Archive for July, 2010

On the 10th Sunday after Pentecost in Series C the three readings assigned are Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-26; Colossians 3:1-11 and Luke 12:13-21. The text for the sermon is Ecclesiastes 1:2, “‘Vanity of vanites,’ says the Preacher, ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’”

Part of the problem with using the word “vanity” is that in today’s culture it has the meaning of being prideful. Solomon is not referring to man’s pride but rather he is pointing out how at times everything appears to be so meaningless. The word actually refers to “vapour” or “breath” as in verse 14 life is described as a process like grasping for wind. This is a wonderful metaphor because every member of the congregation has experienced the futility of what is being done. You buy new tires for your car and the transmission goes out three days after the warranty expires. The list of examples is endless.

Law and Gospel has one purpose which is to point to Christ as the only hope both here on this earth and for all eternity. Frankly, the book of Ecclesiastes is a very comforting message from God. How so? It provides an insight into life so that we are not surprised or, at the worse, take offense at how God is handling life on earth. To understand the futility of life because the earth is the abode of Satan (”on earth is not his equal”) moves us to respond to life’s twists and turns with, “Well, what else did you expect?”

The ending of the book of Ecclesiastes (12:13) invites us to hear (in the sense of “obey”) the concluding understanding of the true meaning of why we are here on earth which is to “Fear God, and keep his commandments because this applies to every person.” (NAS) To follow in Christ’s footsteps means that while the disciples thought that on a certain Friday His life had come to a futile end, the Church recognizes such a day as “Good.”

It reminds us of a Chinese parable about a farmer whose horse ran away. His friends were grieved but the farmer replied, “Why do you conclude that was bad?” Two days later the horse returns bringing with him a herd of wild horses. The friends rejoice but the farmer replies, “Why do you conclude that is good?” Two days later his son falls off of one of the wild horses and breaks his leg. His friends grieve but the farmer says, “Why do you conclude that was bad?” Two days later the army comes through the village to take young men to war but the son can’t go because of his broken leg. The friends rejoice but the farmer says, “Why do  you conclude that was good?” And the story ends.

It is a story that is our story as we often get bad and good mixed up. We reverse the equal signs handing our good works to God for merit and God says, “Why do you think that is good?” Or, we suffer with a broken transmission and God says, “Why do you think that is bad?” The Christian is to have the hope that the message of Ecclesiastes is comforting to realize that we should expect futility and failure in this world because of its fallen nature. But in Christ we have been renewed as new creations and become the Christian nation on earth. We can interpret reality as God does knowing that confessing we are poor, miserable sinners is not bad and that the cross was indeed good for us!

For the ninth Sunday after Pentecost, the three readings assigned are Genesis 18:178-33; Colossians 2:6-15 and Luke 11:1-13. Chosen as the sermon text is Luke 11:8, “I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.”

After reading a number of commentaries and listening to sermons of this passage, the title unfortunately appears to be “Persistence Pays Off.” This is not really a parable but an illustration story to make a point. Jesus tells of going to a friend of yours and asking for three loaves of bread but your friend says that the door is shut, he and his children are in bed and he can’t give him the loaves. However, if you are persistent, he will rise and give you as much as you need. Now what possibly could be the meaning of this story?

It appears that there are many who imagine that by their much praying and if in particular they have a crew of praying people, that there will be a greater chance that God will hear and respond to such prayers favorably. Yes, there are many examples of apparently miraculous answers to prayers but is it because there were many people with much prayer or because the prayer of the righteous availeth much?

Unlike a parable which speaks of how things do operate in the kingdom of God on earth; that is, the holy Christian Church, this story is an example of how God is far better than the unwilling friend. God instead says, “Ask” and it’s given; “Seek” and it’s found; “Open” and it’s opened. The key is verse 13 which reveals that if even a friend who at first is evil toward your request will finally provide what you need because of your insistence, you can only imagine how your loving God will provide what you really need instantly.

