Monday, July 30, 2012

Proper 12 of Series B (Genesis 9:8-17)

Then God said to the children of Noah, to His saints, His people gathered in Deloit, Iowa, to the congregations of Faith and Saint John’s: “My people, what do you think of when you see a rainbow? I have set this beautiful bow in the clouds from of old. It’s multitude of colors, its beauty, its glory reflects my own, and it appears in the clouds, the symbol of my presence with you. It is my gift to my people, as I first told Noah, ‘I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.’ The rainbow proclaims my promise of faithfulness, and that promise still endures; I haven’t revoked it, I haven’t abandoned it, I haven’t changed my mind. The rainbow declares that I am faithful. So I ask once again: my people, what do you think of when you see a rainbow? Do you think of my promises and my faithfulness, or do you think of leprechauns, gay pride, and rain? Has too much time passed for you to still see the rainbow as a testimony of my faithfulness? I know that many Christians have cute little pictures or displays with an ark, a rainbow, and a phrase like, ‘God keeps His promises.’ It’s true, I do keep my promises! But do you really believe it? Do you really trust me?

“I know your heart, and I know that so often you don’t. The rainbow doesn’t carry any real meaning for you because in a world gone so terribly wrong, that has fallen so far from the way I originally created it, you don’t trust me. You don’t trust me in the midst of suffering, as you struggle with sin. You don’t trust me as your crops dry up, as they wither in the field and the livelihood of families and communities are threatened. You don’t trust me as prices threaten to rise and wages stay the same. You don’t trust me as violence surrounds you, as the horrible things that you humans do to one another are shown live and in color on your television. You don’t trust me as immorality is endorsed by society and even the government I have given to you, as your religious liberty is threatened, as marriage is eroded, as my little ones continue to be killed in the womb. You don’t trust me when death threatens you, when you face disease or injury. No, instead you worry, you fret, you complain; you seek solutions to these problems in mere human means, putting your faith in an insurance company, in doctors, drugs, and presidential candidates. You put your faith in yourself. Now, those are all tools through which I work, good gifts from me to you. But you put your faith in the tool and not the One who wields it; you trust in man and not in me, your Creator, your God.

“You don’t trust me to be with you in the midst of suffering. You ask with the rest of the world, ‘Where was God in that Colorado movie theater? Where is God as my crops burn up? Where is God, as I face this disease, as I can’t pay my bills?’ You don’t trust me to provide for all of your needs, of both soul and body. You think that I’m only good to provide for spiritual things, not for your ‘real needs.’ You don’t trust me to protect you from harm and danger. When you hear of random acts of violence, you fear, you don’t trust. You don’t trust me to deliver you from any evil that this world throws at you. You pray, ‘Deliver us from evil,’ but you’re not sure if I will actually do it. Every single day you are faced with the ruin of sin, you are confronted with the stark declaration that this world is not as I created it, and you are called upon to trust me in the midst of it. And so often, you trust is placed in something, anything else than me.

“O my people, you can trust me! You can trust me to provide, to protect, to deliver; you can trust me to keep my promise that ‘I will be with you,’ even as you suffer. To prove that you can trust me, to demonstrate my faithfulness, I give you a sign, the sign of the rainbow. Noah and his family were like you; they had watched my wrath over sin rage upon this earth, as I scrubbed it clean through the waters of the Flood. They trembled with fear and anxiety; they needed the assurance that I would be with them, that I would not act in such wrath against them again. Like you, they would find it hard to trust, they needed a tangible reminder of my grace, and I was ready to give it: ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and all the earth.’

This sign reminds you of my wrath, that I acted in judgment against man’s sin and wickedness. But even more importantly, the rainbow, my gift to you and all creation, is a sermon, it is a proclamation of present and future grace. It declares to you and all creatures that I will never destroy the earth with a flood again. It is the marker of my promise, the declaration that I am faithful, I am trustworthy. The rainbow declares to you, as my Son said to His frightened disciples in the boat, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’ Every time you see a rainbow, I am telling you: ‘Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.’ Do not be afraid, for I keep my promises. Do not be afraid, for you can trust me. Do not be afraid, for I will provide, protect, deliver, ‘I will be with you,’ even as you suffer, even as you struggle in this world of sin. Do not be afraid, for the rainbow is the sign of my covenant with you, declaring that despite the sin and corruption that fills you and all humanity, I will act in love which ‘surpasses knowledge,’ as my servant Paul wrote.

