Storms

Have you ever found yourself caught in the midst of a storm? It can be a downright terrifying experience. Even if you have shelter, storms can be scary. But when you find yourself in a situation without shelter, being caught in a storm can be really scary.

The day that we were driving up to vicarage, we hit a huge storm as we turned into Iowa. We were driving north on Interstate 29. Just as we were passing by Omaha, we looked out the windows to the West and saw a beautiful sun-shinning day. However, to the East it was pitch black. I turned on the radio and heard tornado warnings going on all over the place. Only we didn’t know where we were. We didn’t know which county we were in. As we drove and the road turned into the storm, it wasn’t long before we found ourselves in the midst of thunder, lightening, hail and a torrential downpour. We finally pulled over at a rest stop to wait it out. It was scary.

Have you ever found yourself caught in the midst of a storm? Jonah, and his fellow ship-mates have found themselves in the midst of a great storm. It was so great that their ship was threatening to break up. Things are pretty scary. But where is Jonah? He is sound asleep in the bottom of the boat.

You see this storm is not just the perfect combination of fronts and air flow, pressure and all that good stuff. But this storm is from the Lord. Sometimes God sends a storm to do his work and to get his message across.

This isn’t all that odd. A look throughout the scriptures will reveal that God sometimes uses storms to display is splendor. Job is contacted by the Lord out of a storm wind. Elijah hears a mighty wind just before God speaks to him in a still small voice. When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples on Pentecost, the sound that was made was like a rushing wind.

As strange as it may sound, God’s working through this storm is a display of his grace and mercy. This is because Jonah is running away from God. He is turning his back on him and ignoring him. God has called Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh, and Jonah doesn’t want to go. So he runs away.

But it’s not really a good idea to turn your back on God, and instead of punishing him or striking him down, God sends this storm to snap Jonah out of it. So where is Jonah? He is sound asleep in the bottom of the boat. He is oblivious to all that is going on around him. You could say he is sound asleep in his sin, in his rebellion. This sleep is so deep that he is unaware of the storm going on outside. He is unaware of God’s action.

Notice the sailors and their reaction. They demonstrate some amazing self-restraint. They are concerned for the safety and welfare of Jonah. They show reverence toward Jonah’s God. Isn’t it interesting to see them reacting in the ways that Jonah should be, and how that contrast exists here? Jonah is acting like the rebellious people he does not want to go preach to. He is ignoring God. And the sailors are acting more like you would expect a child of God to act.

Where do you find yourself on the proverbial boat when you are in the midst of the storms of life? Do you relate more to the sailors, or do you find yourself feeling more like Jonah? Let’s face it; the storms that life can throw at us can be more devastating than ten tornados. The trials and challenges that come at us, or our families, because we live in a world that is broken and twisted by sin are so small matter. As we struggle with injustice, death, sickness, brokenness, addiction, we find that these storms can rage hard, and can really ware us down.

So how do we respond when we find ourselves in the midst of the storms of life? Now, I don’t know about you, but sometimes, when I find myself in those kinds of situations, I just want to run. I want to hide. I want to get away from it all. I find myself acting more like Jonah, who just wants to go and sleep it off in the bottom of the boat. Leave me alone. Don’t bother me.

But you know what? You can’t really escape from God’s presence. You can’t hide from his call. You can’t sleep through his action and work in your life. And thank God. Because God in his grace, does not allow us to ever get so far from him that there is no turning back. He will not allow our own stubbornness to keep us from him. He will not allow our own doubts, or questions, or struggles, or suffering to be enough to keep us from him. His love for us is so much that he will do whatever it takes to get through to us, even in spite of ourselves.

I am not saying that every time we find ourselves in the midst of a storm of life that it is because God is trying to snap us out of something. That may be the case some of the time, but not every time. I would not recommend that every time you find yourself in one of life’s storms that you think that you are there because you are acting like Jonah and ignoring God.

Instead, while those storms may not be very pleasant to endure, while they are not much fun to weather, God can, and indeed does work through them. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Not hardship, not peril, not danger, not even death can come between us, and the love that God has for us. And while we can often find ourselves faced with bad or hard things, God can and does work through them for our good. This does not mean that he wanted those things to happen to us, but what it does mean is that they can’t stop God and the work that he is doing in our lives.

You see, God is in the business of saving, healing and restoring his creation. God loves his creation. God is in the business of life. He gives us life in Jesus. And his love for us is greater than we could ever understand or comprehend. God’s love for you and me is not based on what we do. The value that we have in the eyes of God is not based on the contributions that we make to God’s work in the world. Rather, we have value and worth, because God decided, long before we were born, that we were worth dying for. And that is exactly what he did.

God became a human being, the man Christ Jesus. He is our savior. He is the one who willingly paid the price for our sins on the cross. He determined that that price for us was worth it. And he paid it. Not because of what we do for him, but because he simply loves us. Having loved us, and died for us, God makes us his own in the waters of baptism. As his dearly loved daughters and sons we live our lives in relationship with him. As his dearly loved sons and daughters we live as his people in the world, making known and showing his love, grace, and mercy to others.

Living life in this relationship with our God is the only way to live. We don’t always know why God allows the storms to rage in our lives that are raging. We cannot always understand why we have to see, and endure the storms that this life can throw at us.

Have you ever found yourself caught in the midst of a storm? It can be a scary experience, but not one that we ever have to endure alone; and not one that is beyond God’s ability to work. The God who calmed the storm that Jonah’s shipmates found themselves in, is the same God who calmed the sea when the disciples were in their storm. He is the same God who calmed the storms of sin, death and evil through his death and resurrection. He is the same God that can and does work through and in spite of the storms that we find ourselves in now.

May you feel his presence. Delight in his love for you. Be renewed in your serving and life. And always find in him peace in the midst of the storm. Now and always. Amen.

