An example of Exhortation from Luther

So, I am working ahead (as I have no idea when my son Ambrose might show up) and getting bulletins done for the month - and I saw this Luther quote, which will fill up the last page of my bulletin for the 4th Sunday of Advent when the Magnificat is the Gospel text.

"Therefore we must be on our guard, because we cannot do without God’s good things while we live on earth, and therefore we cannot be without name (reputation) and honor.  When men accord us praise and honor, we ought to profit by the example of the Mother of God and at all times arm ourselves with this very verse to make the proper reply and to use such honor and praise correctly.  We should openly say, or at least think in our heart: O Lord God, Thine is the work that is being praised and celebrated.  Thine be the name too.  Not I have done it, but Thou, who art able to do all things, and holy is Thy Name.  We should neither reject this praise and honor as though they were wrong, nor should we despise them as though they were nothing; but we should refuse to accept them as too precious or noble and we should ascribe them to Him in heaven, to whom they belong."

Consider this quote.  I absolutely love it.  Is it an exhortation?  Sure - on the basis of the text, it is a call to emulate, which is good.  And I love how Luther deals with praise - do not deny that there is anything to be praised, but rather shift the praise from yourself to God.

To God Alone be the Glory.

He's the one who has done it - not me, even though from the perspective of the world I have.  Of course, this is part of what goes on in the 1st Article of the Creed.  We discussed in the children's lesson the idea of God giving us house and home, food and clothing, etc.  While directly and physically, the kid's parents provided them food and clothing, we know and confess that in reality this is an act of God - God working in and through her parents.

That's they way it is for every good thing.

Indeed, that's they way it is even when a rank unbeliever does something that is of benefit to us or that is worthy of civil praise.  When the atheist doctor performs a good surgery, he is using the talents God has blessed him with - whether or not he sees or acknowledges this fact.

It's a great way to view life - indeed, how we ought to view everything.

Advent 2 Sermon

Advent 2 – December 8^th, 2013 – Luke 21:25-35

In the Name of Christ Jesus our Advent King +

          I was going to start this sermon by saying that it ought to be hard to think of Christ’s first coming without thinking of His second – but in reality, we do so all the time.  We know, we are sure, that Christmas is coming, but do we even give pause and think that Christ’s second coming might happen first?  Do we even consider the possibility?  You see, we are creatures of habit – and we all have seen Christmas roll around – for most of us many times – and we know what to expect with Christmas.  But ultimately, which is more important – which is the bigger day – when we celebrate Christ’s first coming, when we remember that first Christmas – or when we celebrate and participate in, when we are part of Christ’s second coming?  But thankfully for us, the two are related – in fact, we know and understand and prepare for Christ’s second coming in light of His first.  That is why we have our Gospel text this morning that points to the second coming.  So that is what we will do this morning – we will compare what we know, what we understand about Christ’s first coming at Christmas with what Christ tells us about His second, and so we will better understand.

          At His first coming we know that Christ came humbly to save.  I’m sure all of you could recount to me the ways in which it was humble.  In a little stable.  No room in the Inn.  Born of a virgin, meek and mild.  There was no great earthly celebration, no parades down the streets of Jerusalem.  Even the Angelic Choir which we all love – heard simply by a few lowly shepherds – folks doing a job that no one really wanted.  And all of this, all this humility Christ takes up in order to save us.  This is His humility, that Christ Jesus, God Himself – would let Himself lay in straw, in animal feed – that He would let Himself suffer, that He would let Himself go to the Cross and be put to death – and all of this to win salvation.  That is the first coming – He comes in humility to save.

          Christ’s second coming – slightly different.  And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now, when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption draws near.  Christ’s second coming will be for the exact same reason – to save His people.  Your redemption draws near.  When He comes again, Christ will bring in His train salvation for His people – if we are dead on that day, we shall be raised and stride forth from our tombs in joy – if we are alive, our bodies will be changed and we will shed, we will slough off all our sin, like an old, dirty piece of clothing.  Christ still comes to save – but His second coming will be different.  On the day of His second coming, all of us, whether it is tomorrow or in a thousand years, all of us, living and dead will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Christ’s second coming will not be humble – He will not come as a defenseless little child, but as the Lord of Glory.  He will come as the conqueror, the Resurrected One who stands victorious over death and the grave, the One who is our victory over death and the grave – and what Job prophesies will be true – For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.  My heart faints within me.  That shall be the difference – Christ shall not come in humility as He did the first time, but He shall come as Christ the Crucified, He who has conquered by His death, He who has been raised and indeed, He who raises all to life. 

