Grace and peace to you from God our Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and from the Holy Spirit, who gives us life, amen.
This is the paper that we received on our doorstep this morning. As you can see there are a lot of ads here for a variety of stores. Let’s see what we have here. (Peruse the ads looking for the juiciest ones). As you can see these folks who pay for these ads desperately want our attention. They want to announce to us that their sale is by far the best thing since sliced bread and that we would be a fools to ignore such a proclamation. It seems that at this time of year we are bombarded with messages of various stripes that compete for our attention. It all gets so confusing. And of course the cynic (and former business person) in me asks how can these places sell this stuff for so cheap and still maintain a profit? And my cynical answer is that theses places are still profiting from our desire to make sure we have that “perfect” Christmas. The other thing is that all of these ads say that we can save big money by spending our dollars at their establishments. Isn’t that an oxymoron? How is it that I can save by spending? Save big! Save now! Save today! And I want to scream, Lord save me from all of this!
Ok I think I have ranted enough. After all what does any of this have to do with our texts today? Just as businesses try to get your attention with these ads (hold up ads), our texts are about announcement and about proclamation. There are two announcements that are proclaimed in these texts. And although they speak of two different stories they are in essence saying the same thing. These two texts, rather than try to sell you something, or have you give up something, offer the greatest gift we could ever imagine. It is the gift of hope in a hopeless world. It is the gift of being saved rather than trying to save.
The first announcement comes in our gospel lesson. It speaks of a man named John who has been sent by God as a witness to testify to the light. Immediately there are several questions that come to mind. First, what does “the light” mean? Lets see what the proceeding verses have to say about this:
John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
In the first sentence we get what Jesus’ beginnings really were. It wasn’t just at the birth of the Christ child in a manger. The author uses the same words laid out in Genesis 1 “In the beginning”, to place Jesus at creation, and that he came forth from God as Word and as Light before he came to dwell among us. Simply put then, “the Light” is the co-creator of the world, Jesus the Word of God. The second question is then, who is this man named John? The other three gospels, also called the synoptics, often refer to this John as “John the Baptist”. This is the man who wore camelhair clothes, and eating locusts and wild honey. That likeness was to evoke the image of Elijah the great prophet. But notice that we have a different picture of this man named John. This man, he did not come on his own, unauthorized—to go before the Lord. No, he was sent, he was authorized by God to be a witness to the one who gives life as he entered into our lives in a very real and human way. And he came to testify, so that all might believe through him. He did not claim any proper title but rather as “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness”, like the prophet Isaiah. This man, whom we call John the Baptist, was in effect announcing the arrival of Jesus. And notice something else. He did not point to himself, unlike the advertisers of today do. He did not say look at how great I am. Look at how I live a life that is sparse and ecologically friendly. No, he pointed to, and then confessed, the fact that Jesus was truly the Son of God.
The second announcement comes in the Isaiah text. Listen to these words again: “The spirit of God the master is upon me because God appointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, announce freedom to all of the captives, and pardon all the prisoners. God sent me to announce the year of his grace – a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies – and to comfort those who mourn” (MSG). You may have heard these words before. In Luke 4 (3rd Sunday after Epiphany) Jesus stands before his home congregation in Nazareth and speaks these words to his community. And then he tells them that in their hearing the words of the prophet have been fulfilled. You may remember that Jesus was subsequently tossed out of Nazareth for claiming this prophecy. However, when Jesus claimed this prophecy, he added a stipulation to it. His [contention] was that this prophecy was not just for the Jews, but also for the entire world. That is what upset his listeners so much. But that is good news for us. Jesus was announcing that salvation was not just for the Jews but for all; that is, you, me, our neighbors, and for those who may not have heard these words.
We have in our texts two announcements. The first announcement, the one given by John, points to the One who brings good news to us. John also gives us the example that we should have in our own lives. We are too commanded to preach, to testify, to announce this good news. We all should proclaiming that Jesus came to us, as a vulnerable infant, to clothe all of us with garments of salvation. The second announcement, first expressed by the prophet, and then echoed by Jesus, proclaims the gospel, that is, good news. After all we live in a broken world, where our lives are far from perfect and that we need words and deeds of comfort. Don’t we need to hear that we are being set free from poverty, affliction, and oppression? Don’t we need to hear that our broken hearts will be bound up, healed, and fixed? Don’t we need to hear that we are released from captivity and that we are prisoners no more? Don’t we?
In this time of advent, when we are being assailed with the message of just buy more, it is at this time that we need to hear the message of not to save, be it time or money, or other resources, but rather we are saved. Saved from oppression, broken heartedness, and captivity. Saved by the one who comes in a manger to offer salvation for you, me, and the whole world. Amen
Monday, December 29, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Hide and Seek
Grace and peace to you from God our father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and from the Holy Spirit who gives us life. Amen.
(Reread Isaiah 64:1-9)
When we were little kids one of the games we used to play was hide and go seek. I am sure that you remember this game. Someone is designated as the person to be “it”. He or she count to 100 while everyone else goes off to find a place to hide. Then the “it” person would go and try to find those that were hidden. If your were “it”, it was always a challenge to find those who were hidden, especially those that were clever in their hiding places. Our first lesson from Isaiah is also concerned with hide and seek. It concerns the Israelites who have just returned from exile and find themselves persecuted by outside forces. For them this was no game and there was despair in not being able to find God. Despite this, there is reflected in these passages the expression of hope.
At this point I am going to do something that the professors at the seminary say that you should not do when preaching. I will be telling you about a time in my life when I too was looking for God. A bit of history. Although I was baptized when I was five years old, our family did not attend church with any regularity. By the time I was a teenager we were lucky if we attended the Christmas and Easter services. When I left home at 18 there was not even the thought of attending church. This changed 15 years later when Deb and I moved out to the Puget Sound area of Washington State and we began attending Pilgrim Lutheran church. Five years later in 1994, I went on a men’s retreat and recommitted my life to Christ. My life for the first year following the retreat was great. I had a good job with a nationally known restaurant chain, relatively low stress and was able to be involved in our church. I was in effect living on the mountaintop. Things changed when I was transferred to a different location, to the place that I called the “Store From Hell”. If anything could go wrong with this store it usually did. This went on for 10 months until I asked for a transfer to another location. And although it was initially a good move to make, it too became a place that became almost unmanageable. My stress levels rose, my frustration increased, and it was all that I could do to try to maintain some semblance of sanity. In all of this I tried to stay involved with the church, to continue to be involved in bible study and to keep meeting with a friend who was my accountability partner. Although I was doing all these things, I still felt like God had abandoned me. I wanted to scream out, “Where are you God ?!?!” “Why am I being punished?!” “What did I do that you are angry with me?” Like the Israelites I wanted to say “O, that you would tear open the heavens and come down so that the mountains would quake at your presence”. Like the Israelites I had returned from exile and had a hope that God would bless that return. Like the Israelites I now felt abandoned and wondered where God was.
Maybe you have felt like that at some point in your life. Maybe you feel like that right now. Maybe you have just been let go from your job and are wondering what is going to happen next. Maybe you are dealing with a chronic disease that saps your energy and will. Maybe you are coping with the recent death of a loved one. Maybe you are stuck in an untenable situation, whether it is with a bad job, or a bad relationship with a spouse, a parent, or a child, and it looks like there is no hope of resolving it. And you wonder, where is God in all of this? You might be asking, “Where are you God, now that I need you? You have done amazing things in my life in the past and now you abandon me?”
When I was in the middle of my restaurant crisis, as I wondered what it was that I had done, the self-recriminations begin to set in. All of the unanswerable thoughts began pouring out. Perhaps it isn’t that it’s God that has abandon me. Perhaps I’ve abandoned God. What was worse, since I thought God was no longer present; I began to act out my frustrations. I became angry at the smallest thing. If something went wrong, either at home or at work, I would get mad and start swearing, yelling and throwing things. My co-workers didn’t know how to react to me. I’m sure my family was at times fearful of their husband and father. To put it charitably, I was not acting like a Christian should act. According to the apostle Paul in Galatians 5, I was displaying some of the traits of those who are under the sinful nature, that is, idolatry, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, and envy,” I definitely was not displaying the fruit of the spirit, which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”. As it says in the Isaiah verse 6, I had become like one who was unclean and my righteous deeds were like a filthy cloth.
Patience has never been my strong suit. Frankly I was tired of playing hide and go seek. I was tired of being “it”. I was tired of having to live up to this Christian expectation. I was tired of living in this valley of despair. I wanted this experience to be over and to return to the mountaintop where I could easily find God. The text says in verse 5 that “no ear has perceived and no eye has seen any God beside you who works for those who wait for him”. We are in the time of advent right now. It is a time of waiting. Waiting is an active verb that requires a passive stance. Waiting requires patience. It means persevering in the face of delay or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset. Waiting requires trust. Trust in the promises that have already been made by God. Promises such as that made to Noah to no more to curse the ground. There was the promise made to Abraham to make of him a great nation in whom all families of the earth should be blessed. There was the promise to David to continue his house on the throne. There were the promises, made through the prophets, of restoration of Israel, of the Messiah, of the new and everlasting kingdom, of the new covenant and outpouring of the Spirit. In the New Testament these promises are founded on, and regarded as having their true fulfillment in Christ and those who are His. Waiting requires faith. Faith that something, anything, will change our present circumstance into something better. Look at verse 8. “Yet, o lord you are our father, we are the clay, you are the potter. We are the work of your hand.” This implies a relationship of the creator with the created. It implies that we have been formed out of dust and water to be made for a purpose. It implies that the creator can take that which is warped and reshape it for something more useful.
