Transcript - Trinity Lutheran Church - Lake Placid

Palm Sunday 2025

2025-04-07T16:29:18-04:00

Palm Sunday 2025

We have heard this statement in our lives I am sure. "I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news..."? It’s a classic vaudeville set-up line. Did you ever notice how when you look at the original events of Holy Week, the week we are starting today, what happened from Palm Sunday to Good Friday is almost like one of those "Good news and Bad news" jokes?

The good news is that Jesus Christ reached the peak of his popularity this week, riding in a triumphal procession into the holy city of Jerusalem.

There was a big, spontaneous parade, which was yet prophetically predicted in the Old Testament. There were adoring masses, thronging crowds, everybody turned out, the disciples were very impressed, and the Pharisees and the Sadducees realized that they had underestimated this simple Galilean teacher.

Riding this crest of public approval Jesus rode that donkey right to the Temple, the very center of the Jewish faith, and began to teach and preach.

From Sunday to Thursday Jesus was unstoppable. His enemies tried to trick him several times -- but to no avail; each time he turned the tables on them and exposed their treachery. They thought about arresting him, but were afraid of what the people would do. No one even seriously complained when he overturned the tables of the money-changers.

And of course, in this same period Jesus set the tone for his church, and telling them (and us), "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." He instituted the Lord’s Supper and provided us the power to be his disciples, doing his work, in this world. Like I said, the good news is from Sunday to Thursday Jesus was unstoppable. So, what’s the bad news? On Thursday he was betrayed and arrested and on Friday he was hung on a cross and killed.

Today the palms - tomorrow the passion -- good news and bad news - but it’s not a joke. There’s nothing funny about the fact that the same people who shouted "Hosanna" “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord,” on Sunday//// shouted "Crucify him," just five days later. Everybody’s hero became an object of scorn and hatred, a bloody sacrifice.

"Don’t be like those who cheered one day and jeered the next. Don’t wave your palm branches today, then forget all about Jesus and his or should I say your - mission tomorrow. Be faithful and see yourself as Jesus’ loyal follower every day, every moment, of your life."

That’s a good message - But, this morning, just for a moment, let’s put ourselves in Jesus’ place.

What was Christ’s experience with all this good news / bad news from Palm Sunday to Good Friday?

Paul gives us good insight: Jesus... being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, (think "flaunted") but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!

Did you hear it? "He made himself nothing.... he took on the very nature of a servant .... he humbled himself ... he made himself obedient to death." Jesus knew the purpose of his life to be that of Savior, not celebrity. He did not require people to like Him, just listen and believe in Him. He knew this was the only way for sinners to be saved and no issue of popularity or acceptance could deter him from it.

Jesus came to Jerusalem neither excited nor deceived by the applause of the crowds. He didn’t allow himself to get depressed over the seemingly complete reversal of fortune he would endure.

Jesus knew what would happen to him - he even knew what would happen to others, like Judas and Peter and the rest of his disciples. In both popular acclaimand in denial and rejection, Jesus made it plain to everyone that he was not swayed by feelings or events of the moment, but rather was walking step by step along a path which fulfilled the heavenly Father’s will, for him and through him for all the world.

It didn’t matter if the path seemed to reach a peak from which there was no way to go but down.

Jesus knew that his goal was not the top of the mountain, not popularity or power or applause. It didn’t matter that the path clearly led into, the valley of the shadow of death.

Jesus found, and regardless of the suffering that he knew he would undergo, Jesus chose to be true to his mission, he chose to be obedient; and he walked the path to its end.

And what happened? “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

It is a lesson for all of us to remember. Or as Paul puts it, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."

If we depend upon the mountain top events of life to give us reward and satisfaction, we may never achieve them. And even if you reach the top, that only leaves one way to go in the weeks and months and years ahead. It like being on a roller coaster – there is a long ride to the top, but after you reach the top comes a rapid and scary descent.

On the other hand, we like Christ have the opportunity to walk our own unique path of obedience toward God. Whether this path is up hill or down hill, bad news and good news, walking it with the attitude of Christ Jesus, an attitude to faithful choosing, we realize it is the final destination that counts.

The journey from Palm Sunday to Good Friday wasn’t just a good news / bad news joke. There was the final good news which redeemed it - and us all. Jesus rose from the dead-on Easter, and because of that God can take any situation - no matter how bad it seems, even if it is the day of our own death, and use it to move us closer to our final destination.

You and I are going to walk out of here this morning into many more sweet successes, and many more bitter disappointments. What saves us from having to helplessly ride a roller coaster over these ups and downs, is faith in Christ Jesus. His obedience, love and power urge us to press forward in our own obedience to God.

Faith trusts Easter is coming.

Faith knows that meaning in life is found when we choose to follow the path God has marked out for us. May that blessed destination make a difference for you too, as you faithfully follow through ups and down, peaks and valleys, highs and low, - good news and bad news. Amen.

April 6 2025, Luke 20:9-19

2025-04-01T19:12:45-04:00

Luke 20:9-19

Today, Jesus compares His Father to a landlord. And this morning as we study this parable of Jesus, we will look at, “Our Lord the Landlord.” We are going to see that the Lord is the perfectly patient Landlord, and the Lord is the thoroughly just Lordlord. Our dwelling here on earth is temporary, your place is not here on earth but in the heavenly dwelling.

The tension was so thick that you could but it with a knife. We know how things ended up with Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but on Tuesday no one really was sure of how the week was going to turn out. Jesus was answering and defeating all the attacks and traps that his enemies were setting for him. Jesus had the people on his side so strongly that over and over again the Gospels tell about how the chief priests and the elders were afraid of the people. Our text ends with these words, “they were afraid of the people.” The tension was so thick, the outcome still in doubt, that one wrong move and it could have been the chief priests who were the ones being put to death by an angry mob. With that background, this becomes a very easy parable to interpret.

“A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.”

Jesus first mentions the Lord, his Heavenly Father, who is the owner.

The vineyard is the Old Testament Church, and the farmers that were going to work in that vineyard were the Israelite church leaders, the priests, elders, and teachers of the Law.

With that stage set, Jesus goes on with the story, “at harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.” Everything is working according to the plan. The landlord expects to be paid by the tenants. The farmers don’t own the land, and so they owe this rent in the form of crops back to the landlord. But…“but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.” We’ve got some unruly farmers here, farmers who don’t even own the land they work. And yet they are acting as though the vineyard belongs to them and the landlord is the unfair one, daring to ask them for rent!

Look at the unbelievable patience of our Lord, the Landlord! After his first servant is roughed up: “He sent another servant, but that one they beat and treated shamefully and sent him away empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.” No way would this ever happen in real life, that an owner show that much tolerance to treacherous tenants. And that’s exactly the point that Jesus is trying to make in this parable. The Lord has an incredible amount of patience for sinners, far more than sinners deserve.