          There is another point to ponder.  At His first coming, Christ came to a world wrecked by sin.  Cold, poverty, the wealthy feasting lavishly while the poor on their doorstep die.  Selfishness – that no one would give up their room for a woman 9 months pregnant.  Right after Christ’s birth we see Wicked Herod work his slaughter of the innocents of Bethlehem, we throughout the Gospels see corrupt leaders, both in the civil world and even in the Church, plotting and conspiring.  Christ comes to a world wrecked by sin – a world that had been a paradise, but which was thrown into chaos and confusion by sin.  And in this world, Christ endures, He suffers, He takes up all the pain and consequences of sin – even death, so that He might bear up our punishment in our place.

          Now ponder Christ’s second coming.  And He told them a parable, “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.  So also, when you see all these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.”  There are always signs of what is coming.  When the trees start to leaf out again, you know it is getting warmer.  When turkeys go on sale, thanksgiving is coming.  When red and green lights go up and sales start happening, the Christmas shopping season is coming.  While driving, you see a stop sign, and you know an intersection is coming.  Signs let us know what is coming.  So also, when you see all these things – distress of nations, roaring in the seas, signs in the sky – then you know that Christ is coming.  Let me ask a question.  When are the nations not in distress?  How many times have sons of this congregation gone off to wars, been sent overseas?  How many conflicts are there that our country stays out of in addition to this?  And when is the weather, the sea, not rising up?  There’s always something going on somewhere.  And all of this – simple effect of sin.  When we look at the world, and we see sin – we know what is coming.  We know that Christ is coming – but this time, when He comes, Christ shall come to wreck sin in the world.  After that day, no more of these signs.  No more distress among the nations, for He shall wipe every tear from their eye.  The waves of the earth shall not rise, and the heavens will show forth no more signs – for He shall make a new heaven and new earth for us.  This is the reason why He came at the first – to defeat sin, so that it could and would be finally done away with on the Last Day.

           There is one more thought that our text leads us to this morning.  When Christ first came – it was quiet, it was witnessed by just a few.  We will sing “Silent Night” – for it was a quiet night.  When we sing “Angels We Have Heard on High” – we forget that this is the report of just a few, a few lowly shepherds.  Christ’s first coming – was silent, was quiet – went largely unnoticed.  No one in Jerusalem heard it – hadn’t taken any notice until the Wise Men say something.  How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given.

          Not so with Christ’s second coming.  But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life; and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.  For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the earth.  It won’t be a quiet event, it won’t be one that goes unnoticed.  As Christ was born in the stable of an inn – there were probably those at that very inn who were feasting and drinking without a second thought.  Won’t be that way at the second coming – Christ’s return will not go unnoticed, it will not be overlooked, it won’t be something that will be able to be shuffled off onto your things to do tomorrow list.  When He comes, He comes – and that is it.  And so we are to be ready – But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.  How are we as Christians supposed to live?  Are we to be beaten down by the cares of this life?  No – that isn’t what God wants for us.  Rather – in the midst of this chaotic, wild life, we pause and pray – we gather together and hear God’s Word, we receive His Blessed Supper that we might be strengthened, that we might be prepared for His coming – that we might not live as though He weren’t coming again.  We rest – and by rest I don’t necessarily mean kick our feet up on the couch, but we pause and hear and receive from God His strength.  Because of what He has done, because Christ has conquered and won us the victory, we can easily and gladly be prepared for His second coming.

          And so dear friends – just as we anticipate and celebrate Christ’s first coming at Christmas, just as our preparations are going strong for it – we ought to anticipate Christ’s second coming – not fearing what it will be like, not looking with trepidation towards the end of the world – but rather simply looking forward to the Resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.  In preparing for one, we prepare for the second as well – because in all things our focus is upon Christ and what He has done for us – whether it is what He has done for us in coming humbly to the manger, or what He will do when He comes again in glory.  Look forward to the Last Day in the same way and with the same confidence with which you prepare for the next Christmas Day – for you are God’s own child, and the coming of Christ your Brother should never cause us distress, for it is your rescue and deliverance.  Thus we are right to pray, come quickly Lord Jesus, come quickly.  In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

The Sin of Defending Yourself - a Repost

(I wrote this a year ago to the day -- good things to think about, especially in the shark tank that is social media)

 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. ²⁰ But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. ²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²² “He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”^[e]

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” ²⁵ For “you were like sheep going astray,”^[f] but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. - 1 Peter 2:19-25

It the cause, the source, the root of so many arguments and discussions.  Person X says something about person Y, and person Y begins to defend themselves.  Maybe it's explaining how X is wrong.  Maybe it's turning around an pointing out flaws in X to undercut their credibility.  Maybe it's telling everyone why Y themselves is really right and good.  Maybe it's blaming Z.  Either way, some defense is made... and then the argument is on.

