Text: Luke 17:5,6

The apostles said to the Lord, “Make our faith greater.” The Lord answered, “If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you’. 

Faith the size of a mustard seed

A small congregation built a new church on a piece of land left to them by a church member.

Ten days before the new church was to open, but their world came crashing down when the local building inspector arrived and informed the Pastor that unless they double the number of parking spaces, they would not be able to use the new church.

Unfortunately, the new building had used every square centimetre except for a rather steep hill behind the church.

In order to build more parking spaces, they would have to move that rocky hill. Undaunted, the pastor announced the next Sunday morning that he would meet that evening with all members who had “mountain moving faith.”

They would hold a prayer session asking God to remove the mountain from the back yard and to somehow provide enough money to have it paved before the scheduled opening dedication service.

At the appointed time, 24 of the congregation’s 300 members assembled for prayer. They prayed for nearly three hours. At ten o’clock the pastor said the final “Amen”. “We’ll open our new church next Sunday as scheduled,” he assured everyone. “God has never let us down before, and I believe he will be faithful this time too.”

The next morning as the Pastor was working in his study there came a loud knock at his door and a rough looking construction foreman entered. “Excuse me, Reverend. I’m from a Construction Company.

We’re building a huge shopping mall. We need some fill – in fact, heaps of fill. Would you be willing to sell us a chunk of that rocky hill behind the church?

We’ll pay you for the dirt we remove and pave all the exposed area free of charge. We need to do this now to allow it to settle properly.” Well, the little church was dedicated the next Sunday as originally planned (Source unknown).

Wow. When you first hear this story it’s easy to say that this is exactly what Jesus was talking about when he said, ‘If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you’.

In other words, through faith we can move mountains.

But is that right?

Is that a correct conclusion?

Was it their ‘mountain moving faith’ or the length of time they spent in prayer that in the end gave them what they were seeking?

Were those 24 people super heroes of faith and so moved the mountain?

The disciples were facing their own mountains that needed moving.

In the previous verses Jesus had been talking about the effect that sin has on our lives.

Firstly, Jesus warns that anyone who causes another person to sin would be better off if a huge rock were tied around his neck and thrown overboard somewhere in the deepest part of sea.

The disciples were worried about this and quite rightly.

Who hasn’t caused someone to sin?

Who hasn’t said and done things that have caused others to be hurt, fell alienated, angry, hateful, and unforgiving?

If that weren’t enough Jesus goes on to say more. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

If he sins against you seven times in one day, and each time he comes to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

It’s a difficult thing to talk to someone – rebuke someone – whose lifestyle does not reflect their position as a child of God. Jesus goes on to say even more.

When a person says he/she is sorry, Jesus says there is to be no limit to the number of times we are to forgive that person.

Very possibly he could be asking for forgiveness for the same or a similar sin over and over and over again.

Jesus says in no uncertain terms, ‘You must forgive him’.

That kind of forgiveness goes right against our human nature.

That person who keeps on offending us doesn’t deserve forgiveness and yet Jesus pronounces some dire consequences on those who can’t overcome their need for revenge and be forgiving.

The disciples had a problem – you might say they had their own mountain that needed moving.

They recognised their own sinfulness and their failure to live up to their calling as people who belong to God and disciples who claim to follow their master and do his will.

So, they come to Jesus with all this on their minds and say, “Make our faith greater!

Give us a greater amount of faith so that we will be able to do the things that you have asked of us”.

They felt that an increase in their faith would enable them to move the mountain of sin that was getting in the way of their faithful discipleship.

And what does Jesus do – how does he answer their prayer?

Does he lay his hands upon them and pray and give them more faith?

Does he snap his fingers and grant them a double dose of his Spirit and faith?

Does he give them ‘mountain moving faith’ so that they could remove all obstacles that got in their way?

No, he doesn’t – instead he says to them, “If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you”.

The point Jesus is making is that they have already been given faith.

Even a tiny faith the size of a mustard seed is enough as far as God is concerned.

The size of faith doesn’t matter because God is the one doing the moving.

If it is my faith that moved the mountain, then the bigger the mountain the more faith I would need to move it.

The bigger the obstacle the more strength I’d need to climb it.

The more serious the illness a faith even greater would be required to overcome it.

The more serious the sin the more faith I would need in order to have it forgiven.

That kind of thinking kind of makes sense, but that’s not how faith works. In fact, faith doesn’t do the work at all. And thank God for that.

God is the one doing the work through faith. Think of faith as the key that opens the door to God acting in our lives.

If I have a bigger key ring than you do, does it matter?

The size of a key ring doesn’t matter – key rings don’t open doors but it’s that little key on the ring that opens doors.

Even a little faith opens the door for God to move the mountains and trees and even our hearts.

So, what Jesus is saying to his disciples, who asked for their faith to be increased, is that even if they have the smallest amount of faith, they can do great things.

Even the smallest faith can grasp what God has and is doing in our lives;

even the smallest faith is able to recognise the ways that God is able to make changes in lives and in our world through us.

We have all met people who have lived through very difficult times, and no doubt many of us have thought about the great faith they must have had to come out of their troubles as well as they have.

We may even have said to them – with respect and admiration, ‘I don’t think I could have faced what you have faced. I admire your great faith.’

In response to this I have heard people say, ‘My faith is no greater than anyone else’s. I just didn’t know what faith I had until I needed it. God helped me, if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have made it.’

Jesus didn’t need to increase the size of the faith of the disciples. They already had faith.

He assures them of that and states that, even though their faith may be small, God can accomplish great things through them.

And we know that he did. They went on to share the Good News about Jesus even in the face of some strong opposition, being brought before rulers and judges, being imprisoned and killed.

Didn’t Paul say when he was recalling some of the difficulties he had to face as an apostle, “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me” (Phil 4:13).

He doesn’t talk about how great his faith in God was, but rather he talks about what his faith was focussed on.

There are times when our confident, perhaps even over confident faith, is brought crashing down because of what is happening in our lives.

There are times when our faith seems so trivial and weak in the face of gigantic threats to our health, our family, our self-worth.

But no matter what size and strength we consider our faith to be at any given moment, faith as small as a mustard seed (and that’s pretty small) is able to uproot a mulberry tree (which has an extensive root system, and plant (not dump) it into the sea and still expect it to bear mulberries.

Years ago, I was asked by the parents of a child who was severely intellectually disabled whether their child would have enough faith and understanding to come to Holy Communion.

My answer: ‘I wasn’t particularly concerned about understanding. Their child may never be able to express what she believed in words.

But as far as God is concerned a faith the size of a mustard seed is all that is needed for him to be able to do great things in their child’s life.’

What a joy it was for all those at church, especially the parents, to see the outstretched hands of this child, waiting for them to be filled with the love of God through the body and blood of Jesus in the sacrament.