These servants in the parable represent the prophets who were sent to Israel over the centuries. And God’s people, for the most part, ignored them, battled with them, and killed them. You might recall how Moses’s authority was constantly being challenged as he led the Israelites for 40 years through the desert.

It got so bad for another prophet named Elijah that he had to run away from the Land of Israel. Tradition has it that the prophet Isaiah was killed by being sawed in two.

Jeremiah didn’t get treated much better. He was an old man in exile in Egypt when he is rumored to have been stoned to death.

The writer to the Hebrews sums up how God’s prophets, these servants that the landlord sent to the tenants, were treated, “They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.”

How do you treat the Landlord when he comes looking to collect fruit from you? I am going to be blunt with you. There are one or two of you sitting here today who will walk out of this morning saying, “There he goes again talking about money.” The truth is this text dictates such a conversation about how you spend your time, your talents and your treasures. If you have a problem with that take it up with the Lord do not go gossiping with others, it is between you and God.

The basic sin of the tenants was that they refused to give God his fruits, and we do the same thing. God has a right to expect the best from us. Like the tenants, we don’t really own anything, not our jobs, not our houses, not even our bodies. We don’t even own our time.

All these things God our Landlord rents out to us for one primary purpose: to use to HIS glory, HIS benefit. We, like those self-seeking tenants, oftentimes act as though this is our stuff, we own it, “and Lord, I’ll get you your share when I’m good and ready.” If you ever had a landlord here on earth, you know you couldn’t get away with paying him only a fraction of what you owe him.

So why do we act as though we can skimp on our Lord and expect him to be fine with it?

We cheat God when he asks us for our time, as we tell him we’re too busy right now, we don’t have time to pray, to read the Word, to serve other people.

We cheat our Lord when we tell him that the talents that he’s given us aren’t the ones that really build up the church...that job is best left to others more skilled in that area.

We cheat the Landlord when we bring meager portions of our income to him, and promptly go home after church to read the Sunday paper advertisements and find all the cool things we can spend our money on.

We are renters who have acted like the owners. But what a patient Lord we live under! He sends us servant after servant to tell us of our wrongs, servants like pastors, elders, and other concerned Christians. God sends servants to you because he wishes to lead you to repentance.

And the patience of the Lord seems to know no bounds. “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son; presumably they will respect him.” The landlord bends over backwards for his tenants, giving them one last chance. He sends one more messenger, the son, his dearly loved son.

Again, the interpretation is easy for us to understand. Even after Israel mistreated all of God’s prophets, out of his sheer grace he was moved to send them his Son, Jesus. In the parable, this is how the son was treated, “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”

There is one major difference between the parable and the real-life event. In the parable, the owner thinks that the son would be treated with respect. In reality, God sent his Son into the world, not just knowing that he would be rejected and killed, but for the very purpose that he be rejected and killed. You can see Jesus saying, “don’t do it! It will hurt you more than me! You are going to lose everything!” But of course, Jesus had to be killed. That’s why we call him Savior and Redeemer. Jesus was more than just a nice guy who had some wise teachings to tell. He was a lamb – a sacrifice.

Many people today want Jesus to be a lamb, but not a sacrificial lamb. They want a lovey-dovey Jesus who goes around and teaches people how to be nicer to each other, a lamb Jesus who talks about giving money to poor people and striving for world peace.

So a peace-lamb? Sure, we’ll take that kind of Jesus.

A sacrificial-lamb? No thanks, that’s just a little too gory and gloomy. I’d much rather make Jesus something fluffier and happier; turn Jesus into something that no one will be turned off by.

Our Lord is a just Landlord. He just isn’t going to ignore non-payment. He expects his fee. And since we don’t have it, here comes the sacrificial lamb, Jesus Christ. Here he comes marching to the cross, because our Landlord needs to be paid. And pay he does! Completely for your sins!

That’s why the cross is literally at the center of Christianity. The main point of this parable is the cross…did you see it in the story? “So they threw [the Son] out of the vineyard and killed him.” In Hebrews, the writer describes how Jesus was thrown out of Jerusalem, and then killed. The biggest object that you see as you enter the sanctuary is the massive cross in the center of our space. The Landlord displays his terrifying justice to those who reject the Son.

God is the Landlord. He owns everything. He doesn’t just own your house, your car, or your job, he owns you. Think about that: God doesn’t just like you or is friendly to you, but he plainly owns you. We don’t simply HAVE to serve him, we WANT to serve the Landlord who has done so much for us his tenants, and has promised that we will never be without the protection loving hand. Amen.

March 30 2025, How To Identify A Sinner

2025-03-24T16:52:54-04:00

How To Identify A Sinner

If you will, please tell me how you identify a … dog, a horse, a house, a car, a church, a baseball player, a circus clown, a judge, a ballerina, … a sinner?

While identifying a sinner may seem silly to you, it was very much something some were actively doing the day Jesus told the story about the loving father and his two sons. Listen again, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

The challenge the fourth Sunday of Lent is costly, clear, personal. While the engaging story of the loving father and his two prodigal sons is well known and heart-warming, especially when the younger son returns home and receives a warm welcome – a yellow ribbon around the ‘old oak tree’, if you will - the context is a two sided coin. Both have implications and applications for us. Please look at both sides with me today.

Some who gathered around Jesus that day were well educated, faithful religious leaders.

They, more than most, knew the Ten Commandments, the ceremonial laws, the accepted norms of society. For the most part, they were well respected in church and community. Education and income moved them toward the top of list of respected people.

Yet, in spite of spiritual enlightenment, education, income, and social standing, they were less than the best. As you heard in St. Luke’s account, “The Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” They could see sin in others, but they did not see it within in themselves. May I illustrate with a smile?

A police officer was testing three 3 trainees who wanted to become detectives. To test their skills in recognizing a suspect, he showed them a picture for 5 seconds, covered it, and asked, "How would you recognize the suspect? Write down your answer."

The first trainee raised his hand and answered, "That's easy, he has only one eye.” The trainer responded, “He only has one eye because I showed you his profile from the right side.”

The second trainee raised her hand and offered, “I think he would be easy to identify because he only has one ear!" The trainer was not happy. “Of course he has only one eye and one ear; it is a picture of his profile!”

The trainer tried one last time with the final trainee who seemed to be much better. He offered,

“Sir, I can identify the suspect because he is wearing contact lenses.” The trainer was surprised. He answered, “I will have to look into the file because I don’t know if he wears contact lenses or not.” He looked into the profile and beamed. “Good work! I don’t know how you knew that he wore contact lenses, but you are correct. How did you know?” "It was easy," the third trainee replied. "He can't wear regular glasses because he only has one eye and one ear."

