April 2009
April 1, 2009
MAKING EXCUSES OR CONFRONTING THE TRUTH
Readings: Exodus 4:1-18Mark 15:1-15
Johnny has been playing with Joey. They had been working together to build a sand castle. Suddenly, Johnny decided to build his own sand castle. Their mother asked Johnny why he quit playing with Joey. Johnny really had no good reason, so he made up a silly excuse. His mother told him, "Now Johnny, that's a silly reason to quit playing with your brother. Go back and play with him again."
Moses was also good at making excuses. In fact, it seems like a prime quality of Old Testament prophets was the ability to make silly, ridiculous excuses. Moses keeps trying to excuse himself from God's service. He tells God he can't match the signs of the magicians of Egypt. He'll be laughed out of the court. God gives him signs enough to convince even Pharaoh of the righteousness of God's way.
Jesus doesn't make excuses. He confronts the evil lies of the religious leaders with the truth about His identity. He tells Pilate He's the King of the Jews. After that, Jesus confronts lies with silence. The truth has been told. There is no more need for discussion. Pilate, a corrupt and vicious Prefect, seeks to release Jesus because he knows Jesus is telling the truth and is innocent of all charges.
Pilate tries to confront the truth and to do the right thing. He tries to have the people, actually a temple employees mob, release Jesus and crucify a man guilty of murder and other terrible crimes. The crowd, led by their bosses, condemns Jesus to death. They can't confront the truth because they are living the lie of self-righteousness.
How are we at confronting the truth? When we know the truth in a situation, do we stand up to those telling lies about that situation? More often than not, we probably give in and join the liars.
Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection make Us confront the truth about our own sin. The hymn, "Were You There?" requires the answer, "Yes, and my sins helped put Jesus on the cross and to kill Him."
But, the suffering and death of Jesus forgives all the times you don't confront and side with the truth. His resurrection assures us of the forgiveness because God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross by raising Him from death.
Prayer. O God, help me always side with the truth. Forgive me when I make excuses for not telling the truth or of avoiding service to You or to others. In Jesus' name. Amen.
April 9, 2009
Maundy Thursday
HIS BODY, HIS BLOOD, HIS SERVICE
Readings: Exodus 12:1-14 and John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Memorials are meant to remind us of events and people important to our lives. The Lincoln Memorial reminds us and helps us to look back upon, the time of the Civil War and to see how slavery and selfishness almost ruined a nation.
The Jews had such a memorial. The Passover was a memorial to remind them of their part in the escape from Egypt. It helped them to return to and to relive the bitter slavery Israel had faced at the hands of the Egyptians. The actual supper featured a lamb and matzohs with wine.
Jesus also had a great service to perform. Whether The Gospel according to John's Passover is a special one or not, the real point is Jesus' service to the disciples that night. Jesus took the role of a house slave. The owner of the house had insulted Jesus and His disciples by not providing a slave to wash their feet as they arrived. He also seems to have been absent to greet them.
Jesus performs the role of the slave and the house owner. He washes the feet of the disciples and greets them at their last supper together while He was on earth. Peter impetuously refuses Jesus' service. Jesus tells Him he has not part in Jesus if he doesn't allow Jesus to wash his feet.
Jesus also tells the disciples they are to act this way to one another. This is the object lesson to His statements about the first being last and the last being first in God's kingdom. Jesus also gives us the only commandment Christians really need, "Love one another as I have loved you." (John 13:34-35)
In the latter chapters of John, Jesus will give His body and blood for us on the cross. This act was His greatest service. It forgave sins by paying the price for sin once and for all. That's why the word from the cross, "It is finished," is so very important.
How are we at being servants? Holy Communion, Holy Baptism, and the Bible show us Jesus' as servant and give us His power to be the servants He asks us to be. Go! Be servants of Jesus by serving one another!
Prayer. Jesus. You gave us Your greatest service in Your suffering and death. Help us always to look for ways to serve others so we also serve You. In Jesus' name. Amen.
