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Wearing the right gear.

Revelation 7_9-17  Wearing the right gear

 

Who here can surf? Is there anyone here who can play league at top level?  Who can race a v8 supercar? Yep, that’s what I thought.  Yet with the right clothing we can look like and act like the best surfer or racing car driver ever!  Don the right gear and you or I can go to Surfers Paradise and look like a pro-surfer. Everyone does it.  The moment you step into Queensland, for some reason you feel you have to clothe yourself in the right gear…the board shorts, the Oakely sunglasses, the Billabong tee shirt and thongs; you got to look like you can surf.

The same goes when we attend a sporting event like football or car racing.  We buy and wear the clothing that makes us look as if we could tackle () or out lap the Stig!  Unlike Dorcus, who voluntarily make clothing for the poor out of necessity, we make clothing to cover who we really are and we use clothing to hide our insecurities and inabilities; we wear designer clothing to blend into the crowd. 

In a way its fun to look like a star sportsman or women…but please don’t ask us to play!  The clothing might say ‘Holden Dealer Team race driver’, but it does not and cannot empower us to do what it says.  We are reminded of this today on ANZAC Day.  We can dress like a soldier, but don’t ask us to be the one to go to battle and be killed.  Don’t expect us to take a bullet for our country and have our clothes ruined and stained by our own blood.

Adam and Eve were the fist to put on designer clothing, hoping to blend in to the surrounds, hoping not to be noticed, hoping to cover their true self.  Genesis records their moment of discovery, when Adam and Eve realised they had sinned against God and for the very first time felt shame and guilt: ‘When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.’

Sin brought shame.  They were naked before God and each other, both physically and spiritually.  They were not a god in their own right after all, and so fig leaves became the first designer clothing.  By covering themselves with clothes, perhaps God wouldn’t notice them.  Perhaps the fig leaves would cover their sin, insecurities and inability to truly fear and love God; perhaps they would look like they did before. 

However, as you and I are fully aware, designer clothing, made and chosen by us, only covers and hides, it does not do what it says.  The leaves were of no use to Adam and Eve, God still found them and still knew they were sinners hiding under clothing; they were punished and kicked out of the garden. 

Still today we try to look as if we can hide from God’s anger over our sin.  We still try and wear designer clothing, chosen by us, to cover our shame.  The moment we have a bad though or sensual desire, a bad word is spoken by us or we lie, like walking into our wardrobe to put on a new change of clothes, we pick out cover ourselves with a particular excuse; a clothing we knew worked last time.  We clothe ourselves to justify our thoughts or actions by wearing the blame game; blaming the TV show, blaming the other person, blaming even God.  We cover our unrighteousness, our shame and guilt with home made clothing, perhaps even condemning others for doing the very same thing we do, hoping this would cover our deeds.  Yes, it often fools those around us.  No one in the church would ever find out.  Perhaps no one would even know in our family…but we know.  And guess what….God knows.

Isaiah warns ‘all our righteous acts are like filthy rags’.  God cannot be fooled, he sees beyond our clothing, our nice exterior, and casts them off as nothing but filthy rags.  He knows what we are hiding underneath, and so do we.  He asks us to do what our clothing says…be righteous, but we can’t.  God asks of us what we cannot deliver.  Like wearing the army clothing knowing full well we cannot fight.  St Paul laments saying ‘What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?’

When St John had the privilege of looking into heaven itself, out of all the glorious and mysterious things he saw, out of all the wonders, like seeing the Son of Man and the seven spirits, one mundane and rather ordinary thing was pointed out and noted; the white robes of the believers in heaven.  John records ‘Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes– who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’

The clothing of the saints in heaven, the clothing of those who have died and gone to heaven before us are singled out by God to tell us of their significance.  They are not wearing clothes fashioned by their own works, excuses or righteousness…the old filthy rags that Isaiah speaks about; the fig leaves of the old Adam and Eve.  No, the clothing they wear are not their own, they are white robes washed in the blood of the lamb.  The blood of Jesus covers them and it is only this clothing, made out of Jesus blood that was poured out on the cross, and worn by the saints in faith, that covers the true sinful nature that once lied beneath.  It is only this clothing that is good enough for God because it is really the clothes of his own Son Jesus.

The robe of righteousness, the clothing worn by the saints, washed in the blood of Jesus, is singled out to show it is the only clothing that makes us righteous before God; it is made known to us because we cannot see it…it is spiritual and it is put on by faith, as St Paul says ‘the righteous live by faith not by works’.  This is the gospel, the good news. 

Unlike the clothing of excuses and good works we wear to cover our shame and guilt before others, but do not cover before God, the robe we are given by the lamb covers before God, yet it is hidden for it is by faith that we trust we are wearing it.  In baptism we are given this white robe washed in the blood of Jesus, as St Peter says in 1 Peter 3:21 ‘baptism now saves you … not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,’

Even though we may not feel or even look like a Christian, clothed in the white robe of righteousness, we are not play acting or pretending to be Christians, we really and truly are Christians who are saved and will enter eternal life.  You and I truly are disciples of Jesus and saints before God; we have salvation by the very clothes we wear, given to us by God in baptism.  While baptism clothes us with Jesus blood, we continually wash our robes in the blood of Jesus in Holy Communion, and in confession and absolution.  Here our sins and guilt are covered again and again; we sin, we come, we are washed and we go and we serve. 

This is the cycle of discipleship; always going out of and returning to Jesus to be covered in his blood.  He is our shepherd who will continually wash us clean as we do his work in our community.  Never fear about doing something wrong in ministry.  Never worry that you will make the unforgivable mistake.  Everything, when done in the name of Jesus, will be used by God and as long as we remain in the cycle of discipleship, all will be forgiven.  For it is Jesus who not only covers our sin, he is also shepherding our conscience and soul.  As you hear his voice and meditate on it, he will guide your thoughts and decisions. He will lead you into mission and service together with each other. 