The apostle Paul writes in the book of Romans “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Our hope is the same of the Israelites. It is in the hope of a God who works for us. But it is also in the hope of a God who seeks us out. After all, we are his people. In this game of hide and go seek, it is God who is “it”. It is God who seeks out those who are hiding in the valley of despair and hopelessness. It is the God who finds us and as potter pours his love into our hearts. And so we wait. We wait for the expected Christ child, Immanuel. We wait to be reformed again to be useful to God and to creation. We wait to be touched again by the God of all salvation who is always with us, now and forever. Amen.
And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
(Reread Isaiah 64:1-9)
When we were little kids one of the games we used to play was hide and go seek. I am sure that you remember this game. Someone is designated as the person to be “it”. He or she count to 100 while everyone else goes off to find a place to hide. Then the “it” person would go and try to find those that were hidden. If your were “it”, it was always a challenge to find those who were hidden, especially those that were clever in their hiding places. Our first lesson from Isaiah is also concerned with hide and seek. It concerns the Israelites who have just returned from exile and find themselves persecuted by outside forces. For them this was no game and there was despair in not being able to find God. Despite this, there is reflected in these passages the expression of hope.
At this point I am going to do something that the professors at the seminary say that you should not do when preaching. I will be telling you about a time in my life when I too was looking for God. A bit of history. Although I was baptized when I was five years old, our family did not attend church with any regularity. By the time I was a teenager we were lucky if we attended the Christmas and Easter services. When I left home at 18 there was not even the thought of attending church. This changed 15 years later when Deb and I moved out to the Puget Sound area of Washington State and we began attending Pilgrim Lutheran church. Five years later in 1994, I went on a men’s retreat and recommitted my life to Christ. My life for the first year following the retreat was great. I had a good job with a nationally known restaurant chain, relatively low stress and was able to be involved in our church. I was in effect living on the mountaintop. Things changed when I was transferred to a different location, to the place that I called the “Store From Hell”. If anything could go wrong with this store it usually did. This went on for 10 months until I asked for a transfer to another location. And although it was initially a good move to make, it too became a place that became almost unmanageable. My stress levels rose, my frustration increased, and it was all that I could do to try to maintain some semblance of sanity. In all of this I tried to stay involved with the church, to continue to be involved in bible study and to keep meeting with a friend who was my accountability partner. Although I was doing all these things, I still felt like God had abandoned me. I wanted to scream out, “Where are you God ?!?!” “Why am I being punished?!” “What did I do that you are angry with me?” Like the Israelites I wanted to say “O, that you would tear open the heavens and come down so that the mountains would quake at your presence”. Like the Israelites I had returned from exile and had a hope that God would bless that return. Like the Israelites I now felt abandoned and wondered where God was.
Maybe you have felt like that at some point in your life. Maybe you feel like that right now. Maybe you have just been let go from your job and are wondering what is going to happen next. Maybe you are dealing with a chronic disease that saps your energy and will. Maybe you are coping with the recent death of a loved one. Maybe you are stuck in an untenable situation, whether it is with a bad job, or a bad relationship with a spouse, a parent, or a child, and it looks like there is no hope of resolving it. And you wonder, where is God in all of this? You might be asking, “Where are you God, now that I need you? You have done amazing things in my life in the past and now you abandon me?”
When I was in the middle of my restaurant crisis, as I wondered what it was that I had done, the self-recriminations begin to set in. All of the unanswerable thoughts began pouring out. Perhaps it isn’t that it’s God that has abandon me. Perhaps I’ve abandoned God. What was worse, since I thought God was no longer present; I began to act out my frustrations. I became angry at the smallest thing. If something went wrong, either at home or at work, I would get mad and start swearing, yelling and throwing things. My co-workers didn’t know how to react to me. I’m sure my family was at times fearful of their husband and father. To put it charitably, I was not acting like a Christian should act. According to the apostle Paul in Galatians 5, I was displaying some of the traits of those who are under the sinful nature, that is, idolatry, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, and envy,” I definitely was not displaying the fruit of the spirit, which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”. As it says in the Isaiah verse 6, I had become like one who was unclean and my righteous deeds were like a filthy cloth.
Patience has never been my strong suit. Frankly I was tired of playing hide and go seek. I was tired of being “it”. I was tired of having to live up to this Christian expectation. I was tired of living in this valley of despair. I wanted this experience to be over and to return to the mountaintop where I could easily find God. The text says in verse 5 that “no ear has perceived and no eye has seen any God beside you who works for those who wait for him”. We are in the time of advent right now. It is a time of waiting. Waiting is an active verb that requires a passive stance. Waiting requires patience. It means persevering in the face of delay or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset. Waiting requires trust. Trust in the promises that have already been made by God. Promises such as that made to Noah to no more to curse the ground. There was the promise made to Abraham to make of him a great nation in whom all families of the earth should be blessed. There was the promise to David to continue his house on the throne. There were the promises, made through the prophets, of restoration of Israel, of the Messiah, of the new and everlasting kingdom, of the new covenant and outpouring of the Spirit. In the New Testament these promises are founded on, and regarded as having their true fulfillment in Christ and those who are His. Waiting requires faith. Faith that something, anything, will change our present circumstance into something better. Look at verse 8. “Yet, o lord you are our father, we are the clay, you are the potter. We are the work of your hand.” This implies a relationship of the creator with the created. It implies that we have been formed out of dust and water to be made for a purpose. It implies that the creator can take that which is warped and reshape it for something more useful.
The apostle Paul writes in the book of Romans “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Our hope is the same of the Israelites. It is in the hope of a God who works for us. But it is also in the hope of a God who seeks us out. After all, we are his people. In this game of hide and go seek, it is God who is “it”. It is God who seeks out those who are hiding in the valley of despair and hopelessness. It is the God who finds us and as potter pours his love into our hearts. And so we wait. We wait for the expected Christ child, Immanuel. We wait to be reformed again to be useful to God and to creation. We wait to be touched again by the God of all salvation who is always with us, now and forever. Amen.
And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Matt 25:14-30
"Risky Behavior"
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Upon first reading of the text today, I thought to myself, golly, this sounds just like something the stewardship committee might use. My second thought was that these are good examples of how to invest our money. The third thought was that whoever this master was, he was extremely demanding and I am not sure that I would want him as a boss. However upon a closer reading and rereading of the text I realized that although a case could be made for each thought, none of these scenarios really fits. This story, this parable, is about three men who decide what risk they will take when entrusted with the master’s wealth.
Before we jump into this let’s take a quick review of where we are. This is the last of “The kingdom of heaven is like...” texts in the book of Matthew. Jesus used this phrase in connection with the graphic illustrations of his time to try to describe to his audience what the kingdom of heaven would be like. A couple of weeks ago I gave this definition: The Kingdom of Heaven is “the rule of heaven is being brought to bear in this time and place as the unveiling of God’s plan for redemption of the world through Jesus”. So when Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which is small but grows to be a large bush, or that the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that is mixed with flour until it is entirely leavened, he means that the kingdom of heaven is not limited to size or quantity. When he says that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field or it is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, or it is like a net thrown into the sea, which captures fish of every kind he is referring to God’s coming to us because we are of infinite value to the creator and that the kingdom of heaven is not limited to one particular group but open to all. When Jesus says that the rich cannot enter kingdom of heaven but on the other hand it is the little children that can enter, it means that it is through faith and not our own doing that we are able to enter the kingdom. When Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like the landowner who pays all of his laborers the same wage he means (and this is to paraphrase the apostle Paul) that although the wage of sin is death, the free gift, the wage of God is eternal life. And finally, as we learned three weeks ago, the kingdom of heaven is like a wedding banquet and that those who are chosen to attend the banquet are given the robe of righteousness through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Now that we are up to date we see that today’s text begins with this: “For it (that is the kingdom of heaven) is as if a man going on a journey summons his slaves and entrusted his property to them.” Looking at this first sentence, I was right in thinking that this would be a good text for the stewardship committee. The definition of stewardship is: “personal responsibility for taking care of another person's property or financial affairs.” The slaves were asked to be stewards of some of the master’s talents, that is, his assets, while he was gone. But notice that in the text that there is no mention of the master instructing his slaves about what to do with assets they were given. If we are to follow the definition then wouldn’t each of the slaves have been proper stewards of the talents? Even the third slave who buried the money would have been following the custom of the time by burying the assets until such time when the assets would be needed.
Ok so maybe this is a text about how to invest our money. Again notice that there isn’t anything said about how the talents are to be used. They are freely given to be used at the slave’s discretion. So the first two slaves run off at once and used the talents to gain a 100% return on investment. Wow, if we could only do that today. But how did they do it? There is no record of the kind of deals they made other than the obscure reference that “they traded with them (that is the talents).” Did they take the assets and invest in junk bonds? Did they become venture capitalists? Maybe they flipped houses during a housing boom. Or maybe they became involved with credit swap default loans. Who knows? Are these examples we should follow? If the current economy were any indication, I would think not. I know that there is some sentiment right now of taking money out of whatever investment portfolios we have, or removing it from our local financial institution, or shutting down our 401Ks and stuffing all of our assets in a mattress. Or burying it like the third slave did. Shades of the great depression! After all, who wants to take the risk of losing any more of our assets? Our natural inclination is to pull back and protect whatever resources we have.
Which leads us to the third thought I had when reading this text. The last slave had it right when he said to his master, “I knew you were a harsh man [reaping where you did not sow and gathering were you did not gather], so I was afraid”. Fear does strange things to people. Fear takes rationality and makes it irrational. Barbara Brown Taylor, the noted preacher and teacher says this: “Fear is a small cell with no air in it and no light. It is suffocating inside and dark. There is no room to turn around inside it. You can only face in one direction, but it hardly matters since you cannot see anyhow. There is no future in the dark. Everything is over. Everything is past. When you are locked up like that, tomorrow is as far away as the moon”. For the third slave, his view of the master was one of being locked up in the cell. Who knows why his view of the master was colored like this. Had he had some run in with the master in the past? Had the slave done something that may have provoked the master’s ire? Maybe the slave only thought that the master was harsh, never having gotten close enough to fully understand what the master truly was like. Whatever the reason, the third slave’s fears were ultimately realized.
