Wait...No Bones After All

More on the so-called “Tomb of Jesus”...

This from the Canadian Press:

Osnat Goaz, a spokeswoman for the Israeli government agency responsible for archaeology, said the Antiquities Authority agreed to send two ossuaries to New York, but they did not contain human remains. "We agreed to send the ossuaries, but it doesn't mean that we agree with" the filmmakers, she said.

So there are no bones in the boxes in the so-called Jesus family tombs after all. Where does the DNA evidence come from, then, that we are promised in the film about this find? Apparently there is DNA residue in the sarcophagi that were found. I don't know how they find this...guess I don't watch CSI enough.

Nevertheless, it’s still looking like this is just much ado about nothing. Yet, I also agree with this quote from the same article as above:

William Dever, an expert on near eastern archeology and anthropology, who has worked with Israeli archeologists for five decades, said specialists have known about the ossuaries for years. "The fact that it's been ignored tells you something," said Dever, professor emeritus at the University of Arizona. "It would be amusing if it didn't mislead so many people."

Here are some other links to read that attempt to debunk this whole issue:

"Something About Mary" from Stand to Reason

"Who's Writing the Fiction Here?" from Stand to Reason

"The Jesus Tomb?" from Ben Witherington

"Problems Multiply for Jesus Tomb Theory" from Ben Witherington

"Hollywood Hype: The Oscars and Jesus' Family Tomb" from Darrell Bock

That's enough for now. I think we can put the lid back on this tomb.

But Jesus' tomb is still empty.

The Bones of Jesus?

Well, folks, let’s pack it up. They’ve found the bones of Jesus. No use sticking around here anymore. No use meeting together every Sunday, the day of resurrection. After all, St. Paul himself said, “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain... your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” (1 Cor. 15:14, 17) And there’s no use hanging on to any talk of a “spiritual” resurrection, because the Bible makes the claim that Jesus was raised bodily. When the risen Jesus appeared to the disciples, he said, “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” (Luke 24:39)

So if they’ve found the bones of Jesus, as the documentary “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” would like us to believe, then we might as well hang it all. The Discovery Channel will air the film on March 4. The publicity it is receiving is helped by the fact that the filmmaker responsible for this is James Cameron, whose last big hit was Titanic from a few years ago.

But have they really found the bones of Jesus? That’s the question that many scholars and archaeologists are arguing right now. The internet is all abuzz with discussion about this. A tomb has been found with the supposed remains of Jesus’ family. Not only that, DNA evidence is presented showing that a so-called Jesus must have been married to a woman named Mary (which we are led to believe is Mary Magdalene, as we already learned from The Da Vinci Code book and movie, you may remember). The general consensus is that this is another attempt at discrediting the Christian faith as Easter approaches. It seems to happen every year.

As of this writing, I have not seen the documentary, but I have read quite a bit of the material online from those who are familiar with the information presented.

A good brief rebuttal was given in an email from Dr. Paul Maier, renowned professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod vice-president. It’s also interesting to note that life is imitating fiction here, since Dr. Maier is also the author of a novel entitled A Skeleton in God’s Closet where the supposed remains of the body of Jesus are discovered.

Here are the points as quoted from Dr. Maier’s email, found at the blog Stand to Reason:

1) Nothing is new here: scholars have known about the ossuaries ever since March of 1980. The general public learned when the BBC filmed a documentary on them in 1996. James Tabor’s book, The Jesus Dynasty, also made a big fuss over the Talpiot tombs more recently, and now James Cameron (The Titanic) and Simcha Jacobovici have climbed aboard the sensationalist bandwagon as well.

2) All the names – Yeshua, Joseph, Maria, Mariamene, Matia, Judah, and Jose -- are extremely frequent Jewish names for that time and place, and thus most scholars consider this merely coincidental, as they did from the start. One-quarter of Jewish women at that time, for example, were named Maria.

3) There is no reason whatever to equate “Mary Magdalene” with “Mariamene,” as Jacobovici claims.

4) So what if her DNA is different from that of “Yeshua” ? That particular "Mariamme" (as it is usually spelled today) could indeed have been the wife of that particular “Yeshua.”

5) What in the world is the “Jesus Family” doing, having a burial plot in Jerusalem, of all places, the very city that crucified Jesus? Galilee was their home. In Galilee they could have had such a family plot, not Judea. Besides all of which, church tradition – and Eusebius – are unanimous in reporting that Mary died in Ephesus, where the apostle John, faithful to his commission from Jesus on the cross, had accompanied Mary.

6) If this were Jesus’ family burial, what is Matthew doing there – if indeed “Matia” is thus to be translated?

7) How come there is no tradition whatever – Christian, Jewish, or secular – that any part of the Holy Family was buried at Jerusalem?

8) Please note the extreme bias of the director and narrator, Simcha Jacobovici. The man is an Indiana-Jones-wannabe, who oversensationalizes anything he touches. You may have caught him on his TV special regarding The Exodus, in which the man “explained” just everything that still needed proving or explaining in the Exodus account in the Old Testament! It finally became ludicrous, and now he’s doing it again. – As for James Cameron, how do you follow The Titanic? Well, with an even more “titanic” story. He should have known better.

