ who beckons me to come. When I go to the Lord’s Supper it is Christ who gives me his body and blood. When I go to the Lord’s Supper it is Christ who offers me forgiveness of sins. When I go to the Lord’s Supper it is Christ who strengthens my faith.

But when I go to the altar to receive such blessings from such a gracious Lord I notice that he is also calling others. He is calling others to participate in the same blessings. He is calling others to also eat and drink his body and blood. He is calling others to receive his forgiveness. He is calling others to have their faith strengthened in him.

As I consider the others whom Christ is calling—the diverse backgrounds, the different socio-economic status, the weak, the strong, introverts, extroverts, whole, broken, happy, sad, energetic, exhausted, and on and on. All these different people. Different tastes, likes and dislikes. All their different burdens. All their different joys. And Christ is calling them all. Clearly, as I consider the others I recognize this is not a voluntary association of people. This is a people being drawn to the living Christ who has come in that moment with his body and blood to grant forgiveness, life and peace.

And thus a great mystery of Christ and his supper is revealed: The communion of Christ’s body and blood in the Lord’s Supper is not a voluntary association of people. It is an association of people created by Christ who draws these people to himself and into himself through his body and blood. And then through himself connects them to one another.

So in the fellowship that exists between people there is often a lack of forgiveness and there is much brokenness. And the reason is simple: Christ does not stand between them. But at the altar Christ does stand between us. And it is because Christ is there that there is forgiveness and healing. As the one body of Christ, created by what we share in the eating and the drinking, we are often called upon to serve people we would never otherwise serve. We are asked to do things for people we would otherwise not consider worthy enough for such a favor. We are asked to love the most unlovable people. All of it possible because Christ is there in the middle. In Christ we do these things for the others because we eat and drink the body and blood of Christ together.

So what is this communion of which Paul speaks? It is most certainly ‘participation’. A participation in the body and blood of Christ at his invitation. And it is most certainly ‘fellowship.’ A fellowship created by Christ for by being connected to Christ we are, in turn connected to one another.

"Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf." Amen.

Before you answer consider this: This Jesus who served you by giving His life as a ransom also rose from the dead. Since this Jesus is now alive and has ascended to the right hand of God He continues to serve you even now. So, yes you are called to a severe service in the Kingdom of God. But as part of life in the Kingdom of God you are also continually being served--Continually being served by Jesus Christ Himself. So while you are called to that severe service of suffering, cross-bearing and death you are able to answer that call through the grace of the one who continues to serve you: Jesus Christ. In His name, Amen.

Ephesians 2:1-10 ESV

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our sermon text for this 4^th Sunday in Lent is the Epistle reading recorded in the second chapter of Ephesians.

In that reading Paul gives a devastating description of our condition apart from the grace of God in Christ Jesus. He says that we were transgressors and sinners. And the reason that we committed those transgressions and sins is because of who we followed. We followed the ruler of the kingdom of the air. That is Satan himself. And following him we were therefore disobedient to God. Paul further describes that following as gratifying the cravings of sinfulness. Following not only sins desires but also its thoughts. The result of such disobedience and sin was death. Yes, Paul makes it clear: to follow Satan in disobedience and sin is to be dead—dead to God.

I know sometimes we like to think there is some sort of neutral ground with which to consider whose side you are on: God or Satan’s. But in spiritual matters there is no middle ground, no neutral position. If you have faith in God through Jesus you are not on Satan’s side. If you do not have faith in God you are on Satan’s side whether you want to be or not. And to be on the side of Satan through sin and disobedience is to become an object of God’s wrath instead of an object of God’s mercy.

