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In the light of the Resurrection

In the light of the resurrection John 20_1-18


The excitement of the first Easter begins where the Good Friday finished, in the dark.  John records ‘Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark…’  While it was still dark!  The Sun had yet to rise and shine on Jesus’ tomb, was yet to shine on Mary and the other women walking to the tomb, yet to shine on the sleeping disciples.  Those closest to Jesus, those who loved him, and saw him crucified, remained in darkness.  Not only was the sun not shining on this new day, but the faith and hopes of Jesus’ followers, including Mary Magdalene, were darkened by grief and unbelief at what they had just witnessed and experienced. 

They were living in the dark of deep loneliness, their Lord and friend had been crucified.  They couldn’t deny the facts.  Jesus was dead and buried and along with him, their hope of salvation.  Perhaps, I suspect, that in some way they all felt guilty for not trying harder to stop Jesus crucifixion.  But its too late for ‘should haves’, death is the end, its final.  All the hoping and all the faith in the world could not bring Jesus back; John was right to begin his account in the darkness.  It was indeed a dark morning for Mary and the disciples. 

Yet haven’t we all experienced a dark morning, when we don’t want to face the day.  A time of the darkness of our soul, when death or illness, or fighting or something we have done or said has separated us from those we love?  The guilt we feel over not handling the situation properly haunts us, yet, like with the disciples its all too late for ‘should haves’.

The good news of Easter is that Jesus doesn’t stay in the tomb, the sun does rise, there is a new day and there is a new beginning.  Jesus has no intention of leaving his friends, including us, alone and in the darkness of loneliness, guilt and separation through sin and ‘should haves’.  By the power of God, he is raised from the dead, raised from the tomb and raised into the lives of Mary and the disciples, raised to life for all of us who walk and live in darkness.  When Mary arrived at the tomb it was still dark, but as she looked around, saw the evidence, not only did the light of the sun begin to shine, so did the light of Jesus resurrection. 

Jesus could have simply just appeared to Mary and the twelve where they were sleeping.  He could have just walked into their lives, and showed himself, but instead, he chose to draw his followers out into the darkness, out to the tomb, out to where they thought he was dead, to see for themselves that God brings new life in the midst of suffering and hurt. 

For our sake, and for the sake of his disciples, Jesus wants to leave no doubt that he has risen.  No doubt that he has the power over death and darkness.  No doubt that the words of his father have been fulfilled ‘I will glorify my name through your death’.  Jesus assures faith by leaving a long testimony of signs which point to his resurrection. 

The stone is not just rolled away, it is thrown from its moorings, an impossible feat for a few men secretly trying to steal Jesus body, while the guards are on duty. The linen cloth still lay wrapped, not touched or damaged in any way, to show that Jesus body had not been stolen or disturbed by vandals, but rather, that he rose through them.  The head piece, that once covered Jesus bloodied head, now lay folded and separate from the linen.  Robbers or the Jews would not have been concerned to do this.

The two disciples looked and saw the signs and believed, yet their faith was weak.  Mary looked into the tomb, saw the evidence but could not believe.  The horror of Jesus death could not be over come, even with such powerful signs and wonders.  Sometimes hurts are too deep.  We are no different.  Sometimes our suffering is so dark, that we fail to see the signs of hope Jesus sets before us.  The people who help, the prayers people pray, the friends who support without judging.  Something even more powerful needs to happen before the light of Jesus forgiveness shines in our hearts, and it happened to Mary and to the disciples.

Jesus speaks a personal word of hope when he calls them by name from the darkness of unbelief in the resurrection light of faith and hope!

Jesus says ‘Mary’.  She hears her name and believes.  The darkness has been lifted by the power of Jesus personal call to her.  By hearing Jesus words, she now knows for certain that he has risen and he has forgiven the past and lives eternally to bring her into his kingdom as foretold by Isaiah ‘He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.’ 

Jesus has a personal word for you and he calls you by name into his kingdom as he has promised ‘surely I will be with you always, even to the very end of the age’.  He could do this anywhere and he does it most clearly in baptism and Holy Communion.  Often however, he will call you by name in the midst of your suffering, drawing you away from all comforts and supports, out to where you though God was dead; out to where there appears to be no hope, just like he did with Mary, Peter and John.  It is often in our suffering that we are open to reading the bible and hearing his word and this is where Jesus speaks our name, gives us hope and assures us that has risen to have power over sin, death and the devil. He did it with Mary and the disciples, why wouldn’t he do it with you? 

Hear, believe and rejoice today in the gospel by which you are saved ‘that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures’. 

 

 

 

 

The thirst of Loneliness

The thirst of loneliness John 19 28-30


On the cross, Jesus plunges headlong into the abyss of loneliness.  The darkness which covered the land; the hiding of the sun, of light and warmth was nature’s way of representing the utter helplessness felt by Jesus in the ‘darkness’ of being all alone on the cross.   The dark feelings of loneliness did not happen in an instant.  It was a progression; a succession of events which lead Jesus into the depths of loneliness. 

We can follow this succession in Jesus passion.  We can follow the events which led to the point of Jesus’ crucifixion and feelings of utter loneliness and darkness on the cross for our sin, when he cried out ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’  We can see that one by one, people leave Jesus to die alone; only the nails that pierced his hands and feet are supporting him…every other support has gone; even his Father in heaven leaves because of his wrath against sin.

The progression into utter loneliness, known as the darkness of the soul, began with the kiss of a friend, a betrayal.  Then, from that moment on, one friend after another, in turn, walked away from him, a succession of hurts, rejection, accusations, lies and murderous intentions lead Jesus further into the abyss of loneliness, even depression.  In his neediest hour, when he is hurting most, suffering for the sins of the world, for you and I, his own mother had to leave him; given over to another son.  Jesus said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.”

Finally, the sun itself removed its light and warmth from Jesus, leaving the world in darkness, a darkness to match the darkness of his soul; the utter loneliness, to die for our sin.  The horror of this moment is foretold in Isaiah ‘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.’  Jesus thirsted for compassion, yet received only sour wine…the results of our sin.

