Reflection: reLENT Series: reCEIVE (March 12, 2014)

Lent Midweek 2

1 Corinthians 2:6-16; John 1:9-18

An ancient Greeks fable tells of a dog carrying a bone in his mouth when he came upon a pool of water. Seeing his reflection in the water, the dog thought that he was looking at another dog that was also holding a bone in his mouth. Wanting that bone as well as his own, the dog let go of the bone that he was holding in order to grab the bone that the “other” dog had only to watch both bones disappear into the water. The moral lesson of this fable is not to be greedy. But the dog in the story illustrates another truth: We can’t receive something if we are filled up with other things. The dog knew that he had to let go of what he had in order to receive what we wanted. The dog understood this principle, but things didn't work out well for him. How should we expect things to turn out for us when we don’t even understand the principle?

Whenever we come into God’s presence, we come in need. Even on our best days, we still stand in great need before our Holy God. God knows this and He is gracious to us. He never fails to meet our needs. Instead, He graciously provides all that we need for this life and for the life to come. But we often come before Him with our lives so full of other things that we have no room to receive what He provides. We hold onto the hectic, stressful pace of our lives instead of taking hold of the peace of Christ. We maintain our worldly priorities even though they wear us out rather than embracing the rest that comes with letting God’s Word guide our lives. We stockpile money and goods that squeeze out the spiritual riches that Christ has made ours. We recognize that we should let go of the lesser things of this world in order to take hold of the greater things of the Lord, but we’re too afraid of losing what we have by letting go of what we have in order to take hold of what God provides. We think we've mastered the lesson of the Greek fable, but we've missed the point altogether.

The way to receiving all that God has provided to us starts with ridding ourselves of everything that we would carry into His presence. This frees us to come before Him with empty hands. But He does not leave us empty-handed beggars. Instead He fills our lives with good things, delighting in giving them to us and rejoicing in all that He gives and all that we receive.

Click here to listen to the sermon "reCEIVE" (or right-click to download the MP3 file).

Reflection: The (Really, Truly, Honestly) Free Gift (March 9, 2014)

The 1st Sunday in Lent
Genesis 3:1-21; Romans 5;12-19; Matthew 4:1-11

Advertisers figured out a long time ago that offering a person a free gift will get that person’s attention. Not long afterwards, we figured out that the free gifts that were being offered weren't really free. We’re so accustomed to receiving offers of free gifts that aren't truly free that we tend to dismiss the idea that there is such a thing. It seems that every “free” thing in our lives comes with some kind of obligation from the overt “but wait” offers for a second widget free (“just pay for separate shipping and handling”) and the free cruise vacation (“must attend a 90 minute presentation”) to the favors that our neighbors do at no cost but with the obligation to return the favor in some way. When it comes to getting something for free we’re skeptical, even when God is the one giving us a free gift.

In Romans 5 we read that God has a free gift for us. He wants us to know that His free gift is different from all of the “free” gifts with which we’re familiar. His free gift is truly free. It comes to us at no cost to us. It requires nothing of us to receive it or to keep it. It is really free and it is truly a gift. The Lord also wants us to know that this free gift is unlike the thing that we received that makes this gift necessary. In a way, that thing is also a free gift. It’s a gift in the sense that it has been given to us even without our asking for it. It’s free in the sense that we didn't have to pay for it. But like the “free” gifts of advertising, this free gift costs us, dearly. This “gift” is our inheritance from Adam. It is the “gift” of sin and death. It’s not the gift we would have chosen for ourselves, but we cannot refuse it. It’s ours by virtue of the fact that we are his descendants and heirs. The free gift of God is given to us to overcome the “free” gift of Adam. Adam’s gift brings us judgment and condemnation. God’s gift brings life and salvation. But, because we’re skeptical about free gifts, we question how a gift of such great value and tremendous benefit could be free.

The reason that God’s gift of righteousness is free is simple: it has to be free. There’s nothing that we could offer that would even come close to the value of this generous gift. What could we possibly pay or do that would compare to the price paid for our salvation? What could we give in exchange for the righteousness of Jesus Christ? While God could have demanded a great price from us for life and salvation, in His love and by His grace He chose to give it to us as a free gift — really, truly, honestly free.  It’s the only way that it could be ours.

Click here to listen to the sermon "The (Really, Truly, Honestly) Free Gift" (or right-click to download the MP3 file).

Reflection: reLENT Series: reINVEST (March 5, 2014)

Ash Wednesday

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

We invest in things with the expectation of receiving a return on our investment. While this is particularly
clear when investing money, it is equally true of the other investments that we make. We invest in relationships with the expected returns of friendship, community, and support. We invest in our marriages with the expected returns of love, intimacy, and companionship. We invest in our children with the expectation that they will grow up to be good and productive citizens who will make us proud, provide us with grandchildren, and help us navigate the end stages of our lives. We also invest in our homes, our careers, our community, our congregations, etc. all with the hope that these investments will provide dividends of some sort. But what motivates us to invest in God?

