240414 Sermon on talking about God (Easter 3) April 14, 2024

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Talking about God can be difficult. I’ve seen how talking about God can cause tenseness and awkwardness. People’s defenses go up. What is this person going to require of me? What is this person going to accuse me of? Am I supposed to be converted? People usually don’t like it.

Because people don’t like it, most won’t do it. Why should they? It doesn’t seem to benefit them. It makes the situation weird. The prospects of something good coming from such an awkward situation seem low. Let the pastors talk about God. You should hold your peace.

If this life is all there is, then such a course of action makes sense. If the purpose of life is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain you should not talk about God. It won’t make you richer. It might make you poorer. It won’t make you more popular. You might, instead, be shunned. Common sense tells you to keep your mouth shut.

But if the Gospel is true, then being silent is strange. The Gospel teaches that all things are in the process of changing. Things are changing because Jesus is Lord and King. The old ways of how power and oppression are the most important and the most impactful are passing away. The new ways of faithfulness, humility, and love are how we receive blessing. Evil is in the process of being brought to nothing. Righteousness and life are on their way. Jesus says, “Behold, I make all things new.”

This is good news for everyone. Jesus being Lord and King is good because he is good. The only way that this good news is ineffectual for anyone is through unbelief. Unbelief, indeed, can be powerful. When Jesus teaches about the coming of the Holy Spirit in John chapter 16 he says that when the Holy Spirit comes he will convict the world concerning sin because they have not believed in Jesus. Among all the sins that could possibly be listed, Jesus singles out this one: Sin is not believing in Jesus.

Why is this sin singled out? It’s because it’s the sin against the Gospel. Without Jesus’s work as Lord and King things don’t change. Lying, cheating, meanness, trickery, manipulation, abuse, anger, and so on continue to be the best ways to get ahead. The strong will get stronger. The weak will get weaker. The first will be first and the last will be last. And the one who sits atop this slag heap of lovelessness is the devil himself, whom Paul calls “the prince of this world.”

Unbelief in Jesus is the desire—whether that desire be conscious or unconscious—unbelief in Jesus is the desire to have the devil rule with all his works and with all his ways. That’s why unbelief in Jesus is singled out as the sin. It is the profoundest rejection of God.

On the other hand, faith in Jesus is everything. Faith in Jesus means that you accept God’s will that his Son should reign and rule instead of the devil. Jesus should reign and rule instead of any other gods or any other powers or principalities. Faith in Jesus means that you believe that you will be blessed by him instead of being blessed in any other way.

Our Gospel reading lays these things out nicely. Our Gospel reading describes Jesus meeting his disciples after he had risen from the dead. Jesus told them how all of what had happened and all of what will happen is God’s will as it was foretold in the Old Testament. The Old Testament spoke about how the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head. When God made his promises to Abraham he told him that he would be the father of kings, and that all the world would be blessed through his seed. God promised King David that his kingdom would endure forever.

God made his promises through the prophets. Isaiah speaks about how this king would suffer and die, but that he would be a blessing. Jeremiah speaks about the new hearts that the king would bring. Ezekiel speaks about this king leading his people to good grazing land. Daniel speaks about how this king would be greater than all the greatest kingdoms of the world.

These prophecies—and there are many, many more—are fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus is the Christ. He died and rose according to the Scriptures. Repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations.

This last part of what Jesus is doing as king is still going on. Jesus continues to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins through his Christians who speak his word. We live now in this time when repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed by us.

The message is simple. “To repent” means “to change your mind.” People have all kinds of ideas about how to get ahead in life, how to have a good time, how to maximize their pleasure and minimize their pain. We Christians are to be helpful by advising our fellow human beings to change their minds. Nobody is blessed by breaking God’s commandments. Nobody is blessed by ignoring Jesus’s teachings. Jesus is king. He sets things right. Repent. Change your mind.

And, Jesus says, “You are forgiven.” There isn’t a single of one of us who hasn’t been tricked into believing that we would be better blessed by breaking God’s commandments instead of keeping them. None of us have loved God the way Jesus teaches that we should. None of us have prayed the way we should. None of us have treated our fellow human beings the way we should. Jesus’s proclamation of forgiveness tells us that he does not reject us. He accepts us.

Jesus tells the disciples that they are to proclaim this simple message, and it is amazing to think of how the Gospel has spanned time and distance to reach our ears today. Jesus spoke. The disciples believed. Since they believed, they spoke to others. Those others believed, and they spoke. So on and so forth the Gospel has gone around the world. There are people who believe in Jesus here in Fairmont. There are people who believe in Jesus in China, India, and Iceland. What Jesus said is being fulfilled: “Repentance and the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

On the other hand, there are also places where the Gospel was, but is no more. Northern Africa and the Middle East used to be predominantly Christian. It has not been predominantly Christian for over a thousand years. Europe is largely non-Christian. America seems to be following the same trend. How far behind is Fairmont?

Some people believe that this decrease in the number of people who believe in Jesus is inevitable. That is wrong. There is nothing inevitable about it whatsoever. The only way that it could be inevitable is if the Gospel is not true. If the Gospel is not true, then we are slaves to the powers and forces that are over us and are way too powerful than us. If the Gospel is not true, then evil is the way to get ahead. Oppress whomever you can. Squeeze whomever you can. You’ve got to get to the top of that slag heap, and you’re not going to get there by being nice. If the Gospel is not true, then this dog-eat-dog world is all there is. I admit that many believe this to be how things are, but they are wrong!

The Gospel is true. Jesus is God’s Son. He won. He sits at the right hand of God the Father. He is bringing an end to evil, and creating righteousness and life. The slaves are set free. The former slaves are even children of God.

These truths must be proclaimed, however, in order for them to be believed. Faith comes through hearing. In order for there to be any hearing there has to be speaking. For God’s promises to be believed, God’s promises must be spoken. This is where we come in.

