Reflection: Consider Yourself Called (January 26, 2014)

The 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany
Isaiah 9:1-4; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-25

Paul wasn't a good candidate to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. In the first place, Paul was a devout Jew who had no use for Gentiles. On top of that, Paul wasn't a great speaker and didn't have a charismatic presence that would draw people. Paul didn't have an impressive occupation (he was a tent maker), but he did have a lot of zeal. Unfortunately, he used that zeal to oppose Jesus Christ and the spread of the Gospel. Despite all of this, Paul was the person God called to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. Or, was it because of all this?

The Lord does not call people using the standards that we use in the world. If He did, Peter, Andrew, James, and John would have never been called. None of these men had the qualifications to speak publicly, lead a rapidly growing organization, guide people through fierce opposition, defend teachings against detractors, etc. They lacked nearly all of the qualities and qualifications of leadership as we understand it. They didn't provide a corporate vision, couldn't develop a strategic plan, and didn't even have a clear idea of what it meant to be “fishers of men.”  But when Jesus called them they realized that they had been called.

God calls people who aren't qualified for the calls that they receive. As someone once put it, “God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.” This is important because each and every one of us has been called. While not as dramatic as Paul being called while on the road to Damascus and probably not as sudden and urgent as Jesus calling the Galilean fishermen, your call is just as real and just as significant. You have been called to serve in Christ’s name just as Paul, Simon, Andrew, James, and John were called to serve. The time, timing, place, circumstances, and work are different, but you have been called.

God has called you to labor in His Kingdom as a steward-servant. He has called you to put everything that He has entrusted to you to work for His glory. He has called you to make disciples, proclaim the Gospel, and to be a fisher of men through the various vocations (literally, “callings”) in your life. In and through your vocations, God has qualified you with training, education, experience, relationships, finances, and other resources to faithfully do the specific work that He has given you to do. You may feel inadequate. You may think that you are unqualified. And you may be right. But it doesn't matter because you have been called.

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

Reflection: Consider Yourself Gifted (January 19, 2014)

The 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany
Isaiah 49:1-7; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42a

One of the unintended consequences of identifying some students as “gifted” is that other students consider themselves as not gifted. Of course, that is not true. While not every student is gifted in ways that help them excel in academics, every student is gifted. Some are gifted as athletes, others as debaters, and others still as musicians. Some gifts are recognized through programs or clubs. Other gifts are not accommodated by schools but have outlets elsewhere. In one way or another, whether acknowledged or not, every student is gifted. In much the same way, every Christian is gifted.

As in academic settings, we’re tempted to see being gifted in the church as something that only applies to a select few. We consider the pastor gifted in preaching and teaching. We consider the singers and instrumentalists gifted in music. We consider others as gifted with leadership, compassion, hospitality, or some other gift that we don’t possess. But many of us are likely to think that we are not gifted. It shows in how few people are actively involved in ministry. When people don’t see themselves as gifted they are far less likely to answer the call to serve in the church. But seeing ourselves as not gifted goes against God’s Word and His will. In today’s Epistle lesson we are told that “in every way you were enriched in Him” and that “you are not lacking in any gift.” The gifts that we’ve been given were given because God has called us “to be saints together.” No one of us has all of the gifts necessary to do the work that we’ve been given to do. It takes bringing together the gifts that have been given to each of us individually for us to accomplish God’s will for us. When any one of us is convinced that he or she is not gifted, all of us suffer a loss and are hindered in our work. Satan’s strategy for keeping us from effectively sharing the love, joy, and peace of Jesus is simple: divide and conquer. He does this by convincing believers that they have nothing to offer and that their talents, their financial resources, their time, their relationships, and their abilities are not enough. In other words, that they are not sufficiently gifted to be faithful servant-stewards of Jesus.

God’s Word plainly states that every Christian is gifted. Consider other believers gifted and rejoice in their giftedness, but don’t think for a moment that you have been excluded because someone else has a gift that you don’t have. God has gifted you according to His will and the plans that He has for you as His servant-steward. Consider yourself gifted.

Click to listen to the sermon "Consider Yourself Gifted" (or right-click to download the MP3 file).

Reflection: Consider Yourself Dead (January 12, 2014)

The Baptism of Our Lord
Isaiah 42:1-9; Romans 6:1-11; Matthew 3:13-17

“Consider yourself dead,” is a line found in books and movies as part of a plot line that is leading toward an eventual showdown between the good guy and the bad guy. Clearly a threat, this line is spoken by a character who is intent on defeating and destroying his adversary. While the outcome varies according to the plot, the threat by itself sets the stage for how the rest of the story plays out as well as the fate of one or more of the characters.

“Consider yourself dead” is a good summary of what today’s Epistle lesson is saying. However, far from being a threat of a future action, the call of Romans 6:11 to “consider yourselves dead” is a reminder of what has already happened in your life and what should come of it. Considering yourself dead flows from the facts that you have been baptized into death and that through baptism your old self was put to death (literally, “crucified”) with Christ. By and through Baptism, as a follower of Jesus you should “consider yourself dead.”

