Reflection: Bold Requests, Audacious Reponse (March 25, 2012)

The Fifth Sunday in Lent
Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:35-45

We might be taken aback by how bold James and John were when they approached Jesus with a request (Mark 10:35). They came to Him with a rather pointed — and very open-ended — petition. "We want You to do for us whatever we ask," they said. In so many words, they were saying, "There's something that we want for ourselves. We know that You can give it to us. We want You to give it to us." They didn't tell Jesus what they wanted. They weren't asking as much as they were demanding. They were very bold.

How differently we approach our Savior with our prayers and petitions. Our requests are more likely to be marked by reluctance and reservation than by such boldness. Why are we so slow to bring our concerns, dreams, and desires to Jesus? Would we dare come to Him insisting that He do for us whatever we ask? Perhaps we recognize that much of what we really want in this life is outside of His will for us. We don't ask Jesus for our hearts' desires because we know that what we want is wrong — and wrong for us. This was certainly the case for James and John, but it didn't stop them from asking Jesus. We can find encouragement in their boldness and assurance in how Jesus responded to them.

Because Jesus loved James and John, He did not write them the blank check that they wanted from Him. Instead, He insisted that they plainly state what it was that they were hoping to gain. In doing so, Jesus exposed the selfishness in what they were asking for. But rather than rebuking them for flagrantly positioning themselves for their own honor and glory, Jesus redeemed their bold request. Jesus' answer was even more bold than their petition. His answer went beyond being bold to being audacious. He granted them more than they had asked for — more than they could have imagined. He showed them the way that He would bring Himself glory and gave them a role in that glory that far exceeded the fleeting, worldly glory that they were seeking. They were bold. Jesus was even bolder.

We are much like James and John, except for their boldness. Jesus would have us be just as bold as they were — even if we are just as misguided as they were. He invites us to bring our prayers and petitions to Him, and be bold when we do, so that He might answer our bold requests with His audacious response.

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Reflection: The Renewing Prayer of Affliction (March 21, 2012)

Mid-Week Lent 5
Psalm 72:1-14; Micah 7:2-8; Hebrews 10:28-39; John 16:20-33

At first glance we may see affliction and oppression as the same thing, but there is a significant difference between them. Oppression is something that affects many, but not all, people.  Afflictions are part and parcel of every human life.  Even when we are free from oppression, we must deal with afflictions.  Since affliction is not a word that we use everyday, it helps to understand what afflictions are by using a word that is more familiar to us: troubles.  Are lives are filled with troubles.  From the little inconveniences of red lights when we're in a hurry to the significant, life-altering problems of serious health issues, troubles not only interrupt our daily routines, they tend to drive them.  Like it or not (and we often don't), troubles are part of our lives.

There are some circles of Christianity that take issue with troubles being unavoidable, at least for believers.  They teach that being a faithful follower of Jesus is a way out of the afflictions that are common to humans.  Given enough faith on our parts, they insist that Christians should be free of financial difficulties, enjoy harmonious relationships, and escape devastating diseases.   In other words, because we have God's favor we should be able to live our lives free of afflictions.  That sounds very appealing.  But it goes against God's Word.

Psalm 34:17 states our reality plainly: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all."  Not only should believers expect to deal with the everyday problems of life, we should expect even greater afflictions than the people of the world.  Our afflictions are many because we belong to Christ and we are strangers in this world.  As strangers we live our lives in a radically different way that highlights the foolishness of the world and its impending judgment.  Because of who we are, how we live, and the message we proclaim, the world hates us.  Because the world hates us, it adds to our afflictions.  Jesus recognized this and encourages us with the words He first shared with the Disciples, "In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

Rather than spare us from affliction, God uses troubles in our lives to remind us of two very important things.  First, the afflictions we endure are not signs of God's displeasure.  "Many are the afflictions of the righteous" affirms that we are righteous by God's decree because the blood of Jesus has atoned for our sins.  Our sins have been taken away, but not our afflictions.  In those afflictions we turn to the Lord.  When we pray to Him in the midst of our troubles He answers us with the second important thing of which He reminds us through affliction: hope.  "The Lord delivers him out of them all" is His promise to deliver us from our afflictions.  It happens in His way and in His time, but we are assured that all of our troubles will come to an end because we belong to Jesus and He has overcome this afflicted world.

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Reflection: By ... Through ... For (Mach 18, 2012)

4th Sunday in Lent
Numbers 21:4-9; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21

There's a saying attributed to Winston Churchill that speaks to the common, but grammatically incorrect, use of prepositions at the end of sentences. It supposedly came in response to an editor changing something that Churchill wrote that made use of a preposition in this popular way. "This is the sort of English up with which I will not put," was Winston's witty and pointed comment. Grammar aside, prepositions play an important role in having a correct theological understanding of God's saving work. Worse than a preposition ending a sentence, getting the prepositions found in Ephesians 2:8-10 out of order can have some very negative spiritual consequences.

