Sermon for 2/2/14--Epiphany 4

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Raging Storms

Matthew 8:23-27

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jesus can sleep through anything. He has no fears, no guilt, no worries. Sometimes it seems as though He sleeps through our prayers. In any case, He rarely behaves the way we think He should. Why was He sleeping while the storm raged? Why was He not with His disciples? Why was He not teaching or praying or comforting them? Why wasn't He helping? And why, when they came to Him looking for salvation, did He rebuke them when He had praised Gentiles for the same request?

God is not like us. He does not submit to our ideas. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. We live by faith, not by knowledge or understanding. Unlike every other man, Jesus never considers appearances. He really doesn't care what people think. He is His own man in a way no one else can be. He is not concerned with doing the proper thing. Whatever He does, whether we understand it or not, is right. Accepting that idea requires faith, because He doesn't seem to us to be doing the right thing. He seems to be sleeping, ignoring us when we are plagued with wars and disease, hatred and greed, crime and poverty, abortion, the crumbling of families, government lies, betrayal from friends, false doctrine from trusted preachers, and even nature attacks with hurricanes and tsunamis, killing frigid temperatures, ice and snow. We are powerless before these afflictions.

Our vain efforts against such woe would pull us to Jonah's oblivious sleep. Your answer doesn't lie in gadgets or flower bouquets, in a beautiful home or a beautiful meal, even in happy, healthy, well-adjusted children. And there is no such thing as Harlequin's soul-mate either. You won't find salvation in human love. Spouses and children, parents and siblings disappoint as surely as we disappoint ourselves. Repent. Stick to your prayers. Submit in faith to the goodness of God and wait for the Lord. It will be revealed in time. The storms will cease. Jesus is with you.

And what if He rebukes you for your panic, for your desire for safety, for your desperate little faith that thinks it is perishing? Thanks be to God! Thanks be to God that you still have a smoldering wick of faith and that it knows where to go, that it still prays, that it seeks salvation in Jesus' Name. Thank God you are weak, for it is in that very weakness that you are strongest in your baptism. Our Lord will not let you depend on yourself or your works. He will purify you with holy chastisement. He will not let you ride out the storm in false confidence. He will keep you dependent on Him.

And what if your conscience is plagued by guilt and regret, by doubt and fear? What if you are weary? Thank God for that as well. For it is faith, a living and vibrant faith, that stirs your heart. Faith causes you to feel sorrow and shame. The pain is proof that your faith is alive. Pray that you never lose that feeling until God relieves you of it on the last day. Pray that you are never comfortable in your sins, that you never think you've got Him figured out, that you can handle the storms on your own. Be rebuked again and again. Be broken by His Law. In this way He empties you of yourself to fill you with His love. He breaks you to mend you. He kills you to revive you. For His sake we are killed all day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. His thoughts are not our thoughts. If we stop feeling the Law, we lose the Gospel. First comes the rebuke, and only then comes the calming of the storm. First comes the cross, then comes the glory.

Are we also disciples of little faith? Indeed. We are unworthy in every way. But God has made His promise. He is our God. His Name is upon us. When we cry out, “Save us, O Lord,” we know He will. He will be our God, our Savior. He will deliver us from these present evils and from the Evil One. We have no claim upon His mercy, but we have His Word and Promise. That is enough. He will calm the sea with His sacrifice. He has gone into the belly of the earth and come forth again on the third day. When the waves crash over the sides of the boat and we are desperate and full of fear, He gives us peace according to His Word, gives us the faith we lack, sends to us His Holy Spirit to bring us home. The Lord remembers His Word and promises even while we wait for the Resurrection to come and the consummation of all our hope. Save us, O Lord. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 1/26/14--Epiphany 3

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Jesus Under Authority

Matthew 8:1-13

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

The centurion confesses before Jesus that he is not worthy. In fact, the only hope this soldier has that Jesus will do what he asks is that he knows Jesus is under authority, that is, "under orders." My brothers and sisters in Christ, the uncomfortable truth we all must face is that you and I are not worth saving. There is nothing in us which is worth the Lord's time and attention. We are born sinful, and we die the same way. There is none who has loved God or neighbor. These things the Scripture teaches. And this is the confession of the centurion.

The centurion knows he has no claim on Jesus. He has nothing to offer Jesus. He has nothing to give Jesus. There is no bargain he can make. All he can rightly say is this: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof! Only say the word and my servant will be healed!" Dear brothers and sisters, this is true and saving faith: that we confess we have no claim on God's mercy, no right to His blessings, that we deserve nothing but eternal punishment for our sins. Most popular preachers deliver the preaching of flattery which will only tell you how precious you are to God. God just can’t resist you! He just had to come and save you because you were worth saving. Such preaching only flatters; it certainly doesn't save. Flee such preaching! Confess with the centurion that you have no claim on the Lord and His mercy, that only His Word saves us.

Why does Jesus save us? The centurion answers this. He says, "I also am a man under authority." In other words, he receives orders and he will obey, and he gives orders which will be obeyed. Likewise, our Lord Jesus is "under orders." He is under orders from the Father to save sinners. Jesus comes to save us, not because we are worthy, but because He loves His Father and obeys His Father's will. Just as the centurion orders his servants and they carry out his will, so we confess that Jesus obeys the Father's will. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus prays in the Garden: "Father, if it be possible, take this cup from Me; but not My will, but Yours be done." Our salvation hangs in the balance! Our Lord desires not to drink the cup of the damning judgment against our sins. But He did not come to do His will. He came to do the will of the Father who sent Him. That is our salvation. He saves sinners whom the Father commands Him to save, sinners who have no hope but in the Son’s obedience. He saves us by being obedient, even unto death, shedding His blood in our place to rescue us from sin, death, and the power of the devil.

The centurion teaches us this also, that the salvation Jesus brings is brought to us by His Word. "Just speak the Word and my servant shall be healed." This salvation that our Lord brings does not come to us by any other means than His Word: Word spoken into our ears that proclaims that God's mercy is ours in Jesus Christ; the Word joined to the water which washes away our uncleanness; the Word which sets before us the body and blood of Jesus to eat and drink for the forgiveness of our sins.