If we step back and look at this one more time, remember that Jesus uses this parable to give us a glimpse of what the Kingdom of God is like. It is not just about stewardship, investments, or fear. It is about risk. Look at what the third slave says about the master: “you reaped where you did not sow, you gathered where you did not gather”. This is risk taking. Last week we learned about Heifer International and how the assets or money we give to them are multiplied many times over. There was a certain amount of risk that was involved in getting this organization up and running. And yet they have made a huge return on their investment risk. However this risk was not for self-profit, but for the betterment of a greater community. The Kingdom of God is like that. Risk means stepping out in faith, not knowing what is going to happen, but trusting that something will happen. The early disciples took a risk by leaving all that they had to follow Jesus. They could have stayed where they were, fearful of what might happen, but instead they trusted in Jesus. The same holds true for the apostles. What would have happened if Paul stayed in Damascus rather than go out through the entire known world? Those risks, that faith has brought us to this place today.
Like the three slaves of the parable, we have been given and entrusted with something wonderful. We have been given the gift of eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus. We have been entrusted with the gift of this gospel, this good news, to pass along to others. Just as importantly, we have been given and entrusted with assets of various abilities, to communicate that gospel. In God’s economy, if we trust and believe, that is if we have faith in God’s faithfulness and promises, what we have been entrusted with will be multiplied 2 times, 5 times, multiple times over. We are given not only the opportunity but also the mandate to risk using God’s assets for something greater. The first two slaves took the risk. The third slave did not. We can bury these gifts, these talents, and these assets bringing joy to no one, or we can go and attempt to multiply these gifts, these talents, and these assets for the greater kingdom. Which leads to this final question: Are we, you and I, willing to step out in faith and risk all that which we have been entrusted with? The choice is yours.
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Upon first reading of the text today, I thought to myself, golly, this sounds just like something the stewardship committee might use. My second thought was that these are good examples of how to invest our money. The third thought was that whoever this master was, he was extremely demanding and I am not sure that I would want him as a boss. However upon a closer reading and rereading of the text I realized that although a case could be made for each thought, none of these scenarios really fits. This story, this parable, is about three men who decide what risk they will take when entrusted with the master’s wealth.
Before we jump into this let’s take a quick review of where we are. This is the last of “The kingdom of heaven is like...” texts in the book of Matthew. Jesus used this phrase in connection with the graphic illustrations of his time to try to describe to his audience what the kingdom of heaven would be like. A couple of weeks ago I gave this definition: The Kingdom of Heaven is “the rule of heaven is being brought to bear in this time and place as the unveiling of God’s plan for redemption of the world through Jesus”. So when Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which is small but grows to be a large bush, or that the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that is mixed with flour until it is entirely leavened, he means that the kingdom of heaven is not limited to size or quantity. When he says that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field or it is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, or it is like a net thrown into the sea, which captures fish of every kind he is referring to God’s coming to us because we are of infinite value to the creator and that the kingdom of heaven is not limited to one particular group but open to all. When Jesus says that the rich cannot enter kingdom of heaven but on the other hand it is the little children that can enter, it means that it is through faith and not our own doing that we are able to enter the kingdom. When Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like the landowner who pays all of his laborers the same wage he means (and this is to paraphrase the apostle Paul) that although the wage of sin is death, the free gift, the wage of God is eternal life. And finally, as we learned three weeks ago, the kingdom of heaven is like a wedding banquet and that those who are chosen to attend the banquet are given the robe of righteousness through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Now that we are up to date we see that today’s text begins with this: “For it (that is the kingdom of heaven) is as if a man going on a journey summons his slaves and entrusted his property to them.” Looking at this first sentence, I was right in thinking that this would be a good text for the stewardship committee. The definition of stewardship is: “personal responsibility for taking care of another person's property or financial affairs.” The slaves were asked to be stewards of some of the master’s talents, that is, his assets, while he was gone. But notice that in the text that there is no mention of the master instructing his slaves about what to do with assets they were given. If we are to follow the definition then wouldn’t each of the slaves have been proper stewards of the talents? Even the third slave who buried the money would have been following the custom of the time by burying the assets until such time when the assets would be needed.
Ok so maybe this is a text about how to invest our money. Again notice that there isn’t anything said about how the talents are to be used. They are freely given to be used at the slave’s discretion. So the first two slaves run off at once and used the talents to gain a 100% return on investment. Wow, if we could only do that today. But how did they do it? There is no record of the kind of deals they made other than the obscure reference that “they traded with them (that is the talents).” Did they take the assets and invest in junk bonds? Did they become venture capitalists? Maybe they flipped houses during a housing boom. Or maybe they became involved with credit swap default loans. Who knows? Are these examples we should follow? If the current economy were any indication, I would think not. I know that there is some sentiment right now of taking money out of whatever investment portfolios we have, or removing it from our local financial institution, or shutting down our 401Ks and stuffing all of our assets in a mattress. Or burying it like the third slave did. Shades of the great depression! After all, who wants to take the risk of losing any more of our assets? Our natural inclination is to pull back and protect whatever resources we have.
Which leads us to the third thought I had when reading this text. The last slave had it right when he said to his master, “I knew you were a harsh man [reaping where you did not sow and gathering were you did not gather], so I was afraid”. Fear does strange things to people. Fear takes rationality and makes it irrational. Barbara Brown Taylor, the noted preacher and teacher says this: “Fear is a small cell with no air in it and no light. It is suffocating inside and dark. There is no room to turn around inside it. You can only face in one direction, but it hardly matters since you cannot see anyhow. There is no future in the dark. Everything is over. Everything is past. When you are locked up like that, tomorrow is as far away as the moon”. For the third slave, his view of the master was one of being locked up in the cell. Who knows why his view of the master was colored like this. Had he had some run in with the master in the past? Had the slave done something that may have provoked the master’s ire? Maybe the slave only thought that the master was harsh, never having gotten close enough to fully understand what the master truly was like. Whatever the reason, the third slave’s fears were ultimately realized.
If we step back and look at this one more time, remember that Jesus uses this parable to give us a glimpse of what the Kingdom of God is like. It is not just about stewardship, investments, or fear. It is about risk. Look at what the third slave says about the master: “you reaped where you did not sow, you gathered where you did not gather”. This is risk taking. Last week we learned about Heifer International and how the assets or money we give to them are multiplied many times over. There was a certain amount of risk that was involved in getting this organization up and running. And yet they have made a huge return on their investment risk. However this risk was not for self-profit, but for the betterment of a greater community. The Kingdom of God is like that. Risk means stepping out in faith, not knowing what is going to happen, but trusting that something will happen. The early disciples took a risk by leaving all that they had to follow Jesus. They could have stayed where they were, fearful of what might happen, but instead they trusted in Jesus. The same holds true for the apostles. What would have happened if Paul stayed in Damascus rather than go out through the entire known world? Those risks, that faith has brought us to this place today.
Like the three slaves of the parable, we have been given and entrusted with something wonderful. We have been given the gift of eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus. We have been entrusted with the gift of this gospel, this good news, to pass along to others. Just as importantly, we have been given and entrusted with assets of various abilities, to communicate that gospel. In God’s economy, if we trust and believe, that is if we have faith in God’s faithfulness and promises, what we have been entrusted with will be multiplied 2 times, 5 times, multiple times over. We are given not only the opportunity but also the mandate to risk using God’s assets for something greater. The first two slaves took the risk. The third slave did not. We can bury these gifts, these talents, and these assets bringing joy to no one, or we can go and attempt to multiply these gifts, these talents, and these assets for the greater kingdom. Which leads to this final question: Are we, you and I, willing to step out in faith and risk all that which we have been entrusted with? The choice is yours.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Funeral #1 (John 14:1-6)
Grace and peace to you from God our Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and from the Holy Spirit, who gives us life, Amen.
We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Leona Kobs. There are many things that could be said about the life of Leona. She grew up in Farmington, the 3rd oldest of 8 children. She lived in a farmhouse that had no electricity and that was heated with a wood cook stove and furnace. It also had a gas powered Maytag washer. She attended Oak Knoll Elementary School in Farmington and Osceola High School where she excelled at science, but hated algebra. She met her future husband Otto at a dance in Farmington. These dances were a highlight in Leona’s life, so much so that she sometimes didn’t get home from them until 1 am. And although her parents did not like Otto at first (Otto was 20 and Leona only 15), Leona and Otto eventually married and stayed together for ___ years until Otto passed away in 200__.
In that time together Leona and Otto raised 9 children. Her children remember her as a wonderful mom who maintained the Kobs’ household. She was a wonderful cook and could make homemade bread without using a recipe. Her nickname “Mumsy”, given to her by one of the children when it was realized that mommy wasn’t too becoming a term, especially around friends. As a woman who was responsible for the maintenance of the household, she sometimes had to motivate her children to get out of bed to help with the chores. Leona loved to laugh and there were good times whenever the family got together at holidays or special anniversaries. She also enjoyed looking out the window as she worked in the kitchen, as well as watching her favorite soap operas. And she especially enjoyed all of her grandchildren. I am sure that many of you might also have a special memory of Leona.
But today is not just about remembrances but it also about answering the question of what now? Leona has passed from this place, and we ask “Is she really in heaven?” Leona has passed from this place, and we ask, “What about us and what will our lives be like now?” Leona has passed from this place, and we ask, “what hope or assurance do we have in the days, weeks, and years to come” Our clue comes to us from the third reading today. In this reading Jesus is speaking to his disciples on the night before his death. They are also wondering what will become of them after Jesus is gone. So he gives them these words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” And you might be thinking, “yea right, easy for you to say.” It is easy to be on the outside of death and to offer words of assurance without experiencing it first hand. It is easy to say “Don’t worry everything will be all right” when you are not the one going through it. And although the words may sound comforting, it doesn’t take away the pain, the grief, and the heartache that accompanies death. But this is Jesus talking. He is going to HIS death. He knows what he’s about and so offers these words of to his friends.