Sometimes trying to publicly defend yourself is just wrong.

Simple as that.

Consider this.  What are you actually doing when you defend yourself?

1 - I'm just explaining my actions.  Why?  Why do you need to explain your actions?  To justify yourself?  To protect your reputation?  To prove that you are actually right and the other guy wrong?  Why is that a priority... or to put it this way... are you with your words serving yourself or are you serving your neighbor?  The later is good, the former is... bad.

2.  The other guy is a jerk.  Well, that's nice.  And yes, sometimes for the good of your neighbors it is good to put a bully down.  But here's the thing -- if they are hammering you... are you really acting altruistically?  Are you really acting to protect and defend others, or do you take down the jerk because man it feels good to take down the jerk?  Again, one of those is bad, and one is good.

3.  But it's not my fault.  Okay.  So some other fellow dropped the ball and things have splashed onto you.  How do you serve your neighbor?  I mean, let's consider - what sin had Christ committed that got Him reviled and crucified?  Oh, yeah, it was some other fellow's -- namely mine.  Again, we are called to love our neighbor, even when they cause us undo hardship.  

So fine, fine, fine - what then are we supposed to do?

A - Confess - Often the simple fact is that you did drop the ball.  Confess.  Own up to it.  Self-justification's mortal enemy is confession, is the finding of the flaw in what you have done... even if they see a log when it's probably only a speck. 

B - Concede - Let the other guy win.  Concede the point about you being a _____________, for the sake of something more important, like your neighbor.  Often attacks are... spurious.  Often attacks are designed to deflect the conversation from where it is going (and should be going) onto something else.  Concede the attack, and get back on topic.

C - Cover - Cover your neighbor's flaws - don't reveal them.  If you are getting blamed for what someone else has done - protect their reputation.  Then, patiently instruct and guide them (and you'll have the moral authority to do so) so that they can grow.  The care and compassion that no one but the two of you ever need know.

This is not easy.  Our sinful flesh hates this.  Why?  Because we don't always come out smelling like roses -- we would much rather prove to everyone that what we did is right and good and above reproach (of course, if you have to *prove* that you are above reproach, you by definition are not above it because you have in fact already been reproved... but that's neither here nor there).

I'm sure, if someone was so inclined, they could easily point out, "You hypocrite - you write this, but I've seen the comments you've written - you are a self-justifying ________ jerky poopy-faced bad theologian (or the epithet of their choice).

Yep.  I'm sure it wouldn't take me long to go through the comment I have written to find things that don't hold up to this standard.  Or even posts.  I never said the above was easy or that I had obtained it -- but this is the goal.  Everything should serve the neighbor, should defend the neighbor.

Defend the neighbor - protect them.  Yourself, don't worry about that so much.  You aren't your own protector -- A Mighty Fortress is your God -- let Him defend you.  And He will - maybe not as quickly as you would want.  But our God works through means - when needed, He will raise up one to defend you -- He already has sent His Son to defend and rescue you for all eternity.  Bear Christ in mind, pray for endurance, and show forth love.

Advent Midweek 1

Advent Midweek 1 – December 4^th, 2013 – Luke 1

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

          This Advent season we will be taking a look at some Angelic appearances.  Next week we will get the famous Annunciation, where Gabriel comes to Mary and tells her that she will be giving birth to Jesus.  The week after that we will hear the angel talk to Joseph.  And of course, the week after that, on Christmas Eve, we will get the Angel Hosts singing to the Shepherd of Bethlehem.  But tonight, to start, we have the often forgotten angelic appearance of the New Testament, Gabriel appearing to Zechariah in the temple.  So let us consider this appearance.

          In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest name Zechariah, of the divison of Abijah.  And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.  And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statues of the Lord.  But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.  And that’s the start of the whole story, the way Luke really begins his Gospel.  We see an old priest and his wife.  Nothing spectacular, nothing great or noteworthy.  Just a good, faithful old couple without a kid.  A priest getting long in the tooth, used to just letting the days go by, as they always had. 