I began today by speaking about how difficult it can be to talk about God. I don’t have a magic wand or some magic words to make it less difficult. It’s difficult because there are powers and principalities and principles that want to keep their superiority. They don’t want to hear anything about a king who sets their slaves free. They want their slaves to believe that there is no way out, so we should all just accept our chains as inevitable. They all preach basically the same thing: Life is the way it is, so you better just get used to it.

No. Jesus lives! If you think you’re stuck because some evil’s got you by the throat, then change your mind! Repent! It isn’t true. Jesus reigns! All powers and authorities must give way to Jesus. When you believe in Jesus everything must turn out right in the end. You might have to go through some very difficult and painful stuff in the meantime, but your faith in Jesus will not disappoint you. You will triumph because Jesus has triumphed. This is good news.

Do not be ashamed of the Gospel, for the Gospel is the power of salvation for all who believe.

240331 Sermon on Jesus being Lord (Easter) March 31, 2024

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“And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

Everybody inevitably learns that there are some things you can’t change. Things have been written into our DNA, for example. One is predisposed for this. Another is predisposed for that. It’s disappointing, but what can be done? There are so many things like that. Things are the way they are.

There’s a little bit of comfort that comes from acknowledging things as they are. Perhaps you’ve heard of the five stages of grief. The last stage is acceptance. That is the stage that everyone is looking for because of that little bit of comfort that comes with it. There’s a bit of peace. Prior to acceptance there is all kinds of fighting: denial, anger, bargaining, depression. Those are all ways of saying, “No!” Acceptance is that motherly voice that says, “Hush now. There there. Nothing can be done. In time you’ll come to accept it, then you’ll be at peace.”

The reason why there is peace is because you finally acknowledge the superiority of the forces at work. They are much larger and stronger than you. If you can’t beat these forces, then you might as well quit fighting. It’s a relief to not have to fight anymore. Having settled down the choke chain can be taken off and a regular leash put on.

The apostle Paul in several places in his letters talks about the superior and overwhelming powers and forces that exist in life. One of his favorite terms for this are the orderly pillars of this world, sometimes translated as the “principles of this world.” Paul says that we were enslaved to these things. That’s another way of saying that they are overwhelmingly superior to us. We have to accept things the way they are—we have no other choice—because there’s no changing them. But Paul proclaims something thrilling: God, in Christ, has set us free. We don’t have to resign ourselves to what is assumed to be inevitable.

Not resigning yourself to what is deemed to be inevitable is one way to look at Jesus’s work. The blind person seems to be doomed to blindness—nothing can be done—and yet he sees. The deaf hears. The unrighteous persons—drug dealers, prostitutes, tax collectors, and such—need not be unrighteous forever. Even the dead person can have those seemingly unbreakable chains broken. Jesus preaches good news. Good news for those who are enslaved to overwhelming forces is the message: “You are free!”

Think about Easter. Death is that ultimate force before whose superiority we grieve. Fight as you may, the best option seems to be acceptance. But, as Isaiah prophesied and as Jesus fulfilled, “Death is swallowed up forever.” The angel said, “You seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He’s not here. He has risen.” Jesus was no longer enslaved to death. He became its master. If Jesus can break this seemingly unbreakable chain, what others might be broken? The answer is all of them!

This is made clear with the festival we will celebrate 40 days from now, which is closely related to Easter. 40 days from now we will celebrate Jesus’s ascension into heaven. He was raised up to the right hand of God the Father. This is the position of superiority over absolutely everything except God the Father.

Try to think of something that you deem to be absolute and unchangeable. How about the laws of thermo-dynamics? The physicists say that they are unbreakable. Jesus can break them. How about the space / time continuum discovered by Einstein? Jesus is Lord over it.

But these concerns can seem rather remote. How about that seemingly unchangeable law about money—namely, that those who’ve got it are going to keep it and those who don’t aren’t going to get it? Jesus is Lord. He has spoken about this. He turns things on their head. He says, “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation,” and, on the other hand: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours in the kingdom of God.” Money, finance, economics and so on are certainly things that people regard as inevitable and unchangeable. Jesus is Lord.

Or what if you are one of those charmed individuals who’s got the world by the tail? You’re so charming and dashing. Everyone loves you. In the game of life, you’re a winner. Or, on the other hand, you’re not one of those people. You’ve never been popular. You’re sad and lonely. The general rule for how things go in this life is that those who are sparkling and charming remain sparkling and charming. Those who are duds remain duds.

Jesus, again, has spoken to this. He says, “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” And, on the other hand: “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.” Jesus is Lord. You are not lord with all your talents and charm. Neither are sadness and loneliness lord. Jesus is Lord.

You can perhaps see how Easter has an edge to it. You can see how Easter has an edge to it in our Gospel reading this morning. Did you notice the women’s reaction? When the angel told them that Jesus had risen you might have expected them to react with a “Hurray!” What does it say? “And they went out and fled from the tomb.” They couldn’t get away fast enough. And it says, “Trembling and astonishment had seized them.” They shook. That word “astonishment” literally means, “they were out of their minds.” Their world was reeling; their heads were swimming. Finally it says, “They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

We are all well catechized in how we are supposed to react to Easter. We are supposed to be joyful and happy. So were these women doing wrong? I don’t think so. I think they were seeing something that we often don’t see. They were seeing that everything is changed. The old masters are no longer supreme. Jesus is supreme. That is to say, Jesus is the Christ! Jesus is the king! They had, of course, believed this about Jesus before, but they thought that he would only be an earthly king—a king of Israel. As it turns out he is king over absolutely everything. Easter changes everything.

Easter changes everything towards the good. Jesus as king is going to bring in everything that is good and life-giving and he is going to expel everything that is evil and life destroying. What is good will remain. What is evil will not. The days are numbered for everything and everyone that is evil. Sin, death, the devil, evil people, evil institutions—all of these are going under the boot of this King.

If you’d like to get an idea of what this resurrected, ascended, supreme King is like read Psalm 2. The apostles liked to quote Psalm 2, because it is so obviously about Jesus. What this Psalm says, in general, is that the kings, the high and mighty, those who regard themselves as the greatest, are going to have another thought coming. The Psalm says, “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury.” Needless to say, you don’t want to be on the wrong side of this King!