“O my people, you can trust me! You can trust me to provide, to protect, to deliver; you can trust me to keep my promise that ‘I will be with you,’ even as you suffer. To prove that you can trust me, to demonstrate my faithfulness, I give you a sign, the sign of the cross. For upon the cross, my Son Jesus Christ hung as the demonstration of my love. I keep my promises! The rainbow proves it, it demonstrates that I can be trusted to keep my greatest promise, given moments after the first sin, that Satan would be crushed by the mighty food of my Son. I kept that promise as I kept all others, for you can trust me. The Flood was only a preview of my wrath over sin; it would be poured out fully upon my Son, my only Son, in your place. Upon the cross I would show my love which ‘surpasses knowledge,’ for I would forgive even you, even you who so often fail to trust, even you who have been corrupted with sin and rebellion since conception.

“This sign reminds you of my wrath, that it was poured out upon my Son for your sake; it shows how seriously I take sin, that the life of my only Son would be the required price. But more importantly, it shows the unfathomable depths of my love. When you see the cross, when you make the sign of the cross upon yourself in any time of danger or need, you hear the voice of my Son: ‘Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.’ The cross declares to you that despite all that happens in this world of sin, you have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus, nothing can touch your eternally. Even death itself is not match for you, for it too has been triumphed over by the One who emerged alive from the tomb. Your sin will not destroy you, for it has been forgiven; your struggles to trust are confessed and forgiven through the redemption of Jesus Christ. I provide, I protect, I deliver, I am with you always, even to the end of the age only because of the cross. Every good gift I give, from forgiveness and salvation to the fruits of this earth are only given because I have been reconciled to you by the blood of my Son. ‘Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.’ That is the promise of the cross, and I keep my promises. Do not be afraid, for the cross is the sign of my new covenant with you, my covenant which declares that your sin has been atoned for by Christ’s blood, that even death is now simply the gateway to eternal life.

“O my people, you can trust me! You can trust me to provide, to protect, to deliver; you can trust me to keep my promise that ‘I will be with you,’ even as you suffer. To prove that you can trust me, to demonstrate my faithfulness, I give you a sign, the sign of your Baptism. The washing of the water with the Word, the great promise of my Son, makes you my child, it is the sign that you cling to in this world of sin, the sign that declares that you are my own beloved child. This sign reminds you of my wrath, that I drowned your sin in the font, that I put to death your old sinful Adam in those waters. But more importantly, it shows you my love, that I have marked you as one of my own, redeemed by the blood of my Son Jesus Christ. Whenever you remember your baptism, you hear the voice of my Son: ‘Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.’ Do not be afraid, for I have established my covenant with you in those blessed waters. Do not be afraid, for your baptism is the tangible sign that you have been claimed as my own, that Christ’s redemption has been applied to you. Baptism is the reminder of my covenant with you: I will preserve you in this dangerous world of sin and will bring you to myself for eternity.

“My people, what do you see when you see a rainbow? You see a marker of my faithfulness, a sign that you can trust me to keep all of my promises, especially the promise that I made to you at the cross and through your baptism. My people, what do you hear when you see a rainbow? You hear the voice of my Son, saying, ‘Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.’ Do not be afraid, for the sign of my love and care for you isn’t the drought that destroys your crops, the violence that frightens you, or the disease that threatens you; it is my Son and His cross. It is your baptism into my Son. These are the signs, the sure and certain guarantees that I keep my promises, and I have promised to guard and protect you, to preserve and provide, to deliver you from evil, ultimately by taking you out of this evil world to myself in heavenly glory. Do not look to this world to know if I love you or not, if I care, or where I am in the midst of suffering; look to the cross, look to your baptism, look to the rainbow. There you know what I think of you, there you know that I am faithful, for the promise I made to Noah still endures, and the promise I made you at the cross and the baptismal font will endure just the same. You can trust me, for I keep my promises, and I will keep them forever.” Amen.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Hermann Sasse on Church unity

From the final pages of Here We Stand (pgs. 186-188):

"It is the plain teaching of the New Testament that the true unity of the church is unity in the truth.  And it is the painful experience of church history, particularly during the last century, that whenever attempts have been made to unite churches without inquiring about pure doctrines-that is, without establishing what truth is, and what error, in Christianity-unity has not been achieved; and, what is worse, the divisions have always been magnified.