Now, while he [that is, Zechariah] was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.  And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.  Now, just think for a moment about how normal, how typical this is.  This is just the normal stuff that goes on, a normal, everyday sort of thing.  It would be no more unusual than any service we have here – and that’s the thing.  Everything has been usual.  Everything has been typical and humdrum in Jerusalem.  They’ve been that way for quite some time.  There’s been no prophet for a good 400 years.  There really hasn’t been anything astonishing at least since the whole stuff that leads to Hanukah, the festival of lights, and that was a good 160 years ago.  That’s a long time – that’s like us talking about the Civil War.  It’s a while ago.  And nothing strange happens, and days just drag on into the next, and still Zechariah goes on with his long life, with his old wife, and they are just getting old together and that’s all there is, that’s all that ever happens.

And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense, and Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.  Well, that’s certainly different.  Zechariah’s no rookie, he’s not some wet-behind the ears priest offering up incense for the first time.  This sort of thing doesn’t happen… it’s not supposed to happen, and Zechariah is petrified.  Did you note this – Luke doubles up the description.  He’s troubled and fear falls upon him.  Zechariah assumes one and one thing only – that what is coming is going to be bad.  You break with the norm, and it’s going to be bad.

Of course, Gabriel comes with good news.  You’re going to have a son – Elizabeth is going to conceive.  But not only you, many will rejoice, for he is going to be a prophet.  And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.  And not just a prophet – but the last prophet.  The final one, the one who will be preparing the way of the Messiah.  It’s all coming, and it’s really starting with your son, Zechariah, yes, your son.

But here’s the rub.  Zechariah doesn’t buy it.  And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this?  For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”  We don’t get what Zechariah is saying.  What he says here is basically, “Says who?”  I’m going to have a kid – says who?  Now, you listen up, I’m an old fogey and my wife is old too, and nothing happens to us – so there.  Now, all you angels get off of my lawn.  What he says is totally dismissive – because Zechariah knows the way things work – he’s been around the block far too many times, and stuff like this just doesn’t happen.  Now go away and bother someone else, because I ain’t buying it.  And this is why Gabriel lays the smack down on him.  And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.  And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”  Do you get the irony of it.  Alright, you are here in the temple offering the incense in the presence of the Lord – hey buddy, I LIVE in the presence of God, not just when my lot turns up.  And pal, I was sent here to speak to you, but since you didn’t want to listen, just shut it.  Keep silent.  And it is totally ironic – John will come to turn the hearts of fathers to their children… but right now, papa Zechariah hadn’t had his heart turned towards John yet.  He was dismissive even of the idea.  The great prophet’s papa is render silent because he disbelieves the word.

But if God says something, it’s going to happen.  Zechariah finally comes out, and he is mute, and they realize he’s seen something – and probably messed it up because he can’t talk, and he goes home, and Elizabeth gets pregnant – although she keeps it hidden, she hides herself away.  It’s great, it’s wonderful, but it’s all still a little strange.

So, what do we learn, what do we take from this?  Zechariah serves as a warning for us.  He’s a good fellow, he’s blameless, he’s your good little Christian.  But, he’s just sort of run down.  He has just gotten so used to life as he knows it that he can’t believe or expect anything wondrous to happen to him – even when God sends him an angel.  Zechariah has fallen to the mundane.  Things are just how they are, and that’s all there is, end of story.  And this is a danger to us.  We live in a day and age of materialism and consumerism, where we are told to expect just the normal humdrum of life – where our thoughts on religion and God are pushed more and more into a little quiet corner of our lives.  And as such, we can be deluded into missing it when God Himself speaks to us.

No, I’m not telling you to be on guard for an angel – something better.  As Peter points out in His epistle, we have something better than an angel.  We have the Gospel of Christ Jesus – we know the story, we know that John comes and proclaims the coming of Christ Jesus, we know that this Jesus lives and suffers and dies for our sins, we know that He rises, we know that He come again.  And how do we know this?  Because God has given us the gift of His Word – the New Testament where everything confusing and hidden in the Old is revealed.  The coming of the Messiah that was longed for, it’s explained and revealed in Christ – and you and I hear it, and we know it.  And the danger is the world wants us to treat the hearing of the word as just another mundane thing.  But it’s not.  It is not the mere word of an angel, as amazing as that is – it is the Word of Christ about Christ for you.  It is the word of your forgiveness.  Every Sunday, every service when we gather here, we aren’t just going through the motions, but rather once again God brings us life and Spirit and forgiveness and hope through His Word – even until He comes again.  God grant that we see and hear this great truth and wonder for what it is!

As for Zechariah, well, he does learn his lesson.  John is born, and Zechariah will speak again, he will open his mouth in praise.  Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for He has visited and redeemed His people.  This is the great truth we celebrate and marvel whenever we gather here.  God grant that we see it, that we know it ever more.  In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

Jesus Loves Me

One of the great dangers of Christianity is when we becomes bored with Jesus, when we become bored with what He does, when we want something different, something more subtle, more profound, more exciting.

