Author: TechCommittee

March 23, 2022 – Lent                                        Text:  John 18:12-27

Dear Friends in Christ,

    He was a professional thief who evoked fear throughout the Wild West.  He terrorized the Wells Fargo stagecoach line from 1875 to 1883 and stole thousands of dollars.  No victim ever saw him.  No artist ever sketched him.  No sheriff could ever track his trail.  His name?  Black Bart.

    John introduces another Black Bart.  If you’ve ever felt shame and disgrace, it was his whisper that crushed your heart.  If you’ve ever felt useless and no good, it was his accusing finger in your face.  He doesn’t just want your money.  This Black Bart comes to destroy everything.

    What’s his name?  Guilt.  What sucked you under?  A one-night stand?  A fight you shouldn’t have had?  Did you steal something?  Language you used on another?  Maybe it wasn’t a moment but a season.  You failed as a parent or spouse.  Your career was not what you thought it could be.  You squandered time and talent.  The result?  Guilt.

    We’re in a series called Witnesses to Christ.  Today we meet Peter.  In the courtyard we see guilt.  Beyond the courtyard – we see grace.

“GRACE FOR PETER AND GRACE FOR US”

    To get some context, let’s rewind the tape.  In John 13 Peter told Jesus he would lay down His life for the Savior.  Peter and Jesus had been through many life events together.  Calling this fisherman.  Peter walking on water.  Peter with Jesus on the mountain.  The disciple with the Lord in the Garden.  No wonder Peter makes the claim, “I will lay down my life for you.”

    We’ve all made that claim.  When we got confirmed, “Do you intend to live according to the Word of God, and in faith, word, and deed remain true to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even to the point of death?”  We said, “I do!”  “Will you take this man to be your wedded husband?”  And you women said, “I do!”  “Will you take this woman to be your wedded wife?”  And we men said, “I do!”  The claim.  The claim?  That’s easy.

    As we read the events in the courtyard it is like watching a tall building slowly imploding.  A denial.  The building starts to shake.  Another denial.  The building is collapsing.  A third denial.  There it goes…dust and ashes and building on the ground.  Guilt.

    Our collapse may happen with, “Just one more drink.”  “Just one more fling.”  “Just one more lie.”  One more just cracks the building and then boom…guilt enters.

    After the rooster crowed Peter felt left out and rejected.  That is what guilt does.  It turns us into miserable, weary, angry, stressed-out people.  Who loves rejected people?  God does.  God gives grace.

    How does that happen?  In the case of Peter we fast forward the tape to John 21, where Jesus asks Peter if he loves him.  Jesus asks the questions three times – once for every time Peter had denied his Lord.  Each time Peter confesses, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”  Peter confessed his guilt.  How could this be?  Because while Peter was denying Jesus, Jesus was suffering for Peter.

    Jesus doesn’t wait until we get it all together.  Jesus doesn’t wait until we overcome temptation and conquer our sin.  “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Rom. 5:8). In our courtyard, we see guilt.  Beyond the courtyard – at the cross – we see grace.  And grace means what?

    The comeback.  Who preaches the sermon on Pentecost?  Peter.  Whose sermon converts 3,000 souls?  Peter’s.  Who writes two New Testament books?  Peter.  Listen closely.  Comebacks don’t depend on how much we love Jesus.  Comebacks depend on how much Jesus loves us.  Comebacks don’t depend on what we do for Jesus.  Comebacks depend on what Jesus does for us.  Comebacks don’t depend on us giving our life for Jesus.  Comebacks depend on Jesus giving His life for us.

    Remember Black Bart?  He was eventually found and nothing to be afraid of.  He was a mild-tempered businessman from Decatur, IL.  The man storming the Wild West was so afraid of horses he rode around in a horse-drawn buggy.  Black Bart was Charles Boles – the bandit who never once fired a bullet, because he never once loaded his gun.

