Journalism, Reporting, Op-Eds, and Preaching

I was going to be a journalist.  A Sports Journalist, in fact.  That was the plan when I was entering High School.  Even took High School Journalism.  And it is something I love - ESPN is on often - sports radio on when I'm in the car or at the office.  Colin Cowherd is on in the background right now.

In journalism, properly speaking, there is a distinction made between reporting the news and producing editorials, giving opinions.  The anchors on Sportscenter report - the analyists give opinion and observation.  Bob and Kristine give the news updates, and Colin gives his thoughts.  The two tasks are different, are separate.

So - what are you, oh preacher?  Are you the reporter, the anchor, the one giving the news update, or are you the analyst, the flamboyant personality giving your opinion?

A voice says, “Cry!”
    And I said, “What shall I cry?”

You are not an opinion maker, preacher.  You are not a spin doctor.  You are not there to give your thoughts or opinings, you are not to dissect the possession they had in the 3rd quarter.

You are a crier - one who calls out the news.  Who who proclaims the facts, the realities.  You proclaim the Law, you proclaim the Gospel.  You don't talk about it, you don't break it down, you don't rant.

Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

You have enough to do to simply proclaim what God has done. 

Leave your speculations behind.  Abandon your thoughts of glory.  Forget trying to find some neat insight that the other speculative folks hadn't yet see. 

No.  Cry out.  Proclaim the Word.  Give the facts.  Declare what the Lord has done.

You aren't the star editorialist for the New Jerusalem Times -- you are a beat reporter.  Be glad... you get to report Good... news.

Lent 5 Sermon

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

          Isaac was Abraham’s only son, the only son who had come to Abraham and his wife in extremely old age.  And now the Word of the Lord came to Abraham – “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you.”  Imagine, just for a moment, what must have been running through Abraham’s mind there.  God spells out in the request just how much Abraham loved Isaac, and now, offer him as a burnt offering.  And yet, Abraham goes.  He takes Isaac and a few servants and starts out to Moriah, doesn’t tell them what precisely is going on.  Eventually Abraham and Isaac leave the servants behind, and they head on their way by themselves, carrying all the supplies needed for a sacrifice.

          Young Isaac is not stupid – Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering.  Abraham has raised his boy well.  Isaac knows how these offerings are done – he’s probably helped his father before.  Where is the lamb, dad?  And so, Abraham, walking to go and sacrifice his own son, hears this question from the son.  And he trudges onward.  God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.  And then they get to the place, and they build the altar – and then, the father grabs and binds his son – and Isaac is placed on the altar, and Abraham even has the knife in his hand to kill Isaac – and then something happens.  The Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”  And he said, “Here I am.”  He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him.”  Now, imagine what must be going through Abraham’s mind.  All the angst, all the tension, all the strain – gone.  Isaac will live – for there will be another sacrifice.  And then Abraham looks up, sees a ram caught in a thicket – and so Abraham sacrifices it – Isaac lives, Isaac who was going to die walks down from the mountain along with his father, knowing the God Himself preserved his life.

          Now, dear friends, do you see and understand why Jesus today could say, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day, He saw it and was glad.”  Jesus had been in the middle of an interesting discussion with certain Jewish leaders – and these leaders were getting quite agitated.  They didn’t like what they were hearing from this Jesus.  He had been pointing out their flaws, their sins.  He had been making claims about who He was, He claimed that the one who kept His Word would never taste death.  The leaders thought this was ridiculous – everyone dies – what is this young foolish Jesus talking about?  And on top of this – Jesus ends up saying that they are liars, and that in reality, they don’t even know God.  You people today, you are nothing like your father Abraham – Abraham would have been rejoicing if He saw Me here – I know, because He rejoiced when He saw me in the past.  Abraham rejoiced when I, Christ Jesus, the Angel of the Lord spoke from heaven and told him to spare his son Isaac, also your father.  And the leaders don’t quite get it yet – they don’t quite piece it together.  So Jesus lays it all out – you don’t know God, because you don’t know Me – and Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.  I AM.  God’s name that He revealed to Moses from the burning bush – Jesus declares that He is true God, begotten of the Father from all eternity – and certainly before Abraham and Isaac were around.  And the people listening, they want nothing to do with this – they take up stones to put Jesus to death – but Jesus leaves – oh, Jesus will die, but not by a hail of stones.

          They should have known and seen, these Jewish leaders.  Abraham knew – and they all knew the story of Abraham and Isaac.  I bet every one of them could have quoted Genesis 22 backwards and forwards.  What do we see and learn from Genesis?  We learn the consequences of sin.  The wages of sin is death.  There is not a one of us here who is innocent, who is free from sin – from the oldest of us here even to the youngest.  And because of sin, we deserve death.

