Fine Print

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.

How many of you have ever read your credit card contract? Or read the mortgage or rental contract you signed giving you the right to live in your abode? Or read the agreement form when downloading a new program on your computer? And I don’t mean just giving the statements just a cursory glance. I mean really read it and try to make sense out of the legalese that shines forth in the document? Let me read a portion of the contract I have from one of our credit card companies. [Read statement] I ask you, does this make a lot of sense? How many of us though don’t even bother reading this legal gobbledygook and just agree to the terms? I, for one can say that when it comes to the licensing agreement for computer software, I click on the “I agree” box and move on, ‘cause I want to get the software loaded as quickly as possible. In the same way I wonder about our gospel text this morning. What is really being said here? Do we really look at these texts or do we quickly move on to the more juicy parts like the discovery of the empty tomb? I realize that there is a lot of material packed into these 13 verses. Rather than try to focus on one or two verses lets see if anything can be made of this. I believe that it is important because sometimes, if we don’t read the fine print, we can end up not knowing what our rights and obligations are.

Let us not forget that we are still in the season of Lent even as we are quickly pushing towards Good Friday and Easter. This is still a time for us to prepare to mourn the death of Jesus, and it is about getting set to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. What we find here is that Jesus is preparing for his own death. At the same time he is preparing his disciples for what is to come afterwards. He tells his disciples very plainly that the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. As we know from all of the gospel stories, the disciples do not fully understand what is happening. The disciples, up until Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, think of Jesus as a political messiah, or one who is to free them from the bondage of Roman oppression. I wonder if the disciples misunderstood Jesus when he said that the ruler of this world will be driven out (v31). They do not understand that Jesus’ death was to free them for a far greater bondage then just political oppression. But what exactly does Jesus mean for himself to be glorified? Quickly looking at the root word “glory” At least three uses may be distinguished: (1) It defines the wealth or other material possessions which give honor or distinction to a person; (2) the majesty, dignity, splendor or honor of a person; (3) most important of all, it describes the form in which Yahweh (God the Father) reveals Himself or is the sign and manifestation of His presence. In this case we can throw out the first definition. Jesus is speaking of not only for himself but also for the Father to be given majesty or honor. More importantly it was also the time for Jesus to be revealed as who he really was, that is as the savior of the world, and as the one who would take away the sins of the world. And this revelation was to take place on the cross. He himself says this at the end of this text when he speaks of being lifted up from the earth, indicating what kind of death he was to die.

Jesus then launches into what sounds like three random statements. All three though have something to do with death. All three have something to do with transformation. All three have something to do with glorification. And it is not just for ourselves this happens but also for the one who first died for us. The first statement, “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” I believe is a metaphor; Jesus is referring to himself and of the church to come. If we follow the course of Christianity throughout the last 2000+ years, is it really so amazing that the Christian church has become so prominent? Look at what a single grain of wheat has produced. Jesus himself says that when he is lifted up he will draw all people to himself. Hasn’t this been to the glory of God?

The second statement “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life” is, I think, a little harder for us. It is almost as obscure as the statement Jesus makes to Nicodemus about having to be born again. In some ways they both say the same thing. If we are to keep our life eternally we have to change somehow. Think of the caterpillar that changes into the butterfly. The caterpillar has to “die” in order for it to become what it was ultimately meant to be. The claim could be made that in our baptism we are changed. You heard this verse last week: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” Martin Luther, in the small catechism says this about baptism: “What does baptism mean for daily living? It means that our sinful self, with all its evil deeds and desires, should be drowned through daily repentance; and that day after day a new self should arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever.” Hating our life in this world means that we take hold of the promise in our baptism that we are delivered from death and the devil and that we have everlasting salvation.

The last statement “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor” is also about death of self. In this case though this is about discipleship. It about putting aside selfish ways to serve. It is about following, no matter what the cost. Remember the Greeks who wish to see Jesus at the beginning of the text? I wonder what their motivation was? Did they wish to see a miracle worker in the middle of his trade? Did they wish to hear the teacher expound upon some obscure theological point? Did they wish to see a radical zealot take on the Roman Empire? Seeing Jesus is not the same as following. I think that people want to see Jesus all the time for what ever reason, but are they willing to put their lives on the line to follow him? The promise in this is that for those who follow, the father will honor. And in turn the father is then glorified.