By faith we know we wear the right gear for salvation, but it is often forgotten that we also now live by that same faith; there is a promise that Jesus shepherds us now in our daily service.  The promise is for now and it is for you that the Lamb at the center of the throne will be your shepherd; he will lead you to springs of living water. And that even though you may suffer and fall into sin, God will wipe away every tear from your eyes.’  Amen

Don’t hold on…Jesus is Risen

Don’t hold on…Jesus is risen John 20:1-18

 

He has risen!  We can only imagine what someone would say and do if they suddenly saw a dear friend alive, whom was thought to be dead.  We can only imagine what Mary did when she first saw her dearest friend and saviour Jesus, whom she was certain, was dead, now risen and standing before her.  What would you do if you thought someone you loved was dead, perhaps after a terrible accident or after being lost, and then you suddenly saw them?

Of course you would run and give them a great big hug and hold onto them tightly in great joy.  You would hold onto them, never wanting to let go, thinking, ‘Now we are together, nothing will separate us.’  Naturally, we would want things to return to the way they were before the incident, wanting everything the same, wanting the relationship to be the same, wanting the future to be a continuation of the past.

Mary of course acted in the same natural way we would if our dear friend whom was dead, but now stands before us alive!  She grabbed hold of him, she hugs him and does not want to let go of him.  Things were going to be the same again; going to return back to normal.  Jesus was once again going to be walking with his disciples and caring for them again, teaching about the kingdom of God; by his very presence, his victory over death, shows that he is right in his claim to be the messiah, the resurrection and the life.  What a joyful future it will be, now that the future is going to be the same as the past.

But can it ever be?  Can the future be the same as the past, now that Jesus has risen from the dead?  Can the past be held onto, now that Jesus has over come the past?

As Mary clung to Jesus, he said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’  With these words Jesus announces that the past is finished with, there is no going back or holding on to the past.  His death and resurrection dealt with the past.  Things are not the same the other side of death and resurrection.  Here, where Jesus lives forever, dawns a new life forged in forgiveness and sustained by his presence with us through his word and sacraments.

Jesus’ telling Mary ‘not to hold on me, I’m going back to my God and your God’, is not a word of rejection, but a word of hope and acceptance.  A word that tells us that the past is over; there is no need to hang onto it anymore.  Our God, because of Jesus atoning death on the cross, does not hang on to our past sins, as Psalm 103 announces ‘The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.’

Mary certainly understood Jesus’ words in this way and released her grip on Jesus, knowing she will never lose him again, even in her own death; for he is the resurrection and the life.  She does not have to hold onto him for fear of losing him again, because from now on he is going to be present in a different way.  He is to return to the Father, in order to be present always and at all times and in all places, bringing forgiveness and peace through his word and sacraments.  Jesus is giving her the freedom to now go and live without hanging onto burdens of the past.  Guilt and shame of the past, are forgiven.  Now she has the freedom, courage and hope to announce ‘I have seen the Lord!’

Today we witnessed the baptism of Logan and Gus.  Baptism brings the cross and the resurrection to us now.  Through his ascension to his Father, Jesus is present now by his living word and holy sacrament, giving victory over sin, death and the devil, as his word promises ‘whoever is baptised and believes will be saved.’

Here today, in the waters of baptism, Logan and Gus died to sin, went to the grave with Jesus where the old sinful nature was put to death, and now by the power of Jesus resurrection, the living word of God brought Logan and Gus to new life in Jesus.  St Paul says ‘We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. ‘   You can go from here today and say ‘I witnessed a death and resurrection!’

Each baptism is a new Easter miracle, a new death and a new resurrection to life in Jesus.  From this moment on for Logan and Gus, and from the moment of your baptism on, the past is finished with; we no longer hang on to the past or live as we did in the past.  We may want things to be the same and naturally, we still try and hold on to our sin or grievances, like we hold on to a friend.  But in baptism the old sinful nature was put to death with Jesus and our new self, which is brought to life in Christ, now lives.

Jesus words ‘do not hold on to me’, give you and me the freedom to let go of past guilt, to let go of past hurts and sinful ways, let go of fear and of anxiety, because in letting go, we are confessing our sin and allowing Jesus to forgive.  Our future is now no longer a continuation of the past, but is a new freedom, forged in forgiveness and sustained by his presence with us through his word and sacraments.

In fact, every time we confess our sins to God and to each other, and receive a word of forgiveness from God, either through the pastor or when in private, through another Christian, the miracle of a new Easter happens; a new death to self and a new resurrection to life in Christ is enacted upon us by the very words of Jesus, ‘If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven.’

The life of a Christian is always about the cross and resurrection.  Going to church always revolves around our dying and living, and discipleship is always centred on Christ’s call to let go of the past and to live in the forgiveness of Jesus, just as the prophet Micah said  ‘And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’

Our life is a life worth dying to live for, because Christ died for us and now lives in us by faith.  His resurrection is ours through baptism, his life is ours, his righteousness is ours, all that is his is ours by faith, trusting in Jesus very words to you and me today ‘I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.’  Amen

I can’t bear to look.

I can’t bear to look Isaiah 52:13-53:12

 

There are some things in this world that we just can’t bear to look at or dare to love.  Mould is something we all hate to see or smell, especially if it is growing on something we just took a bite out of!  It looks horrible, all fury, bluey and black in colour and it also smells terrible.  What good could come out of such a disgusting growth?   Penicillin!

Yes, from something so foul actually extrudes something that is a life giving antibiotic.  Out of a dying, mould infested piece of bread is harvested a life saving drug named penicillin, a drug that ushered in the new world of antibiotics; a drug that now save hundreds of lives each day. From something we cannot bear to look at comes a life-giving drug.

While there were no cameras in Jesus day, the prophet Isaiah gives us a word picture of God’s chosen messiah, Jesus; whom we picture in our minds as beautiful, with long flowing blond hair with strongly contoured cheek bones.  Isaiah, prompted by the Spirit, 1000’s of years before his birth, depicts Jesus like a piece of mould.  Someone we could not even bear to look at.

He writes ‘there were many who were appalled at him–his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness—He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him–Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.’

Jesus, hanging on the cross, looks for all purposes like a dying piece of bread covered in mould, rather than the ‘bread of heaven’ that he said he was.  He is bruised by his beating, bleeding from his whipping; agony is on his face.  His flesh cut so badly you could see his muscles and tendons being ripped from his joints as he is suspended by just three sharp nails.  His bones are all showing.  There is nothing of him that would make us want to look at him.  No, he was to be despised.   Jesus, the bread from heaven, the life giving bread hangs dying, like a piece of bread covered in mould.  What good could come of this?