The centurion knew that what He needed from Jesus was His Word. The ones whom the Father draws through Jesus are those who have no claim on His goodness other than the Lord’s mercy given in His holy gifts. Jesus is under holy orders, and He has fulfilled His orders from the Father and saved us. Now, from the men who are also under holy orders, we receive the same mercy of God in Jesus Christ, delivered in His holy gifts. "Speak the Word and my servant shall be healed." The Word of Jesus has been spoken: the Word of Absolution, the Word in the water, the Words of Institution which make simple bread and wine a feast of Christ’s body and blood. The Word has been spoken. May it be done for you as you have believed. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen. 

Sermon for 1/19/14--Epiphany 2

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Do Whatever He Says

John 2:1-12

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

They didn't need more wine. Rare indeed is the man who needs more wine! Some of them would surely abuse it and get drunk. Who knows what evil would result from more wine. Whatever it was that Mary was hoping for, she was denied at first. Jesus did not offer to run to the liquor store. He did not commiserate about the sadness of a poorly planned wedding or an embarrassed couple. He did not even tell her that good Christians don’t drink. He simply told her that her concern was beneath Him; her request trivial in the face of His looming betrayal, suffering, and death.

But her response to this rebuke couldn't be better. She believed. Despite the rejection she believed that Jesus was good, that Jesus would help her and the couple in some way. That is what Jesus does. That is who Jesus is. He is always rescuing people. So despite the rejection she believes. She believes that nothing, nothing of her concern, is outside of His concern, that no request she makes is trivial, and that He hears and answers her every prayer. With perfect faith she gives the servants the best advice in the world: "Do whatever He says." And what a surprise He has in store.

He gives them wine like the world has never known. It was a huge amount, somewhere between 600 and 900 bottles. As to the quality, we can only imagine, though we know it was better than the "good" wine the bridegroom used for their "champagne toast."  He gave them good wine, and that an awful lot of it, more than they could consume in a single night. God gives His gifts in abundance for them to enjoy them, knowing that some may abuse them, some may not appreciate them. He never gives His gifts so we'll attach a plaque and send a thank you note. Jesus was not there for pleasure. He never went anywhere merely for pleasure. Wherever Jesus went, He was there to serve. He does not do these things because it makes Him feel good to help. He does them because we have need, because He would see us enjoy the blessings of creation. He was not in Cana to enjoy Himself. He was there to give His blessing, to provide wine, to supply daily bread in all its forms.

To this day we rightly pray with Mary, "They have no wine." We pray: "This life is hard. I’m sad. I’m so tired. I’m weak and frustrated. I’m angry. I wish I had a million dollars, a vacation home in the Hamptons, a Camaro, a video game room. I wish, O God, I was happier. I wish my classmates were nicer, my job was easier, the traffic less dense. I wish there was more wine." And what does God say to our selfish prayer? More often than not, it seems that He says "No," for we do not have these things. Does He ignore us? No. He never ignores His beloved for whom He laid down His life. He will do what is good and right. He will surprise you. Pray away, in boldness and confidence. And if it seems He holds out for now, do not despair. Your heart's richest desire awaits you in His eternal presence.

God is good. He knows what you want. He knows what you need. He will not fail. You will have wine. Your heart will be glad—if not now in all the fullness you desire, then in the Kingdom to come. In the meantime, while you wait, with the rebuke still in your ear, remember Mary's charge. "Do whatever He says." What He says is: "Take, eat. Drink ye all of it. Do this in remembrance of Me." Eat the Body of Jesus. Drink His Blood. Hear the Word of absolution and have the balm of His resurrection applied generously to your heart.

The servants know who turned the water into wine. The disciples believed. They know who is responsible for the joy and gladness, for the gifts enjoyed by men. It is Mary's humble Son, Jesus, who fulfilled the Scripture in their hearing. The servants know. The disciples believe. God grant us always to be numbered among them. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen. 

Sermon for 1/12/14--The Baptism of Our Lord

Again, I'm a little behind. We didn't have worship on January 5 due to the horrible weather and road conditions, so you didn't miss anything from the previous week.

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Clean and Full of the Spirit

Matthew 3:13-17

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

After He expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, the Lord uttered the terrible sentence: "My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh."  When man listened to the Serpent, the devil, rather than the voice of the Lord God, then the heavens were shut, and man could not open them. There was no one in whom the Father was completely and fully delighted, upon whom the Spirit could come to rest…until the day your Savior Jesus began His ministry in the flesh. When Jesus was baptized according to God the Father's will, He was praying, and a most unexpected and most wonderful event occurred. The heavens burst open once again! The Holy Spirit, who for so long stayed aloft, giving the Word to all those prophets back in the Old Testament that a Savior was coming, finally came down to abide in the flesh of Jesus.

That’s important, because from the moment Jesus emerges from the water of the Jordan River, the devil also went full bore at Him, trying to tempt Him into being some other kind of Jesus than He came to be. From the moment of His baptism, Jesus walked the earth as a sin-bearer, all the way to the cross. Over and over we see His own innocence ignored, and He is treated as a criminal, a blasphemer, a sinner. Ever closer He goes to the cross until finally, handed over by His own friend, He was condemned by the clergy who should know God's Word. He was put to death by an indifferent Roman governor. What begins in His Baptism ends at the cross of Calvary, where He died, covered in your sins. And then He rose, and your sins are left behind in the tomb, gone for good. That's what Jesus stepping into the Jordan today is all about.

And that brings us to your baptism. Don't do what so many “good Christian people” do. Don’t ignore your baptism like it's just something that happened long ago. Don't go looking for Christ in your feelings and rainbows and things that happen that make you happy. Christ is found nowhere else than His Word and gifts. Don't go looking anywhere other than your Baptism to find God. Repent of talking about your faith without talking about what God has given you in your baptism! Your Baptism, after all, is an event at which the whole Triune God is present! It is God at work. Your baptism is Jesus taking YOUR place because He has carried your sins. Your baptism is the Holy Spirit landing on you to make you His temple. Your baptism is the Father Himself declaring, "You are my beloved son!" You see, when you are baptized, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are washing you, forgiving you, saving you.