    See guilt for who he really is.  A deadly monster?  Yes.  A painful feeling that can do great harm?  No doubt.  The tormentor of our souls?  Bet on it.  But know this – guilt is a defeated enemy who has no bullets left in his gun.

    What’s that mean for us?  Our story isn’t over when Jesus is in it.  We can all come back from guilt.  How?  The best G-word of all.  Grace.  Grace for Peter and Grace for us.

                                                Amen.    

March 20, 2022                              Text:  Ezekiel 33:7-20

Dear Friends in Christ,

    Ok.  You can’t fool me.  I know you didn’t maintain pure thoughts this week.  You’ve got a few fantasies floating around up there right now that we won’t mention.  By the way…did you take account of those harsh words you used this week to a family member or fellow driver or some talking head on your TV screen.  And what about that promise to God to stop doing . . . what you keep doing . . . but don’t want to do?  When are you going to do what’s right?

    You can’t fool me because I know you.  I know you because I know myself.  Despite our differences we are all the same before a holy God.  We can’t fool each other because God says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Rom. 3:23)

    We are born in sin.  We are born without trust in our Lord.  We daily need to be repenting.  We also need to be concerned about one another.  We need to have love for one another.  Are you ready to be a watchman?

“WATCHING OUT FOR EACH OTHER”

    As many of you know I was the oldest sibling in my family.  I was also the oldest grandchild on both sides of the family.  It all starts to make sense why I am the way I am, right?  Anyway, being the oldest always put me in a position of responsibility.  “Watch your sister tonight, we have a PTA meeting.”  “You are going to watch your cousins because the adults are going out for dinner.”  In sports I was always getting voted a captain because they trusted that I would watch out for teammates and get the best out of them.

    This was great preparation for being a Pastor.  I have been the watchman over souls from Texas to Kansas to Illinois.  But God has not just called me to watch out for others, he has placed this wondrous work at your feet as well.  People around us our dying.  Family we love and cherish.  Lifelong friends.  Co-workers.  Teammates.  The issue is eternity.  Jesus said, “My command is this:  Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12,13)  So the question:  Are we – you and I – willing to lay down everything for the sake of someone’s soul? 

    What was Ezekiel suppose to do in our text?  Warn the house of Israel.  To speak to them about their iniquity.  To warn them to turn from their wicked ways.  And if he didn’t then the Lord would require his blood.  The Lord appointed him to watch over these souls.

    Those are some heavy, heavy words for us.  Not just words for Pastors but words for the Priesthood of believers.  I know many of you have that burden on your heart this day.  You are watching out for someone that just doesn’t seem to be listening.  Don’t give up.  You have a responsibility.  Listen to this.

    Back on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean.  The blame was on faulty O-rings that failed at cold temperatures.  The night before the launch, Allen McDonald, director of the project for Morton Thiokol, refused to sign off on the launch because the temperature dipped below freezing.  They went ahead with disastrous results.  For telling the truth, McDonald was demoted.  Later, he was vindicated by a presidential commission and given his job back.  He led the redesign of the boosters.  After 110 successful flights, the astronauts believe the solid rocket boosters to be the safest part of the shuttle.

    God calls you.  God calls me to issue that kind of warning for the eternal safety of those we know.  It may pain us.  We may get blowback.  We may even get demoted in the eyes of those we warn.  But our sharing of God’s Word saves lives through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Can’t you say someone watched over you?  A parent?  A Pastor?  A Sunday School teacher?  Grandma?  Grandpa?  Good friend?  Maybe the Lord even used a casual acquaintance.  

    Why do it?  Out of love.  Paul writes, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.  But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.  Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:1, 2)

    Gently…gently.  C.S. Lewis once pointed out, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive.”  I draw your attention to Romans 5:8:  “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  He didn’t die for me after I made improvements.  He died for you and me in our sin.  As enemies of the cross, God sent Jesus to forgive and love and restore us.  He is always watching out for us.