Dr. Maier then says that there are still other reasons that debunk this current “find,” but it’s time to move on to other things. I agree...not to mention the fact that it’s hard to believe that 12 men frightened out of their wits would go out and preach and be willing to die for what they knew to be a lie...not to mention the fact that the New Testament records numerous eyewitnesses of the risen Christ, including 500 at one time! (1 Cor. 15:6)...not to mention the fact that if the Romans and the Jewish leaders wanted to put a stop to this business about Jesus being risen, they could have easily produced his body, which was sealed up behind a guarded tomb...not to mention the fact that for over 2,000 years Christians have gathered together every Sunday...including Easter Sunday...to celebrate that “in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor. 15:20-22)

Join us this Sunday and on Easter Sunday as we worship our truly Risen Savior.

Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent

First Sunday in Lent (February 21, 2007)
“Facing Temptation” (Luke 4:1-13)

There’s an old Far Side cartoon that has two deer standing next to each other. One has a huge target painted on his side. The other deer says to him, “Bummer of a birthmark, Hal.”

You might say that there was a target of sorts painted on Jesus after his baptism in the Jordan River. God the Father’s voice came from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son.” The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove. It was as if this public display said to Satan, “This is the one. This is the Savior. Try and see what you can do, buddy boy. Neener, neener.” A target was painted on Jesus at his baptism. From that point on, Satan tried to do all he can to avert him from his mission.

You might say that there was a target of sorts painted on you after your baptism. The Triune God marked you with his own Name as water was poured over you “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” You were claimed as God’s own child. You were filled with the Holy Spirit. You were given the gift of faith to trust in Christ. A target was painted on you at your baptism. Satan could have cared less about you before. But now that you belong to God, Satan tries to do all he can to cause you to disobey, to push God away, to grieve the Holy Spirit within you, to drive you to the point of unbelief.

Temptation is all about trying to get you to do everything to your own advantage...without any thought about consequences, about how it will affect others, and especially about what God thinks about it.

After 40 days without food in the wilderness, Jesus was hungry. Satan pointed to a presumably loaf-sized rock at Jesus feet and said, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” In other words, Satan was trying to get Jesus to use his divine power to his own selfish advantage. But that’s not what Jesus came to do. Jesus came to use his divine power always for the sake of others. Had he fallen to Satan’s temptation, his mission would have failed.

Next, Satan took Jesus up to a place where he could view “all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.” This time, Satan’s temptation was for Jesus to worship Satan. If he did so, Satan would give up his claim on the kingdoms of the world and give them to Jesus. But then again, Jesus’ mission would have failed, for now he would be in partnership with Satan, the one whose rule Jesus came to destroy.

The third temptation Luke records takes place on what is called “the pinnacle of the temple.” This is probably a corner of the temple which rose high over a courtyard where people milled around. Satan misuses God’s Word now to tempt Jesus to throw himself down, since, after all, “He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you...On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” Perhaps Satan was trying to get Jesus to see how spectacular this would be, floating down from the top of the temple wall, gently alighting in the midst of the courtyard, with the people “ooh-ing” and “aah-ing” all around him. What a glorious sight that would have been. Surely they would worship him as the Messiah after seeing this public display of power. But if Jesus had done this, his mission would have failed. It would have failed, and you and I would still be condemned in our sinful condition. Why? Because Jesus would have bypassed suffering and the cross in order to receive glory and praise.

You certainly don’t have the power to change stones into bread. But Satan, the world, and your own sinful flesh will tempt you to do all you can to satisfy yourself, at the expense of others.

You certainly will never rule over the kingdoms of the world. But Satan, the world, and your own sinful flesh will tempt you to do all you can to build up your own little empire around you, by taking advantage of people, by manipulating them, by committing emotional blackmail, by taking credit for what someone else has done, among other selfish power-plays.

You would certainly not be silly enough to jump off the pinnacle of the roof of Messiah Lutheran Church. But Satan, the world, and your own sinful flesh will tempt you to wish that you could bypass suffering in order to get to the glory.
And you are tempted daily to do all these things...and more. Just consider the 10 Commandments, and honestly evaluate yourself. How are you doing? Pretty good? Well, think again.

God knew that we would think like this. He knew that we would think that sin is only about doing and not thinking. That’s why he gave us two commandments that specifically deal with attitudes. The seventh commandment may be about stealing, but both commandments 9 and 10 deal with the attitude that may lead to stealing...coveting: not being content with what God has given you, and proving that you think you know better than God about what your needs are.

Likewise, Jesus told us that if you lust after a woman in your heart, you are guilty of committing adultery. And if you are angry with someone to the point of hatred, you are guilty of murder.