Our Transfigured Lord

Now this may come as a bit of a surprise. Lutherans are not known for their love of change. Perhaps you’ve heard the joke about how many Lutherans it takes to change a light bulb. The answer is three. One to change the bulb, and two to complain about how nice the old one was.

While that joke is good for a laugh, change can really be scary for some people. After all, life is difficult enough. We don’t like those unexpected surprises that force us to break our routines. We like to know what is coming. We like to know what is around the corner. We like to be in control, and when we are faced with change, we are faced with a situation that reminds us that we are not in control.

This can be true regardless of whether the change is good or bad. Things like starting a new job or the birth of a baby, all bring about good change. But there is still stress that comes with that. And while good change is all well and good, what do we do when we find ourselves in those situations in life where we are forced to face and to deal with change that we may not want to make? What do we do in those situations that we find ourselves facing something that is not a joke; that is not a laughing matter; that is just downright scary?

We have just finished up our stewardship emphasis. We have defined stewardship as understanding that we have been given a place in God’s kingdom and mission, and therefore we are to live our lives in accordance with that place. This is something that should be a challenge for us. A blessing, to be sure, but also something that motivates us to get outside of our comfort zone, take a look at our lives, and make commitments to ministry. And sometimes, that can be really scary. So what do we do with that?

Today is the day that we celebrate the transfiguration. Peter was there to witness firsthand the events that took place on that mountain. He saw how Jesus was changed, how was transfigured before his very eyes. He saw how Moses and Elijah showed up and they were speaking with Jesus. And Peter says, “Rabbi, it’s good that we’re here. Let’s put up three tents – one for you, on for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter didn’t know what he was saying basically he was scared stupid.

I mean can you blame Peter? How would you have reacted after seeing Jesus changed the way he had been. There really aren’t even words to describe it. And so we are given the image that his clothes became brilliantly white; whiter than any bleach could whiten them. And Moses and Elijah show up? How did they get here? And wait a minute, we know Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, but isn’t Moses dead? What is going on here?

There are many things happening here, but allow me to point out a few of them. In the transfiguration we see that Jesus is God. He is revealing his glory. Our text begins with the words, “After six days.” This is a clue to us that what happens in the verses prior to our text is something important. Here is what happens in the previous 13 verses.

Jesus does some qualitative research and asks the disciples who people say that he is. Then he asks them who they say that he is. And Peter says, “You are the Messiah!” After this Jesus tells the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, that he would be rejected by the leaders, that he would be killed and after three days he would come back to life.

Peter objects and Jesus says, “Get out of my way, Satan!” The next verses tell of Jesus teaching that, “Those who want to follow me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses and follow me.” Now, six days later here we are on the mountain and Jesus is revealing his glory to Peter, James and John. 

You see, even though the disciples don’t understand that Jesus must suffer and die, so that my sins and your sins and the sins of the world could be forgiven, Jesus knew that. He knew that they would see him die. He knew that they didn’t understand what had to happen to him. And so in the transfiguration they see Jesus’ glory. It’s as if to say, “Don’t worry. I’ve got it all under control.” 

Now the disciples won’t put two and two together until after the resurrection. But that is ok. Because once they understand what had taken place on this mountain they will be facing a new challenge and that is to continue to the mission of Jesus in this world, to shine his light in this dark, dark place. 

You see, as important as the events that took place on the mountain are. And believe me, we could spends hours talking about Moses and Elijah and the cloud and all the connections to the Old Testament and fulfillment and all that good stuff and what it means. As import as the events that took place on the mountain are, what is also very important are the events that take place after the mountain. 

You see, the disciples who saw Jesus transformed. The disciples who were so terrified that they didn’t know how to respond to what they were witnessing.  These disciples would face fear again. On the night of the first Easter, they are locked in a room, and they are very scared. But this fear would be transformed by the same Jesus who is transfigured before them on the mountain. This Jesus will transform their fear into confidence, and boldness and peace. Not confidence and boldness and peace in themselves, but in the one whose clothes shined whiter than any bleach could bleach them.

And now this is where you and I come into the picture. For we have things that we are afraid of in our own lives. Living our lives in accordance with the place that God has given us in his kingdom and mission can be scary. Maybe we don’t feel qualified for the job. Maybe we find ourselves struggling to let go of that need or desire to be in control. It is at this point that we need to take these things to the one who was transfigured, so the he can comfort us and reassure us that, “Hey, I’ve got this under control.” He transforms our fear into peace. In serving our God and joining him in his work, we experience life that is better than anything we could ever chose for ourselves.

Or maybe we find ourselves faced with a different kind of struggle. Maybe we struggle with guilt over something that we have done in our past. No matter how hard we try we just can’t shake the guilt. Take that guilt to Jesus. The one who was transfigured on that mountain also went to the cross. There he paid the price for ALL of your sins, and also for all of mine. So we go to him. We ask forgiveness. We repent, that is change the way we think and act. And Jesus forgives. The transfigured, risen Lord transforms our fear into peace. Knowing that in God’s eyes that something from our past has been removed from us as far as the east is from the west. This is good news. This is great news. This is awesome news. This is the news that we are called to share with the world.

But then again that has a whole fear of its own. We know that we are to love and serve the people in our lives. We know that this is what God asks us to do. We know that doing it does not earn us favor with him. But we know that doing it is why we are here.  And yet palms sweat, and stomachs get tied in knots. The tongue dries out and the brain freezes up. But do not be afraid. Jesus, the one who was transfigured, the one who rose, the one who was and is and is to come, promises to be with you always.  This is especially true as we carry out the mission of serving and loving the world and sharing with that world the good news of God’s love in Jesus. We take our fear to him, and he transforms our fear into love, peace, hope, confidence, boldness. Not in ourselves, but in him, in Jesus. He will give us the words, he will guide us. He will be with us always. 

Before Jesus ascended into heaven he was on another mountain. And he said to his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations:  Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. And remember I am always with you until the end of time.” 