 

          We kind of skip over that fact sometimes, don’t we?  We think of sin in terms of not being nice, of making things a bit rougher here and if we only listened to God and did things his way, our neighbors would like us better.  Well, that gets part of it – but the wages of sin is death.  Each and every one of us here deserves death – we have sinned against God Almighty, we have rebelled against Him – and that means we deserve to die.  Isaac – he was a sinful human being, he deserved to die.  God was completely justified in demanding his death.  We don’t like thinking along those lines – we like to downplay the consequences of sin – but sin demands death.  Isaac’s death would have been his just deserts – just as ours would be.

          But then the amazing thing.  Christ intervenes.  Abraham is right when he says that God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.  God jumps in, says wait – wait Abraham.  I’m not going to require Isaac’s life of him – I’m not going to take your son.  Rather this – The Father will provide the Lamb – the Father will provide His Son, Christ Jesus, and He will with His death take up the death that every son and daughter of Adam ever, all of them, Christ Jesus with His death will take up the death they deserve.

          This is what Jesus is on His way to do when He has this discussion with these Jewish leaders.  He is on His way to the Cross, ready to suffer and die – ready to be put on a wooden altar of His own, but this time the Father would not stay His hand – and the Son would die – the Son would die that we might live.  Note something profound – Your father Abraham rejoiced that He would see my day.  Abraham knew that Christ would come, would be the one, true sacrifice for all sin.  Because of this, Abraham had what Christ said – Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My Word, he will never see death.  This is our hope – for we know that for us who have been called by Christ Jesus into His Church, into His family – death isn’t our end, it isn’t where we end up.  Christ died for us – and so we know that we will have life – that all of this, all the trials and pains and sorrows we face in this life – they will yield unto not just the joys of heaven – but the joys of the last day when we all shall rise again, and in our bodies restored – as true human beings, living human beings, body and soul united again, we shall have eternity in the New Heavens and New Earth that we have been promised.

          This is the promise Christ Jesus has sworn to you – this is the vow He made to you at the moment of your Baptism.  Again, from Romans Chapter 6, and I cannot hear these verses often enough – Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been 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.  There it is, the entire hope of the Christian faith – that because Christ Jesus died in my stead and rose again – I too am forgiven for His sake, and I too shall rise again and live forever with God.  Promised, sign, sealed and delivered to each of you in the waters of Holy Baptism.

          The wonder of this is that all of this comes from what God does.  We aren’t defined, we aren’t made Christians by what we sacrifice.  Abraham wasn’t defined by what he sacrificed – rather, God intervenes and gives Abraham his son back as a simple, free gift.  We aren’t defined by what we do for God.  Now, do we do many things for God?  Indeed – whenever we show love to our neighbor, that is done for God.  That’s what Christians do – but that isn’t what makes us Christians.  What makes us Christians is this – that Jesus Christ does what is required – that God Himself has decided to be your Savior, that He has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light – that He will win for you pardon and peace from all your sins.  And nothing will stop Him.  Throughout lent His march to the cross has been unstoppable – Satan will not tempt Him off course, whining disciples will not prevent Him from showing love, demons hinder Him not, crowds wanting only bread, leaders wanting to stone Him – none of this stops Jesus – He goes to the Cross to win you your salvation.  Because that is who He is – because He is the God who loves you, the God who would rather suffer in your place, be sacrificed Himself so that He can claim you for all eternity.

          Lent is drawing towards a close.  Next Sunday is Palm Sunday – we will see our Lord enter Jerusalem to start the service, and in the Gospel lesson we will hear His passion.  Know and learn and remember what this is.  God Almighty takes your place and goes to the cross in your stead, so that you might have life in His Name.  This is His gift to you, this is His love for you, this is the salvation He wins for you.  Amen.

Lent Midweek Service

Lent Midweek – Nebuchadnezzar – March 13^th

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +
          Nebuchadnezzar was on top of the world.  There he was, king of the most powerful Empire the world had ever seen.  Even Egypt trembled before him.  And he knew that when he conquered Jerusalem, he had hit the jackpot.  Daniel, his servant, full of wisdom, able to interpret dreams had come from there.  The three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were from there – and their God was strong enough to preserve them even in the heart of the fiery furnace… and they all served and advised Nebuchadnezzar.  It was a fantastic situation, a wonderful set up.   We would say that King Nebuchadnezzar was truly blessed.

          The problem is, that isn’t what Nebuchadnezzar himself said.  Daniel had just interpreted a dream for Nebuchadnezzar, where God had warned Nebuchadnezzar not to be prideful, to repent, to turn away from sins, including idolatry.  Stop making these idols – listen to Daniel, listen to the wise Israelites and worship the True God.  In fact, Daniel says to Nebuchadnezzar, “Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”  There it is King – God is willing and content to use you as His own servant – but be a servant to God.  Repent, do what is good and righteous, show mercy, and be content and rejoice in the abundant bounty which God will provide for you – for you know His power.