And you need not be on the wrong side of this King. The good news went out into all the world after Easter, after the ascension, and after Pentecost. The good news proclaims freedom to those who have been enslaved.

The only ones to whom the good news is not good news are those who want to remain enslaved—those who want to hold on to their evil. Those who say, “I am the way that I am, buzz off with your talk,” are on the wrong side of this King. Those who say, “Things are the way they are, you just have to accept it,” are on the wrong side of this King. Psalm 2 gives us this pertinent advice, “Kiss the Son—kiss Jesus—lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.” But then there is also this word of hope right after that: “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

That is a good way to encapsulate Easter: “Blessed are all who take refuge in Jesus.” Why are they so blessed? Because Jesus is king. Jesus rising from the dead shows that he is Christ the king. If you take refuge in him, then everything has to turn out for the good. Jesus is increasing what is good and making what is good eternal. Whatever evil afflicts you, whatever evil afflicts your family, whatever evil afflicts our society, whatever evil afflicts the whole world is temporary and passing away. Evil is not supreme. Evil is not unchangeable.

So don’t accept evil. You are not powerless before it so that your only choice is to accept it. In Christ you are not dealing with a superior force against who it is futile to fight. To be sure, it is easier not to fight. Giving up gives us a little bit of comfort, a little bit of peace. Thank God that Jesus didn’t accept evil. He fought it! He fought it to the death—and prevailed.

Alleluia Christ is risen!

240317 Sermon on greatness in the Kingdom of God (Lent 5) March 17, 2024

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People want to be the greatest because being the greatest is a lot of fun. It is fun to be the best at a sport. It is fun to be the best at an activity. Jesus’s disciples, James and John, wanted to be the greatest. That is what they are driving at when they say to Jesus: “Let us sit in your glory. One of us can be on your left and the other can be on your right.” Jesus did not rebuke them. He gently says, “You do not know what you are asking.”

James and John didn’t know what they were asking because glory in God’s kingdom is strange. It doesn’t operate by the same rules that make for greatness in this earthly life. The rules for greatness in this life are well known: Work hard, practice, prepare, set goals, and so on. If you follow these rules, and if you have been given the prerequisite genetics and talents, then you too might achieve greatness.

Greatness in God’s kingdom operates by the rules that are seen especially in Jesus. Jesus asked James and John: “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” The cup that Jesus speaks about is the cup of suffering. On the night when Jesus was betrayed he prayed to his Father three times that he be spared the cup of suffering that was coming upon him. The baptism with which Jesus was about to be baptized was the baptism of blood on the cross. Jesus would be smeared with it, dying like a criminal in disgrace. Greatness in God’s kingdom involves suffering and being regarded as the least.

Why are suffering and being regarded as the least the rules, so to speak, for greatness in God’s Kingdom? Here, again, we must think about Jesus. Why did he suffer? Why was he regarded as the least?

There are perhaps several reasons for that. I would like to offer three. The first reason why Jesus suffered was because of evil-doers who wanted to continue with their evil-doing. Jesus annoyed them because he would speak against them. They wanted everyone to think that they were fine, upstanding people. Jesus, however, knew the truth and spoke the truth. They weren’t fine upstanding people. They were liars, hypocrites, hungry for power, honors, and money. Like whitewashed tombs, they kept themselves looking respectable on the outside but inside they were full of death and uncleanness.

Jesus could have kept his mouth shut. If he would have left them in peace, they would have left him in peace. In fact, things would have gone much differently for Jesus. They would have given him promotions and honors. They would have hailed him as a great preacher with a pastoral heart. But then Jesus would have become a snake just like them. He would no longer be a reliable guide, teaching people how they may attain eternal life.

Which brings us to the second reason why it was necessary for Jesus to suffer and be regarded as the least: He believed. He believed in the power of the Word of God to change people’s hearts. He wasn’t a cynic. He didn’t assume that things are how they are and have to remain the same. If it was impossible for sinners to repent—to change their ways, to turn from evil to righteousness—then there certainly would be no point in the Son of God suffering and dying. If it were impossible for people to change, then people should be left to follow whichever course suits their fancy. The Word of God should die out, and perhaps be replaced by more modern methods of education and inspiration that help people achieve their earthly goals. But Jesus continued to believe that the Word of God would do what God wanted to achieve when he causes it to be spoken.

The third and final reason I’d like to offer for why Jesus suffered is love. Jesus loves us. He’s a lover who goes after his beloved. Jesus pursues us. He says, “Don’t stay off on your own, doing your own thing. Be with me. I want to be with you, and I want you to be with me.” And the amazing thing, of course, is that we are evil-doers, and yet Jesus wants to be with us. Jesus isn’t disgusted by all our disgustingness. He truly loves us, and wants us to be together with him and with God eternally.

This is where Jesus’s cross especially comes in. The cross is how we were redeemed and separated from our sin. The cross is how we have died with Christ to sin. Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” The cross makes what should be impossible to be possible. It should be impossible for evildoers to live happily with the holy God. However, we have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. If we have died and it is Christ who lives in us, then it is no longer merely possible to live with God, it’s the way it should be! We belong together.

These reasons show how Jesus’s suffering and cross are awesome. To be sure, it is a hidden awesomeness. When Jesus drinks the cup and is baptized with blood he looks terrible. He looks poor, weak, and utterly defeated. What is really going on, however, is that he is rewriting the rules.

Among the rules that are rewritten are the rules for greatness. Greatness is otherwise achieved by killing, crushing, lying, stealing, and, in general, using every resource—including human resources—to their fullest. Chew everyone up until you’re done with them. Then spit them out and move on to the next one. There is no other way for anyone to accumulate the powers that the greatest of this world have amassed for themselves. They achieve what they achieve by taking advantage of others, and making sure that they are never taken advantage of.

They believe that they are great because everyone tells them they are great. They believe they will always be remembered because they’ve been in the news. However, how small their victories really are! How fleeting their memories! They achieve nothing that lasts.