There is a reason why Christ lauded the faith of the child.  The child is perfectly happy to let the story be about Jesus, perfectly content to give the classic Sunday School answer: Jesus!

Consider Jesus Loves Me.

Jesus Loves Me, This I know.
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.

 Does that sound boring to you?  Does that no longer interest you?  Are you no longer looking to the Bible for your spiritual knowledge, but rather clever philosophical turns or natural wisdom? 

Or your "relationship" with Jesus?  Are you no longer content for it to be one of simple belonging - where you belong to Him?  What, are you wanting more give and take - maybe a little bit of things you can do for Him to prove your worth?

Why?  Are you no longer content to confess that you are weak?  Would you rather say, "I was weak, but see, now I am growing and getting better and I am now strong like Jesus"?

Or maybe the problem is, you would say, that this song is just about justification, but now we want to talk about Christian living, and how we ought to be.

I'd still contend the child who simply trusts and receives good from God is a great example of that.

I remember when I was in 2nd grade, and my grandmother died.  And a classmate died as well.  And I thought it through - they are with Jesus now.  Grandma doesn't hurt anymore.  I'll miss Kelli, but she's with Jesus.  And I couldn't understand why people were crying - they are with Jesus.

You can take all your talk of progress or works or your subtlety or turns of phrases.  I know my own fears, I know my own trials, my own doubts, my own frustrations and weaknesses.  I see more keenly my own weaknesses as I have grown (because really, that's what growth does - you understand your faults more and more).

There is no comfort in the changes I've seen in me.  Of course there aren't -- I'm just 29 years closer to death and falling part than I was then.

But the song I knew then, the faith that I simply believed then remains true.  Jesus does love me.  And even though I am weak, He is strong.

What Are You Wanting the Sermon To Do?

What are you wanting the Sermon to do?

That is the question that I have for folks this day.  Really, what do you want to the Sermon to do, what is the goal of Christian preaching?

Now, the approach that I was trained, that I was taught, was that a Sermon is to be chiefly the proclamation of Christ Crucified for sinners.  That it's job was to show sinners their Savior.  Now, that is not to say that this is and must be the ONLY thing in the sermon, but it is the thing that makes  a sermon a sermon.

Is that the purpose of the sermon?

I know some like teaching - giving facts about the text and the like.  I would contend that Bible Study is a more appropriate forum for that, unless the facts enlighten the text so that the Gospel is more readily understood.

I know some like more instruction on living - and while that is part of the sermon, I'd contend that this actually is much better done one on one... because our lives are not generic.  I think back on my now almost 10 years in the parish, and I have given tons of direct, one on one advice... dealing with specific issues.  The sermon may deal with generalities, but the hard, concrete applications... that's almost always done much more one on one.

What do you want from the Sermon?  What are you expecting it to be?

Funeral Sermon for Carol Krueger

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +
          Kay and Kristy, Suzanna, Rebecca, Weston, and Maverick, family and friends of our sister in Christ Carol, grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  I come oh Savior to Thy table, for weak and weary is my soul.  Thou, Bread of Life alone art able to satisfy and make me whole.  Lord may Thy Body and Thy Blood be for my soul the highest good.  When I first met Carol, her youth was behind her.  She and Ed had already been married 50 years when I met them, and so, while many of you remember her vigor and her volunteerism, when I met her, weariness and weakness was starting to take the fore.  And even then I could see her dedication and service – the great care and effort she took in caring for Ed as he grew to need it, the love she showed to her daughters, to her grandkids.  But I also saw age and health concerns catching up to her – I saw the annoyance and frustration she had with that, as she simply couldn’t do anymore what she wanted to do – she couldn’t serve and care for others as she had.  Which is why it is fitting that Carol enjoyed this hymn.  I come oh Savior to Thy table, for weak and weary is my soul.  Thou, Bread of Life alone art able to satisfy and make me whole.  And Christ Jesus has done this for His servant Carol.