The Lord steps into the Jordan for you today. He does it to take your sins from you because you cannot be rid of them yourself. He takes them to Calvary and the tomb and leaves them there. And then, in your baptism, the same Father, Son and Holy Spirit that were there at the Jordan River are there at the font giving you a new birth from above, forgiving your sins, rescuing you from death and the devil, and giving you eternal salvation. There is no better proof in your life about what God has done for you than your baptism. Therefore on this day of Jesus' baptism, remember and rejoice in your own baptism, where you received the Holy Spirit, faith, the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.

Sermon for 12/29/13--The Sunday After Christmas

Fell a little behind. Sorry! 

The audio quality is a little lower, as we met this Sunday in the education building when the church had no heat.

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Depart in Peace

Luke 2:21-40

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Simeon was waiting for what St. Luke calls “the consolation of Israel.” Indeed, he was promised by the Lord that he would not die until he saw it. The Lord promised Simeon, and once he had seen and held baby Jesus, he could die in peace. You should know that when your pastor tells you to “Depart in peace” at the communion rail, he’s not telling you that you can get up and go back to your pew. He’s telling you that it’s okay to die. Depart in peace. That’s what Simeon looked forward to: the fulfillment of God’s promises.

The Old Adam doesn’t want to die. The world goes kicking and screaming into death. Admit it: you hate the thought of death—the death of another person, yes, but especially of your own death. We try to explain death away: “God wanted another angel.” “It was her time.” “Death is just a part of life.” That’s all hogwash. Death is the sting of sin, plain and simple. But Simeon teaches us that once you have Christ, death is nothing. In fact, having received Christ, we go to death in the peace of Christ.

Simeon tells Mary that a sword will pierce her soul. This little baby is going to die. All of those things neither Mary nor Joseph could anticipate when Gabriel told Joseph to give the baby the name of Jesus, Simeon now lays out before them: pain, suffering, scorn, hatred, blood and agony would be the lot of this Child. What mother would want to see that happen to her son? No mother should have to bury her own son, but this is a death that is no accident or disease. This is the hatred of sinners putting her Son to death. It is her sins and your sins and the sin of the whole world. But what Simeon knows, what Simeon confesses and sings, is that this is salvation. “My eyes have seen your salvation.” This baby in Simeon’s arms is not just some tragedy waiting to happen years later. He is the One whose death saves sinners. His is the death and resurrection by which our death is transformed. His is the death and resurrection from the dead which take the sting out of death. It is the victory over sin and death that enables Simeon to sing, “Lord, let your servant depart in peace.”

Now you haven’t held baby Jesus in your arms like Simeon, but you have Christ come to you in equally mystifying ways: in the water and Word of the holy font; in the absolution and preaching of your pastor; in the Word given in the Scriptures; in His own body and blood given in His Supper. Here in these gifts, Christ saves you, forgives you, even prepares you for death and gives you the gift of everlasting life. No one but God knows what will happen to you when you walk out that door. I hope and pray that each of you live a long and happy life and fall asleep peacefully in Jesus at a good old age. But we all know that anything can happen. And whether it’s an accident or disease, or something else, death is there. So before you get up and walk out that door, I shall tell you these words after the Sacrament: “Depart in peace.” And we shall say them with Simeon, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.” And when I say those words and when we sing them together, we are confessing, right in the face of death, that death has no more power over us. It is merely a passage to the everlasting life  which Christ has in store for us. This Child was born so that sin and death would be thrown down. Now that He has come and done His work of dying and rising, washing and feeding and forgiving, death has no power over you…ever.  Therefore, like Simeon, and like all of Christ’s lambs before you, you can depart in peace. In other words, you can die in the peace of Christ. In the name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

           

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.

Baseball Hall of Fame Voting: Idiocy Compounded

I've been a fan of the game of baseball all my life. One of my earliest memories is of Reggie Jackson  hitting three home runs on three pitches from three different Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers in the sixth game of the 1977 World Series. There are (rather embarrassing) pictures of me from before that time, wearing little more than a baseball glove and cap. I played baseball for ten years, and I lived for the days on the diamond, whether it was organized games, team practices, or just pick-up games with friends in the back yard. I've watched baseball with a near-religious fervor all my life. It should come as no surprise, then, that I would have and express an opinion about an aspect I hate of the sport I love.

I've watched the whole steroid issue play out in baseball with a certain amount of disgust. Most especially am I disgusted by those who use steroids to get ahead. I can understand the desire to succeed. I didn't have enough talent to play professionally at any level, and steroids wouldn't have changed that. And for those who do or did have enough talent, I can understand the desire to extend a career that allows one to play a game for a living. That does not excuse their actions, but it shows the human face of an issue that often sees the press demonize those who have fallen.

And the press should hold themselves accountable for their role in this scandal. For too long they ignored what was right before their eyes. Then, when they could ignore the issue no longer, they went on the offensive, blasting away at anyone whose name was even whispered to be connected with steroids. Evidence or no evidence, conviction or acquittal, anyone who was rumored to be connected with steroids was evil, and the press was ready with pitchforks and torches to do their due diligence to burn these hardened heretics who dared to violate the holy cathedrals of baseball. This is evident, not only in their regular work as sportswriters, but especially in the decisions made by those baseball sportswriters who have been given the privilege of voting on the ballot of players eligible for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The crux of the matter is the criteria upon which each candidate must be judged. Here is the relevant passage: "5. Voting: Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played." When it comes to the issues of integrity, sportsmanship, and character, many voting sportswriters consider anyone connected to steroids to be unworthy for consideration. One voter this year even stated that he wouldn’t vote for anyone who played during the “Steroid Era.”

Baseball is known as “America’s Pastime.” For those who star in our pastime to be held to the un-American standard of “guilty until proven innocent” is just ridiculous. It’s no better than Kenesaw Landis giving “Shoeless” Joe Jackson a lifetime ban for throwing the World Series—not based on evidence, but based on a confession coerced from an unlettered country boy who didn’t know he was being burned. Those who have been proved to be guilty of steroid use, along with those who have confessed to steroid use, might rightly be castigated for cheating. Still, when the writers allowed proven spitball users Gaylord Perry and Don Drysdale into the Hall, their righteous indignation toward other cheaters seems overdone. In fact, on the integrity and character scale, Roberto "I'm a Better Spitter than Gaylord Perry" Alomar probably doesn’t belong either, and even the cases of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb, one a drunken womanizer and the other a jackass on and off the field, might be brought into question as well. And though he wasn’t a player, by the character and integrity standard, does Kenesaw “Who Needs Evidence?” Landis really belong? As for those whose names have been mentioned but for whom no compelling and exhaustive proof has been given, excluding them from serious consideration because of their era or because of mere rumor is a travesty and a miscarriage of justice, and those who engage in such a perversion are as bad as  those who use steroids--or worse because of their hypocrisy.