          But Nebuchadnezzar didn’t listen.  ‘All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar.  At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”’  Well, not quite the proper lesson.  Kings walking on their rooftops seems to lead to bad things – it lead to David having an affair with Bathsheba, and it stokes Nebuchadnezzar’s pride.  Because there he is, literally on the top of the world – on the top of the tallest building in the great city, and his ego gets the best of him.  Is this not the great city that *I* have built by *my* mighty power to show forth *my* majesty.  Me, me, me.  Even as Daniel is warning him to repent, to simply be a glad and well provided for servant, Nebuchadnezzar goes in the exact opposite direction – he runs straight into pride.

          Now, let us pause for a bit and consider our own lives.  We may not be kings living in a palace, but consider. Nebuchadnezzar was certain that Babylon was the greatest city in the world – do we not gladly say that we live in the greatest country in the world?  While we are not kings, do we not have houses that would be the envy of billions, and not merely enough food on our tables but fantastic options for food and leisure and entertainment?  We have success in our jobs, respect, and power – not the power of a king, but still more than most people in the world. And can we not ourselves be tempted to think that this is because of our talents, our hard work, how good we are?  Are we not tempted to take pride in our homes, our authority, our power? 

          The Lord responds to Nebuchadnezzar’s pride in a dramatic fashion.   ^“While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, ³² and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.””  How do you like them apples?  Do you pride in your power and your plans – then I will make you unable to plan and I will cut off your power.  You don’t get to be a king when you are crazy and think that you are a cow.  “Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws.”  And it happens.  For quite some time.  His hair grows wild and his fingernails get on and untrimmed.  The man who thought that he was the best of men stops even acting like a man, becomes little more than a wild beast.

          The proud man is humbled.  And again, this is to be a warning to us.  God humbles the proud.  The mighty and arrogant He brings down.  This is a theme repeated over and over throughout the Old Testament, it is part of the Magnificat – the poor He has fed but the rich He has sent empty away.  And it is something that we ourselves should be mindful of.  How easily, how carelessly, how thoughtlessly can we here in America be tempted to be arrogant and dismissive of God – even us here, even we who attend Church and should know better?  How often have we seen people get their comeuppance, seen the powerful fall?  This is not reason for us to gloat – it is a reason for us to repent, lest the same befall us!

          Of course, Nebuchadnezzar’s story doesn’t end there.  While we don’t normally think of him as such – Nebuchadnezzer ends up contributing to the Scriptures, ends up being an author in part of the bible.  Listen.   At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,

for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;³⁵ all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,  and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”³⁶ At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”  Nebuchadnezzar is restored by God. God gives his reason back to Him, and Nebuchadnezzar knows that he is established by God, and that God added more greatness to him.  Do you see now how in his repentance, Nebuchadnezzar is content to confess the greatness of God and simply receive from God the blessings that God deigns to give?  The praise he writes, if not as poetic as the Psalms, is as high as anything David writes.

 

          Martin Luther observed at the very start of the Reformation that our lives as Christians are to be ones of repentance – and Nebuchadnezzar here tells us what a life of repentance is.  We do not lift our eyes upon our own greatness – rather we look to the Lord.  We do not trust our own strength – we extol God’s strength.  We know above all things, we remember at all times that His works are right and that His ways are just.  But again, dear friends, remember that this confession says more than just that God is okay, God is good.  It says that God’s works are right – that is, they are righteous, they deal with righteousness.  His ways are just, they lead to justification.  We are to keep our eyes focused upon God because He is the One who provides righteousness for us by the saving work of Christ Jesus, He is the one who has baptized us and placed us in Christ Jesus, the very Way, the Truth, the Life – He who is our justification.  The same God who will humble the proud is the same God who will take the lowly and humble sinner, and by the power of the Word of the Gospel forgives them and elevates them, gives them heaven, makes them co-heirs of eternal life with Christ Jesus.  This is why God desires you to be repentant – for His delight is not in your condemnation or punishment, but His delight is in restoring you, in blessing you, in forgiving you and giving you all and every blessing.  His mercies endure forever – and He would not want anything, not even your pride, to keep you from seeing this mercy, to make you overlook this mercy.  God grant that by the power of His Word and Spirit we turn away from our pride and rather  always behold Christ Jesus and His great love for us.  In the Name of Christ the Crucified +  

... with a Heart of Gold

One of my favorite tropes from old Westerns is the town Madam, who you would think would be just coarse and vile... but ends up really being one of the good guys and helps the heroes out.  It is the proverbial "Hooker with a Heart of Gold."