He is indeed the bread of heaven, the bread of life, because out of Jesus veins pour a life giving flow of blood.  He is precisely the bread from heaven because he is dying, disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness.  We can’t bear to look at him because he is our sin; he is the ugliness, the smell, the horror of our sin;  he is the bread from heaven, covered in the mould of our sin, so that through his death for us, out of his veins would flow the life giving blood that will heal us from death.

Isaiah foretells this saying ‘he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.’   It was our sins that he died for, it is his blood that gives life.

Penicillin was invented many years ago, but today we receive its benefits as we take its healing properties into our bodies.  In the same way, Jesus died on the cross some two thousand years ago, but his blood still flows for us today, filling us with its healing properties as we drink of the cup in Holy Communion.  Jesus comes before us today, in the word of God through simple bread and wine, nothing to look at, no beauty or majesty to attract us to it, nothing in its appearance that we should desire it.  Many– hide their faces and esteem it not.’  Yet, by the very word of God, this simple bread and wine is the body and blood of Jesus that freely gives us the forgiveness of sins and victory over death that he won for us that first Good Friday.

Martin Luther speaks of it this way ‘If now I seek the forgiveness of sins, I do not run to the cross, for I will not find it given there. Nor must I hold to the suffering of Christ…in knowledge or remembrance, for I will not find it there either. But I will find in the sacrament or gospel the word which distributes, presents, offers, and gives to me that forgiveness which was won on the cross. Therefore…whoever has a bad conscience from his sins should go to the sacrament and obtain comfort, not because of the bread and wine, not because of the body and blood of Christ, but because of the word which in the sacrament offers, presents, and gives the body and blood of Christ, given and shed for me.

And the peace which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus this Good Friday.  Amen

[1]Luther, M. (1999, c1958). Vol. 40: Luther’s works, vol. 40 : Church and Ministry II (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther’s Works (Vol. 40, Page 214). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

I will wash you.

I will wash you John 13-1-17

There are times, perhaps when we have been working in the garden, or painting, or fixing the car, that we get our hands so dirty that they don’t come clean after washing them.  We can scrub and scrub, but to little effect; the dirt has actually stained our hands.  Over time the stain will vanish and our hands will once again be clean.

At the Last Supper, the Passover meal, where the disciples were eating the sacrificial remembrance meal, Jesus gets up and takes off his outer garment, grabs a towel and a bowl of water and washes the disciple’s feet.  Either, one of the disciples has really smelly feet and the odour was ruining the meal, or Jesus was making a spiritual point by washing the dirtiest part of a person’s body.

Of course we know there was more to Jesus’ foot washing than just trying to clean some dirty feet.  Otherwise he would not have interrupted such an important and religiously significant meal with such an un-dignified display.   The Passover meal drew the Jewish people back to the time of the exodus, the night of the Passover.  By eating a specially sacrificed lamb they remembered the night the blood of a lamb was spread on the door posts to protect the people inside the house from the angel of death.  When the angel saw the blood, he passed over the house and the first born male was kept safe, but all those without the lamb’s blood, had their first born killed by the angel.

Jesus deliberately used the significance of this meal to demonstrate the cleansing he was about to accomplish by his blood on the cross.  Every person, man, woman and child, you and me, are stained with dirt.  Every one of those disciple’s gathered with Jesus were stained with dirt.  No matter how much we wash we remained stained, not with physical dirt, but with the stain of sin and death.

Like when we cannot seem to get a stain out of our hands, we cannot get the stain of sin out of our lives; it is a mark that remains with us forever and taints everything we do and say, as Jesus said in Matthew 15: ‘For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean.‘  The stain of sin is at our core and if left, separates us from the holiness of God.

Jesus washes the disciple’s feet to demonstrate that he will be the one who will wash their sinful hearts, just as king David pleaded and prayed for many years earlier ‘Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Peter however, rejects the washing because he feels Jesus should not wash his feet, that would be humiliating for him, but Jesus replies, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”… “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”  The external washing of the disciple’s feet pointed to Jesus’ washing of our hearts that will clean them from the stain of sin once and for all.

The cross was to be the washing instrument and Jesus’ body and blood serve as the cleansing agent through whom God would clean the world of sin, death and the devil.  By washing the feet of the disciple’s, Jesus shows how he must be a servant of the world, a lowly cleaner if you like, just as foretold in Isaiah 53; ‘Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.’

Just as the blood of the sacrificial lamb saved the people of Israel and brought them out of slavery in Egypt, Jesus blood saves us, cleanses us and brings us out of slavery from sin, death and the devil and brings us into God’s presence, as Jesus said ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’  While Judas would have no part in it and left the room, by faith in Jesus word’s Peter allows Jesus to wash his feet, and he was cleansed.  By faith we allow Jesus to wash us clean.

By faith we trust that his blood has washed us, ready for heaven.  By faith we allow Jesus to be our servant, humble and gracious towards us, washing our conscience by his word and blood and serving us with his body and blood in his Holy meal, as the writer of Hebrews says ‘let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.’

We have been cleansed by Jesus and tonight, as I wash the feet of some of our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are reminded of Jesus servant hood; his expression of love that saw him die in our place to make us clean.  Yet there is something else important demonstrated in this foot washing.  With Jesus in us by faith, we also become servants to one another.  Just by being cleansed ourselves, we are able to cleanse others through acts of love and forgiveness.  We can wash each other by choosing not to bring up past hurts or past sins committed against us.  By the power of God’s word and the Spirit’s encouragement, we can choose not to habour anger and bitterness against each other.

We can also wash each other when we speak, read, sing and pray God’s word to each other.  Jesus is present in his word, therefore his is present washing through the word, as he promised ‘You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.’ A disciple is really being Jesus’ co-cleaner, who’s only work is to be humble and a slave, to bring cleansing to others through the justifying  word of Jesus and to live humbly themselves as they also seek forgiveness from Jesus and other Christians for failing to do this very thing.