"There is unity in the church when it has one Lord, the Christ who is really present in His Word and Sacrament.  This unity can become manifest in the historical church, however, only when we agree in our profession of faith in this one Lord and in the one truth of the Gospel.  The unity of the historical church is not achieved though conformity in rites and ceremonies, nor though identical orginization and life-patterns, nor even throiugh uniformity in theological thought-forms and opinions.  Such unity is only achieved when, in the joyful assurance of our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, we are one in our understanding of what His saving Gospel is and one our understanding of what He gives us in His Sacraments.  'For the true unity of the church, it is enough,' the Augsburg Confession states.  It is, indeed, enough.  But it is also necessary...

"[The Lutheran Church] knows, too, that we cannot bring about unity by ceasing to take the search for truth seriously.  For the prayer, 'that they may all be one,' is inseparably connected with the other petition, 'Sanctify them in the truth; Thy Word is truth.'  So we pray with the Fathers of the Reformation, in the same hymn, 'Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy Word,' and 'Send peace and unity on earth.'  The Lutheran Church has been bearing up under the reproaches of the world for the past four hundred years because it believes that it is the Lord who passes judgment, and that the existence of the church depends on His judgment alone."

Monday, July 23, 2012

Proper 11 of Series B (Mark 6:30-44)

“And taking the five loaves and the two fish He looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied.” Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. The text for our sermon this morning comes from the Gospel lesson read a few moments ago from the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to Saint Mark. Dear friends in Christ, have you ever been hungry? We all know what it’s like to be craving our next meal, but I mean real hunger. The kind of hunger that comes from skipping meals out of necessity, the kind of hunger that comes from not knowing where the food you need is going to come from or how you will pay for it. We live in such abundance that for most of us, such hunger is something we experience only on television. Hunger makes people desperate; you know this even from the minor hunger you experience from day to day. It makes you irritable and short-tempered, and your cravings only increase until they are satisfied. For others, hunger leads to violence and crime. Those who are starving are moved to desperate measures to provide for themselves and their families. When you are hungry, nothing else really matters but providing your body with what it needs.

The crowd that followed Jesus was hungry. Not physical hunger, although that would soon become an issue, but spiritual hunger. They hungered for Jesus. You can see their desperation as they hounded Him, begging Jesus to provide for them. All our Lord wanted to do was take His disciples, exhausted from their missionary journey, on a quick vacation to rest and recharge, to pray and prepare for the exertions that lay ahead. “For many were coming and going and they had no leisure even to eat.” They needed a break, but the hungry crowd wouldn’t allow it. “Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.” The crowd is desperate; they are willing to run around the sea while Jesus sails across it. They want Him, for only He can satisfy their hunger, only He can provide what their leaders, their shepherds have failed to give.

“When He went ashore He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion upon them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” Israel’s shepherds have failed them. They were to be fed on the rich bread of God’s Word, they were to feast on His grace and mercy, but Israel’s shepherds were too concerned for themselves to provide what God’s people needed. The reason the people are so desperately hungry is because they haven’t been properly fed; they have been spiritually starved by those who were to feed them, they have been neglected by those appointed by God to care for them. They are hungry, and in Jesus they finally see the One who can satisfy that hunger.