Our Old Testament lesson from Numbers contains a wonderful illustration of what it means to be an object of God’s wrath through sin and disobedience. In this lesson from Numbers we join the Israelites in the midst of their 40 years of wandering in the desert. The purpose of these 40 years in the desert was to test Israel to see if their faith would hold on to this truth: That man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

As the Israelites were traveling around the country of Edom they grew impatient. They spoke not only against Moses but also God, saying, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" By which they meant the manna from heaven which appeared on the ground in the morning. Israel had had it with God and His word. It didn’t matter if they could subsist on manna—the point was they didn’t want to anymore. In that moment Israel had lost faith in God—the God who had rescued them from slavery in Egypt.

That loss of faith in that moment had the Israelites finding themselves under the wrath of God. And they experienced the wrath of God in a very acute way: The LORD God sent venomous snakes among them. These snakes bit the people and many died from those bites. As St. Paul says in our text from Ephesians, "You were dead in your trespasses and sins." The Israelites had sinned big against the first commandment and death was the frightening result.

To be an object of God’s wrath is to truly be in the worst position. And God’s wrath is very real—as Israel discovered. But one must ask: Is God’s wrath really his preferred response? Does God really look to be angry and carry out judgment? Again Paul states firmly in our text that wrath is not God’s preference. Paul says God is rich in mercy and that he loves us with a great love.

Again our text from Numbers illustrates this very point. Israel lost faith and found themselves under the wrath of Almighty God. They quickly learned the lesson, repenting and asking Moses to mediate a way out of this mess. Moses prayed to the Lord on behalf of the now humbled Israelites and the Lord answered that prayer by showing mercy, by loving Israel with a great love. He told Moses to make a snake and put it on a pole. The LORD God then promised that all who were bitten could look at the snake on the pole and live. Moses did as the Lord commanded and so it was that whenever an Israelite was bitten by a snake and looked at the snake mounted on a pole that Israelite lived.

Now hearing this story in Numbers about the snakes you may be wondering why the LORD God didn’t just take the snakes away. He sent the snakes why not just take them away? Again Paul answers that question for us in our text from Ephesians, "For by grace you have been saved through faith." If the Lord just took the snakes away, faith would no longer be necessary. And faith is exactly what the Lord was trying to recreate in an Israel that had lost faith.

We of course are not presently under the wrath of God in such an acute way. He has not sent venomous snakes to humble us into repentance. And therefore He has not given us a bronze snake mounted on a pole to look at in faith and be healed. But, nonetheless, apart from faith one is still under the wrath of God—though perhaps in a more chronic way. But just as in the Old Testament God was rich in mercy and loved Israel with a great love. So God, who does not change, is still rich in mercy and loves the world with a great love. A love so great that God sent His one and only Son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

For us it is not a bronze snake on a pole that we look to for the promise of God’s grace and mercy it is to Jesus Christ his one and only Son who was raised up on the cross so that all may look upon Him and live.

There are times when we sense that we are indeed under God’s wrath. We feel in every fiber of our being that God is punishing us, that He is no longer smiling upon us. And we wonder what we have done to deserve his wrath. It can be a hard thing to figure out. What you are experiencing may or may not be God’s wrath. I think it is a fool who is quick to tell someone what they are suffering is not God’s wrath. But I think the person who automatically says if something bad is happening to you that it must be God’s wrath is also equally a fool.

Again it can be a hard thing to figure out. But one thing is for sure: Sin does bring wrath. And if it is God’s wrath you may wonder why when you repent God just doesn’t take away the problem. And many a Christian does fall into this trap. They will say things like, "I have repented over and over again and still I am suffering from the same thing. I have repented why doesn’t God just take it away?" Paul answers that question for us in our text from Ephesians, "For by grace you have been saved through faith." If the Lord just took your snakes away (figuratively speaking) there would be no need for faith. And faith is exactly what the Lord is trying to recreate in you when you have lost your faith.

So when you find yourself in unbelief and under the wrath of God the Lord has given you a promise: "My Son Jesus has been lifted up on the cross. When my wrath has bitten you and death draws near look to Him and you will have eternal life." "For by grace you have been saved through faith." Amen

John 6:25-40 ESV

The peace of Jesus be with you. Amen.