Praise God that in spite of our sins he has given us faith – even faith as small as a mustard seed.

And God working through the faith he has given us will defeat the devil’s temptations to sin, he will help us overcome the obstacles we face when forgiveness is required.

God working in us through faith can move mountains and trees and even our own hearts for his glory. Faith is powerful, because the Christ in whom faith believes is powerful.

Faith, even one that is described as being the size of a mustard seed, relies on Jesus, his love and strength. This kind of faith enables us to rise above the most threatening circumstances.

To repeat Paul’s words, “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me” (Phil 4:13).

Let’s not twist all this around in order to convince ourselves that now we don’t need to take faith and prayer and the study of God’s Word seriously.

But realize that you already possess more than enough of what’s needed to change your life, your heart, your family, your community, even your world.

In summary, today we are being asked not how much faith do we have but rather what are we doing with the faith that God has already given us?

And may the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

© Pastor Vince Gerhardy

Children and grown-ups like hearing this parable. In this story it seems that for a moment, the curtain is drawn aside and we get a tiny glimpse of the hereafter, of heaven and hell. The other thing that pleases a child’s imagination and perhaps many adults, is to see how this rich guy, who had it so “good” in this life, gets what’s coming to him in the next life, while poor Lazarus, who had such a hell of a life on earth, at last receives the joy and consolation of heaven.

But by focussing on that aspect of the story, we’re missing its central point. The real point of the story is not so much about the rich man or about Lazarus, but rather about what Abraham says to the rich man about his five brothers still at home on earth and their need to hear God’s Word. The sin of the rich man isn’t that he was rich but that he was indifferent. It’s not bad to be rich, nor is it a sign of goodness to be poor. But it’s wrong when a person is so wrapped up in his possessions and affluent lifestyle and is so thoroughly selfish that he is totally indifferent to the needy person placed at his gate. The rich man’s terrible sin isn’t that he never helped Lazarus, but that he did nothing at all, feasting while Lazarus died at his gate. In the time of Jesus, affluent people used bread as we use serviettes – to wipe their fingers. Hungry Lazarus would gladly have fed on such scraps, but the rich guy pretends not to notice Lazarus’s desperate need for food.

What’s more, he pretends not to notice God, His Maker and the Giver of all the gifts he enjoys. These two realities go together – if you love God, you will love your neighbour and have a special compassion for a neighbour in need. At the other end of the scale, indifference to your needy neighbour is a reflection of your

indifference to God. God’s Word says to you, “Those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen (1 John 4:20).”

Let’s focus on being different now. Lazarus certainly was a different person in the next life. In contrast to the rich guy in our parable who is unnamed, Lazarus has a name. His name is a very important clue for understanding this story, because his name means “God is my helper.” His name shows that despite all his poverty and misery, he has put his trust in God. He believed God is his Helper. And when he dies, what he has always believed comes true. In heaven he discovers the joy of being with the God in whom he trusted.

The rich man is certainly a different person in the next life. For him it is a “riches to rags” story. In the next life he finds himself in hell. What is hell? To be separated from God. And what is heaven? To be with God. In this life the rich man separated himself from God; in the next life, the separation from God becomes absolute. So now he’s a radically different person – no more enjoying the comforts of this life, but enduring the discomforts of hell. Another thing is different about him in the next life. For the first time he thinks of someone other than himself. He is concerned about his five brothers left on earth and asks Abraham to send someone from the dead, lest they also come to the place of torment.

He thinks that there’s only one thing that will change his brothers on earth and make them different, that is if someone comes from the dead to warn them and then they will believe. “Not so”, Abraham tells him. “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” And if they won’t listen to them, that is, if they won’t hear God’s Word for them, then they won’t listen even if someone comes to them from the dead.

Although this is only a story told to us by Jesus, nevertheless what He said actually happened. There was a brother who did come back from the dead, and would you know, his name was Lazarus! Remember how Jesus raised Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus from the dead. And what happened after Jesus raised Lazarus? Those who already believed, believed all the more. But those who didn’t believe immediately began plotting to assassinate Jesus. There were times like the feeding of the five thousand when people saw the miraculous things Jesus did and still didn’t believe in Him. Seeing is not necessarily believing.  Rather, faith in Jesus gives us super-sight. Jesus says to Martha at the death of her brother Lazarus, “Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God? (John 11:40)” Faith enables us to see God at work in our lives and around us, things those without faith cannot see.

So who are we in this story? We’re the ones still alive. We are the five brothers. And like them we have Moses and the prophets. In fact, we have even more, because not only do we have Moses and the prophets in the Old Testament, we also have the Gospels and the Epistles, the New Testament of our merciful Saviour Jesus Christ. We have the life-giving good news of His grace that can make us different, and can make us dare to live differently. What an incomparable blessing that is. It’s all about the Word who took on human flesh and lives among us, full of grace and truth.

Our Lord Jesus Christ became poorer and more wretched than Lazarus was so that by His poverty we could become rich in the things that matter eternally. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you, through His poverty, might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).”

After His birth, where Jesus lay in a borrowed manger in a lowly stable, He was rejected, scoured, despised, tortured and crucified for us. Jesus gave up everything for us and our eternal benefit and blessing. After Jesus rose from the dead He became Lord of heaven and earth and the real owner of everything on this earth. He now says to you and to me: “Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands – all that you can hold (Luke 6:38).” Or as the prayer of St. Francis puts it, “For it is in giving that we receive” the joy of knowing that we are blessing others with what God has given us. Jesus says to you “Blessed are those who hear God’s Word and put it into practice (Luke 11:28).”

It’s not hard to put ourselves in the rich man’s place and imagine what he might think, looking at Lazarus, all covered in loathsome sores: ‘But if the doctors cannot do a thing for him, what am I expected to do? He is as poor as the stray dogs themselves. But surely it is not my fault that he is poor. I never robbed him or stole from him. God knows the streets are full of beggars. There are plenty of others as badly off as he is. But what can one man do about it? They would have to bankrupt the government to make any noticeable difference. If one lone beggar finds his way to my door, does that give him more claim on me than the others have? I have let him live exclusively, for weeks and months, on the discarded scraps from my table. Surely that is something I am doing for him. What more can I do?’

When we suffer from donation-fatigue like that, we need to pray to Jesus, “Thank You for loving me so much more than I could ever deserve. Through Your Word and sacraments, continually fill me with a love that overflows into the lives of others.” 

People who love each other want to be together and hear each other speak. When we love our Lord, we want to be where He is with us in a very special way, that is, in the Lord’s Supper, where He gives Himself to us in an awesome act of love. He does this to continue making us more and more like Him. More and more we will become eager to love others with Christ’s life-transforming, life-renewing love.