This is what it means to love one another and this is what Jesus offers us.  As you experience or witness the foot washing, we will sing to each other the very cleansing words of Jesus ‘A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’

 

Amen

Where is your confidence

Where is your confidence John 12_1-8

Put your hand up if you love going to the dentist!  Tell me why no one or very few people like to go to the dentist?  Well if you don’t like going why do you go?

Of course we go to the dentist because we need to look after our teeth, and we know that sometimes the best treatment may mean we will suffer pain; the pain of pulling a tooth, or scrapping of our gums, the agony of orthodontic work.  Just the sound of the dentist’s drill puts shivers up our spine.  We endure suffering and pain because we place our trust in the dentist and the outcome he is promising.  We may be a quivering mess, we may look like and feel like a wimp, we may even feel like crying, but the expertise of the dentist gives us the courage to trust in him; to trust that the procedure will heal us.  Fear yet hope.  Worry yet faith; weakness yet strength to endure; yet not faith in my strength, but faith in the professionalism of the dentist.

We say that we have faith in God.  We say that faith justifies, faith makes us right with God, Luther reformed the church proclaiming ‘it is by faith alone that we are saved.’  St Paul in Ephesians 2:8 says ‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith.’  Yet have you ever questioned yourself about what this ‘faith’ is; what it looks like, and how do I know I have the ‘faith’ that saves and endures suffering and temptation?  And is it after all ‘my faith’ that saves?

St John records a woman of great faith who is acting in a way that looks as if she has no faith.  Mary, the sister of Lazarus, who pleaded with Jesus to help her dying brother, who witnessed Jesus raise her brother from the dead, pours expensive perfume on Jesus feet and then wipes them with her hair. Luke records that she was a quivering mess, crying aloud in front of religious guests; with her tears she soaked Jesus’ garments.  Certainly not what we would expect of a woman of faith and neither did Judas.

He, on the other hand, looks, speaks and acts like a man of great faith.  He is offended by this flirty show of emotion, unbecoming of a strong woman of faith, and instantly points out her wrongdoing in poring out expensive oil on Jesus; such a waste of money!  Not good discipleship!  This same scenario could be played out in any church today.  One member may be shaking and balling, unable to compose themselves and they seem to always make ‘unchristian decisions’ in their life.  While another member is quite calm, always in the right, always doing what appears good, the idealistic disciple of Jesus.  As observers in the pews, we would tend to judge by outward actions that the calm member has the ‘faith’, while the other distraught person is a lost cause…but is that so?

Perhaps we judge ourselves or another person to have strong saving faith because, like Judas, we look for actions;  that we or they have a life of committed discipleship; can point out another person’s failures and weaknesses; can easily give advice on a how a person of faith should live and use money and are a wealth of on knowledge on religion.  Is this the ‘faith alone’ Luther speaks of, or the ‘saving faith’ Paul talks about in Ephesians? Or the discipleship Jesus was seeking?  Judas thought so and it showed by his very words and actions, ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’  Sadly however, placing our faith in our good works is not saving faith.  The object of Judas’ faith was in himself and his plans and not in Jesus.

Faith always has an object it believes in; someone it trusts in for good and wellbeing.  Our visit to the dentist is an example of faith.  It is not ‘trust and faith’ in our calm composure or personal strength that brings about healing to our teeth, its our faith in the dentist, knowing that the pain and suffering he inflicts upon us will actually heal us.  This is why I can look a quivering mess, doing crazing things out of fear, yet still have strong faith…in fact my faith can even be greater than someone who appears to have it all together, because my faith is in the dentist and not in my personal courage.

Judas looked the ideal disciple, appeared to love God’s word, he followed Jesus and seemed to have his life together, but the object of his faith was money and glory, as John hints: ‘He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.’   When the hour of severe trial and suffering came, when he was confronted with the full wrath of God for what he had done; when the word of God accused his conscience for betraying Jesus, his confidence vanished, his works vanished, and so did his faith in himself; he could not stand alone before God and could not find comfort because the object of his faith was not in Jesus but in money and himself and so he tragically committed suicide.

When the object of our faith is in our self, even though we speak about Jesus and act confident and seem sure of our salvation, it is not saving faith, it is idolatry.  God’s word of law, that convicts us of this, is far stronger and will destroy us.   Only faith that has its object as Jesus can endure such suffering and work of God’s word. We should not be surprised when we suffer doubt and the pain that we are not a good enough Christian, as we fail in attempting to be our own saviour, it is God operating on us.  Like when a dentist pulls a decaying tooth to stop an infection that will kill us, God’s word of law works like a dentist’s instrument, pulling out any faith that is not in Christ; killing off any obsession we may have with self-reliance.

Mary, who looked weak and doomed, who was crying and seemingly wasting money had in fact, saving faith.  While everyone else in the room came to see Lazarus, who had been raised from the dead, Mary came to see Jesus, the object of her faith.  Once, she was proud, demanding Jesus act the way she thought, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’  But after seeing Jesus raise her brother from the grave, she was humble.  The suffering and anguish Jesus allowed her to go through, broke her pride and at the raising of Lazarus, she was able to see that salvation only comes through faith in Jesus.  God’s word of law killed, but his greater and final word, the gospel brought life and produced saving faith in Mary.

In a way, the perfume she poured over Jesus feet was a visible resemblance of her faith; a faith that was once bottled up in self-reliance; bottled as ‘precious’ by the world,  but was now broken free and poured out upon Jesus as a sign that Jesus was now her object of faith.  Even using her hair to wipe the perfume, which was a sign of humiliation, resembled the fact that she had nothing of worth to offer Jesus; she was willing to suffer humiliation and be nothing in the eyes of the world because her faith was now in Jesus.

Saving faith has as its object Jesus.  It trusts outside of itself.  It is a faith that justifies because it places its trust in Jesus who went to the cross for us and died on our behalf, ‘who was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.’  Your faith is saving faith when it takes hold and believes these words of Jesus ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.’  Saved by faith alone means nothing else than hearing this gospel and receiving the sacraments, trusting that Jesus alone saves through these means.