For the Pharisees and scribes – for you and for me – St. John wrote in his first letter to the young Christians, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” How many of you truly believe that when you start going through your list of sins. It is true that we want to see ourselves for who we are. What we have done, what we have failed to do. What we have thought, said, and done. We want to see, name and confess our sins, as well as our need for forgiveness. And, as we review the catalogue of sins in the Commandments, we are reminded about adultery, lying, stealing, cheating, gossiping, coveting and more. And, most spiritually deadly: idolatry.

No, you do not have a stone figurine in your home that you worship, but believing that you – through the way you live – perhaps like a dedicated but misguided Pharisee - merit the fullness of God’s goodness because you try to do the works that please God and are not as bad as others who do not. It is a steep, deep, slippery slope away from God and His grace! We want to cancel the guilt, we want to cancel the truth, we want to cancel what God says and say that was then and this is now. Unfortunately God doesn’t work that way. Apart from God’s Grace we are lost and condemned sinners in serious trouble.

The others who gathered around Jesus that day, had no illusions about their place in church or society. They saw themselves for who they were. They knew that they bore the label of low-life, less-than-desirable people. But, they saw in Jesus someone who offered forgiveness, grace, and acceptance. How about you? Do you think of yourself as a low life, unfiltered gossip mongering, uncaring, sinner? Are we more like those with Jesus who know they need forgiveness for what they believe and accept? Realizing that only Jesus can forgive you and restore you.

Perhaps they with Jesus had heard Him share the sweet words of Psalm 103, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.”

What does God’s grace mean for you and me and all who see, name, and confess their sin? Part of this confession that gets overlooked or forgotten when we seek forgiveness is REPENTANCE. What is repentance?

Repentance is turning away from the sinful behavior. Turning 180 degrees and walking away from sinful behavior, thoughts and words. Is this hard? Absolutely! It is the hardest thing we do, but we can with the help of the Holy Spirit.

There is an account that has made its rounds, and it goes like this. There was an older man who stood still and looked pensive as he gazed out the upstairs window.

The creases in his tightly drawn face gave away his worry and strain. His older son entered the room and said with resentment, ‘Come on, Dad, give it up. Thaddeaus isn’t coming home. He’s wasting your money in riotous living. Let him go!’ The old man’s lips moved to speak but his eyes never broke their intense gaze. He started to object and to explain his hope once again when something in the distance caught his eye. He strained forward as far as he could … then shouted at the top of his voice, ‘Look! He’s coming up the road! It’s Thaddeaus. He’s coming home! He is alive! Hurry, run to the big tree at the end of the property and tie a yellow ribbon around the oak tree! Show him we care.”

For us, for all, there is no yellow ribbon tied to an oak tree, but there is a blood-stained cross that shows the cost of sin, yet it is an empty cross because the Son – the only Son of God – rose from the grave, defeated sin, death and the devil so that we can always come home! It is the gift of God for us all! If you are away, come home! If you are at home, stay here. See yourself as you are, but also, always see the grace and love of God for you. The Father’s immense love is for us all – His dear, beloved children. Come home! Amen.

March 25, 2025: Luke 13:6,8 Lent III

2025-03-17T14:46:21-04:00

Luke 13:6,8 Lent III

In 1966 the St. Louis Cardinals built a new ballpark and named it Busch Memorial Stadium. There is a story that the owner of the Cardinals, August Busch, wanted to name it Budweiser Stadium, but the city officials would not allow him to name it after a beer. Frustrated by their answer, he named it Busch Memorial Stadium after their family name. But shortly after the new stadium was opened, August Busch introduced a new beer to the market: Busch beer. I guess he got his way!

When the new Busch Stadium was built in 2006 a similar conflict happened. The city had an ordinance that advertisement signs were not allowed on the Southside of the new stadium Facing the situation of losing millions of dollars in advertising costs, the designers of the stadium got around the ordinance by making a huge sign that faced the outside of the stadium but was offset by one foot so it was located inside the building framework. Technically, it was not “on” the outside of the building.

These two stories remind us of our human nature, how easily we can find away around any rule, and how much we hate being told what we can and cannot do.

Which brings us to look at the 10 Commandments which are God’s values. He takes them seriously. God is holy and perfect, and so are His rules. When kept, they create harmony and peace between us and our Creator and our neighbor.

Like August Busch, we too often find ourselves trying to find a way around God’s Ten Rules. The Apostle Paul wrote one verse in Romans 6 that contains both the consequences of breaking the Ten rules and also a word of Grace and Mercy. “The wage of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.”

In Luke 13 the Lord had been talking and teaching and answering people's questions on any number of different subjects. That's when somebody in the crowd brought up a terribly tragic incident, an event which was, in all probability, on the minds and tongues of everyone. Although we don't know many details about the event, we know this: the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate, had ordered some people from Galilee to be killed, while they were making their sacred sacrifices to God.

Everyone who had heard about what had happened to these poor souls was stunned... at first. Then the shock of this scandalous action by the governor was replaced by questions. Inquiring minds wanted to know, "Why had this happened? What terrible sin had these people committed that would allow God to punish them?”

Many everyday Jewish people, including Jewish Pharisees during the time of Jesus believed that in this life God rewards the righteous and punishes the sinner. In many respects is like prosperity theology that so many of TV advocate. In the Gospel of John this point is made very clear when the disciples asked Jesus this question after He restored sight to a man who was born blind. “Lord, who sinned, this man or his parents.” It is a theological question about their understanding of how or if God punishes people for their sins.

The current Jewish thought was that maybe these Galileans deserved what they got. Is their tragic death a punishment from God for their specific sins? Jesus rejects the popular theory that these Galileans were worse sinners than others. He gave an amazing answer. No, it has nothing to do with punishment for their specific sins. But you should consider your own life and relationship with God. Unless you repent you too will perish. And when the people had finished telling their story, Jesus added one of His own. He said, “Yes, that was bad….and how about those eighteen folks who were crushed when a tower fell on them?”

Both stories ask, “Does God love us or doesn’t He?” If a person commits a very, very, very bad sin, will God show His displeasure and hit that fellow with a very, very, very bad punishment? Jesus said No, that is not how God acts.: Then Jesus tells a parable about a fig tree in a vineyard. It is both about judgment and mercy.

Judgment: “Unless you repent you too will perish…you all are sinners and have broken God’s commandments and you must repent. God offers mercy to the fig tree. God offers mercy to you and me.

The “vineyard” is a classic reference to Isaiah 5 where God calls Jerusalem His vineyard. God in Jesus has come to His vineyard (Jerusalem) and is seeking fruit. The fruit God was seeking from those who managed His Holy Temple was “mercy and justice.” The words of the Old Testament Prophet Hosea and Micah come to mind. “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

This is what the Lord proclaims: “…. I desire mercy, not sacrifice.. acknowledge God Rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6)

The Bible tells us that because of humankind's deliberate disregard of the Creator's single commandment, sin was born into the world, bringing death and a pantheon of other evils along with it. I'm talking about the questions of death because history in general, and the Bible in particular, show no person can defeat death - not on his own.