    You know how we offend our Lord in thought, word, and deed?  Here’s the best part:  Christ is always there to love and restore.  He pronounces love and assurance in absolution.  In Baptism we are buried with Christ and clothed in His righteousness.  He feeds me forgiveness in Holy Communion – given and shed for you. 

    This forgiveness is every day.  The Lord’s interest is to grant me eternal salvation.  He loves this wretch standing before you that much.  And He loves the wretches sitting in front of me the same way.  We couldn’t love each other or others differently.  Watching out for each other because Jesus is watching out for us.  Amen. 

March 16, 2022 – Lent                        Text:  John 18:1-11

    On January 17, 2004, a sixty-ton sperm whale died and was beached in Taiwan.  Two weeks later, authorities decided to truck the whale to a lab to perform an autopsy.  People gathered in the streets to watch the whale carcass being driven through their town.  Then it happened . . . as the truck crawled through the city, with crowds watching . . . the whale exploded.  The insides of this whale splattered cars and people and shops.  Traffic stopped for hours.  The smell was unbearable.  I think we can safely say no one saw that coming.

    Isn’t that our life?  Cruising the road of life and a whale explodes.  We are left hurt and a confused and a mess.  We ask why?  Why did she leave me?  Why did my son get arrested?  Why a cancer diagnosis?  Why did we lose so much?  Why?  Why?

    Our sermon series on the Witnesses of Christ continues tonight with John 18 and we meet Malchus.  He was just doing his job, minding his business and boom – a whale explodes.  A fisherman from Galilee cuts off his right ear.  No one saw that coming.  But that night and today daily in our lives . . . 

“JESUS ENTERS OUR MESS”

    Let’s set the scene.  Judas had with him a band of soldiers with lanterns and torches and weapons.  They have come to arrest Jesus.  These same soldiers the next day will mock Jesus, flog Jesus, and crucify Jesus.

    Who is leading this Jewish posse with so much firepower?  Judas.  What is Judas up to?  Betrayal.  You hear it every time we celebrate Holy Communion, “Our Lord Jesus Christ on the night when he was betrayed.”  This is the night.

    Then the chaos begins.  After some brief chatter . . . a whale explodes.  Peter draws a sword and cuts of the right ear of Malchus.  Ouch!

    You’ve had something similar, haven’t you?  A burn.  Ouch!  A turned ankle.  Ouch!  Bumping your head and having it bleed.  Ouch?  More than physical pain, you have had emotional pain.  A daughter that just can’t seem to get out of her own way.  A death that pervades your thoughts.  A conflict where you see no ending.  What are you doing about it?  Consulting an attorney.  Going to a counselor.  Crying at night.

You are trying to control it the best you know how.

    In our text it appears Judas is running things.  But is that true?  No.  Christ is really in control.  How so?  Verse 4, “Jesus, knowing all that would happen, came forward.”  The control is clear.  The enemies come and Jesus goes to meet them.  Jesus doesn’t run.  When the sword strike happens he tells Peter to put his sword away.  Jesus says in John 10:18:  “No one takes my life from Me, I lay it down of my own accord.”

    During World War II, psychologists compared ground troops with fighter pilots.  They determined that after 60 days of fighting, the anxiety of the ground troops was astronomical.  After those same 60 days, an incredible 93% of fighter pilots were happy and at peace.  Why the difference?  The fighter pilots had control.  Ground troops felt helpless, like they were targets in a shooting gallery.  The point?  Popular wisdom tells us, “Always seek control.”

    We don’t need war to tell us that.  Just sit in traffic on an interstate.  Or board an airplane.  So what’s the plan when the whale explodes?  An alternate route, please.  Or have a parachute on the plane.  We face the exploding whale by taking control.

    The problem is, it doesn’t work?  You can’t just hop off the interstate.  Security will never let you on with a parachute.  What does work?  Relinquish control.  Give it up.  Let go.  Resign as CEO of the universe.  Give your entire mess to Jesus.  His control is clear.