Many of us, while never knowing the true anguish of Jesus, can certainly relate to the darkness of soul; utter loneliness; ‘depression.’   For some of us, our lives have been a succession of betrayals, of friends leaving us, of hurts or even sickness, which have led us to a point of despair.   And this despair or depression is the ‘the darkness of the soul’ and is as real for us as it was for Jesus. 

Kind David experienced it, saying in Psalm 88 ‘You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend.’  It is part of our human condition.  It is the hallmark of sin and evil.  You and I are born sinful and therefore born into a daily reminder, that in our suffering, in our sinning, we are in the grip of ceaseless futility and crushing, mindless darkness. 

Yet a profound realization comes to us through despair.  It is the realization that there is no meaning, no value, no worthwhile activity, nothing of any value within us or the material universe, no beauty, no love…none of these contain value in themselves.  Meaning and value is above and beyond; it is in God alone.  Meaning and value lay in the suffering servant Jesus. 

 

While many of the believers had left Jesus at the cross because they could not see any sense in his suffering; while Mary his mother wept because of the hopelessness of it all; while Peter hid his face at the obscenity of knowing a man being crucified; there was one man who could see Christ as his saviour.   He could see and receive Jesus because he himself was suffering.  The thief of the cross. 

 

He said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” His suffering taught him that everything, even life itself is futile.  His pain, his darkness, his anguish, his recognition of sin led him to trust in Jesus, who was suffering in his place, who was his saviour, and Jesus never disappoints faith ‘”I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.“

 

To redeem us from our darkness, Jesus had to first conquer it for us.  He had to be sacrificed to it and then in death strike a fatal blow to its heart.  The cross is now a light that shines in the darkness.  St Paul says ‘the cross is the power unto salvation.’ 

 

You may have previously suffered in the darkness of loneliness and despair, or you may be currently living in the midst of darkness of the soul, or it may come to you one day.  At this very time, when we can’t see a way out, a purpose or meaning in our suffering, is when Christ comes to us and preaches a word of good news to us ‘In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  By faith we look past our suffering and darkness into the light of the cross.  By faith, together with the thief we trust that when Jesus said ‘It is finished’, our darkness is only temporary, and that by his death he has won for us the victory of eternal life.  Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kadaysh

Maundy Thursday Luke 22 7_16

 

The Kadaysh

light candles – fill wine glasses and explanation


All.     Why is this night different from all other nights?

 

Explanation

Luke records ‘Then came the day of unleavened bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed’.  On this night, outside among men, and inside among God’s people, together with this meal, Jesus is being prepared as the new Passover lamb.  To replace the temporary and continuing sacrifice of the original Passover lamb in the Temple.  He is replacing the old Passover with a new purpose. Jesus took this meal and made it his meal; this is Jesus’ Passover, because on this night, he is the one who must be sacrificed and it is he who stands on the threshold of a new era of salvation.

 

Tonight we have before us Traditional Passover food, the same food Jesus and the disciples would have ate.  Except we as Christians have a different emphasis, a deeper purpose, yet in a way, we have the same meaning to the meal as the Jews. 

 

All:      What is the meaning of the  herbs dipped in salt?

 

Explanation

 

• Maror: bitter herbs, usually horseradish or romaine lettuce, is used to symbolize the bitterness of slavery in Egypt.  The Charoses: a mixture of apples, nuts, wine, and cinnamon, is a reminder of the mortar used by the Jews in the construction of the buildings in Egypt as slaves.  The people of Israel were horribly treated as slaves.  The harder they worked the more the Egyptian king forced them to work.  Many could not keep up and were flogged and even killed.  There was no way out.

 

We too are in slavery.  St Paul writes ‘When you were slaves to sin, what benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!’  We are born into bondage of sin which holds us as slaves; it is our master.  No matter how hard we try, we cannot fully and completely fulfil what God demands of us; Sin has us in bondage and it is killing us, as Paul writes ‘the wages of sin is death’.  Just as the Jews where in bondage in Egypt and needed rescuing by God, we also need to be rescued

 

All      What’s the meaning of the beitzah?

 

Explanation

The Beitzah: a roasted egg, is a symbol of life and the perpetuation of existence.  And the Karpas: a vegetable, preferably parsley or celery, represents hope and redemption from God; served with a bowl of salted water to represent the tears shed in slavery and calling out to God.

Our hope of salvation is Jesus Christ As Paul writes ‘God has chosen to make known among us the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  While we still have tears, we live in the hope of Jesus Christ, for he is our redemption from our bondage to sin.

 

All      What is the meaning of the unleavened bread?

 

Explanation

• Matzoh: Three unleavened matzohs are placed within the folds of a napkin as a reminder of the haste with which the Israelites fled Egypt, leaving no time for dough to rise.  Deuteronomy records ‘You shall eat no leaven bread with the Passover meal; seven days your shall eat it with hurried flight- that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you come out of the land of Egypt.’

 

This is the bread which fed the Israelites as they were freed from slavery.  It is also the manna sent by God to feed the Israelites while in the desert.  The Matzah is both a bread of freedom from slavery and a bread of life which will feed them in the desert until they reach the promise land; a bread of salvation and of life.  In the Last Supper, Jesus takes this bread and says ‘take and eat this is my body which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.’  With these words, Jesus is the bread which will now be eaten as the true bread of salvation and life.  His body, in which we feed is the bread which will bring us out of slavery, from our bondage of sin, and his body is the bread which also feeds us until we reach the promised land; the New Jerusalem.  He is the bread of salvation and life.   

 

All      What is the meaning of the Roast Lamb?

 

Explanation

Zeroah: traditionally a piece of roasted lamb shankbone, symbolizing the paschal sacrificial offering.  Passover lamb was to be without blemish and with no broken bones.  It was to be slain and its blood was sprinkled on the door posts, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.  In the meal Jesus is holding, the paschal lamb, or Passover Lamb was sacrificed in preparation for the meal at 3pm in the temple.  The blood of the lamb was then sprinkled on the altar and on other holy parts of the inner sanctuary to pay for sins, and is also a reminder of the blood which saved Israel when the angel of death passed over the people; the sacrifice of the lamb saved them from death.

