Author: TechCommittee

May 17, 2015 Text: Acts 1:12-26

Dear Friends in Christ,

Have you ever experienced not being chosen? Maybe it was a team, a job, a part in a play, a college you wanted to go to, a girl you loved. Feelings of rejection can creep into our minds. We start to question why? In the First Reading today, we hear both Justus and Matthias were considered as the one to replace Judas as the twelfth disciple. Matthias was chosen, and Justus was not. Justus knew the embarrassment of not being chosen for this position. Yet we know that Justus and every Christian are chosen by God to be witnesses for Him.
“CHOSEN BY GOD”
Someone needed to replace Judas. The apostles were together between Jesus ascension, which we celebrated on Thursday, and Pentecost, which is next Sunday. The apostles didn’t know the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was coming, but they did know they were to spread the good news about Jesus that the Lord himself delivered to them before He ascended. They needed to be at full strength. So they considered two men for the job – Justus and Matthias. Both were qualified and had experience. Both had served faithfully and would make a wonderful apostle. Both were loved by God, they were both good men, but only one could be chosen.
They cast lots, similar to our drawing straws, and Matthias was chosen. Today he is remembered as a saint and even has a day Feb. 24 – St. Matthias Day.
But what about Justus? He is the forgotten man, at least Scripturally. He is not heard from again. That is what sometimes happens when you are not chosen.
Justus probably hurt that day. He was qualified and experienced. One hundred and twenty of his fellow Christians said he was eligible, but Matthias got the job. Justus even knew that God had caused the lot to fall where it did. God chose Matthias rather than him. Oh, the sting.
We can feel for Justus. We want to be the chosen one. We want to be the favored one, best dressed, most likely to succeed, captain of the team. We want to be loved, admired, appreciated, and complimented. We want the honors, the awards, the promotions. Look, numero uno is I. Oh, and it feels good!
But in our world, we can’t all make it to the top. If we did the structure would all crumble. My mom always said, “Not everyone can be a chief, you need a few Indians.” No matter how the world of today tries to not let it happen, not everybody can be first. The reality is that there is no consolation prize. You either make the team or you don’t, get the job or told we can’t use you, achieve the college scholarship or receive the rejection letter. No matter how blessed we are, we have all had an experience where we were not the chosen one. It hurts, it stings, and it can cause tears of pain.
However, whether or not the world has chosen us for any special honors or awards, God by His grace has chosen us. To be chosen by God is the greatest recognition in life.
Time after time, Scripture reminds us of our chosen status. Isaiah wrote, “’You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off’; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Is. 41:9-10) Jesus told his disciples, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (Jn. 15:16)
By Jesus’ death on the cross, He shows us that despite our sin we are special to God. We are the chosen ones who are loved, forgiven, and saved by His grace. The Holy Spirit places us on God’s spiritual team, the Church. Here, He invites us to come to His Holy Table, where we receive body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins.
We are God’s chosen ones, and that is a blessing for us. Words spoken to us can make a big difference in our lives. A coach says, “You made the team.” A teacher tells us, “You are an outstanding student.” A beloved whispers, “I do” when they are asked if they will marry you. A boss announces, “You are getting the promotion.” The hostess at a busy restaurant summons you by name and you feel pretty good as you walk by the others who are waiting. In words spoken to us at our Baptism, God lovingly says to you and I, “You are my child. I forgive your sins. You are now part of my family of faith.” The power of God’s word to us.
Our value to God is not measured by how many teams we have been on, how many awards we have won, the top of the mountain we think we’ve achieved or how others view us. Rather, God, who made us in His image and saves us by His grace, gives our worth to us. Never forget or doubt that in Christ, we are chosen by God.
Amen.