We, too, are a hungry people. Why else are there broken people all around us, desperately searching for fulfillment? Why else are alternative religions and spiritualties becoming more and more popular? Why else is pornography a flourishing, billion dollar industry? Why else are drug, alcohol, and gambling addictions so prevalent? Hunger drives people to do desperate things. Hunger leads us to do things that we wouldn’t do otherwise, but in desperation we are willing to try anything. Our hunger isn’t physical, it is spiritual; our souls are hungry. We hunger for love, for acceptance, for fulfillment, for forgiveness. We hunger for something to fill this void that we feel inside of us, something that will make us feel whole. In the world’s richest nation, a place where our physical needs are met to a degree not found anywhere else on our planet, we are starving.

Our shepherds, the shepherds of this world, know that we are hungry, they see the desperation on our faces, and they are ready to provide. You’ve seen their promises on TV, you’ve heard their messages loud and clear. Fulfillment comes through having the right friends and taking time to enjoy the pleasures that this world can offer. Fulfillment comes from that bottle of beer; that beautiful girl or handsome man. Fulfillment comes from being successful in anything, climbing over others to get to the top. Fulfillment comes from having enough money and enough toys to enjoy, from cars to houses to electronics. Your hunger can be filled if you live life for yourself. That is the message that this world offers, and you know that you have at times listened to these shepherds and sought the methods of the world to fill your own hunger. But these so-called ‘shepherds’ are doing more damage than good. They are teaching you to pour into that void in your heart the things of this world, and none of them can ever satisfy, none can ever bring an end to your hunger.

The solution to hunger comes not from this world of spiritual poverty, but from the One who entered this world to satisfy hungry people, to shepherd wandering sheep to green pastures. “When He went ashore He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion upon them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.” Jesus has compassion upon you; compassion, this beautiful word that we find throughout the Gospels to describe the pity, the mercy, the great love that Jesus has for His people, for you and me. The compassion of Jesus always moves Him to action, and here that action is teaching. He sets Himself up as the Shepherd of His people, replacing the foolish and negligent shepherds of this world. The teaching of Jesus provides guidance to the wandering, showing them where to find quiet pastures and cool waters. The teaching of Jesus shows the foolishness of the world’s shepherds, that what they give can never satisfy. For we are creatures of God, and our fulfillment can only come in Him. The early church father Augustine put it this way: “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.” You have a God-shaped hole in your heart, and try as you might, nothing else can fill it but Him.

You have this God-shaped hole because you have been separated from your Creator by the corruption of sin. Sin makes you hungry, then leads you to fill that hunger with that which doesn’t satisfy. The only way that our Shepherd could fill His hungry people was by ridding us of the source of our hunger, the sin that separated us from God. In compassion, that deep love and pity that He has for you and me, He did exactly that. Jesus shows forth His compassion in that He didn’t spare even His own life, but gave it up as the sacrifice for our sin. He fasted from Maundy Thursday through Good Friday, as He suffered the blows and insults of men to deliver hungry people from the source of their hunger. He thirsted on the cross as He shed His own blood for your sin. It was compassion that led Him there, that led Him to freely, willingly give up His own life into death for you. Your sin was upon His shoulders, and so when He suffered and died, enduring the punishment that your sin deserved, that sin, the source of your desperate hunger, was defeated, you were reconciled once again with your Creator.

The resurrection on Easter morning is the proof that God has accepted His sacrifice, that sin itself has been paid for. Now our Shepherd, the risen Lord Jesus Christ, goes forth to fill hungry hearts with Himself. Only He can fill our spiritual hunger, for only He has defeated the source of that hunger. His compassion motivated His death, and now His compassion motivates Him to satisfy the hungry with the only food that satisfies, Himself. This is food that no one can buy, that no one can provide for themselves; it must come from the One who has defeated sin on our behalf.