Contrast them with what you and I have been given. You and I have the Gospel, the good news that Jesus is king. The Gospel connects sad and helpless sinners to almighty God, making them righteous by the forgiveness of sins. You have been given this Gospel. In that way you are no different than the apostles James and John. James and John believed the good news. You believe the good news too. Because James and John believed the good news, they spoke it to others. You should do that too if you believe it. You don’t have to be an apostle or a pastor or a professional church worker to do that. The Gospel is no less effective coming from you than it is coming from me. The Gospel does what it says.

This is an encouragement to evangelize. You’ve probably heard about evangelism many times over the years. What you don’t hear as often is how you are called to suffer and to be regarded as the least while you are doing your evangelism. Here, again, you are like James and John. You have the very same Gospel as they. You have the very same cross. Jesus first asked them if they were able, then he flat out told them: “You will drink the cup that I drink. You will be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.” Those words apply to all true preaching of the Gospel. The cross is our banner. It is our battle standard. It is how we can recognize true preaching from false preaching. If we preach what is true, then we will suffer and be regarded as the least just as it was with Jesus, James, and John.

The reasons why we will suffer and be regarded as the least are the same reasons Jesus suffered and was regarded as the least. We have evil-doers today who want to go on doing evil, and they don’t want anyone to say anything about it. They don’t want to be disturbed. God’s Law, which we are to speak just as forcefully as Jesus ever spoke it, disturbs them.

We will suffer and be regarded as the least because we have faith in the working of God’s Word. We won’t give up speaking God’s Word even if the whole world should declare that it is no longer relevant, helpful, or powerful. God’s Word converted us, and so we will speak it.

Finally we will suffer and be regarded as the least because of love. We will pursue our fellow sinner whom we love, even if it makes us look like a fool. We will talk to them even when we don’t know what to say. We’ll get turned down, which hurts. We’ll be regarded as the least—like that poor, ugly, awkward guy whom the girls laugh at.

If our mission and James and John’s mission involves such suffering and humiliation, then why should we ever do it? The answer is glory. We should say, along with James and John: “Jesus, let us be seated with you in your glory.” Jesus’s glory is that good! That’s why James and John wanted it. That’s why we should want it too.

The writer to the Hebrews agrees. He says: “Look to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and now he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Don’t be afraid of suffering or humiliation. These powers can look so daunting and intimidating. Jesus is victorious over all things. Whatever suffering or setbacks or hardships we experience are so very temporary. Jesus is forever.

240310 Sermon on believing in Jesus (Lent 4) March 10, 2024

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Our Gospel reading proclaims well-known and well-loved promises: Whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life. John 3:16 is perhaps the most well-known verse in the Bible: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”These promises are nice. I’m not aware of anybody who gets upset at such promises. A person might think the promises are untrue, but nobody thinks that Jesus is being rude.

The mood shifts, however, with what Jesus says next. He says, “Whoever believes in the Son of the God is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” The mood shifts because faith in Jesus can no longer be understood as being optional or inconsequential: If you believe in Jesus, then you are not condemned. If you do not believe in Jesus, you are condemned already. You can’t leave Jesus to the side. Either you are with him or you are condemned by God himself. Whereas John 3:16 is nice and wouldn’t upset anyone, John 3:18 makes people uncomfortable.

I think the reason why this makes people uncomfortable is because this is not the way we do business, and business transactions are the main way that we understand how things get promoted. The salesman sells; he doesn’t threaten. We are used to being enticed and allured. Salesmen who condemned their customers probably wouldn’t be in business very long.

Religion is often—or probably mainly—seen along these lines. There are lots of religions, denominations, and places of worship. They all promote their own versions. It is reasonable, then, to imagine that you should make your choice in the same way you make so many other choices. Take the religion for a test-drive, so to speak. How do you like it? Do you like what it says? With our Gospel reading this morning, for example, you might like what he says at 3:16, but 3:18? Not so much.

And if Jesus fails to seal the deal, whose fault is that? Here, too, our way of doing business affects how we think. The customer is always right. So when it comes to what God is promoting, if a person is not convinced, then it is God’s fault, or maybe the preacher’s fault.

Jesus, however, is not a salesman. He doesn’t share the salesman’s goal of maximizing sales, perhaps by hook or by crook. If you have any familiarity with the Bible whatsoever, then you know that Jesus does not flatter or seek to please his “potential customers.”  Jesus doesn’t try to please anyone except his Father.

The good news about Jesus wanting to please his Father is that it is the Father’s will to save sinners by lifting up his Son on the cross. You heard that at the first part of the reading. But this is not some sales pitch. Either you are in the right, and, in fact, that rightness will save you, or you are in the wrong. That is what it means to be condemned. Being condemned is being on the wrong side.

So we are not dealing with a sales situation here. A more analogous situation would be like you being stuck in a burning building. The situation is bad because you aren’t able to get out on your own. But, thank God, a rescuer shows up. Believe in that rescuer and you will be rescued. That is to say, let the rescuer do what the rescuer does, and you will be saved.

But let’s say you’re a very silly person. Instead of being thankful that a rescuer has showed up, you immediately start judging the rescuer. His uniform isn’t ironed and he’s got bad breath. Or maybe this would be more to the point: The fireman speaks bluntly: “You can’t keep doing what you’re doing. If you stay in this burning building you’re wrong. You’re going to die!” What the rescuer says is just the truth, but you, being a silly person, would say, “I don’t like how you’re talking to me! I want to make up my own mind, and I don’t appreciate you telling me that I’m wrong!”

So also, when Jesus says, “Whoever believes in me is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in me is condemned already,” he is simply speaking the truth. He is the rescuer who has come to rescue us from our sin, God’s condemnation, the misery of hell, and so on. In fact, there is no other way to be rescued. You can’t rescue yourself. Only God can forgive your sins or make you righteous. So when Jesus says that whoever does not believe in him is condemned already, he isn’t trying to manipulate or coerce anybody. Think again of that fireman. Is he manipulating the trapped victim when he tells the person that he will die if he isn’t rescued? That is a statement of truth, not just an opinion or one option among many.