The only thing is... well... it's nice that she's nice and all, but she's still got a really lousy job that is problematic.

If you can make this distinction, then you can understand the Lutheran position on the Papacy being the Antichrist.  We say nothing doctrinally about specific popes - they may indeed have hearts of gold.  I liked, as a guy, Benedict XVI, and I hope Francis is a decent fellow as well.  But the simple fact of claiming to have the authority of the papacy is... anti-christ.  It robs Christ.  It clouds the Gospel under a veneer of works and obedience... and that is sad. 

And thus, as always, I will pray for repentance, for myself and for all.

Mourn - a Modern "Four Letter" Word

Someone died.  I saw the news this morning when I looked on Facebook.  I read the nice little write up - a fine Christian, knew Jesus was her Savior.  Good stuff.  Nice paragraph, focused upon Jesus.  And then, it ended by telling me when the "celebration of life" would be.

...

Now, I didn't know this person very well - she wasn't someone very close to me, but I've known plenty who are near and dear to me who have died, indeed died in the faith.  And you know what?  When they died - I mourned.

When friends, when family dies -- it's time for a funeral.  It's time to mourn.  That's okay. 

I say this being Irish - I love a good wake - the lasting memory I actually have of my Grandma Nordgren's funeral isn't the service, it's my grandpa and uncles laughing at the fact that I was eating my third giant roast beef sandwich at the catered dinner afterwards. 

But you know what.  It was a funeral.  And while I'm all for laughing and enjoying and remembering -- yeah, we were there that day because my grandpa was burying his second wife who was only 42, my aunt Jeri was only 13 and she was burying her mom.

It's okay to mourn.  It's okay to sorrow.  Even for Christians - even for we who know that there will be restoration - even we who look forward to the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come.

Because while the departed might be doing much better - we aren't.  We have suffered a loss... and we don't need to pretend otherwise.

Mourning is not a four letter word.  There is a time for it -- Christians mourn, but we do not mourn as those with no hope.

Causes or Effects

So, as a theologian, what's your focus?  Are you more focused on the causes or the effects - what comes before or what comes after the therefore?

Consider yesterday's collect: "Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning, and although we deserve only punishment, You recieve us as Your children and provide for all of our needs of body and soul.  Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen."

That collect really has two parts.  There is the first - that though we are sinners who deserve nothing, we have daily recieved mercy and are provided for completely by God.  There is the second - a request for aid to give thanks and serve.

What's the more important part?

See, this is why I end up getting a little nervous and antsy about the finger waggers, the ones who say "we need to talk more about our obedience and what we do."  That's not the most important part.  You want me to talk about what I do?  Really?  Well, I've just confessed that I deserve nothing but punishment because of what I do.

Of course, it goes deeper than that.  "Grant that we..."  That obedience of mine you want me to focus on, that thankfulness you tell me I need to do... that's not mine either.  "GRANT".  It's God's own obedience, His own thankfulness granted to me, given to me - that which He causes to well up in me.

Where is your focus?  Is your focus upon the cause of every good thing, even the good things that I do, or are you sitting, looking at effects with a fine tooth comb, especially the effects in your neighbors' life and seeing if they measure up to what you think they ought to be?  Why would you not be looking at Christ instead?

I deserve nothing but punishment.  Thanks be to God that He sent Christ Jesus to take my punishment instead, and rather gives me all that is Christ's to be my own!

Lent 4 Sermon

Lent 4 – March 10^th, 2013 – John 6:1-15

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +
          God provides.  Even to sinful and foolish man, God provides.  Even to people who don’t understand, who complain, who are dismissive of His power, God provides.  We are in the middle of Lent, of a time of repentance, a time of reflection upon our own sinfulness, a time where we ponder the great and cosmic struggle for salvation that our Lord is engaged in for our sake.  And here, in the middle of Lent, we pause, we take time to remember and see a simple truth.  God provides what we need for this body and life – both now and for all eternity.

          “After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberius.  And a large crowd was following Him, because they saw the signs that He was doing on the sick.”  So, here’s the situation.  Jesus has been healing, and so the crowds are following Him, wanting to see what He would do next.  Miracles, signs, wonders.  That’s what has been going on – and as we see in chapter 5, Jesus getting into disagreements with the haughty and proud.  And so there Jesus is, and the people are following.  “Jesus went up on the mountain and there He sat down with His disciples.  Now, the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.”  And now here’s the full set up.  Jesus is sitting with His disciples, and John notes for us that Passover is coming.  Passover, the celebration of God’s deliverance of His people from bondage in Israel.  Passover – the start of the Exodus, where God would feed His people in the wilderness for 40 years with manna, with bread from heaven.  This is the setting, these are the things that should be in the back of the disciples minds as Jesus begins to teach them, to instruct them.