Jesus calls on us to sit at His table and receive His good gifts. “Then He commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties.” The crowd of desperately hungry people is gathered into congregations, to receive this food together in community, as a family of believers. The Shepherd calls on them to sit on the green grass, to dwell on the green pastures beside the still waters. Then He provides the meal. “And taking the five loaves and the two fish He looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all.” He gives Himself to you and to me, using His messengers as His instruments. He gives Himself to us in His Word, in His precious forgiveness in the Absolution. But He also and especially fills hungry hearts with a meal, the meal of Himself, the Lord’s Supper. He takes bread, breaks it and says, “Take eat, this is my body.” He fills hungry hearts with His very own Body and Blood. Spiritual hunger is filled by physical food; His true Body and Blood, the price of our redemption, satisfies our desperately hungry hearts. What was true for the five thousand on the hillside is true of us today: “And they all ate and were satisfied.” The hungry are filled, they are satisfied, for they receive in abundance what they need. Jesus gives Himself in abundance to you to fill that void in your heart, to end your hunger for eternity.

It is no mistake that the Scriptures often describe the new heavens and the new earth as a banquet. There our hunger will be no more, it will be fully satisfied forever. You will dine with Jesus your Lord, the One who in compassion sought to end your hunger by defeating its source upon the cross. You will sit at that table with those you dine with today, along with all who have been filled by Christ in every age. That feast will never run out, for wherever Jesus serves the meal, there is abundance. “And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.” Have you ever wondered why there were leftovers? The disciples gathered up the broken pieces of bread and the leftover fish to feed the Church; the abundance of that day teaches us that Jesus has enough to feed you and me—on this day, and even forevermore. In the name of the one who fills the hungry, who defeats hunger itself, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Reflections on Thy Strong Word (verse 6)

The Light has shone in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. The reign of darkness has ended, for sin has been paid for, and death itself destroyed through the death and resurrection of the Light of the world, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. In the new heavens and the new earth, there will be no more night, but there will also be no created light, as John was shown in the book of Revelation: “The city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” The Lamb of God, sacrificed for the sin of the world, is the Light that will shine for eternity, shining on all those redeemed by His blood. Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous, and those who are righteous will dwell in that Light forever.

“God the Father, light-creator, to Thee laud and honor be. To Thee, Light of Light begotten, praise be sung eternally. Holy Spirit, light-revealer, glory, glory be to Thee. Mortals, angels, now and ever praise the Holy Trinity!”

The Father created light by speaking; Thy strong Word cleaved the darkness. The Son is the Light; Thy strong Word shone the light on those dwelling in darkness. The Holy Spirit reveals the Light; Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous. The Trinity together gives us the gift of Light; at creation, in redemption, and in justification. The Word and the Light; together these powerful images describe the glorious working of the Holy Trinity in our salvation. The Word and the Light are the gifts of our Triune God, the God who loved us despite our rebellion, the God who acted in mercy to deliver us from our darkness. Mortals, angels, now and ever, praise the Holy Trinity!

Friday, July 20, 2012

Reflections on Thy Strong Word (verse 5)

The Word has given us all that we have. The Word has given us life itself, and this creation that we live in. When this world was plunged into darkness, the Word broke in with the light of salvation. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us in the person of Jesus Christ, and He hung upon the cross to pay the required price of our sin, then rose again to conquer the darkness of death. Now, even today, the Word comes to us to bespeak us righteous, to give us all that was won through the cross and empty tomb. For all that, as Martin Luther says in the Small Catechism, “it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.”

“Give us lips to sing Thy glory, tongues Thy mercy to proclaim, throats that shout the hope that fills us, mouths to speak Thy holy name. Alleluia, alleluia! May the light which Thou dost send fill our songs with alleluias, alleluia without end!”

The Word has shone light into our darkened hearts; now that light shines forth from our hearts into the lives of others. Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous; it has been spoken into our ears, with the power to forgive our sins and make us righteous, now that Word goes out from our lips to those around us. God’s Word has power; it does what it says. When we speak words of forgiveness to a fellow sinner, when we tell them of the redemption of Jesus Christ, we have confidence that the Word will do its work, that the Word will make things happen. This is the life of a Christian; God does mighty things for us through His Word, and then we go forth singing His praises and proclaiming His salvation to those around us. Alleluias ring forth from those redeemed by the Word made flesh, alleluias that have no end!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Reflections on Thy Strong Word (verse 4)

On Good Friday, the Word made flesh hung upon the cross. The One through whom God created light itself, the One who brought light into this darkened world at His birth, was subjected to humiliation and shame, torture and death. From the sixth hour until the ninth hour on that Friday, the sun refused to shine, darkness covered the face of the earth. For those who sat in the darkness of that afternoon, there could only be one conclusion: the Light of the world had been snuffed out. But the reality was quite different. The Light had been killed, it was true, but not extinguished. Indeed, as John boldly declared in the opening chapter of his Gospel, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Instead of the Light being extinguished, from the midst of the darkness the Light shone forth from the cross as the salvation of all. The darkness thought it had snuffed out the light and found itself overcome.