But there’s another thing we should consider, because there are a lot of people who believe it to be the case. A lot of people believe that there is no hell, there is no judgement, there is no sin. Being condemned by God is an old-fashioned idea that most people do not believe in anymore.

So, to use the analogy I’ve been working with, this would be like a person who cannot see the smoke or the flames of the fire. If you put yourselves in their shoes, you can perhaps see how strange Jesus’s promises would be to them.

It would be like you going home today, sitting in your Lazyboy, everything’s fine. All of a sudden a fireman breaks down the door and announces, “I’m here to rescue you!” In this situation somebody has to be crazy. Which one is it? Are you crazy or is the rescuer crazy? Is there a fire or is there not a fire? Are there such things as sin, condemnation, hell, and so on, or are these things imaginary so that you have no need to be rescued?

To try to answer whether sin, condemnation, and hell exist, many things could be said. All that I’d like to try to do is point out the smoke and the fire that can go unnoticed so easily. Consider what happens in homes. Look at how husbands harm their wives, and wives harm their husbands. Look at how parents harm their children, and how children harm one another. Children, often deemed to be somewhat innocent, can be terrible to their fellows—a veritable law of the jungle.

Consider the workplace. Employers mistreat their employees. They try to squeeze as much as they can from them while paying them as little as they can get away with. Employees mistreat their employers. They don’t work as hard as they can. They don’t respect their bosses. The workplace can be miserable with all the backbiting and complaining.

These are our homes and our workplaces—the places we spend the most time in. The one with whom we spend the most time with is ourselves. So many of us are being burned with self-loathing and self-hatred.

All of these signs point to the conclusion that sin is real. Hell is real. The pain is real. These injuries, sicknesses, and crippling effects are not the way that things should be. We were meant to be loving creatures instead of destructive creatures.

What God’s enemies would like to convince you of is that there is no alternative. Homes have to be traumatic. Workplaces have to be contentious. Self-loathing is inescapable. It is as though we have to accept this darkness, because lovelessness and misery are unbreakable laws of our existence.

To believe in Jesus means that you vehemently disagree. We don’t have to accept evil as impossible to overcome. Evil is destructive of life and happiness. Jesus says that he will give “eternal life.” In fact, he has said that he has come so that we may have life, and have it in abundance.

There are two sides that a person can be on. Either a person can be on the side of light, or a person can be on the side of darkness. Either Jesus is supreme or the darkness is supreme. Jesus Christ is the light of the world; the light no darkness can overcome. In Jesus you are saying, “No, the darkness is not supreme. Jesus is the rescuer who saves us from sin, condemnation, and hell.”

 

240303 Sermon on why Jesus was upset (Lent 3) March 3, 2024

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Picture in your mind’s eye the scene described in our Gospel reading. It’s Passover. Many people, like Jesus and his disciples, have come to Jerusalem. It’s a busy place. The temple area has many tables and booths set up. Some were exchanging foreign money for the money that was accepted at the temple. Others were selling animals needed for sacrifices. The oxen and the sheep would have been tied up. The pigeons would have been in cages. Jews from far and wide were milling about, perhaps dickering for better rates and prices. This was a normal day, full of busyness. Those familiar with how things were done wouldn’t think anything of it.

As you heard, Jesus thought differently. He made a whip from cords and went on a rampage. I don’t know what else to call it. He had to have been very forceful to make these merchants leave their stalls with all their money, but he did. He drove them all out of the temple. The sheep and the oxen where unleashed so that they were running about in the midst of the people. Jesus took the tills of money and dumped them on the ground so that coins were splashed everywhere. He kicked over tables and pulled over booths.

That’s quite a scene! Does the thought enter your mind: “Was Jesus in the right here?” It sounds like disorderly conduct. However important that question might be, I’d like to set that question aside. I think there is a better, more interesting question: What must the fire have been like that was burning in Jesus? What spurred him on to do what he did? That took courage. That took energy. Jesus cared. It was as the psalm says: “Zeal for your house has eaten me up!”

So what has gotten Jesus so upset? The answer to that question is so foreign that it is almost incomprehensible to us. The reason why Jesus is so upset is because he cares about people praying. He wants people to pray to his Father. The temple was to be a house of prayer for all nations. That purpose was being thwarted by what these merchants were doing. He says in our reading, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house into a house of trade.” The temple was the dwelling place of God’s Name. People could call upon God’s Name in that place.

I must say, and to our shame, we have nothing of the fire that burned in Jesus. When was the last time that you were upset—really upset? Did it have anything to do with prayer? Did it have anything to do with conscience, which is closely related? Having a good conscience towards God is indispensable for praying with confidence. Were you upset because these things were being hampered for you or for others? Probably not.

The last time you were really upset was probably because something bad happened to you. Somebody made a mistake and it created an inconvenience. Somebody hurt you. Somebody said something bad about you. Your quality of life was hampered, and maybe you went on a rampage about that. But prayer? Conscience? These are thought to be back-burner concerns. This is why Jesus is so incomprehensible to us. “Zeal for God’s house had eaten him up.” When have you had zeal for being in God’s house, for praying? Maybe never!

But maybe you haven’t known any better. That wouldn’t be surprising. What most people believe is really important is their quality of life. The stuff they get really upset about is how things are going for them in this life. If any thought is given to God it is usually fleeting and feeble. It’s usually not much more than, “Yes, God exists. I try my best, so I should be fine. That’s enough of that! Let’s get back to the business of living life to its fullest!”

The same thing is usually true with those who deny God’s existence. They usually don’t put a lot of thought into it. They maybe heard of some stuff from the Bible that they thought was impossible or ridiculous. That settles it for them. They say something different from you. They say, “God doesn’t exist,” but then what? The refrain is the same: “Let’s get back to the business of living life to its fullest!” This life looms the largest for people.