          “Lifting up His eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward Him, Jesus said to Phillip, ‘Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?’  He said this to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.”  And like any good teacher, Jesus begins to test His disciples.  He starts with Phillip.  Alright Phillip, where do we buy bread to feed these people?  And it’s interesting to see how Phillip responds.  “Phillip answered him, ‘Two Hundred Denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’”  And Phillip gets it half right.  Oh, he speaks correctly – a denarius was basically enough to feed your family for a day.  Let’s say that you could use that to feed ten people well.  We could almost feed 2000 people with the cash on hand, Jesus, but there’s more than 2000 there.  Phillip is thinking totally and completely in terms of money, in terms of commerce.  In that sense, there is no hope.  But the problem is this – the Passover is at hand, the time of focusing upon God’s deliverance of His people is at hand.  And this just connection, this point slides right by Phillip.

          Andrew decides to give it a shot.  “One of the disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barely loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many.’”  Andrew thinks again in terms of resources.  Maybe we can scrounge food off of folks – look, that little kid brought a lunch – what Andrew describes is basically two sandwiches – these are little rolls of bread, small fish.  It’s a pound of food, not 5.  And actually, this is the answer that a lot of the liberal scholars today give – oh, this story is nothing more than all the people seeing this boy bringing food to share, and then everyone share, isn’t that so nice, peace and love, kum bay ya.  Except that’s not what the text says.  Even Andrew is dismissive of the idea of gathering resources from the crowds.  Think about it – these are crowds running off after a miracle worker – they’ve dropped what they were doing and took off after Jesus to see if He was going to do something astonishing or amazing.  And sure, some nice mom packs a lunch for her kid who happened to have come home and ask permission before going, but that’s not the normal here.  There is no cash, there really are no resources.  And the disciples are thus stumped.

          “Jesus said, ‘Have the people sit down.’  Now, there was much grass in the place.”  Of course there’s much grass in that place.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd, He makes me to lie down in green pastures.  John is telling us that something Messianic, something Divine is coming!  It’s on the eve of Passover, there’s been signs all over the place, it’s Psalm 23 come to life!  “So the men sat down, around 5000 in number.  Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to those who were seated.  So also the fish, as much as they wanted.  And when they had eaten their fill, He told His disciples, ‘Gather up the leftovers so that nothing may be lost.’  So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with the fragments from the five barely loaves, left by those who had eaten.”  And the miracle occurs.  There, out and about, God provides bread, provides food for His people.  Abundantly.  With excess to spare. 

          So, what then do we learn from this?  What then do we see?  What is the lesson we are taught?  Well, the first and obvious lesson is that yes, God does provide.  When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we aren’t just whistling Dixie.  God does indeed provide for us all that we need to support this body and life.  And this is something that God is interested in doing, that He delights in doing.  When Jesus sees the crowds, His question is not whether or not they will be provided for, but how.  It is to be assumed that these folks will be provided for, because that is what God does.  And indeed, this is something that we should ponder and rejoice in.  God has provided for us.  Amidst all the dangers of this life, in the middle of uncertainty and rough weather, God has provided, and it’s only our greed, our selfishness that would lead us to think other wise.  And note this – Jesus doesn’t provide for the crowd because of anything they have done, or because they are good – He is going to have to flee from them in just a few moments.  Rather, He provides simply because He is God and He is good.  This is what we confess when we confess that God is our Creator – not just that He made stuff way back when in Genesis, but that He has made me and all creatures, that He still provides for me, even to this day, all that I need to support this body and life.

          But again, this is only the start, the beginning of God providing for us.  Yes, He provides the normal, everyday things that we need… but we need more than just food and clothing to support this body and life.  Man in a fallen world cannot live by bread alone, for we are oppressed by sin and Satan and death.  We are in need of the promised Savior, the Messiah – and the crowd gets this, almost.  They do get that what Jesus does in Messianic.  “When the people saw the sign that He had done, they said, ‘This is the Prophet who is to come into the world.!”  Again, because we aren’t as versed in the Old Testament as they were, we sort of miss this.  We today understand that the feeding of the 5000 is a cool miracle, but what the crowd understands is that with this miracle, with this sign, Jesus sort of just tops everyone in the Old Testament.  Yes, there was manna in the desert, but that appeared on the overnight and we had to pick it.  Here Jesus just gives.  Yes, when Elijah lived with the widow, the flour and oil never ran out, but that was food for three.  In one fell swoop Jesus upstages both Moses and Elijah, He tops them, He trumps them.  The wonders of the Old Testament give way to what Jesus does.