April 10, 2009
Good Friday THE WONDER OF THE CROSS Readings: Isaiah 52:13-53:12 and John 18:1-19:42 Crosses today are such nice things to view. We have gold and silver crosses around our necks. We have many types of crosses on our lapels, the walls of our house, and in our churches. The real cross wasn't very pretty. A crucifixion was a horrible sight in Roman times. The cross was rough-hewn from wood. The beams of the cross weighed over 200 pounds each. When a man was hung on the cross, he was normally tied to the cross. The groaning came from the man's lungs collapsing under the weight of his own body. The desert sun added temperature and scorching to the other miserable things happening on the cross. For Jesus, the mockery of whipping, the crowning with thorns, and His being nailed to the cross, only added to the agony. Isaiah describes His appearance well in Isaiah 52 and 53. Psalm 22 has an even more horrible description. Yet, the horror of the cross needn't preoccupy us for long. Jesus, the person on the center cross is a wonder. Most criminals come cursing. Jesus takes care of His mother. Jesus says He's thirsty and is given some vinegar and pain killer on a sponge on a stick. He finally utters a cry of victory. That's right, a cry of victory. He tells people the past, present, and future price of sin is paid. Our sins are forgiven. We can go in God's peace and be assured of His presence with us. The wonder of the cross is Jesus. He does exactly what His mission told Him to do. He suffered. He died. He was buried. We can but sit on this Good Friday in awe and wonder at such love and servant action on the part of the Son of God. We can but wonder at the great love of God Himself to send Jesus to make this sacrifice. Then we can but say "Thank You" to God for doing all this for us through Jesus Christ. Prayer. What language shall I borrow To thank Thee, dearest Friend For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end? O make me Thine forever! And should I fainting be, Lord, let me never, never, Outlive my love for Thee. Amen. April 11, 2009 Holy Saturday SAVED FROM DEATH BY A DEATH Readings: Daniel 6:1-24 and Matthew 27:37-66 Today is one of the Three Days (Latin = triduum) observed in the Church for Jesus' suffering and death for our sins. It is particularly solemn because we remember Jesus' burial. Ancient monastic orders observed a chant service called, "And They Laid Him in the Tomb," on this day. As solemn as the day is, we also remember Jesus' work for us today. He delivered us from death by His death. He sanctified all the graves of His saints by His own burial. Every funeral; reminds us of such a hallowing of a Christian's grave or tomb. Today's Old Testament Lesson also shows Daniel saved by an angel from death by lions. Jesus saved us from Satan, that old lion by His death. Satan was defeated by Jesus paying the price for our sins. Now His accusations before God's throne in heaven are met with the words, "But, Father, I died for those sins," uttered by our Defense Attorney, Jesus. Our acquittal (forgiveness) then follows. There is yet another tradition observed this evening. Many Christians gather for the Great Vigil of Easter. The Vigil, a three hour service by bonfire, has 9 lessons, beginning with the Fall into sin in Genesis 3. It reminds us of why Jesus had to die and to be buried. The end of the Great Vigil of Easter is a procession into the church, led by the Christ candle, while the Easter Gospel is read. The first mass of Easter then follows. Today also ends the solemnity and the sacrifice of Lent for many people. Tomorrow we celebrate Jesus' resurrection and our victory over death. We celebrate God's, "Yes," to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Today we mourn for what our sins have done. Tomorrow we celebrate Jesus' total victory over sin, death, and Satan. Let us keep the solemnities of today so we can celebrate the joys of tomorrow! Prayer. Lord, You spent this day in the grave so we can hallow the graves of those who die in You. Help us to remember that our sins put You in the grave, but that You rose victorious over sin, death, and Satan, on the third day. In Jesus' name. Amen April 12, 2009 The Festival of the Resurrection of Our Lord NEVER FEAR! JESUS REALLY ROSE FROM THE GRAVE! Readings: 1Corinthians 15:1-11 and Mark 16:1-8 "I'm scared stiff!" How often haven't we said the words when confronted with some frightening event. Jesus' disciples had witnessed an event frightening to everyone on Good Friday. It was now the third day. They went to the tomb. They talked amongst themselves as to who would roll away the large stone in front of the tomb. They came to the tomb. The stone had been rolled away. The tomb was empty. The young man in the tomb told them Jesus had risen from the dead. He showed them the place He'd lain. Did the ladies do as the young man told them to do? No! They let their fear win over their faith. They ran from the tomb and told no one. St. Paul was quite different when He wrote to the Corinthian Church. He told them Jesus was definitely raised from the dead. They had nothing to fear! Jesus had appeared to over 500 people between His resurrection and His ascension. Last, Jesus appeared to St. Paul himself. St. Paul was the most unlikely candidate for such an appearance since he was persecuting the Church at the time Jesus appeared to him. Please don't try to claim the title, "Chief of Sinners." That belongs to St. Paul and to him alone. We move forward 21 centuries. We look at ourselves. Are we really any different from the women at the tomb that day of Jesus' resurrection? We still cower when we're told to witness to Jesus. We find excuses not to talk to friends, neighbors, relatives, and others about Jesus. We have the gift of the Holy Spirit in our baptism. Do we do any better than those who fled from the tomb in the Gospel according to St. Mark? We can do better! We can read the Scriptures. We can discover the ways the Early Church dealt with their fear. We can ask God to give us the assurance of our own resurrection because Jesus rose from the dead. We can learn ways to overcome our fear and witness to the hope we have