“From the cross Thy wisdom shining breaketh forth in conquering might; from the cross forever beameth all Thy bright redeeming light. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send! Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!”

The wisdom of God is the foolishness of man. Only God could bring Light in the midst of the darkness of that Friday, only God could bring salvation through the death of His Son. It is at the cross that the Light shines the brightest, for it is at the cross that the darkness is overcome. The Word became flesh to hang upon that cross bearing the sin of the entire world. Only that sacrifice could deliver those sitting in the darkness of death, only His death could bring life. The light that shines forth on Easter morning, the dawn of the first day of the week, simply reveals what had been hidden three days earlier; the Light of salvation is the light that shines from the cross.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Reflections on Thy Strong Word (verse 3)


God’s Word was active and powerful at creation, cleaving the darkness.  God’s Word was active and powerful at the dawn of the new creation, breaking the light of salvation into a world made dark by sin and death.  God’s Word is active and powerful right now, bringing light into our darkened hearts, breathing into those under the power of death God’s life-giving breath. 

“Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous; bright with Thine own holiness, glorious now, we press toward glory, and our lives our hopes confess.  Alleluia, alleluia!  Praise to Thee who light dost send!  Alleluia, alleluia!  Alleluia without end!” 

God’s Word is powerful, it is performative, it is different from any created Word.  God’s Word does what it says.  God speaks, and it happens.  This Word goes forth into this world from the pages of the Scriptures, from the mouths of Christians in their day-to-day lives, and from the broken and sinful lips of pastors in chancels and pulpits throughout the world.  God speaks His Word through these His instruments, and it happens.  God’s Word does what it says.  Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous.  Through speaking, sinful, dead people are made righteous and holy, living members of God Himself.  Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous; the Word declares that we are righteous through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and we are righteous, for God’s Word does what it says.  Thy strong Word has that power because it is the same Word that took flesh and suffered death for your salvation.  The Word which accomplished salvation now applies salvation to you.  The righteous are glorious even now; you shine with the Light that broke into this world of darkness, you shine with the Light that broke into the darkness of your heart.  You cannot see the glory that you posses, but you have it, for God’s Word has declared it to you; the same Word that brought light in the darkness, the same Word that became flesh and bore your sin to the cross.  We press toward the glory to be revealed with the assurance that it is already ours, now and for eternity.

Reflections on Thy Strong Word (verse 2)

The first important place in Scripture where the Word and the Light are joined together is Genesis chapter one, the creation of light through the speaking of God’s Word. The second is at the dawn of the new creation, John chapter one. There the evangelist declares, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” At the creation, the Word brought forth light in the midst of darkness, but when humanity plunged that perfect creation into sin and death, darkness intruded again. The Word was called upon once again to bring light, and the Word did its work, as John triumphantly declares: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

“Lo, on those who dwelt in darkness, dark as night and deep as death, broke the light of Thy salvation, breathed Thine own life-breathing breath. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send! Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!”

Darkness enveloped all creation, dark as night and deep as death. But on Christmas Eve, when all was still and dark, light broke into the darkness. Isaiah saw this dawn of light coming from afar, and he declared, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.” The Light broke into the darkness, and as John declares, “The darkness has not overcome it.” The Light came into this world to bring forth a new creation, to destroy the darkness of sin and death. God speaks, and it happens. The Word goes forth from the throne of God and becomes man, bringing light, bringing breath, just as at the beginning. The breath of God made Adam a living being; now the Word, the Light, breathes into those in darkness, those living in the shadow of death, and brings life and light.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Reflections on Thy Strong Word (verse 1)

God’s Word is unlike any other word in all creation. God’s Word is eternal, it is beyond our concepts of time and space. God’s Word is powerful; it makes things happen. This Word brought all things into being, and then when this perfect creation fell, this Word became flesh to redeem it. And even today, this Word breaks into hearts of stone, creating faith within sinful people, faith which saves from sin, death, and the power of the devil.