Jesus gave this answer: this is a sinful world and because it is a sinful world bad things will happen, even to good, ordinary people. Sooner or later some of those bad things are coming your way. Before those bad things which bring death, show upon your doorstep, you should repent. Square your life with God.

Repentance is the message of Lent. It means to stop moving away from God and turn your face back towards God. It means to admit to God you have failed to love Him with all your heart, all your actions. It means to admit that even the good you should have done you did not do. Think for a moment about the parable of the Prodigal son. The Prodigal

Son is a victim of his own sins. He admits that his selfish behavior led to a life of failure and misery. He repents, turns back towards home and is forgiven. In the parable Jesus is telling us about the love of God. The father welcomes the boy home. He does not deserve forgiveness, yet it is given. This is how God acts.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…. To be our Savior.

We are like the Prodigal. We are coming home for salvation. Like the fig tree in our parable today… we are offered mercy. Of course we cannot repent if we do not have faith that our evil behavior will be erased by God’s action on the cross. This is why repentance and faith belong together. Our God has offered us mercy at the foot of the cross. Once we have received mercy it must be shown to others. We have all been prodigals, God wants us all to be Good Samaritans, showing mercy to others.”

Christianity is a rescue religion. It declares that God has taken the initiative by sending Jesus Christ to deliver us from our sins. Jesus said: “Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” We cannot do it. You and I can not keep the commandments if our lives depended on it, which they do. Which is why Jesus kept all the commandments for you and me.

When Jesus began His ministry he proclaimed through Galilee “Repent for the Kingdom, the reign of God has come. The good news is about Jesus that He died for our sins and was raised from death. He now sits at the right hand of God the Father in heaven and authority to command repentance and faith, then bestows forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit to all who believe.

March 16, 2025 "The Road Few Want To Travel”

2025-03-12T13:53:18-04:00

"The Road Few Want To Travel”

Quite a bit happened in the past week or two. The season of Lent has arrived along with day light savings time. The Church Calendar encourages Christians to focus on the reality that Jesus “gave up” His life so that we might have peace and harmony restored with our Creator. Lent is all about embracing the message and mission of the cross. Your choosing to give up something you value may or may not be part of your personal Lenten journey.

Jesus came to be a suffering servant and live a life of self-sacrifice. This was Gods’ plan, Jesus died so that we might experience God’s forgiveness and eternal life.

Luke chapter 13 tells us that while Jesus was on the road to Jerusalem, several friendly Pharisees came to warn Him that Herod was planning to kill Him. Maybe the friendly Pharisees were men like Nicodemus & Joseph of Arimathea. They knew that Herod had executed another annoying prophet, John the Baptist. Now, Herod had another bothersome preacher on his hands.

As with John the Baptist, Jesus attracted excited crowds. Excited crowds signal trouble tyrannical rulers. Trouble could appear in the form of revolution. The friendly Pharisees urge Jesus to disappear. Run! Don’t go to Jerusalem.

When Jesus hears this warning, He surprises those Pharisees by both disregarding and embracing their message. Jesus dismisses the threat of Herod with a telling comment about Herod’s personality. Herod is nothing but a “sly fox,” Jesus quips, forever plotting but powerless against God’s mission in the world. Jesus has His own schedule, His own agenda, His own mission to fulfill, and the time-frame has already been divinely determined.

Tell Herod, in the language of our day, that Herod is insignificant and powerless. In the face of all the power of the world. Do your worst. Beat me up. Take my life. Jesus challenges death with the promise of life. "Tell that fox that I am going to do my job!" Jesus WILL give Himself up. He WILL travel to Jerusalem and meet head on the traumatic tradition of that city — “Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it” (v.34). Jesus will give up everything, His very life, in order to fulfill His eternal mission of salvation, restoring peace and harmony with our Creator.

I wish I could tell you that Jesus’ own death and resurrection changed everything-that once word got out about God bringing Him back to life, everyone saw the light and repented on the spot. I wish I could tell you that God’s values are still cherished in our culture. But it is not reality.

A few years ago the Wall Street Journal in an editorial asked this question. “When was the last time you had a good conversation about sin?” The article then recounted the moral crises appearing daily on our televisions—bribes and payoffs in government, scandals in corporate life, divorce and the breakdown of the family, a culture addicted to just about anything you can name. And then the editorial said this:

“Sin isn’t something that many people including most churches have spent much time talking or worrying about through the years of the [cultural and sexual] revolutions. But we will say this for sin; it at least offered a frame of reference for personal behavior. When the frame was dismantled, guilt wasn’t the only thing that fell away; we also lost the guide wire of personal responsibility.”

…Without God’s values on our school walls, and in our homes, and honored by those who govern our land everyone will experience chaos. This happens when people substitute their values for God’s values. This is what the “Cancel culture” is all about. Without God’s values guiding human behavior a humanistic culture (without God’s values) tries to use “the threat of cancel” as a way of moderating and controlling human behavior. Cancel culture does not create a world of peace and harmony, nor does it protect your neighbor.

God’s values are expressed in the Ten Commandments. A value is a deeply help belief. When you value something you defend it. You guard it. If circumstances change your values do not. God’s values keep human beings grounded and in positive relationship with Him and our neighbor.

The Ten Commandments are not merely 10 rules but 10 words that summarize all of God’s truths that govern human life and behavior. Our reflections this week are meant to encourage our behavior to make God’s values our “core” values. These 10 words from God first chiseled in stone, then written down are about how peaceful relationships with God and our neighbor become reality.

Years ago, a country doctor, heading to a distant town came to a fork in the road. He asked a farmer who was working a nearby field, "Does it make any difference which way I go?"

The farmer shot back: "Does it make any difference? Not to me it don't." But it will make a difference in the destination you want to reach.Well, my friends, today there is a fork in the road.

Your eternal destiny will be determined by which road you take at the “fork”. Follow God’s values or choose a different path. God’s values are precious to Him. God chiseled his values into stone and gave them the world. They have never changed and they never will. No adapting to culture. They have stood the test of time. God also knows that we human beings have failed to keep them. He knows that we have failed to keep them perfectly in thought, word and deed. Therefore it was necessary for our Creator to forgive us. In order for God to forgive and erase our broken commandments He provided a substitute. In God’s mercy He transferred the perfection and holiness of Jesus to all who have placed their faith in Jesus.

This is why Jesus went to Jerusalem. He knew arrest, torture and death awaited Him. Did Jesus die? The answer is Yes. I can tell you this: people didn't walk away from the crucifixion. The Romans crucified hundreds of thousands of individuals. There is nowhere found, anywhere, in the ancient records of any account of any person who escaped that horrible punishment.