in Jesus' resurrection. A Blessed Resurrection Day to all who read this devotion in Jesus' name. Prayer. O Holy Spirit, help us to overcome the fear of telling others about Jesus' resurrection and our hope because He rose In Jesus' name. Amen. April 13, 2009 Easter Monday OVER THE RIVER TO JESUS' HOUSE Readings: Exodus 15:1-18 and Luke 24:13-35 One of our hymns tells us, "Death's flood has lost its chill, since Jesus crossed the river ..." Today read that Moses sang a great hymn of the Old Testament. He sang after Israel crossed the sea. The hymn told of how God had defeated Egypt and thrown Pharaoh's army into the sea while Israel walked across on dry ground. The imagery along with the idea of the Greek "River Styx" ("River of Death") seems to be behind the verse above. But, Jesus did even more. He delivered us from the very clutches of eternal death. His death paid the price for our sins. Then He rose from death itself to give us the victory over our own death. We may still die before Jesus returns. But, we will rise from the grave, as Jesus did, and meet Him to go to live with God forever. Our deliverance also means we can have a sure hope for this life. The disciples going to Emmaus were dispirited. They had seen the Good Friday events. They now wondered what they were to do. Jesus appeared to them. They didn't even recognize Him because they were so upset, so anxious. Jesus talked to them about the events of Good Friday and of Easter. Their souls burned within them, but they had no idea why. Then they recognized Jesus as He had table fellowship with them. Yes, he had a meal with them. Was Holy Communion involved? We don't really know. But, the fellowship and something about Jesus' manner told them they were dealing with Jesus. They invited Jesus to stay, but He didn't. He went on to appear to more disciples that night. We also miss Jesus' presence all too often. Is He there at our meals? You bet He is! Is He really present in, with, and under the breads and wine of Holy Communion? Yes. He is. He's with us and having fellowship at our tables all the time! He's with jus every day and every night. He's with us always. He's brought us over the river of sin and death. Now we are in His presence every moment of our lives. Prayer. Defeater of Death, be with us in our lives, at our tables, at Your table, and at Your Father's eternal table. In Jesus' name. Amen. April 15, 2009 Easter Wednesday BREAKFAST BY THE LAKE Readings: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 and John 21:1-14 How many of you have ever gone out of a lake house and had breakfast by the lake? It was likely a beautiful setting. You probably enjoyed a campfire or a grill and some eggs, bacon, sausage, coffee and maybe pancakes. My mouth waters at the thought. My mind's eye sees the beauty and revels in it. After Easter, the disciples still didn't understand what Jesus' mission and ministry was really about. They had all gone back to fishing and to other professions. Jesus meets them one morning on the beach on Lake Galilee. He'd cooked some fish over the campfire. He may have had some beverage ready. He'd also told the disciples how they could catch fish. Their nets filled to overflowing and breaking. Jesus also restored Peter and showed he'd been forgiven by asking. Peter took the charge seriously. We see His incident in the temple in Acts 3. He and John had healed a lame man. The authorities didn't want them preaching Jesus in the temple or anywhere. The words of Acts 3 are part of the sermon they preached at the temple. Jesus also calls us to show the wonders of His resurrection to all people. We may not encounter Him at a breakfast by the lake, but we see Him in His Word, the Bible. We see Him in baptism as we remember His call to us as He made us His own by water and His Word. We see and taste Him in Holy Communion. We meet Him in our fellow Christians and our fellow human beings. Our charge is the same as Peter's. We are to feed His lambs and His sheep. Each of us does the feeding by how we live each day. Our "Breakfast by the lake" is worship and time when we can learn more about and from God's Word. Let's all join Jesus at breakfast by the lake and honor His call to us. Prayer. Feeder of Our Souls, help us so to feed on Your Word and Sacraments that we may be able to honor our mission and feed Your lambs and Your sheep. In Jesus' name. Amen. April 16, 2009 A SHOW OF FAITH Readings: Exodus 17:1-16 and Hebrews 11:1-29 The people of Israel grumbled and got water. Their grumbling showed little faith. Aaron and Hur held up Moses' hands so Israel could win the battle with the Amalekites. They showed faith in doing what God told them to do. Hebrews shows us some great examples of faith. The common thread binding all of the faithful of God together through the ages is their holding on to hope. The believers in the Old Testament had only hope in the birth of the Messiah to save them. They couldn't see Him or touch Him. They merely had to believe God's promises were true. Faith tells us God created the heavens and the earth. We didn't just suddenly arise from some "missing link" between us and apes. Faith also tells us God owns all that is. We merely give back to Him in offerings what is already His. Faith made people do things they couldn't have done by themselves. Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain by faith. Enoch walked straight into heaven because of His faith. Noah was saved because God gave Him faith. Abraham, for all his misdeeds, lived by faith. He began doubting the birth of Isaac, but faith compelled him to believe God's promise. Faith also breeds assurance. We are absolutely sure we will live with God forever after we die. We are sure of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and of our own resurrection. We are sure we will see Jesus again. Faith does that for us. We can look forward by faith and see God's love playing itself out in God's free gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ. You see, faith shows itself today precisely in people being able to endure trouble and hardship. They know God is looking to strengthen them. They know the best that could happen is they will end in heaven with God. On the other hand, they may stay here on earth. Faith lets God be God. Is this faith also ours? Prayer. Lord, give us the faith to come through this life into the joys of heaven.. In Jesus' name. Amen. April 17, 2009 A GREAT CLOUD OF WITNESSES Readings: Exodus 18:5-27 and Hebrews 12:1-24 How often have you wanted to do everything yourself? Have you ever refused help, thinking you are superhuman and can do all things by yourself? Moses had seeming a real problem. He tried to do everything for the children of Israel alone. He heard all the judicial cases alone. Since Israel numbered some 2.5 million crossing the Sea, you can see the problem here. Jethro, his father-in-law, suggested he find 70 godly men to help do the judging. Only the really difficult cases needed to come to Moses. Moses did so. The backlog in the Israelite courts got better. We also have a cloud of witnesses. Many people of faith have gone before us. They are examples of both how to and how not to deal with matters in a God-pleasing way. They remind us of the Lord sometimes letting pain into our lives to strengthen our faith. We are then able to act more as God's people. We also see three hills. Two are mentioned in Hebrews 12. One is Sinai. The Law shows us our sin. It gives us the "SOS" that we haven't kept God's Law and never sill since we are sinners. The second hill is Golgatha. It is not mentioned directly in Hebrews 12. But, without Golgatha, we are all still in our sins. Without Jesus' death and resurrection we have no church, no Sacraments, and no forgiveness. Jesus' victory over sin and Satan on the cross made us God's people again. Jesus' victory over death in the empty tomb makes every Chtistian funeral a victory celebration. Mount Zion is the final mountain. The temple stood on Mount Zion. Mount Zion is also a picture of heaven. In heaven, we will need no temple because God Himself will be there. The witnesses to Jesus all knew and know about these three mountains. They let God control their lives. They live as God's people, following the good examples shown in Scripture. They become the next generation in the cloud of witnesses God uses to teach us about Himself. Prayer. Lord, make us a part of Your cloud of witnesses. In Jesus' name. Amen April 18, 2009 THE PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS Readings: Exodus 19:1-25 and Hebrews 13:1-21 One of the more popular topics in church circles these days is the priesthood of all believers. Some Christians came to terms with this very important concept years ago. Some still need to discover what it means for them. Let's look at what a priest actually does. In the Old Testament, the priests served God and the people by conducting services and by making sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. While they were important people in the community, they were servants. Some served in the temple and some later served the king. God called Israel to be His royal priests. They served Him by offering the sacrifice of their lives. All they did was to be done for Him. There were boundaries as to how close these priests could get to their king. Mount Sinai showed the boundaries. Looking a bit further into the idea of this priesthood, we see the people also had rules and regulations to follow. So do most clergy. We all have Jesus' commandment to, "Love one another as I have loved you." (John 13:34, 35) The Ten Commandments gave an outline of the love Israel was to show to God and to others. We also see some practical ways of love in Hebrews 13. The love we show one another witnesses to people outside the church that we belong to Jesus. We are different. We work towards a common goal of preaching Jesus at all times. We show unity in the way we do church. We follow the instructions of the apostles as they apply Jesus' words to our lives. We are all part of a priesthood. Jesus began the priesthood with His acting as our High Priest in sacrificing His body and blood once for all on the cross. We show His resurrection in the way we gladly go through the problems and the pains of life. No, we don't always smile. But, we do know that God is working for our good through all that happens to us. The Holy Spirit guides and leads God's priests in all they do. One person isn't so designated, but everyone in the church. We all .live lives of high doxology to God. That's what it means to be God's royal priests. Prayer. King of the Universe, You made us all priests in Your kingdom. Help us to serve You by serving others always thus living lives of high doxology. In Jesus' name. Amen.
April 19, 2009
The Second Sunday of Easter
A MISSION OF UNITY
Readings: John 20:19-31 and Acts 4:32-35
What a transformation the Holy Spirit made in the disciples. John 20, today's Gospel Lesson, sees them meeting in secret, with all doors and windows barred, for fear of the religious leaders. When Jesus appears, they need Him to calm their troubled nerves. Thomas doesn't even believe Jesus has risen until he sees the wounds and is able to touch Jesus. Unity wasn't even on the radar screen at that point.
Acts shows a very different group of Christians. After Jesus goes back to heaven, they first hide and meet in secret. Then comes Pentecost.
Once the Holy Spirit comes on the scene, we see a bold and open group of believers. Yes, they still need to have services in secret. But, they are out and about, witnessing to their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
One of the greatest areas of witness the Early Church made in its society was the witness of unity. They were of one accord. They had no sub groups rankling over some minor point in the faith. They had no disunity at all. They all witnessed to the resurrection of Jesus.
The greatest sign of their unity was the way they shared everything they had. One can just imagine everyone coming with property, money, and other belongings and depositing them in the common treasury. No one thought of anything as their own. This was no early form of communism, as some have suggested. It wasn't even a commune. The Early Christians realized the need to support one another in every way they were able. They did so.