After Jesus miraculously fed over 5,000 people he joined his disciples in the boat and sailed to the city of Capernaum. Shortly after leaving even more people showed up looking for Jesus. When they didn’t find him they along with the others also went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. When they find Jesus, Jesus levels the following criticism against their faith, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

Jesus criticizes the crowd’s spiritual shortsightedness. They are only interested in what Jesus can accomplish for them in the immediate. And that is because their faith was most concerned about material creature comforts—like having enough food. And so putting aside the spiritual they chased after Jesus for the material. Jesus chastises them not only for their shortsighted view of a faith only concerned about the immediate but also for their shortsighted view of who He is and what He has come to do. As if He only came to be some sort of bread king.

This is a problem for many today as well. Many who are so shortsighted in their spiritual life. They work and work and work for a better car, a bigger house, nicer clothes. And many, over the course of a lifetime, achieve these goals. And as they look over their life they can say: "Wow! What progress I have made. Look at what I have achieved."

Is there anything wrong with this sort of progress? In one sense we can say No. It is not wrong to work for a living, earn a living and have nice things. But to think of progress in such a one-dimensional light is misguided. G. K. Chesterton has a good insight into what real progress is when he writes, "For us the problem of Progress is always a problem of Proportion; improvement is reaching a right proportion; not merely moving in one direction." Perhaps it should be stated here that seeking a right proportion is NOT AT ALL the same as saying, "Everything in moderation." Proportion is different. Proportion is seeking a proper balance. Moderation is making everything the same. Proportion is seeking equilibrium. Moderation is making all things equal.

The problem with what counts today as progress is that such material progress is way out of proportion with the spiritual reality of eternity. This means that your material progress really isn’t progress at all—where eternity is concerned. If all, or even most, of your toil and all of your labor is for food that spoils then Jesus’ words should be like ice water in the face, "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life."

These words are a call for repentance. They are a call to put your faith back in proper proportion. Where you spend eternity is far more important than what car you drive or what house you live in now. Jesus calls for you to consider your life of faith, your spiritual life in proportion to your so called material progress. And there will not be spiritual progress until those proportions are in the right balance.

Repentance that leads to proper proportion which puts one on the road to real progress begins with the food that endures to eternal life. The food that Jesus the Son of Man gives. And to work for this food is to believe in the one God has sent. To believe in Jesus because the food that endures to eternal life is himself.

Thus Jesus says, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." Never is an eternal word. With Jesus on into eternity there will never be hunger or thirst. Jesus does not have his mind on the present, where people do still hunger and thirst. Jesus is looking beyond the immediate on into eternity—the eternity that He as the bread of life ushers in through his death and resurrection.

We work for food—but we hunger again. We work for drink—but we will be thirsty again. Everything we work for in this life does not last. Perhaps even more importantly: the things we work for don’t make us last. These material things do not support us forever.

But Jesus the Bread of Life has promised, "everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

May your faith be in proportion to that great promise--The promise of progress unto resurrection and eternal life. Amen.

Mark 1:9-15 ESV

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our sermon text for this First Sunday in Lent is the Gospel lesson recorded in the first chapter of St. Mark.

"And lead us not into temptation," thus we pray in the Lord’s Prayer. The Small Catechism says, "We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice."

As one looks at the mass of humanity that calls itself Christian he quickly realizes what a very necessary petition this is. How much we really do need God to guard and keep us against the things that lead us from temptation to sin and death and ultimately damnation. Countless people call themselves Christian and yet how easily they give into temptation both great and small. It should be a source of great sadness to watch those who have been baptized into Christ Jesus so often give in to temptation without so much as a fight.

Why are we as God’s people so willing to give up the fight and give in? The answer really isn’t that complicated. We are set up to lose that fight when we try to fight without God’s help. First, we have two opponents that are incredibly strong and persuasive: The Devil and the world. The Devil is crafty and sly and the pleasures of the world are just too delicious to say no too. The Devil and the world are tough enough opponents if you are healthy, strong and perfect. But the Devil and the world aren’t up against such things; which leads to the second point: They are tempting weaklings. They are tempting people already weakened by the disease of sin. What this means then is that people, even baptized people, already have a part of them that wants to give in.