Jesus, the only sinless man this world has ever seen, was condemned to die. On Calvary's cross, as He suffered and shed His blood, the very people whose sins He carried, laughed and taunted and jeered.

The two men on the crosses, one his right and one on his left both had a choice. That day there was a fork in the road. One chose correctly and Jesus said: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Jesus died to take away our sins. Jesus' enemies knew His body couldn't be found so they paid the soldiers to tell a lie. The human body of Jesus couldn't be found because He was alive. He was alive enough to eat, and walk, and breathe, and to be seen by more than 500 people including the disciples.

He was alive in Judea, and He was alive in Galilee. He was alive on the day of resurrection; He was alive more than a month later; and He is alive today. The road you choose to take makes a difference which path you take.

March 2 2025 Luke 9:28-36

2025-02-25T20:10:32-05:00

March 2 2025 Luke 9:28-36

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House, frequently complained, we’re told, that no one really paid any attention to what he said.

One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who came down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, "I murdered my grandmother this morning." The guests responded with phrases like, "Marvelous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir."

It was not until the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard. Not quite knowing what to say, the ambassador leaned over and whispered, "I’m sure she had it coming." Listening is such an integral part of the communication process you’d think that we’d get it. Apparently we don’t.

We don’t do it very well. The auditory apparatus is not at fault. We hear the sounds others make. Yet we often refuse to grant them meaning, or we ignore the meaning we receive. Parents, children, spouses, co-workers, employers, even preachers--all complain that no one listens to them. What’s going on?

Some specialists urge that we try to "listen between the lines," i.e. that we attempt to hear the sub-text, the intention behind the actual oral communication. This requires enormous discipline and if we’re not accustomed to active listening, or "deep listening" as some experts call it, we’re going to fail.

Good listeners, say those who study listening, respect others and value their opinions. They try to stay inquisitive about each other, remembering that we can usually learn from others, even if we don’t agree with what they are saying. Good listeners take it slow and easy; they don’t jump to conclusions or race ahead in the conversation. They stay in the moment and prepare to respond thoughtfully.

Conversation is vital in the human community. That’s why books have been written on the art of listening, why Oprah has experts on listening on her show, and why college classes in conflict resolution include sections on listening. It is the best way we stay linked to each other and how we learn about others as well as ourselves. Of course, it can get sloppy and chaotic at times. Conversation doesn’t just happen in nice, concentric, and logical circles of understanding. There’s often a lot of sorting out to do.

It is so amazing that when God takes a moment to legitimize the ministry of Jesus, of all the things God could’ve said, he mentions listening. "This is Jesus, my Son, Listen up!"

So what does deep listening to Jesus mean? What’s it all about? 1

In today’s gospel, Luke tells us that, "Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray." There were times in our Lord’s life-journey when he needed to retreat, to rest, to listen, to pray, to be filled again with new strength from God so he could continue his work and ministry. Prayer and listening for Jesus--and all the more for us!--is the indispensable means, which prevents light from growing dull or dying. If we are going to let the brightness of Christ’s light shine in and through our lives, then we, like Jesus, need to pray and listen. Prayer and listening or Listening Prayer involves, on our part, daily discipline and concentrated effort.

In his Table Talk, Martin Luther provides us with this example, emphasising concentration in the daily discipline of prayer.

When Luther’s puppy happened to be at the table, looked for a morsel from his master, and watched with open mouth and motionless eyes, he (Martin Luther) said, "Oh, if I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat. Otherwise he has no thought, wish, or hope."

I don’t know if you’re like me--but I find it very difficult to listen deeply if I am "multi-tasking," that is, trying to do or listen to too many things or people at the same time. A busy, noisy environment is often too distracting; it is much easier to concentrate and listen in a quiet, pleasant environment. That’s why Jesus chose the mountaintop to pray.

That’s also why we too need our quiet, holy places to pray, so that we do not become too distracted and can focus more single-mindedly on what we are doing.

When we pray, we need then to realize that prayer is as much a listening to God, as it is us speaking with God. Every good healthy relationship involves dialogue. If water is constantly taken out of a well without it receiving new water from some source, the well will certainly run dry. Prayer too is a receiving and a giving, a listening and a speaking. If we’re hogging the conversation, we are actually stifling ourselves, and failing to grow in faith by catering to our own agendas rather than knowing, accepting and doing God’s will.

Gladys Aylward, was once asked why she became a missionary. She said that she was "absolutely, positively sure" that it was what God wanted her to do. And she gave this advice: "Whatever you do in life, say your prayers. Don’t just talk to God. Be very still and quiet and give God a chance to talk to you--you’ll be surprised what God has to say."

Occasionally, when we engage in listening prayer, we too, like Jesus and his disciples, are given a mountaintop experience, a vision from God. Prayer, our mountaintop, enables us to see things, which we could never see in the valley or the plain. Vision is a necessary ingredient for us individually as well as for the whole church. Without vision we become stagnant, myopic and careless. We lose sight of the purpose and mission, which our Lord has called us to strive toward.

An old man asked his son to bring him an apple. He cut the apple, took out a seed, split it in half, and asked his son, “What so you see?” The boy saw only an apple seed and answered, “Nothing. I see nothing.” Said his father, “Son, where you see nothing there dwells a mighty tree.”

Listening prayer gives us a vision to see a mighty tree. Listening prayer gives us not merely a vision of ourselves, but also a vision of Grace Lutheran, our synod, our national church, and indeed, the whole Christian Church; of which we’re all members; each one of us having our special contribution to make and task to fulfill.

May the dazzling light of the transfigured Christ shine radiantly in our hearts and lives; that we may be enriched with a clearer vision of God’s will for us; and, with boldness and faith, strive to accomplish our LORD’s mission. So, listen to Jesus in the quiet of prayer and look for him to shed his radiant light on you—to make your life transfigured and more radiant and alive too. Amen.

February 16, 2025 What In The World Is Happiness? Luke 6:17-26

2025-02-10T14:24:46-05:00

February 16, 2025 What In The World Is Happiness? Luke 6:17-26

A family had sold everything possible to pay bills and to put food on the table. Nevertheless, a burglar broke in one night when the family was gone. The family returned and found the door knocked off its hinges. "What did the burglar get?" the police officer asked. The head of the house just shook his head.

"Practice," he said. It's not easy being poor. What did Jesus mean, "Blessed are the poor?"

Jesus was a master at keeping his listeners off-balance. He always said the unexpected. He praised people others despised. He lifted up those others put down. “It is more blessed to give than to receive." “For whoever wants to save his live will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." And two thousand years after his death and resurrection theologians still wrestle with his exact meaning. No better example can be found than the Beatitudes found in differing forms in both Matthew and Luke. Many modern translators contend that the word “happy" is closer to Jesus' original meaning than “blessed."