We also meet a man named Barnabas. His first name is Joses. He is the "Son of Encouragement." He was a Levite from Cyprus. He also came and laid the price of a piece of property at the apostles' feet. He would later travel with St. Paul until his nephew left them in a stressful situation. He receives the laying on of hands to become a apostle with Paul in Antioch in Acts 13.
Where do we fit into this picture? How often we like to fight for what we think is ours. It could be a position of leadership, a program, or some part of the church's ministry. We might fight over some small point of doctrine or some point of liturgy. In any case, we need to seek unity. Some diversity is good. But, when people decide their pet thing is the thing all others must follow, then we have problems. God owns everything. The Early Christians recognized His ownership. They had all things in common.
Prayer. Lord, help us to witness to Your resurrection and to Your love by our loving service towards one another and our willingness to share all we have so Your Word can be preached to all. In Jesus' name. Amen.
April 20, 2009
A PROPHET'S HONOR Readings: Exodus 22:20-23:13 and Luke 4:16-30 The size of the code of law governing each state of the United States is huge. Many laws comprise the code. They cover every conceivable thing one might do, both good and evil. Jesus went to Nazareth to preach to His home folks. They seem to have had the same law many congregations use regarding sons of the congregation preaching in or becoming pastor of the congregation. The son must make everybody happy or they are out. Jesus made no one happy with His sermon in Nazareth. He told the truth about Himself and about His mission on earth. Nazareth only become angry. Imagine the chutzpah of this native son trying to claim tlo be a prophet and the Son of God and the Messiah. That really rankled the feathers of the people of Nazareth. Jesus even used great examples of prophets who didn't do their greatest deeds in Israel because of unbelief. Elijah and Elisha both had experiences with wicked kings who wouldn't listen to them. Thus, their greatest miracles were done for Gentile people. Israelites were likely angered then as well by such goings on. Jesus' miracles also included many deeds done outside of Judea and Galilee. He healed and exorcised people on the east side of Lake Galilee, Gentile territory. He also healed the daughter of a Syro-Phoenician (Canaanite in Matthew) woman because of the lack of faith in Judea and Galilee. The people of Jesus' day simply refused to believe without signs and wonders. They simply had to see to believe the reports from other towns. Are we much different? So often we want God to show us some sign to tell us He's present with us or that He is acting in our lives. We keep wanting to see some miracle so we can believe. Even with pastors, we want to see some instant success to believe they really have God's hand upon them and are genuine. This is what Jesus meant about the prophet having honor except in his home country. Jesus was honored everywhere but in Galilee during His ministry. The faithful preacher of God's Word and administrator of the sacraments is worthy of honor also. But, do we really honor that person? Do we really accept them as God's prophet to us? God make this happen for Jesus' sake. Prayer. Lord, help us always to honor those who faithfully preach Your Word and administer Your sacraments. In Jesus' name. Amen. April 21, 2009 FIRST THINGS FIRST Readings: Exodus 23:14-33 and Luke 4:31-44 The Law in Exodus tells Israel what its priorities are as God's people. It prescribes special times called "Festivals" for them to come, stop working, worship God, and to participate anew in the actions of Law-giving done in the days Israel wandered in the desert. Jesus also knew about priorities. He exorcised demons, as He did in today's lesson from Luke. He also healed people, as He did with Peter's mother-in-law. The mother-in-law was the house hostess, so she was important. Jesus saw to it she was there to do her job. People saw these acts and were amazed. They wanted to see more and more of the acts so they could believe. Jesus knew His mission! The Gospel of John puts it well when Jesus says He's come to honor His Father in heaven, not to call attention to Himself. The disciples don't get it at this point. They thought Jesus had come to do signs and wonders, then to drive out the Romans and to establish Israel as a world power. That wasn't and isn't the mission of Jesus. Nor is it the mission of His Church. Jesus kept to His set priorities. He went off for some time alone with His Father. His mission meant spending time with His Father to reinforce the mission and to gain strength for continuing the real mission for which He came - to preach the Gospel in word and in deed. His greatest deed and sermon came in His death on the cross for our sins. There He forgave the sins of everyone by paying the entire price for our sins with His once-for-all sacrifice. His resurrection preached to us about our own resurrection and assured us of our place with God forever. Jesus said to His disciples, "First things first." He says this also to us. Our lives need first of all to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all around us. Our preaching includes attending worship every week, partaking of Holy Communion when it's offered, and of spending time with God each day in personal devotions and Bible study. Then we can truly do first things first. Prayer. Lord, give us the Holy Spirit so we can truly set our priorities to do first things first so we can preach Your Word to all people.. In Jesus' name. Amen. April 22, 2009 CATCHING PEOPLE FOR GOD Readings: Exodus 24:1-18 and Luke 5:1-16 A spider spins her web so as to catch many insects. She spins it from the center out, thus making the job easier by constricting the hub first. Jesus took His first disciples fishing after He'd