I submitted this one to The Lutheran Witness not long ago, and they published it...
Faith was the only child who came forward for one particular children's message. I wanted to talk about Baptism, and directed her attention to the font.
"Faith, what is this called?" I asked, pointing to the baptismal font. She shrugged her shoulders.
"It's a font. Let me hear you say 'font,'" I requested. Faith dutifully responded, "Font."
"And what goes on over here?" I asked.
Without missing a beat, she declared, "A lid!"
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Out of the Mouths of Babes #4
Friday, April 25, 2008
No Elbows in the Afterlife
C. Wayne Mayhall, editor of Christian Research Journal, tells this story:
Imagine you are in the center of a Great Hall in hell and spread before you is a banquet table loaded with a veritable cornucopia of earthly delights – a feast. To your dismay, however, the people seated at the table are emaciated, literally starving to death. You are wondering what could possibly warrant such madness, until the answer becomes quite clear. These people have no elbows! They can grab their food, but they can’t get it to their mouths.This illustrates what Mayhall calls “the insanity of selfishness.” I venture to guess that if the people in hell in this illustration actually did have elbows, then instead of starving, they would be jabbing each other in the side, trying to get to the food on the table before anyone else. And those in heaven with elbows would continue using them the way God intended ... to serve each other sacrificially.
Now imagine yourself in a Great Hall in Heaven among the feasting and fellowship of people who are obviously well-fed and happy. Here the sounds of singing and laughter fill the room, and here, too, you notice that these people do not have elbows. The difference is that here the people are feeding each other and the next tasty morsel is only the arm’s length of a friend away. (From Christian Research Journal, Vol. 30, No. 4, p. 3)
Our Lord Jesus has elbows. And with those elbows he extended his arms on the cross, willingly sacrificing his life so that we might be forgiven of all our sins. His service for us was selfless and sacrificial. He bore our sins upon the cross. And his service for us even now is selfless and sacrificial. He continually serves us with his love and mercy in the Gospel and with his very own body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar.
Because Christ has selflessly and sacrificially served us, we can selfless and sacrificially serve others. This will involve bearing each other’s burdens. Sometimes it involves sacrificially loving others even when they have hurt us or offended us. In other words, you have to sacrifice your selfish ego that wants to hang on to a grudge. It means that you seek to forgive when someone has hurt you. It means that you are willing to admit you have been wrong and are willing to receive someone else’s forgiveness. That’s sacrificial.
It’s so important that we do this with each other in Christ’s Church. Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) And St. Paul commends the Christians at Colosse with these words: “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.” (Col. 1:3-5) The hope of heaven comes from the faith which we have in Christ Jesus, whose selfless sacrifice for us on the cross motivates our love – our selfless, sacrificial, forgiving love – for each other.
So use your elbows. Not to beat everyone else to the table. But to serve one another and in so doing, show that you love and forgive each other.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The Latest on the Issues, Etc. Fiasco
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Easter
Fifth Sunday of Easter (April 20, 2008)
"Adjustments" (Acts 6:1-9, 7:2a, 51-60)
When I was in college, I had terrible migraine headaches. Nothing seemed to help. A friend told me to go see a chiropractor. At the time, I thought it was all a bunch of "snake oil." But I figured, what have I got to lose? So, upon my friend's recommendation, I made an appointment. The doctor took x-rays of my neck and found that my neck was indeed out of alignment. The vertebrae were "stair-stepped" and twisted on their axis. The nerves and blood vessels were all being pinched. After a two-year program of adjustments, the migraines disappeared. Never had one since.
Since then, I've been treated for a misalignment in my hip which was causing some numbness and tingling in my leg. After a series of adjustments ... no more numbness, no more tingling. Julie also has been seeing a chiropractor for some time, and she also has benefited from the adjustments she has received.
Not everyone agrees whether chiropractic treatments really work. But there must be something to it. All kinds of people testify that it works for them. The way I understand it, the philosophy behind chiropractic medicine is that the bones in your back and in the rest of your body need to be aligned. When things are aligned properly, then your nervous system and your circulatory system can operate as it was intended.
When things are aligned properly in the Church, then things work the way are intended. Too often, however, sinful hearts get in the way ... and we get out of alignment with God and with each other. And that's tragic, because we need each other when we are faced with opposition from a world that opposes Christ and his Church.
We are often like the people whom Stephen criticizes in our first reading today: "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit." We get stiff-necked and stubborn in the church ... it has to be my way or the highway. We act as if our Baptism did not matter. We know what God's Word says, and how the Holy Spirit directs us through that Word. Yet we still resist him and do the opposite.