However, Jesus offers more than words of comfort to his friends. He also offers a promise. He tells his friends that indeed that there are many dwelling places in his father’s house. And more to the point, Jesus says that he will go ahead of them [and by extension ahead of us] to prepare that place within the house for them. Let me ask you: when you have guests coming over to your house, what do you do? I would imagine that there would be some dusting, some vacuuming, and some spiffing up of the house to get it in order. I would image that if the guests were staying for sometime there would be a room made up decorated with flowers or a special blanket. There would be towels laid out for the bath or shower. There would be extra food brought in, keeping in mind what the guests would prefer to eat. There would be extra places set out at the table. In short the welcome mat would be thrown out and the guests embraced when they arrived.
There is more to this promise. Jesus says that he himself will come back to take us to his fathers house. There is a reassurance in these words. Not only does he prepare our place, but he personally escorts us there. It is in this confidence that we can be certain that we will not face death alone. It is in this confidence that we know that Jesus will be walking alongside of us. It is in this confidence that we know our place, our abode, our dwelling is safely secure for us.
And yet there might still be doubt. Certainly Thomas had his doubts, “How can we know the way?” he asks. How can we be totally certain that these promises of Jesus will hold up? What is it that Jesus says? He says I am the way. He says I am the truth. He says I am the life. Jesus came to earth so that we may know whom God is. In his coming we discover that God loves each and every one of us. We are his creation. Jesus is the way in which we know who God is, not in some otherworldly way, but in a real and personal manner. Jesus is the truth in that he shows us the way to the father’s house. It is not by some mystical meditation that we get there. It is not by some self-help book that claims that we can get there without assistance. It is not by our own achievements, awards, or activities that we can get there. It is only by the grace of God, which comes to us each, and every day. Jesus is the life because he first gave his life for us. Jesus is the life because he rose from the dead. Jesus is the life because through his resurrection we have the promise of life. We have life now, a life that is abundant. Just ask the nine children that Leona raised about the abundant life she had and the lives they lived with their mother. And we have life eternally, a life that will be lived with the father in his house. These are the promises that we hold in our faith in the one who created us. These are the promises that were given to Leona in her baptism.
Death is a part of life. I realize that may sound like a cliché (which it is), but it is a reality that we do not always want to confront. However if we are forward looking people, then we ask the question, “what now?” We want to know that we can somehow have our days, our weeks, and our years planned out and know with a certainty of what is coming next. And we know that despite our plans, they do not always work out. There is always something that comes up to interrupt our best-laid plans. Death can be like that. And so we want to know what happens after death. We want some declaration that when our loved ones pass away that there is some hope for a life beyond the grave. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Jesus offers these words of comfort with the knowledge that there is also the promise given to us that there is indeed a place, an abode, and a dwelling place. This promise is not only for Leona but for all of us as well. And so in this time we do not have to ask the question “what now” but rather we can celebrate Leona’s life, knowing in faith and confidence that she is with her father in heaven. Amen
We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Leona Kobs. There are many things that could be said about the life of Leona. She grew up in Farmington, the 3rd oldest of 8 children. She lived in a farmhouse that had no electricity and that was heated with a wood cook stove and furnace. It also had a gas powered Maytag washer. She attended Oak Knoll Elementary School in Farmington and Osceola High School where she excelled at science, but hated algebra. She met her future husband Otto at a dance in Farmington. These dances were a highlight in Leona’s life, so much so that she sometimes didn’t get home from them until 1 am. And although her parents did not like Otto at first (Otto was 20 and Leona only 15), Leona and Otto eventually married and stayed together for ___ years until Otto passed away in 200__.
In that time together Leona and Otto raised 9 children. Her children remember her as a wonderful mom who maintained the Kobs’ household. She was a wonderful cook and could make homemade bread without using a recipe. Her nickname “Mumsy”, given to her by one of the children when it was realized that mommy wasn’t too becoming a term, especially around friends. As a woman who was responsible for the maintenance of the household, she sometimes had to motivate her children to get out of bed to help with the chores. Leona loved to laugh and there were good times whenever the family got together at holidays or special anniversaries. She also enjoyed looking out the window as she worked in the kitchen, as well as watching her favorite soap operas. And she especially enjoyed all of her grandchildren. I am sure that many of you might also have a special memory of Leona.
But today is not just about remembrances but it also about answering the question of what now? Leona has passed from this place, and we ask “Is she really in heaven?” Leona has passed from this place, and we ask, “What about us and what will our lives be like now?” Leona has passed from this place, and we ask, “what hope or assurance do we have in the days, weeks, and years to come” Our clue comes to us from the third reading today. In this reading Jesus is speaking to his disciples on the night before his death. They are also wondering what will become of them after Jesus is gone. So he gives them these words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” And you might be thinking, “yea right, easy for you to say.” It is easy to be on the outside of death and to offer words of assurance without experiencing it first hand. It is easy to say “Don’t worry everything will be all right” when you are not the one going through it. And although the words may sound comforting, it doesn’t take away the pain, the grief, and the heartache that accompanies death. But this is Jesus talking. He is going to HIS death. He knows what he’s about and so offers these words of to his friends.
However, Jesus offers more than words of comfort to his friends. He also offers a promise. He tells his friends that indeed that there are many dwelling places in his father’s house. And more to the point, Jesus says that he will go ahead of them [and by extension ahead of us] to prepare that place within the house for them. Let me ask you: when you have guests coming over to your house, what do you do? I would imagine that there would be some dusting, some vacuuming, and some spiffing up of the house to get it in order. I would image that if the guests were staying for sometime there would be a room made up decorated with flowers or a special blanket. There would be towels laid out for the bath or shower. There would be extra food brought in, keeping in mind what the guests would prefer to eat. There would be extra places set out at the table. In short the welcome mat would be thrown out and the guests embraced when they arrived.
There is more to this promise. Jesus says that he himself will come back to take us to his fathers house. There is a reassurance in these words. Not only does he prepare our place, but he personally escorts us there. It is in this confidence that we can be certain that we will not face death alone. It is in this confidence that we know that Jesus will be walking alongside of us. It is in this confidence that we know our place, our abode, our dwelling is safely secure for us.
And yet there might still be doubt. Certainly Thomas had his doubts, “How can we know the way?” he asks. How can we be totally certain that these promises of Jesus will hold up? What is it that Jesus says? He says I am the way. He says I am the truth. He says I am the life. Jesus came to earth so that we may know whom God is. In his coming we discover that God loves each and every one of us. We are his creation. Jesus is the way in which we know who God is, not in some otherworldly way, but in a real and personal manner. Jesus is the truth in that he shows us the way to the father’s house. It is not by some mystical meditation that we get there. It is not by some self-help book that claims that we can get there without assistance. It is not by our own achievements, awards, or activities that we can get there. It is only by the grace of God, which comes to us each, and every day. Jesus is the life because he first gave his life for us. Jesus is the life because he rose from the dead. Jesus is the life because through his resurrection we have the promise of life. We have life now, a life that is abundant. Just ask the nine children that Leona raised about the abundant life she had and the lives they lived with their mother. And we have life eternally, a life that will be lived with the father in his house. These are the promises that we hold in our faith in the one who created us. These are the promises that were given to Leona in her baptism.
Death is a part of life. I realize that may sound like a cliché (which it is), but it is a reality that we do not always want to confront. However if we are forward looking people, then we ask the question, “what now?” We want to know that we can somehow have our days, our weeks, and our years planned out and know with a certainty of what is coming next. And we know that despite our plans, they do not always work out. There is always something that comes up to interrupt our best-laid plans. Death can be like that. And so we want to know what happens after death. We want some declaration that when our loved ones pass away that there is some hope for a life beyond the grave. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Jesus offers these words of comfort with the knowledge that there is also the promise given to us that there is indeed a place, an abode, and a dwelling place. This promise is not only for Leona but for all of us as well. And so in this time we do not have to ask the question “what now” but rather we can celebrate Leona’s life, knowing in faith and confidence that she is with her father in heaven. Amen
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
John 8:31-36
Grace and peace to you from God the Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and from the Holy Spirit, who gives us life, Amen.
Many of you might know what this is (hold up copy of Small Catechism). Allow me read a portion of it:
The First Commandment. You shall have no other gods.
What does this mean?--Answer. We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.
The Second Commandment. You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain. What does this mean?--Answer. We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.
The Third Commandment. You shall sanctify the holy-day. What does this mean?--Answer. We should fear and love God that we may not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.
The Fourth Commandment. You shall honor thy father and thy mother [that it may be well with you and you may live long upon the earth]. What does this mean?--Answer. We should fear and love God that we may not despise nor anger our parents and masters, but give them honor, serve, obey, and hold them in love and esteem.
The Fifth Commandment. You shall not kill. What does this mean?--Answer. We should fear and love God that we may not hurt nor harm our neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need [in every need and danger of life and body].
The Sixth Commandment. You shall not commit adultery. What does this mean?--Answer. We should fear and love God that we may lead a chaste and decent life in words and deeds, and each love and honor his spouse.
The Seventh Commandment. You shall not steal. What does this mean?--Answer. We should fear and love God that we may not take our neighbor's money or property, nor get them by false ware or dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and business [that his means are preserved and his condition is improved].
The Eighth Commandment. You shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor. What does this mean?--Answer. We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.