In that promise there is great hope, comfort and strength. And may you always experience those as you live your life in relationship with your Lord, whose glory was revealed on that mountain, and who is with you always. Amen.

Living a Life of Sharing

It’s a miracle, quite literally. I mean, that must have been exactly what was going through the man’s head at the time. And really, it was not just one miracle, but two. Can you imagine? Can you imagine his reaction? Can you imagine the joy? Can you imagine the feelings? How would you have responded?

There is this leper that comes up to Jesus. And the thing you want to keep in mind is that in Jesus’ day leprosy was bad news. It was bad news for two reasons. One, it was bad news for your health. If you had leprosy you were very, very sick. So that wasn’t good. But the second was probably even worse. It was probably even more difficult to deal with. The second reason why this was bad news was because it meant that you were required to be outside the community.

If you had leprosy, not only were you sick, but you were no longer allowed to be part of community life. You couldn’t be with family or friends. You couldn’t participate in worship. You couldn’t go to work. If you were walking around where other people were, you would have to call out, “unclean, unclean,” so that they would know to stay away from you. It was almost being forced to live as if you were dead. Leprosy was really bad news.

So this leper comes to Jesus and asks Jesus to heal him. “if you will, you can make me clean.” He says. And notice Jesus’ response. He was moved with pity. It is not just that he has pity, but we see the heart of God for the people of his creation. Remember, that this man was supposed to stay far away from Jesus. From the societal point of view, Jesus could have told him to go and get lost. He had no business being there. But that is not what Jesus does. That is not what happens. Instead Jesus is moved with pity for him and he reaches out his hand touches him and says, “I will; be clean.”

Here we see the first of the two miracles that are reported in our text. Did you catch it? The first miracle here is that Jesus reaches out and touches a leper. We don’t know how long this man had his disease. But we can say for certain that he would have been isolated during that time. Even if it had only been a matter months, can you imagine going for a long period of time without human contact, and then suddenly, someone reaches out and touches you?

Here is the creator in the flesh, reaching out to his broken creation. He is reaching out in love and compassion, not in order to condemn the brokenness of the creation, but in order that it might be healed and restored. Jesus reaches out and touches this man. He says, “I will; be clean.” And at that moment, the second miracle takes place. The man is cured of his leprosy. He is made clean. He is made whole. He is restored. And these things happen, simply because God loves the people of this world so very much.

Thus we see again, that in Jesus the kingdom of God, the reign of God, has broken into time. It has come to the creation. It has come near. It has come near in Jesus, and wherever Jesus goes the effects of the sin are undone. The brokenness in the creation is made whole.

So Jesus then issues the one commandment in of all scripture that people of Germanic decent excel at following: see that you say nothing to anyone. But the man can’t help himself. Can you blame him? He has just been healed on two levels. His body is now whole and healthy. And he has been restored to life in his community. He gets his family back. He gets his friends back. Such wonderful news would be impossible not to share.

Again we see a picture of the reaction, and the response to the working of God in the life of a person. Jesus touches this man, he heals him, and the man responds by talking about it, sharing with others what had happened to him, and the impact that Jesus made on his life.

Now, when Jesus tells him not to tell anyone, it’s not like he is saying, “Wink. Wink. I really want you to go and tell people.” Jesus is not using sarcasm or reverse psychology here. Remember, that from the perspective of this Gospel, the people in the story don’t yet fully understand what it means that Jesus is the messiah. That cannot happen until after his death and resurrection. So, when he tells the man to be quite, he is doing this as a way to help prevent the spread of confusion.

Today, our series entitled Christ in us: living a life that shows Jesus concludes with a look at living a life of sharing. Living a life of sharing is something that happens because good news can’t be kept in. If you were the leper in this story, would you respond in a way that was similar to the way he did? I know I probably would.

In this story we see the character and the heart of our God. We see the love and compassion that our God has for his creation. We see his work, his drive to come and undo the effects of sin in the creation. Not just in the curing of leprosy and healing of physical and social ailments. But he undoes the effects of sin itself by paying the price for the sins of the world.

The hands that reached out in pity and touched the leper to cleanse him are the same hands that will be stretched out in love and mercy to pay the price for the sins of the world. Those same hands were stretched out in love and mercy to pay the price for your sins and for my sins. Because of Jesus, the debt has been paid in full. No longer will God count our sins against us. This price was paid, not with gold or silver, but with Jesus’ holy precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death.

What this means for you and me, is forgiveness is ours. We can stand confidently before our God knowing indeed that he loves us. We can stand before our God and know that because of Jesus we belong to him, we have salvation, we have life everlasting. And if ever you are unsure whether or not that really belongs to you, all you have to do is look at the cross. It is a reminder to all of us, that this indeed is more certainly true.

Having received this reconciliation from our God, we are not told to not say anything, but instead we are sent out into the world, to show, proclaim and make known the love of God in Jesus. We are sent so that others would know the same grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, salvation and life that we know and that we enjoy.

And so we share, because good news can’t be kept in. News this good is so good that it impacts every area of our lives. It impacts our priorities. It impacts how we spend our time, our money. It impacts the things that we invest in and work toward.

This is what stewardship is all about. It is about understanding that we have a place in God’s kingdom. We belong; we have a place in God’s kingdom because Jesus has earned this for us with his life, death, and resurrection. Do you have a place in God’s kingdom? Yes; because of Jesus and for his sake.

Having a place in God’s kingdom also means that we have a place in God’s mission. This means that we have the privilege of sharing in ministry. We have the honor of being the ones who get to go out into the world and to show the world that God loves them. Our God is actively about the work of restoring the creation back into a right relationship with himself. And having restored us to himself through Jesus, he then sends us out into the world to show the world God’s love, so that they too might know the same reconciliation that has been given to us.

This afternoon, there will be an opportunity for us to come back together and have a special celebration worship service. That is really how I want us to see and understand this time; that it is a celebration. Because what we are celebrating is how God allows us to join him in the work that he is doing. We are celebrating the place we have in God’s mission.