“Thy strong Word did cleave the darkness; at Thy speaking it was done. For created light we thank Thee, while Thine ordered seasons run. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send! Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!”

The Word and the Light. These powerful images come together in two important places in the Scriptures. The first is at the beginning; Genesis chapter one, the creation from nothing of this universe and all that dwells therein. “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” God speaks, and it happens. Light is created by the power of the Word; Thy strong Word cleaves the darkness. God speaks, and it happens. God’s Word has a power ours does not; it is performative, it does what it says. At Thy speaking it was done. With the gift of light God sets in order time; both days and seasons. God is not an absent Creator. He creates, and then He sustains, preserving all of His creatures. It is His Word that brings forth light, even in the midst of darkness, and when the darkness of sin enters His world, His Word will bring light once again.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Proper 10 of Series B (Ezekiel 2:1-5)

“And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.” Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. The text for our sermon this morning comes from the Old Testament lesson read a few moments ago from the second chapter of the prophet Ezekiel. Dear friends in Christ, like Isaiah, Ezekiel saw heaven, as we read just a verse before our text: “Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around... And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.” Ezekiel saw the throne room of God; he saw the power, the glory, the brilliance of Almighty God, and it drove him to the ground in reverence, in worship, in fear. But God didn’t leave him there. “He said to me, ‘Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.’” This is absolution, this is grace. A sinful man cannot stand before the glory of Almighty God, but Ezekiel is beckoned to stand. “And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard Him speaking.” Before Ezekiel can even respond, before he can try to stand on his own, God’s powerful Word does what it says, for the Holy Spirit goes with it. God speaks, and the Word does the work.

What comes next follows the pattern we find again and again in Scripture. Having seen this vision of God, having fallen to the ground in terror and having been absolved, Ezekiel is sent out to preach the Word. “He said to me, ‘Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day.’” Ezekiel is sent to rebellious people, to those who have revolted against their Creator. Ezekiel is sent to people who have transgression in their genes, a tradition passed down from their fathers. In other words, Ezekiel is sent to people like you and me. Rebellion is the opposite of service, the kind of service that you were created for, service of Almighty God. Do you serve God in all that you do, or do you serve other gods? This is a first commandment issue, for you serve many other gods each and every day: the god of money, the god of work, the god of sports, the god of pleasure, and especially the chief god, yourself. Your gods can be addictive substances, such as alcohol or lust, or even good gifts of Almighty God, such as your family and friends. This transgression against the first commandment then spills into all the other commandments, and you find yourself in rebellion against God in every area of your life, like your parents before you.

And you don’t want to hear about it. You don’t want to hear about how you have transgressed against each and every one of the commandments, how you are living in open rebellion against your Creator. We bristle at the accusations of the Law, and so we shut our ears to them. God knew this would happen, and He warned Ezekiel beforehand: “The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.” This is the bigger issue: rebellion is bad enough, but God’s people refuse to receive correction, they stop their ears when the Law speaks through God’s messengers. They despise the preaching of God’s Word. This is a third commandment issue: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” What does this mean? “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” Do you or I gladly hear and learn God’s Word from His sent messengers, especially when they point out our sin? Or do we despise preaching and His Word, because it’s inconvenient, because it’s uncomfortable, because it speaks the truth, shining the light on our rebellion? In Ezekiel’s day, prophets were killed by those who didn’t want to hear their message; today we are more subtle, finding another church or no church at all, or simply shutting our ears on Sunday morning.