How do you avoid temptation? Anne Shirley in the book Anne of Green Gables had an idea. Anne was an orphan girl adopted by Marilla Cuthbert and her brother Matthew on Prince Edward Island off the eastern coast of Canada. At one point in the novel, Anne receives a book which she would dearly love to read, but she knows that it would take her away from her studies...and she can’t be distracted because she is competing to be best in her class. And so she says, “Well, I suppose I must finish up my lessons. I won’t allow myself to open that new book Jane lent me until I’m through. But it’s a terrible temptation, Matthew. Even when I turn my back on it I can see it there just as plain. Jane said she cried herself sick over it. I love a book that makes me cry. But I think I’ll carry that book into the sitting room and lock it in the jam closet and give you the key. And you must not give it to me, Matthew, until my lessons are done, not even if I implore you on my bended knees. It’s all very well to say resist temptation, but it’s ever so much easier to resist it if you can’t get the key.”

If only it were as easy as putting away that which tempts us behind lock and key. But our sinful inclination would be to hide the key somewhere so we could get at it in a moment of weakness. Besides that, even if we “turn our back on” that which tempts us, we can see it in our mind’s eye just as plain.

If only we could resist temptation as easily as Jesus did. Someone might say, “Well, of course Jesus was able to resist temptation. He is God.” The thing is, Jesus faced temptation as a man. He felt the full force of every single one of Satan’s temptations that were thrown at him, and not just out in the wilderness, but throughout his life...even the temptation through those voices at the base of the cross that shouted, “If you are the Son of God, come down...He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.” (Mt 27:40, 42)

Remember that when you and I are tempted, it most always leads us to sin. We are so very weak. Even when we don’t outwardly commit a certain sin, it is still sin when we toy with the idea for a little bit. And by that time, it’s too late.

And so Jesus had to face temptation...not as God...but as a MAN...to be our substitute. When he was baptized, Jesus the Righteous One stepped in line with us Unrighteous Ones. The One who had no sin of which to repent received John’s baptism as if he did. The Holy Spirit descended upon him. And then, from those waters, the Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness because this was all part of God’s plan for Jesus to do battle with Satan for us. Jesus was tempted by Satan to do everything for his own advantage, and he flatly refused. To do so would mean his mission to be the Savior of the world would be a failure. Jesus endured Satan’s temptations for our advantage. Where we fail, Jesus succeeded. Jesus faced Satan’s temptations head on and won.

Now, when you and I do fall to temptation, we can run to the One who withstood temptation for us, all the way to the cross. His shed blood covers our sin. And God sees you as holy and righteous in Christ, as one who has never sinned, because he has promised, “I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (Is 43:25)

Likewise, you are full of the Holy Spirit through Baptism. The very same Spirit who descended upon Jesus has descended upon you and dwells within you. You have the same Holy Spirit to help you and to strengthen you when you are tempted. You have the same Holy Spirit who leads you to pray, “And lead us not into temptation,” and God promises to answer you, to be with you in trouble, to rescue you, and to honor you. You have the same Holy Spirit who works through the powerful Word. Notice what Jesus did when faced with temptation. He didn’t use his divine power. He answered each temptation with God’s Word. And you and I can do the same, as St. Paul reminds us, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes...Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” (Eph 6:11, 17) And finally, you have the same Holy Spirit who leads you through the wilderness of this world to the paradise of this altar where you are fed...not on stones turned to bread...but on bread and wine which deliver to you the precious body and blood of your Savior.

This Lenten season, remember who you are...God’s beloved, forgiven, baptized child. As you fight against temptation, remember that your Savior has already fought for you and won...in the wilderness, at the cross, at the empty tomb. So stand and fight against the devil’s schemes. Your enemy is a defeated one. Your God is a mighty fortress. “This world’s prince may still / Scowl fierce as he will. / He can harm us none. / He’s judged; the deed is done; / One little word can fell him.” (LSB 656)

Amen.

Paul Gerhardt's 400th

Paul Gerhardt, one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) Lutheran hymnwriters, was born 400 years ago this year (March 12, to be exact). Here's an article posted at Cyberbrethren about this man who suffered more than many of us can imagine, yet was able to sing out his confident trust in the God who saved him.

To read and listen to some of Gerhardt's hymns, click here. Some of the tunes and translations may not exactly match what we have in our Lutheran Service Book. Don't forget to see what Gerhardt hymns there are in our hymnal. I'm thinking about highlighting some of Gerhardt's hymns on Sunday, March 11.

Regarding Ashes

Pastor David Petersen has some great comments at his Cyberstones blog regardingthe Ash Wednesday tradtion of "Imposition of Ashes." Read them by clicking here.

Project Wittenberg

Project Wittenberg is another great resource which I have added to the "Resources" section in the sidebar. Quoting from the site, "Project Wittenberg is home to works by and about Martin Luther and other Lutherans. Here you will find all manner of texts from short quotations to commentaries, hymns to statements of faith, theological treatises to biographies, and links to other places where words and images from the history of Lutheranism live."