The Ninth Commandment. You shall not covet thy neighbor's house. What does this mean?--Answer. We should fear and love God that we may not craftily seek to get our neighbor's inheritance or house, and obtain it by a show of [justice and] right, etc., but help and be of service to him in keeping it.
The Tenth Commandment. You shall not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is his. What does this mean?--Answer. We should fear and love God that we may not estrange, force, or entice away our neighbor's wife, servants, or cattle, but urge them to stay and [diligently] do their duty.
Paul writes: “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.”
Earlier this morning we had a moment for confession and absolution. What list of transgressions went through your mind? Were you able to catalog all of the offenses you committed last week? When I read the Ten Commandments did you feel like you were again being convicted of something that you may or may not have done? Maybe we should all put on our orange prison jump suits and let it go at that.
“Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Free? Free from what? Free to do what? The Jews asked this very same question. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean we will be made free?” Maybe the question should be: “What truth?” What truth is it that Jesus is trying to impart? Is it that “everyone who commits a sin is a slave to sin”? That doesn’t sound very comforting to me. Is it that because I’m a slave and I do not have a permanent place in the household? That too does not offer a lot of relief. Jesus is speaking plainly here, “Truly I tell you.” This is truth from Jesus own lips. In the movie “A Few Good Men”, Tom Cruise plays a navy prosecutor grilling the Jack Nicholson character on the witness stand. At one point Cruise asks Nicholson that he wants the truth, and the Nicholson character shouts back: “You can’t handle the truth!” Can we handle this truth from Jesus, that we are slaves to sin, slaves with no permanent place in the household? Maybe there is a different truth being spoken here.
Paul writes: “But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. [God] did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.”
“If you continue in my word…you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” I earlier asked from what or for what are we free. The words of the reformer are instructive here. In his treatise on the “Freedom of the Christian”, Martin Luther says this, “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.”[1] Luther summarizes this statement this way: spiritually we are truly made free, subject to none, by the sacrifice of atonement by Jesus. It is by Jesus blood that we are now free. Free from unrighteousness and made righteous through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Free from the power of sin which holds us in bondage and makes us slaves to that sin. And this freedom is given to us in our faith in God’s redemptive works.
Nevertheless in our earthly bodies, because we are now free spiritually, we are now subject to all. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism takes all of the negativity of the “thou shalt nots” and replaces them with something more wonderful. We are now free to fear and love God in all that we do and say, and we are free to be of service to our neighbor. These are not works, which make us right before God, but are works that flow out of the good work first given to us. Luther goes on to say, “Therefore, if we recognize the great and precious things which are given us, [as Paul says [Rom. 5:5]], our hearts will be filled by the Holy Spirit with the love which makes us free, joyful, almighty workers and conquerors over all tribulations, servants of our neighbors, and yet lords of all…Just as our neighbor is in need and lacks that in which we abound, so we were in need before God and lacked his mercy. Hence, as our heavenly Father has in Christ freely come to our aid, we also ought freely to help our neighbor through our body and its works, and each one should become as it were a Christ to the other that we may be Little Christs to one another and Christ may be the same in all, that is, that we may be truly Christians.”[2]
The law, that is the Ten Commandments, is good for pointing out those areas where we fall short of the glory of God. And they are very good for showing us how to have a right relationship with God and with one another. But we know that we can never fully keep all of these commandments. We can never fully love God or our neighbor. We are truly slaves to that which keeps us in bondage. However, in the end, Jesus gives us the ultimate truth. Through our faith we believe that “if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” Amen.
And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Matt 22:1-14
“RSVP”
Grace and peace to you from God our father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and from the Holy Sprit, who gives us life, Amen.
Last year Deb and I celebrated the wedding of our son to a very nice woman he had been dating for a while. For those of you who have gone through wedding planning, there are a lot of details to be worked out including whom to invite. This list includes family, friends of the bride and groom, and friends of the parents. It is important that these people respond, to RSVP so to speak, so that there will be enough food, seating, rooms for out of town guests, etc. One of the requisite purchases for this celebration was a handful of bridal magazines. Have you seen the size of these magazines? I noticed that although there were articles for how to outfit the groom and his party, there were not too many about the roles and responsibilities of each member. I guess that leaves it up to each member of the party as to how to conduct themselves. This reminds me of the story of the young usher who had never before participated in a wedding. He asked an arriving guest if she were a friend of the bride or a friend groom. The woman replied that she was a friend of both. The usher replied that the woman would have to choose a side, saying, “ I haven’t been told where to sit the neutrals.”
Such is the case of the man who was discovered without the wedding robe. Although the man had been invited to the wedding, he did not have the necessary attire to attend. He was in fact neutral about his invitation. This neutrality results in his expulsion into the outer darkness. So why does Jesus tell this parable? For the past 4 weeks we have heard a series of parables given by Jesus about what the kingdom of heaven is like. These take place in the courtyard of the temple area in Jerusalem. His audience is the chief priests and elders, as well as those who have been “amazed” by Jesus’ teachings. The purpose of the parables is twofold. The first was to remind the elders and chief priests of their responsibilities to the people of Israel and how they had failed in carrying out those responsibilities. The second purpose was to announce that Gods’ kingdom was in fact here and now and that there was a paradigm shift in the requirements for entering the kingdom. No longer would it be just the nation of Israel and its leaders, since they had relinquished their responsibility to be a light to the nations and the salt of the earth. Now the kingdom was open to all, to the prostitutes, to the tax collectors, to the good people, to the bad people, and to those who were early as well as to those who where late.
There is a part of this particular parable that might strike some of us as harsh, though. It comes at the end where Jesus tells the crowd, that the man without the robe would be tossed “into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.” Some of you might even be thinking to yourselves, “Does this mean me? Will I too be thrown into the outer darkness?” or “Am I really chosen?” This is judgment language, and frankly it is not language we like to hear about about God or ourselves. It is something as Lutherans we do not like to discuss. We want to think and believe that God is good, and loving and that we can escape the wrath of God. Yet we continually find in scripture there is this talk of judgment. It is a spiritual reality that we must live with. We even confess in the Apostle’s Creed that “Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead”. However, I think that Jesus’ parable here is instructive as to how God will judge in the end and how this affects us.
The first and primary word to be understood in this parable is “invitation”. Verses 3 through 7 are an allegory for the nation of Israel. They had been invited, they had been chosen to be God’s people and they rejected that invitation, that call. So now Jesus is saying the invitation is now open to all. The servants went through out the town gathering everyone up, “both good and bad”. So everyone comes to the banquet. The banquet hall is filled up. Everyone has been invited to the banquet. But like modern weddings there is a dress code for this banquet. Today we dress nicely as a sign of respect and of devotion for those that will be married and for their families. The same held true in Jesus’ day. The dress code then was for those who had been invited and were in attendance to wear a wedding robe. This was nothing overly fancy or flamboyant, but nonetheless formal enough to show respect for the host. What was great about these banquets is that if you showed up without a robe, the host would furnish one for you. I know of several fancy restaurants that also have the same policy. That is if you show up without a coat or tie they will furnish one for you. How cool is that?
Moving on to verse 11, we read that the king finds a man without the essential attire, without the robe. The language the king uses is not confrontational. To paraphrase, he asks, “Friend, where is your robe? Why did you not avail yourself of the robe I offered you?” We have to ask: What is this robe? Why is it so important? It isn’t just about showing respect, although this is important. I think Jesus is using the image of a robe as an allegory for what we will look like when we appear before God. I propose that this robe is the robe of righteousness. There are two biblical references I would like to use to make my point. The first comes from the book of Zechariah chapter 3. The writer has a vision of a priest named Joshua standing before the Lord of Hosts, clothed with filthy garments. An angel has the filthy garments removed and tells Joshua, "Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with rich apparel." The second reference comes from the book of Revelation chapter 19. It says: ‘Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderclaps, crying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure" -- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."’ Both of these passages speak of visions that these writers had. But they also describe what it will be like when we have been forgiven of our sin and stand before the righteous one.
Like the man in the parable, we too have been given an invitation. Unlike the man, who was neutral about his invitation, we cannot nor should not be neutral about our decision. The parable makes it sound like we have a choice in this matter. And in some ways we do. However, the words at the end of this text tell us something different: “For many are invited, few are chosen”. There is that judgment language again. Although we are given the choice to accept or deny this free gift of grace hear what Paul writes in Galatians 3:27, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ”. Our decision is not the same as God’s decision. This is not about how we can earn our way into heaven. It is about what we do with the robe once we have it on. It is about how we take the grace freely given to us and pass that grace along to others. It is being the light to the nations and the salt of the earth. It is how are we like Christ to others in our daily relations with them. The neutral man wanted all of the benefits of the invitation without any of the responsibilities that went along with it. That is why he was bound and tossed from the banquet.
Like our new members here today we have been given an invitation into the kingdom of God. Not only have we been invited into the kingdom, but we are also chosen to wear the robe, to appear before the king without spot or blemish, to be bright and pure. The robe has been given to us in our baptism, the robe is given to us in the confession and absolution of our sins, and the robe is to us given each week in our own banquet feast when we are told “this is the body of Christ given for you, this is the blood of Christ shed for you”. The good news is that it doesn’t matter what we are dressed like. And just think, at the great banquet, we won’t be seated with the neutrals, we will have something nice to wear, and we won’t even have to RSVP. Amen.
Grace and peace to you from God our father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and from the Holy Sprit, who gives us life, Amen.