In our text, Luke brings up an early conflict that illustrates this. It was a conflict between those whom he calls the Hellenists and the Hebrews. The Hellenists were Jews who had become Christians, but spoke Greek and were very much influenced by Greek culture, as was much of the Mediterranean world of that day. In fact, these Hellenists were probably born outside of Palestine, since there were many Jewish communities in places like northern Egypt and Asia Minor, where Turkey is today. The Hebrews were Jews who had become Christians, but spoke Hebrew and who felt that Greek culture conflicted with their way of life. They looked down upon the Hellenists.
Here was the situation. In those days, widows in the community were cared for by a daily collection of food which was given to the widows. Apparently, the Hellenist widows were being neglected. The Hebrew widows were being shown favoritism.
God says that we are to show no favoritism. Peter learned this lesson later in the vision of the sheet out of heaven where God told him to eat unclean animals. Turns out, the vision wasn't about animals, after all, but about people. And so Peter said, "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality." (Acts 10:34) And the apostle James wrote, "If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself' you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors." (James 2:8-9)
It's natural to care for those whom we like better than others. But what comes naturally is also sinful. And the other person whom we like better than others is "me" ... also known as "myself" and "I." We like to guard our own domain and look out for our own interests ... which is really not "looking out" at all, but rather "looking in" ... it's "looking in" to our own needs and wants at the expense of others. Our gaze is directed to the wrong place. You and I need a spiritual neck adjustment.
How did the Church respond to the situation between the Hellenists and Hebrews? They made an adjustment. They made an organizational adjustment in order to better care for each others' needs. The Twelve Apostles called all the disciples together, and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." And that's exactly what they did.
The Church is free to make adjustments along the way to meet the needs of its people. The one thing that must never be adjusted is the ministry of the Word. God calls pastors to serve congregations with Word and Sacrament ministry. But the way the Church arranges itself, the way boards and committees work, the helping offices like elder, deacon, deaconess, Sunday School teacher, trustee, and so forth ... these can all be rearranged, renamed, or even recreated in whatever way God's people decide is best. God has given us a lot of freedom in these matters. There is no divinely mandated form of church organization, other than pastor and people together, hearing the Word and receiving the Sacraments.
But notice how Stephen, although called by the church to "wait on tables," was still engaged in proclaiming Christ. All of God's people are to be engaged in proclaiming Christ as "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." (John 14:6) That's part of being a member of God's royal priesthood, proclaiming the "excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9)
And like Stephen, we will face opposition when we preach Christ. Stephen's whole sermon in chapter 7 recounts the history of Israel from Abraham to Solomon, how God preserved them as a people, yet how over and over again they rejected the leaders and prophets that God sent to them. He concludes by calling them "stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in hearts and ears." That would be especially offensive to his Jewish hearers. Although they had received the covenant sign of circumcision, yet their hearts were not devoted to God nor were they willing to listen to his Word. Stephen says they were resisting the Holy Spirit, following in the footsteps of their fathers in persecuting and killing the prophets who long ago announced the coming of the Christ, whom they also put to death.
Like Stephen, we should never be surprised when our message is met with a similar response as his message ... anger, rage, murderous intentions ... if not in reality, then certainly in the heart. You have to wonder if Stephen's sermon was cut short by the crowd. He preached a lot of Law, didn't he? Was he getting to the Gospel, but was cut short by a few well-aimed rocks? The thing is, even the Gospel is often met with such a response. Christ is "a stone of stumbling" and "a rock of offense." (1 Peter 2:8) The message of God's love and forgiveness in Christ Jesus is indeed a beautiful message ... God's own sacrifice for sinners like you and me. But people in this day and age don't want to hear that they are sinners. They don't want to hear about the exclusivity of the Gospel ... that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus. They stiffen their necks when these things are preached.
Our Lord Jesus was never stiff-necked or stubborn when it came to wanting things his own way. Jesus never needed a spiritual neck adjustment. He always directed his gaze toward his Father in heaven and did his will. Jesus was and is, as Stephen called him, the "Righteous One" who kept God's Law perfectly where you and I have not. Jesus never showed favoritism (nor does he today, and that's Good News for you and me). Jesus spent time with sinners of every stripe. His mercy was given to Jew and Gentile alike. The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus at his baptism and Jesus never resisted the Spirit's direction. The Spirit directed Christ into the wilderness, where he resisted Satan's temptations. And the Spirit directed Christ's whole life toward the cross where he paid for the sins of the world with his own blood. To all appearances, it seemed as if Jesus was an innocent victim of a greedy betrayer and a bloodthirsty, murderous crowd. But this was all in God's plan. Everything was under control. Nothing happened outside of God's almighty hand, including the innocent suffering and death of God's beloved Son for the life of the world.