 

Jesus is the new Pascal Lamb; without blemish and with no broken bones.  In this meal Jesus is preparing himself for His death on the cross; to be the new sacrifice for our salvation.  His blood is poured out for us so that the angel of death will pass over us. Jesus blood is now the blood which is sprinkled on all of us to pay for our sins; Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.   

 

All      What is the meaning of the wine.

 

Explanation

 

The cup of Wine: four glasses of wine are consumed during the meal to represent the four-fold promise of redemption.

 

This is the cup Jesus took and said ‘Take and drink of it all of you for this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’.  The wine in the cup which was the promise of redemption, is now fulfilled in the blood of Jesus.  The blood of the Passover lamb that was sprinkled on the altar for the forgiveness of sin, is now Jesus’ blood, in, with and under the wine.  The promise of redemption is Jesus and he gives us his blood to sprinkle on our hearts to purify us and cleanse us of all our sins.

 

 

Yes, this is a special meal of utter importance for us who believe in Jesus; a meal which gives us salvation from sin and death and a meal that gives us life eternal.  So let us now join with Jesus and share in the meal he is hosting, and eat and drink the body and blood of the sacrificial lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

Would you dare to die for the enemy

Would you dare to die for the enemy John 12 20-33

 

Let me tell you a story…


As the freezing Canadian winter was giving way to spring, a father and his teenage son, along with 2 of the father’s friends, were flying to a remote part of the coast for a few days fishing and hunting.  However, the plane ran into trouble and they ended up ditching in the mouth of a river – quite some distance from land.  All four got out of the plane, and started swimming for the shore line.  The two adult friends eventually made it.  But with hyperthermia and the pull of the current, the son wasn’t strong enough to swim the distance.  Instead he drifted out to sea.  While the father could have made it to shore, instead he chose to drift out to sea with his son, where both died in each other’s arms.    

 

I wonder how long the dad struggled with the decision to save his own life for the sake of the rest of his family; or to give it up for the sake of his son? 

 

I don’t know about you, but this story wrenches at something within me.  From the safety of distance, I’d like to think that if the situation demanded it, I would have the love and courage to do the same… but when the hour came, would I?  Would you?

 

It is easy for us to say ‘yes I would’, and most likely, out of love for our son or daughter, not wanting them to die alone, we would drift out to die with them.  But would we do the same for someone who hated us?  Someone who, to their dying breath, wouldn’t give us the time of day?  To do that would be truly sacrificial love; an unconditional love that none of us would dare to even consider whether we would do it or not, knowing we would most likely let them die in order to save our own life. 

 

How do we know this?  In the simple decisions we make in everyday life.  How do we react to those we don’t like?  Do we put our wellbeing before others?  Do we put our life, our expectations and rights ahead of those of our enemies? 

 

You know what I am taking about, I am sure there are a myriad of examples you can think of.  It is easy to justify our failure to let go of our life and float out to sea to help an enemy:  ‘They don’t deserve it; she said something horrible to me; he wouldn’t even say thanks or they wouldn’t appreciate me helping anyway!’  Good excuses, but what if Jesus said the same about us?

 

This realization of our selfishness puts Jesus ‘selfless’ death on the cross for us into perspective.  Jesus didn’t die for us because we loved him.  He didn’t leave the safety of heaven and drift into the depths of hell for us, so that we wouldn’t face dying alone, because we loved him first. 

 

No, listen to Saint Paul ‘You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.’  Yet again ‘But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: ‘While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ And again ‘when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son.’  We most clearly hear the true sacrificial love of Jesus from the cross ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ 

 

Our sin and rebellion, our failure to love one another, not our love for God, was the impetus for Jesus determination and mission to die on the cross.  Right from his first cry outside Mary’s womb, through to his last cry on the cross ‘It is finished’, Jesus goal was to die for his enemies; you and me, so that we would not face death alone; drowning in a sea of sin. 

 

He chose to drift out to us, grab our hand and die with us and for us, to bring us to life.  As it says in Romans  ‘We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead … we too may live a new life.’  This is the gospel, the good news. 

 

Some say the crucifixion was easy for Jesus, he was God.  Rubbish, God yes, but also truly human, struggling to come to terms with his mission. This was no simple choice for Jesus; a non-emotional event, void of any human struggle of choice.

 

Realising the hour is now at hand, Jesus wrestles with his decision for what’s ahead: “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour…’ (Jn 12:27a NIV)  The nicety of our translation has lost the horror of Jesus anguish.  The word for troubled really means revulsion, horror, anxiety, agitation.  Understanding this word gives us an insight into the human emotions Jesus was experiencing.  What’s ahead fills him with terror.  He wants his Father to rescue him from it.  If there’s another way, he’s open to it. 

 

But then he recalls his destiny… No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. (Jn 12:27b NIV).  There’s a greater purpose than Jesus’ own comfort.  Recalling this is how Jesus galvanizes himself emotionally for the torture he is about to endure.   

 

“But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”  He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. (Jn 12:32-33 NIV)   Jesus will be literally lifted up above the earth … after spikes have been hammered through his wrists and ankles into a cross beam!

 

Like the father chose to lose his life together with his son, Jesus chooses to lose his life, like a seed in the ground, so many may live.

 

He chooses to give up his life -FOR US; chooses the nails in obedience to the Father’s will; chooses the nails out of love for humanity (including the Greeks who’d come to see him!);  Chooses to die with us, for us… to bring us the forgiveness of sins.  And it is by faith that we receive this gift of forgiveness, trusting in the work and obedience of Christ, with full assurance that it is by grace alone we are saved.

 

 Knowing this, would you now dare to love the unlovable?  Dare, by the power of the Spirit to forgo your life for the sake of an enemy?  This is true sacrificial love and it can mean tragedy for our life and ambitions.

 

Yet there is triumph in the tragedy.  In the outworking of Jesus’ choice is the glory of God’s unselfish and sacrificial love.  Once we know who goes to the cross and why he is there, it’s hard to remain unmoved.  It’s through the cross that Jesus draws people to himself.  It’s how he has drawn us.  Just as the boy would have been drawn to the arms of his father, so he didn’t have to die alone, so we also, out of shear anguish of death, are drawn into the arms of our saviour.  Trusting in his mercy, trusting that he has made things right.