Last year Deb and I celebrated the wedding of our son to a very nice woman he had been dating for a while. For those of you who have gone through wedding planning, there are a lot of details to be worked out including whom to invite. This list includes family, friends of the bride and groom, and friends of the parents. It is important that these people respond, to RSVP so to speak, so that there will be enough food, seating, rooms for out of town guests, etc. One of the requisite purchases for this celebration was a handful of bridal magazines. Have you seen the size of these magazines? I noticed that although there were articles for how to outfit the groom and his party, there were not too many about the roles and responsibilities of each member. I guess that leaves it up to each member of the party as to how to conduct themselves. This reminds me of the story of the young usher who had never before participated in a wedding. He asked an arriving guest if she were a friend of the bride or a friend groom. The woman replied that she was a friend of both. The usher replied that the woman would have to choose a side, saying, “ I haven’t been told where to sit the neutrals.”
Such is the case of the man who was discovered without the wedding robe. Although the man had been invited to the wedding, he did not have the necessary attire to attend. He was in fact neutral about his invitation. This neutrality results in his expulsion into the outer darkness. So why does Jesus tell this parable? For the past 4 weeks we have heard a series of parables given by Jesus about what the kingdom of heaven is like. These take place in the courtyard of the temple area in Jerusalem. His audience is the chief priests and elders, as well as those who have been “amazed” by Jesus’ teachings. The purpose of the parables is twofold. The first was to remind the elders and chief priests of their responsibilities to the people of Israel and how they had failed in carrying out those responsibilities. The second purpose was to announce that Gods’ kingdom was in fact here and now and that there was a paradigm shift in the requirements for entering the kingdom. No longer would it be just the nation of Israel and its leaders, since they had relinquished their responsibility to be a light to the nations and the salt of the earth. Now the kingdom was open to all, to the prostitutes, to the tax collectors, to the good people, to the bad people, and to those who were early as well as to those who where late.
There is a part of this particular parable that might strike some of us as harsh, though. It comes at the end where Jesus tells the crowd, that the man without the robe would be tossed “into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.” Some of you might even be thinking to yourselves, “Does this mean me? Will I too be thrown into the outer darkness?” or “Am I really chosen?” This is judgment language, and frankly it is not language we like to hear about about God or ourselves. It is something as Lutherans we do not like to discuss. We want to think and believe that God is good, and loving and that we can escape the wrath of God. Yet we continually find in scripture there is this talk of judgment. It is a spiritual reality that we must live with. We even confess in the Apostle’s Creed that “Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead”. However, I think that Jesus’ parable here is instructive as to how God will judge in the end and how this affects us.
The first and primary word to be understood in this parable is “invitation”. Verses 3 through 7 are an allegory for the nation of Israel. They had been invited, they had been chosen to be God’s people and they rejected that invitation, that call. So now Jesus is saying the invitation is now open to all. The servants went through out the town gathering everyone up, “both good and bad”. So everyone comes to the banquet. The banquet hall is filled up. Everyone has been invited to the banquet. But like modern weddings there is a dress code for this banquet. Today we dress nicely as a sign of respect and of devotion for those that will be married and for their families. The same held true in Jesus’ day. The dress code then was for those who had been invited and were in attendance to wear a wedding robe. This was nothing overly fancy or flamboyant, but nonetheless formal enough to show respect for the host. What was great about these banquets is that if you showed up without a robe, the host would furnish one for you. I know of several fancy restaurants that also have the same policy. That is if you show up without a coat or tie they will furnish one for you. How cool is that?
Moving on to verse 11, we read that the king finds a man without the essential attire, without the robe. The language the king uses is not confrontational. To paraphrase, he asks, “Friend, where is your robe? Why did you not avail yourself of the robe I offered you?” We have to ask: What is this robe? Why is it so important? It isn’t just about showing respect, although this is important. I think Jesus is using the image of a robe as an allegory for what we will look like when we appear before God. I propose that this robe is the robe of righteousness. There are two biblical references I would like to use to make my point. The first comes from the book of Zechariah chapter 3. The writer has a vision of a priest named Joshua standing before the Lord of Hosts, clothed with filthy garments. An angel has the filthy garments removed and tells Joshua, "Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with rich apparel." The second reference comes from the book of Revelation chapter 19. It says: ‘Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderclaps, crying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure" -- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."’ Both of these passages speak of visions that these writers had. But they also describe what it will be like when we have been forgiven of our sin and stand before the righteous one.
Like the man in the parable, we too have been given an invitation. Unlike the man, who was neutral about his invitation, we cannot nor should not be neutral about our decision. The parable makes it sound like we have a choice in this matter. And in some ways we do. However, the words at the end of this text tell us something different: “For many are invited, few are chosen”. There is that judgment language again. Although we are given the choice to accept or deny this free gift of grace hear what Paul writes in Galatians 3:27, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ”. Our decision is not the same as God’s decision. This is not about how we can earn our way into heaven. It is about what we do with the robe once we have it on. It is about how we take the grace freely given to us and pass that grace along to others. It is being the light to the nations and the salt of the earth. It is how are we like Christ to others in our daily relations with them. The neutral man wanted all of the benefits of the invitation without any of the responsibilities that went along with it. That is why he was bound and tossed from the banquet.
Like our new members here today we have been given an invitation into the kingdom of God. Not only have we been invited into the kingdom, but we are also chosen to wear the robe, to appear before the king without spot or blemish, to be bright and pure. The robe has been given to us in our baptism, the robe is given to us in the confession and absolution of our sins, and the robe is to us given each week in our own banquet feast when we are told “this is the body of Christ given for you, this is the blood of Christ shed for you”. The good news is that it doesn’t matter what we are dressed like. And just think, at the great banquet, we won’t be seated with the neutrals, we will have something nice to wear, and we won’t even have to RSVP. Amen.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Matt 21: 23-32
"Working in the vineyard"
Grace and peace to from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ:
How many of you have brothers and/or sisters? I spent my formative years in a family of 7 with 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Each of us had our own chores to do each day. My younger brother John had what I considered the worst job, that is, cleaning up “ploppers” in the dog run. My job was to burn the trash each night. Although John complained about his job, and frankly I don’t blame him, he usually did it with out fail. I, on the other hand really liked to burn the trash. But there were many times when I wouldn’t do it usually because I wanted to play instead. John or my other brother Bill usually ended up doing it for me. In our gospel text today we have heard about two sons, one who did what his father asked, and the other who didn’t.
However, there is more to this story than whether two brothers were obeying their father’s wishes. Jesus tells this parable to illustrate who was first into the kingdom of God and who was not. Let’s back up a bit and see why Jesus tells this parable. This scene takes place in the temple courtyard of Jerusalem. Jesus has made his triumphal entry into the city and has not only overturned the tables of the moneychangers, but he has also been healing and teaching. In fact the people who listened to his teaching were “amazed” and “hung on his words.” The elders, the teachers of the law, and the chief priests were obviously not happy with this situation. Their authority was being challenged.
And so they come to him and demand by whose authority Jesus is doing these things. They knew it wasn’t by their authority. Notice that Jesus does not answer them directly. Jesus wants to see if these men, who were the supposed gatekeepers and intercessors to God, would identify the authority that was given to Jesus. So he asks them the question regarding John’s baptism: “Where did it come from? Heaven or man?” Although this may seem like a trick question, Jesus is attempting to determine whose authority they really recognize. [We spoke of this two weeks ago regarding our own church, asking the question, who is in charge?] I find it significant that these great leaders within the Jewish community cannot or will not answer the question. They remind me of a school age child caught next to a broken vase saying that they don’t know how the vase was broken. Although the truth is staring them in the face, they refuse to see that truth.
So Jesus says fine, “If you won’t answer me, I won’t answer you”. But he does not leave it there. Jesus is never about leaving things as they are. Jesus will always reveal truth to us even if we do not want to see it. Which brings us to the parable of the two sons. There are several things which I think need to be illustrated. Jesus begins with the fact that there is a man and two sons. The implication is that there is a bond here that is genetic and cannot be broken. This metaphor is used to illustrate the relationship between God the father, or God the creator of the universe in relation to God’s creation. As sons they have a rightful place next to the father that gives them special rights and also responsibilities. The second thing that should be pointed out is the matter of obedience. Jesus asks the chief priests and those in the crowd who were listening to this parable this question, ”Which of the two did the will of the father?” It is obvious which of the two sons was the obedient one. It was the one, who, despite the objections, did the job. In this case Jesus was pointing out that obedience in this case was to believe in the authority given to John the Baptist and therefore to Jesus.
The third subject that needs to be discussed is the matter of the vineyard. In all of the gospels Jesus speaks of the vineyard. We heard a parable about the vineyard last week and we’ll hear another one next week. But what does the vineyard signify? The vineyard in this case is a metaphor for the nation of Israel. The prophet Isaiah in chapter 5 says this” The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight” . Israel was the nation that God had chosen to bring salvation to the world. It was Israel that was supposed to be the light to the nations, and the salt of the earth. However, the vineyard was neglected. The rulers of Israel were more concerned about their own welfare rather than that of their own people or the rest of the world. Again in Isaiah chapter 5 we hear God tell the rulers of Israel: “And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.” Jesus is in fact condemning the chief priests and elders for neglecting their responsibilities in tending to the vineyard, that is, to the people of Israel, so that they too could be the light to the world and the salt of the earth.
The last topic that needs to be quickly explored is the phrase “Kingdom of God”. Bear in mind there are some translations that use the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” but they both mean the same thing. The scholar N.T Wright, in his book “The Challenge of Jesus” has this to say: This phrase does not refer to some place where God’s people will go after death. It refers to the rule of heaven, which is of God, being brought to bear on the present world. Here in this place we pray each week “Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as in heaven.” In other words God was and is unveiling his age–old plan of redemption for Israel and the rest of the world through Jesus Christ. Jesus always spoke and acted like he knew that God’s plan of salvation and justice for the world was being unveiled through his own presence, his own work, his own fate . However the religious leaders of the day didn’t get it. All they knew was that this man was challenging their authority.