That doesn't help. That means that, among other things, Jesus said you are happy if you are poor, happy if you are hungry, happy if you are down-hearted, happy if you are hated and happy if you are persecuted. To which most of us would say, “Thanks, but no thanks." We don't want to be poor. We want to be like Michael Jordan. I read recently that Jordan makes more money each year from pitching Nike shoes than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined. Michael's our role model, not some homeless fellow shuffling along the street looking for his next meal. We don't want to weep or mourn or be persecuted. It's bad enough that sometimes we feel the world is against us.

What is it that Jesus is saying to us about happiness? We need to know. For you and I are not poor, we're not hungry, we're not down-hearted, we're not hated and we're not persecuted. And many of us are not happy, either. In fact, according to some studies, people in our affluent, safe, comfortable society are more depressed than they have ever been! Where have we missed it, Lord? Where is happiness to be found?

First of all, let's dispel the notion that Jesus was a dewy-eyed dreamer--out of touch with the real world.

Jesus was preaching on humility, lowliness, gratitude. His words must have been shocking to a subjugated people caught in a warring nation. Why didn't he lead them in a bloody rebellion? Why didn't he establish a new kingdom? Could it be that he had a different kingdom in mind for them? Jesus did have a different kingdom in mind--a kingdom of the Spirit. He was no dewy-eyed dreamer. He knew his followers would be persecuted. He knew that many of them would be rejected by family and friends. He knew that many of them would live their lives on the edge of abject poverty because of their commitment to him. That's still true today in many parts of the world.

Jesus knew the hardships that his followers would endure, but he wanted them to know that happiness isn't dependent on outward circumstance. Happiness comes from within. But let's begin by admitting that Jesus was not in denial.

Secondly, let's acknowledge that when people look for happiness elsewhere, they are less happy, rather than more. In many cases people who are rich and famous are in many respects lonely and poor because they are forced to be so isolated from the people of the world.

Where are you going to turn for happiness? Your work? There is certainly much satisfaction to be found in a job well done. But today's fast-changing world is turning many talented, intelligent people into poor detitute people wanting for more and more and more. Never satified. The skills they once had are no longer needed or wanted and the world passes them by very quickly.

Of course, you have your family. The Roper Organization asked Americans what they believed constituted “the good life." The ranking was instructive.

First was material aspirations;

Second was a happy marriage;

Third was children.

A Mass Mutual study of family values showed that eight out of ten Americans reported that their families were the greatest source of pleasure in their lives--more than friends, religion, recreation, or work.

In a survey of ten thousand Better Homes and Gardens readers (a majority of which were baby boomers), more than half said their relationship to their spouse was the single most important factor in their personal happiness--well ahead of children, spiritual or religious belief, health, or even financial security.

We prize our families, but even family circumstances change. A spouse can bring great joy into your life--and then break your heart. So can children. And sooner or later all whom we love leave home--whether for college, for a family of their own, or for the grave. If you have invested all you have and all you are in your family, where will you be then?

Tragedies happen! People come, people leave, people move on, people die. Jobs come and jobs go. Money can be there one day and gone the next. So, on what do you depend for your happiness? Jesus was no dreamer. And experience has taught us that when people look elsewhere for the totality of their happiness, they end up less happy rather than more happy.

Finally, let's acknowledge that if we lived according to Christ's plan for our lives, we would have a zest for living that would know no bounds.

Suppose we lived our lives having as our greatest values love for God and love for others? Suppose instead of burning ourselves out seeking wealth or status, we lived all our lives seeking to expand our divine potential so that we were continually improving our minds, improving our bodies, improving our Spirits--not out of fear, not out of insecurity, not out of greed or lust, but simply out of living fully and completely as children of God? Can you see how much more productive, how much more effective, how much more alive we would be?

This is what saintly living is all about. It is not about cloistering ourselves away from the world--though many saints have found much joy in developing that kind of intense relationship with God. For most of us, though, saintly living is about turning the world of human values on its head. It is about moving from values which are survival-based to values that are faith-based. It is about moving from a life that is self-centered to a life that is God-centered and other-centered. It is about moving from a life in which we are conscious of what we lack to a profound gratitude for all we have. Thus we find true happiness. Thus we find true blessedness.

Jesus was no dewy-eyed dreamer. Just the opposite. Jesus knew that lasting happiness is not found in wealth or a full stomach or the esteem of our friends or even family relationships--though all of these can satisfy for a while. All of these are important. But there is only one source for true and complete happiness--God.

February 9th, 2025 Luke 5:1-11

2025-02-03T20:34:39-05:00

February 9^th, 2025 Luke 5:1-11

Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father and from our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

I really like Luke’s version of our Lord’s call of Simon Peter, James and John to be his disciples, much better than the way Matthew and Mark describe it. In Matthew and Mark, we are told that right at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus is walking by the shore of Lake Galilee, spots these fishermen cleaning or mending their nets. Jesus simply says to them “Follow me,” and they immediately drop everything and fall in line behind Jesus as he continues to stroll down the beach. It just doesn’t seem plausible.

According to Luke, Jesus has already been about his ministry for some time, and has developed quite a reputation. He has been preaching in the synagogues around the area, and has performed many miracles of healing, so that a large crowd has begun to follow him. So as Jesus was walking beside the lake of Gennesaret, he spotted two boats, got into one asked Simon Peter if he would put out a short distance from the shore, where Jesus sat and taught the crowd. Of course, the implication is that Simon Peter would also have heard Jesus’ message.

When Jesus had finished, he suggested to Simon that he put out into the deep, and let down his nets for a catch. Of course, Simon was quick to point out that he and his partners had fished all night and had not caught a single fish. Yet, he agreed. And so Simon and Jesus, who was still in the boat, went out to deeper water and let down the nets. And they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.

In desperation, Simon called out to James and John, his partners, who came in their boat to help haul in the catch. And they filled both boats, to the point that they were beginning to sink. These three fishermen were simply amazed at the number of fish that they had caught. It was surely an epiphany, a manifestation that Jesus more than simply a great teacher and preacher.

One Commentator says this about this account, “It is easy to miss the frightful excess and chaos of catching so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. According to the narrative, the catch was so large that both of their boats began to sink. Something strange and mysterious was happening, and Simon Peter was observant enough not to miss it. Like Isaiah who calls out ‘Woe is me!’ he falls down at Jesus’ knees saying, ‘Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!’

Jesus then acknowledges that this is fearful for Peter, James and John. And so, looking at Peter he attempts to calm his fears: ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ This event was powerful enough for these three men, when they got to shore, to leave everything and follow him. No ordinary event! No ordinary prophet! No ordinary mission – to catch people!”