          But then, the crowd misses the point too.    “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him King, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.”  I know last week was the “no good deed goes unpunished week,” but how do you like this?  You feed the people, and suddenly they become a rebellious mob wanting to overthrow the government.  This is emblematic of what happens so often – there is the sign, and people are amazed… but then they want to run off in the wrong direction.  They see the sign, and think that this should point not to redemption and forgiveness, but rather to leisure.  If Jesus feeds us for a day here on this grass, imagine what could happen if He were to rule the world!  They wanted Jesus to be merely a better version of the Roman Emperors, giving better bread and better circuses.  But again – not the point.  God provides.  God provides what we need, truly need, both for now, but also and even more wondrously for eternity.

          All those things in the Old Testament – the Passover, the Manna in the wilderness, Elijah caring for the widow, they point forward to the coming of the Messiah, who would not merely provide for our body and life for a brief time in this life, but redeem our bodies from sin and death and give us true life, life that lasts through all eternity.  It was not an accident that this takes place on the Eve of Passover – for that is the great foreshadowing of Christ’s death for the sins of the people, the spotless Lamb whose blood will lead us out of bondage to sin and death.  It’s no accident that John writes, “Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks” because Christ our Lord gives us life and salvation in His own Holy Supper, in His Body and Blood even to this very day.  God is not content to merely care for you for a few 70, 80, 90, 100 years.  He is determined to be your God and Lord and Savior for all eternity, and so Christ Jesus will not let Himself be made merely into an earthly king, not merely a distributor of blessings.  Oh, He will give blessings, but that is no effort at all for Him – for all of creation and all that is in it is His.  No, the greater, the larger wonder is this.  Christ comes to be our Savior, who provides for us what we need both now and for eternity.  When we fail to see this, when we forget this, He will remind us again, He will teach us, and over and over He will distribute to us His life giving Body and Blood so that we too might have life in His name.  All thanks be to Christ Jesus our Lord, who shows us such wondrous love.  In the Name of Christ the Crucified + Amen.

Self-Denial as Cure to Legalism and Antinomianism

In the Lutheran internet there has been another round of anti-legalism and anti-antinomianism blog posts, all with their stern warnings and such.  And it has gotten me thinking.  So often these calls end up leaving a sour taste in my mouth... and I think I have figured out why.

The other day I read this interesting Roman Catholic evaluation of Luther, and in particular I was struck by this quote: "From this shift of 1518, the pen­i­ten­tial life con­tin­ues to unfold in daily self-denial, but Luther has it firmly anchored in God’s gra­cious word which applies Christ’s sav­ing grace in moments of clear, unam­bigu­ous com­mu­ni­ca­tion."

Now, the key phrase in there for me is "self-denial".

I think this is spot on in terms of evaluating Luther (although not quite full).  Luther was completely and totally about self-denial, about self-control and discipline, about the "penitential life" -- not as a way of earning merit or favor with God, but with the life we lead not only to keep ourselves away from sin but also in order that we can provide for our neighbor.  Our self-denial becomes neighbor-provender, where God uses us to provide His gifts to our neighbors.

I wonder if this idea of "self-denial" for the sake of the neighbor might not be a good angle to evaluate the calls and cries of legalism and antinomianism... both that others make and that we ourselves make.

You call someone a legalist... so, where is your self-denial?  Are you fighting against your own will, your own wants and desires... or do you call someone a legalist because they say that something you are doing is wrong?

You call someone an antinomian... so, where is your self-denial?  Are you fighting against your own will, your own wants and desires... or do you call someone an antinomian because they ignore your self-chosen means of piety and disdain your advice?

Now, granted, this isn't a perfect measure - but it does focus us back onto our own repentance, our own sin... and legalism and antinomianism (and the calls there about) rarely deal with one's own sin.

My own sin is great.  I see it.  I struggle against it daily.  Thanks be to God that for me fights the Valiant One whom God Himself elected - Jesus Christ it is, of Sabbaoth Lord, and there's none other God - and He indeed holds the field forever.

The Lent Sermon that Wasn't

Here is the rough draft of the sermon that would have been preached tonight, had service not been cancelled.