Sermon for the Transfiguration of Our Lord

The Transfiguration of Our Lord (February 18, 2007)
“The View From the Mountain” (Luke 9:28-36)

I have never been to the top of Mt. Rainier, and I doubt if I will ever make it there at this point in my life. I’m sure that those who have been up there feel as if they are on top of the world. A little over 20 years ago, I had the chance to have a taste of what that must be like. I was a camp counselor at a summer camp in California, and one week each summer we took some junior-high campers on a week-long backpacking trip. One of those days, we hiked to the summit of the highest peak in Southern California...Mt. San Gorgonio, at 11, 499 feet. I can still remember the sensation of standing on top of the tallest rock I could find, leaning into the wind, and looking out over the entire valley and beyond to the Pacific Ocean, some 120 miles away. I will never forget “The View From the Mountain” that I had on top of Mt. San Gorgonio.

The OT reading assigned for today recounts the end of the ministry of Moses leading the Israelites, and how God richly blessed the people through him. It also tells us about Moses’ “view from the mountain.” From his vantage point, the Lord showed him the whole land that was promised to the people of Israel.

The Gospel reading, which is also our sermon text, recounts how Jesus was transfigured on top of a high mountain. Moses and Elijah appeared with him in heavenly glory, and the disciples Peter, James, and John were eyewitnesses of all of this. God the Father revealed himself in the voice from the cloud, too. Each had a different “View From the Mountain.” We might say that from where He stood, (I.) Jesus looked up and then looked down. From where they stood, (II.) Peter and the other two disciples looked up. And from His viewpoint, (III.) God the Father looked down.

The text says that Jesus “took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.” This happened about eight days after Peter had made his great confession of faith in Jesus as the Christ. Immediately after that, Jesus began to explain to the disciples something he had not told them before. He began to explain that He must suffer and die, and that those who want to follow him must deny themselves and take up their cross daily.

With that in mind, Jesus went up on the mountain to pray. He needed a heavenward “view from the mountain” in order to be strengthened for his journey ahead, his journey to Jerusalem and to the cross. It is significant that we hear this account today, as this Wednesday we enter into another Lenten season and follow Jesus in His journey to the cross.

As he was praying, He became “transfigured.” Luke describes it like this: “The appearance of his face was altered, and his clothes became dazzling white”...or more literally translated, “as white as a flash of lightning.” Christ’s divine glory, his utter holiness and righteousness, temporarily shined through his humanity at that moment.

Appearing with him in heavenly glory were also Moses and Elijah. Moses was the one through whom God revealed His Law to the people. Elijah the prophet stood there as a representative of all the prophets of the Old Testament. And now, these two great representatives of the Law and the Prophets were speaking with the one who would fulfill the Law and the Prophets, the entire OT Scriptures which pointed to Christ. They were talking with him about his departure, that is, his death. The Greek text calls it his “exodus.” Just as Moses led the people in their exodus out of their slavery in Egypt, so Jesus in His death leads those who receive the new life He offers in their own exodus...an exodus out of slavery to sin and eternal death.

And so, Jesus looked up and received encouragement from his heavenly Father and from Moses and Elijah. This prepared him to look down for a different view from the mountain. It’s not for certain what mountain Jesus may have been on. It could have been Mt. Hermon, which rises 9,100 feet into the Palestine skyline. Whichever mountain it was, Jesus looked down like Moses did on Mount Nebo and saw the land and the people in which he lived. In his mind’s eye, Jesus must have also looked down and saw the entire world for whose sins He was about to die. I imagine that He even looked down and saw you and me in our sinful separation from God, and He was made ready to go down the mountain to pay for your sins and mine at the cross.

Peter and the disciples had a different “view from the mountain.” They stirred from their sleepiness, looked up, and saw a glorious sight. Peter recounts this in his second epistle, where he writes, “We were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.” (2 Peter 1:16-18) John, too, in the prologue of his gospel, writes, “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

As Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter was the first to speak. He said, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He wanted this view from the mountain to last, and I’m sure the other disciples did, too. He wanted to stay there, basking in the bright, heavenly glory.

However, as Luke explains that Peter didn’t know what he was talking about. Peter, and the other disciples as well, still did not get it. They had heard Jesus explain to them that he must suffer and die in Jerusalem just days before this. And Matthew records the fact that after Peter heard this, he declared, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” (Matthew 16:22) And then here on the Mount of Transfiguration, they did not understand that the glory of that moment was only temporary. The suffering and death of Jesus had to precede the glory of his resurrection and his ascension into heaven. They did not want to do as Jesus did, and also look down from the mountain, to see what was ahead.

You and I may sometimes be tempted to be like Peter. It’s natural for us to want to hang on to the glory...to stay on the mountain, so to speak...not wanting to go back down into the valley of the shadow of death, to go in the way of the cross. When suffering comes our way, we don’t know what we are talking about when we cry out, “Why me? I don’t deserve this! I thought God was supposed to always bless me with a good life because I am a Christian.”