I have given you a lot of information. If I were sitting in your place I would be asking, “So what does this mean for me?” We get our clue when Jesus tells the crowd that the tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God first. Jesus was redefining the rules. No longer would the leaders of Israel or for that matter the nation of Israel be the ones to show the way of salvation. It would now be the gentiles, the outcasts, and the marginalized that would be the light to the nations, and the salt of the earth. Guess what? This means you. You are the son or daughter who is working in the vineyard. The apostle Paul writing to the Galatians, a group of gentiles, says this about our relationship to God: “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons [and daughters] of God through faith. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ” As daughters and sons of God not only do we have the rights and privileges of God’s promises, but we also have certain responsibilities. We are to work in the vineyard, not to earn our salvation which is already guaranteed through the death and resurrection of Jesus, but so that we can bring others to that same salvation. We are called, like the religious leaders of Isaiah’s and of Jesus’ time, to be the light to the world and the salt of the earth. Peace Lutheran Church’s identity statement sums this up nicely: “We are called to prayer, called to care, called to share.” And what I have witnessed in my short time here testifies to that. Your have demonstrated selfless acts of love, whether it is helping out with the clothing share, being a confirmation mentor, hosting the friendship day to the seniors of this area, giving scholarship money to help with education expenses, praying at the flagpole, or volunteering for a Habitat for Humanity project. You have heeded the call to work in the vineyard so that others may know of God’s saving grace, through Jesus Christ. The task is not easy. Like my brother John, there are times when we complain that the job is too tough, too dirty, or too smelly. But in all things we give thanks to God who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think. Amen.
Grace and peace to from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ:
How many of you have brothers and/or sisters? I spent my formative years in a family of 7 with 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Each of us had our own chores to do each day. My younger brother John had what I considered the worst job, that is, cleaning up “ploppers” in the dog run. My job was to burn the trash each night. Although John complained about his job, and frankly I don’t blame him, he usually did it with out fail. I, on the other hand really liked to burn the trash. But there were many times when I wouldn’t do it usually because I wanted to play instead. John or my other brother Bill usually ended up doing it for me. In our gospel text today we have heard about two sons, one who did what his father asked, and the other who didn’t.
However, there is more to this story than whether two brothers were obeying their father’s wishes. Jesus tells this parable to illustrate who was first into the kingdom of God and who was not. Let’s back up a bit and see why Jesus tells this parable. This scene takes place in the temple courtyard of Jerusalem. Jesus has made his triumphal entry into the city and has not only overturned the tables of the moneychangers, but he has also been healing and teaching. In fact the people who listened to his teaching were “amazed” and “hung on his words.” The elders, the teachers of the law, and the chief priests were obviously not happy with this situation. Their authority was being challenged.
And so they come to him and demand by whose authority Jesus is doing these things. They knew it wasn’t by their authority. Notice that Jesus does not answer them directly. Jesus wants to see if these men, who were the supposed gatekeepers and intercessors to God, would identify the authority that was given to Jesus. So he asks them the question regarding John’s baptism: “Where did it come from? Heaven or man?” Although this may seem like a trick question, Jesus is attempting to determine whose authority they really recognize. [We spoke of this two weeks ago regarding our own church, asking the question, who is in charge?] I find it significant that these great leaders within the Jewish community cannot or will not answer the question. They remind me of a school age child caught next to a broken vase saying that they don’t know how the vase was broken. Although the truth is staring them in the face, they refuse to see that truth.
So Jesus says fine, “If you won’t answer me, I won’t answer you”. But he does not leave it there. Jesus is never about leaving things as they are. Jesus will always reveal truth to us even if we do not want to see it. Which brings us to the parable of the two sons. There are several things which I think need to be illustrated. Jesus begins with the fact that there is a man and two sons. The implication is that there is a bond here that is genetic and cannot be broken. This metaphor is used to illustrate the relationship between God the father, or God the creator of the universe in relation to God’s creation. As sons they have a rightful place next to the father that gives them special rights and also responsibilities. The second thing that should be pointed out is the matter of obedience. Jesus asks the chief priests and those in the crowd who were listening to this parable this question, ”Which of the two did the will of the father?” It is obvious which of the two sons was the obedient one. It was the one, who, despite the objections, did the job. In this case Jesus was pointing out that obedience in this case was to believe in the authority given to John the Baptist and therefore to Jesus.
The third subject that needs to be discussed is the matter of the vineyard. In all of the gospels Jesus speaks of the vineyard. We heard a parable about the vineyard last week and we’ll hear another one next week. But what does the vineyard signify? The vineyard in this case is a metaphor for the nation of Israel. The prophet Isaiah in chapter 5 says this” The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight” . Israel was the nation that God had chosen to bring salvation to the world. It was Israel that was supposed to be the light to the nations, and the salt of the earth. However, the vineyard was neglected. The rulers of Israel were more concerned about their own welfare rather than that of their own people or the rest of the world. Again in Isaiah chapter 5 we hear God tell the rulers of Israel: “And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.” Jesus is in fact condemning the chief priests and elders for neglecting their responsibilities in tending to the vineyard, that is, to the people of Israel, so that they too could be the light to the world and the salt of the earth.
The last topic that needs to be quickly explored is the phrase “Kingdom of God”. Bear in mind there are some translations that use the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” but they both mean the same thing. The scholar N.T Wright, in his book “The Challenge of Jesus” has this to say: This phrase does not refer to some place where God’s people will go after death. It refers to the rule of heaven, which is of God, being brought to bear on the present world. Here in this place we pray each week “Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as in heaven.” In other words God was and is unveiling his age–old plan of redemption for Israel and the rest of the world through Jesus Christ. Jesus always spoke and acted like he knew that God’s plan of salvation and justice for the world was being unveiled through his own presence, his own work, his own fate . However the religious leaders of the day didn’t get it. All they knew was that this man was challenging their authority.
I have given you a lot of information. If I were sitting in your place I would be asking, “So what does this mean for me?” We get our clue when Jesus tells the crowd that the tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God first. Jesus was redefining the rules. No longer would the leaders of Israel or for that matter the nation of Israel be the ones to show the way of salvation. It would now be the gentiles, the outcasts, and the marginalized that would be the light to the nations, and the salt of the earth. Guess what? This means you. You are the son or daughter who is working in the vineyard. The apostle Paul writing to the Galatians, a group of gentiles, says this about our relationship to God: “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons [and daughters] of God through faith. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ” As daughters and sons of God not only do we have the rights and privileges of God’s promises, but we also have certain responsibilities. We are to work in the vineyard, not to earn our salvation which is already guaranteed through the death and resurrection of Jesus, but so that we can bring others to that same salvation. We are called, like the religious leaders of Isaiah’s and of Jesus’ time, to be the light to the world and the salt of the earth. Peace Lutheran Church’s identity statement sums this up nicely: “We are called to prayer, called to care, called to share.” And what I have witnessed in my short time here testifies to that. Your have demonstrated selfless acts of love, whether it is helping out with the clothing share, being a confirmation mentor, hosting the friendship day to the seniors of this area, giving scholarship money to help with education expenses, praying at the flagpole, or volunteering for a Habitat for Humanity project. You have heeded the call to work in the vineyard so that others may know of God’s saving grace, through Jesus Christ. The task is not easy. Like my brother John, there are times when we complain that the job is too tough, too dirty, or too smelly. But in all things we give thanks to God who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think. Amen.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Genesis 50: 15-21
Who’s in Charge?
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
First let me say thank you for allowing me to be your intern here this year. I consider it an honor and joy to be able to serve you in this capacity. And from what I understand, you are forgiving of the mistakes that interns make. This is good, as I know that I will probably make many of them this year. Already the issue of names already comes to mind. Believe me, the pictorial directory has already gotten a lot of use.
Now you might think it bold of a raw intern to come in and ask, “who is in charge?” And in one sense you would be right. After all I have not been a part of this faith community. I do not know how things work around here yet. Still I do think that the question needs to be asked from time to time, whether it is an intern, the senior pastor, or from those of you sitting in the pews asking the question. Who really is in charge here? As you may have noticed from the children’s sermon there are differing viewpoints in determining the chain of command of this community of believers.
In our Old Testament lesson from Genesis today we hear, that for Joseph God is really the one in charge. But what has brought him to this point of declaring to his brothers “even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today”. Many of you might know of the story of Joseph. Andrew Lloyd Webber made Joseph’s story into a musical called “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat”. All of this can be found in the last 15 chapters of Genesis. Joseph was the youngest of twelve brothers born to the patriarch Jacob. As the youngest he also happened to be the favorite of Jacob, which caused his brothers no end of jealousy. And it wasn’t just because Joseph was the favorite of Jacob. Joseph also boasts of the dreams that he had where 12 were bowing down to one. It was the jealousy and the boasting that caused the brothers to want to murder him. We know Joseph was not murdered but was sold into slavery. It was in slavery that Joseph became the head of Potipher’s household because God’s hand was with him. Then Potipher’s wife attempted to seduce him. In her failure she accused him of rape, causing Joseph to be thrown into prison. It was in prison that Joseph again was raised into leadership, because God’s hand was with him. Joseph then successfully interpreted a dream for the pharaoh, resulting in Joseph becoming the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt, because God’s hand was with him. It was because of Joseph’s leadership that Egypt was spared a crippling famine in the Mediterranean basin. It was this same famine that caused Jacob and his sons to migrate to Egypt in search of food. Which brings us to our text today. Joseph, believed to be dead, has been revealed to his father and brothers. Jacob, the patriarch of the family is dead. And now the brothers, wracked with guilt over what they had done to Joseph when he was younger, now bow before Joseph, wondering what their fate will be.
We don’t know if Joseph had heard tales of the mighty Yahweh at his father’s knee. But as we have heard here, Joseph knows that he is not God. Joseph knew something about God’s power in the midst of his circumstances. “Fear not” he tells his brothers. This is a salvation language. Joseph is inverting the situation the brothers find themselves in. Joseph makes the proclamation “…in order to announce that the purposes of God are much larger and more powerful than the grip of guilt” . In essence he says, this is not about you, stop thinking of yourselves, and start thinking of what God has accomplished, despite your intentions and your plans.