What does it mean to be dead in this way? Unlike the threat of being killed, this statement is a call to take hold of the new life that now yours in Christ. Romans explains that your old self was put to death with Christ in order that you could be freed from the bondage of sin. Because you have died with Christ, you have been set free from sin and now you are able to live with Christ. You should consider yourself dead to sin in terms of the grip that it once held on you; the influence it tries to have in your thinking, desires, and actions; and, the shame and guilt with which it seeks to fill your life. You are, in a very real and powerful way, dead to sin.

Being dead to sin is just the beginning for you. More than being dead in this way, the call to “consider yourself dead” is also a call to “consider yourself alive” in Christ. You died with Christ in Baptism in order that you “might walk in newness of life.” In your new life you have moved beyond the ultimate showdown between the good and the bad and live in the victory that Christ has won. You are safe from the threats of the enemy, liberated from the constraints of sin, and free from the fear of death because they have been defeated by the death and resurrection of Jesus — the death that you too have died and the new life that you now live through Baptism.

By His grace consider yourself dead — dead to sin, dead to the hopelessness of this world, dead to death — and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

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

Reflection: Arise and Shine (January 5, 2014)

Epiphany Sunday
Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12

If you’re a morning person trying to spread some new day cheer, you might call out “Rise and shine” in a cheerful voice to wake people from sleep and encourage them to get the day started. But “Rise and shine” could also be a grouchy command to get people moving from someone who’d rather have stayed in bed himself. In the same way, the call found in Isaiah 60:1 to “Arise and shine” can be taken by us as an encouraging call to take our place in God’s amazing work in our world or a burdensome command to toil as a believer in place that is hostile to us and our message. Just as the intent of “Rise and shine” is found in the person calling it out, we find the purpose of the call to “Arise and shine” in the One who has spoken it to us.
 
God’s call to “Arise and shine” is rooted in the realities of our world: “darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness the peoples” (Is. 60:2). It doesn't gloss over the brokenness that sin has worked in the institutions, relationships, and people in our lives. Nor does it suggest that being light in the darkness of this world will be well received by those who dwell in darkness and may even prefer that darkness to the light of Christ. However, this calling is not meant to be a dreary and burdensome chore, but a joyful task in which we share with a God who delights in delivering people from darkness — just as He has delivered us. He assures us that our work is not in vain by telling us that “the Lord will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light” (Is. 60:2-3).

Epiphany is the celebration of Christ making Himself known to all people. However, the people around us have moved on from their Christmas activities, packed away their artificial lights, and continue to live in the darkness of sin, death, and hopelessness. And while it’s true that Epiphany officially ends the Christmas season, it is actually a continuation and extension of Christmas as it brings the light of Christ to the world and it includes more and more people in His revelation. In His Epiphany we witness sin forgiven, death overpowered, and hopelessness dispelled with the everlasting peace of Christ. In His Epiphany, we experience the light of Jesus driving the darkness out of our lives and bringing an end to the dark night of despair over the guilt of our sins, the fear of God’s judgment, and the prospect of everlasting condemnation. The glory of the Lord has risen upon us. Whatever darkness remains in our lives and in our world must yield as we bring His light and love to those who live without the life, hope, joy, and peace that we enjoy. Arise and shine!

Click here to listen to the sermon "Arise and Shine!" (or right-click to download the MP3 file).

Reflection: All in Due Time (December 29, 2013)

The 1st Sunday after Christmas
Isaiah 63:7-14; Galatians 4:4-7; Matthew 2:13-23

The close of the calendar year is a good time to reflect on the events of the past year. Our “year in review” includes news events that have impacted our world, the deaths of famous people, the championships won by sports teams, etc. On a personal level, we evaluate progress on our goals, rejoice in family additions through births and marriages, mark the successes we’ve enjoyed in our workplaces or schools, etc. But, as we consider all that has been accomplished, our “year in review” also reminds us of the things that have been left unfinished, goals that were abandoned, losses we’ve endured, setbacks that have challenged us, etc. Depending on how the year has gone, the “year in review” can be disheartening. When it is, we might look for comfort in the thought that what we desire will come in due time. But today’s reading from Isaiah offers a far better word of comfort when it calls us to “recount the steadfast love of the Lord.”

Recounting how God has been active and faithful over the past year provides us with a perspective on the successes and failures, the gains and losses, and the joys and sorrows of our lives that the world cannot provide. It moves us beyond personal goals and desires to seeking God’s will and purposes. It shows us that, while the things that we want in and for our lives may actually never come about, everything that God has willed and promised does come in due time. We can see this in the birth and early life of Jesus, who came into our world “when the fullness of time had come,” that is, in due time.

The “due time” of Jesus’ life was not the perfect time because He was well received and celebrated. Nor was it the right time because His life would be easy and comfortable. It was the due time for quite the opposite reasons. The “fullness of time” included people and circumstances that would challenge and oppose Jesus. He came into a world that had no place for Him, was sought out for destruction by Herod, had to be carried off to a foreign land for safety, and was later settled in a small village far away from the center of power and influence in His world. Eventually He would take up a cross and win the victory He came to win, but that would have to wait until He had accomplished all that He had been “born of a woman, born under the law” to do. All in due time. As one who has received the benefits of all that Jesus has accomplished, may the close of this year find you recounting the steadfast love of the Lord and faithfully serving Him to accomplished His will in your life with patience, perseverance, and confidence that He will do it all in due time.

Click to listen to the sermon "All in Due Time" (or right-click to download the MP3 file).