One way to begin such a sermon is to ask the congregation if they remember a prayer God did not answer. If anyone does remember such a prayer, either they are an unbeliever or they do not understand Christian prayer. God’s answer is immediate, always to your good, always according to His will and always in keeping with His promises. He never promises you a rose garden but does promise to help you get through the thorns of life and cope with whatever the devil, the world and your flesh can throw your way.

We do not have a god of the Law who will answer because of your much work at praying. We have instead the God of the Gospel Who answers immediately and, at times, before we even ask, because of the work His Son did for you on the cross. Once through faith you have become His child, He will never give you a stone when you ask for bread or a serpent when you request fish or a scorpion when you desire an egg. He is the God of grace in giving you what you do not deserve beginning with the forgiveness of sins, the robe of righteousness and eternal life.

As we approach the 8th Sunday after Pentecost we find the three assigned readings to be Genesis 18:1-14; Colossians 1:21-29 and Luke 10:38-42. The chosen text to preach about is Luke 10:41, “And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.’”

Some passages are more difficult than others to preach about by first getting the laity confused. This is a no brainer in accomplishing that goal. Those of you who have been following this blog for some years now may have figured out the style we employ in most sermons. We attempt to find the “contradiction” in the text which then leads to confusing the laity which confusion is ovecome only through the use of Law and Gospel. One of the best ways to begin the confusion is by means of a question to the old Adam. So here goes.

“When you come home from work (shopping, school, etc.) what do you think God would prefer you to do? Read the newspaper or read the Bible?” Such a question places the hearer in a real dilemma. He expects that the correct answer is “to read the Bible” but the hesitation comes about because he knows he prefers to read the paper or look at the news on TV. Which then leads to the text and in this case the event of Jesus’ visit to the home ofMartha and Mary.

Because the old Adam interprets the Bible through the prism of trying to find principles of life in order to keep score of how righteous we are, it is quite sensible that most people find a principle of life in this Martha and Mary visit. It is that when we have a choice between listening to Jesus and doing something else, we should listen to Jesus. So the conclusion that we ought to read the Bible rather than the paper when we come home from work.

However, from a Law and Gospel perspective, when God criticizes someone it is never just for a sin committed. It is also for the unbelief behind that sin. It is not that Martha is angry with Mary for not helping out. Martha is troubled with the attitude of Jesus. Listen to her words with special emphasis provided: “Lord, do you NOT CARE that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore TELL HER to help me.”

Here is a creature telling off the Creator! This is not a simple temper tantrum from one sister to another. It is an assault against Jesus as being true God. We would venture to say that had Martha continued to do the work of serving while listening with one ear to the words of Jesus without any rancor against Mary, then there woud have been no criticism from Jesus. One of the wonderful rediscoveries about the Reformation is that a fruit of the Holy Spirit is not necessarily only a spiritual work. It also can be a temporal work such as the changing of the baby’s diaper or making a dinner.

No, it’s not a sin to read the paper rather than the Bible when you arrive home. It is not just a matter of priorities but an understanding of doing all things from a Christ-centered motivation. And when we sin, we can flee to the cross and hear the words addressed to each of us, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

The three readings assigned for the 7th Sunday after Pentecost are Leviticus 18:1-5; 19:9-18; Colossians 1:1-14 and Luke 10:25-37. The text chosen to preach about is Luke 10:28, “And he said to him, ‘You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.’”

It’s known as the Parable of the Good Samaritan which makes it wrong on two counts. First, it is NOT a parable. Parables are about what happens in the kingdom of God with Jesus as the primary person of the parable. Now there have been those who attempt to make Jesus the Jewish person who was attacked, the Samaritan who helped him, the animal upon whom the Samaritan placed the Jew and so forth. Furthermore, the real point is not about loving Samaritans or Jews but it is an answer to the question of the deceptive lawyer. How so?

The lawyer asks what he is to do to inherit eternal life. Think about that for a moment. If someone were to ask you about what they needed to DO to get to heaven, would you not tell them, “Nothing?” Would you not point them to Jesus as Savior Who died to take away the punishment of sin and Who rose to affirm that His mission was successfully accomplished? Look what Jesus says!  “What is written in the Law?” Jesus points to the Law as the way of salvation? Why did He do so?