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +
          It was good to be the King.  There was David, basking in his power, his success, his earthly glory.  Long gone were the days when he was the littlest, forgotten brother.  Long gone were the days when he was stuck tending the sheep or playing the messenger boy.  Now, he was king.  He didn’t even need to fight his own battles anymore, he didn’t have to slay the giants himself anymore – he had generals and warriors to do that.  He was on top of the world – and King David knew it.  And one day, might King David, while his armies are out fighting for him, takes a walk along his roof, and he sees the lovely Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of David’s loyal soldiers.  And she’s mighty good looking, and David knows that it’s good to be the king, and his affair is on with Bathsheba.  But there’s a problem.  Now she’s pregnant.  Oh well, David will arraign a cover-up – he can do these things, he’s the King.  He summons Uriah home, everyone will think it’s Uriah’s kid, no more scandal.  Except Uriah refuses to enjoy the comforts of home while his own men are in the field.  This is a problem, unless you are the King.  So David sends orders with Uriah himself, orders instructing faithful Uriah to be sent on a suicide mission and killed.  David can order that – it’s good to be the King.  And Uriah is killed, and David takes Bathsheba to be his wife, and a son is born, and David thinks everything is fine, everything is hunky dory, because he is the King, and surely what he does is fine and good.

          “And the Lord sent Nathan to David.”  God sends in the prophet Nathan to rebuke David.  But Nathan doesn’t come in shouting or railing.  He begins with a story.  “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor.  The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one, ewe lamb, which he had bought.  And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children.  It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms and it was like a daughter to him.”  Do you see how heavily Nathan is laying this out?  How much he is setting up the story.  And while we listening, we reading the Scriptures can see so clearly where Nathan is going with this – King David doesn’t see.  Nathan continues, “Now, there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”  And what is David’s reaction?  Does he ponder his own actions, his own sinfulness?  No – why he is just and good King David, favored of God.  “Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and he had no pity.”  And as David says these words, David is sure that he is the righteous, the just king.  As the Lord Lives!  As I, God’s appointed King lives, this injustice will not stand!  Let the man be put to death, let him taste the wrath of God and of the King!  How defiant, how swift, how decisive King David is here and now!  And why shouldn’t he be.  David is, after all, a good King, a good man.  Or so he simply assumed.

          And Nathan lays him flat with but a few words – 2 in Hebrew, four in English.  Attah Ha-esh.  “You are the man.”  You, David, who assumed that you were high and mighty and righteous, you who think that you ought to judge the wicked harshly, you yourself have fallen into wickedness!  It is interesting and instructive for us what happens here with David.  David doesn’t view himself as wicked.  If you had asked David if he was a good Jewish man, he would have said sure.  He would have simply assumed it.  But here in lies the problem.  David has become powerful, and he has become self-confidence, sure of his own good, his own righteousness – and in forgetting humility, in his pride, he sins.  And he doesn’t even think about it, because, after all, he’s David, God’s anointed.

          This is the danger that we ourselves face.  We here are Christians.  And we are the good ones, why we are the ones who not only come to church every week, why, we’ll even come to mid-week services, see how good we are!  Even in strange and bad weather, here we are.  And suddenly, the temptation sets in for us to view ourselves as the good ones.  The better ones.  Not like those people over there, not like the rough and coarse folks.  We assume that we are righteous, and that opens the door for sin and temptation, for casual cruelty or senseless sin and vice to sneak on into our lives without even noticing it, without even thinking about it.  And this is why we here, we who are diligent in coming to God’s house, why we ourselves must hear God’s Law, see things from God’s perspective, so that we might know our sin and repent of it, lest we grow in shame and vice.

          Nathan explains things to David from God’s perspective.  “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel.  I anointed you King over Israel, and I delievered you out of the hand of Saul.  And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah.  And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.”  Yes, David, it is good to be the King, but that has nothing to do with how good you are – it has everything to do with how good God is.  All these things, David, you have received simply out of Fatherly Divine goodness and mercy without any merit or worth in you.  And God would freely give you more – if for some reason the multiple wives you had as king weren’t enough and you just had to have another good looking gal, the Lord would have provided!  This is how He has favored you, David.  And yet, what is your reaction?  “Why have you despised the Word of the Lord, to do what is evil in His sight.  You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and killed him with the sword of the Amorites.”  Instead of letting Me give to you, David, instead of receiving My blessings, you took and took for yourself.  And there are consequences for David.  The rest of his reign – well, it’s not so good.  There’s violence.  And just as David stole someone’s wives, his wives are going to be publicly stolen – David’s own son does this, runs David out of the palace and sets up a tent on the palace roof and has his way with his dad’s concubines in public so everyone can see it.

          Our sin has consequences, even the sin that we in our pride like to ignore.  Our proud actions and words poison relationships and have consequences that can come back to bite us years down the road.  Sometimes relationships are broken, trusts betrayed, and then they are never the same again.  Defend us and preserve us from this, dear Father in heaven!  And this is why, in His Word, God continually shows us the Law, so that we would examine ourselves and beat down our sin before it rises up and causes us too much problem.  This is why in our Word God continually shows us that He is the One who is good to us, so that we rejoice and delight in Him instead of falling into pride.  Or do you not realize that your devotion, your zeal for God isn’t about you – it is a gift from God that you should rejoice and give thanks to Him for.  In all things God uses His Word and Spirit to defend us, to protect us… and when needed as it often is, to cut us down and bring us back to repentance.  Again, for all things, God intends repentance and redemption, as we see even here.