That’s what this emphasis has been all about. It has been about helping us to see that we all have a role, a place, a responsibility in ministry, in God’s mission. But this role, place and responsibility is also a great blessing and privilege for us. So come together this evening. Give thanks for all the wonderful ways that our God reaches out and touches our lives. Give thanks for being able to share God’s love with other. And celebrate with great anticipation all of the wonderful and exciting ministry that will take place in the year 2012 and beyond.

God bless you as you live this out in your lives, as we live this out together. Now and always. Amen.

Healed to Serve: Living a Life of Service

One Sunday, a pastor preached a really long, really boring sermon. During the announcements at the end of the service the pastor said that he wanted to meet with the church board after the service. After the regular greeting, the first man to show up was a complete stranger. The pastor kindly informed him, “I think you misunderstood my announcement. This is a meeting for the board members.” The man replied, “I know. But if there is anyone more bored than I am, I would sure love to meet them.”

If there is one thing that we can say about the Christian life, or living the Christian life, it is that it is most certainly not boring. Although, I imagine that sometimes it can probably seem that way. I pray that as we are making our way through this series you will find a renewed excitement for living a life that shows Jesus, that you will find great joy in living your life in accordance with your place in God’s kingdom and mission. Because that is what stewardship is all about.

Today our series, Christ in us: living a life that shows Jesus, continues with a look at living a life of service: being healed to serve. What we are talking about here; what we are getting at is our response to what God does in our lives.

When we are talking about this kind of a thing it is important to remember that we keep both things in view together. It is important that we keep God’s action in our lives in mind with our response. If we try to separate them, then we run the risk of thinking that God’s action in our lives has no impact on our lives, or that we have what we have from God because of the response the works that we do. Neither of those options are good or helpful. So we keep them both in mind together.

Keeping them both in mind, we find a simple equation of sorts. God comes to us and works in our lives, and we respond with our lives, with our service. We see this in the Gospel text. Here is Jesus. Many people are being brought to him. They are suffering. They are sick. They are oppressed by demons. Mark tells us that the whole city was gathered together at the door of the house of Simon. It must have been quite crowded.

There Jesus heals the people who are brought to him. Their suffering is gone. Their sickness is no more. Their demons are cast out. And the people are healed. They are made whole. They are restored. This is not too surprising for us, and not just because we have already heard this before. We understand that in Jesus, God’s kingdom has come into our world, and that where ever Jesus goes the effects of that brokenness is undone.

This is amazing. This is awesome. This is how much God loves his creation, and how important it is to him. He doesn’t just give up on a creation that is corrupted by sin, and start over. But instead he comes into his creation; he becomes a part of it. He does this so that he might fix it, restore it, renew it, and bring back into a right relationship with himself. This is God’s mission and work in the world. This is what happens when God’s kingdom comes into the creation.

This is what we celebrate and remember when we celebrate the season of Epiphany. We are celebrating the work that God does in our world. We are celebrating the glory of God as it is revealed in Jesus. We are celebrating the glory of God as it is revealed in the one who came in order that we might live in relationship with him and have forgiveness life and salvation. And so this is why we have taken time during the season of Epiphany to talk about stewardship; where we live our lives in accordance with our place in God’s kingdom and mission.

We do not earn our place in God’s kingdom and mission. This is something that we have, simply because God loves us so very much, he comes to us and does for us what we are unable to do for ourselves. Jesus became a human being in order to fulfill all the requirements of God’s law. And certainly he has done this. He has done this on our behalf. He also paid the price for our sins on the cross. They have been paid in full. They are no longer held against us, or counted against us. We are forgiven because of and for the sake of Jesus.

That he rose again means that we have the assurance, the promise, the certain hope, of life everlasting and victory over the grave, over evil, and over our own sinful nature. This God comes to us, in order to give us these gifts, so that we would not be separated from him by our sin, but so that we could know and live life with him. It’s enough to make us want to get up and shout for joy, or for us, the Lutheran equivalent of getting up and shouting for joy is to smile. It’s enough to make us want to smile.

God’s coming to us and working in our lives is powerful. It is something that has an impact in our lives. He comes to us and does not leave us the way he found us. Look at Peter’s mother-in-law in our text. We are not given a whole lot of information here. We don’t know her name. We are not given her age or her specific ailment. All we know is that she was sick with a fever.

Jesus comes to her and takes her by the hand. He lifts her up and the fever leaves her. And what is her response to this? She serves them. And so in this we see both parts. God comes to her and works in her life, and she responds with service. It’s not that Jesus and the boys wanted her to serve them and so that is why he healed her. Instead, her service is a natural response to the work that God has done in her life.

Now, it is important to clarify that this is not a text that is telling us that when Jesus comes to us and works in our lives, that all of our physical ailments go away. Sickness in our lives, or in the lives of someone we love should not be seen as an indication that God is upset with them , or that somehow their relationship with God is in danger. That is not what is being show to us here.

Instead this text helps us to understand the source of our service. The source of our life of service is the work that God has done in our lives. We serve because God has first served us. He has served us by giving to us forgiveness, life, and salvation in Jesus. The source of our life of service can never be guilt, fear, or manipulation. Because those things will turn the service into an obligation and that is never a good thing.

But if we, instead, understand that service comes out of what God has done for us in Jesus, if we keep both aspects together in mind, then what we will discover is that a life lived in service is a wonderful and exciting adventure. It is something that is better than anything we could imagine. It is something that has eternal effects and implications. It is being a part of something that is bigger than just us.

This does not mean that living a life of service will always be easy. This does not mean that it will always be glorious. The temptation is to always be the one who is served, as opposed to being the one who does the serving. The temptation is to gather as much as we can for ourselves.