One writer said that this year’s elected players, Frank Thomas, Tom Glavine, and Greg Maddox, became hall of famers in their living rooms yesterday, presumably when the Baseball Writers Association of America announced their selections. Such arrogance! These men became hall of famers on the baseball diamond, in the dugout, in the clubhouse, in the weight room, in little league, in the yard with their fathers. I'm thinking there needs to be a baseball sportswriters hall of fame which is voted on solely by those who play the sport professionally. But if you lived in an era where caffeine was in use as a stimulant, whether you drank it or not, you're ineligible for election.

Although most (and certainly not all) of the players (and others) enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame deserve the honor, some who deserve the honor will never be so honored. The personality cult of baseball sportswriters--and, in one case, the arrogance of a man called "Mountain"--has seen to that. Until the Hall of Fame election process is completely overhauled or the sportswriters be taught humility and basic journalistic integrity, the true Baseball Hall of Fame will reside in the only pure shrine of baseball: the hearts and minds of its fans. Pete and Joe, you'll always be welcome in mine.

2013 Reading List: December

2013 is over, so this will be my last post on the 2013 reading list. Obviously. Fifteen books this month makes 174 for the year. That averages to exactly 14.5 per month. That's a little short of my goal of 200 books, but I'm not unhappy with the total. I like knowing what I've read; look for next year's lists in the months to come. Anyway, here's the last list of the year: 

December

1. Kenyhercz, Katie. On the Fly. Crimson Romance, 2013.
2. Allen, Heather. Just Breathe. Self-Published Kindle Edition, 2013.
3. Nunez, Frank Vincent. My Last Christmas Wish. Self-Published Kindle Edition, 2013.
4. DeGiorgio, S. Yo Ho Ho and a Very Merry Christmas. Self-Published Kindle Edition, 2013.
5. Wilkinson, Dacia. For Love of Words. Self-Published Kindle Edition, 2013.
6. Schulz, Charles M. A Charlie Brown Christmas. Peanuts Worldwide LLC, 2011.
7. Crowne, Mackenzie. Cara O'Shea's Return. Self-Published Kindle Edition, 2014 (sic).
8. Robison, Roderick J. The Christmas Tin. Self-Published Kindle Edition, 2012.
9. Jordon, Autumn. Perfect. Dianne Gerber, 2012.
10. Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. Public Domain, 1843.
11. Carlson, Melody. Gift of Christmas Present. Revell, 2004.
12. Welch, Karen. Christmas at Valley Rise. Self-Published Kindle Edition, 2012. 
13. Rogers, Martha. Christmas at Holly Hill. Realms, 2012. 
14. Reuther, Mike. Nothing Down. Self-Published Kindle Edition, 2013. 
15. Bird, Chad L. The Infant Priest. Self-Published, 2013.

Video Killed the Radio Star

I made my final appearance regarding my "Thy Strong Word" series on KFUO's BookTalk on Friday, December 20. Pastor Zwonitzer discussed two books on Friday, the first being An Advent for Religious Liberty, a Pastor Stephen Grant Novel by Ray Keating. He then went on to interview me about One Thing's Needful. Right-click the link below to save the audio of the interviews for both novels. 

AN ADVENT FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY and ONE THING'S NEEDFUL INTERVIEW

To hear the interviews for Love Divine and A Great and Mighty Wonder, right-click the links below.

LOVE DIVINE INTERVIEW

A GREAT AND MIGHTY WONDER INTERVIEW


My apologies for not posting this sooner. Thank you for listening! Thank you for reading my books! Thank you for supporting an independent author!

Sermon for 12/25/13--The Nativity of Our Lord

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God in Flesh

John 1:1-14

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

People everywhere have certain ideas about what God is or what He is like. But to look anywhere other than in Jesus is to have no real or true God at all. Blessed Martin Luther once said something like this: “I know of no other God than the One in the manger, on the cross and on the altar.” St. John tells us why: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” God became man. The Son was incarnate by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin's Womb. Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us” literally, because He is God and man in One Person. In fact, the most important thing you can say about God is that God took on flesh to save you from sin and death.

The Son comes into this world in the flesh not simply appearing and walking into town one day but by being conceived in the womb of the Virgin and born as a baby. This is so that we who are born in sin may be born anew from above. You see, ever since Adam, we have inherited the curse of sin. It is passed from one generation to another. We are conceived and born in sin. We don't like to hear it, but even when we are babies we are sinners. This curse of sin is passed from father to children. We are born with it, born under the condemnation of God. So Jesus is born in the flesh. He does not have an earthly father; therefore He has no sin. His holy and perfect and spotless flesh comes to us because ours is ruined and tainted. By His holy flesh, He gives us new birth.

The Son of God comes into this world in the flesh so that His flesh can suffer and die. Our sin has brought the curse of death. Sinners die. That's our fate. So God comes to take care of death by dying Himself. He takes our sins upon His spotless flesh and dies for them on the cross of Calvary. It is hard to think that the little baby in the manger is headed someday for the cross and death, but that is why He came. In our flesh is sin and death. Jesus' spotless flesh takes our sins so that He may die our death. And that holy flesh that is pierced and that holy blood that is poured out—these are the price of our redemption. The price paid by Jesus for our sins: “not with gold or silver but with His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.” That's how He redeems and saves us: Christ comes in the flesh so that His flesh and blood may pay for our sins.