It’s amazing that God doesn’t give up on us; not only have we rebelled against Him, but we even refuse to receive correction. We should expect God to tell Ezekiel, ‘Don’t bother; you’re wasting your time.’ But instead, in grace, God doesn’t give up on us. He continues to send His messengers to us. They aren’t sent bearing their own authority or their own words, but instead they have been given God’s Word to speak with the authority of that Word. “You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’” God’s messengers have nothing more, and nothing less to say than the Word of God. God’s messengers have nothing more, and nothing less to do that what they have been authorized to do. That is their task, that is their message. They don’t speak from themselves but only as God has given them to speak. They are bound to the Word of God. That is why pastors dress as they do. The collar and the stole are symbols of servitude, of slavery. They indicate that they are bound to God’s Word, bound to do only what God has authorized them to do. The white robe covers them when they proclaim the Word of Almighty God; it gets them out of the way, demonstrating that they are not to speak their own thoughts and opinions, but instead they must speak what God has authorized them to speak. A little girl once put it best. She said, “See that guy in the black shirt? He’s our pastor. When he puts on his dress, then he’s Jesus.”

Because they speak not their word but God’s Word, the messengers of God don’t have to worry about the results. They have been authorized to speak, and so they must speak, even if you and I refuse to listen. As God told Ezekiel, “Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.” They are not called to be popular, they are not even called to be successful, they are called to be faithful, proclaiming that Word as God has authorized them. In our Gospel lesson, Jesus came into His hometown, preached God’s Word about Himself as the promised Messiah, and was rejected. He told His disciples to expect the same: “If any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony to them.” They are called to proclaim the Word that God has given them to proclaim, nothing more and nothing less, and God Himself will be concerned with the results.

The messenger of God can do nothing else, for it is not his word, but God’s; he is only a mouthpiece, an instrument, used to proclaim this Word to specific people in a specific time and place. And even though his hearers, you and me, are rebellious and stubborn, he can trust that the Word will have effect as God sees fit. For it is God’s Word, and God’s Word has power. God’s Word had the power to set Ezekiel upright; God commanded Ezekiel to ‘stand on your feet,’ and before he could move a muscle, the Holy Spirit, which always accompanies the Word, had accomplished it. God’s Word is performative, it makes things happen. God’s Word can break into stubborn hearts and create faith; it can forgive the rebellious of all their sins. It has this power only because it is the Word about Christ; in fact, the Word is Christ. Jesus is the Word made flesh, the Word spoken to Ezekiel which has now become man. This Word preaches the Law because it is necessary; our sin must be pointed out. But even more importantly, this Word preaches Christ, the answer to the Law’s accusations. 

For the Word was made flesh to fulfill the Law perfectly, to live the life you could not and to die the death you deserved. The Word has power because it proclaims to you the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; His obedience in the place of your rebellion, even to death, His love in the place of your stubbornness, as He was willing to give up everything for your salvation. He died for those in rebellion against His Father, for those who refuse to listen to Him. He died for you because He had a plan for your stubborn, sinful heart, as God spoke through Ezekiel: “I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

Only God’s Word has the power to transform your heart, to forgive your sins, because the Word is Christ. Jesus came to transform hearts through the power of His Word, to give you a heart of flesh in place of your heart of stone. We were in rebellion against God in each and every way, but because of Jesus’ death and resurrection in your place God declares, “They shall be my people, and I will be their God.” The Word doesn’t just talk about Christ, it delivers Christ to us, with all that He accomplished for us. The messengers of God are not just authorized to speak the Law to accuse us of our sin; they are authorized to speak the words of forgiveness to remove that sin. And God’s Word does what it says; when the messenger of God speaks His Word of forgiveness to you, you are forgiven. We gladly hear and learn the Word of God, because it is the only Word that can break into your stubborn heart, the only Word that brings forgiveness, the only Word that brings us Jesus, indeed the only Word that is Jesus. That Word is working each and every day, calling you to repentance whenever you fall into rebellion and stubbornness, then pouring out upon you the blood-bought forgiveness of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. That Word set Ezekiel on his feet, and it transforms you from a rebel to a servant, to a child, to one beloved by your heavenly Father. Your rebellion is forgiven, your stubbornness washed away, for the Word who died for you has entered into you to stand you on your feet before God for eternity. In His holy and precious Name, Amen.