This carries over into people’s thoughts about heaven too. Most people think that heaven will just be a continuation of this life, but without annoyances. People will spend their time in heaven doing those things that they liked best. The happy farmer on earth will farm in heaven, but maybe without any weeds. The person who loves riding horses is going to ride horses eternally.

Although these kinds of thoughts about heaven are extremely common, they are not thought about very deeply. People simply fail to notice, for example, that with this conception of heaven people continue to ignore God in heaven just like they ignored God in this life. Or, again, people will be seeking their own advantage in this supposed heaven, just as they sought their own advantage in this life.

 But ignoring God and seeking one’s own advantage is probably a more accurate description of hell than it is of heaven. God will not be ignored in heaven, nor will any of those in heaven want to ignore him. Nobody will be seeking their own advantage in heaven—just the opposite in fact. The opposite of seeking your own advantage is love. Heaven is the place where love is. God is there, and, as the Scriptures say, “God is love.”

In fact, a great transformation must take place in us for us to be happy in this place. We must be made holy. Sin must be purged from us. We must be filled with love from the top of our heads to the soles of our feet. For the first time since we were born we will know what pure love is. For the first time we will be capable of loving with our whole heart. We will receive love from God and from all his creatures and we will love right back. Is there anything better than being loved and loving in return?

So how can we go on the way we have been? How can we not care about our relationship with God? How can we not care about other people’s relationship with God?

Maybe an illustration would help get across what I’m trying to say. I’m sure you’ve noticed how toddlers like to play with blocks. They like to build them up into a tower and knock them down. They do it over and over again. They are happy to spend their time that way. Maybe, to them, there’s no better way to spend one’s time. We, who are grown, however, know that’s not true. I’m assuming that none of you built towers today so that you could knock them down again. You occupy yourself with higher things that more fully engage your abilities.

When Jesus drove the people out of the temple because they were merely engaging in trade while being totally mindless towards God, it was as though Jesus were telling them to quit playing with blocks. You’re too old for that. There is something higher, better, and more important. Prayer, conscience, knowing God—this is what we were made for. We weren’t made to play with blocks our whole lives.

But people can be pretty serious about their blocks. CEOs, presidents, those who are wise according to worldly standards, those who are strong, those who are of noble birth—they easily believe that their affairs are a cut above everyone else’s. Their blocks are really important. But even if a person were the CEO of the biggest company, even if a person were the president of the whole world—something that doesn’t even exist—that would still be like playing with blocks. Knowing God through knowing Christ is the way that we become the creatures that we are meant to be.

In our Gospel reading Jesus is angry and upset because people are being turned aside from what is truly good for stuff that is worthless and passing away. Jesus says in another place: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but to lose his soul? What can a man give in exchange for his soul?” How many jet skis does it take? How many vacations will produce a sufficient quality of life? These are building blocks that give but a little thrill.

We would do well to catch a little of the fire that was in Jesus. We would do well to be zealous for the same things Jesus was zealous about, because he wanted what was good and valuable for people. Our hearts and our neighbors’ hearts easily and naturally get captured by all kinds of things so that we think nothing of God, or almost nothing of God. This and that capture our love and devotion instead. Well, this and that are lame.

God is good. He is life-giving. Missing out on him is more than enough to make a person upset. 

240225 Sermon on confessing Jesus as the Christ (Lent 2) February 25, 2024

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In our Gospel reading Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ. This is important and life changing because it is by our confession of Jesus as the Christ that we are saved. However, as we also heard, Peter ran into some difficulty when Jesus spoke about the cross. Today we will talk about what happened with Peter and how this also applies to us as Jesus’s followers today.

We’ll begin with the story. Jesus was going to the villages of Caesaria Philippi with his disciples. Jesus asked them, “Who do people say that I am?” The disciples told Jesus what they had heard. Some people said that he was John the Baptist; others, Elijah; others, one of the prophets. Jesus then asked them, “What about you? Who do you say that I am?” Peter responded for all of them and said, “You are the Christ.”

This is a very special answer. The word, “Christ,” means “anointed one.” The way that people were made into kings in the Old Testament was by being anointed with oil. Peter is saying that Jesus is king—but not just any king. God made promises in the Old Testament about a great king who would arise. He would be a descendant of Abraham and of David. He would put an end to injustice and wickedness. He would bring about righteousness and peace.

Peter’s answer, therefore, “You are the Christ,” is of enormous significance. He is saying that Jesus is this great king. Peter does well with his confession of who Jesus is.

What happens next, though, throws a wrench into Peter’s thoughts about Jesus being the Christ. Jesus began to tell them what was going to happen to him. He was going to suffer many things. He would be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the Law. He would be killed. After three days he would rise again.

This was not what Peter had in mind for his beloved king. Stuff like that didn’t happen to kings. What good could this suffering and dying possibly serve? Peter rebuked Jesus. Jesus rebuked Peter right back. He used very harsh language. He said, “Get behind me Satan!” I’m not aware of Jesus ever calling anyone else that terrible name. He explained why he called him that: “For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

These words are key. They identify a great divide. A person can set his or her mind on the things of God or on the things of man. What does it mean to set your mind on the things of God or the things of man? Let’s begin with the things of God.

The things of God are bound up in Jesus the Christ. He is loved by God the Father. What does this king do? You already heard very important things this king did. He suffered many things, was mistreated, killed, and rose again.

You are aware of the goodness that the king accomplished by doing that because we talk about that a lot. Jesus’s suffering, death, and resurrection brought about the verdict of forgiveness for sinners. Sinners, who otherwise should die and go to hell for their sins, instead are received as beloved children of God for Jesus’s sake.

Jesus’s work as king, however, did not end with his death and resurrection. Forty days after he rose from the dead he ascended to the right hand of God the Father. That is where he reigns and rules as king now. The way that he reigns and rules his spiritual kingdom is through the testimony of God’s Word by Christians like you and me. These Christians are scattered far and wide all over the earth. These Christians have been given the Holy Spirit. They believe the Gospel. They urge others to believe in the good news of this king and to follow him. When the last person whom God has chosen is brought to faith, then Jesus will come again.