Throughout the bible we see that God’s intentions, God’s plans are greater than the intentions, the plans, and the evil of man. Pharaoh planned to kill the Israelites, but God raised Moses up to deliver them. Saul, the first king of Israel planned on killing David, but God raised David up to be the greatest King in Israel. The evil Kings of Israel were intent on oppressing the poor of the land, but God used the other nations to destroy the kings, and in the process spread Judaism further into the known world. The Pharisee Saul was intent on murdering and wiping out the newly formed Christian community, but God met him on the road to Damascus, converting him into the great Apostle Paul. And finally, the Pharisees and the Romans crucified Jesus on the cross. But God raised Jesus from the dead providing hope and salvation for the entire world.
So who is in charge? Well the pat answer, the easy answer, the Sunday school answer would be God. And we would be right. But do we truly recognize that in our daily life? As sinners we are also intent on evil deeds. We may not want to admit it, but it is true. Think about our confessions on Sunday morning; “We have sinned against you in thought word and Deed, by what we have done and what we have left undone.” The apostle Paul himself identified that in his letter to the Romans chapter 7: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do but what I hate to do…for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this is what I keep on doing.”
I experience this in my commute up here every day. Rather than recognizing a child of God in the car next to me, there are times when I get mad and curse that person, if they don’t drive the way I think they should drive. Maybe you have experienced something similar. You may be dealing with a young child who is not behaving, therefore punishing that child far beyond what the actual mis-deed was. Or you may have a co-worker who says something that is considered offensive or rude and so you might end up ignoring them or spreading gossip about them. Maybe it’s your parents, whom you think are treating you unfairly and you begin to think murderous thoughts. You and I become like Joseph’s brothers inflicting pain on others for our own selfish needs and wants.
Then there is the flip side. You might be like Joseph having pain and/or suffering inflicted upon you. You may be going through a difficult time in your relationship with a spouse or sibling. You may be experiencing sickness or disease. You may be grieving over a recent loss in your life. And then there are those in the gulf coast that have had a hurricane upend their lives. These are also evils over which we have no control. These are evils in which we feel like we are the only ones going through them. These are evils that cause us to ask whether God is with us or even if God exists. It is tough to see God if you are deep in the valley of despair, loneliness, or pain. Even Jesus on the cross cried out, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”
In chapter 8 in Paul's letter to Romans he says this: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called to his purpose.” Did you here that? In ALL things God works for the good of those who love him! What a great promise. Does that mean our suffering or our tendencies towards hurting others will end? No! We repeatedly hear in the NT that there will be suffering in our lives and in the lives of others. But we have a God who is faithful. We have a God that has plans for our lives, both here on this earth in haven afterwards. Listen to what God tell the OT prophet Jeremiah: “‘For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you a future and a hope.’” Some might think that this is a Pollyanna view of life as we live it here. But this is what faith is about. It is about a hope and a promise.
Joseph knew of God’s sovereignty even in the midst of his trials and tribulations. At the end of the text he gives his brothers and their families a promise: Even though you intended to do me harm God intended it for good in order to preserve a numerous people as he is doing today. Jesus came to earth to have a monstrous evil inflicted upon him, namely the sins of the world placed upon him, so that numerous people; you, I and the whole human community would be saved. And with Jesus’ resurrection we have the promise that our lives are preserved fresh daily. So I ask you one more time, “Who is in charge here?” And more importantly, will you ask that question of yourselves in the days, weeks, and year to come.
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
First let me say thank you for allowing me to be your intern here this year. I consider it an honor and joy to be able to serve you in this capacity. And from what I understand, you are forgiving of the mistakes that interns make. This is good, as I know that I will probably make many of them this year. Already the issue of names already comes to mind. Believe me, the pictorial directory has already gotten a lot of use.
Now you might think it bold of a raw intern to come in and ask, “who is in charge?” And in one sense you would be right. After all I have not been a part of this faith community. I do not know how things work around here yet. Still I do think that the question needs to be asked from time to time, whether it is an intern, the senior pastor, or from those of you sitting in the pews asking the question. Who really is in charge here? As you may have noticed from the children’s sermon there are differing viewpoints in determining the chain of command of this community of believers.
In our Old Testament lesson from Genesis today we hear, that for Joseph God is really the one in charge. But what has brought him to this point of declaring to his brothers “even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today”. Many of you might know of the story of Joseph. Andrew Lloyd Webber made Joseph’s story into a musical called “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat”. All of this can be found in the last 15 chapters of Genesis. Joseph was the youngest of twelve brothers born to the patriarch Jacob. As the youngest he also happened to be the favorite of Jacob, which caused his brothers no end of jealousy. And it wasn’t just because Joseph was the favorite of Jacob. Joseph also boasts of the dreams that he had where 12 were bowing down to one. It was the jealousy and the boasting that caused the brothers to want to murder him. We know Joseph was not murdered but was sold into slavery. It was in slavery that Joseph became the head of Potipher’s household because God’s hand was with him. Then Potipher’s wife attempted to seduce him. In her failure she accused him of rape, causing Joseph to be thrown into prison. It was in prison that Joseph again was raised into leadership, because God’s hand was with him. Joseph then successfully interpreted a dream for the pharaoh, resulting in Joseph becoming the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt, because God’s hand was with him. It was because of Joseph’s leadership that Egypt was spared a crippling famine in the Mediterranean basin. It was this same famine that caused Jacob and his sons to migrate to Egypt in search of food. Which brings us to our text today. Joseph, believed to be dead, has been revealed to his father and brothers. Jacob, the patriarch of the family is dead. And now the brothers, wracked with guilt over what they had done to Joseph when he was younger, now bow before Joseph, wondering what their fate will be.
We don’t know if Joseph had heard tales of the mighty Yahweh at his father’s knee. But as we have heard here, Joseph knows that he is not God. Joseph knew something about God’s power in the midst of his circumstances. “Fear not” he tells his brothers. This is a salvation language. Joseph is inverting the situation the brothers find themselves in. Joseph makes the proclamation “…in order to announce that the purposes of God are much larger and more powerful than the grip of guilt” . In essence he says, this is not about you, stop thinking of yourselves, and start thinking of what God has accomplished, despite your intentions and your plans.
Throughout the bible we see that God’s intentions, God’s plans are greater than the intentions, the plans, and the evil of man. Pharaoh planned to kill the Israelites, but God raised Moses up to deliver them. Saul, the first king of Israel planned on killing David, but God raised David up to be the greatest King in Israel. The evil Kings of Israel were intent on oppressing the poor of the land, but God used the other nations to destroy the kings, and in the process spread Judaism further into the known world. The Pharisee Saul was intent on murdering and wiping out the newly formed Christian community, but God met him on the road to Damascus, converting him into the great Apostle Paul. And finally, the Pharisees and the Romans crucified Jesus on the cross. But God raised Jesus from the dead providing hope and salvation for the entire world.
So who is in charge? Well the pat answer, the easy answer, the Sunday school answer would be God. And we would be right. But do we truly recognize that in our daily life? As sinners we are also intent on evil deeds. We may not want to admit it, but it is true. Think about our confessions on Sunday morning; “We have sinned against you in thought word and Deed, by what we have done and what we have left undone.” The apostle Paul himself identified that in his letter to the Romans chapter 7: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do but what I hate to do…for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this is what I keep on doing.”
I experience this in my commute up here every day. Rather than recognizing a child of God in the car next to me, there are times when I get mad and curse that person, if they don’t drive the way I think they should drive. Maybe you have experienced something similar. You may be dealing with a young child who is not behaving, therefore punishing that child far beyond what the actual mis-deed was. Or you may have a co-worker who says something that is considered offensive or rude and so you might end up ignoring them or spreading gossip about them. Maybe it’s your parents, whom you think are treating you unfairly and you begin to think murderous thoughts. You and I become like Joseph’s brothers inflicting pain on others for our own selfish needs and wants.
Then there is the flip side. You might be like Joseph having pain and/or suffering inflicted upon you. You may be going through a difficult time in your relationship with a spouse or sibling. You may be experiencing sickness or disease. You may be grieving over a recent loss in your life. And then there are those in the gulf coast that have had a hurricane upend their lives. These are also evils over which we have no control. These are evils in which we feel like we are the only ones going through them. These are evils that cause us to ask whether God is with us or even if God exists. It is tough to see God if you are deep in the valley of despair, loneliness, or pain. Even Jesus on the cross cried out, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”
In chapter 8 in Paul's letter to Romans he says this: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called to his purpose.” Did you here that? In ALL things God works for the good of those who love him! What a great promise. Does that mean our suffering or our tendencies towards hurting others will end? No! We repeatedly hear in the NT that there will be suffering in our lives and in the lives of others. But we have a God who is faithful. We have a God that has plans for our lives, both here on this earth in haven afterwards. Listen to what God tell the OT prophet Jeremiah: “‘For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you a future and a hope.’” Some might think that this is a Pollyanna view of life as we live it here. But this is what faith is about. It is about a hope and a promise.
Joseph knew of God’s sovereignty even in the midst of his trials and tribulations. At the end of the text he gives his brothers and their families a promise: Even though you intended to do me harm God intended it for good in order to preserve a numerous people as he is doing today. Jesus came to earth to have a monstrous evil inflicted upon him, namely the sins of the world placed upon him, so that numerous people; you, I and the whole human community would be saved. And with Jesus’ resurrection we have the promise that our lives are preserved fresh daily. So I ask you one more time, “Who is in charge here?” And more importantly, will you ask that question of yourselves in the days, weeks, and year to come.
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