Christ also comes in the flesh so that He may give His flesh to us as food. Later in St. John's same Gospel Jesus says, “Eat my flesh and drink my blood and I will raise you up on the Last Day.” Jesus gives us His flesh to eat so that our flesh will be raised from the dead. Jesus has died and risen from the dead. So will you who have eaten and drunk His flesh and blood. Death couldn't keep Jesus down. It can't keep you down either if you have His flesh and blood in you. If sin and death want you, they have to go through Jesus! He's already beaten them. When we eat regular food, it gives some life to our bodies, at least for a little while, and then we must eat again. But the flesh and blood of the Son of God give us a life that does not end.

Christmas teaches us to look for no other God than the one who is in the manger, on the cross and on the altar. Beware of a god that isn't there in the flesh. Beware of a god who's too big and powerful to be a Baby, or too big and mighty to suffer and die or to distant and far away to be in the Sacrament. Beware of a god that's found in your feelings or in the ups and downs of life or the world around us. Beware of any god who doesn't have flesh. Beware of any Jesus who isn't truly God. And let us be reminded by this Christmas flesh of Jesus to repent of looking for God anywhere other than where He is in His flesh. God is not in our ideas and our notions about Him. He's in the flesh: in the manger as a baby, on the cross as a man, on the altar with the food of His flesh and blood. No other God saves you than the One who has taken on flesh for you! You have flesh. So now does your God. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.

Sweet Sixteen

My eldest child, Alexis, turned sixteen today. It's so odd to think of her that way, since I sometimes still think of her as the little six year-old girl I met in person the day before I asked her mother to marry me. She's grown quite a bit since then. It began with me being so scared of her that I was treating her with kid gloves--except, of course, for the time she got a scrape on her knee and I brought out a hacksaw and asked her if I could cut it off for her and make her feel better. (I swear it was funny at the time, and I wouldn't have actually done it, of course. Really.) I can't put into words...

Well, maybe I can. I gave her a gift today. It was supposed to be a song--I have a melody line and everything, but I don't have the instrumental skill to add music to it--but it works as a poem. It's only words, but it's a start. And I like to think she already knew all this, but it's good to say these things anyway. So...yeah, here it is.

The Chance to Call You Mine

 When I met your mom, I knew she had a daughter

And it scared me 'cause I didn't know what kind of dad I'd be.

But I loved her, and I knew you came together

As a package deal—a two-for-one—where one plus one makes three.

Before I asked her hand in marriage, first I asked for your permission.

Did you know how much depended on your single word that day?

But your tears of joy were for us all as we became a family—

A mom and dad and daughter. It was meant to be that way.

And I don't know how a father couldn't want you,

But I'm glad I've had the chance to call you mine.

And through the years, as you've become a woman,

I see the love between us as a sign

That God can make a family

From broken hearts and dreams.

His will is always stronger

Than our human plots and schemes.

It might not be how we would plan,

Yet still it's God's design.

So although you're not my child by blood

I'm proud to call you mine.

It may not be the way I planned,

Yet still it's His design.

So I thank God for the chance He gave—

The chance to call you mine.

© 2013, Alan Kornacki, Jr.

 

Sermon for 12/24/13--The Eve of the Nativity of Our Lord

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The Gift

Luke 2:1-20

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 


Though we haven’t gotten to this point in the Kornacki house, maybe you've gotten your presents wrapped by now. Maybe you’ve used those little to/from tags so everyone knows the giver and the recipient. Sometimes those tags fall off, and there’s a mad scramble to determine who gets what. The Lord's gifts, however, are never uncertain. When Jesus is born, we know for whom He has come. He is, as the angels announced, for “all people.” His name tells us that. His name in Hebrew is Yahushua, Joshua, and that means “Yahweh, the Lord, will save His people from their sins.” The name “Jesus,” is the Greek form of that. His name tells us two things. First, it tells us who this baby is—namely, God Himself. Second, it tells us He does—that is, He saves us from our sins. It’s a name given not because it's this year's top pop singer or because it sounds cool, but because it means something; it identifies this Baby as the Savior of the world.

When the angel told Joseph that the child’s name would be Jesus, neither Joseph or Mary really understood what was to come. They could not grasp what having this name would mean for this Boy. How could they understand or accept that He would grow up and be hated more and more and finally be crucified like a common criminal? How could they accept that He would die bloody and alone but for a few people looking on? How could they believe that, to everyone's astonishment, His tomb would be empty three days later?

All that Mary and Joseph knew was that Mary was with child by the Holy Spirit and Joseph was to help to take care of him. This child came to have a birth like ours so that we might have a new birth from above. He came to be born of a woman that we might be reborn of the holy Church. He came to be under the care of an adopted father so that we would be adopted as sons of our heavenly Father. Everything Jesus did, even down to the details of His conception and birth, was wrapped up and described in that name He was given. In Hebrew, Joshua. In Greek, Jesus. “Yahweh, the Lord, saves.” That is exactly what He does. This is exactly the gift He gives: He saves you from your sins. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.

Charles Dickens was not a Lutheran.

It's a classic novel. The one-time English major in me loves the novel for its literary value. The story has been adapted into stage plays and movies. It is a beloved tale of Christmas redemption. In fact, it may be, outside of Luke 2 and maybe A Charlie Brown Christmas, the most popular Christmas tale of all time. Yet A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is not a Lutheran story.

Ebenezer Scrooge begins the story as an exemplary picture of the Old Adam. Dickens describes him in this way: "Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!" That is the permanent state of the unbaptized, and Dickens captures it perfectly.

You know the story. Marley, Scrooge's deceased business partner, doomed to wander the earth as a ghost in chains for his own avarice and disdain for mankind, appears to Scrooge to warn him of his similar impending doom, should Scrooge not change his ways. He then offers Scrooge the opportunity for redemption through the visits of three spirits--the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future--who will guide him along the path of personal redemption. 

By the end of the story, Scrooge has become a new man. "'I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!' Scrooge repeated, as he scrambled out of bed. 'The Spirits of all three shall strive within me. Oh Jacob Marley! Heaven, and the Christmas Time be praised for this! I say it on my knees, old Jacob; on my knees!'" It is a beautiful tale of redemption.

It is beautiful, except for one thing: redemption does not happen that way. The three spirits preach the Law to Scrooge. The Law does not save people. Hearing that he is a sinner, a man can either acknowledge that he is a sinner or he can deny it. He cannot fix it. Man can try to redeem himself. He can try, but he fails. He cannot perfectly live as the Law demands. He can be told to say, "Please," and, "Thank you;" he can be told to behave well toward others. It does not come naturally to him.

