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.