 

There will always be people who despise the cross as foolishness.   But we know that it’s through the cross – where the King gave up his life for us – we too have come to share in life with God.  And so we say with Paul: I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. (Rom 1:16  NIV)  Amen.

 

 

 

The Law of Faith

Numbers 21:4-9 The law of faith


I am going to write a famous mathematical and scientific equation on the board that all of you would be aware of: E=mc2   This is Einstein’s law of relativity, and don’t ask me what it really means!  However, what I do know is its a formula to acknowledge that energy and motion have constant principles; they always operate in the same predictable way, time after time after time.  Energy = mass multiplied by the speed of light.  It’s a principle, a law, a set order of creation that is predictable and when calculated, has predictable results. 

 

I have another not so famous equation.  In fact it has never seen the light of day until I thought of it!  It is a calculation that, like Einstein’s law, gives us a formula to acknowledge the constant and predictable reason for us complaining about God.  Unlike Einstein’s law of relativity, my formula is rather a simple one: C=ur2; Complaining against God = unbelief multiplied by rebellion.  This is a constant law, it never changes.  We complain because we don’t trust God and rebel against his ‘way’ of doing things.

 

Let’s see the equation at work in the story of the bronze snake.

 

The Israelites travelled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!  C, the ‘complaining’ was the outcome of their unbelief and want for rebellion against God; C=ur2.  

 

The writer of Hebrews uses this equation to explain why most Israelites never entered the Promised Land ‘Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert?  So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.’  Complaining is the sign of unbelief and rebellion, and it is the true reason why God forbid them to enter the ‘rest’.

 

Don’t we all though?  Complain in unbelief and rebellion to the church and to God, when our life doesn’t go to plan; when God makes our life uncomfortable.  We complain because its like God is leading us into a wilderness along a wondering path, and we are going nowhere in life.  Like the Israelites, we complain, because of our unbelief and rebellion against what God is doing, as the simple equation shows.  Yet, how does someone as good as Jesus, as good as our Father in heaven who saved us through sending his Son to the cross to be crucified for our rebellion and unbelief, provoke such a bad reaction in us; so much complaining about him?

 

For an answer, we need to look to John 1 verses 4-5 In [Jesus] was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.’ Light shining in the darkness is a big theme in John, in fact he speaks about the light of Jesus 23 times.  In Jesus, God’s light and life comes into the world.  However, people, you and I, respond to the light of God’s love in Jesus like moths or bats.  Some -like moths- are attracted to Jesus, receive Him, and find the joy of believing in Jesus and living life with Jesus.

 

Others are like bats.  When light is shone into their darkness they get agitated… and react with unbelief and rebellion and so complain.

•         Sometimes it’s because we don’t like Jesus lifting the lid on our hearts.  There’s messy stuff in there that we hide -even from ourselves.  So we paper mache over our faults and weaknesses and try to be “good people”.  Truth is we need cleansing and healing; we need the light of Jesus. 

•         Sometimes it’s because we’re comfortable; and like Caiaphas the high priest, who wasn’t concerned about Jesus one way or the other, we don’t won’t to be disturbed. 

•         Sometimes, we’re afraid of the changes that might happen if we take Jesus seriously. 

•         And sometimes it’s because we’re angry with God about bad stuff that’s happened to us in the past.

 

But here’s the key: when we live in unbelief and rebellion and reject the light of Jesus, we still find ourselves in darkness; wondering around like the Israelites in the desert; complaining because we cannot see where God is leading us; complaining because we hate the darkness.  The light of Jesus has come into the world and this is good news that leaves us with a new equation, the old one, the one I just developed has been overturned.

 

Jesus says: This is the verdict: Light has come into the world… whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”  The truth of Jesus, his death on the cross, gives light and hope for us.  Jesus has given himself so that we may believe in him and leave the darkness and walk in the light of God’s love.

 

Regardless of how we’ve reacted to Jesus in the past, or where we’re at with God at the moment, we may still be complaining, this is Jesus’ offer to you and it still stands ‘Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.’  Jesus on the cross suffering and paying for our sins is the light in our darkness; the light that dispels all complaining because Jesus invites us to believe and receive the light of eternal life.  E=mc2.  Eternal life = faith multiplied by the man on the cross.    

 

While it’s easy to blame the Sanhedrin for the murder of Jesus, the truth is that we are all partly responsible for his death.  One of Robin Mann’s songs, When Our Life Began Again, hits this home in verse 3.  It recounts the scene of the cross.

    Women wept to see him; He said: “Don’t weep for me.”

    Many laughed and mocked Him: “Forgive them they don’t see.”

    Jesus, please forgive me, You know what I am;

    I was one who nailed Your hands

    When our life began again.                           (All Together Again, # 147)

                                                 

It is for each one of us that Jesus dies; and in his death our lives begin again.  God does not conquer us with political might, but woos us with sacrificial love.  The passion of God for you, for me, won’t have it any other way.  Jesus is the light of the world, a light in our life.  By faith in the man on the cross, you have eternal life.  Amen

Foolishness of the cross

4 Sunday in Lent Foolishness of the cross 1 Cor 1_18-25


Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ?  Good, even the demons confess that, as James and the gospels testify! Do you believe that Jesus is the chosen one from God, his prophet?  Good, even the Muslims believe that!  In fact, the Muslim faith believes quite strongly that Mary was chosen by God as a woman of noble birth, to bear the Christ child Jesus; the Christos, the Messiah; the anointed one.  They believe in Jesus’ virgin birth and the Koran, their ‘bible’ mentions Jesus 25 times as a prophet of God. Can you argue against that?  Of coarse not! 

 

Wow, we might say!  We have a common faith; we are one.  After all, Paul in his letter to the Corinthians says ‘No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.’ The Moslems say he is Lord.   I also hear many Christians say ‘anyone who believes in Jesus is a Christian’. 

 

 Is a Muslim Christian?  Are the demons Christian?  Is everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord’ welcome into the kingdom of God?  No, not according to Jesus own words in Matthew ‘Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!‘

 

What is it then that separates the true believers from the false prophets? 

 

The cross!