God never promised that he would keep us from suffering. Instead, God promises to be with us in the midst of our suffering. He uses troubles to cause us to rely on him, as the Lord said to St. Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Then Paul continues, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

An English officer told the story of a Hindu who had been converted to Christianity. He said, “In Belgium I met a converted [Hindu], whose confession of Christ, as I knew, had cost him everything. No sooner had he been baptized than his possessions were taken from him, and his friends deserted him. ‘Are you able to bear you troubles?’ I asked him. ‘Many ask me that,’ he answered, ‘but they never ask me whether I am able to bear my joys; for I enjoy a happiness in my heart since I know that Christ has forgiven me that nobody has been able to take from me.’ “

That man understood that although in this life we do suffer, we nevertheless have the hope of eternal life. Through Baptism we are God’s children, and we have been given his Spirit. Then, as one modern translation puts it, “God’s Spirit makes us sure that we are His children. His Spirit lets us know that together with Christ, we will be given what God has promised. We will also share in the glory of Christ, because we have suffered with him.” (Romans 8:16-17)

Even for Christians, suffering must precede glory. But it is not our suffering that wins for us glory. It is Christ’s suffering that has done this for us.
You see, Christ did not hang on to His glory. He gave it up when He was conceived as a man and born in poverty. And He didn’t hang on to it there on the mountain. Instead, He went down the mountain into the “valley of the shadow of death,” where He suffered and died for you and for me, to win for us the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. The glory of his transfiguration was a foretaste of the glory of his rising to life again and his ascension into heaven. Moreover, His resurrection and ascension are foretastes of the glory of that has been promised to us. In the meantime, you and I live here, walking in the way of the cross, and that means suffering and struggling against sin and temptation and all that is opposed to God, relying on God’s strength, while all the while having the sure hope of forgiveness and eternal life through the cross of Christ.

There is one final view from the mountain to speak of. That’s the view that the Father had. He looked down from above the mountain, out of the cloud of his presence, and said of Jesus, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” For Jesus, He would have remembered similar words from his Father when he was baptized at the beginning of his ministry. Now, these words at the end of his earthly ministry would have reassured him that He was the one to carry out God’s plan of salvation.

For the disciples, the words “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to Him!” are a reassurance that this man from Galilee whom they have been following for three years really is the Messiah, even though things didn’t turn out the way they might have expected. They are to listen to Him and to remember His words.

The words “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to Him!” are a reassurance for us, too. The suffering that Jesus endured does not mean that He was a failure, nor that the Father had rejected Him. In the same way, the sufferings we endure in our lives are not a sign that we are a failure, or that God has rejected us. At the beginning of your spiritual life in Christ, at your Baptism, God declared of you, “This is my son...this is my daughter...my chosen one.” That declaration stands sure and firm forever, despite what this world may take away from you or put in your way. As Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27 NIV)

Our view today is from the base of the mountain. As we enter the season of Lent, we look up and see Jesus coming down the mountain to suffer and die for us. We look up, knowing that Jesus has gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us in heaven. And we look to His table where we receive the glory of His Holy Body and Blood which forgives and refreshes and strengthens us as we listen to the voice of Jesus and follow Him.

Amen.

Lenten Devotions

Lent begins this coming Wednesday, Ash Wednesday. On this coming Sunday, a devotional book that corresponds to our midweek sermon series will be distributed after church (one per household, please...we have a limited number). It is entitled "Our Suffering Savior" and is authored by the Rev. Walter Snyder. Pastor Snyder also has an excellent, edifying, and entertaining website called Xrysostom that you may wish to check out some day.

Another option for you are the excellent devotions produced by Higher Things called Reflections. This year's Lent and Holy Week Reflections are written by the Rev. Marcus Zill, Christ on Campus Executive for Higher Things. Pastor Zill was also a classmate of mine at the seminary. Click here for directions on how to download the devotions in pdf format or to receive them via email each day.

The Most Overlooked Verse in the Bible

The February issue of the Reporter (the LCMS newsletter for church leaders) has an interesting commentary by Dr. Paul Maier, entitled "The Most Overlooked Verse in the Bible." His main point is that Luke 23:27 shows that the crowd that followed Jesus on Palm Sunday was not "fickle" (as most of us were probably taught) and did not change their opinion of Jesus as he marched to the cross. The wrong idea of "those fickle Jews" according to Maier has contributed to much anti-Semitism by Christians across the ages. He takes another look at the biblical and historical evidence to help us rethink this long-misunderstood portion of Scripture. You can find the article online by clicking here.

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany (February 11, 2007)
“Jesus Levels With Us” (Luke 6:17-26)

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

Today’s Gospel lesson has Jesus preaching what has been called the “Sermon on the Plain.” It’s called that because at the beginning of the text St. Luke writes, “And he came down with them and stood on a level place.” Jesus had been up on a mountain praying all night. In the morning, he called his disciples to him and chose 12 from among them to be his apostles, his special commissioned, authoritative messengers.