We then come to the point where Jesus himself has some doubts about his destiny. But notice what he says; “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say-- 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Jesus is prepared. Jesus is ready. He understands his purpose here on earth. He is equipped to go to the cross not because he is weak, but he is strong in his obedience and that this has nothing to do with worldly recognition. This is strictly in the realm of manifestation of divine power. Human helplessness or shame is not the key to showing forth God’s glory. A strong God does not require a weak creature. A strong creature glorifies God best. For a human being that means an obedient one, and Jesus was that. Obedience was his stance before God. He paid its price. And so, in the days prior to his death, Jesus and those around him hear these words “I have glorified (my name) and I will glorify it again”. These words are for us and they are in effect announcing the new covenant between God and ourselves.

What is this new covenant? A covenant is an agreement between two parties, much like the agreement you signed when getting your credit card. In this case though God is in the position of determining the conditions of the agreement (although I think that the credit card companies like to think of themselves as God). Usually a covenant involved promises from the superior party in exchange for the proper response from the other party. In the Jeremiah text, we hear that God takes responsibility even for the response from the people. God will empower the people to uphold their end of the agreement. And how is this done. First, God puts his law into our hearts. God insures that all will know him. This is not a head knowledge, but a heart knowledge. Knowing in the bible represents an intimate relationship with the one who is known. God makes the claim that we are his children and we are his people. Next, and this is the best part, God forgives our iniquity and he remembers our sin no more. We hear this each week when we gather here at the table: Jesus, as the Son of God, tells us “this cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you, for the forgiveness of sin.” Finally we are given the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us, to counsel us, and to advocate for us. This is the covenant that God has with us and for us.

Unlike the credit card or licensing agreements that have a lot of fine print, we can thank God that there is not fine print in the bible. Yes it might take a while to make sense of some of it, but for the most part it is fairly straightforward. And unlike the credit card companies, you will not be charged anything. On the contrary our covenant with God is fairly simple. It states that God first loved us, and in doing so sent his son to die for us. Our response then is to love him and to love others as he first loved us. And even if we fail to do this, this does not negate the covenant he has with his. Christ has paid the price for all of this. In this then we get all of the rights without all of the obligations. Can you think of a better plan than this? I’ll leave that for you to decide. Amen

And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and mind on Jesus Christ. Amen

Gifts Galore

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.

Several years ago there was a movie that came out called the “Ultimate Gift”. In it James Garner stars as Red Stevens, an oil tycoon who has died, and left behind an inheritance of great wealth. At the beginning of the movie we see that his greedy family is gathered in the office of his lawyer, for the reading of the will. The will is read not in a normal way but through a series of videos that Red leaves for each member of his family. For his reckless and selfish grandson Jason Stevens, Red assigns twelve apparently simple tasks called "gifts" - of work, of money, of friends, of learning, the gift of problems, the gift of family, the gift of laughter, the gift of dreams, the gift of giving, the gift of gratitude, the gift of a day and the gift of love. These “gifts challenge the playboy Jason to a journey of discoveries and to answer the crucial question: "What is the relationship between wealth and happiness?” When he meets Emily, a girl with leukemia, and her mother Alexia, Jason’s perspective of life and money are changed. Although I am not going to give away the ending of the movie, suffice it to say, Jason’s, life is altered forever. It is a great family-type movie and I would encourage all of you to rent it if at all possible. But I also find the title slightly misleading, in that we have already discovered what the ultimate gift is.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God-- not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life”. You may or may not have heard these words before. As Lutherans we base most of our understanding of God’s grace on this passage. The first question to ask is “What is grace?” Dictionary dot com defines it this way: “The freely given, unmerited favor and love of God[i]”. Martin Luther describes it this way: “When we were created by God the Father, and had received from him all kinds of good things, the devil came and led us into disobedience, sin, death, and all evil. We lay under God’s wrath and displeasure, doomed to eternal damnation, as we had deserved. There was no counsel, no help, no comfort for us until this only and eternal Son of God, in his unfathomable goodness, had mercy on our misery and wretchedness and came from heaven to help us ^[ii]”. We read that in a different way in today’s gospel lesson: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him”. God gave his son as a gift for you and I, for our neighbors, for our community, for our nation, and for all of creation for our salvation. God could have ignored us, or he could have wiped us out like in the flood, but instead came to us in the person of Jesus, to make right that which was wrong. What is humbling is that there is someone who would do this for us. Why? We’d done God no favors before we came to faith. There were many times when we spit in His face, hurled insults at Him, or totally ignored Him, thinking/knowing we could do it on our own. And there are times when we continue to do this. In the book of Romans the Apostle Paul says this, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-- though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us”[iii]. This is not cheap grace. We cannot use God’s grace as a justification for sin, by commission or by omission. The apostle Paul puts it this way: “What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life[iv]. God’s costly grace for us has been paid for through the innocent suffering, the blood and the death of Jesus Christ. As the cover of your bulletin says: Grace is God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense.