For some people, investing in the Lord means redirecting some of their resources from worldly investments to spiritual investments. They use a part of the money, time, skills, abilities, etc. that they also use toward gaining financial security, status, power, or notoriety in the world to try to gain righteousness before God. They publicly give to the needy so people will know of their generosity. They make a show of prayer so that people will know how spiritual they are. They especially make sure that people know the sacrifices that they are making to serve God so that people will be impressed by their faithfulness. But these investments only yield status, power, or notoriety among people. They do not and cannot produce righteousness before God. The praise of men is their only reward.

Jesus pointed out the foolishness of seeking God’s favor by investing in Him through worldly things and worldly ways. In contrast to these failed investments, He tells us “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth … but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” This is a call to live our whole lives and to make use of everything that God has entrusted to us for the good of His Kingdom. It is an investment like no other, because the desired return has already been secured for us and guaranteed to us by He who invested Himself for our salvation.

Click here to listen to the sermon "reINVEST" (or right-click to download the MP3 file).

Reflection: Our Spiritual ADD (March 2, 2014)

The Transfiguration of Our Lord
Exodus 24:8-18; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Matthew 17:1-9

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is a serious issue, but some people treat it as a laughing matter. Because we tend to over commit to things and we've convinced ourselves that we are skilled at multi-tasking, we get distracted by the many things that are competing for our attention.  As a result, we make mistakes and forget to follow through on our obligations. Rather than treat it as a problem that needs correction, there are people who lightly pass it off as their “ADD” acting up. In reality, most of us do not suffer from ADD, at least not medical ADD. But a great number of us do suffer from spiritual ADD.

Spiritual ADD is our tendency to lose focus on Christ and the Cross because we are distracted by the things of this world. These distractions come in many forms, but they all tap into our sinful desires to secure worldly glory for ourselves and to avoid the sacrifices and hardships of the crosses to which we are called. It’s the same desire for glory that was behind Peter’s statement to Jesus on the mountain when he said, “Lord, it is good that we are here” and wanted to build shelters in order to make the experience more lasting. Our hunger for the comforts, securities, and pleasures of this world turns our attention away from the Word and the will of God and fuels our spiritual ADD. Soon the distractions become the main things in our lives and we give our thinking over to the “cleverly devised myths” that reinforce the world’s glory and justify our desire for it. We even lose sight of what the Church is and import our worldly distractions into worship and mission. It’s so bad that we are in danger of being distracted to death.

Struggling with spiritual ADD is nothing new. This condition was troubling the early Christians in the same ways that it troubles us when Peter wrote to them “we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place.” The answer to our spiritual distraction is to understand that God’s Word is the sole source of life and light in our world and that there is nothing else that can bring us what His Word brings us. In contrast to the Word, everything in the world is spiritual darkness. Everything. All human wisdom, knowledge, and reason is darkness and death. All earthly glory and worldly treasures are worthless. Once we grasp this truth and realize that there is only one light, we can turn our attention away from the darkness and fix it on Jesus. When our focus is on His love, mercy, and grace, what could distract us?

Click here to listen to the sermon "Our Spiritual ADD" (or right-click to download the MP3 file).

Reflection: Rightly Quoted, Wrongly Applied (February 23, 2014)

The 7th Sunday after the Epiphany
Leviticus 12:1-2, 9-18; 1 Corinthians 3:10-23; Matthew 5:38-48

It’s interesting to hear people who don’t know much about the Bible quote something from the Bible. They often accurately quote the words that are found in the Bible. But almost as often, they quote the words out of context or apply them in an inappropriate way. When they do, it’s likely that they are trying to justify themselves in some way. It seems that, even though many don’t believe the Bible, people still desire to have the Bible back up their words, actions, or motives — even if to do so they have to wrongly apply what they quote.

One good example of this is “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” This passage is often used to justify taking revenge on a person who has done something to hurt another. The victim of this wrong wants to even the score and finds this passage useful for this. But Jesus makes it clear that this passage was never intended for this purpose. It does not justify personal vengeance, but was given to move the matter of justice out of the hands of individuals and into the realm of civic government. It actually prohibits revenge by taking the right to justice and punishment away from us. In contrast to the way people try to use this passage, Jesus tells us that instead of seeking revenge, we are not to “resist the one who is evil.” Instead, we are endure injustice, unfairness, and even personal loss as a witness of Christ to those who have harmed us.

Another passage that is often rightly quoted and wrongly applied is Jesus’ statement to “be perfect as Your Heavenly Father is perfect.” In response to this impossible standard for us, there are Christians who argue that Jesus would never demand something of us that we could not do. They conclude that it is within our ability to be perfect, to be without sin. But the perfection to which Jesus calls us is intentionally beyond our ability. Wrongly understanding and applying this moves us away from God’s grace and focuses us on what we do rather than what God has done for us. It makes God’s gift into our work. It robs us of the holiness and righteousness that Christ has secured for us with His blood and given to us by grace through faith.