          For that is how the story ends.  David repents.  “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’  And Nathan said to David, ‘The LORD has put away your sin; you shall not die.  Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die.’”  So, what do you think?  Was this kind, or was this harsh?  And our first reaction may be to see it as harsh – the child will die.  But let us consider this again from a greater perspective, from God’s perspective.  Nathan is right – God has put away David’s sin.  But there will be trouble.  The son that David loves, Absalom, who should be his heir, will rebel, will harass David, and will die.  There will need to be a new heir, a new son of David to take the throne – but it will not be this young infant, the child conceived in bloodshed and murder.  No, David will comfort his wife Bathsheba, and she will conceive again, and she will give birth to a son named Solomon.  Solomon, who is the wisest of men.  Solomon who builds the Temple.  Solomon who is the ancestor of our Lord Christ Jesus, the true Temple, the Temple that is torn down upon the Cross and rebuilt on the third day as He rises from the tomb all so that the sins of the world, even the sins of David might be put away by the Lord.  In all things, God works, moves us towards repentance and salvation.  This is what He did for David, this is what He does for us by His Word.  God grant us His Holy Spirit, that we might be defended from great shame and vice, and that we might be quickly restored when we do err.  Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and the perfector of our faith.  In the Name of Christ the Crucified, Amen.

Spirit, Restoration, and Burden Bearing

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy,^[a] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

6 Brothers,^[b] if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. ² Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. ³ For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. ⁴ But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. ⁵ For each will have to bear his own load." - Galatians 5:16-6:5

In the Name of Jesus Christ +

St. Paul gives us words of the highest wisdom when he writes, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness."  These words drip with care and love and charity - they drip with the Holy Spirit and His fruit.  Indeed, this is how St. Paul describes the Spirit as working in and through a Christian - if one has the Spirit, then there will be a zeal for gentle restoration of the erring brother.  There will be the acknowledgment that you yourself might fall into sin and temptation in reaction to what another has done.  Rather than destroying, rather than fire and brimstone, there is the call to restore, to bear with another's burdens.

I have been teaching Galatians to my vacancy congregation, and I've been leafing through Luther - and the thing that stands out in Luther is this.  While many people today will think of Galatians as the letter of strong denunciation (which Paul has for the Judaizers), over and over Luther emphasizes the patience, the peace, the loving care with which Paul addresses the Galatians.  Even when St. Paul chides them, it is done gently and lovingly.  

How do we deal with the erring brother today?  Do we treat him gently, bearing his burdens quietly?  Do we speak with him patiently, letting the Word of God and the Spirit work upon him in God's own time?  Do we even treat him with kindness, following the golden rule as even the pagans know it?  Do we control ourselves, making sure that we speak not out of our own passions or fears?

This is the anniversary of Luther's death.  Already on the internet I have seen several things pointing to Luther - pointing to him as the defiant reformer, the brash and bold insulter of heretics, the denouncer of Anti-Christ - and so on and so forth.  And it's sad to me that this is how he seems to be remembered.  The Luther of the letters of Spiritual Counsel is ignored.  The Luther who was willing to believe the best - who dedicated the Freedom of a Christian to the pope, thinking and hoping that surely he was simply being led astray - is forgotten. The Luther who said that he did nothing is dismissed as we instead create a false image of a hero whom we then vainly emulate. The Luther who prays before preaching not for glory or praise but simply a right understanding of the Word, who prays that God be with him lest Luther himself destroy it all, does anyone speak of this?  It is as though the shepherd is defined by the few times where he had to attack a lion or wild animal, but the normal, every day care is forgotten.

I worry that this is an evidence that we care little for the Word of God, that we care less about a Spirit who brings with Him gentleness or peace or kindness.  We view the Church as a battlefield with fights that we must win, not against Satan, but against each other.  We aim to kill the wounded and erring, lest their cries of distress disturb us.  We seek justification, to defend our actions even as we skewer and bring to light the slightest flaw in our neighbor.

Over and against all of this, all our posturing and political tomfoolery, over and against our ego and false pride where we think that we are kingmakers and movers and shakers, over and against the false dreams of our glorious revolution that will change the world stands this simple truth:  Christ Jesus has died for sinners, of which I am chief.  He did not die for a righteous man when He died for me.  He did not die for someone whom He needed to fix this world or the Church or to slay the modern day dragons of whatever.  He died for a sinner who has often has his own burdens borne by others, who has been patiently taught by true brothers in the faith.

May the God who richly forgives is in Christ, also grant us His gentle Spirit!