 

Jesus death on the cross to pay for our sins and his resurrection for our salvation , as Paul writes in Romans 4:25 ‘He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.’  is what separates ‘Christians’ from Muslims, demons from the Spirit of God, true believers from false prophets. 

 

‘For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.’  The cross, the payment Jesus made for our sin, is foolishness to many; its ludicrous that an innocent man would die for the guilty.  I have little to say on this, rather, let a Muslim cleric, who was once a Christian minister, speak clearly on this.

 

(play video)

 

Are St Paul’s words speaking loudly to you now ‘For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing…It is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.’  Utter nonsense that God would send his only innocent Son to the cross to die for the guilty.   We are the guilty ones and so we must pay for our sins, we must deal with our guilt. 

 

This is what religion is all about, a system of works to pay our dept; a system of laws to obey in order to please an angry God.  Religion is God’s way of making people righteous through obedience to strict laws and commands, through our worship and bowing down to him.

 

Religion yes, Christianity no!  We preach Christ crucified.  We proclaim the cross because through the cross is salvation and the power of God to forgive sins.  It seems foolish and ludicrous because we are actually still guilty in our sin.  You and me have not payed for our sins Jesus has; we have not suffered the wrath of God’s anger against sin, Jesus has.  We don’t obey and fulfil any laws to be saved, Jesus does.  Foolishness in the eyes of those perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.  Justification, or put simply, our salvation is totally God’s doing in Jesus.

 

This is the good news of the cross.  The free gift of being made right with God because Jesus died to pay for our sin and guilt.  We are given this at no cost to us.  Not even our little finger is raised in an effort to help in our salvation.  No works, no obeying of God’s law, not even any of the laws Jesus spoke of and commanded us to obey.  Nothing!

 

Our justification is a gift given to us freely because ‘God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.  That whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life’.    The foolishness lay in the fact that we take hold of this free gift of God by faith.  That is, we believe Jesus, by dieing on the cross, made us right with God and nothing else matters or counts towards this.

 

You heard in the DVD, the Cleric criticises Christianity for being the easiest religion in the world.  All you have to do is hope that God is merciful.  How true is that!  True, it is easy because Jesus has done everything for us and gives us everything, forgiveness, life and salvation, but it is only a half truth. 

 

The hard part for us, harder than doing any works towards paying for our sin, is to simply trust Jesus at his word; to believe gospel of the cross.  Yet, even in this, God assures us and comforts us of his mercy by giving us his Spirit in baptism; a down payment of the things to come.  He gives us his Spirit through his word to strengthen our faith and actually forgives us in Holy Communion…grace upon grace from the cross to you.

 

Let me close with the words of a hymn written by Charles Wesley

‘And can it be that I should gain

an interest in the Saviour’s blood?

Died he for me, who caused his pain –

For me, who him to death pursued?

Amazing love! How can it be

That thou, my God, shouldst die for me!  

 

 

 

 

 

Worried about being busy

Worried about being busy Matt 6 25-33


I have a video of what it looks like to be engrossed in worry!  (Canadian police chase) What do you think?  Let’s play it again in case you missed the subtle message.

 

What is happening?  Yes, the robbers know what they want and are determined to get it no matter the conditions and no matter how futile their efforts.  They are to outrun the police and avoid capture at all costs.  The police on the other hand, also know they want and are determined to fulfil their responsibilities.  They are to capture the robbers at all costs.  And that is what they are doing.

 

However, what is all their worry and effort achieving?  Yes, nothing!  Both the robbers and police are very busy in their jobs, know their roles, know what they have to achieve, but they are in fact achieving very little.  The robbers are so concerned about getting away, so worried about doing it as they always have, with a car chase, they cannot see the bigger picture; they cannot see that their situation is hopeless.  The police, what do they do?  They are no better than the robbers, they are so caught up in the busyness of the chase, so caught up in worrying about the capture they just exasperate the situation.

 

Close up, just looking at the cars and the robbers trying to avoid capture, it seems pretty normal; something you would expect of a police chase.  But notice as the camera angle moves away from the close action and into the aerial view from the helicopter, what then?  (play again) What does the wider picture reveal?  Yes, no matter how hard they try, as long as they only worry about the problem in front of them…being stuck in the snow, the robbers are never going to get away and the police are never going to catch the robbers.

 

Are you the robbers or the police?  Is your life like the robbers? Always worrying about trying desperately to keep ahead in life, trying to outrun the busyness of the day; outrun the changes forced upon you by work or family commitments.   Perhaps are you like the police, always worried and focused on the job in front of you and never being able to catch up with the busyness of your day?  You seem to be forever running behind.  Forever chasing dreams, visions and hopes that are set before you, but only to find you never get where you want to be. 

 

All of us are either robbers or police.  All of us are either running from or chasing after something in our life.  Some of us are always worried about trying to escape the pressures and stresses of life, while others of us are always worried about chasing fading dreams and hopes of a more relaxed life.  Yet how many of us achieve it?  How many of us, by our own efforts, achieve a blissful life without worry? Do the rich, with the wealth to buy everything they want?  Do they poor, with no money or possessions to worry about?  Have you with all your worries and fears about escaping or chasing?

 

Jesus calls us to get into the helicopter of his word and rise above our escaping or chasing to gain a view of the bigger picture.  He encourages us to call off the pursuit and take a look at what is really going on; to take our focus off the job before us.  He says ‘I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  Jesus sees our life like that helicopter shot of the police chase.  He can see we are doing a lot of worrying and running around after what we think is important for a good life, but in the end, from the vantage point of heaven, all we gain out of our striving and worry is more of the same.

 

Again Jesus says ‘do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.’  Like police after robbers, we shop until we drop chasing the dream of a peaceful and worriless life, yet it always eludes us.  Interestingly, John Carrol, in his new book ‘Ego and Soul, the modern West in search of meaning’, writes ‘It is through shopping…you can believe you control your own destiny, make yourself whomever you want to be, and therefore transform your life…like Clarke Kent changes into Superman.’