The proper order of the prepositions that describe our salvation is "by, through, for." In brief, the sequence of Ephesians 2:8-10 is that we are saved by God's grace, through the faith He gives to us, for the works He's prepared for us. "By grace" makes it clear that God's grace, not the work that we do nor the faith that we have, is the active agent in our salvation. "Through faith" shows us that faith, not works, is the means by which we receive God's grace and all that He has done for us. These two prepositions under gird the foundational truths which we hold so dear: Salvation by grace alone and justification through faith alone. So far, so good. But we're often satisfied with keeping these first two prepositions straight without given much thought to the third one.

"For good works" summarizes God's purpose for us in this world after we have been saved. It reminds us that we Christians are meant to be of earthly good. "We are His workmanship." God has crafted and called each one of us for the very works that He planned for us from the beginning. The things we own, the time we have, the skills and passions that we possess, and the circumstances in which we live are all meant to be used in various ways to display the glory of God in our lives. Luther put it this way, "God is the Poet, and we are the verses or songs He writes."

Works can't save us (we're saved by grace, through faith!), but our lives with Christ are not complete if we neglect the works for which we were crafted. The works prepared by Him and enabled in us through His Spirit are meant for His glory — and for our joy.

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Devotion: The Value of Remembering (Isaiah 46:8-10)

⁸ "Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels.  ⁹ Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.  ¹⁰ I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please."  (Isaiah 46:8-10)

Author George Santayana once wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" (Reason in Common Sense, The Life of Reason, Vol.1).  This quote has appeared in various forms throughout human history, underscoring the truth that when we forget about the past we often regret it.  Unfortunately, it's easy to forget.  However, there are things that we do that can help us remember the past and, hopefully, the lessons that it holds.  We observe holidays to commemorate significant events of the past that have shaped our world.  We build memorials to those who have led, invented, sacrificed, or perished in the past to remember what they have contributed to our current lives.  We mint coins, commemorate stamps, name buildings, set aside parks, etc. as ways to remember the significant events, people, and occurrences of the history that has made us what we are.

Despite our efforts to remember the past and all that it holds for us, we tend to forget it.  The problem we have with history is that it is in the past.  We are much more oriented toward the present — even the moment — that we are toward the past.  We see the things that are memorialized as having happened a long time ago.  Much of them occurred in places that are far away.  Most of them seem very far removed from our daily lives.  While we may recognize the importance of what others have done for us, we don't realize the degree of sacrifice that others have made on our behalf.  We, like the generations before us, refuse to learn the lessons that others have learned at a great cost.  Even when they are clearly put before us, we rebelliously insist that our lives and experiences are different.  We're sure that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated in our lives.  Our certainty condemns us.

While we are naturally inclined to disregard the lessons of human history, we are even more disposed to ignoring the history of the divine narrative of the Bible.  Like the generations of believers who have preceded us, we need to be reminded of what God has done for us and how it is significant in our lives.  It's easy to forget these things when we are caught up in daily life and focused on earthly things.  It's also easy to see what God has done for us as things that happened a long time ago in faraway places that have little to do with modern day life.  God knows our tendencies and calls our attention to them when He calls us rebels.  And rebels we are.  We recognize that we have rebelled against the Law of God through our many sins.  But we are also rebels when we refuse to pay close attention to the history of God and His people.  This history was written for our learning and understanding.  More than that, this history has been preserved for us because it is our history.  By calling our history to mind, God intends to spare us from the errors of our fathers — and the deadly consequences of those errors.  But more than the failures of the past, God wants us to understand who we are in His sight by remembering the mighty acts through which He has rescued and redeemed us.  Because we are rebels, we would rather think that we've done what was needed to be good in God's sight.  We conveniently forget His Word, our previous bondage to sin, and how helpless we really were before He came to us.  Forgetting these things puts us at risk of repeating the errors of our forefathers.  Forgetting these things is joining in their rebellion.

God calls us to "remember the former things" so that we don't endure the calamities that plagued our forefathers.  When we remember the mighty acts of God's deliverance through the ages, we also remember that greatest of all acts that God performed for our deliverance.  It happened a long time ago in a place far away, but it came to close to us and remains with us.  In His promise in the Garden, God made "known the end from the beginning."  In time He fulfilled His promises in the death of the Promised One on the Cross of Calvary.  It may have happened long ago in a place far away, but it is a present reality for all who have been Baptized into His death and resurrection.  God calls us to remember His ultimate act of deliverance, to fix it in our minds, and take it to heart, because we are redeemed rebels who have experienced the most dramatic event in all of history through the circumcision of our hearts.  Each day we live in the newness of the life He has given us by dying for us.  Every moment of our lives is defined by this incomparable act of love, mercy, and grace.  Remember this?  How could we possibly forget it?

Reflection: The Renewing Prayer of Weakness (March 14, 2012)

Lent Mid-Week 4
Psalm 31:1-16; Ezekiel 34:11-16; 
2 Cor. 12:2-10; Matthew 26:36-46

We value strength.  From the superheroes that we create to the athletes that we applaud, we celebrate strength and honor those whose strength surpasses that of average people.  Our admiration of strength goes beyond physical strength.  We also recognize people with mental stamina and wills that are strong enough to overcome adversity.  Our economic model is one that offers the strong great financial rewards, often at the expense of the weak.  Yes, we value strength.  But there are ways that strength works against us.