We give to God because God promises to multiply with His blessing whatever we give, whether to Him or our needy neighbour. “God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).”

For souls redeemed, for sins forgiven, for means of grace and hopes of heaven,

To you, O Lord, what can be given? You give us all.

We lose what on ourselves we spend; we have as treasure without end

Whatever, Lord, to You we lend – You give us all.

Amen.

Text: 1 Timothy 2:1-2

First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, requests, and thanksgivings be offered to God for all people; for kings and all others who are in authority, that we may live a quiet and peaceful life with all reverence toward God and with proper conduct. 

Pray for everyone

In the middle of the fourth century lived a young man by the name of Augustine.  His mother, Monica was a devout Christian; his father a pagan until his conversion to Christianity just prior his death.  Augustine received a Christian education.  It seemed Augustine was a bright lad and when he was 16 his father sent him to the city to study and become a lawyer.  This was a bad mistake.  Augustine became involved in a lifestyle of idleness, sex, and alcohol.  When he was 18 he had to admit to his mother that he was the father of a son.  He became involved in heretical sectarian groups. 

You can imagine how upsetting all this was to his mother, but she never gave up hope.  She prayed and prayed for her wayward son.  She prayed that he would give up the wild life and the false teachings and once again come to know Jesus as she had taught him when he was a child.  Finally when he was 32 years of age Augustine gave up his wild ways and returned to the faith he had been taught.  This was a real life enactment of Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son only in this case it was a mother who watched and waited and prayed for her wayward son.  Not long after her watching and waiting was over Monica died.  Augustine went on to become a leader, a bishop, a teacher and a great defender of the Christian faith until his death at 76 years of age. 

The story about Augustine says many things about sin and forgiveness and grace but it also says such much about the importance of intercessory prayer – praying for others.  Over the 16 years she prayed for her son I’m sure Monica must have wondered as she prayed, “When will God act? Will my son ever change?” but she never gave up.  At baptism I urge parents and godparents to be like Monica – to daily pray for their child.  Satan and the evil in our world are too eager to harm those whom God loves, and to lead them away from their heavenly Father.  The attacks of Satan are very powerful and so we need to bring the safety of our children before God constantly.

Daily we hear how evil is doing its work – killing innocent people whether in bombings in Syria, mass shootings in America, murder in our own streets, or violence in Papua New Guinea. 
We hear of children being badly treated by the very people who they look to for protection and care – their parents. 
We hear of terrible things that people in positions of authority inflict on the innocent and helpless, simply because they can.
How many governments around the world have killed thousands upon thousands of their people and have never had to answer for what they have done?

We pray for the victims of such terrible atrocities, and that’s what God wants us to do.  They need God’s help.

But how often do we pray for the perpetrators of such evil deeds? 
Do they deserve our prayers? 
Do they deserve help from God? 

Today we hear from Paul’s first letter to Timothy.   He starts by saying, “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, requests, and thanksgivings be offered to God for all people”. 

Did you hear what Paul just said?  He wants us to pray for all people, for everyone.  That sounds good but not very easy to carry out.  It might be truer to say that we offer petitions, prayers, requests and thanksgiving for nearly all people.  It’s pretty hard to pray for all people.  We might be happy to pray for most people, but there are those people for whom we find it extremely hard to pray. 

How easy is it to pray for the perpetrators of evil not in the sense that God would strike them down with fire and brimstone, but that they would come to see that God’s ways to solve an issue is not with violence and harm but with an openness to the power of the Holy Spirit so they can be guided to seek better ways, calmer ways, more humane ways to deal with others.   
How many have prayed for those religious and political leaders who only speak with such bitterness, hatred and loathing of everything western and constantly threaten violence against the unbelievers?  One would suppose that Paul’s encouragement to pray for everyone includes those people as well. 

How easy is it to pray for those you don’t like – perhaps a person with whom you have had a falling out; the person you absolutely loathe; the person who has hurt you deeply?
I’m sure Paul included those people when he says that we should pray for all people.  It’s easy to pray for parents, sons and daughters, friends, fellow Christians, but how hard it is to pray for all people.

And then Paul makes his advice to Timothy really hard to carry out.  He says we are to pray for “kings and all others in authority”.
Mayors and regional council members,
members of Parliament, premiers, prime ministers, opposition parties,
public servants, judges, barristers, the police, union leaders. 
This includes even those people with whom we don’t agree;
those whose particular kind of politics we dislike;
those whom we believe to be dishonest and abuse their position;
those whom we think aren’t doing their job.
With some of the things that happen in high places, we don’t feel like praying for our politicians.  We say we pay too much in tax; we disapprove of the government wasting money.

Paul is calling us to pray for all those in authority; not just those whose policies we like, but all those who rule our nation.  This is especially hard for us Australians because we have developed this thing we call “the tall poppy syndrome”.  We take delight in being critical and cynical about those in leadership positions.  We’ve just had elections and how many times didn’t we hear people say that they didn’t like any of the people or parties they were asked to vote for, as if to say that there wasn’t a decent person amongst them all.  I don’t think that would be a fair call.

Maybe Timothy wasn’t finding it easy to pray for the ruler of his time and who can blame him.  Timothy and Paul lived in a time when the government was opposed to Christianity and deliberately went out of its way to treat Christians badly.  It wasn’t a Christian government by any stretch of the imagination, and yet Paul says here and in other places, that Christians are to obey the rulers, pay taxes, and pray for politicians.  He makes the point that “the existing authorities have been put there by God. Whoever opposes the existing authority oppose what God has ordered” (Romans 13:1-7). 

It would have been much easier if Paul had said that we should pray for those in authority whom we believe to be doing the right thing.  Instead he says that “petitions, prayers, requests, and thanksgivings be offered to God for all people; for kings and all others who are in authority”.

I think Paul realized that the job of a politician is never an easy one.  Being a leader involves making decisions and it doesn’t matter what course of action is decided upon, there will always be those who will disagree and criticize loudly.  Add to that the constant pressure of public office, appointments, meetings, business deals, conferences, press releases, contracts, media attention, lobby groups, and so on.  With the public office there are always the temptations – self-glorification, bribery, corruption, and greed.

In the complexities of our world, leaders need our prayers.  So much responsibility rests on their shoulders – how will they respond, what kind of force will be used to bring the terrorists to justice, what countries will oppose any such attempt, what measures need to be taken to ensure that this will not lead to an all-out war, will we commit our military forces to help, in what way are we jeopardizing peace on this earth and so on.  There is little doubt that regardless of whether we think they deserve it or not, leaders need our prayers.  They need God’s wisdom and power to guide them in the difficult task that faces them.

This should be noted as well.  When Paul tells Timothy to pray for “others in authority” this includes the leaders of the church and of the congregation – pastors, priests, chairpersons, bishops, elders, lay assistants, councils and committees.  Being a leader in the church at this time is not an easy thing.  Thank God that he has given us leaders remembering that the greatest proportion of leaders in a congregation is volunteers who fit leading a congregation into their busy family and work lives.  Ask God to give wisdom and strength to the leaders as they carry out the very difficult task of leading the church in the secular society in which we live. 

I think you get the picture.  Paul is urging us to pray – pray – pray for our leaders.  Whether we like them as persons or their policies or their actions is beside the point. 
If they are doing a good job in your estimation – pray for God’s continued blessing and guidance.
If they are doing a lousy job – pray that God would give them wisdom, understanding and compassion as they lead.
If they are doing something you don’t like – pray that God would give you the courage and the right words to give encouragement and friendly advice.

Because the love of Jesus permeates you and me and because our eyes have been opened to the needs of our neighbour in every corner of our community, we want our leaders to respond to those needs and to lead us in that response.  It might be that people desperately need to know of the love that Jesus has for them or that a response is needed to crime or terrorism, the burden that is placed on leaders at every level is a great one.  Leaders need our support and the guidance of the Lord as they seek to find the right paths of action.  

In the Bible we read, â€œThe prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective”. “Pray for all people; … for kings and all in authority so that we can live quiet and peaceful lives”
.© Pastor Vince Gerhardy

Luke 15:7
I say to you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner repenting than over 99 righteous who don’t need to repent.

            Jesus always tells some interesting stories, sheep, coins and parties. He’s there in ancient Judah with these greedy embezzlers, probably prostitutes and all sorts of obvious sinners coming to hear Him, His words of truth in love, repent and believe the good news (Ephesians 4:15; Mark 1:15). At the beginning of His ministry in Luke’s account He declares, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:18-19). These sinners had come to hear the good news, hopefully not to reject it. However the religious elite, the ones who knew God’s Word and looked down on those who didn’t, they were different, they came not to hear but to grumble, ‘how can he associate with druggos, bikies, and even those thieving bank managers?’ Jesus always has good ears, He hears them and He responds.

            There will be more joy in heaven over one of these rotten people repenting than all those who don’t need to repent. More joy at one of these lost sheep, at real risk of destruction, being found, picked up and taken home, more joy at this one salvation than over 99 who were already safe. Now sometimes it’s helpful for you to think about who you might’ve been all those years ago; a despised tax collector coming to hear Jesus, a grumbling Pharisee? A righteous sheep, or the lost, in Greek destroyed, coin? The sinner or the righteous? I’m sure that tax collector Zacchaeus knew which one he was. So who are you?

            I’ll give a small hint from the Psalm for today, ‘all have turned away, all are corrupt, there is no one who does good, no not even one.’ (Psalm 14:3). You are a sinner, just like me, just like those tax collectors and just like those Pharisees who were too proud to notice. Too proud like the kings and people Jeremiah brought God’s Word to, refusing to accept their need for a saviour, their need to change and serve God alone. God promised destruction and they were lost. But what happened to the lost? It’s them Jesus came to save!

            As Paul wrote, Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), later in Luke, to seek and save the lost (19:10). The shepherd travels and finding the lost sheep, lifts it to His shoulders and brings it home in joy! The woman brings light, cleanses the house and seeks out the coin, finding again with joy! And in the parable after these the father welcomes his prodigal son with joy! Yes, you have sinned, you are afflicted by sinful corruption that all humans suffer from, but you have been lifted up, saved by Jesus. You were lost, dead in your transgressions and sin but God raised you up with Christ, yes baptised into His death and rising in Him with new life, Christ has cleansed you by the washing with water through the word, this is the truth (Ephesians 2:1-10; Romans 6; Ephesians 5:26)!

            Now saved and made holy by Christ, receiving the joy and peace that comes with this wonderful grace, who are we but the friends and neighbours of the shepherd and the woman in the parables, together with all the saints who have gone before, with the angels and all heaven rejoicing when the Father draws another sinner to salvation in His Son (John 6:44). Celebrating when any other is born into this new life in Jesus, rejoicing at all baptisms and with every new convert; it doesn’t matter their work, family, sickness, or sins; and also rejoicing when after you sin, after one of us sins against you, going your own way, after this when you repent, transform your mind, and reject deception and sin, when one of us returns to this new way of living in Jesus, confessing the truth of what we have done, and coming before God’s throne of grace we can rejoice as each of us receive His wonderful grace! To live again the joy of Christ’s forgiveness, He came to save you and all sinners; to thank God for His mercy, that we don’t receive the destruction we and the ancient Hebrews deserved; and to taste, even if just a moment, the wonderful victory that is ours in Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

            And the peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Joseph Graham

Jeremiah 18:11
Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.

Make your ways good. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, is again sent by God to tell His wayward people to return to Him and avoid disaster; they do not listen, keep on rejecting God, worshiping the Baals, sacrificing children to Molech, and they also plot Jeremiah’s downfall. Eventually God’s disasters come, the kingdom is defeated, the temple destroyed and the people are exiled into Babylon. God does not deal with idle threats, but neither are His promises idle. Israelites turned back to their God in exile and after a time the promised land was returned as God had promised, and just as had been promised in Eden Jesus came, took our suffering, died and rose again, destroying the power of sin, death and the devil. God’s promises are sure.

But what about you? The Ten Commandments teach us that our heavenly Father will punish those who break them to the third and fourth generation and will bless those who keep them for thousands. So do you listen to His words, to His promise to you? Or do you ignore His commands, His word for your life, that gives you life? The Hebrews turned from the one true God again and again they suffered because of their sins; for a time they lived God’s way, but again and again they turned from this narrow one and went their own way, the ways of the people around them. How often do you do the same? Do you consider your Lord’s will when you make a big decision? Consider all He has done for you when you eat your food and drink? Do you reflect on the wonder of His forgiveness for all your failures? How does the way you live everyday show you glorify Him and not anyone else?

Jesus says His disciples must give up on everything to follow Him (Luke 14:33), to live not for your parents, not for your spouse, your child, or even yourself; but rather to live only for Jesus. For the ancient Hebrews it was obvious when they worshipped another god, for us it is harder to recognise, but when you do not reject all this world to cling solely to Christ you break God’s commandments, refuse to listen to His word. This is the cost of discipleship, it’s easy to see why the Hebrews continued in their own ways, doing what they thought was right.

To walk God’s way, to listen and obey His words of command and promise, law and gospel, is to do everything for the glory of God. To repent. Paul writes of a good example, Onesimus, a runaway slave who name means useful, but turned out rather useless to his master Philemon. However Onesimus became a Christian, rejected his own selfish way and went to return to his servanthood. He gave up his freedom in this life to submit himself, not to Philemon, but to Christ. Now Paul doesn’t leave it there but also almost coerces Philemon to show mercy to his runaway slave, to treat him like a brother for Christ’s sake, to reject society’s standard and perhaps his own retribution against this criminal. To reject our own sinful ways and to follow God’s righteous way of forgiveness, peace, joy and love.

So what about you? Did you pay attention to the reading of Holy Scripture, +the different verses we use for the liturgy, to Christ forgiveness to you for all your sins? And will you live in the light of these truths, to truly listen to what God Almighty has told you, to reject the evil of this world, to live differently, to live as God’s people and to strive daily to lead a holy life, even as Christ has made you holy? How is your life different from non-Christians?

If people I knew from school saw me now they would easily see I am married and have a child by the way I speak and act. My life is now fundamentally different to when I was a high schooler, though I still cook, just now I’m cooking for Rehab and Nathaniel, not my brother Ben, the fundamental reasons have changed. In Baptism, in Holy Communion, in receiving the Holy Spirit and God’s grace your life has been fundamentally changed, is this wonderful truth reflected in the way you live each day or do you still walk in the ways of the wicked, abusing God’s gifts and His love? How, with the help of the Holy Spirit, could you change your life for the glory of God; and how can you encourage the rest of us to live in God’s way? That’s a take home question, to ask God and yourself.

An important question that ancient Hebrews rejected. They heard God’s dire warning, repent or face destruction, a promise of suffering, and they received it; but for you do not forget Jesus Christ has suffered for you, in Him is forgiveness and new life. You have heard God’s Word the truth of your evil and of Christ’s forgiveness and gift of new life, and agreed confessing it. So as we are renewed by His body and blood, live in that new life, in God’s good way.

And the peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts in Christ Jesus now and forever. Amen.

Scripture: Luke 14:1-14                                                              

“Jesus is coming to dinner, and you’re all invited!”

We have to use our imaginations a bit about just how this invitation got passed around because there are precious few details given. We know Jesus is coming to dinner. We also know that there was growing conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders. The dinner gathering was made up of a leader of the Pharisees, a few of his fellow Pharisees and some local bible experts. (Called the “scribes” or “lawyers” in the bible)

We can safely assume then, that the invitation was somewhat disingenuous. Listen once again to these words in the beginning of our scripture. “… Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a mean on the sabbath, {and} they were watching him closely.”

There are two key ingredients that make up the charged atmosphere of this meal time. The scribes and Pharisees watching like a hawk, hoping to get something on Jesus that will enhance their case against him. Jesus, on the other hand, is focusing in on the radical disconnect between the desires of God and the practice of their religion. The passage points to, but can not fully show the tremendous passion that underlies this meal.

As the passage progresses, Jesus by his actions and his words addresses the issues of healing, humility and hospitality. It is perhaps no accident that the healing comes first. It is the healing ministry of Jesus that ignites much of the protest against his ministry. Not so much because of the fact that he heals, but because of the time that he heals. Amazingly, the joy of the healing presence of God in the lives of hurting people is lost to Jesus’ nay sayers. While the crowds of common people are recognizing and rejoicing at the work of God, the because they get all worked up about the legality of whether healing on the sabbath is against the prohibition of working on the sabbath.

Let’s look more closely at how this meal time goes as Jesus addresses:

[1] Healing

As the Pharisees are “watching him closely,” Jesus encounters a man with dropsy. The term dropsy is no longer used in medical literature. The condition is swelling caused by edema or water. One modern version of the bible translates this incident by describing the man as having, “swollen arms and legs.” In any case, the man is there before the meal actually gets started.

The language of the text suggests that the man with dropsy may have been a plant for this occasion. It was not long before this event that Jesus had been teaching in a synagogues. A woman who apparently suffered from severe osteoporosis was present for his teaching. [Luke 13:10-17] Jesus healed her and the ruler of the synagogue lodged a bitter complaint that the woman could be healed on any other day. This healing, he reasoned, was not legitimate because it was done on the sabbath.

The guy totally misses the point. Jesus tells the whole gathered crowd that these religious leaders would not hesitate to walk one of their thirsty donkeys to a place where they could drink on the sabbath – but they would deny this woman (a member of their own faith to be sure) an opportunity for healing. The crowd, however, understands. They break into joyous celebration. What better day to see this woman of faith released from her long burden? How wonderful that she should be healed on God’s day of rest which should be honored by all God’s children!

All of us know people like these Pharisees – don’t we? You know – the person who never sees the positive and can always pick out the negative. There are those folks who can walk into a room with 99 good things to make a positive comment about and perhaps one thing that deserves a bit of criticism – and what do they see first? Right! They can spot the flaw in a microsecond and miss the good things entirely.

Jesus addresses the lawyers and Pharisees before he begins to deal with the sick man who stands before him. He is way ahead of them. They are not interested in the health or illness of the man who stands before Jesus. Talk about manipulation!

He asks them a question. “Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?” They don’t answer a word. Of course this is a setup. No words are exchanged between the man who is ill and Jesus — at least Luke does not record any conversation. The man is healed and sent on his way. What a great day it was for him. Especially if he expected no more than to assist the religious bureaucrats in trapping Jesus. He goes back to family and home a new man having experience something of the coming of God’s reign.

Now Jesus turns back to his host and his entourage. “If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?” This time there is more than silence. They, “Could not reply to this.” The disconnect between the desires of God for the children of God and the devotion of the lawyers and Pharisees to the letter of the law brings shame to his adversaries — to say nothing of increased anger and opposition.

The essential point of this lesson is that Jesus brings hope and healing while his detractors bring rules and regulations to those who are seeking the presence of God in their lives.

[2] Humility

Now the meal begins to get underway and Jesus observes how the invited guests begin to head for the head table. In Jesus’ day, tables were closer to the floor than we are used to and guests would recline at couches round the table. The honored guests would be closest to the host. The tables at a larger gathering would be in the shape of a U with the host and most honored guests at the head table.

In the event a honored guest would show up a bit late, someone who had taken a position near the host might be asked to find another spot so that the more important guest might be seated near the host.

Jesus tells a parable which is central to the way God’s kingdom works. If the guests take the lowest position possible at the meal, chances are the host will ask them to move up in position. On the other hand if they come to the meal assuming that they would surely have a seat at the head table, it would be terribly embarrassing to be asked to move to a less favorable seat.

Humility is one of the hallmarks of a person of authentic faith and a central principle in the kingdom of God. Luke 18:14 details the story of how a Pharisee and a sinner went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee suggests to God that he is so thrilled he is not a wretch like the man who prays beside him. On the other hand, the sinner can do nothing but hang his head and beg for God’s mercy. Jesus responds, “I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

James spells out how it is that humility is the way of advancement with God. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” [4:10]

[3] Hospitality

Now Jesus turns to the host of the meal and talks about hospitality. “Don’t give a dinner for your friends or family and rich neighbors. Rather invite people who have no possible way of paying you back. Invite the poor and dispossessed and you will be blessed by God in the end.”

Throughout his gospel, Luke has focused on Jesus’ heart for the poor and socially unacceptable people of his day. In fact, the sure sign of the presence of God was to be, “good news” for the poor. Messiah’s mission was to bring healing to the sick, sight to the blind and freedom for the oppressed.

Hospitality is one of the marks of the faithful community. “Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers,” Paul wrote to the church at Rome. [Rom. 12:13] The writer of the letter to the Hebrews enjoined his readers, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” [Heb. 13:2]

Those who sought to entrap Jesus in the breaking of sabbath laws missed the point of his healing ministry, failed the test of humility and were self serving in their hospitality.

And so let us be aware that, “Jesus is coming to dinner!” Whenever we reach out to bring hope and healing to others, or open our hearts to those who others reject, Jesus comes to dinner. We are called as people of faith to become a community of hope and healing — a place of hospitality where humility is the mark of greatness.

Hebrews 12:28
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe

A kingdom that cannot be shaken; that sounds good if it’s a good kingdom. And I suppose Australia is a good enough country and I’m glad it hasn’t been shaken to its core yet, that we haven’t felt civil war or insurgencies like those overseas. No IRA bombing places, no military dictators slaughtering disagreeing citizens, no plagues and no famines, well at least not yet, though it is getting dusty. So thank God that we live in a relatively peaceful and stable state. But we know that the things of this world are like wood, good until they rot; it’s been 80yrs since Australia’s borders were threatened, but if we lived where our Lutheran ancestors were from we would have seen a lot of rot, a lot of shaking in these last 80yrs. The kingdoms, governments and societies of this world are all fragile in the grand scheme of things; and not just them but also our own lives, work, relationships, health, these are fragile too. Anywhere we look we can see struggling, but what will survive in the end? Where should you place your hope, focus your efforts, look to for reliable and unshakable help?

            Might I propose the one who has already been destroyed, but lives to tell the tale? Through Baptism we are joined into Christ Jesus, into His death, resurrection and ascension; you are now reconciled with God the creator of all, joined to Him by the power of the Holy Spirit through Jesus. And if everything that’s made is gonna be shook, be taken away, the thing that will remain is the maker. God, Father Son and Spirit, His Kingdom and His Word will never pass away (Matthew 24:35; 16:18); but all evil, sin, death, and the rotten things in this world will be destroyed (John 3:21; Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14-15; 21:8). Now God’s unshakable word has promised you that those who believe in Jesus and are baptised into His name will be saved, that you are part of His eternal kingdom; at the end when this world is shaken out like an old rug, changed and purged with fire (1 Corinthians 12:10-15) you will be raised from death and renewed or changed in a moment to be like Christ (1 Corinthians 15:52), free from sin death and the devil, as God told John in the Revelation (21:1f), free to live in the new unshakable, incorruptible heavens and earth, with the holy city, Jerusalem out of heaven, God’s Kingdom no longer hidden or secret, but shining like a beacon to the renewed creation. That is what awaits, the removal of things that are made and the reveal of the unshakable Kingdom of God.

            But what does that mean for us in the here and now, days come days go, We’ve just got our son home and working out what on earth we do with him, yet I know this grand vision of the end of all things, but it doesn’t feel that close. Then again, what does Jesus say at the start of His ministry? ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God in here; repent and believe the good news’ (Mark 1:15). The kingdom of God is not just at the end it is here right now, and you are part of it, being protected and sustained by your King, you have this wonderful privilege even though you might not see it, might not touch those pearly gates. In your own life you experience the mercy of God, the small mercies of finding your lost wallet or a good park, to the far greater ones of His forgiveness, peace and joy when you are reconciled to other Christians, to God Himself. And in this reading from Hebrews God is telling you the significance of this time now, to be gathered in Jesus name, having Him present with us and serving us and speaking His Words to us in what we call this Divine service. Unlike the fiery, dark, hidden, yet touchable mount Sinai, you have come to the city of the living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, together with angels, the saints who have gone before as we say in the communion liturgy, joining their songs, and with God the judge of all who has pardoned you, and Jesus the mediator of the New Covenant of forgiveness and freedom, and finally when you do seek something to hold, to grasp, Christ’s blood that cleanses and speaks forgiveness rather than the vengeance of Abel.

            God, the consuming fire, has already brought you into His everlasting and holy kingdom, you have this wonderful gift right now, even if you don’t see it clearly. You, together with all Christians past and present experience a foretaste of what is to come, you hear again and again God’s sure promises of forgiveness, peace, love, joy and life everlasting and even experience a bit this side of eternity; so why reject this and be distracted by the fleeting goals of this life? To find comfort is chocolate rather than Christ, to seek pleasure in fantasy rather than God’s real gifts, to refuse His hand in the good things of this life and to try to build your own power and authority, rather than using well the power and authority He has given you to serve His kingdom, to recognise Him in all you do, to care for those in need, to support and encourage those in power to do what is right, to love those He has placed around you, to love those of the kingdom your brothers and sisters, and to respect and hold up His good, life-giving word in your life, practising what He preached and encouraging each other to do the same, to pray, to devote time, to serve and to guide. You are members of Christ’s kingdom, of our heavenly Father’s family, you are saved, are being made new and will taste again His forgiveness and love in the body and blood He offers you today. So let us be thankful that we are receiving an unshakable kingdom and so serve God acceptably with reverence and awe.

            And the peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, now to the revelation of His kingdom. Amen.

Joseph Graham.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us

            Such a great cloud of witnesses, this is the family of God, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, throughout time and space; we sometimes speak of the saints in warfare and the saints at rest, those here and those who have gone before. Together we are one in Jesus through faith. Though sometimes we don’t feel it. We certainly don’t see this huge crowd here today. We see the Australian government, not God’s; we ring up our own families, not our brother King David; and often we can even forget that yes we do have brothers and sisters even in the Pope’s Church. In this day and age, you might feel cut off from the saints suffering overseas, thinking ‘they’re not my people’ or even those here today, separated by history, ideals or politics; some Christians even think that it’s just them and Jesus, and aren’t concerned about other Christians. Sometimes we just feel alone and abandoned in our faith, that it’s just us against the world, or that we have to face our sin alone, that no one else will help; ultimately that government, family, church and everything else is dying, and we can not endure.