 

Jesus is not saying ‘don’t worry about chasing after those things’, because it is wrong.  He is not saying to worry is wrong, or to run from change and stress is wrong, or that chasing after a peaceful life is wrong or shopping is wrong…being superman or Wonder woman for a day is always good for the ego.  No, the key that unlocks freedom from the grind of everyday worry is to begin the day with God.  ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’  In him, in God and from God, comes our righteousness.  God himself gives us meaning, value and purpose for living.  Listen closely to Jesus words ‘seek first HIS kingdom and HIS righteousness.

 

St Paul in Romans clearly emphasises Jesus message  ‘For in the good news of Jesus death and resurrection a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is given to us by faith totally and completely, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”  Righteousness before God, being friends with God, because of Jesus death on the cross, gives purpose and meaning to our running our chasing. How?  It gives us a vision of the bigger picture.  Being worth something before God, or in biblical terms, righteous before God, knowing he loves us and wants the best for our life, enables us to get into the helicopter and be lifted up to get a view of our life from a perspective of heaven.  

 

Have a look at everything God has provided for us.  When we bring just a minute fraction together, we begin to see how much he does provide for us.  Have a look at the sacrament of Holy Communion, God’s righteousness given freely today.  We can see and taste how much he loves us.  Knowing this lifts us up to see beyond our chasing and running to see what lay ahead…eternity with God.

 

This week, stop yourself in the middle of what you are doing, just when you are feeling frustrated or worthless or angry, running or chasing.  Stop at that point when, like the robbers or police, you are in the midst of a hopeless situation, and by faith step back to get a heavenly perspective on life.  We can do this by remembering Jesus words ‘seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well’.  We are children of God so we have the privilege of looking at life from the vantage point of heaven.  When we do, we can see God’s love for us in all his gifts to us.  From there we can perhaps see a new way of doing things.  We can see how we might change our attitude and see how the bog we find ourselves in, like the police in the snow, may actually be what God is using to assist us in completing the task before us. 

 

This is what Jesus meant when he said ‘do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?’  For the life that is more important, is the life of righteousness given to us free by the gift of God.

 

Amen

 

    

Popper Prayers

Ash Wednesday Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21  Prayer


I have with me the perfect example of prayer:  (pop a popper)  Can you tell me why it seems to us a popper represents our prayers?  Well, here are some reasons why poppers are our prayers:

  • We only use prayer on special occasions
  • We imagine our prayers need to be impacting, like the bang, in order to gain God’s attention.
  • Our thoughts are all bottled up in our minds and we let a barrage of requests shoot up to heaven, like the streamers.
  • Most importantly, just as the streamers came pouring down almost immediately after they were fired up, we want our prayers to be answered immediately and we want the answers from God to stream down upon us and shower us with goodness.

 

The popper prayer most accurately describes our prayer practices and expectations, and if we were honest to ourselves, the popper prayer is really the only way we know how to pray.  Perhaps this is why we struggle with prayer, struggle to pray each day.  The popper prayer may not be how God intended prayer to be.  Perhaps popper prayer is more closely aligned with our plans and expectations of prayer than God’s.  And as you are well aware, anything centred in us, is sinful and against God’s plans and is destined to failure.  When prayer is human centred, prayer is hard.  Its hard because we keep getting the same results, a perception that God is not listening and is not answering our prayers.

 

We try harder, more fervent prayer, or to use my example, we put more gun powder into prayer, hoping God will be awakened by the big commotion and rain down answers.  Jesus likens this sort of practice to the prayers of hypocrites.  Hypocritical prayers are designed to be seen not heard; to be showed off as a perfect word sculpture.  They are prayers that are to be seen by everyone in the church, bible group, or street corner and especially to be seen God…but not heard.  No wonder there is no answer to the popper prayer.  Like the popper, its self serving and designed to be a display, not a way of communicating.

 

Michael Foss, the author of many discipleship books says we are creatures of habit.  We constantly do things exactly the same, yet, for some unknown reason, expect different results.  Not so, the results will remain the same.  Human centred prayer will always return the same results, a sense of rejection by God because he didn’t answer the way we expected. 

 

The feeling of not being heard is the result of sin which is most evident in the difficulty we have with prayer. You would think as a Christian, prayer would come naturally, as natural as breathing, yet we all know this is not so.  Let me quote from John Kleinig’s book ‘Grace upon grace’, in which he gives us some insight into why God allows us to fail in prayer. ‘We know that we should pray.  We would like to pray more regularly, ardently, and spontaneously.  The harder we try, the more we seem to fail.  But that’s how its meant to be.  Christ lets us fail when we pray by ourselves so we rely on his intercession for us.  Oddly, our success in prayer comes from our personal failure and our willingness to carry on as he works for us and in us.’

 

Jesus allows us to fail in prayer, not to make us put more powder into our prayer, but to make us realize our inadequacies and hopelessness without him.  The power of prayer lay not in our success, but in our failures.  Answer to our prayer comes in and through failure and disappointment. 

 

This is why Jesus encourages us to drop the outward displays, let go of the popper prayer, and retreat to a quiet place, a lonely place and let him take over your prayer; let him use our prayer and make it acceptable to God.  I have a picture of what this sort of prayer looks like. (picture of Peter holding onto Jesus after walking on water: ask what Peter was doing just before this)

 

Here we have the perfect prayer.  Peter represents us, sinking into the sea of despair and rejection after failing in prayer, but then Jesus takes over where we fail and takes our hand as a brother and leads our prayers right into the heavenly Father’s ears.  And after lifting us and our prayers into the presence of the Father, Jesus then brings us back into the boat, back into his word, his gospel where we rely on his promises ‘I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.’

 

This Lenten season, I am encouraging you to be involved in this Lenten study on prayer.  It has been compiled by some of our members.  It is a nightly devotional series on prayer and it is designed to help you to discover new ways to pray.  We have taken snippets of advice from Jesus and the prayer he taught us.  From Luther, Hallesby, and others.  Can I commend this to you as a tool to assist you in your pray life over the next forty days of Lent.  To encourage you in prayer and to help you realize prayer is not about us, its about God and how he does indeed hear our prayer.