The life of service, though is one that will sometimes require us to make sacrifices. It will require us to put others, and their needs and wants ahead of our own. It will require us to give up our time, our money, our resources, and maybe even our plans. The prospects of that can be really scary for an individual, but downright terrifying for a community.

And yet, we believe that a life lived in service, a life that is lived the way that Jesus calls us to live, is better than anything that we could ever ask for and imagine. It may be hard sometimes, but the things in life that are most important, or have the most value are sometimes the things that we have to work for the hardest. In other words, it is well worth it.

This is most certainly true as we think about living our lives in accordance with our place in God’s kingdom and mission. We have a place in these things, we live our lives in accordance with these things, because our God has first come to us, and worked wonderfully and mightily in our lives. He continues to live with us, and to live in relationship with us. He continues to work in wonderful and mighty ways in our lives.

In fact, the worship services here are sometimes called divine services because that is exactly what is taking place. The divine, that is God, is serving us. He is coming to us to forgiven, renew, and restore us. He does this through word and sacrament. Having been forgiven, renewed and restored, having taken our hand, he lifts us up and leads us out into the world to live lives of service. He leads us out to join him in the work that he is doing in our world. This is what we are doing, when we come together, and join together and do ministry together. It is powerful. It is awesome. It is a great gift that our God gives to us.

May we find God’s great working in our lives to be the source of our lives of service. And may living those lives of service be a great joy and blessing to us we live our lives in accordance with our place I God’s kingdom and mission. Now and always. Amen.

Living a Life from Sacrifice

A guy gets up really early in the morning to go ice fishing. 
He goes out onto the ice with his tent, his pick and his fishing rod, and starts to pick at the ice. 
Then he hears a big booming voice: "THERE'S NO FISH UNDER THE ICE" The guy looks around and then starts to pick at the ice again. Then he hears the voice again: "THERE'S NO FISH UNDER THE ICE" 
Now the guy is getting a little edgy. He looks up, "God, is that you?" 
There is no answer, so he starts picking again. "THERE'S NO FISH UNDER THE ICE!!" 
Then the guy yells "God! is that you?" "NO, IT'S THE MANAGER OF THE ICE RINK!!"

Today our stewardship sermon series entitled Christ in us: living a life that shows Jesus, continues with a look at living a life of sacrifice. Last week we introduced this sermon series. Does anyone remember why we are doing this during the season of Epiphany? Because Epiphany is a time where we remember, celebrate, and reflect on how the glory of God is revealed in Jesus. It is also the time to remember, celebrate, and reflect on how Jesus’ love is shown to the world through his people, through the church.

This allows for a great connection to stewardship, because stewardship, when it is rightly understood, is talking about our place in God’s kingdom and mission; and how we live our lives in accordance with this. This means that stewardship is something that covers, impacts, and influences every area and aspect of our lives. It is something that we live out every day of the year. Not just on Sundays. Not just during the stewardship emphasis.

This is really important. If you only get one thing out of this series, I would hope that you get more, but if you only get one thing out of it, let it be this: stewardship is simply understanding our place in God’s kingdom and mission, and living our lives in accordance with that.

Our gospel lesson begins with Jesus preaching. His message is simple. It is easy to remember. The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel. Now, it is important for us to be aware of how we hear this message. Because the way that we hear it, impacts how we understand it, and how we respond to it.

Do you hear this as a threat? In this case, it is almost like a couple of words are missing at the end. So that what it really should be is, “repent and believe in the gospel, or else.” But what if these words are not coming to us as a warning and a threat? What if these words are coming to us as an invitation to know, understand, and experience life unlike anything that the world has or knows?

This is really good news. The time is fulfilled. You no longer have to wait; because the waiting is now over. The kingdom of God is at hand. This is not a reference to time, but to space. That is, this is not saying that the kingdom of God is almost here, so you better hurry up and get your act together. This is not, “you just wait until your father gets home.” Not that I ever heard that growing up, but I understand others have.

That would be a reference to time. But when Jesus tells us that the kingdom of God is at hand, what he means is that it is right here. It is right now. We are able to know, live, and experience life in it. Knowing, living, and experiencing life lived in God’s kingdom changes everything. It changes our perspective. It changes how we see ourselves, our world, our fellow people, even our God.

When we are told to repent and believe in the gospel, we are being told to change the way we think and act so that we can experience life lived in relationship with God. But this doesn’t just mean that we stop doing bad things, although there are certainly those implications there.

More than that we are able to change how we understand who we are. In God’s kingdom we understand that we are his dearly loved daughters and sons. Our value comes from this identity that we are freely and graciously given because of and for the sake of Jesus. We don’t earn our way into God’s kingdom. But we are brought into it graciously and freely because Jesus accomplished for us what we are unable to accomplish for ourselves.

In God’s kingdom we change the way that we see others and the world. While people are sinful, and life may be hard, this does not mean that the only right understanding of the world and life is a cynical one. In God’s kingdom we understand that God loves the people of the world, just as much as he loves us. And if God can forgive a sinner like me, and indeed he does. Well, then God can forgive anyone. And if God can love someone like me, and indeed he does. Well, then God can love anyone.

In God’s kingdom we see a God who deeply loves his creation and the people of that creation. He goes through great lengths in order to redeem, restore, and bring us back into a right relationship with himself. God does not hate people or the world. That is why he came, so that we would not be separated from him by sin. This does not mean that everything in God’s kingdom becomes a free-for-all. But it does mean that living life in God’s kingdom means that we experience and enjoy a different perspective and understanding and approach to life.

While we are here living life in this world, we also at the same time, experience and live life in God’s kingdom. Now, as good as it is to live life now in God’s kingdom, we do not yet experience it in all of its fullness, glory and splendor. But we will. When Jesus comes back, we will have God’s kingdom in all of its majesty and it will be better than anything we could imagine or expect.

That future reality pulls us toward it. It is what we look to as we seek to answer questions about what God would want us to do, or what God would want us to look like, or to focus on.