This leads me to believe that the real Epiphany in this text is not just the authority and ability of Jesus to teach and preach with conviction. Nor is it his success as a fisherman, to know where the fish are at a particular time of day. The real epiphany is that through these two events, Peter, James and John came to realize that in Jesus, the presence of God was at work to bring God’s kingdom into their lives.

And this can be an extremely humbling, even frightening experience. Any time that God’s Spirit leads us to see God’s glory, to come to realize that we owe our very existence to God, leads to humility.

William H Willimon, in his commentary on our lessons for this morning, put it this way: “Let’s be clear; Isaiah’s ‘Woe is me!’ and Peter’s ‘Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ have little to do with our conventional definitions of sin. The sin being confessed here, does not have to do with the occasional peccadillo, what Mommy told you not to do, but rather the gaping chasm between who you are and who God is. We have counselors, therapists, and Dr. Ruth to help you handle sin as misdeed. But what if our sin, with a capital ‘S,’ our real uncleanness, is not what we did in the backseat of a Chevy in high school, but the gap between ourselves and God?…

Today, we have come to worship God, and His revelation of His redeeming word and grace that comes to us through Jesus the Christ. We have come looking for God to be manifest to us through the proclamation of His word and in receiving His grace through the sacrament of Communion. Through our worship, God’s Spirit leads us to stand with Jesus and Simon, James and John, in their sinking boats, and in spite of our fears, to hear his words, “Fear not, follow me. For I have something for you to do.”

The truth is, none of us are ever worthy to be our Lord’s disciples. As God’s Spirit opens our hearts to perceive his presence and redeeming grace in Jesus the Christ, we can only confess, as Simon Peter did, “Lord, I am a sinful person.” And yet, Jesus invites us to follow him, to serve him, and to receive his saving grace.

Today, we are in God’s presence. God is here to manifest his redeeming grace in Jesus the Christ. And it is not his fishing skills that we marvel at, but his amazing love, which led him to give his life on a cross for our sins, that he might truly manifest God’s grace for our lives. to enter into his presence among us, let us do so, as people who acknowledge our sinfulness, yet as people whom Christ calls to “fear not,” and follow him.

Amen.

Feb 2 2025, Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon Luke 4:31-37 ESV

2025-01-27T16:32:28-05:00

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon Luke 4:31-37 ESV

I think we can all easily agree that God the Father wants us to talk about Him, to believe in Him and to trust God the Son as our only savior. Scripture repeatedly supports this position. As an example look to Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Or in Deuteronomy 4:12 “be careful that you do not forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” We could spend days reading scripture to support this view. It is only natural for Christians to want to talk about Christ.

Satan and his legions of demons on the other hand want us to forget that they even exist. They would like nothing better than for me to stand here this morning and give you the latest medical information about dopamine, serotonin, or nor-epinephrine receptors in the brain and convince you that this was not a demon that Jesus drove out of the man -- why it was a chemical imbalance that Jesus “tweaked” back to normal. How ridiculous can you get! The God of the universe says it is a demon yet Satan thinks that I am going to stand here with my copy of the latest scientific theories and call this a chemical imbalance. These were in-fact demons and today’s lesson is talking about demons not chemicals, not mental illness.

The word Demon or Demons occurs 78 times in the New Testament. Satan would like us to forget that they exist. Look at what St Paul says in Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Jesus in Matthew 6:13 tells us to pray for deliverance from the evil one.

I think our constant awareness of these dark powers is so important that we should consider adding a line to the creeds saying that we believe Satan and his legions are real and an ever present threat to our walk with Christ.

The good news is that while Christ was crucified, Satan was nailed, -- defeated -- we know his final outcome. However, never underestimate power of a dying enemy -- he is defeated but able to lie and deceive us or to flatter us causing us be self centered and to forget Christ.

Satan wants us to think that there is a secular life and a spiritual life. He wants us to compartmentalize God -- give him an hour or so once a week.

C.S. Lewis once wrote “ There is no neutral ground in the universe. Every square inch is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.”

We are in a spiritual struggle – it is called “Spiritual Warfare”, both God and Satan want to control our lives.

The truth is that every person on the face of Planet Earth serves, worships, witnesses to, and supports the work of God or the work of the demonic. These are the only options. This struggle should not upset us, it’s absence should. It’s presence indicates that our faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord is alive and that we are fighting a genuine war against the satanic realm. If we feel no struggle, then we are under Satan’s control.

Saint Augustine, an early fifth century Bishop in North Africa, rightly observed that every single person has a God shaped vacuum in his soul. We can attempt to fill this hole with a host of other things, but ultimately nothing satisfies our hunger for meaning and significance except Jesus and His saving Gospel.

Jesus drove out this Demon in our Gospel for today-- he can drive out our demons. Are we willing? Do we actually want them driven out or do we like our demon infested lives? The master liar - Satan - tells us we deserve to fill our spiritual hole with pleasure.

Sometimes Satan is less subtle. The Small Catechism (question #100) Says that the “evil angels are also many and powerful. They hate God and seek to destroy everything that is good, especially faith in Christ.” They lure us into the dark world of horoscopes, mediums, psychic readers, similar satanic arts, transcendental meditation and ultimately Satan worship. Remember it is all progressive -- it sneaks up on you.

From his dramatic conversion experience Paul went through some serious spiritual growth. He learned contentment --His words in Philippians: 4:11-12 exemplify his contentment. “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” He instructs us to pray continually, be joyful always, give thanks in all circumstances avoid every kind of evil for this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus and he prays for our sanctification. (1Thess 5:16-23) He shows amazing acceptance of every situation that he must endure including his own death ( Phil. 1:19-24)

Paul was not free from the struggle with evil. His words in Romans 7:21-24 verify this. “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” And we all know the answer to this question -- Christ was Crucified for Paul’s sins and for our sins.

Paul talks about a thorn in his side - a messenger from Satan --to torment him. He pleaded with God three times for it to be taken away. Once again he accepted God’s will and lets this weakness be his strength -- he shows amazing acceptance of his situation -- he delights in hardship persecution and in difficulties. (2 Cor 12:7-10)

We could spend days studying the life of Paul giving thanks to God for Paul’s conversion and sanctification.

We are saved only by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. We are sanctified by God --these are gifts given in God’s Grace -- gifts that we can not earn.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:22-24 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” He tells us in Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

God himself renews our minds. The Holy Spirit given to us at Baptism working through word and sacrament works in us. As God gives us new minds we anticipate receiving the fruit of the Spirit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.(Galatians 5:22-23) This newness will be a work in progress and will come to completion in the world to come. Trust in God -- He does make powerful changes in the lives of sinful people like us -- like Paul.

We need to surrender ourselves to God and ask Him to do what we cannot do for ourselves. By the spirit’s power in us we can turn our will and life over to the care of God and his life transforming power. By God’s power we can experience freedom from our demons.