But that's what Christmas is all about: redeeming the sinner. It is not the Law which redeems a man. It is Jesus who redeems man. This is Jesus, Immanuel, God in flesh made manifest, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the Lamb who would sacrificed as the blood-price to redeem sinners. None of the spirits tells Scrooge, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." As Linus might say, "That's what Christmas is all about, Charles Dickens."

I don't mean to be a wet blanket or dampen your Christmas joy. Enjoy the story of "A Christmas Carol." I do. But like Scrooge did after he ordered the turkey for the Cratchit family, go to church and hear the real Christmas story, the real story of redemption. Hear the word of Holy Absolution. Receive absolution on your tongue in the body and blood of Jesus. It is the first and best Christmas gift: full pardon, full redemption, given to you freely, given from and in the person of Jesus Christ. 

A blessed and merry Christmas to you and yours from me and mine! "God bless us, every one!"

Sermon for 12/22/13--Fourth Sunday in Advent

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The Same Old Message

John 1:19-28

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

You can't sidetrack John the Baptist. His job is to people to Jesus, and that’s all he does. He sounds almost other-worldly: camel-hair and locusts and living in the wilderness. But when they realize he's not some rock star mystic out there by the Jordan, the people lose interest. The Old Adam loves to play the personality game: we like this pastor; we think this pastor has the goods. This preacher makes us feel good. But all this guy talks about is Jesus. Boring! A preacher whose message is a constant flow of Jesus and His gifts will eventually lose the interest of his hearers. The most popular preachers in our age are those who preach messages about prosperity and hope, messages where Jesus is a mere footnote. If Jesus is all there is week in and week out, the Old Adam will move on to something he finds more interesting.

    

That's how the world works. We want the next model, the newest version. And we view religion the same way. What’s new? What’s exciting? What’s different? But John preaches that the Jesus he is talking about, the one who comes after John, is the same one who has been before John. This is Jesus the Savior. He was before John and He comes after John. He was before you and He will come after you. You can't go anywhere where there is no Jesus. You won’t find some new and improved version of Jesus that wasn't there before. The Jesus who shows up is the Lamb of God, the One who never changes even though we desire something new and flashy. And it is this Jesus who saves us: the Lamb who was sacrificed for you. The good news of the coming Savior is that He comes to do what He does whether you think it's interesting or flashy or anything else. He is the One who hung on the cross, the One who rose, the One who suffers and dies for the sin of the world. If that’s not exciting enough for you, you’re out of luck, because that’s the only message John, the disciples, and your pastor are called to preach.

While the Old Adam hates this broken record Jesus stuff, the New Man clings to nothing else. Jesus every week? Anytime pastor opens his mouth, it's about Jesus? Thanks be to God! What or who else is there to forgive our sins and give us everlasting life? And what about all this talk about Baptism and The Lord's Supper? Well, that's all about Jesus too. The New Man cries out, “Never mind anything else, just give me Jesus! Mark me with the sign of the cross to remind me I'm baptized into Him. Give me His body and blood to eat and drink for the forgiveness of my sins. Absolve me and preach to me the Good News that there IS someone who is before and after me, whose sandals we aren't even worthy to untie but who humbles Himself to suffer and die and rise for me! Give me that Jesus always,” says the new man in Christ! And that’s exactly what you receive. Jesus is all yours. That's why He came: to save you, to give you everlasting life. That's why you hear about nothing else but Him from this pulpit.

John had one job: to point to Jesus. That is the same job your pastor has. The Lord doesn't leave you to yourselves to find Him or seek Him out. He comes to you. He never wants you to be confused or in doubt about what it's all about, so He sends the prophets and then John, the apostles, and then pastors to deliver to you the Word which saves you because it delivers nothing other than Jesus. The way is ready. You have been forgiven. The paths are straight. Jesus is coming. He will be in manger for you, on a cross for you, coming out of an empty tomb for you, and for you at the font and the altar. He is the Christ, and He is coming—indeed, He is here to save you. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.

Sermon for 12/15/13--Third Sunday in Advent

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Light in the Darkness

Matthew 11:2-10 (11)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Life is not all cherries and rainbows and pixie dust. When hard times befall our neighbors, we know all the platitudes. Well-meaning Christians are full of spiritual one-liners. “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” “Just have faith and everything will work out.” “Believe in the power of prayer!” Maybe you’ve said some of those to someone, not knowing what else to say. But what about when things go for us like they went for John the Baptist? John was sent to preach the coming of the Lord. He said, “His axe is laid at the root of the tree and he’s going to chop down everyone who has no fruit and toss them into the fire!” But then an evil king throws John in his dungeon, and it’s not long before John’s head is on a silver platter. So is it any wonder that John wonders whether Jesus is the real deal? “Are you the coming one or do we look for another?” John is stuck in prison, and Jesus isn’t freeing him. So, should he be expecting someone else? John knows Jesus is the Savior, but as he sits there in prison, he awaits with all of the Old Testament Church the day when Jesus will bring the promised consolation of Israel.

In answer, Jesus points John to His works: healing, raising the dead, preaching the Gospel. Those are the things the Scriptures promised the Savior would do. Jesus never promises John that he won’t die at the hands of an earthly king who makes stupid promises on his birthday. But He does promise John that He’s his Savior. But there will be greater stuff to come John won’t see but which is still for John: a Savior betrayed, tried, nailed to the cross and left to die. John won’t get to see all that. But you know about it. It’s the Good News that the One who heals and raises the dead and preaches Good News does so because He is the One who conquers sin and death. That is the answer Jesus gives to John. Jesus is the Savior. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He’s the Savior who chops down our self-righteousness and rescues us from sin, death, devil and hell. And that’s true whether John should be freed from the dungeon or be carried headless to his grave.