When we talk about believing the Gospel, it means that we know and understand that we have forgiveness, salvation and life; not because we have earned it, but because God freely gives it through Jesus Christ. We can be confident of where we stand with God because we are confident of what Jesus has done for us in defeating the powers of sin, death and the devil, and in paying the price for all of our sins.

This is incredible. It is one of those things that you just have to soak in, because it is so deep. It is so beautiful. It is so awesome.

So if living life in God’s kingdom changes everything; and stewardship is understanding our place in God’s kingdom, and mission; then we can better understand and appreciate the response of Simon, Andrew, James and John, when Jesus calls them to follow him. Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of people.

What was their response? How did they react? Did they bargain? Did they negotiate? Did they give a two-weeks-notice? No. They simply left everything. Why? They left everything, because stewardship is about living a life of sacrifice. But here is where the importance of understanding the implications of the kingdom of God and living life in that kingdom comes in…

From the perspective of the world; form a business perspective; from a common sense perspective were the disciples making a wise decision here? No. In fact, I would imagine that it was really bad for their bottom line. But from the kingdom of God perspective did this sacrifice make sense? Yes.

The disciples were not just leaving everything behind for the sake of leaving it behind. They were leaving it behind so that through them, others might be able to enjoy, experience, and live life in God’s kingdom. They were sacrificing so that they could join God in the work that God is doing in the world. And, though I am sure it was hard, it was better than anything they could have imagined. Now they were no longer fishing for fish. They were fishing for people. And the impact of their work was something that had eternal significance. It’s pretty cool when you think about it. Part of the reason why we are here today, is because these folks lived a life of sacrifice.

As God’s people, when we consider that God has given us the opportunity to join him in the work that he is doing in our world, we find that we get to have the same kind of impact as the disciples did. Now we may not write books of the bible, but we can make bibles available to those who do not otherwise have access.

We may not travel across the world starting new churches. But we can understand and know that we are indeed missionaries here in this place. It is enough for us to live our lives in accordance with the place that God has given us in his kingdom, and thus join him in the work that he is doing in our world. We are talking about ministry. There are lots a great ministry opportunities going on in this congregation. But it is something that requires all of us working together in order to make it happen.

Ministry is not something that some do and others watch. But we all work together in order to bring it about and to make it happen. We do not all have the same gifts and abilities, but we do all work together. We do all make a sacrifice to bring this about. From the world’s perspective this sacrifice may not seem like it makes sense.

But when we, like the disciples, understand the sacrifice from the perspective of the kingdom of God, we understand that we are not really making a big sacrifice after all, because we are not fishing for fish, but we are fishing for people and that is something that has eternal significance. And that eternal significance will last much longer than anything we could accumulate or hold onto for ourselves. If you have not already begun to do so, please start praying and asking God to show you how he would have you participate in the ministry of this congregation in this year. You will have a chance to fill out your pledge in a few weeks, but for now, seek God’s will and guidance and direction. How is God calling you to fish this year?

Living this way will not make God love us more, or earn us anything from him. We have forgiveness, salvation, and life from him freely for Jesus’ sake. But living life in this way will allow us to experience life as it was meant to be lived, and it will be better than anything could ask for or imagine for ourselves.

May you always be sure and certain of your place in God’s kingdom and mission. And may living your life in accordance with that always be a great source of joy and blessing to you. Now and always. Amen.

Living a Life from Invitation

I understand that what I am about to do may be a bit of a deviation from what we have normally come to expect in a sermon time, but please bear with me. Now that I have your attention; I want you to play a little word association game with me. I am going to say a word, and I want you to respond, out-loud, with the first word that comes to mind. I promise no tricks. There are no right or wrong answers, just say the first thing that pops into your head. It’s OK to talk. Ready?

God. Jesus. Church. Mission. Stewardship. Ah yes. Stewardship; it is that wonderful, exciting, magical time of year, where we have to talk about, and think about, money. Right? Well, actually no. But I think it can come across that way. My dad likes to refer to any sermon on stewardship as the sermon on the amount. And while money is certainly something that is impacted by stewardship, stewardship is not all about money.

In fact, I have this theory that stewardship is really a big and wonderful thing. We all live with a type of stewardship, whether we are conscious of it or not. Because what stewardship really comes down to is how do we understand our place in God’s kingdom and mission, and how do we participate in those things. Let me state that again. Stewardship really comes down to how we understand our place in God’s kingdom and mission, and how we participate in those things.

This would certainly include money, but it is also much, much bigger than just our bank accounts. We all follow some form of stewardship. The question is what form of stewardship do we follow, and from where do we get it? How do you fit into God’s kingdom and mission? How do you participate in those things? How we answer these questions comes from our stewardship. The way we live out stewardship says a lot about how we answer those questions.

Hopefully you can see that this is indeed much bigger than money. And so we are going to spend some time over the next few weeks answering these questions. Our stewardship emphasis for this year is entitled, Christ in us: Living a Life that Shows Jesus. This happens to fit really well into the season of Epiphany because in the season of epiphany we celebrate how the glory of God is revealed in Jesus. In the season of Epiphany we celebrate how Jesus is shown and made known through his people. He is made known through his church. He is made known through you and me.

I think it is important to make this connection between stewardship and the season of Epiphany because the two fit so well together. There is a certain mission emphasis that the season of Epiphany carries with it. So how appropriate is it to talk about our place in God’s kingdom and mission and how we participate in them?

You will see different items to serve as reminders of these things for you. There is a special insert in the bulletin that you can take home and read throughout the week. Think about what it says; pray the prayer that it offers. Each week during this series we will have one of these inserts available to us to guide us through the week.

This series also has some cool graphics. Not only does it look kind of sharp, but the box there represents us, and the colors, light and streamers represent Jesus shinning through us, which is a nice Epiphany theme by the way. Have I mentioned that before?