When Jesus comes again he will judge so that goodness and evil will be identified and separated. Evil will be confined in hell. Those who believed in Jesus will receive their inheritance as co-heirs with Christ. All things will be placed under Jesus’s feet. Then Jesus will hand over the kingdom to God the Father so that God will be all in all. These are the main points of the things of God, upon which we should set our minds.

What are the things of man? What Jesus means by the “things of man” is the way that man operates after the fall into sin. Already in Genesis you can see the things of man by the way that Adam and Eve lived after they disobeyed God. I don’t think they were exactly happy, but they tried to make the best of the situation. They solved problems. They were ashamed of their nakedness, so they sewed together some fig leaves. Life went on.

So it was also for Cain, their son, and his descendants after they were rejected by God. They tried to make the best of things. They discovered new things. They made instruments to improve their quality of life.

Peter, when he was setting his mind on the things of man, perhaps thought that Jesus as an earthly king would be good for life in this world. Instead of him suffering and dying—seemingly accomplishing nothing—he should get busy. He could raise an army, create a following, and if luck was on their side they might manage to bring Israel back to its former glory.

So it is also today. We try to make the best of things. We’ve discovered lots of useful things. Like the men before us we try to push the ball forward. We try to make progress.

Jesus rebuked Peter by saying that he was setting his mind on the things of man instead of the things of God. Perhaps when Jesus told his disciples that he was going to suffer and be killed and rise again, it sounded to Peter as though Jesus was going backwards. That’s how suffering generally sounds to us. We try to get rid of suffering. We try to fix problems. It sounded wrong that suffering should remain—especially under the rule of this very special, long-promised king!

Jesus, however, knew things that we don’t know. He knew that our fundamental problems could not be fixed by any amount of reforms or the wisest of leaders. Our problems are too deep for that. We needed to be redeemed. That was why Jesus suffered, died, and rose again. This was good, not bad!  It was how sinners were set free.

But Jesus’s teaching on the cross was not just for him. He goes on to teach the disciples about the life that they were to live. Suffering would remain for them too. He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

We can understand these words according to what Jesus told Peter. We are to set our minds on the things of God instead of on the things of man. To set our minds on the things of God is to recognize that he is king—he is in control, not us. God’s understanding of goodness is better than our understanding of goodness. We might identify something as good that is not good, and, vice versa, we might identify something as being evil which is in fact very good.

Take, for example, the problem of being a disciple of Jesus. Being a disciple of Jesus is a problem, because that means we won’t always fit in. Jesus didn’t always fit in and look what they did to him. Jesus’s apostles didn’t always fit in. They were severely mistreated. Disciples of Jesus will never fit in because we believe in and testify to the Gospel. We believe that Jesus is the king who will set all things right.

The reason why this means we will never fit in is because we will always be seen are raining on the parade of earthly dreams. Man always dreams of making a paradise on this earth. By testifying that Jesus is the Christ we are also saying that all other reforms are at best half-measures, and can never really succeed. The Gospel is always an indictment against setting your mind on the things of man.

Although Jesus’s message was not always welcome to everyone, Jesus did not change it. People went away from him. People got angry at him. He’s going to remain the king that he is.

Jesus is open about the suffering that we will undergo as Christians. Suffering will remain. And if you won’t deny yourself, if you won’t take up your cross and follow him, then you won’t be his disciple. It’s as simple as that. When the prospect of suffering rears its ugly head, you will betray him to save your own skin.

Be prepared, therefore. Jesus says several times, “Be sober and watchful.” That means, “Be sensible. Have unrealistic expectations. Don’t be surprised when suffering comes upon you.” You might be tempted to think that there is some way that you could “fix” Christianity so that you don’t have to suffer. Maybe you can make it so that it never offends anyone, so that nobody ever feels bad from anything you might say. A lot of Christians set this as a high priority for their life of faith.

I submit to you that they are probably doing something similar to what Peter was thinking of doing in our reading today. Peter was trying to fit Jesus into a mold of his own making. This king would then work well for him, solve his problems, and go a long way in creating a paradise on this earth. So also today Christianity can be edited so as to curry favor with a certain segment of the population, or to avoid persecution from another segment of the population. This song and dance, however, is a far cry from the bold and simple confession of Peter: “You are the Christ.”

We do not need to play tricks with what we say. We do not need to figure out how to be clever like we so often do with our worldly pursuits. We need the truth. The plainer and simpler the truth, the better. Then let the Holy Spirit go to work.

And if it should so happen that we then receive a cross, so be it. God will work good through that cross, even if we don’t see it. God willing, and by God’s grace, we’ll keep on believing in the king, despite the cross. We’ll keep confessing that Jesus is the Christ. By that confession we will be saved.

240218 Sermon on fighting temptation (Lent 1) February 18, 2024

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Today I’d like to address something that all people must face: Temptation. Temptation is when we are lured and enticed to do something that is wrong. Where does temptation come from? It doesn’t come from God. James says in our reading, “God tempts no one.” Instead, as he says, temptation is when “each person is lured and enticed by his own desires.”

This makes sense. If you don’t have a desire for something, how can you really be tempted? For example, some people don’t like sweet things. Forgoing dessert is not difficult. They have no strong desire for it. Likewise, with more serious matters: Some have an intense desire for money. Others less so. Some have an intense desire to get their own way. Others are more agreeable. What tempts us is closely linked to our desires.

The Bible teaches what is to be done when our desires drag us into temptation. This is seen already with Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve’s sons. Cain was stirred up with a powerful desire to kill his brother Abel. Cain is told, “Sin is crouching at the door… You must rule over it.” The picture here is that either desires rule over us, or we rule over the desires. Either we are slaves to our desires—forced to obey what our desires command, or we are free. If we are free, then we aren’t forced to obey whatever our desires tell us. We can tell them we are not going to obey them.