But what about you? What about when you doubt? What about when you hear that Jesus has risen from the dead, but still you see the people you love die? What about when you hear about Jesus healing people but you get sick? What about when you hear Jesus is the Savior but it feels like the axe is laid firmly on your neck? What about when you know that Jesus is the Savior and yet you wonder if He’s going to save you? What then? Is it time for happy-clappy Christian clichés? No. That, more than at any other time, is when you look to the comfort of the Word of God. Look at what Christ does. He still performs the great works today. He washes you in the waters of Holy Baptism, where you receive His righteousness which covers your sins. He speaks the word of Absolution, where everything you have ever done is forgiven. He speaks His Word to you so you too know that Jesus is the One that was promised. He feeds you with His body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins, to sustain you in your own earthly trials. When you say, “Jesus, my heart is heavy!” He answers, “You are baptized. I forgive you all your sins. I have conquered sin and suffering and death.” That’s the answer…especially for those times when you doubt.

In most ways, the answer Jesus gives isn’t the answer we specifically want. “I’m sick. I’m hurt. I’m troubled.” Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven.” It seems so inadequate. Maybe that’s why we make up those silly sayings that don’t really mean anything. What’s true, what matters, is that Christ has conquered all things for you. Advent reminds us that we don’t need the quick, pat answer that doesn’t mean anything. We wait for the coming of Christ to fulfill all things, to make all things new, and to wipe away every tear. That’s exactly what He has in store for you. That is what sustains you in trial and persecution in this life, and it is what makes you fit for eternal life. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.

2013 Reading List: October and November

I fell a little behind on the project posting. And on the reading. Didn't even reach ten books in November. Then again, to be fair, November was a bit of a crazy month. Anyway, that puts me at 159 books for the year, which is an average of over 13 books a month. December is another crazy month, so we'll see what happens. Anyway, here's the lists.

October

1. Gow, Kailin. Never Ending. The Edge, 2013.
2. Hornby, Nick. High Fidelity. Penguin Books, 1995.
3. Peterson, Tracie. The Icecutter’s Daughter. Bethany House, 2013.
4. McGregor, Tim. Old Flames, Burned Hands. Perdido Pub, 2013.
5. Carlson, Melody. Forgotten: Seventeen and Homeless. NavPress, 2010.
6. Anderson, Becky. In Stereo Where Available. Medallion Press, 2007.
7. Pless, John T. Martin Luther: Preacher of the Cross. Concordia Publishing House, 2013.
8. Pless, John T. Mercy at Life’s End. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, 2013.
9. Clampett, Ruth. Animate Me. Self-Published Kindle Edition, 2013.
10. Goodkind, Terry. Wizard’s First Rule. Tor Books, 1994.

November

1. Labonte, Beth. Coffee Breath. Self-Published Kindle Edition, 2008.
2. Newland, Tahlia. You Can't Shatter Me. Catapult Press, 2012.
3. Mason, Sally. Gone Hollywood. Self-Published Kindle Edition, 2013.
4. Blount, Angela N. Once Upon a Road Trip. Artifice Press, 2013.
5. Roach, D. A. Tethered. Self-Published Kindle Edition, 2013.
6. Hall, Tessa Emily. Purple Moon. Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, 2013.

Sermon for 12/8/13--Second Sunday in Advent

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What Endures?

Luke 21:25-36

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Reading this text, it’s hard not to think of the way we celebrate Christmas. Seemingly out of nowhere, we have a season of lights and trees and music and presents and parties and candlelight services. But before you know it, it's all gone, and all that’s left is cold, dark winter. In the same way, this world is passing away. It will not be long before everything goes the way of all flesh at the coming of our Lord. For the world, this will be a horrible day, a day of terror. But for you, the children of God, it is the day to lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!

But the Old Adam doesn’t believe this world is passing away. All too often we live as if this is all we’ll have. We worry about how we're going to be comfortable and happy and have enough stuff or get what we want. We live as if the most important things are the things we can buy and worst problems we have are the things we lack. But Jesus says the world has bigger problems. There will be terrible signs of the end that tell us the day is near. Look around you. Wars and rumors of wars; horrible diseases; unspeakable acts of evil—these things are all around us. We are living in the end times! He tells us to pray that we may escape these things and stand before the Son of Man. Ask yourself: Do you really want to stand before the Almighty Judge in His glory on the Last Day?

If that Judge is Jesus, then of course you want to stand before Him! This Man is the Savior. He who is the Judge on the Last Day is the same Man who was born of the Virgin to save us. Jesus tells us that when we see around us these terrible signs of the End of all things, then lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near! Dear Christian, never think that Jesus is coming to condemn you! He is coming to save you! He has already come to give His life into death on the cross to bear your sins and take them away. Now He will come to bring you out of this world that is passing away into the eternal kingdom that has been prepared for you. Pray that you will stand before the Son of Man, because Jesus is the One person who can and does save us from a world that is passing away!

But we're not paying attention. The world wasn't paying attention when Christ came in the flesh. So the Lord says through the prophet Malachi, “I will send Elijah before that great and terrible day.” Who is Elijah? Jesus teaches us that this Elijah was John the Baptist. John was ordained to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins and to baptize sinners in order to prepare for Christ's coming. In the same way, in these Last Days, the Lord gets our attention by calling preachers to preach and baptize. So your preacher says, “Listen up!” You have been baptized to prepare you for the Day when Jesus returns and heaven and earth passes away. You have been absolved of your sins so that there is nothing that the Judge will have against you on that Day. You are filled with the body and blood of the Son of Man Himself so that you have His unbreakable promise that you will be raised from the dead on that Day and stand before Him with all your sins forgiven. And of course there is His Word which lays it all out. Christ's Word in the Scriptures teaches us repentance for our sins and faith in Christ and delivers Christ to us as the One in Whom we trust for all things. And it is that very Word which the Scriptures deliver that is made flesh in Christ that never passes away! And that means you will not pass away.

You know that there will be an End and a Last Day and that you will stand before Jesus. But you know that because you are baptized, because your sins have been forgiven, and because you have feasted on Christ’s body and blood, this Day is a Day of redemption. It is the Day when we shall be free from our sins forever. It is the day that we will pass from death to life. We who have been filled with Christ's Word will not pass away. Instead we will pass into eternal life in the new heavens and the new earth with Christ forever.

This is the season of Advent, and Christ is coming. It is a gift from our heavenly Father to enjoy the pleasures of this season: things like candles and cookies and trees. Even though all those things are passing away, they help us to celebrate the birth of Jesus, whose Word will never pass away. The lights and tinsel will soon be gone again, but Christ and His Word remain forever to comfort us and give us life which never ends. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.