May 10, 2015 Text: Acts 10:34-48

Dear Friends in Christ,

A resurrected Christ means radical change. Just ask Peter. He’s stunned, shaken, shocked. Nothing could have prepared him for the encounter he had with Cornelius. He was to eat food he had never eaten before. He was to eat with people he had avoided his whole life. Drastic changes were in store for this famous apostle.
The scene is this: Peter is praying on a rooftop. God comes to him in a vision. Three times He tells Peter to eat certain types of animals that a good Jew back then (or now) wouldn’t ever let cross his taste buds. These were foods that had been forbidden for religious reasons. It was going against his whole spiritual upbringing to eat them. They turned his stomach because they were associated with what he thought God didn’t want him to eat.
Is he shocked? Stunned? Shaken? He has to be. Peter’s response isn’t surprising, “Surely not, Lord!” But God says He has made these foods clean, and Peter is to eat them.
But for Peter it was more than strange foods. God also tells him to eat with a Gentile family. Once again, for religious reasons, Jews just didn’t enter a Gentile’s house. It would make them unclean, unacceptable to God. Peter had grown-up avoiding non-Jews. He didn’t touch them or their belongings. Could you sit down and eat with someone who had the plague, a disease that you could catch just from being in the same room with that person? It would be tough. This is what is happening to Peter. He’s shaken. He’s stunned. He’s shocked.
But Peter does what he’s told to do. He eats with the Gentile Cornelius and his family. He eats food he’s never eaten before. Everything’s changed. Radical changes are in the air. Why? Because Jesus has risen from the dead.
“A RESURRECTED CHRIST MEANS RADICAL CHANGE”
A resurrected Christ changes our world, too! He wants to bring together people who just aren’t usually seen together. He wants people who so often avoid each other to eat at the same table. The radical changes leave many stunned and shaken.
Think about it. We live in a world where people notice differences. Those who wear black leather and nose rings don’t hang around much with elderly widows. Those who drink fancy coffees and eat goat cheese on their sun-dried tomato bagels don’t travel much in the same circles as your meat and potatoes people.
Look at the differences perpetuating themselves daily. The political left does battle with the political right. Aging baby boomers hold jobs and positions that younger folks want. Who stays and who gets pushed out? Tension is high. And we have ethnic battles. What to do about immigration? How many resources and dollars should be spent? Racial problems still abound as we have been seeing about every night on our television. A different skin color and background often separates. Suspicion and fear are more common than togetherness. We live in a country where belonging is not easy and we are divided.
But the church of Jesus Christ is different. We include, not exclude. We join together, not separate. We fellowship, not divide. And that can be shocking.
This is the way Jesus does things. He makes radical changes because He’s the resurrected Christ! Just look at what changed for Peter.
Even though in shock he still went to the home of Cornelius and spoke amazing words. He announces that God accepts all people. No favorites or partiality. You can be any ethnic background, any race, male or female, young or old, rich or poor. The Lord welcomes everyone. Everyone who believes in Jesus and receives forgiveness of sins through this resurrected Savior belongs to God’s church. To be accepted by God even though we are sinful, to belong to His church even though we have failed Him, is the wonder of His grace in our lives.
Even though stunned, Peter speaks these words to Cornelius’ family and friends. The message is simple: Jesus is Lord of all. He was anointed by God’s Spirit to rescue people from the power of Satan. But He was killed. Hung on a tree to die. But God raised Him from the dead. Easter resurrection! Easter joy! The grave could not hold him in. Death would not be victorious. Everything that could keep us from God was defeated that day. Everything that was needed for us to belong to God forever was won that day.
Even though shaken, Peter eats with this family and shares with them that he ate with the resurrected Christ. The one appointed by God to judge the living and the dead. Those who eat with Jesus are forgiven, accepted, raised to new life, promised eternal life.
This is good news for Peter and us. Look at the radical changes a resurrected Jesus brings to our lives. Instead of rejection by the Almighty Father, we are accepted, forgiven by this Jesus who is risen from the dead. Instead of a cold grave, we are given life eternal, victory over death. Instead of being left out, we eat with Jesus; receive His very body and blood every time we go to His table to take Communion. And, yes, because of a resurrected Christ we bring together at the communion rail, all of God’s people, young and old, rich and poor, different parts of our world, the fancy dresser and the casual wearer.
At my first congregation in a small West Texas town the congregants were mostly the same. Men in suits, women in dresses, some cowboy hats and boots. German and white by background. One Sunday, we had a man appear in the back of our church. Disheveled and definitely not in a suit. Rode his bike to our church. Some of the folks were a little leery of this stranger. But being the friendly Texans that they are they reached out and visited with him. I do recall he came back a few more Sundays and then he disappeared. Who knows what happened, but prayerfully a group of Christian men and women made a difference in his life.
That’s the power of the resurrected Christ. He changes Peter and He changes us. That is what Easter is all about. The Easter holiday that we are still privileged to be in is celebrated anew. Why? Because the resurrected Christ has brought radical changes to our lives.
Amen.