Coming down from the mountain, standing on a level place, a great crowd gathered around him. Observe that crowd for a moment, with all their various disease-ridden bodies and demon-possessed souls. The crowd sought to touch him, Luke says, because power came out from him and healed them all. Jesus chose 12 apostles from among his followers, but his power and healing touch were for all...not just a select few.

You are here today, I hope, because you are seeking to “touch” Jesus in some way, whatever burdens you are carrying. But you don’t have to reach very far. Our Lord Jesus comes down in mercy to this level place here and touches YOU with his Word of blessing. He touches your lips with his Body and Blood. The life and salvation he gives is not just for a select few...it’s for all...for all who receive that blessing in faith.

And remember that Jesus’ primary reason for coming was not to be a miracle worker. It was to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God. He teaches us about that Kingdom in the very beginning of the Sermon on the Plain as recorded in our Gospel lesson today. He tells us what our lives will be like as disciples of Jesus in the Kingdom. And he doesn’t pull any punches, either. On this level place from where he preaches, Jesus levels with us about life as his disciples...his followers. Listen once more to the words of our Lord:

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets. (Luke 6:20-26)

Jesus levels with us by telling it like it is. “Blessed are you” he says to some. You are blessed. You are fortunate. You are so very happy and joyful because God is in communion with you through Christ Jesus. To others, he says, “Woe to you.” How horrible it will be for you. Horror, disaster, and calamity will fall upon you because you do not see your need for Christ.

Jesus levels with us by telling it like it is... “Woe to you!”

Jesus doesn’t pull any punches. He doesn’t sugar coat things. He levels with us when he says, “Woe to you.” You appear to be blessed, but a curse awaits you. Take a good hard look around at yourself and the culture in which we live. Is Jesus describing us? I mean, in comparison to the rest of the world, you and I are truly rich and satisfied. We have plenty to laugh about. And we are not really persecuted to the extent that others around the world are.

But we are under the curse of sin. There is a lot of sickness all around us, and not just physical sickness such as in our text. Physical sickness is only a symptom of the real problem...sin. That’s our helpless condition in which we find ourselves. Spiritual sickness is all around us. And we can relate to St. Paul when he said, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate...I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin dwelling in me.” (Romans 7:15, 19-20)

And so, to the rich and the well-fed, to those who laugh and who are complimented by all, Jesus pronounces his “woes.” You are rich and content, so you’ve already received your consolation. What else is left for you? How can you possible enjoy eternity if you aren’t even looking forward to it because you have so much on which you rely now? You are full now, so how can you possibly expect to enjoy the marriage feast of the Lamb, where you will be truly satisfied forever? If you are full of laughter now, what tears do you have to be taken away in heaven? You are concerned that people speak well of you, so you say what people want to hear, like the false prophets of old...instead of standing up for the truth of Christ when the opportunity presents itself.

Jesus came down and stood on our “level” so that we might be blessed

So how do we become like those who are blessed? Give away all we have and become poor? Start fasting today so we can become hungry? Start crying and weeping now and never enjoy any happiness in our life ever again? Start acting like a superior goody-two shoes so that we are sure to be persecuted by others?

No, there’s no need for any of that. There’s no need for any of that because of what Jesus has already done for us. Jesus came down and stood on our “level” so that we might be blessed. Jesus became poor for us. The Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Creator of all things, became flesh, was born in a barn, raised in a backwater town, with no place to lay his head during his earthly ministry...or as St. Paul more eloquently put it, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 9:8) Out in the wilderness, the Son of God went hungry for us, refusing to fall to Satan’s temptation to turn stones into bread. At the tomb of Lazarus, the Resurrection and the Life wept for us, grieving because his friend had died and because sin had brought such pain and sorrow into the world. Overlooking Jerusalem, the King of Kings wept, saddened over those who reject his love. And the one who bears the Name at which every knee shall bow was hated, excluded, reviled, and spurned as evil when he was crucified for us and for our sin.

Through Jesus, you are blessed. You can be so very happy and joyful because God’s face smiles upon you in Christ Jesus. We have been lifted up to Christ’s level...not as God, but as exalted sons and daughters of God the Father with Christ as our Brother. God the Father has “blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 1:3) We are made spiritually alive in Christ and God the Father has “seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6) In spite of being comparatively rich, we can see ourselves as poor spiritually...and Jesus lifts us up to his level and gives us the riches of his kingdom. We can see ourselves as spiritually hungry, and Jesus comes down to our level and gives us the bread of life in Word and Sacrament...and we can look forward to the day when we will be fed eternally at the marriage feast of heaven. We can weep repentant tears over our sin, and Jesus will cause us to rejoice and laugh because he has forgiven us of all our sin...and we can look forward to the day when there will be absolutely no more tears or sorrow forever. Jesus is ascended and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and when he comes again to raise our dead bodies from the grave, he will indeed lift us up to his level. Here’s the way one of our hymns puts it: “He has raised our human nature On the clouds to God’s right hand; There we sit in heav’nly places, There with Him in glory stand. Jesus reigns, adored by angels; Man with God is on the throne. By our mighty Lord’s ascension We by faith behold our own.” (LSB 494, stanza 5)

And even though people may hate you, exclude you, revile you, and spurn your name as evil because you confess faith in Christ, remember that you are covered in his righteousness. Therefore, God speaks well of you. You are baptized. Your sins are washed away through the shed blood of Christ. What the Father said of Christ at his baptism, he now says of you, “You are my beloved son...my beloved daughter...with you I am well-pleased.”