            But that’s not what God tells us here. Even if you feel like you’re all alone, like it’s just you against evil, even loosing hope whether you can hold on in the end; that’s not the truth. Rather you, all of us, are surrounded by those who have gone before, struggled against the evil in the world and the sin in their own lives, and have been brought to rest by God Himself. It’s like those kids across the road cheering for their school mates to keep going. I got a story like that. When I used to row we had training on those rowing machines and if you’ve never been on one, it’s hard full body work. There were only two machines so you had to wait your turn, but when you got on it was 20minute intense interval training always finishing with a final push and you’d sometimes fall off at the end with jelly-legs. You’d be pushing yourself trying to keep up with what the coach set for you, but it was hard work and you’d start to slack off, but your rowing mates would always be there yelling, ‘come on, long and strong, keep it up, keep it up, come on just 1 more minute hard, you can do it, keep it up, finish strong!’ didn’t make it any easier but it helped get you through. These people knew what you were going through, knew how hard it was, they had struggled with it as well, often through on harder settings than me, and they had done it. Now after finishing they didn’t just abandon me, but they came to encourage me. And today Our Lord is reminding you that you are not alone, we can imagine grandstands full of Christians yelling their silent encouragements to you. Others have gone this way before, and the race can be finished, there is an end in sight, so endure and don’t loose hope!

            And look to the end, Jesus the founder and finisher of our faith, don’t be distracted. You might instead focus on the tasks for today, the laundry, dishes, meals, and forget about Jesus, about His promises. You might instead hear again the news, drug addiction, murder, suicide, civil war, and forget that Jesus is powerful to save, that is why He came. You might instead look at your mistakes, failures, how you could’ve or should’ve done something, and forget that Christ has forgiven you and that The Holy Spirit is still working now and into the future. In this life we are distracted and loose sight of Christ, like Peter walking on the water we begin to sink; but just like Peter, look to Jesus who is pulling you through the distraction and suffering of this life to be perfected with Him in the end. And yes, you are not perfect, neither am I, there is something better to come in Jesus, to be free from your own sin and from the sin of others, for us all to be made new together with Christ; having His desires His peace, joy, love and life! That is the goal at the end of our race, together with all the saints who have gone before, Moses, Elijah, Paul, your faithful ancestors, those suffering around the world now and all those who will come after. Together, not in dribs and drabs, Noah’s still waiting, but God knows the best is that we finish together, made perfect by Jesus altogether at the end.

            Remember how He has sustained His people throughout time, the Roman persecutions, the Muslim conquests, rejection of the humanity of Indian Christians and Chinese persecution for shy of 2000yrs, theological struggles and abuse in the Reformation, persecution and corruption under communism and Hitler, and still murders across the globe today. Here we just have a soft rejection where you might be mocked, but as the passage today continues, “Consider Jesus who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (12:3-4). So remember all your brothers and sisters who struggle against sin, be encouraged that you can keep the faith by the Holy Spirit’s power, focus on Jesus who has saved you, forgiven you, is always here for you and will complete you in peace, joy and love; and endure, with all saints, to the end.

            The peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, now to the end. Amen.

Joseph Graham.

FAITH-WHAT IS FAITH? Hebrews 11:8-9.

Faith is a key word in the Bible- a key principle. But what is faith? Faith is a Collingwood supporter who believes that Collingwood will win another Grand Final in their lifetime. School boy definition: “ Faith is believing something you know isn’t true”. Rather a cynical definition-his father must have been a politician. Faith has two aspects: 1. Believing something to be true. Eg the sun is 93 million miles from the earth.+The earth travels 584 million miles a year in its orbit of the sun. + Jesus was born in Bethlehem-lives in Israel-died on a cross-rose again was the Son of God. Faith means accepting  these statements as true.                                  
2. TRUST:a deeper meaning-“ taking God at his Word”. Trusting in the promises  of God.   Biblical definition: “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see´ . Hebrews 11:1. Note the strong words- “ sure” certain“. This is very different from the school boys definition. It is not a vague  hope like saying “I hope it rains”. It is not a pious wish.  So faith doesn’t just say that Jesus died on a cross-but that he died for ME. Hebrews 11 is the great chapter on faith. It is a Whose-Who of people who have demonstrated faith- trust in God. It mentions people like Abel-Enoch Noah-Moses-Gideon-Samuel-David etc. Today I want to focus on Abraham. He is seen as the great example of faith. Today we will learn what faith is from the example of Abraham. The key word here is obviously OBEY. By Faith Abraham  obeyed. He went in obedience to God’s call-not because he had itchy feet- desire to travel- a political refugee- npr was he running away from home. He went simply because God called him. God called so Abraham obeyed. It was as simple as that. Put yourself in Abraham’s position. You live in the city of Haran-comfortable-civilized life- active and involved in the community –family nearby-aged 75-happy to spend the rest of your life there in familiar surroundings-you have no desire to move. It’s the last thing on your mind. It would be a big enough shock to be told to leave everything familiar with. That would be a big enough shock. But to be told to leave all that and go to an unknown country-a place you have never hear of-a place you didn’t know existed. That was a real test of faith. He didn’t even know where he was supposed to be going. Yet he went. He obeyed God. And he obeyed because he had faith/trust in God. Even though he had no idea where he was to go. He knew Who was going with him. He didn’t know the way. But he knew the guide. That was all that mattered. SO what do we learn from this. We learn that faith/Obedience go hand in hand. We learn that a true faith is an obedient faith. As the Bible says, “We walk by faith, not by sight”. After all if you had sight, you wouldn’t need faith. And what God required of Abraham, he also requires of us-an obedient faith.  Dietrich Bonhoffer a Lutheran pastor and theologian executed by the Nazis in 1944 studied the relationship between faith/obedience in his book on Discipleship; He saw that the two were intricately connected. Two statements-2 side of the coin “ONLY THOSE WHO BELEIVE CAN OBEY” and “ONLY THOSE WHO OBEY CAN BELEIVE”.  Faith gives the motivation-power to enab tle a person to obey, eg Peter walking on the water. His trust in Jesus enabled him to step out in faith. Only when you step out in obedience will you discover that God keeps his promises.

2.ENDURANCE—PATIENCE      Abraham set out for the promisedland.It was a long-slow-tedious journey. Even when he arrived his faith was tested further

  He was not able to take possession of the land God had promised him. He had travelled so far- he had left behind the comfort-security-convenience of his former home. Yet when he arrived at his destination he can’t take possession of the land because other people were already living there. He had to life the life of a Nomad. Puttingup and pulling down his tents. Then moving on again. He was not able to settle down-establish a permanent home. He was a wanderer-nomad in the land God had promised him. He did not even own a square metre of land. In fact the first piece of land he bought was a burial plot on which to bury his wife Sarah when she died. Yet despite the fact that God’s promise had not been fulfilled, Abraham did not give up his faith. He still trusted the Word/promise of God. God had spoken-He had made a promise and that was good enough for Abraham. He had a patient-enduring faith.    