The law says ‘Do this to be saved,’ and it is never done.  ‘Grace says, ‘believe this,’ and everything is already done’!  Fear yet hope.  Worry yet faith; weakness yet strength to endure; yet not faith in my strength, but faith in Christ alone.  Amen

Forever eating or eating forever

John 6-25-35 forever eating or eating forever

Benjamin Franklin once said “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to
be happy.”  Some days, we’d have to agree with him!  There are, of course, many other pleasures in the world that can bring us delight and happiness.  When we come across certain smells, sounds, sights, touch, or tastes that we like, our senses are stimulated and delight over whelms us, and just for that moment, we seem to enjoy life more, and somehow, we sense God is found in our experience of good things.  Our senses, and the experience of joy they give us, are very powerful.  They seem to trigger our memory to past events in our life.  Its like we are transported, by a certain smell, or taste, back to a happier time, or even to a future anticipated time of happiness.

I have something in this bag (pine tree branch) that I don’t want you to see, but I want you to smell it.  I want you to close your eyes and let your senses take you back or forward to the time when you had or will smell this.  I don’t want you to say anything to anybody until I ask you.  (go around to a number of people)  What did your sense of smell remind you of?  Yes, most of you said Christmas.  The smell of fresh pine needles reminded us and transported us back to the happy time of Christmas with the family gathered around the Christmas tree.  In fact, as you look at the food around the sanctuary, each one of us will see or smell something special that stimulates our memory to a joyous time in the past or to anticipating LUNCH!

We should not be surprised by this, that created things bring us joy, and remind us of happy times; that we feel, in some special way, a part of creation and we have a sense of closeness to God.  We shouldn’t be surprised, because we were created by God out of creation, Genesis 2 records ‘the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.’  We are created by God from the same dust as this tree comes from.

We live and breathe God’s creation, we eat of God’s creation and till the soil and rule over creation as God has commanded; everything we sense, experience and enjoy is for our good and well being.  God created the world for us, as Genesis says ‘And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground– trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.’ And the prophet Jeremiah also reminds us of the goodness of God ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’  Today is Harvest Thanksgiving, when we thank God for his goodness to us.  We display the fruits of his earth to remind us of his providence towards us; to praise him for his wonders.

Sadly, however, because of our sinfulness, we can easily mistake our happiness in creation, and the continual abundance of good things, as a sign that God is happy with us, like Benjamin Franklin’s quote, and so we are content to just chase after worldly happiness and nothing else…after all, if God is happy if I am happy, what else is there to chase after?  We receive so much joy and delight from the things we love, thinking its proof God’s happy, that we forget Jesus’ word of warning in Matthew 5 ‘[My Father] causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.’

God does indeed provide everything for our physical wellbeing, and in that sense, he is happy that we are happy enjoying his creation, but we have a problem, a relationship problem; a spiritual problem that God is unhappy about and cuts us off from eternal life.  While we are glad to receive all physical good from him, we have chosen to make these things into our god, our priority in life, which is a rejection of God’s 1st commandment.

We have chosen to love and enjoy the goodness of creation, and not God.  We have chosen to chase after everything that makes us happy, praising our possessions for bringing us self-worth and purpose, rather than looking to God as the giver of all things; who gives us life on earth and in eternity.  God, because of our sin, is forced by his holiness to reject us and exclude us from heaven.

How frustrating and saddening it must have been for Jesus, who came into the world as the bread of heaven, to feed and bring people into life eternal, only to be rejected for earthly, perishable bread; bread that only lasted a while.  Crowds of people gathered around him after he fed them with five loaves of bread and two fish.  Instead of recognising that the miracle pointed to Jesus as the one who gave food for eternal life, they chased him for the perishable bread, so Jesus warned them saying ‘Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.’

Jesus sets before us, two types of food side by side: the perishable and the eternal; the food of the field and the food of heaven.  Both are given by God for us, both are for our good, but one, the bread of the field is limited to this life.  The bread that came down from heaven, Jesus, is food for eternity.  The bread of the field, we eat with our mouths.  We forever eat this bread only to perish.  The bread that came down from heaven, we eat with our ears, by hearing his word, and this bread we eat forever, never to perish.   The bread of the field we toil and labour to eat just a few crumbs; Jesus, the bread of heaven is given to us as a gift.  All of eternity and not just a few crumbs are given to all who eat of Jesus.

There is no work, labour or toil, to receive the bread that feeds us to eternal life, as Jesus said in his reply to the question ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?” …”The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’  Here today, believe that Jesus is present feeding you in his word, and present feeding you now through the words of my mouth.

Believe in Jesus, the one sent from God; Jesus is the one with the seal of approval from God the Father, who said ‘This is my Son in whom I am well pleased, listen to him.’  Why would we want to be fed from anyone or anything else that is only good for this life, instead come to Jesus, as Peter confessed ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’

As you come to the Lord’s Table, to receive Jesus the bread of heaven, present in the bread and wine, stop, and like you did with the pine needles, smell the fragrance of the fresh bread and the aroma of the wine.  Close your eyes and let Jesus’ body and blood remind you of the joy of the eternal banquet that is yet to come.  Let the aroma and the taste of the wine stimulate your senses to remind you that this is the Lord’s blood poured out for you on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins.  This is your meal, given and shed for you that you may eat of eternal life.

Sadly, while we are able to feast, there is a famine of heavenly bread just out those doors.  Not that the bread is lacking, its just that many, like in Jesus day, still chase after the bread that perishes.   As we leave the feast today, allow the fragrance of Jesus that is still on your lips, fill your home, your work place and the community you live in.  Let the word of Jesus stir a hunger in those who are full of perishing bread.  Just one or two words of Jesus, spoken by you, as you are prompted by the Spirit, can instill a new spiritual hunger.  You have nothing to lose, yet they have everything to gain.

Just as you would recommend a great restaurant to your friends, that served fine food, so go in Jesus name and in the confidence that you can recommend such good food that it is heavenly, for the food you bring are the words of Jesus, who declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’  Amen

Freedom from slavery

World Day of Prayer Acts 16_16-34 Freedom from slavery

We hear from Luke in the book of Acts, a story of a slave girl.  Many of us
may have read this story numerous times without even considering the plight of the girl; without even reflecting on her captivity and abuse as a salve girl at the hands of some greedy men.  We glance over what seems a minor side issue that sets the scene for the bigger story of Paul and Silus in prison.  Yet, when we spend a little time dwelling on the girl’s plight, we begin to see how her ‘owners’ or ‘abusers’ took advantage of her to better their own lives, stripping her of any dignity, taking away her childhood and exploiting her for the sake of a few easy dollars.