          When we hear that phrase “Bread of Life”, that isn’t just a pretty turn of phrase, a nice bit of imagery.  It is how Christ Jesus describes Himself.  “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’”  When we are talking about the Bread of Life, we are talking about Christ Jesus Himself… and not just Jesus in the abstract, not just Jesus somewhere up there, way, way far away.  No, when Jesus uses that Bread of Life language to describe Himself, that is Christ Jesus come to the earth to be the Savoir and Helper of all sinners, of all the weary, of all those who face hardship and trial in this life.  It is the Jesus who says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  And this is what Jesus has done and given His servant Carol.  From her youth, He called her out of darkness unto His marvelous light, He called and she came, and she received from Christ Jesus satisfaction.  She received forgiveness, she was filled with peace, she was given rest and confidence in hope, all of her days.  All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.  When Christ Jesus speaks these words, He is speaking about Carol.  She is a child of God, baptized, forgiven, and Christ Jesus has not and will never cast her out.  Our Lord strengthened her and gave her endurance, and that is a wondrous thing.

          But our Lord’s love and His care for His servant Carol has not stopped.  God’s love for Carol did not end Friday morning, for Carol did not end Friday morning.  Listen again to our Lord.  “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. [39] And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.”  Here, again with these words, Christ Jesus is talking about Carol.  She belongs to God, and she is not lost, Christ will not let her be.  Now, for us, from our perspective, we have suffered loss.  For a time, we don’t see Carol, we don’t get her care, her chuckling laughter and smile, we have lost that, but only for a brief time.  Christ Jesus has not lost her.  No, He has called her to His side; Carol is with Christ now, and she will be raised on the Last Day.  This is His promise.  This isn’t something incidential to the Christian faith, this isn’t something Jesus will do for Carol if He just happens to get around to it.  This is the Will of the Father.  This is the Will of God.  This is why Jesus Christ came in the first place – so that Carol would not be lost to us forever… that there is going to come a day when our Lord will raise her out of her casket, when the grave will no longer hold her, and she will live again, because that is what Jesus does.

          For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."  Again, do you see?  This is speaking to Carol.  She has seen Christ Jesus her Lord, and she has eternal life.  Death doesn’t trump that – Christ Jesus our Lord went to the Cross, went to His own death, and He rose.  So too He will raise His servant Carol, and then there will be joy that doesn’t end.  Then she will be raised, and she will no longer, she will never again be weak and weary, but she will renewed and strengthened and full of vim and vigor – we will get to see her in her prime, because this is the love that Christ Jesus has for His servant Carol.  For many years Jesus worked through her – when she cared for her family, that was Christ working through her.  When she taught and volunteered, that was Christ teaching through her.  She is Christ’s servant, and Christ Jesus will by no means forsake her.  Christ lived in and through Carol, and He will make her to live again.

          And so dear friends, it is fine to mourn.  We here in this room have suffered a loss… but only let your mourning not be as those who mourn without hope.  Carol is a child of God, she is with Him now, she is in good hands, and Christ Jesus will raise her from the dead on the Last Day.  Your time of mourning will come to an end, and you will see her again.  This is Christ’s promise to Carol, it is His promise to you, to all the Baptized. 

We thank You God for Carol/ Who sought the Bread of Life

And Fed on Him she served You/ Through any toil and strife

May we who still here labor/ Likewise be filled by You

With mercy and forgiveness/‘til we are raised anew.

The Great Antinomian Challenge!

In this whole discussion on antinomianism and exhoration and all that sort of jazz, there are aspersions cast wide and far... and I've gotten slopped with some of them  I've been called an antinomian, and even this morning someone simply asserted that I was somehow violating the Formula (but with no citation of either me or the Formula... or even a name).

It is enough.

Behold, I am starting, on this thread the "GREAT ANTINOMIAN CHALLENGE!"

As the issue is about preaching, and specifically preaching the Law... here is the Challenge.  On this very blog, there are 7 and a half years worth of sermons.  Plenty of material.

Your challenge, if you are convinced that I am an antinomian is this:  Show me the sermon.  Go to the comments, link to the sermon posted here, and explain how that sermon reveals me to be a vile antinomian.

...

Now, I actually think this will be a boring challenge, because even though I've been called an antinomian, even though I'm glad to discuss the theory of preaching... my preaching rarely comes up.  Fine - open invitation - I will be the guinea pig.  If we want to dissect sermons - let's do it here.  I volunteer.

Indeed, I challenge - show me where I am an Antinomian!

(Or, if you don't think I am, and rather you think there is a sermon where I rather well handle the Law, you may point that out too.)

CHALLENGE!

Advent 1 Sermon

In the Name of Christ Jesus our Advent King +

          Boy, God just doesn’t get it sometimes.  I mean, He just doesn’t do things right.  Did you hear the text – and this is to say nothing of the fact that we have a Palm Sunday reading in December (what’s the Church thinking on that) – but did you hear the text?  “Your king is coming to you humble, and mounted on a donkey, and a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”  A king – a king is coming – on a donkey.  That’s not how kings ought to come!  Humble?  What good is a humble king?  And it’s almost Christmas time – this text isn’t cutesy enough – why don’t we have something cute – a baby or something – it’s almost Christmastime – get in the spirit of Christmas, God!