What then is faith? Hebrews 11:1 says this, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. Faith is believing or trusting in the promise given by God. Lutherans have a term for this. It is called “sola fida” or faith alone. Salvation, which is being saved from the wrath of God, depends upon God’s mercy and this can be received only in an act of faith. Man’s ethical activity and “works” have no place here. They can neither cause nor preserve salvation. It is only through faith that we are preserved to eternal life.[v] This faith is given to us so that no one may boast. The reason is that in our own boasting we make ourselves to be like or better than God. In boasting we think of only our own interests and we make it the standard by which we judge God. Our boasting results in our deciding on who shall or shall not be saved, ignoring God’s gracious will for us and for humanity. When we do this we forget that God’s mercy on sinners is an act of divine freedom, which cannot be expected. God is really free in his grace. We cannot demand it. We have no rights in relationship to God; on the contrary he has every right to do what he wants.[vi] The certainty of salvation still belongs to the humble man or woman who receives God’s mercy on faith as a pure miracle.[vii]

So what do we do with this gift? Above all else we should thank God for this ultimate gift. We should thank God when we come here to worship and praise. We should thank God in our prayers. And we should thank God in how we live our lives. Our lives were not meant to take this gift of God and put it aside. Walking in newness of life allow us the freedom to live our lives in such a way that glorifies God. This not only honors the giver but also is the conduit in which Christ’s love for all creation is channeled through. The gift of salvation is then made visible in the spiritual gifts we have been given to use, which then permits us to value and take care of our family, our church, and our neighbor. We have been given the gift to serve, whether it is here in church or in our community. We have been given the gift of teaching, whether it is in our home or in our occupation. We have been given the gift to encourage others in their life experiences. We have been given the gift of generosity, so that the work of the greater church is advanced and that the mission of Peace Lutheran can be accomplished. And we have been given the gift of showing mercy, compassion, and forgiveness to those who need it most. “For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life”.

Jason Stevens was given twelve gifts, which on first examination, would seem to be what our Christian life looks like. Those gifts that were given made Jason a better person in the long run. And it took his grandfathers death to make those gifts possible. However, Red did not die to make Jason better. Although Red’s “gifts” gave Jason a new lease on life it did not give him life. Red’s “gift” is not the same gift we have been given. Jason had to work for his gifts. As people of faith we have been given a free gift, which leads to new life today, and hope for the life to come. And by the way, it should not be forgotten that no man gives thanks to the giver of all good things by his own power; rather this too is God’s gift to us. He not only gives us the gifts for which we thank him but he also gives us the gratitude. Jason could possibly boast of his accomplishments. We cannot boast of the good work done in Christ, but we can thank God that we have been given the work to do of Christ both here in this church and in our community. In doing so we praise and give thanks to God for the ultimate gift he gave us. Amen.

And may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and mind on Christ Jesus.

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[i] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grace

^[ii]Tappert, Theodore G.: The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 2000, c1959, S. 414

[iii] Romans 5:7-8

[iv] Roman 6:1-4

[v] Althuas, Paul [trans Robert Schultz] The Theology of Martin Luther (fortress press, Philadelphia 1966) 246

[vi] Althuas 284

[vii] Althuas 286

Mark 1: 9-15

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

For those of you who grew up on baseball you should know the name of Yogi Berra. Not only was he a great catcher for the New York Yankees in the 1950s, but he is also remembered for malapropisms known as “Yogisms”. For those of you younger than us OTD folks, you would probably recognize Yogi on an AFLAC commercial where he extols the virtues of disability insurance. Some of the more famous yogisms are: “A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore”; “Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical”; “Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours”; “I never said most of the things I said”; “I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house”; “If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else”; “You can observe a lot by just watching”; and my favorite, "It’s like deja vu all over again." I get the same feeling after reading our gospel lesson for today. It’s like, haven’t we read this before?

Well in fact we have. We heard verses [1-8 last December 7th],] 4-11 on 1/11 and verse 14-20 on the 1/25. It seems the only section we have skipped is verses 12 and 13. In essence what we have here is a recapping of Jesus baptism and of Jesus starting his ministry in Galilee. And as we have noted before, the writer of this gospel is very succinct in his details about the life and ministry of Jesus. Some commentators have likened this book to a narrative of the passion with a long prelude. So when we hear this lesson this morning, we are not given a lot of details, unlike the other gospels where it seems that Marks skeletal-like gospel is fleshed out. Since we have already talked about Jesus baptism, and the Kingdom of God has been explained, what is it about these two verses that have been neglected? Why are they included here and now as opposed to some other time in the church year? Although I cannot prove anything, I suspect that it is because Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days and that Lent is also forty days long. So lets dive into these two verses.