preached one day. It was a way to get away from the crowds and to teach the disciples alone. Some of the disciples were used to fishing. They had been professional fishermen. Jesus told them to go out into the deep water and to put down their nets. They did. They caught a huge amount of fish. Simon, later renamed Peter for the rockiness of His heart, knelt before Jesus to confess His sin. Jesus told him he'd now be fishing for people. In another city, Jesus cleansed a man from leprosy. Once again, a dreaded disease was cured. The man had shown faith by asking Jesus to cleanse him. But, Jesus told the man not to tell anyone. The people had the wrong idea. They would only see the sign and react to that. The Gospel would not be preached. How do we catch people for God? Do we try any method? Do we just hope our programs will somehow help to attract people? Programs attract few people these days. Study after study has shown that programs aren't effective tools to bring people to Jesus. Great preaching can help. But, great preaching never really establishes a relationship with people. It can call them, but they need terelationships to keep them in the church. The only real way to bring people into the church and to keep them is a method my Regional Sales Coordinator for Aflac calls, " Spider webbing." In business-to-business sales one calls on a company, establishes a relationship with them by service and care, then gains referrals to other businesses. His or her business grows. The church grows in much the same way. Rarely is there one event like Pentecost. Even after Pentecost, relationships had to be established to keep people in the new church. We can spider web by talking to friends, neighbors, family, work associates, and acquaintances about Jesus. We invite them to come and to meet Jesus at our house or apartment, then at church. They find other relationships as we introduce them to other people at church. Soon they go and find others and bring them to church. This is how the church grows. This is how we catch people for God. Prayer. Lord, help us become good spiders. Give us the relationships and the ability to use them to gain more people in our web for Jesus. In Jesus' name. Amen. April 23, 2009 FOR THOSE WHO HATE CHANGE Readings: Exodus 25:1-30:38 (25:1-22) and Luke 6:1-19 One of the common complaints I hear these days is about the world changing too quickly. People claim they simply can't keep up with the pace of change. Some even say they hate change and won't even try to change. The Pharisees of Jesus' day were like the people who hate change. They'd had a way they did things for centuries. They had made a law code of those ways. They debated interpretations of the laws, but the laws stayed the same. In the case of the Mosaic Law this was good. Their changes to that law had corrupted it. Jesus came along one day with a challenge to the law. He challenged the law about the forgiveness of sins. Only God, held the Pharisees, could truly forgive sin. Jesus told a lame man his sins were forgiven. He did this before He told the lame man to pick up his bed and to walk. The Pharisees were enraged! They had to do something about such blasphemy! Jesus had every right to forgive the man. He was and is the Son of God. He even told the man to get up and to walk to show He has the power to forgive sins. He also claimed to be the Messiah with the use of the title, "Son of Man." Jesus further challenged the laws of the Pharisees by choosing Matthew as a disciples. The laws of elders stated that no one was to deal with tax collectors or other "sinners." Jesus not only chose this man as a disciple, but had table fellowship with him. He thus proclaimed for all to see that He was inviting such disreputable people into His life and work. Jesus argues His point with the Pharisees. He tells them that because they refuse to acknowledge their sins, they won't come to Dr. Jesus. But, the ones who see their sickness come in droves. Change was in the air! Jesus said you can't take new theology and put into old, bad theology. The new will be torn. Likewise with wineskins. New wine will tear the old skins. One needs a changed heart before one can change and become a disciple of Jesus! You can't take the old sinful self and somehow graft that onto the new self under Jesus. Our hearts are changed by baptism. The change is made permanent by God's Word and by Holy Communion. If you hate change, don't come to Jesus! Prayer. Lord, give us Your Spirit so we have changed hearts to forgive and to love others as You did. In Jesus' name. Amen. April 23, 2009 FOR THOSE WHO HATE CHANGE Readings: Exodus 25:1-30:38 (25:1-22) and Luke 6:1-19 One of the common complaints I hear these days is about the world changing too quickly. People claim they simply can't keep up with the pace of change. Some even say they hate change and won't even try to change. The Pharisees of Jesus' day were like the people who hate change. They'd had a way they did things for centuries. They had made a law code of those ways. They debated interpretations of the laws, but the laws stayed the same. In the case of the Mosaic Law this was good. Their changes to that law had corrupted it. Jesus came along one day with a challenge to the law. He challenged the law about the forgiveness of sins. Only God, held the Pharisees, could truly forgive sin. Jesus told a lame man his sins were forgiven. He did this before He told the lame man to pick up his bed and to walk. The Pharisees were enraged! They had to do something about such blasphemy! Jesus had every right to forgive the man. He was and is the Son of God. He even told the man to get up and to walk to show He has the power to forgive sins. He also claimed to be the Messiah with the use of the title, "Son of Man." Jesus further challenged the laws of the Pharisees by choosing Matthew as a disciples. The laws of elders stated that no one was to deal with tax collectors or other "sinners." Jesus not only chose this man as a disciple, but had table fellowship with him. He thus proclaimed for all to see that He was inviting such disreputable people into His life and work. Jesus argues His point with the Pharisees. He tells them that because they refuse to acknowledge their sins, they won't come to Dr. Jesus. But, the ones who see their sickness come in droves. Change was in the air! Jesus said you can't take new theology and put into old, bad theology. The new will be torn. Likewise with wineskins. New wine will tear the old skins. One needs a changed heart before one can change and become a disciple of Jesus! You can't take the old sinful self and somehow graft that onto the new self under Jesus. Our hearts are changed by baptism. The change is made permanent by God's Word and by Holy Communion. If you hate change, don't come to Jesus! Prayer. Lord, give us Your Spirit so we have changed hearts to forgive and to love others as You did. In Jesus' name. Amen. April 23, 2009 WHAT ABOUT LAWS? Readings: Exodus 31:1-18 and Luke 5:17-39 Some have accused Jesus of being an anarchist. He disobeyed the laws the people of His day held dear. Exodus 31 tells of the Sabbath reminding Israel of God's creating the world in six days, then resting. It was to be an sign and covenant between Israel and God. Jesus came and upended the eternal nature of the sign. He worked on the Sabbath. He healed and picked grain on the Sabbath. He showed the authorities where they were wrong. Be even used an example of King David and his men to show that the Sabbath was made to serve people, not people to serve the Sabbath. This Law, like the others, was fulfilled by Jesus. Thus, the Christian Church worships on Sunday, the day of Jesus resurrection. The Pharisees now seek to kill Jesus. Luke also chose to set up his version of the Sermon on the Mount at this point. He had Jesus go up a mountain with His disciples. He prayed, but preaches the sermon from the plain below. The mountain became a place for time alone with Jesus' disciples. It was not the place of the giving of the Law. Luke had no reason to show Jesus as a new Moses, so he didn't. We also see the names of the disciples listed. We can note here that none was a great man in the eyes of the world. They were all rather common people. God uses all people to make up His church. What about laws? What about the Old Testament Law? All have been fulfilled by Jesus. We needn't follow them any longer. Even the Ten Commandments were replaced by Jesus in John 13:34, 35. Jesus simply tells us, "Love one another as I have loved you." That law we need to follow. It sums up all the others. The laws of Israel are gone. The law of love is still with us. That love was shown by Jesus on the cross and in His resurrection. It is shown every time we participate in Holy Communion. We show it by how we care for and love one another. Prayer. God of love, help us to see love as the only law we need to follow in our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen. April 25, 2009 A GREAT MAN AND A FOOL Readings: Exodus 32:1-14 and Luke 6:20-38 Israel proved themselves fools when Moses was still on Mount Sinai. They became impatient. They asked Aaron to build them a "god". Aaron foolishly did so. The Golden Calf angered both Moses and God. It caused Moses to need to intercede with God for Aaron. John the Baptist had been imprisoned by Herod, the King. He had told Herod his relationship with Salome, his brother's wife, was incestuous and that the murder of Philipp was also a sin. John asked if Jesus was really the Messiah. Jesus tells his disciples to look and see, The prophecies of Isaiah and others are coming true. Does that make Him the Messiah? Yes, it does. John wasn't the Messiah, but was the greatest human prophet ever. He came before Jesus to prepare the way for Him. We honor John the Baptist as the greatest prophet. The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were never baptized by John, thus they haven't the right hearts to deal with the teaching of Jesus or of John. Jesus also accepted an invitation to have table fellowship with a Pharisee. The Pharisees prove Jesus' statement about them when they start to snipe about Jesus knowing the identity of the woman anointing Him. They prove to be the fools. Which are you? Jesus came to show us the way to God. He showed love and care for all who came to Him in true repentance. He showed people that the Law was not the entry point into God's kingdom. God's mercy and love were shown in Jesus' death on the cross for us. His resurrection showed God's acceptance of His once-for-all sacrifice. We enter God's kingdom through Holy Baptism. We are kept there through Holy Communion and God's Word. We find both Holy Communion and God's Word at worship. Are you the great man or the fool? Prayer. Lord, make us all like John the Baptist. Help us to look for Your return through worship, study, and sharing of Your Word with others. In Jesus' name. Amen. April 28, 2009 GOD'S COVENANT-IN MOSES' DAY AND NOW Readings: Exodus 34:1-28 and Luke 7:18-35 Have you ever made a contract with someone? You probably spent a great deal of time spelling out the provisions of the contract down to the smallest detail. God did the same thing with His covenant with Israel. Moses acted as secretary. God dictated the words because He was the King Who'd saved Israel from their enemies, the Egyptians. John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus. He baptized and preached just across the Jordan River from Jericho, the point at which Israel had entered into the Promised Land many years before. His message was one of repentance so one could purify themselves for the coming of Jesus. John was fully human. He had his doubts about Jesus. He sent men to Jesus to see if Jesus was really the Messiah. He also sent the men so they could see what Jesus was doing and believe. He wanted them to become Jesus' disciples. John's disciples had just seen their leader killed by the wicked King Herod. He had beheaded John for daring to preach to him about his actions in killing his brother and the adultery he'd committed with his brother's wife. Now the disciples needed a new teacher. They come to Jesus and ask if He's the Messiah. Jesus does many healings right then to demonstrate His claim to the Messianic title. Jesus then addressed John's questions. He used the events of the days to show John's disciples the truth of His claims to be the Messiah. He also tells them they'd seen the greatest human prophet in history. John was that prophet. He wasn't swayed by the opinions of people. He preached and baptized to fulfill his mission. Yes, he was the one to show the way to Jesus. But, Jesus is the true Way. Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. Jesus returns to take us to live with Him forever. Jesus has fulfilled all of God's covenant for us. He established the New Covnenant in His blood on the cross. In Holy Communion, we have the New Covenant brought to us in, with and under bread and wine. Jesus' Sermon On the Plain tells the requirements of God's kingdom as the Old Covenant told of God's requirements for the Israelites. We live under a fulfilled covenant. We live to see Jesus so we can begin our new life in heaven. Prayer. Lord, make us all like John the Baptist. Help us to look for Your return through worship, study, and sharing of Your Word with others. In Jesus' name. Amen. April 29, 2009 HEARING GOD'S WORD Readings: Exodus 38:21-39:8, 22-23, 27-31 and Luke 8:1-21 Israel needed a place to hear God's word to them. God gave them a beautiful tent called the Tabernacle. It was a place of precious metal, fine cloth, and beautiful woodwork. It also contained the Ark of the Covenant, to remind Israel of their covenant with God. They never saw the ark, but they knew it was in the Tabernacle. Jesus superseded the need for the Temple, the successor of the Tabernacle. He was God in human form. Jesus told His disciples about hearing God's word one day. He told them people were like seeds thrown in different locations when planting. Some people hear the word better than others. Some actually grow up and bear fruit. The parables were told for people of faith. Others found them useless gibberish. Jesus' earthly family showed up one day. Mary thought this was a special thing and Jesus should see them immediately. Jesus told her and the disciples that His family was the family of those who believe in Him and act it out in their lives. We can also ask ourselves how well we hear God's word to us. Do we need a special church building to hear His word? Do we think family is more important than God? Do we even consider the people of our congregation as our family in Christ? Our hearing of God's word also needs to spring forth in action. We may not espouse the latest social cause. We may be called by God to help our neighbor when they are ill. We may be called to be a friend to a child whose parents are either dead or have little time for the child. There are many ways we can act out the hearing of God's word. Others can be the messengers of God's word to us. We still need to ask if our hearing God's word produces godly action in our lives. If so, we are the hearers Jesus commends in His parable. If not, let's pray God would help us to hear better what He has to say to us. Prayer. Lord, help us always to hear Your word and to put it into action in our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen. April 30, 2009 THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT Readings: Exodus 39:32-40:16 and Luke 8:22-39 A Medieval prayer read something like, "From "From ghosties and ghoulies and long-leggedy beasties C: Good Lord, deliver us." But, we pray for relief from many things frightening us, just as the disciples did that night on Lake Galilee. Jesus' disciples had gone out onto the lake. They were accomplished ailors, but storms could frighten them. Jesus was asleep in the rear of the boat. They woke Him trembling in fear. Jesus told the storm to, "Cool it." He asked the disciples where their faith had been. Jesus also exorcised a demoniac on the Gentile side of Lake Galilee that trip. The demoniac had scared a lot of people because he gauged himself, attacked others, and lived in the hills in chains. He could also break those chains from time to time. Jesus told the demon named Legion, to get out. It did. It also asked to put into a herd of swine nearby. Jesus gave it its request. Since this swine herding industry was a local mainstay (this tells us these weren't Jews), the area might have some rough economic times. The swineherds went into town and told what had happened. When the townsfolk saw the man and saw what had happened to the swine, they were gripped with fear. They told Jesus to leave. Before He left, Jesus told the man to go and tell what had happened. The man gladly did so. We saw two fearsome events today. Both had people seized with fear. The reaction to one was to scream and get Jesus. The reaction to the other was to throw Jesus out of town from fear. We often react negatively for fear. We may fear a person we don't like or one who has done something nasty to us. We probably avoid that person, when a good talk might solve the whole issue. We also avoid events and other things in our life for fear. We could pray, as the disciples did. They prayed without faith, hoping Jesus might act and still the storm. We can act in faith, asking God to help us to deal with the situation so we might show Him to others by lour handling of the situation. Our prayers are answered by God. He will send help for us. We needn't fear the ghosties, ghoulies, and long-leggedy beasties of life with God on our side. Prayer. Lord, remind us always of Your presence with us Help us to use Your presence to calm our fear so we can face problems and solve them with Your help. In Jesus' name. Amen.