The power belongs to God --- The willingness and the decision to allow this power to sanctify our lives is ours. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

January 19th, 2025 John 2:1-11 See Jesus in the Simple Things of Life

2025-01-15T06:29:52-05:00

January 19^th, 2025 John 2:1-11 See Jesus in the Simple Things of Life

When a television series is first started, the creators want to make sure that the first episode grabs people’s attention, otherwise people will tune out and not watch anymore.

When you are interviewing for a job, the first impression is very important.

You would think that if Jesus were to plan His first miracle, He’d want to start with the resurrection of Lazarus perhaps. But instead, He turns water into wine at a wedding, in a small little rinky dink town, and most of the people at the wedding don’t even realize what He did! But isn’t that how God still works yet today? His miracles are often times hidden under things that seem to be chance or coincidence or everyday occurrences that we take for granted.

Most of the time people don’t even realize what He has done. Maybe that’s the problem with so many people’s “faith” today, is that they seek God in the big and flashy miracles, while failing to see the hidden ones that happen every day.

Things were changing for Mary. She had to realize it. I can’t help but think they talked about it - who Jesus was and what He had come to do. Her personal time with Jesus was over. She didn’t get to have Jesus to herself anymore. He had just gathered His disciples right prior to this text. And that’s an interesting thing to think about in and of itself.

Imagine if your son came home from college and brought 12 young men with him, and they all claimed to be his disciples. This would seem odd, unless you were the mother of Jesus. Mary knew it was time for His public ministry to begin. But Mary wasn’t ready to let go.

Mary was at the wedding before Jesus got there. The family had run into a problem, the wine had run out. Now, it’s not a major problem. It’s not like someone was dying. But it would have been an embarrassment to the bride and groom. Hospitality is very important in eastern countries. Maybe they weren’t very well to do. Maybe they invited too many people. Maybe some people had too much to drink? Who knows? But the problem was there. Mary sees what is happening and tells Jesus about it. She knows what He is capable of doing. But Mary is overstepping her bounds a little bit. Mary, was asking Jesus to perform a miracle for this young couple. And Jesus somewhat rebukes her for overstepping her bounds. He says to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My time has not come yet.” Doesn’t that address, “Woman,” kind of strike you? She was trying to use her influence as mother to try and get Him to do something as the Messiah. Jesus has to put some distance between Himself and her, difficult for her as it may be. He has to address her this way as a reminder that she won’t get any preferential treatment in His kingdom when it comes to His office as Christ.

That address and response makes Mary’s response all the more interesting. Even when He corrects her, she still seems undaunted. His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Mary isn’t so bold as to tell Jesus WHAT to do. She simply presents Jesus with the problem. It is as if she knows the nature of Jesus so well, she knows that He’ll do something for them.

Think about how many times Mary would have seen her child take care of others and be concerned for people. She KNEW His heart. She was confident He would do what was needed. So, she told the servants to do whatever He said. She had confidence that He would work it out.

Isn’t this a great example for us of how our prayers should be and our faith should be? Know the heart of Jesus. He tells you how it is. He is gentle and humble. (Matthew 11:29) Say, “Jesus, I’m having a problem here. I know you want to help. I know you care deeply about me. This is what the problem is. I know you can figure it out. I’m willing to do whatever you tell me to do. Have at it.” Trust that He knows what He’s doing and He can work it out and He will work it out for your good. He wants to give you what’s best. But if your prayers are only filled with doubt and suspicion, and if when you are praying you really don’t think He wants to help, then what kind of a prayer is that? It’s like James said, “let him ask in faith, without doubting, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

Now remember, Jesus didn’t have to do this. Jesus could have given them just a little bit of wine. Instead, Jesus decided to give them at least 120 gallons of wine, and He gave them the best kind of wine as well. How many times does God do this with us? He gives us better than we deserve. He gives to us generously and works through these gifts to produce joy and thankfulness in us.

When I think of all of the sins I’ve committed, and all of the stupid and foolish things I’ve done, yet here I am with more than I could have ever imagined. It does lead me to say, “Who am I, that you have been so good to me?” Someone once asked, “If God gave you everything today that you thanked Him for yesterday, how much would you have?”

God wants us to reflect on His goodness, grace and mercy. He gives us more than we deserve and allows us the freedom to use those gifts responsibly or irresponsibly. Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:17, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

Think also about the meaning of this miracle. Jesus was able to take an ordinary thing like water and turn it into powerful and flavorful wine. He was able to change a potentially embarrassing and shameful situation that would have ended a good night quickly and turn it into a truly joyous and lasting event.

He did this on a much grander scale through the cross. We who should have no reason to stand before God, but to hide in shame over our sins, He was able to change this whole situation through His death on the cross. TThrough our baptism and through faith in Jesus we look forward to it because of how He died for our sins! He is able to take the eating of simple bread and wine and turn it into a powerful thing. We receive the body and blood of the Lord for the forgiveness of our sins. Through baptism He changes us from being sinful and worthless to holy and precious children of God in His eyes!

If you were Mary, wouldn’t you have been tempted to shout out, “My son did this! He saved the party!” Wouldn’t you have thought that Jesus would have called everyone around Him as He waved His hand over the water and said, “Watch this!” But this all happens so quietly. Why didn’t Jesus at least draw more attention to this miracle so that all the people there KNEW what He had done? Who knows? Was Jesus more concerned about their reputation than He was His own? Isn’t that what He did on the cross as well?

And this is why God gives us so many gifts, so that we learn to rely on Him and come to Him. It might seem small and trivial to come to Jesus for a little bit of extra wine at a party. How much more would he be willing and able to take care of the bigger issues as well.

We are willing to confess that Jesus has conquered death. We trust Him that He has paid for our sins and bought our salvation. Yet we fail to come to Him for the seemingly smaller miracles. We don’t think prayer will really do much good. But if Jesus was willing and able to do this for a little couple in Cana, and if Jesus commands us to “come to Him” about anything that is wearying us, then why don’t we?

If you trust God with your salvation, then why not trust what He has to say about our everyday lives? Why not come to Him first when things are going south? Even when He seems to be saying “no,” don’t let that stop you. It didn’t stop Mary. She knew Jesus cared. Don’t we know this too? Isn’t it obvious? We know that He is the giver of all good things. He wants you to see Him at the center of the wedding. He wants you to see Him as the maker of wine. He wants you to trust Him to provide, and to come to Him in need - every day!

So how are you going to live your life? Isn’t that one of the main reasons so many in America go astray? Isn’t that why some have left the fellowship of the church? They lose sight of the giver! Do YOU see how generous and giving He truly is. We see through the eyes of faith what happens behind the scenes. Keep them open! Live in appreciation to the giver of those gifts, and don’t hesitate to come to Him for help, no matter what the situation. Amen.