          St. Paul tells us that God’s plan of salvation is “a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles,” and at no time is this statement more clear, more understandable than when December, than when Advent roles around.  It is almost heart rending, all the paraphernalia of Christ’s birth floating around the stores, but not really observed.  We talk of the Christmas spirit – which means buy more stuff to help the economy. Angels are here already – leading us to great sales and huge savings. . . of money. Actually, we are to the point where we are only supposed to say “Happy Holidays” – which I actually am grateful for – I’d rather the world ignore Christ than simply use Him as an excuse for commerce and greed.  No, it isn’t God who is mistaken – the Church isn’t foolish talking about Palm Sunday here on the first day of December – it is the world that doesn’t understand.  The season of Advent which we enter today is the time the Church takes to make sure she understands – Advent is the season where we focus on the coming of Christ – the approach of our celebration of Christmas – to remember what it really means amid all the pomp and stress that comes along with the holidays.

          What does Advent – what does Christ’s coming mean?  First, let’s consider what it is not – for we easily get mixed up on this today.  There are many platitudes and heartwarming ideas that float around every December.  Christmas time is for family.  Well, that’s nice – I hope you have a great time with your family – but I hope you don’t ignore them the rest of the year.  Christmas time is for giving.  That great – as Christians we are to be ready to be generous at all times. . . you aren’t using generosity now to excuse being a cold, heartless scrooge the rest of the year, are you?  Christmas time is for kids – so that they can have fun and enjoy life.  And spring isn’t for your kids, and the fun you have watching things bloom, to say nothing of summer or fall?  Christmas is the time for that perfect, hallmark card moment where everything goes just perfect and it is so beautiful and wonderful. . .

          Those are the ideals that we toss out – the hopes, the expectations, the pictures by Courrier and Ives, the Movie on Lifetime.  How does it really end up working out?  Hurried, rushed shopping at over crowded stores, demands upon demands for more and better stuff leading to stress upon stress – is there enough cash to do everything we want to do, or will we disappoint this person or that – and then rushing around getting all the gatherings right - we have to have everything just so or aunt so and so will pitch a fit – and oh great, here comes your sister, no don’t argue with her now, not here, but we have to be happy, happy, happy, tis the season to be jolly – on and on to a chaotic, stress inducing mess, so much so that by the 26^th we are done with it all!

Now, I enjoy all the pomp, all the hokey stuff of Christmas as much as the next guy – watching a Christmas Carol or the Charlie Brown Christmas – I enjoy shopping, I like cooking – I even have had my Christmas tree in my front room up for nine years in a row without taking it down – but all of it can get rather stressful, can’t it?  There’s a lot more expectations, a lot more things to do that don’t happen in a normal month.  All these reasons to get high strung and stressed out, more and more things to complain about.  And all this stuff, when it boils down to it – really isn’t about what Christmas is truly about.  It isn’t about Christ and His coming.  We get so busy, we get so caught up in things, in “the season” that we can sort of push Christ off into a corner – the focus on Christ can be centered on “did we remember to put up the nativity scene this year” – and that’s about it.  The trappings of the season don’t really focus on Christ.

This Advent season though our services are going to provide us a pause, a brief calm in the frenzied storm that December can be, a time to look past all the blinking lights and symbols whose meaning the world has long since forgotten – and we will pause and look at and remember what it is about Christ’s coming that we ought to celebrate.

Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.  The reason we have events of Palm Sunday start off the Church year is because it is the perfect reminder of how and why Christ comes.  Do you see how Christ comes?  On a lowly beast of burden.  There is no white steed, there is no magisterial procession.  Even all the hoopla of Palm Sunday – we think of it as a huge spectacle.  It wasn’t, at least it wasn’t planned out.  People just cut branches off of trees, people threw the coats they happened to be wearing on the ground – there was no massive planning effort, no huge production, no ticker-tape parade or celebratory feast.  Simple response – see Christ, respond to His coming.  Simple and lowly and humble.  That is how Christ comes.  Does that not describe perfectly how He comes into Human Flesh – does that not remind and prepare us for the celebration of Christmas – where God almighty comes, joins with mankind – not in a huge palace to a rich family, enjoying all the splendors of life – but to a typical family – born in humble conditions, born in a barn.  Christ comes in humility, not seeking the best that this life can offer – not seeking Hallmark moments and everything being just so – but He comes in humility, He comes to the poor and lowly who have to cut off branches of a tree to laud Him – He is humble – that is how He comes.