May 3, 2015 Text: John 15:1-8

Dear Friends in Christ,

I have been blessed to visit Napa Valley in California a couple of times. When you go there you see row after row of grapevines. They are there to produce wine. In order to be useful, the vines have to be pruned. Without attentive and careful care, the vines will become wild and unruly. Wild vines will grow too many grapes to sustain nourishment and they will wither and die.
Pruning isn’t always pleasant for the vine. It can bleed sap. But the pruning produces a vine that will produce healthier and better fruit. Grapes from this sort of vine can then be used to make world-class wines to be enjoyed everywhere.
Vines need a connection. This connection allows productive growth. Today in our text Jesus says He is “the true vine.” It is a connection we all need. With apologies to Chuck Woolery, Christ is our . . .
“LOVE CONNECTION”
Our text begins, “(Jesus said:) ‘I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does not bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” (vs. 1-3)
The sinful world is a wild and uncultivated vineyard. Wild branches produce sour fruit or no fruit at all. The wild branches surround us. We have those who think they can do whatever they want, whenever they want and there are no consequences. They scream, “My lifestyle is not affecting you.” Well, yes it is. The actions of all human activity are intertwined. We are all growing from the same tree. The Lord created us all. We are all connected and that is the challenge. That inter-connection with the world can lead us down paths we don’t want to go. I like this quote from Russian author Anton Chekhov who said, “Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s this day-to-day living that wears you out.” How true! There are days we feel we are being overrun by the wild branches. We need and long for our love connection.
God provides it through Christ. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (vs. 4-5)
Did you hear the love connection? “I am the vine; you are the branches.” This is our “connectedness,” a unity that now exists when we are living our lives as a part of Christ rather than apart from Him. As branches when we are connected to the true vine – Jesus Christ – we have the forgiveness of sins, and life and salvation. When we live as wild branches, when we let our connection to the world start to take over our Christian life, the vine reminds us we are connected to Him. He absolves our worldly, wild living as we come to Him in repentance.
The question then is: how do we remain connected? How do we abide in Him? Is it just wishful thinking and hoping for the best? When we are connected to Christ by faith, he provides us with the proper nutrition by Word and Sacrament. Look at verse 7, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you.” The Word of God is part of our love connection. It is as Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (Jn. 5:24) All the comfort, hope, and eternal joy are granted us by Christ – and all of it ours for the taking from His Word.
We need the nourishment God provides in frequent attendance at worship and Holy Communion. Here is provided on a weekly basis what we need to do battle against the wild branches. We are fertilized so that we can grow and flourish and bear fruit to those around us. And for those separating themselves from the true vine we pray and reach out to them.
This love connection was also showered upon us through the waters of Holy Baptism as it will be/was today for Cooper Mosier. God by grace washes away all our sins. We are crucified with Christ through baptism and we rise again with Him to newness of life.
It is in this new, forgiven life we bear much fruit. The world needs our love and kindness and gentleness and peace and patience and self-control and our faithfulness. Through our love connection to Christ we never stop growing. Through regular study of God’s Word and continual reception of the Sacrament of the Altar these fruits of the Spirit are grafted into our hearts. When growing as branches, we have the power of Christ’s resurrection victory pulsating through our veins. We thrive on the power of Christ.
Really, now, isn’t good to have this love connection?
Amen.