In the first place, strength can lead to arrogance.  When we are strong we are prone to credit ourselves for our accomplishments.  We fall under the delusion that we have succeeded on the basis of the strength of our commitment, resolve, efforts, and sacrifices.  When we see our strength as the means by which we achieve our goals or overcome adversity, we are likely to put our trust in ourselves and our strength.  There is little reason to consider our great need for God when we are strong.

Strength also works against us because it always eventually fails us.  Sooner or later, the strength in which we have taken pride, established our independence, and grown arrogant crumbles and we end up becoming what we had previously despised: weak.  Once we've become weak we still value strength as something desirable, but we also discover that strength is something to be feared as much as valued.  In our world, the weak are at the mercy of the strong -- and the way that we celebrate strength leaves little room for mercy.  Those of us who are strong have little use for what is weak.  But God delights in our weakness.

Ultimately, our weakness serves us better than our strength.  When we are weak we do not find our confidence in ourselves, we don't trust in our own abilities, and we recognize our great need for God.  Paul was a man who was strong in earthly ways.  He had every advantage working for him.  He was well educated, well connected, and had influence and power.  He used his strength to further himself and his agenda by persecuted what he saw as weak.  But as he traveled to Damascus in all of his strength to crush the Church that had fled to that city, God stripped him of that strength and left him in utter weakness.  When Paul prayed to have that weakness removed, God refused to make Paul strong again in the way that we celebrate strength.  Instead, God displayed His strength through Paul's weakness.  "My grace is sufficient for you," He told Paul, "for my power is made perfect in weakness."

This is God's answer to those who call upon Him in weakness.  Whatever it is that we think that we are praying for when God drives us to our knees in worldly weakness, He gives us a strength that far exceeds what we think strength is.  His power is not just displayed in our weakness, it is "made perfect" in it.  By faith we discover, as Paul did, that when we are weak we are strong.  We recognize that the strength of the world is weakness in God's understanding of things and that it will only lead us away from Christ.  But the strength that God gives to us in our worldly weakness always draws us close to Christ.  The people of the world boasts in their strengths and perish.  We boast in our weaknesses and Christ's power makes us strong unto salvation. 

Audio file of the sermon based on this reflection

Odds and Ends: Luther's Morning Prayer for Preschoolers

Luther's Morning Prayer for Preschoolers

To the tune of Frere Jaceques (Brother John)

Thank You, Father,

      thank You, Jesus,

      for Your love,

      for Your care,

You have kept me safely

      through the night till morning

      in Your grace,
      in Your grace.

Mighty Father,

      mighty Jesus,

      keep me safe

      all day long,

Help me to do good things,

      never doing bad things,

      to please You,
      to please You.

Loving Father,

      loving Jesus,

      care for me

      every way,

Use Your holy angel

      to watch and protect me

      from all harm,
      from all harm.

Amen, Father,

      Amen, Jesus,

      You are Lord,

      You are God.

By Your Holy Spirit,

      may I thank and praise You

      all day long,
      all day long.

Reflection: The God Who Knows Better (March 11, 2012)

The 3rd Sunday in Lent
Exodus 20:1-17; 1 Cor. 1:18-31; John 2:13-25

"The tragedy of life is that we grow too soon old and too late wise." Benjamin Franklin's adaptation of a Dutch proverb is still true. It seems that it takes most of our lives to reach the point at which we truly know better. Unfortunately, at that stage in life it's too late for us to benefit from our acquired wisdom. Compounding the dilemma, those who could benefit from what we have learned dismiss us as being old and irrelevant. The young are on the same path that the old have journeyed. They think that they know better, but they don't and they can't.

Our earthly experiences with knowing better highlight an even greater discrepancy between thinking we know better and actually knowing better: how we view things versus how God views them. Because our perspective of our experiences, desires, priorities, morals, and values is shaped by the world in which we live, we have developed ideas about what is better for us that are inconsistent with God's Word. When those inconsistencies grow into open conflict between God's wisdom and worldly wisdom, we are prone to think that we know better than God. After all, His Word is very old and it seems to be seriously out of step with the realities of our world. Thinking that we know better, we embrace worldly wisdom to make sense of the origin, purpose, and potential of our lives. In time we discover that the answers of biology, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and philosophy are weak and foolish compared to God's Word and will. Apparently, the tragedy of our spiritual lives is that we grow too soon old and too late wise.

The good news for us is that it is not too late for us to be spiritually wise. God has chosen "the foolish things of the world" and "the lowly things of this world" and "the things that are not" — He has chosen us — to become wise in Christ. He makes use of all the foolishness of the lives that we lived when we thought that we knew better to demonstrate His wisdom and His power. How He chooses to do this in our lives challenges our trust that He does know better, because the power and wisdom of God is shown in the Cross. In the midst of our struggles with the crosses in our lives we may be tempted to go back to the "wisdom" of the world, but we know that because Christ crucified for us is ultimate display of God's wisdom and power that our God knows better. In Christ, so do we.

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