“And the Spirit immediately drove him (Jesus) out into the wilderness.” The first question that comes to mind is why would this happen? It’s not like this would be some sort of mission trip. This is serious stuff, to be sent out into the wilderness. Imagine if you will a place like the Mohave Desert. Civilization as we know it does not exist. There is little food. There is virtually no water. It is lonely. It is cold. It is empty. It can be overwhelmingly frightening. Why would this happen? We get very few clues from reading this verse, although the next verse then says that Jesus was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan, that he was with wild beasts, and that there were angels waiting on him. Again there is not a lot in this verse to indicate what exactly is going on. And although there has been much speculation, I think that Mark is making a connection with the wilderness journey of the Israelites and Moses. They too were in the wilderness for a period of 4o years. They too were without food or water. They too were ministered to by God in the pillar of flame and light. And they too were tempted, maybe not by Satan, but tempted nonetheless, to not trust God. Think about the golden calf incident. Or consider all of their whining about how much better it was in Egypt, even though they had been slaves.

Remember that Jesus has just been proclaimed as the Son of God the beloved, with whom God was well pleased. If you remember from last week we heard these same words. The thing is that the intended audience was different. In the Transfiguration, God declares, “This is my Son the beloved”. But God adds this qualifier: “listen to him”. In our text today we have no qualifier. The intended audience is Jesus himself. But the effect is the same. In both stories nobody stays on the so–called mountaintop. Last week we heard that the disciples went back into the valley, but accompanied by Jesus. Here Jesus is driven out into the wilderness, but accompanied by angels. And though both stories suggest that God is with us in these experiences, don’t we still sometimes question that fact?

I believe that we all have our own wilderness stories or even adventures. What are your wilderness stories? Where are the dry and dusty places you have been? What wild beasts have you encountered in your lives? Maybe some of you are encountering those situations right now. For some of you, you are facing the wilderness of unemployment, or the possibility thereof. Others of you are encountering the wild beast that represents death and loss. This is not only the physical death of a friend or a loved one, but also the death of friendships or relationships. There is the loss of some physical or mental capability. And then there are the temptations. I’ll bet that the youth that participated in the 30 hour famine felt tempted. Maybe they were tempted to sneak some food when no one was looking. Or they were tempted to leave before the famine was over. Or quite possibly they were tempted to think of themselves rather than those who are truly hungry. But beyond this one example, there are the temptations to participate in activities or pursuits that could lead to addictions. And then there is the temptation to put your self ahead of others, or the temptation to self-sufficiency. I don’t need anyone’s help, or even yours God. Lord knows that I have been presented with that one many times in my life! Are we not in effect questioning who really is in charge here? Is it God or is it I?

In fact I wonder if the season of Lent is precisely to invite us (or even possibly drive us) back into the wilderness. Is it not so much to deprive of us of those things that bring us satisfaction, but to remind us of our dependence upon God? In these two verses we do not know what the outcome of Jesus’ meeting with Satan was. We do know however what happens immediately afterwards. Jesus leaves the wilderness, and goes to Galilee, to proclaim the good news that the kingdom of God has come near. That is, the rule of God is being brought to bear in the present world. No only that, but Jesus says to repent and to believe. In other words turn away from that which leaves you dry and dusty, that which frightens you, and that which tempts you. Turn to me, Jesus says, he who has living waters to slake your thirst. Turn to me who overcomes the fear of death and loss. Turn to me who binds the strong man, that is Satan, and I will pillage and plunder his home. Turn to me and believe that I am here. This Lenten time is not for us to think that we can give up material or religious things in order to be closer to God. It is not a time to win our spiritual brownie points. It is a time of preparation, to remind us that in the time of our wilderness, in the facing of our wild beasts, in the fighting of our temptations, that all of these things are ultimately met on a Friday afternoon at the cross, and then defeated three days later with the revealing of an empty tomb. And we should be reminded of that every time we reflect upon our baptism. We are reminded of that each week here in this place, when we receive the bread and wine and we are forgiven of our sins. It is, in the words of Yogi Berra, deju-vu all over again. Amen.

And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep our hearts and mind on Jesus Christ. Amen