If we were to delve a little deeper into the story, we would realize that the owners of the slave girl were only instruments, stooges, playing their part in the devil’s plans, so in a way, they too, were enslaved without knowing it.  They were taking advantage of her ‘already’ enslavement to an evil spirit; a spirit that had kept this young girl in bondage to sorcery, trickery and lies; she was enslaved to a slave driver, but worse still, she was in a greater and more dangerous slavery to an evil spirit.  Even though she saw Paul, Silus and the other missionaries and knew they were from God, saying ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved’, she could not set herself free or do anything to break her chains of bondage to the evil spirit.

By this story, God draws us into the realisation of our own bondage and slavery…to sin.  We begin to see, as we reflect on our secret thoughts, our words and actions, that we are like the girl and are born slaves to sin, as King David says in Psalm 51 ‘Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.’  We, like the girl, and even the slavedrivers, play our part in the devil’s schemes and are powerless to free ourselves from our bondage to sin and death.  We look around and we see evidence of this everywhere.  All over the world there are still slaves and slavedrivers.  In Asia there are sex slaves, as young as 10, held captive to satisfy perverted Australians caught in their own slavery.

In many developing countries there are children slaves working for only food and water to make cheap goods to sell in our country to satisfy our slavery to consumerism.  We feel hopeless and unable to do anything about it.

It is precisely at this point, and for this very reason, that Jesus came into the world.  It is precisely because we are helpless and totally enslaved and in bondage to sin, that Jesus comes to bring freedom to the captives, as he says ‘The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.’

On the cross, Jesus paid the price of sin, died in our place to set us free from the bondage of sin, death and the devil that rendered us helpless.  Jesus is raised from the dead to live forever, breaking the chains of death that once held us captive…forever.  Freedom from our slavery and captivity to sin is the victory of the cross, and this key of freedom is given freely to all who trust in Jesus who says “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’

In this freedom we now live, we now live in Christ and have a great and joyous task.  We have the authority and power of prayer; to call on the name of Jesus to bring freedom to those still in captivity to sin and to also bring freedom for those captive to physical slavery.  Paul, in anguish of heart and spirit, knowing this girl could not change her situation, turns saying ‘In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.’  She has freedom!

In our prayers to the Father through Jesus, we acknowledge that we cannot do anything, and that Jesus ‘is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.’  Prayer in Jesus name is given to us as our weapon of choice against all that keeps captive.  Prayer, in Jesus name sets in motion freedom for those still in captivity.  Pray tonight, pray tomorrow.  Pray for those who are free, pray for those suffering and finally, pray always, as St Paul says ‘pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’  Amen

The cross – road

Luke 13_31-35 the cross-road
.

I have a weed here which is growing throughout the lawn.  I like the yellow flowers, so I suppose I could leave them out there.  Perhaps we could cover the whole backyard with this plant…a beautiful yellow field for the kids to run and roll around on.  Kids, would you like a backyard covered in these?  The down side are these ‘horrible’ spiny thorns!  (actually do this) Perhaps if I fertilize the plant and tenderly care for it by watering it, digging around the roots and pruning it, then it will stop growing the thorns.

Why won’t this work?  The problem is that this weed.  So the more I tenderly care for it, instead of reducing its thorns, the weed will actually increase its yield.   The more good I do for it, the more it shows its thorns!

What is the only solution left, if I don’t want to have thorns?  Yes, Round up!  The weed needs to be killed off to allow the grass to grow, to make way form the intended growth of lawn.  We know that in nature, dying brings new life.

We know this is true in farming and gardening, but we cannot see how this is true also in our own life.  We cannot see that we, since the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, are produces of sin and are cursed to continually sin, as Isaiah said ‘All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.’  No matter how much we try and cultivate our good intentions, fertilize ourselves by trying to please God in what we say and do, following his commands to the last dot and iota, there is no way we can change who we are.  We cannot change any more that I can change this weed into anything but a thorn bush.  We need to die to self and let God make us a new creation.

Yet, we are constantly tricked into thinking we can re-create ourselves the more we are involved in Christian programs.  We somehow think we are better Christians before God if we don’t feel sinful; that God is more pleased, will warmly welcome us, is obliged to owe us, the more we tenderly care for ourselves and don’t produce the ‘thorns of sin.’  We read the bible as if its entire message is an instruction booklet to life, a guide to better living and growing; a self-help book on how to become good, like we would read a ‘Better homes and Gardens’ magazine to improve our backyard.  Believing we are better people before God by doing good things, is like believing I can get rid of thorns by caring and improving the weed…we can’t.

Sadly, that is how the Pharisees, the scribes and many of the people of Israel understood the scriptures.  They all had good intentions and strived to be with God, but could not comprehend all humanity’s complete and total sinfulness and separation from God.  They did not want to hear and refused to listen, even to Moses and all the prophets, that something far more radical than a good life was required to enter heaven – we need to die to self-righteousness and live by faith in God alone who makes all things new; who says in 1 Samuel 2: ‘The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.’

Rather, they wanted to walk the glory road to God and be self-appointed judges over who is good enough for God.  They stoned and killed the prophets in Jerusalem, which ironically means ‘place of peace’, hoping their message of repentance and grace would die with them.  The ‘place of peace’ became a killing field for God’s prophets, as Jesus laments ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you.’

Like the people of Israel, you and I also have good intentions.  We all long for and strive to share in the glory of God.  We came from glory, created by God to be with him and are therefore most at peace when in his presence, as one church father wrote ‘our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.’  Sadly, our country, like Jerusalem was, is also a ‘killing field’ for God’s word.  Many would rather stay on the glory road of good intentions, the wide road; the road most travelled and be self-appointed judges’.  It is a glory road that leads to idolatry or self-trust, instead of trust in God.  It is a road that convinces us that we must at least try to do something on our part to get to heaven, and then, it is assumed, Christ will make up for our short comings.

The weed can only be a thorn bush, no matter how good it looks or how well I care for it.  As a sinner by nature, when it comes to the righteousness God seeks, I can do nothing but be judged a sinner, no matter how good I may look; we can sorrow over this, we can rebel against this, we can pretend its not true or we can take our chances, but God’s judgment remains, ‘all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.’