Being the top theologian of His day, Jesus knew well the distinctions between Law and Gospel With the lawyer Jesus realizes that the man imagines that he can be good enough to merit salvation. So Jesus not only points him to the law but when the lawyer correctly quotes Deuteronomy 6 as part of the Jewish Shema, Jesus responds, “Do this and you will live.” “Do this and you will live!!!!” Has Jesus forgotten that a man is saved by grace through faith and not byworks of the Law? Or, is there something else going on here?

Of course there is. Jesus knows that when you are speaking with someone who imagines that they can merit their way to heaven, you demonstrate to them where they fall short. So the reason for a story about an enemy being a good person in helping out someone in need. The point is clear. Jesus is simply telling the lawyer one area of his life where he falls short of the glory of God. There really is NO GOSPEL in the entire passage. It is all Law. Because as Jesus said, it is wrong to give pearls to the swine. That is, it is bad theology to proclaim the Gospel to someone who imagines that they are not as sinful as God regards them.

To show that this is NOT a parable, simply go to a parallel conversation in Mark 10 with the rich man. The SAME QUESTION is asked but this time the problem is love of money which Jesus points out. When the disciples ask Jesus who can be saved, He answers that it is IMPOSSIBLE  with man but not with God for with God all things are possible. Jesus is making the point that even with the help of God it is impossible for a man to contribute to his salvation. No, as an unbeliever, he is dead in sin and therefore cannot possibly respond. The response comes only when the Holy Spirit creates faith and good works follow after a person is totally saved.

In both Mark 10 and Luke 10 conversations with the lawyer/rich man, Jesus speaks no Gospel for each of them needs to hear the Law in all its severity. While both passages give no indication whether either of the men ever came to faith, we know that because of Jesus’ Law and Gospel preaching some Pharisees, like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, did come to faith trusting in the promises of the Gospel connected to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The three assigned readings for this 6th Sunday after Pentecost are Isaiah 66:10-14; Galatians 6:1-10, 14-18 and Luke 10:1-20. The text upon which the sermon is based is from Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”

If you look up the word “Karma” on the Internet, you will find that some sites find the teaching of Karma not only in Buddhism and Hinduism but also in Christianity! In fact, they use this verse from Galatains 6 as evidence that Christians also believe in Karma. Karma can be summarized by the notion that “what goes around, comes around.” It is the idea that in the long run, people get what they deserve. In Buddhism and other such religions, Karma is tied to the teaching of Reincarnation which is the belief that human beings today have had past lives and actions that have an effect on what kind of life they have today.

If they were evil in a past life, then they are reincarnated into a body–not necessarily human–in which they make up for their past sins. Karma then becomes a teaching that attempts to resolve why bad things happen to good people. One can break out of a cycle of being reincarnated into an inferior being by being more ethical in the present life so that in the next body one is elevated to a higher level.

The worse effect of Karma is that because people need to go through purification in the present life, there is not much motivation to help the needy, the poor, the sick and so forth because then you get in the way of the purification process.  As an aside, this is one of the reasons why the unbelieving Pharisees were angry with Jesus for healing lepers and the demon possessed. He was in essence removing the deserved consequences of their sin attributed to them by God. Jesus was therefore getting in the way of God’s justice.

And that is the primary reason why Christianity does not believe in Karma as taught by false religions. For the Christian God is not a God of justice in giving everyone what he or she deserves. Rather the holy Trinity is a merciful God in not giving people what they deserve and a gracious God in giving people what they do not deserve; namely, the forgiveness of sins, the robe of righteousnses and eternal salvation.

What Galatians 6:7 does not mean by “whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” is some unbreakable principle of karma. Instead, it refers to God’s plan that those who are believers reap the free gift of salvation while those who are unbelievers reap what they hope for; namely, an eternity without the true God. The Christian faith does not permit, therefore, the commonly held notion that when something bad happens to us and we can complian, ”What did I do to deserve this?” We believe, teach and confess instead that what we truly deserve is nothing but temporal and eternal punishment. Anything short of that is a gracious gift from a loving God Who became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ.