St Marks Lutheran Church Dubbo

Text: Matthew 4:1
Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the Devil.

 A young man, who worked for a travel agent, was sent to a Pacific island. Even though it meant being separated from his girl friend, he accepted the job because it would enable him to earn enough to marry her.

As the lonely weeks went by, she began to have doubts that he was being true to her. After all, the holiday resort where he was working attracted beautiful women from all over the world. The young man declared that he was paying absolutely no attention to them. But he did write this in one of his letters, “I admit that sometimes I’m tempted. But I fight it. I am waiting for the day when I can be with you again.”

Not long after he had sent that letter, the young man received a parcel. Inside there was a note and a harmonica. The note said, “I’m sending this to you so you can have something to take your mind off those girls.” Dutifully the young man wrote back to his girl friend and told her that he was practising the harmonica every night and thinking only of her.

Eventually the young man’s work on the island finished and he flew home. His girl friend was waiting at the airport. As he rushed to embrace her, she held up her hand to stop him and said sternly, “Just hold on there a minute. First I want to hear you play that harmonica!”

Every year at the beginning of the Lenten season we hear the account of Jesus temptation in the wilderness. And again this year we are faced with the subject of temptation, Satan’s power and cunning lies and our response to temptation.

When we pause and look into our hearts, we are alarmed that we give in to temptation so often and so easily. We are disturbed by these temptations because we think of ourselves as good people, honest, hardworking, caring people with high morals – yet there – lurking inside some of us is anger, jealousy, envy, worry, pride, bitterness, sexual weakness or an addiction of some kind. There are desires of every sort within us that Satan will use against us and cause all kinds of havoc in our relationship with God and other people.

When this happens the Bible uses the word ‘sin’. It lives in us and is very much a part of us. It is Satan’s delight to awaken the evil that lies beneath the surface of our lives with temptation. He knows our weak spots and manipulates our sense of what is right and wrong. He uses those weaknesses to ignore God’s way and follow the path that leads to pain and broken relationships.

The Bible says he is prowling around seeking someone to devour. In our case, he doesn’t have to do too much prowling. We leave ourselves wide open to following his temptations again and again when we are led to believe that wrong is right.  Sometimes we don’t even realise what we have done until we see the devastation our wrong has caused in someone else’s life or someone points out to us how we have been led astray.

Today’s text tells us that even Jesus wasn’t exempt from temptation. He has just been baptised in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. The voice of God spoke from heaven, “This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased.” And wham! The next thing you know, not only is the Son of God tempted, he is tempted three times. And when the Devil finally leaves he does so “for a while” or more accurately, “he departed from him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). In other words, this wasn’t the end of Jesus’ temptations.

The point I’m making is this. Jesus is the most spiritually and morally perfect person that ever walked this earth, yet he experienced the power of the devil. Temptation will come to anyone regardless of how close they believe they are to God or how focussed they are on being God’s people in everything they do. We are powerless to stop temptation but it’s what we do when temptation comes that really matters.

But let’s be clear. Satan is very sneaky. He doesn’t tempt you with anything that is so way out that you can quite easily see that it’s wrong. Temptation often is very logical and appears to be good. It seems to be the most natural thing to do.

In the Garden of Eden Eve wasn’t tempted with something that was seemingly sinister and evil. She saw some fruit and it looked very inviting. Surely eating a piece of fruit can’t be all that bad. And besides that serpent had some pretty convincing arguments why satisfying her hunger was all right and how good it would be to have that special kind of wisdom that came with eating the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden.

Satan is so sneaky that we don’t even recognise them as temptations because they seem the most normal and natural things to do.
His temptations are so appealing. It might even be argued that he really does seem to have our best interests at heart. That is a lie! He didn’t really care about making life better for Adam or Eve or even Jesus. He just wanted them to abandon God.

He does that to us. Satan sidles up to someone whose marriage is floundering and he says, “You deserve more! You ought to be getting more attention, more affection, more spark in your life. And if your spouse isn’t going to give it to you, well, you’ll just have to find it elsewhere. So go for it!” It’s all so logical and attractive. But remember Satan is a deceiver. He is not interested in your happiness.

The temptations that Jesus experienced in the wilderness were quite logical. He had been without food and or drink for 40 days. Turning stones to bread was the most natural thing to do. Who would be hurt by this? After all, it would be ridiculous for God’s Son to starve when he could have food with a simple command. He had the power to do it, so why not?

Jesus is taken to the roof of the temple. Satan tempts Jesus to throw himself down onto the courtyard below. Things would be a lot easier if he dramatically landed in the courtyard below to the wonder of everyone crowded below. With such a spectacular display the crowd would flock to him. What better way to promote the kingdom of God? He could even avoid the whole Good Friday ordeal.

Then Jesus is shown all the kingdoms and countries of the world. He could have them all if he would bow down and worship Satan. Look at all the good he could do. There are so many who are sick and dying and with all wealth of the kingdoms set before him, this is his chance to do some good.
Think of the hospitals that could be built,
the research that could be funded to find a cure for cancer;
the starving that could be fed;
and the wars that could be halted.
Jesus was always compassionate and loving and Satan knew just how to use those good qualities to his advantage.

There is good logic behind each of these temptations. In themselves there is nothing sinister about them. There are some very good ideas here. They offer an easy way out for Jesus to calm his grumbling stomach, to win instant acclaim, and to do so much good and gain the whole world for his kingdom without any suffering and dying.

Temptation appeals to our natural instincts. Temptation is often not simply choosing between good and evil, but choosing what is easy and what is hard. And it is Satan who provides the simple and easy answers.

That’s why we find ourselves disheartened so often. We are tempted and we fall for it hook, line and sinker. And often it is only after when we are experiencing the consequences of our choice that we realise that once again we have obeyed Satan rather than God.

Satan doesn’t give up. We know all too well how we fall for the same temptation again and again. 
What hope have we got? We know God doesn’t take sin lightly. Our failure to resist can bring severe consequences.

It is Satan’s joy and delight to see us turn against God’s ways, to fill us with guilt and step on our self esteem and in the end draws us away from God into damnation. When we become disheartened and upset because we fail, remember the cross of Jesus. It was there on the cross of Calvary that Satan’s power over us was defeated. His power to condemn us has been broken forever. Jesus died for us. He has won for us forgiveness for all of our failure to live as God’s children, for all the times when we have chosen one of Satan’s easy solutions. With Christ’s forgiveness and the Holy Spirit to point us back to God and his love, Satan has no power over us.

Finally, it’s worth noting how Jesus confronted the temptations that were put in front of him. Temptation involves making choices – following the ways of the world, Satan and our own desires or following the ways of God. It always seems that one choice is easier to follow than the other and inevitably it is Satan who presents the most attractive choices. How are we going to know what the right choices are?

If we want to make good choices – ones that are in keeping with our status as children of God – then we have to know what God wants us to do. The Bible is God’s Word for us to help us make the right choices. It’s true not every modern temptation and problem is mentioned specifically in the Bible, but you can bet the Bible has something to say about every choice that confronts us. For instance, the Bible may not mention drugs specifically but it does have a lot to say about the Creator who made us, gave us our bodies, saved us body and soul, and how he expects us to take good care of this special gift from God.

Too often we flounder when faced with choices because we don’t know our Bibles well enough. When we are at a crossroad and have to make a choice we are confused and easily led astray because we don’t know the directions that God gives us through the scriptures.

The Bible also tells us that when we do make bad choices our heavenly Father reaches out to us, he calls to us, he seeks to guide and help us and above all he is ready to forgives us and assure is that his love for us is as strong as ever.

Jesus knows what it’s like to be confronted with temptation. He knows that we give in too easily and make choices that are comfortable rather than make right choices. Even more importantly we know that Christ has already triumphed over Satan. He’s got no way to hurt us eternally. Thanks to Jesus, we’re forgiven, restored, and bound for heaven. Jesus has won the victory for us.
Amen

Where is your confidence John 12_1-8

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luke 13_31-35 the cross-road.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luke 4:1-13 to Tempt or be tempted

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So loved the world that he gave us his Son,

Who yielded his life an atonement for sin,

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

Amen

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

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 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.

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

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!