Jesus is saddened by so many choosing the glory road and laments over them for rejecting God’s word; a word which promised salvation will come through God’s own Son, and that salvation is given freely by grace to all who believe this promise, as we heard in Genesis” Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.’  Again and again God promises salvation freely to all who believe, but sadly, many rejected his grace, as Jesus laments, ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!’

For anyone to be saved there is only one road that must be travelled and Jesus knows the road, the one that leads to the cross, as he says ‘I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day– for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!’  Jesus, as true man, must die in our place and for our sin.  The judgment of God upon humanity, ‘you will surely die’, must be fulfilled.  By journeying to the cross to die for our sin, Jesus is enacting the gift of free salvation promised in that same Garden of Eden, ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.’

The cross exposes the absolute depth and hopelessness of our sinful condition.  Only Jesus’ road to the cross, for us, can change our state of being, from sinner to saint.  Luther, commenting on what the cross means for us, wrote, ‘The love of God does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it.’ (Heidelberg Disputation 28)  That means, Jesus is not out and about in the world looking for good people to bring into heaven; rather, through the cross he puts to death the old and creates a new and pleasing people.  St Paul says the same ‘our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.’

With his arms out-stretched on the cross, Jesus gathered his children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.  Jesus continues today to gather all people who believe, and he gathers and creates you and me to be his holy ones, as he stretches-out his arms beyond the cross, into the water’s of baptism.  It is ONLY here in baptism, where the cross is our ‘roundup’ that our old sinful nature is killed.  Yet it is also the water that brings new life,  as St Paul says in Romans 6 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.’

Jesus also continues to gather you and me to himself as his holy people, as he stretches-out his arms through the bread and wine in Holy Communion.  He is truly present for us, to re-create us, and we acknowledge this to be true in the liturgy of the church when we sing the ‘sanctus, or ‘Holy, holy, holy’, around the Lord’s Supper.  We repeat Jesus promise ‘I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’

This is the gospel, the good news!  You are already a Christian, a child of God through baptism.  Your old self has been killed and continues to be killed by the water, Spirit and blood of Jesus and your new self in Christ now lives by the same water, Spirit and blood.  Go in peace and live each day under the protective wing of Jesus.

To tempt or be tempted

Luke 4:1-13 to Tempt or be tempted

I have some chocolates here!  Let me come and give you one. (pass around)  Now you are probably thinking ‘that was a nice and kind thing to do.’  But was it?  What if I gave you the chocolates because I wanted to get something from you?  What if I gave you the chocolates just to make myself look good before everyone?  Or what if I gave you the chocolates to gain control over you?  Perhaps it was just a kind gesture…perhaps there is something more sinister

Now before I create an air of suspicion, I just want to make the point that things are not always as they appear.  The good we do for someone, even with the best intentions, can be tainted by alternative motives.  The good that we do for others, may be in fact be benefiting us more that the receiver; it is me who actually ends up better off; you get fat and high sugar levels…and I get the thanks and the glory!

In today’s gospel, Luke records the temptation of Jesus.  On the surface, what the devil asks of Jesus is not really a temptation, it is more an offering of help; a seemingly good deed by the devil to assist Jesus to get on with his earthly mission.  Jesus had just spent 40 days alone in the desert without food and now he was hungry.  The devil appears to simply want to help ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’  If we were there at the time, we may have said ‘what a nice and kind person to suggest that’, yet Jesus flatly refuses.

Appearing as a good friend, who never takes ‘no’ for an answer when help is need, the devil offers another good suggestion, he offers the world and all authority to Jesus.  How good’s that!  Jesus could short-cut his ministry without the cross.  What a good offer, yet once again Jesus rejects the good offer as totally out of hand.  Finally, what better kindness can the devil offer Jesus?  Well, as caring and kind as the devil can get, he takes Jesus home to his Father’s house, to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Perhaps the devils senses that Jesus is feeling so alone after being in the desert for 40 days, that a visit to his Father’s house ort to cheer him up.  To demonstrate to Jesus just how much he is loved by his Father and how important he is in the heavenly kingdom, the devil said to Jesus ‘If you are the Son of God,”…”throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’

Once again and for the final time Jesus assertively says ‘no’, to something we would think was a good offer.  Things are not always as they appear.  The good that is offered, can be tainted by alternative motives.  The good that is intended for others, may be in fact be benefiting the giver more that the receiver.  Jesus knew this was the case here.  The devil’s offers were not good at all; it was a temptation into sin.  But how does he know to reject this offer?  Was it because he was God and man?  Had he read up on ‘manipulative techniques used by suspicious people’ in the latest psychological journals?  Perhaps you, as a Christian, are wondering how we can recognise when we are being tempted or worse, when we are tempting someone else, even when offering what appears to be good works.

Jesus had only one criterion through which he filtered every good or bad deed; the one criterion he measured everything by: Does what is being offered give all glory to God.  Let me repeat that: does the good offered give all glory to God the Father, or to the one offering it, or to the receiver?  That’s it!  That’s how Jesus judged the devil’s offers and how he judged the offers of all people, even us and found that we all glorified ourselves, as Psalm14 and 53 declare ‘ There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, … there is no one who does good, not even one.’

The devil tempted Jesus with something good…scripture, but used it for evil.  He used it for his glory and to tempt Jesus to do the same.  The devil used God’s word to entice Jesus and to gain for him self wealth, power and glory!  The great temptation trilogy, that first caused Adam and Eve to sin in the garden of Eden, and the same temptation trilogy that still causes us to fall into sin…wealth, power and glory.  Wealth, by telling Jesus he could make stones into bread, power, by offering him authority over the world, and glory, by putting the Lord to the test.  Jesus instantly knew the devil’s offer was a ‘wolf wrapped in sheep’s clothing’ by using the only criterion he knew…’does what is offered give all glory to God?’