The series culminates of Sunday, February 12. We will have a special service in the afternoon followed by a pot-luck. So be sure to sign up for that now, and to mark your calendars now. At the worship service that afternoon there will be a time for us to bring forward our pledge cards and give them to the Lord. Now this card will be your commitment to the Lord and your participation in his kingdom and mission for the rest of the year. Not a bad thing to think about at the beginning of a new year as we think about the things we want to accomplish in a year.

You will make your pledge for offerings, service in the congregation, service in the community, bible study and that good kind of stuff. But here is the thing that is different from the way this has been done in the past. What you fill out on your pledge card will be between you and the Lord. No one else will see it. So you don’t have to worry about what other people will think or say, because what you fill out there will be known only by you and God.

Then, the series will conclude on Saturday, January 6, 2013, which is the day of the Epiphany, when the wise men brought their gifts to Jesus. We will again gather for a special service, party and pot-luck, and on that day you will receive back your sealed envelope. You can open it and celebrate the year of joining God in the work that God is doing in our world.

Sound good? I think it will be a powerful experience for us as we live out our lives as God people. But that is ultimately what we are talking about when we are talking about stewardship. We are talking about how we live our lives. We are talking about life. We are talking about living life as God’s people. We are talking about living a life that shows Jesus. This is very appropriate for a congregation whose vision is “a place for life.”

Today we talk about living a life from invitation. In our scripture lessons for this week we see the young Samuel as God calls him and begins a life of service as one of the greatest prophets ever. In our Gospel lesson we see some of the disciples as they first meet Jesus. Two of them ask Jesus a question. “Where are you staying?” He responds with an invitation. “Come and see.” And out of this they then go to others and extend an invitation of their own. We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Philip responds by asking if anything good can come out of Nazareth. “Come and see,” is the invitation and the response.

Now there are three things to keep in mind as we consider living a life from invitation. First, God invites us to know life and a relationship with him. Second, God invites us to join him in the work that he is doing in our world. Third, in the way that we live our lives, we invite others to see and know of the love, grace, mercy, forgiveness and life that come only through Jesus.

God invites us to know life and a relationship with him. Now this life and relationship with God is something that he has already given to us. He gives this to us freely out of his grace. He gives these to us because of, and for the sake of, Jesus. These are not merited for us by our works or anything that we do, but solely because of the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Because of Jesus, and his righteousness, we have been made right with God. Through our baptism we are able to live life as God’s own dearly loved daughters and sons. Having been given this gift of life, our God invites us to live life in relationship with him. He doesn’t just give us forgiveness and then leave us on our own until we die. But he gives us forgiveness, salvation and life.

We get to experience that life lived in relationship with him, now. We get to grow in it. We get be fed and nourished in this life as God works through word and sacrament in giving and strengthening that faith. We get to walk with our God knowing that he is always with us. He will never give up on us or abandon us. If we ask what our place is in God’s kingdom and mission? It is simply this: we are God’s children. We are sent to make known him and his love, grace, forgiveness and mercy in Jesus.

God invites us to join him in the work that he is doing. God loves his creation. He is not content to simply destroy it and start over because of sin. Instead, he is about the work of restoration and reconciliation. He is at work in bringing the creation back to himself. We see this in the person and work of Jesus, who having won the victory over sin, death and the devil, then sends us out to the world around us to live, and make know this good news.

And as we live and make known this good news, we extend an invitation, just like the disciples did in the gospel, to come and see. Come and see this God who came not to condemn and destroy his creation, but who comes in order to heal and restore it. Come and see this God who loves you more than you will ever be able to imagine. Come and see this God who forgives, restores, and heals you. He has made you his own and gives you the gift of life.

Extending this invitation is something that we do together as a congregation. It is not just the job of the pastor or the professional staff members. But it is something that we all do together. It is something that we do with the words that we speak as we invite friends and neighbors to this place and have them come and see.

It is something that we do as we support the ministry of this place with our time and talents. We all have different gifts and abilities and we all have something to contribute to the ministry of this congregation. It is no mistake or coincidence that you are here now at this time.

It is something that we do as we support the ministry with our finances. Ah, here is the money thing again. But it is important to understand that what happens, what takes place through the offerings that we give is real ministry. You are not just keeping the lights on, but you are enabling the lights to be on so that ministry can take place under those lights. You are enabling this congregation to be about what God is inviting us to do. How much you give is between you and God. But we all give as we are able. We trust that God will provide for every need. And as we do this and live this way, we are living life. And we are inviting others to come and see, and know the one who gives life, and invites us to experience that life lived in relationship with him.

I’m excited about this series. I pray that it will open your eyes to something new and exciting. I pray that you will find a renewed zeal and passion for your living out your place and role in God’s kingdom and mission as we join together as a congregation, and as we join our God in the work that our God is doing in this place. God bless you, now and always. Amen.

Baptism

A little girl, about four years old, was sitting up front in worship one Sunday morning. This happened to work well for her, because it gave her a great view of the baptism that was taking place that morning. As the pastor was pouring the water on the baby’s head and saying, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The little girl asked out loud, “Daddy, now why is the pastor brainwashing that baby?”

Today we commemorate the baptism of Jesus. Once again we find ourselves into a new season in the church year. We quite literally spend half of the year in the Sundays after Pentecost. In the time between Advent and Pentecost it seems like we are changing seasons quite often. This is nothing bad, just something to be aware of. We focus on this, think about it, practice it, because the seasons of the church year help us to tell the story. Keeping the seasons helps us to keep the story active and alive for us, as we are a part of it, and experience it in our own lives.

We do the same kind of thing with the events of our lives and families. We celebrate birthdays. We celebrate anniversaries of marriage or time being employed. The same event year after year, and yet they are important part of who we are.

We see this same kind of thing with the church calendar. Advent was a season of preparation, waiting and expectation. Christmas is a season to celebrate God becoming a human being. We celebrate that the word was made flesh and has dwelt among us. Now we are in the season of Epiphany. In this season we celebrate how the glory of God is manifest in Jesus, and then, ultimately, how Jesus is made known through his people and the witness that they give; that is, through us.