 

Prayer is certainly a wonderful gift.  Yet it would be wrong of me to say that after you have studied the booklet, everything would be fine.  Rather, let me finish on a sober warning from one of the desert fathers, a man called Agathon ‘The brethren also asked him ‘Amongst all good works, which is the virtue which requires the greatest effort?’  He answered, ‘Forgive me, but I think there is no labour greater than that of prayer to God.  For every time a man wants to pray, his enemies, the demons, want to prevent him, for they know that it is only by turning him from prayer that they can hinder his journey.  Whatever good work a man undertakes, if he perseveres in it, he will attain rest.  But prayer is warfare to the last breath.’

Amen

If you would like a copy of this booklet please email Pastor at Brenton.fiedler@lca.org.au

 

The cost of Love

The cost of Love- Mark 9_ 2-9

I have some things here that were once an important and integral part of our congregation.  Some things that represented who we w
ere and what we believed in. (school banner).  As you look at this banner, perhaps it reminds you of the sounds of kids running through our church grounds; reminds you of the laughter and also of the part you, as members here, took in the nurture and growth of your children’s faith.  But now it is gone; it has been surpassed.
(use the hymn books over head and song)

The Hymn book of your Lutheran church.  The book your parents used to sing all the great Lutheran hymns, like ‘Almighty Fortress is our God’ and ‘The church’s one foundation’.  Perhaps as you now see this, it reminds you of the time your mum or dad held it in front of you to help you sing; or of the time at Christmas when there were not enough hymn books to go around because there was so many people here; even the balcony was full.  But now it is gone, it has been surpassed by the PowerPoint.  Same songs, only its up on a screen.

When we see these things again, we are reminded of how attached we are to our environment.  Attached to the things we see, experience and use as normal in our lives; normal parts of our worship life.  The things of our church become part of us, in fact they symbolise who we are and what we stand for.  For us, these are not just things, not just another school they are who we are…our very being. We are some how attached to what we are used to and as we use it we remember the people, the good times and the excitement of using it.

When changes come about or there is no longer any use for what we have, we mourn the loss.  We mourn that fact that part of who we are, part of our history, our world view and belief system has been taken away from us.  We long to remain the same; remain in what we know and what is certain; in the tried and tested.  Change brings uncertainty and so a desire to hang on to what we know.

Jesus brought uncertainty and change to the people of Israel.  He upset and challenged the way they saw God.  He spoke against the Scribes and Pharisees who many thought, had taught the truth about God.  He talked about God in a new way.  He was different from any other religious teachers.  He talked with and associated with sinners and outcasts.  Jesus even  claimed to be the messiah, the Son of God…which was OK except he said ‘The Son of man must suffer many things and that he must be killed and on the third day rise again.’  Radically new stuff!  With Jesus, change was in the air which meant many people felt uneasy and uncertain; felt that a part of them was dying.

The disciples were also uncertain and uncomfortable about the changes Jesus was bringing in.  Sure, most likely, when the disciples where first called to follow Jesus, it was sort of fun to pick on the Scribes, it was sort of funny to see the Pharisees fumble and fail to find an answer against Jesus’ teachings.  But then Jesus began to change their environment and started to make their life feel uncomfortable they started to pine and morn for the way it was; the normality of their Jewish faith.  Jesus said and commanded radically new things like ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me’ With new teachings like this, the disciples were probably having second thoughts.  We hear this in Peter’s confession after Jesus spoke of his death ‘surely this will not happen to you’; a good indicator that he was not prepared to let go of his old belief and old way of thinking.

Is it no wonder then, when they witnessed Jesus transfigured and glowing like lightning, Peter and the other disciples became afraid and shook with terror at this new development.  It is no wonder then, when they then saw Moses and Elijah standing there, Peter tried desperately to cling to the past; to what they knew and said ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters– one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’

Peter and the other disciples wanted to hold onto Moses and Elijah an anchor point, a stable part of their faith they knew and felt comfortable with.  ‘If we build a house or place of worship for you three guys, Peter thought, then we will have certainty and be back in our comfort zone because things will be like they were’.

Just then, while planing and hoping to keep things the same; just the way it had been before Jesus, in an instant it was all gone.  Moses and Elijah vanished from view; no longer needed.  And along with them, Peter’s hopes and plans, his security and certainty.  Moses and Elijah, the men of old have been replaced and surpassed by the only man remaining…Jesus.  Only Jesus the Son of God remains.  Only Jesus and his word will remain from now on, as he says ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.’

Peter and the disciples had been given a graphic lesson in what it means to follow Jesus.  Their past faith, while important and essential, and as personal as it was to them, was going to change and move indirections they would not want to go.  Jesus would lead them into foreign lands, into dangerous places, to whipping and beatings and ultimately to their own death for his name’s sake.

The certainty that the past brought, will no longer be their anchor point.  Jesus had a mission and was on the move to save the world, to seek and to save the lost. Peter and the other disciples would soon understand what it means to take up your cross and follow Jesus for the sake of saving others.

(names) you are followers of Jesus and you also, like the disciple are taking up and carrying a heavy cross.  Following Jesus means there will be changes and uncertainty for the sake of the gospel; for the sake of Jesus’ mission.  We have now sold this church building, the very building which has seen you grow up in the faith and has played an important part in your life; a tried and true security point for you and the community of Gilgandra. This difficult time has, as it did for the disciples on the mountain, graphically demonstrated to us that nothing on earth will ultimately remain other than the man Jesus.

Yes, we can try to keep the past alive by talking and remembering and yes that is a valid and natural part of grieving, just as it was for Peter.  Yes, we can be sorry things turned out the way they did and try to find answers and focus on hindsight, all very important steps in mourning such a loss.  Yet as followers of Jesus, even in the midst of change we can join Paul and say ‘I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord’

Today can be our transfiguration; a time when we are changed into people who only see Jesus.  A time when we are transfigured into people who leave what they dearly love and gladly take up our cross and follow Jesus, just as Peter, James and John did; just as the rest of the disciples.

Now is the time to be on the move with Jesus; now is the time to be joint missionaries with him in seeking and saving the lost.  Now is the time to be the salt and the light of all Australians driving the Newell Highway.  Now is the time to know that the Pastors of NWS are praying for us; praying that the cross we now carry for the sake of the gospel will not be too heavy; praying that it will bear fruit in the new church building on the highway.