As God’s baptized children who are members of his kingdom, who are satisfied with God’s grace, and who leap for joy because of our great rewards of grace in heaven, we can place ourselves on the level of those who are truly poor and hungry, and we can meet their needs in the name of Christ. Our hearts have been washed clean, so we can afford to get our hands dirty. We can come along side of those who are sorrowful, and comfort them in the name of Christ. And we can lift up in prayer our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world whose physical well-being is threatened simply because they have confessed faith in the Savior. Blessed are they, says Jesus. Blessed are you. Rejoice and leap for joy. Amen.

The "Feminization" of the Church?

We talked about this a few weeks ago during Sunday morning Bible Class. Here's a brief post on Gene Veith's blog about this same topic entitled "From girly-worship to macho-worship."

Important Anniversary this Month

February 23, 2007 marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in England. William Wilberforce was at the forefront of this struggle. World Magazine editor-in-chief Marvin Olasky reminds us of this milestone event and highlights the "humble courage" of this Christian politician in the latest issue (which you can access here in its entirety only if you are a subscriber to World Magazine). To learn more about Wilberforce, click here to read the article at Wikipedia.

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany (February 4, 2007)
“Caught in the Net of Jesus” (Luke 5:1-11)

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

Jesus called his disciples to be fishers of men. His Church continues that task as we proclaim what the apostles of Jesus saw and heard...that Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, died and rose again for the salvation of all people.

When you go out in your boat to go fishing, you bring along a rod and a reel. On the end of the line is a big hook on which you place some tasty morsel that the fish will bite into. You feel a tug on the end of your line and set the hook in the fish’s mouth by quickly pulling it toward you. Now the fight begins. It’s just you and that 40-pound King Salmon as he tries to swim away and you try to reel him in. Once you pull him into the boat, you bop him on the head to keep him from flopping around and jumping back into the water. Back at the dock, you clean him up, ready to be taken home and put on the grill with some butter and lemon...or maybe like the way I cook it, with some butter, brown sugar, and lemon pepper.

So maybe it strikes you as a little odd when you hear Jesus telling his disciples that they will be fishers of men. Are we supposed to have some kind of hook with which to reel people into the church? Are we supposed to put out some bait that might attract people? I can think of all kinds of things that would draw people here. But would that bait keep people here? How long would they stay? Once they tire of the bait we are offering, they might very well look for other interesting and exciting and tasty bait somewhere else on the other side of the lake. And is the bait we offer truly spiritually nourishing? After all, what do you do with fish when they are hooked? You kill them and eat them. Sometimes, as churches try to draw people in, the bait offered to them is not neutral...it could be spiritually deadly.

Caught in the Net of Sin

But fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, or the lake of Genessaret as St. Luke calls it, didn’t use rods and reels and hooks and bait. They used nets, just as they do there to this day. There was no bait involved. The nets were simply cast out into the water, enveloped the fish that were there, and drawn into the boat.
In our Gospel lesson today, Simon Peter and his business partners had worked all night long and hadn’t caught a single fish. The fish just weren’t in the places where the crews were dropping their nets. So after an unfruitful night, they headed back to the shore to clean their nets and get ready for their next outing.

With the crowd pressing around Jesus, he got into Simon Peter’s boat and asked him to put out a little from the land so he could preach from the boat. After his sermon was over, Jesus told Peter to take his boat out into the deep water and put his nets down for a catch.

Now, before I presume to know what exactly was going on his Peter’s head, let me say that I feel bad that Peter so often is our favorite whipping boy. We have a tendency to bad mouth him and presume to know what he was thinking. And here’s another case of this. If I am wrong about this, then I will be the first to greet him at the pearly gates and say, “St. Peter, remember that sermon I preached on the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany 2007? Was I right about you? If not, please forgive me, would you?”

Now back to our story. Peter replied to Jesus in a tone of half-belief. “Master,” he called Jesus, “we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” Do you suppose Peter was thinking, “Master, you’re a carpenter. You make tables and chairs. Stick to that, would you. I’ve been fishing all my life out here. I’m a professional. Please don’t tell me how to do my job.” Nevertheless, Peter and the others let down the nets. Did they do it just to humor Jesus? Or was there a part of them that heard the implied promise in Christ’s words, “Let down your nets for a catch”... “Really. I mean it, guys. The fish are there. I put them there.” Sure enough, they pulled in such a catch that it took two boats to hold all the fish...and even then they began to sink.