Mark’s gospel begins with these simple words, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” This is the point. There are no angels, or stables, or shepherds, or wise guys; just the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. So the opening words tell us who Jesus is; he is the Christ the Son of God. Then, the opening scene shows this to be true. It’s almost as if Mark is saying, “You don’t have to take my word for it. Check this out.”

So here we see the baptism of Jesus, and in this picture we see how Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ. The scene begins with John the Baptist out in the wilderness performing a baptism of repentance. Repentance is what happens when you change the way that you think and act toward something. It isn’t just that you say that you are sorry for something. It is much greater than that.

John is out performing this and calling the people around him to life lived in relationship with God, and Jesus 

shows up. When he comes up out of the water something amazing happens; the heavens are torn open. Now this is not like something that happens when you open a door or a window. The Greek here is something to the effect of the heavens being ripped apart. This is obviously an act of God. There is no other explanation. And thus, there is no doubt either that Jesus is who Mark says he is.

This same Greek word will be used to describe what happens to the curtain in the temple after Jesus dies on the cross. With his death the curtain is torn in two from top to bottom as a sign that people now have access to God and life lived in relationship with him.

The book of the prophet Isaiah has a prayer in it where God is being asked to come and intervene. “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down.” Oh that you would tear open the heavens and come down and save us, is what this is getting at, and here, in Mark’s gospel, we see that taking place. Jesus being God in the flesh living among us is not just comforting good news. But he is here with a purpose, and that purpose is to save us from our sins. He is here to restore his creation and bring it back into a right relationship with himself.

So at the baptism of Jesus, the heavens are torn open. Then the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove. Note that this says that the Spirit descended like a dove. This is not saying that the Holy Spirit is a dove. Here the Spirit is present. John just got done saying how the greater one who comes after him will baptize with the Holy Spirit, and now here is the Spirit present at the baptism of Jesus.

The presence of the Spirit here is no small matter. We saw the power of the Spirit in the Old Testament lesson for today, the first chapter of Genesis. There the Spirit is hovering over the waters and emptiness in the beginning. The power of the Spirit is displayed as out of this nothingness, God creates the heavens and the earth. So too we will see the power at work in re-creating and re-newing the creation through, because of, and for the sake of, Jesus.

And a voice comes from heaven. “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.” So, within the first eleven verses of this opening chapter we see three times an identification of who Jesus is. Mark tells us in verse one. John says the one who baptizes whit the Holy Spirit is greater than he is. And now, here is this voice from heaven.

The baptism of Jesus is an important event because it establishes the identity of Jesus. Here he is, the Christ. Here he is, the Son of God. In the baptism of Jesus, we see his identity reveled. God has come to his creation. God shows up. And he isn’t just making a cameo appearance here in the first century. But he is here to work in a mighty way his salvation.

So then, we can establish a connection between the baptism of Jesus and our own baptism. Just as Jesus’ identity is seen in his baptism, so too our identity is found in our baptism. Just as the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his Baptism, in our baptism we receive the Holy Spirit. Just as the voice of God declares that Jesus is his son, with whom he is well pleased, so in our baptisms God declares of us that we are his own dearly loved sons and daughters.

“You are mine.” Our God tells us. “I have forgiven you, restored you, given you life that is full, abundant, real, and will never ever end.” Paul makes a connection between our baptism and the death and resurrection of Jesus. We have been baptized in the death and resurrection of Jesus. This means that since we have been connected to him in his death that we will also certainly be connected to him in his resurrection. This means that we have, and can be confident in the fact that forgiveness, salvation, and life are indeed ours.

We are able to be confident in this, not because it is dependent on us; or on anything that we are doing. But we are able to be confident in this because it depends on God and what he does and the ways that he works in our lives. After all, whenever God does something, he always does it right. Right? Right.

That our baptism is the source of our identity is pretty significant. In baptism God tells us what we are. We are his own dearly loved sons and daughters. In baptism God tells us whose we are. We are his. He has purchased and redeemed us, and made us his own. He is the one who works in our lives. He is the one who calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies us and keeps us in the one true faith. Compared to this, nothing else matters.

Yet it is easy for us to try to find our identity in other ways or in other things. We might look to other people for affirmation and praise and assurance. We might look to our accomplishments as a source of identity. We might look to our grades, or who are friends are, or how much power and influence we have in the various areas of our lives. We can so easily get caught up in a race to the top to see who is smarter, better looking, has the most stuff, and the list can go on and on and on.

And yet, at the end of the day, those things (which are not bad in and of themselves) do not matter and do not last. But what does matter, and what does last is our identity as God’s loved children.

We have this as our identity, because God has chosen to make us so. And so we can live in it confidently. That is pretty amazing. That is pretty spectacular. But then again, it is not all that surprising, because that is just how awesome our God is. He simply loves us that much.

This changes everything. When we understand, and see ourselves, first as God’s own dearly loved children, it changes how we see ourselves, and our lives, and our world. It changes our priorities and what really matters and what we really value and what is most important. We begin to understand that life lived in relationship with God is more than that just going to worship and an occasional Bible study. We begin to understand that life lived in relationship with God is more than my own personal preferences always being met.

We begin to understand that we have this life, and that it impacts every area of our lives. It makes a difference in our jobs, in our homes, at school, when we are with our friends, or families, when we are shopping or driving, or paying our taxes. We don’t just do these things, but we do them as God’s own dearly loved daughters and sons, because that is who you are by your baptism.

When we live our lives in this identity as God’s own dearly loved daughters and sons, when we take that identity with us into every aspect of our lives, we find that not only do we know a peace and a joy and a hope unlike anything we have every known before, but we find that we are simply bearing witness to the awesome and powerful love of our God in Christ Jesus, and how the life that he gives us is truly life. And that is a powerful witness. Amen.