In Stephen's moment of crisis, he was strengthened by a glorious vision. He gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and the Risen and Ascended Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Jesus is usually described as being seated at the right hand of the Father, but here Jesus is standing. It's as if Jesus has stood up to view what was happening at the moment, to stand right alongside Stephen, to encourage him in his moment of need, to welcome him into heaven. Jesus is the one who died for Stephen's sins. Jesus is the one who rose to give Stephen eternal life and the promise of resurrection on the last day. Jesus is the one who now stands before the Father and intercedes for all who trust in him (Heb 7:25). Jesus is the one who has prepared a mansion for Stephen, so that at the moment of death, Stephen could say, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," echoing what Jesus said from the cross just before he died, "Into your hands I commit my spirit." Jesus is the one who forgave Stephen all his sins, so that Stephen could look at the very people pelting him with rocks and say, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" also echoing the Lord's words in his dying moments, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Our Lord Jesus forgives us for our stiff-necks, for the times when we resist the Holy Spirit, when we disobey even when we know better. And so, we can come to him with repentant hearts, and he gives us a spiritual neck adjustment. He turns our gaze away from ourselves and toward him. And then he directs our gaze toward our neighbor to meet their needs in love, without showing favoritism. He gets us aligned with him so that we can be aligned with each other and continue the mission of the Church, which is proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of sins.
When faced with opposition because of your confession of faith in Christ, remember how Jesus has given you a spiritual neck adjustment. Now, you can lift up your head and gaze with the eyes of faith into heaven and see Jesus standing at the right hand of God. The same Jesus whom Stephen saw is the one who died for your sins. This same Jesus is the one who rose to give you eternal life and the promise of resurrection on the last day. This same Jesus still stands before the Father in heaven and intercedes for you. Nothing happens apart from his strong hand or his loving care. He sees you and knows what you are going through. A mansion has been prepared for you. Now, you can look at your enemies and say, "Lord, do not hold their sins against them." And when your last hour comes, you also can say, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
Amen.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Easter
The Fourth Sunday of Easter (April 13, 2008)
“Life Behind the Door” (Acts 2:42-47)
Churches nowadays, especially the ones here in America, do all kinds of things to get people inside the door. Some have made their buildings look less like traditional churches. They do this because they think that some people might be afraid to step inside an imposing sanctuary. So the church is made to look like an office building.
Many churches also publish slick advertisements, like this one from the Yellow Pages: There’s a big picture of a husband and wife – both young, attractive, and perfectly groomed – with the caption calling both of them pastors. Then the ad says “Today’s Church ... the Ultimate Life Starts this Sunday! ... Come and experience what so many others are talking about! ... Sermons that inspire and motivate ... Superior quality children’s ministry ... Contemporary and uplifting music ... Cutting edge youth program ... Mention this ad for 5 free espresso drinks.” Then, there is a quote from a “satisfied customer” at the bottom which says: “Today’s Church is alive! Every Sunday it exceeds my expectations. My income has doubled, I met the woman of my dreams, and most importantly, I have a strong relationship with God.” I’m glad he added the “most importantly” part ... but it is very curious that the first thing he mentions is about money. I would have mentioned the coffee!
Does this kind of stuff bring people inside the door of the church? It might. But what happens when your income does not double? What happens instead if you lose your job? What happens when you don’t meet the woman of your dreams? What happens instead when your marriage crumbles apart? Where is God in all of that? Jesus said in today’s Gospel that he came so that we “may have life and have it abundantly.” Our lives do not often seem so abundant. And churches that hold out false hope are bringing people in the wrong door.
Jesus said that he is “the Door.” If people come inside these doors here and our preaching and our life is not centered on Christ, then we have become like the thieves and robbers that Jesus condemns in our text. False teaching and the false hope and false promises that go along with it kill and destroy faith.
So what does “Life Behind the Door” look like? Baptized into Christ and trusting in his saving death and resurrection, we have entered into the door of the Holy Christian Church. And once we’re inside that door, what does our life in Christ look like? St. Luke answers that for us today, as he describes the activity of the early church in today’s first reading from Acts 2: And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their posses-sions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, at-tending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
First and foremost, “Life Behind the Door” involves being devoted to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship. For the first Christians in Jerusalem, they heard for themselves from the very mouths of the apostles. And what the apostles had heard was directly from Christ. Their word was the Word of God. Today, we devote ourselves to the apostle’s teaching when we devote ourselves to hearing and studying God’s Word. The creeds and confessions of the church are expositions of that apostolic teaching, and so it is good for us to study them, too ... just like we’re doing now in our Adult Bible Class, studying the Book of Concord, the Lutheran Confessions. We do not invent new doctrines, but we believe, teach, and confess only what the church has taught over the centuries as being the apostolic teaching.