There are a couple of passages that speak like this. Paul says in Galatians chapter 5: “For freedom Christ has set you free.” The goal of Jesus’s work as the Christ is to set us free. Jesus speaks this way in John chapter 8. He says, “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Jesus reveals something very important about our slavery or freedom with regard to our desires. The only way that we can be set free is by the Son of God setting us free. We cannot free ourselves. The chains are too strong. If we imagine that we have freed ourselves, we are deceiving ourselves. Only the Son sets you free, but, as Jesus says, “If the Son sets you free then you are free indeed.”

That’s good news! The word “Gospel” means “good news.” Slaves who have been kicked around by their masters are happy to hear that they are free. They no longer have to listen to those old masters. What’s more is that we are not just set free now to go about our business, having to make our own way. We have been made into sons in the only Son of God. We belong to the house of God, which we may live in forever. We are baptized into Jesus. We have become one with him. Jesus, as you know, is Lord over everything. He sits at the right hand of God the Father. He is above every power, authority, desire and demand. He is free. He is Lord. And so are we when we believe in him.

This is the Gospel that all of us Christians have been given. It says something new about us. “For freedom Christ has set you free.” You are free from amazing things! You are free from death. You are free from hell. You are free from the Law, because Christ fulfilled the Law for you. You are free from the demands of your desires. By the Holy Spirit who is within you you can say “No.” “I’m not going to obey you as though you were my master and I were your slave.”

Faith in this Gospel is truly wonder-working. It goes way beyond moving mountains. Moving mountains is nothing compared to the lordship that is ours through faith in Christ. We, together with Jesus, triumph over all evil. We triumph because Jesus is king and God. He’s on your side, and, through faith in him, you’re on his side. Everything has to turn out well, even if you first must pass through fire or the valley of the shadow of death. Jesus is just that great of a king. Your faith in him is powerful, because he is powerful.

But although faith is so powerful, it is, at the same time, easily damaged and lost. This is always how God’s enemies attack. They attack our faith with deception and lies. God’s enemies cannot attack Christ directly. They could never overcome him. So the only power that God’s enemies have is to deceive and tell lies in the hopes that we will give up on the truth and believe the lies instead. This is how our faith is easily damaged and lost. We believe the lies instead of believing the truth.

I’ll give you a very straightforward example that I’m sure you’ve all experienced. Let’s say a desire comes along and says, “Do this!” Hopefully you know and you remember from the Gospel that you are not a slave. You are free. You can say to that desire, “No, I won’t obey you.” But let’s say your desire puts up a fight and says, “I’m stronger than you.”

You’ve probably heard the saying, “A good lie always contains a bit of truth.” Goliath was stronger than David. So it may be here too. Your desires may very well be stronger than you! They aren’t stronger than Jesus! They aren’t stronger than the Holy Spirit. The deception here is that you are too weak for the temptation—just look at you—so you might as well give in.

I’ve been fooled by this simple tactic. There are countless more. They can be extremely subtle and convincing. The apostle Paul himself admits to being deceived repeatedly in Romans chapter 7 as he fought against temptation. There seems to be no end to God’s enemies’ lying, and, unfortunately, our flesh likes to be deceived. Being deceived is the way that our faith is so easily damaged and lost. We put back on the chains of slavery from which Christ has freed us.

What should we do if we find ourselves in this sad but very common situation? The most important thing is that you don’t go on believing in lies. Saying you should not go on believing lies is a lot easier than actually doing it, however, because continuing on in lies is the very thing that God’s enemies want you to do. Lies can look much more attractive than the truth. Remember Adam and Eve. Hiding in the bushes seemed much safer and wiser than exposing themselves with the truth.

The good thing about the truth, though, is that the truth is also good news. If the truth were that God hates you because you’ve blown it—I’d want to hide from that too! But that’s not the truth. The truth is the good news that Jesus is the Savior of sinners. The good work that Jesus has done as king isyou’re your salvation. His work does not need your cooperation and involvement. Jesus’s work is complete and perfect. He gives it to you as a gift. He gives it to you by having it spoken to you so that you can believe it. Believe this good news and it’s yours!

And then don’t forget what we’ve talked about already today. What we’ve talked about is so easy to lose sight of in the midst of temptation. You are not a slave. You have been purchased and redeemed. You have the Holy Spirit. You don’t have to obey your desires’ demands as though you were their slave. You are free. “For freedom Christ has set you free.” In Christ you are lords over all evil powers. They cannot do what they want to do to you.

Accordingly, and this is important too, we can have an assertive posture towards desires and temptations instead of having a posture of weak resignation. I know well—again, by personal experience—the whimpering prayer, “I wish these desires would go away from me. I wish they’d leave me alone.” Behind that whimper is the fear that my desires are too strong for me. There’s despair behind that whimper. Despair is the opposite of faith. Of course you are too weak to conquer all your desires, but that is not what we as Christians believe in. We do not believe that we are all alone and that it is all up to us. You aren’t alone. Jesus is with you. You are weak, but he is strong.

Therefore, you can be assertive. You can see this assertive posture towards temptation in our epistle reading from James. He says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation.” He doesn’t say “Cursed is the man who has been tempted.” He says, “Blessed is that man.”

A few verses earlier he speaks even more clearly about this assertive, confident posture. He says, “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when temptations of various kinds fall all around you.” Consider it all joy? Why? James answers: “The testing of your faith produces endurance.” The testing of that faith you have in Jesus as the king produces endurance. Having been set free, we can try it out.

Refusing to do evil is the smashing of evil. It is wonderful and glorious. We can learn by experience that we can endure temptation. We don’t always only have to sin. We don’t have to obey. That is when we are beginning to entering into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. That is when we are embracing the implanted word that makes us a kind of first-fruits of God’s creatures. It is better to smash evil than to cower in fear against it as though it were invincible—as though it were more powerful than Jesus. It’s not!

Now, in our fight against desires and temptations might we get bloody noses, stumble, and even fall? Perhaps. What of it? In that case we return to the Gospel. We return to the all-conquering truth that Jesus is king and lord over all.

Jesus is on the march. Whatever is evil is doomed. As light scatters the darkness, so the light of Christ obliterates the shadow of evil wherever it might be. You are on the winning side. This is good news.