But half-belief is really unbelief. Peter recognized this and fell down at Jesus’ feet. He confessed that he himself was caught in a net...the net of sin. Notice how his address of Jesus changed...from Master to Lord. “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” He now knew he was in the presence of God and didn’t deserve to be there. What will it take for us to know this and respond like Peter? Instead, we often come to church so nonchalantly, not really taking into account that we do not deserve to be in God’s presence because of the sinful net in which we are entangled.

Likewise, in his vision in the temple, Isaiah also was in the presence of God. In fact, it was the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the same person before whom Peter knelt in the boat. St. John makes that clear in chapter 12 verse 41 of his Gospel: “He [Isaiah] saw Jesus’ glory and spoke of him.” What will it take for us to reply like Isaiah, “Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” We are in the presence of God in Word and Sacrament, yet we often confess our sins half-heartedly. We repeat the words of confession in our liturgy but don’t stop to think about what we are saying. We don’t honestly believe that the things we do or think or say are very serious.
What will it take for us to realize that our boat is sinking, and we have no life preservers on board? The author of Ecclesiastes said, “Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.” No one knows the hour of their death, and apart from turning to Christ in repentant trust, the net of sin will drag us down to eternal death.

Caught in the Net of Forgiveness and Love

But the Creator of all that swims in the sea is a better fisherman than Peter realizes. The net that Jesus casts out is different. Normally, fish are caught in nets to be killed and eaten. But the net that Jesus uses catches people and delivers them from fear and unbelief to a life of faith and trust and hope. With Peter kneeling before him in the boat, crying out “Depart from me...O Lord,” and with the water splashing over the sides of the boat because of the large catch of fish, Jesus’ one concern was not the sinking boat. It was absolving Peter. And he did so with these words, “Do not be afraid”... “Don’t be afraid, Peter. You are indeed in the very presence of the Holy God. And I am not about to depart from you. I am going to stay right with you.” And when we confess our sins before the Lord, he says a similar thing to us, “Don’t be afraid. You are indeed in the very presence of the Holy God. But I am not about to depart from you. In fact, I have gone to the cross for you, where I paid the price for your unbelief, for your doubts, for the ways in which you don’t take your sins seriously. The debt you owe to God is paid in full with the price of my shed blood. You are forgiven. And now, you are no longer caught in the net of sin. You are caught in the net of my love. And in this net, I envelop you with grace and mercy and pull you out of the depths of your sin into a new life of faith and trust and hope in me.”

“Do not be afraid,” Jesus said. “From now on you will be catching men.” From that point on, Simon Peter, James, and John “left everything and followed him.” The forgiving Word of Jesus creates faith and gives a new initiative and a changed perspective. It gives a new initiative to leave everything behind and follow Jesus. It gives a changed perspective on the things of this life. Family, work, and material goods are all good things and are gifts from God. But everything must take second place to Jesus. Not everyone is called to literally leave everything behind. But in our hearts, everything else must fade in comparison to the importance of being a follower of Jesus...and following Jesus begins right here, where we hear his Word and eat and drink his body and blood for strength for our journey.

The forgiving Word of Jesus also gives us a new vocation. “From now on you will be catching men.” It seems that up to this point, the disciples had an occasional acquaintance with Jesus. They had heard him teach from time to time. But now, they were called into a different kind of relationship with him. Their “seminary training” had begun in earnest. Following Jesus became a full-time vocation, listening to him, learning from him, and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God. When you are baptized, you enter into that full-time vocation of being one of Jesus’ full-time followers, no matter what your station in life. He washes you clean of all your sin. His Word of Life gives you a new initiative and a changed perspective. Caught in the net of Jesus’ love, His Church goes out into the world to catch people in that same net by casting out the Good News of Jesus and drawing people into a new life...a life of faith and trust, a life free from guilt, a life free from the fear of death, a life full of the promise of eternity.

Casting out the net of the Gospel, we don’t always get a big catch, do we? Sometimes the net is empty. Sometimes there’s only one or two fish. But that doesn’t mean we pull our boats into shore. With faith in the power of Christ’s Word, we keep on shoving off into the deep water and responding to our Lord, “At your word I will let down the net.”

Amen.

February Book-of-the-Month

Johann Gerhard's Meditations on Divine Mercy is February's Book-of-the-Month at Messiah. To read more about this wonderful devotional resource, click here. To order, sign up on the sheet posted in the entryway. Or, you can order it directly from Concordia Publishing House by clicking here.

Issues, Etc. February Broadcasts

Sunday, February 4

"The Gay Gospel"

Joe Dallas of Genesis Counseling

Sunday, February 11

"Judgment Psalms"

Dr. Reed Lessing of Concordia Seminary-St. Louis, MO

Sunday, February 18

"The Koran"

Dr. Adam Francisco of Concordia College-Bronxville, NY

Sunday, February 25

"Church Architecture"

Rev. Jim Wetzstein of Valparaiso University

Issues, Etc. airs LIVE Sundays from 8-9 p.m. on KGNW, 820 AM in Seattle.

The link below contains the latest information on Issues, Etc. topic and guests.

http://issuesetc.org/shows.htm#December_3_