Also, being devoted to the apostles’ fellowship means so much more than just potlucks and pinochle. Fellowship is primarily doctrinal. When we remain faithful to the apostles’ teaching, this preserves our fellowship. We are united with one voice in what we believe, teach, and confess. This is pleasing to God, as Paul urges in 1 Corinthians 1, I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you may be united in the same mind and the same judgment. (1 Cor. 1:10)
Another way of translating “fellowship” here is “communion” or “sharing something in common.” We are united in a common faith and love toward our Lord and toward each other. “Blest be the tie that binds / Our hearts in Christian love; / The fellowship of kindred minds / Is like to that above.” (LSB 649.1) We are united in prayer as we bring our common petitions before the Lord’s throne of grace. “Before our Father’s throne / We pour our ardent prayers; / Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, / Our comforts and our cares.” (LSB 649.2) This fellowship or communion finds its fulfillment in the “breaking of bread,” which is another way of speaking about Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper. There, we share most intimately our fellowship with Jesus and with one another. There, at the Lord’s table, we kneel together in a common confession of faith. There, at the table we kneel together to receive in common our Lord’s true body and true blood. That is true fellowship.
Now, I said fellowship is primarily doctrinal. At the same time, I don’t want to deny the social aspect of fellowship. Potlucks and pinochle and coffee and cookies and retreats are important. It is good for us to be involved in these activities to get to know our Christian brothers and sisters in our own congregation. In so doing, we will better learn how to serve them and love them. You’d be surprised how much you can learn about someone just by playing cards with them or sitting across the table from them at a potluck.
“Life Behind the Door” is also a life filled with awe. Of those first Christians in Jerusalem, the text says that “awe came upon every soul.” They had a holy reverence. They acknowledged the presence of the risen Christ among them. Moreover, when the apostles were alive, they did many wonders and signs. These were their badges of authority, you might say. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12 that these signs and wonders performed by the apostles were the signs of a true apostle. The very same thing that Jesus did, the apostles did ... making the lame to walk, the mute to speak, raising the dead, and so forth. Therefore, they carried the authoritative, inspired message of Jesus.
We don’t get to see those spectacular signs and wonders among us today. But the presence of the risen Christ is still among us. His signs and wonders are still done, although in more subdued ways, such as in Baptism and in the Lord’s Supper. These are miracles just as much as the healings and speaking in other languages that the apostles did. And so we, too, can come into worship with a holy reverence and be filled with awe. And we can leave in awe, knowing that we have been in the presence of the Risen Christ and that His presence goes with us.
“Life Behind the Door” leads us to share lovingly with each other and especially with those in need. The text says, All who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. Now this does not mean that we ought to live like communists. The early Christians still owned their own goods and property. But they certainly acknowledged the use and benefits of their possessions for the common good. For us, the point lies in our willingness to share with those who need our help, especially those who are of our own household of faith. God has given us our possessions to be a blessing to others. Jesus was willing to give up His own life for us, and this motivates us to give to others. In comparison to His sacrifice, it is a small thing to feed those who are hungry, to support those who are ill, and to clothe those who are without adequate clothing.
St. Luke concludes by writing, And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. The early Christians still went to the temple in Jerusalem. That was the common place to meet and to pray. But when it came time for “breaking bread,” or the Lord’s Supper, they did this in their homes, which soon became the meeting places of Christian congregations all over the place, as did certain synagogues when the whole membership put their trust in the Messiah Jesus.
“Life Behind the Door” is true, abundant life. It’s simple. It’s pure. It doesn’t involve gimmicks to get people inside the door. It doesn’t involve the dynamic personality of the pastor or the music or the youth program. Instead, it is about the dynamic, powerful Word of God. It is a life centered on Christ and his finished work at the cross. When we hear the message of the forgiveness of sins through Christ’s death on the cross, when we acknowledge that He is risen indeed and is even among us now, when we come before Him with awe and reverence, He blesses us with glad and sincere hearts. We tell the Good News about Jesus, and the Lord will add to our number those who are being saved, for He promises that His word will not return void, but will go out and achieve the purposes for which He sent it. That is real, true, abundant “Life Behind the Door” ... a life united with Christ, our Good Shepherd ... and we carry that Life with us even when we leave behind the doors of this building.
Amen.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Analysis of LCMS' Current Problems
Click here to read an interesting take on the problems currently facing our synod.
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