And our text today points us to why Christ comes.  Just as we can take Christ out of Christmas time, we can so easily take the Cross out of Christmas time as well.  When Jesus enters Jerusalem, He enters it to go to the Cross.  When Christ comes as a King, He does so to engage in battle with our old foes of sin and death – and He does this battle by striding to the Cross, by suffering and dying.  That is why He comes – who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary.  Christ comes to go to the Cross and win salvation for you.  When Jesus comes, He doesn’t come to crawl down your chimney and give you stuff under the tree – instead He is nailed to His tree so that you will be welcomed eternally to Your Heavenly Father’s House.  When Jesus comes, He doesn’t show up like Scrooge on Christmas day bringing the prize turkey to enhance your feast – but He comes to you in His Supper, His feast to enhance your faith, to give you His own forgiveness and righteousness.  Christ is always working for your salvation – and when we focus on Christ’s coming, our focus always has to center on what He does for your salvation – otherwise we miss the point, and we get bogged down on things that really don’t last – things that don’t endure.

Advent is a season of preparation.  Christ’s birth is a momentous thing – a mystery which gave wonder and pause to even the angels.  Christ’s birth is that which the prophets looked forward to, what every human looked forward to since God made the promise of a coming Savior to Adam and Eve in the garden.  The wonder of the ages – the mystery of all time – that “Emmanuel” is a true statement – that God is with us.  And we can just shoot on by it – most likely not even worry about heading to Church on Christmas – on Christ Mass – the day you go to Church and have a service, a mass, because Christ was born.  Thus the hectic pace of life in America today.  Thus it is most fitting to have a season, a time of preparation, where we pause from what we are doing the rest of the time in the week, where we slow down, where we sit and look at, not ads, fliers, or recipe books, but at God’s Word, and we prepare for our celebration of Christmas – indeed, prepare for Christ’s second coming as well, in the diligent study of God’s Word, in prayer, in the reception of the Sacrament. 

Remember, dear friends, Christ and His love for you endures, long after the ornaments are put away and the tree has died – long after the final leftovers are tossed and the last of the now stale cookies hit the trash bin.  That is why we take time to ponder His coming, this is why we even spend a month preparing in the Church to celebrate His birth – and to celebrate it the right way.  We see Christ come meek and lowly, for He comes not to lord it over you, but to serve you.  You have been brought low by sin… He will come to you to raise you up.  He comes as a King, but not as a King bent on destruction, but rather bent upon salvation, upon your rescue.  He came in the flesh 2000 or so years ago and won your salvation, and He will come again to raise the dead and to give us everlasting life.  He who came once so humbly will come again in glory.  Thus we are right to pray, come quickly, Lord Jesus.  In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King + Amen. 

Exhortation is Just a Red Herring

So, a comment on my previous post got me thinking a bit.  So let me put forth an assertion.

Exhortation is a Red Herring.

For the past few years there has been this back and forth over exhortation.  And then there's all these discussions of what is exhorted and how and all that.  There's even the idea of how we need to preach more like our fathers in the faith.

May I make a simple suggestion instead of worrying about exhortation or uses of the Law or anything like that?

Here you go.

"Textual 2nd Person Indicative Preaching"

As Preachers, we are not to be giving our own thoughts.  When we preach, we ought to be able to say, "Thus sayeth the Lord" - otherwise we've got no business preaching.  Thus, our preaching is to be textual.

But we are not dealing with abstractions.  We are not dealing with mere facts or ideas or trends.  We are sent to specific congregations... we are sent to say, "Thus sayeth the Lord to you."

2nd person.  This Law is speaking to you.  You are not to do this, you are to do this.  Atah ha-ish.  You are the man.

2nd person.  The Gospel is for you.  Christ has died for you.  He will raise you from the dead, and your own eyes will see and not another.

Indicative.  We preach what is real.  Your sin is real.  Your sorrows are real.  Your pain is real. Christ Jesus is real.  He has died, He has risen, and this is for you.  Christ has claimed you in baptism.  He gives you forgiveness and life in His Supper.

All indicative. No might, no may, no could... we aren't dealing with the optional - we are dealing with reality.  Indicative.

+ + + + + + + +

So there's my thoughts on preaching.  Stick with the text.  2nd person.  Indicative.

And all this other junk will take care of itself.

+++++++++

(Edit:  Probably need to add in Christological, as I tend to think the text is about Christ... but that's perhaps another discussion)