No, it didn’t!  That is why he was able to reply with scripture against scripture.  Jesus rightly interpreted God’s word, for he is the word of God in flesh and knew that scripture only gave glory to God alone, as he said ‘If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.’  The devil was using God’s word to bring glory upon him self, Jesus rightly brings glory to the Father answering ‘It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.‘ And ‘It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ And finally, when tempted to take the glory for himself, Jesus responds ‘It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.‘

Jesus’ criterion, ‘does it give all glory to God,’ is how we are to judge everything we do and every temptation we face and is also the best way to understand God’s word.  We are to ask ourselves the question ‘is what I am offering or saying giving all glory to God’, or am I getting the glory.  Am I tempting someone, even with God’s word, with wealth, power, or glory, so they receive glory instead of God?  Am I being tempted, even with God’s word, with wealth, or power, or glory that is not mine to have?  If Christ was tempted in every way, we, who are sinful by nature, will certainly be tempted or be the ones who are doing the tempting.

That is why we can praise God and give him the glory because he has given us his Son, Jesus Christ, ‘Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross!’  He overcame the trilogy of temptation because we did not; he over came sin, death and the devil because we could not.

We may have the criterion ‘to give all glory to God’, which helps in times of temptation, but the truth be known, we will constantly fall and grasp for our own glory.  But praise be to God, for he has given us Jesus, who overcame all temptation and made us sons and daughters of God.  It is the blood of Jesus that overcame sin and death on the cross.  Jesus blood now covers us and protects us from the punishment we deserve, as St Paul in Roman’s 10 says ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

By faith in Jesus, trusting that he now lives for us and in us, through his word and sacraments, we have already overcome sin and temptation.  Even though we continue to temp others, or be tempted ourselves; even though we still give glory to ourselves, by repentance and faith in Jesus atoning sacrifice, the blood of Jesus forgives and covers us…in Christ we have overcome.  Hear and believe what Jesus says to us in the book of Revelation: ‘He who overcomes will be dressed in white. I will never blot out their name from the book of life, but will acknowledge their name before my Father and his angels.’

In temptation, in times of trial, and in giving service to others, remember Jesus criteria for judging, perhaps this could best be done by memorizing these words from hymn number 793 in our Lutheran hymnal

‘To God be the glory, great things he has done!

So loved the world that he gave us his Son,

Who yielded his life an atonement for sin,

And open the life-gate that all may go in.

Amen

Transformed by the Light

Transformed by the light 1 Cor 3:12-4:2

A baby is born!  There is new life.  There is joy, there is future.  A new light shines in the world.  (turn on a lamp with a dimmer to full)  When we are born, our life is something like this brightly glowing lamp; its new, fresh and full of life.  But as we age, it is like the light of our life begins to dim.  There are the milestones in life that remind us of our mortality; of the dimming of our light of life (Turning the dimmer down get the congregation to recount some of the milestones in life, but don’t put out.)

The finality and certainty of death snuffs out our light of life. Psalm 103:15-16 reminds us of our dimming light: As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.’ (turn off light)

There is a point in life, when all of us will realise our life is dimming.  Yes, for some, this revelation will come at old age, yet for others, the dimming of their light of life may come at an early age.  Sickness, injury, depression, loneliness or hopelessness, reveal to us that our light of life is dimming.  It is at these times when it is hardest to comprehend and see the reality St Paul’s words that ‘we, … are being transformed into [Christ’s] likeness with ever-increasing glory.’

Just the other day I was with an elderly gentleman.  His head was balding, with only a small ring of white hair remaining.  His face was weathered with age, his eyes showed that his years had been hard; he was a retired Uniting Church minister and he was leading us in a minister’s retreat.  He told us of the time when he looked into the mirror, it was his awakening, a realisation that he was now an old man; his light was dimming.  He, as we all do, struggled to grasp the good news that, ‘we..are being transformed into Christ’s likeness with ever-increasing glory’.  When he looked into the mirror, all he saw was death; he could not grasp the reality that some how Christ was in him shining in ‘ever-increasing glory.’

He wrote this poem…

Like the poem, Jesus’ disciple’s often peered and probed into Jesus, hoping to see a glimpse, a vision of the light and glory he often spoke about, yet it was not forth coming.  Jesus, the one who claimed to be the light of the world, seemed to be dimming like all of us.  In fact, he would often talk about his death to them saying, ‘the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death.’

Yet suddenly, in this dimness of light, in Jesus’ very body and life that was heading towards death, the bright gospel light is suddenly revealed.  Luke writes ‘As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.’

Jesus is transfigured, revealing the hidden glory of God that is within his very being; the light, the power, the awesomeness of God’s love: the same glory that Moses used to look upon in the wilderness; a light so glorious that his face would shine, long after he left the presence of the Lord.  A holiness that was so powerful, it was reflected on his face; so fearsome that the Israelites were too scared to even look at Moses and insisted he cover his face with a vale.  Jesus is the light of the world.  His transfiguration shines forth to proclaim that he is truly God, hidden and incarnate in the man Jesus, who was soon to be crucified.  Yet because he is the light of the world, the glory of God would continue to shine even in his death.  On the third day, he rose again to live for ever and bring many to glory.

The transfiguration of Jesus, the revealing of the glory of God, was a glimpse, a probing, a peering, a vision of God; a chance look into the glorious face of God. A face that shone love, compassion and grace as Jesus said ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’  So much love shone at that moment that Peter was awe struck and wanted to bask in the glory of God forever.

That very light of grace and love, that shone in Jesus, now shines in us.  What was once shining only in the domain of God is now ours in Christ.  What was once only shining before Moses now shines in our hearts through the gospel.  The glory of God now rests in us through Christ, who dwells in us by faith.  ‘And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.’ Our glory is still hidden in Christ.  We cannot see his light.  It is only by faith and will only be fully revealed in death.

Christ in us, as St Paul says in Galatians 2:20, changes our light of life, from a dying light, to a brightening light; ‘it is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me’.  (use the light dimmer and make it brighter and brighter) In baptism, we are born again by the spirit and water.  The light of Christ begins to shine in us.  As we get older; as we pass those milestones of faith, where we hear and receive Christ and the power of the Spirit, through word and sacrament, the glory of Christ shines brighter and brighter (get congregation to name some milestones of faith and turn up the light).

Jesus reverses our light of life, from a dimming light that is snuffed out at death, to an ever increasing light of life that will at death, shine forever bright as we shine together with him in heaven.

Amen