Consider your own heart by considering this simple question: If you had a better offer for this morning where would you be? Still in church? Even if you had the better offer and still came to church would the thought not still creep: "I wish I would have taken my friend up on his offer."?

So you have these things working against you: Two powerful opponents, the Devil and the world against your weak, sinful nature just looking for an opportunity to please itself. But even that is not all that is against you. There are two more things that make it so easy to just give in. The Devil and the world are relentless. They never stop. And the sinful nature is also relentless. It is always looking for you to give in. And the sinful nature is strong. It wants you to believe that that is who you really are. To give in to the temptations of the Devil and the world is only allowing you to be you. And then finally not only are these three relentless they are also never satisfied. You give in once to keep them at bay. But they just keep coming back. And then they have you: the fall down the slippery slope down the wide path that leads to destruction.

Against such realities we may ask: What hope is there? What hope is there if no matter what I do, sooner or later, either the Devil or the world or my sinful nature will put one over on me? There is hope. The sort of hope that will take you off the wide path of destruction and put you on the narrow path of salvation. It is the hope that is found in Jesus Christ alone. And having gone the way of temptation and so often given in then you understand, truly understand what it means to put your hope in Jesus Christ alone. On your own you will have come to the conclusion that you truly have nothing to bring to the table. It must be Jesus. And it must be Jesus because as it says in Hebrews, Jesus, "has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin."

Jesus was indeed tempted. And that temptation was present the moment he began his public ministry following his baptism. Immediately, St. Mark tells us, Jesus was led out in the desert for forty days being tempted by Satan.

Mark’s telling of the temptation of Christ is the quite different from Matthew and Luke. Matthew and Luke tell a much fuller version of what happened. With Matthew and Luke we get the specific temptations. But Mark tells us none of these things. With Mark we only are told Jesus was tempted for forty days by Satan and then he concludes with a rather puzzling sentence unique to him, "And [Jesus] was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him."

This puzzling sentence once understood gives us reason to hope through the temptations and failings as they come. But before we get directly into the sentence let us go back just a few verses to how Mark begins. Mark begins by telling us that the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of a prophecy given in Isaiah, "a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him." Mark connects this prophecy with the ministry of John the Baptist. The gospel of Jesus Christ then begins with John the Baptist fulfilling a prophecy of preparing the way for Jesus Christ.

Once the way is prepared Jesus shows up, is baptized by John, the Spirit descends on him, and the voice from heaven declares, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Immediately then Jesus is led out by the Spirit to be tempted at the conclusion of which Jesus is with the wild animals and the angels minister to him. This bit about the wild animals is a phrase that is meant to keep us in mind of the great promises of grace spoken through the prophet Isaiah. For after the way was prepared the prophet also proclaimed of the Lord, "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people I formed for myself that they might declare my praise."

When Jesus heads out into the desert and overcomes the temptations of the Devil behold the new thing that is the gospel of salvation is springing forth. And as it springs forth the wild beasts are with Jesus at peace. At the end of Jesus’ temptation there is this peace between God and his creation.

"And Jesus was with the wild animals." In that simple phrase we are given hope because Jesus has already conquered. Jesus has done for us what we could not do for ourselves: Overcome the Devil, the world and our sinful flesh. When Jesus overcame the Devil we got a glimpse of heaven, creation restored. In that short phrase we are given the promise of what life will be like when Jesus returns and the temptations cease. Until then the struggle with temptation will go on. But we do not engage in that struggle without hope for we have Jesus the one who struggled and won for us. And we do not engage in that struggle without hope for we know that at the end of a lifetime of temptation and struggle comes peace.

And lead us not into temptation for although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.