Sermon for 12/1/13 – First Sunday in Advent

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Coming

Matthew 21:1-9

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Advent is about Jesus showing up and what happens after. The first time He showed up, He came in your flesh, to be born and be tempted in your place, to do battle with the devil and to suffer and die on the cross for your sins. He rose from the dead to conquer your death. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, they shouted, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of The Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" And after He rode into Jerusalem, Jesus went to Calvary for you and accomplished your salvation. So let's keep track. The first time Jesus shows up, He dies and rises to save you.

This time there is no donkey. Instead He comes in water with the Word, in Absolution; in preaching; on the altar. We sing it too: "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of The Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" We sing it right before Jesus shows up on the altar. The Lord comes to you now in His church to deliver to you what He accomplished back then: the forgiveness of sins. As you live your life with that Old Adam hanging around your neck, chafing against God and trying to ignore your neighbor, the forgiveness of sins covers you. Here in His church, Jesus shows up to do battle with your Old Adam, to crucify him, and then to raise you to new life by His Word and forgiveness. Over and over Jesus shows up now, and He kills and raises you up by His gifts to save you.

The third time is yet to come. We don't know when. It's why we're watching and waiting. It seems like Advent has been "crying wolf" for 2000 years, doesn't it? Jesus is coming! Well…where is He? Sometimes it feels like you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning than you do of seeing Jesus show up on the clouds in all His glory with His holy angels. But the season of Advent, the season of waiting and hearing about Jesus showing up, is preparation for when He will return. That way it doesn't catch us by surprise. And what happens when He arrives? The first time He came to save you. The times since then, He comes to give you that salvation and keep you in that faith. So the third time can't be anything else than to save you once and for all, to raise you from the dead, to give you life everlasting. As always, Jesus comes to save you. 

It’s a wonderful thing when Jesus arrives. Advent is the time when the church is reminded that Jesus is coming. There is nothing better than when Jesus comes to you. Advent is a season that looks to Jesus as He comes: His first coming in the celebration of His birth at Christmas, His second, continual coming to us in church; and when He will come again in glory on the Last Day. Take the time in Advent hear more of Jesus' Word. It's a time of anticipating and preparing for His final coming, when we will no longer walk by faith but will see Him face to face and walk in His eternal presence.

Advent is a time of repentance when we look at our lives as ask the question, "What is there keeps me from paying attention and being ready?" The preaching of Advent calls us away from a world that really has nothing to offer us, calling us instead to a Lord who shows up to give us everything and more! We lift our eyes to the Lord and we watch and wait to greet the King with our Hosannas, and we wait for the news of Him as He comes back. We see Him coming now by faith, and we look forward to Him coming again in glory. Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly! In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.

Sermon for 11/27/13--Harvest Festival/Thanksgiving Eve

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Jesus and the Stuff

Luke 12:13-21

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

The guy in the crowd didn’t care about the kingdom of God. He cared about how much money he was getting from Dad. We’re not that different. We think the most important things are things. When we don’t have what we want, we worry about how we can get more. When we have what we want, we worry about how we’re going to pay for it and keep it. When we get old enough, we may realize we have too much and worry about how we’re going to get rid of it! And tomorrow the nation will pause to eat turkey and watch football while those of us who still have some religion will try to remember we’re supposed to give thanks for all of it. But Jesus nails it down with His words: “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” In other words, life is more than your stuff.

So if our lives aren’t about our things, what are they about? Our lives are about Jesus—the Jesus who saves us from the sin of loving the stuff God gives us more than loving the God who gives it. He rescues us from idolatry by being the true God who saves us. He rescues us from our covetousness by hiding His eternal glory in the flesh, being born in the flesh and living as if the stuff doesn’t matter. He lives as if there is nothing to covet, nothing to worry about, nothing to want to grab and hoard. Jesus lives as if the only thing He is about, the only thing He came for, the only thing on His mind, is taking your sins from you, suffering for them, dying for them, and rising again to save you. For us who think our life consists in what we have, Jesus comes, and His life consists in taking you back from sin and death!

The difference between the church and the unbelieving world isn’t that they have more stuff than us or that as Christians we are supposed to get rid of our stuff. It’s not about the stuff. And the difference isn’t that the world makes idols out of its things and we don’t. We do. The difference is that we live by faith in the Son of God, knowing that for Jesus’ sake, God doesn’t count our coveting and idolatry against us. He counts the contentment and obedience of Jesus as ours. We who are so worried over possessions are now, through our Baptism into Christ, owned by the Lord. We are made His. All our idolatry and coveting and lusting after the things of this world, along with all our other sins, are blotted out by the words of Absolution. In the Supper, Christ who desires nothing other than to do the Father’s will and save you, dwells in you by His Body and Blood. Through Him you have the promise that your sins are forgiven and you will be raised up the Last Day. The difference between you, God’s child, and the unbelieving world, isn’t that you give thanks more than they do, but that you recognize all your gifts are from the Lord—especially the forgiveness for turning His gifts into gods!

So that means now you can give thanks properly for our gifts. You thank our heavenly Father for giving you “all we need to support this body and life.” Maybe you have more than you need. Maybe we want more than you have. Regardless, through faith in Christ you know that you have all you could ever want or need in Jesus. Stuff doesn’t really need to be a big deal. First of all, give thanks to your Father in heaven who has given you your stuff. That stuff is a reminder that your heavenly Father is taking care of you. He is the giver of every good gift. Your gifts are to enjoy and to be a testimony to others that your heavenly Father cares for you and them in Jesus.

The Lord doesn’t just rescue you and give you salvation so you can point fingers at an unbelieving world and look down on them! Rather, as Paul tells Timothy, the Lord wants all people “to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” The Lord blesses you with every blessing in Christ and teaches you to pray for a peaceful and godly life. Give thanks. Enjoy what God has given you. Share what you have. Pray for those who don’t yet have the gift of salvation. And enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday, knowing that you are the Lord’s precious child whose life is not at all in what you have, but in Christ and what He has for you—both for this life and for the life of the world to come. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.