To leave behind what we cherish for the sake of Jesus is no simple task; it takes courage and it takes faith.  Together we have made the right choice and the only choice, which is the call to follow Jesus.  Our Lutheran heritage has always put the gospel of Jesus before personal benefit.

So now hear and be encouraged by the words of our Lord ‘I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.  A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.  So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.’  Amen

An Athlete of Christ

6th Sunday after epiphany 1 Corinthians 9:24-27  An athlete of Christ

In order to compete and be competitive, an athlete trains hard for his goal and sheds off anything that may hinder his chances of wining the prize.

What sort of athlete would have a diet like this? (fast food pac
kets, coke and beer).  Would these be a hindrance?  Would this diet help to win the prize?  Would an elite athlete wear this? (a heavy jacket, hold a suitcase and then a blindfold)?  Would he know where he is going in a race?  Would he be able to compete competitively carrying a sports bag?  No, all of these things need to be removed as part, of an athlete’s strict training.  Everything is seen as a loss in comparison to the final prize and crown of victory.

Being in Athens and Corinth, it is more than likely St Paul enjoyed sport and even attended sporting events in his free time.  He would have seen how hard athletes trained.  Living in Greece, he would have witnessed firsthand the determination of an athlete to finish the race.  He may have applauded with the crowds as they saw the joy on the faces of those who won the crown of victory.  Historical records found in the excavations of ancient Corinth show that around the exact dates of Paul’s mission work in Corinth, the Isthmian Games were held.

This prestigious event, second only to the Olympics in Athens, was run in Corinth every two years.  Ancient records show athletic events included racing, wrestling, jumping, boxing, hurling the javelin, and throwing the discus.  Paul, having lived in Corinth for many years, would have seen the athletes training in the streets; running, throwing and practicing for their events.  It was required by decree that all athletes devote 10 months to strict training.

As we know, this sort of dedication to winning requires an athlete with determination and commitment.  It meant that a competitor would voluntarily renounce not only unhealthy habits, like junk food, drinking and smoking, but also give up many things that are fine, like holidays or parties, in order to focus totally on the goal.

Perhaps St Paul wrote part of his Corinthian letter sitting in the stadium watching athletes striving for the crown of victory.  Perhaps he was sitting there thinking, why is it an athlete trains, strives and competes so hard to win a temporary crown made only of olive leaves, yet his converts in the new church of Jesus, the believers in the way, showed little sign of this enthusiasm; showed no real commitment to studying God’s word or striving for the sake of the gospel.

Perhaps Paul just finished watching a running race when he wrote, ‘members of the church in Corinth, Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.’

Paul had preached the good news of Christ crucified as he writes ‘For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.’  It is in this good news that the believers in the new church in Corinth were awarded salvation and eternal life as a crown of victory.  This good news of salvation, a free gift from God, should have spur them on to holy living; to striving and renouncing things that would hinder them from winning the prize, like an athlete would do.  But Paul found very little of this.  The freedom of the gospel was for many, freedom to do nothing!

Martin Luther found this same problem in his new church of the reformation, in a sermon preached on 9th March 1522, he made these scathing remarks ‘We must have love and through love we must do to one another as God has done to us through faith.  For without love faith is nothing…And here dear friends, have you not grievously failed?  I see no signs of love among you, and I observe very well that you have not been grateful to God for his rich gifts and treasures.

I notice that you have a great deal to say of the doctrine of faith and love which is preached to you, and this is no wonder; an ass can almost intone the lessons…Dear friends, the kingdom of God, and we are the kingdom, does not consist in talk or words, but in activity, in deeds, in works and exercises.  God does not want hearers and repeaters of words, but followers and doers and this occurs in faith through love.’

Certainly perhaps, we are not in the same league as those in Wittenberg, or even Corinth.  I do indeed see that everyone here is thankful to God for the gift of salvation and do indeed love and live lives worthy of the gospel.  Yet Paul’s words, like a coach speaking to his players at half time, can spur us on to greater appreciation for the crown of eternal life and a renewed determination to train our bodies, our minds and our spirits in the word of God.  Paul encourages us not to ‘run our race like an athlete running aimlessly or fight like a boxer hitting the air.’  Rather, we are to be like great athletes, making our bodies slaves to Christ so that we do not miss out on the prize’.

The prize, the crown of victory is the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life because of Jesus death for our sins on the cross.  You have already been crowned with this victory when Jesus declared you forgiven; justified you or put you in a right relationship with God in and through you baptism.

Just like Naaman, by the power of God’s word and the washing of water, he was cleansed from leprosy, in the washing of baptism, you have been cleansed from sin and given new life, as written in Titus 3 ‘He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour.’

Yet, as we know, this crown is only received fully, in death.  We are still running our race, still enduring hardships and disappointments like any athlete running a race.  However, God has not left us alone in this event, in his compassion he has graciously given as all the training equipment needed for our faith, so we don’t lose the race and the crown of victory.

We train our bodies by reading God’s word and as we do, his Spirit makes us holy and cleanses us of sin.  The Spirit in the word trains our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, so we can recognise the sins that are hindering our race for the prize and leads us to put off the devil and all his works and ways.

Our training as Athletes for Christ consists in eating the right spiritual foods, and that too, has be provided by God himself.  Jesus body and blood are given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.  His body is truly present in the bread and wine to strengthen our faith for the race.  Jesus said ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

We don’t need to run our race aimlessly, like a blindfolded runner.  We know where to go to receive refreshment and renewal for our tired souls.  We know where to go for strength to love and serve even our enemies; we go straight to the power of God’s word and sacraments, just like an athlete goes straight for the Gaidorade.

We don’t box the air like a shadow boxer, not knowing how to defeat our opponent, we know the target, the devil and we know how to knock him out cold, for one little word of Jesus can fell him.  Yes, an athlete of Jesus trains and remains in the word of God, for it is in this power that the victory will be won, as in the final verse of ‘A mighty fortress is our God’

‘The word shall stand despite all foes-No thanks they for it merit- For God is with us, and bestows his gifts and Holy Spirit.  And take they our life, goods, fame, child, and wife: Though these all be gone, yet have our foes not won; the kingdom ours remaineth.’

Amen