God does not want you to be foolish or to be fooled. He has given you His Spirit so that you could both know His Word and rightly apply it. When you are wise in His Word you will not find fear, condemnation, need for vengeance, or lack of holiness, but the assurance that you are holy and perfect in God’s sight because “all things are yours” in Christ.

Click here to listen to the sermon "Rightly Quoted, Wrongly Applied" (or right-click to download the MP3 file).

Reflection: Only Human (February 16, 2014)

The 6th Sunday after the Epiphany
Deuteronomy 30:15-20;  1 Corinthians 3:1-9; Matthew 5:21-37

“It’s only human to …” sums up how we justify or excuse our sinfulness. We consider it only human to get angry with people who hurt us, to grow disinterested in our commitments, and to daydream about being with a person whom we find appealing. We’re convinced that there’s really nothing wrong with these things, as long as we don’t act on them. This attitude is captured in the well worn response of men who check out other woman and excuse their behavior by saying, “I’m married, not dead.” In other words, they’re saying “I’m only human, and it’s only human to do this.” And they’re right. But being only human is the problem.

Jesus rejects our “only human” defense by showing us that God’s Law goes beyond our behavior to condemn our sinful thoughts, attitudes, and desires. It may be only human to let one’s mind dwell on a attraction to another person and entertain desires that we would never act upon, but Jesus doesn't allow us to excuse ourselves because of it. “I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” It’s only human to get angry with people, even the people who are close to us. But Jesus tells us that “everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.”

Today’s Epistle reinforces that it’s not okay to use being “only human” to justify ourselves. Like us, the Corinthians should have matured in the Faith and been at the point where they were living as God’s holy people empowered by the Holy Spirit in their sanctification. But they were “infants in Christ” and “still of the flesh.” Their attitudes and behaviors were driven by “being merely human.” But our problem isn't that we are actually “only human,” but that we've allowed ourselves to think that we are. Having been buried with Christ and raised to new life in Him in Baptism, we are no longer “only human” but have become something very different. We are the children of God, set apart from the death and decay of this world and established in everlasting life and glory. We are not subject to judgment, not in danger of the fires of hell, and not bound to the impossible demands of the Law, but we have been judged righteous in Christ, been given a place in Heaven, and are free to live in God’s grace. We belong to Christ. We are no longer of the flesh, but of the Spirit. We are “God’s field, God’s building.” We are the objects of His love and affection. We are extraordinary new creatures in Christ, still human but definitely not only human.

Click here to listen to the sermon "Only Human" (or right-click to download the MP3 file).

Journal: FaceBook and the Unforgivable Sin

“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” 

- Jesus (Mark 3:28-29)

FaceBook proudly announced that it now supports over fifty definitions of gender from which to choose when crafting a profile. Over fifty! If this doesn't speak to our culture's confusion over gender identity I don't know what does. What it also speaks to, whether we care to acknowledge it or not, is how prevalent the "unforgivable" sin has become among us.

I'm not suggesting that FaceBook has committed the unforgivable sin (it is, after all, a company not a person). Nor am I saying that being confused about your gender (or certain about your confused gender) is the unforgivable sin. What this turn of events shows us, however, is that many people have wondered into that dark and desperate place that is fertile soil for the "eternal sin."

Just what is this eternal, unforgivable sin? Jesus clearly states that the sin that is outside of the boundaries of forgiveness is blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. What He means by blaspheming the Holy Spirit is clear from the context in which He makes this statement. He had just driven a demon from a person, which is a work of God. His adversaries, who rejected the idea that Jesus is God, attributed His power to Satan. Thus blaspheming the Holy Spirit by saying that what is of God is not of God and, if you really want to make sure you're blaspheming the Holy Spirit, attributing God's work to Satan.

This brings us back to FaceBook and it's fifty-plus gender choices. What FaceBook has done is simply to acknowledge the realities of our culture, especially the realities that stem from rejecting God's Word on the matter of human sexuality. In another discussion with His adversaries, Jesus pointed out that "from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female’" (Mark 10:6). Creating human beings in two specific, clearly defined genders is the work of God. For some time now our culture has fallen into the unforgivable sin by rejecting God as our Creator. But lately a new way of blaspheming the Holy Spirit has emerged through our views of sexuality. Not only are people rejecting the binary nature of gender as God has created it, they are making God the source of their sexual sins by claiming that "God made me this way." They've doubled-down on the unforgivable sin.

But before clearly identified male and female heterosexual Christians get too smug about getting their sexuality right, we need to understand why Jesus was pointing out the unforgivable sin in the first place. His goal wasn't to condemn His Holy Spirit-blaspheming adversaries to well-deserved eternal suffering, but to warn them of the consequences of persisting in their sins. We live in a spiritually dark world in which many people are perishing through the very things they are celebrating. Following Jesus' lead, we should recognize our obligation to hold back those who are staggering toward death by warning them of the dangers that they face and leading them to the grace of a God who can even cleanse them of their "unforgivable" sins -- just as He has cleansed us from our sins of fear, hate, confusion, and blasphemies.