A faith that is the kind that we all need-an enduring patient faith.  Even if our prayers are not immediately answered. A faith that continues to trust despite what may happen. Eg Job.    After all it is fairly easy to believe when your prayers are being answered in the way you want them to be. When everything is going well for you. It doesn’t take much faith to believe in those circumstances.                                                                                                 What kind of faith do you have? Is it a living-genuine faith? A faith that is strong enough to trust-obey even when you are not sure what is going to happen. Even if things don’t turn out the way you wanted them to. Even though others may make fun of your faith-ridicule you

“Faith is believing what God says simply because it is God who says it”.  So the real test of your faith is whether or not you are prepared to trust and obey. “Obedience is the outward sign of an inner faith”.  “Faith doesn’t make things easier but it enables you  

To cope.   “If your face is wrinkled with cares and worries, try a faith lift.” LH 321. “Faith is a living power from heaven; that grasps the promise God has given. A trust that cannot be o’thrown, fixed heartily on Christ alone.”

Pastor Hayden Blaess

The Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Let’s join in a word of prayer: Loving God we are together this morning to worship You.  To give thanks to you for all that you are to us.  To praise You for salvation and life everlasting that you promise to us.  And to celebrate the gift of your Son, our wonderful Saviour, Jesus Christ, who captivates our attention and imagination.   By your Holy Spirit, may we receive Your message with confidence to strengthen and uphold us.  We ask this in the name of Jesus, our risen Lord, Amen.

 â€œWoe is me, gee ain’t it awful!”  These days, in the news, on television, and over the internet, I sense this mournful cry more than most other attitudes.  Not just in Australia, but in the world.  Violence, hatred, distrust, blind ambition, striving after the illusion of pleasure.  It’s almost as though the reading from King David’s son, Solomon, is being used as a script for the background of life today.  “Meaningless! Utterly meaningless!  Everything is meaningless.”

Solomon got to the point of his rule that he saw all his effort, all his wisdom, all his knowledge as dust blown in the wind. 
Toward the end of his life, Solomon realised that all he had done was for his own benefit and amusement.  And that it would have been a more fulfilling life to have lived simply: eating, drinking, and finding enjoyment in his toil.  If that was the extent of life, I can understand how Solomon would have come to that conclusion. 

But in his introspection, Solomon missed some of his important contributions to the life of Israel.  As King, keeping his heart and mind on things of God, he further consolidated the kingdom, and strengthened it against the surrounding enemies.  He built the Lord’s Temple that his father desperately wanted to leave as a legacy.   

But after losing his focus on things of God, and his self-control, Solomon also welcomed many pagan wives into his family, and through these alliances many false gods into the culture of Israel.  I suspect that this was much to the disappointment of God our Father: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  The first love of Solomon’s father, David.

We can find this sad pattern of losing focus on things of God in every culture, every dynasty, every age. 

In the United States, a life-long study was embarked in the 1930’s that followed more than 280 individuals over 72 years of their life.  The study examined and documented significant factors of human well-being in the lives of those being studied.  From health, physical condition, marital status, life-style decisions, psychological factors, and personal satisfaction.  At the conclusion of this study, in 2008, Dr George Vaillant was asked about the results of the study.  His reply was simple, but startling, “The only thing that really matters in life are your relationships with other people.” …  I would add an important other thing that really matters in life.  Our relationship with God our Father, with Jesus Christ our Lord, and with the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus Christ set the proper priority, that Solomon lost sight of, and most people in society today are blinded to.  “Do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.  For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.  But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 

Paul paraphrased this better than I ever could, in his letter to the Christians in Colossae.  ‘Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your  minds on things above, not on earthy things.’ 

At the conclusion of our time in this broken world, whatever we accomplish or fail to accomplish, will be ‘vanity of vanities’ for those things we do, think or say, where Christ Jesus is not at the centre.

Whatever in our life is not hidden with Christ in God, will eventually stand out like a flashing red and blue light in our rear view mirror.  Paul tells us to put to death whatever belongs to our earthly nature.  Now, I must confess that I have not yet found the magic formula that can totally severe me from my earthly nature.  But what I have learned to do, is follow the intuition of the Holy Spirit.  To stop, look and listen. 

>To pause, when my body tells my soul that my human nature is sticking out again; with that edgy feeling that something isn’t right. 

>To look at my attitudes and be alert to the harsh words I say to those whom I love, and to the silence I use to hurt others. 

>To listen for the still small voice of conscience that can guide me back to love stream of my Saviour. 

As Paul writes, to persistently ‘put on the new self, which is being renewed in the image of its creator’.          

Vice Admiral, Sir Frances Drake, was quoted: “Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, as our dreams come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.”

When any of us lose focus on Jesus Christ, and his provision for lives of meaning and purpose, truly everything is vanity.  And everything becomes pretty scary – filled with uncertainty, and a source of constant worry. 

So, Christ Jesus poses the question, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”  It is God our Father who adds the hours to our days, and the days to our lives.  Who gives us the key to his kingdom in the faith we have in his son our Lord Jesus Christ.  Who gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us to the best decisions to fill our hours and days with love for one another.  Who gives us the courage to confront our daunting earthly nature, and the freedom to allow our spiritual nature to prevail in our broken world.  

As the Psalmist writes, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD  all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.’ ^{(Psalm 27:4 NIV)}

Even in these days, together as a worshipping community, we can give the Holy Spirit permission to work among us and in us to make a difference. To set our hearts and lives on fire for Christ Jesus to the glory of God our Father.  So that, after all is said and done, we can raise our faces to Christ Jesus and declare that all is not vanity, but Christ is all in all. 

We can trust that our Lord Jesus will strengthen our faith in every time of uncertainty, as we gather around the Word and the Sacraments.   That He will make his presence felt in our hearts and spirits as we remain united to him and seek his will in our lives.  That He will give us the courage to be good stewards of the precious Gospel message we express in our caring, sharing, loving, and helping.

The grace and peace of God keep our hearts and minds in the calm assurance of salvation in our living Lord, Christ Jesus. Amen.

Children’s Talk

God cares about what you think! Did you know that? God cares about the things that interest you. He knows it’s very easy to think all day about what you’re gonna eat, what you’re gonna wear, what games you’re gonna play, what TV you’re gonna watch. He knows it’s easy to think about the new toy you want or the next holiday you’re gonna have.

The Bible says God wants you to be happy, and to care about other things too. To think about some of the things that are important to God.  Like your mom and dad, your sister and brother, your nana and poppy.  God wants you to think about Him once in a while too. 

So, the next time when you’re thinking about things, find some time for Jesus too.  And talk to him in prayer.

Let’s pray:   Dear Jesus, my friend and my God:  remind us all to think about you once in a while and to find time to think about the good things you bring into our life.  We pray in your name.  Amen.

David Thompson