    Let’s read verse 9, “This was to fulfill the word that He had spoken:  ‘Of those whom You gave Me I have lost not one.’”  Christ is calm.  His calm is contagious.  He trusts the Scriptures. 

    “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  Christ is in control of sin and He takes it all away.  “I am the light of the world.”  Christ is in control of darkness.  He takes yours away through the light of His grace and mercy.

    Ever sign one of those pieces of paper for your child that you are the responsible party?  Christ signed His name for us – and He wrote it in His own blood.  When we were baptized, Jesus took full responsibility for us.  When the whale explodes, Jesus is the responsible party.  Not us.  It is His job to see us through the mess.  Christ the Shepherd, we the sheep.  Christ the Bridegroom, we the Bride.  Christ the Rabbi, we the disciples.

    One of these three is happening right now.  We are heading for a mess.  We are in a mess.  We just went through a mess.  No matter, we don’t become hopeless or anxious or faithless.  We can stay calm.  Why?  When whales explode, Jesus delivers perfect peace.  He reaches out his hand and heals.  Just ask a man named Malchus whom Jesus healed.               Amen.     

March 13, 2022                              Text:  Jeremiah 26:8-15

Dear Friends in Christ,

    A few years ago in Cape Jarvis, Australia there was a film clip of a tourist boat ferrying people to the site of a dead whale.  There they could stand on the whale and watch the sharks eat the carcass.  A local official was outraged and immediately sought legislation to, “protect people that were too stupid to protect themselves.”  

    We might agree with that official but we are foolish when God warns us of sin and we still go forward in spiritual danger.  In our text, God sends Jeremiah to warn the Lord’s people of their wickedness so they can repent and receive forgiveness.  They didn’t want to hear it and they want to kill Jeremiah.

    God always has a purpose and He does this morning as well.  What is it?  Let’s see together how God can find salvation in . . . 

“HOLY DESTRUCTION”

    God’s holy things are subject to destruction when his people ignore his Word.  Jeremiah speaks of this holy destruction to the Lord’s house.  It was going to be desolate and deserted like Shiloh one of the original places for Israel’s worship.  Shiloh was destroyed because they worshipped false gods.  So how does everyone react?  They want to kill the messenger.  They want Jeremiah to be destructed.

    Paul warns of holy destruction of people in our Epistle.  If you walk as an enemy of the cross your God is your stomach, your glory is in your shame and your thoughts are all on earthly things.  This is a path to destruction.

    In the Gospel Jesus speaks of the destruction of those who resist the Lord.  Jerusalem will be desolate by AD 70 after they kill Jesus who is just one in a long line of prophets who have been killed for teaching and preaching God’s Word.

    Today’s lessons are a warning for us, that even we are subject to destruction if we ignore His Word.  Whole church bodies are left desolate if they abandon the Lord’s Word.  Congregations can self-destruct if they fight among themselves.  As individual Christians we struggle constantly against sin.  We don’t always take God’s Word to heart if it challenges our beliefs.  If we don’t heed God’s warning, we can forfeit our holy status and be destroyed eternally.

    In 2017, Adidas, sent a promotional e-mail to the Boston Marathon participants.  It read, “Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon!”  Adidas, could have a great crisis on their hands, thinking back to the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013.  Adidas got a spokeswoman out front – Maria Culp – yes, her real name – and this company was smart enough to accept responsibility and issue a mea culpa:  “We are incredibly sorry.  There was no thought given to the insensitive e-mail we sent Tuesday.  We deeply apologize for the mistake.”  The apology was well received.  Besides, chuckling at the ironic humor of her name, her audience took the apology as heartfelt, straightforward, and, most important, immediate.  Adidas avoided a crisis.

    For us, we avoid a crisis, a holy destruction, when the Lord sends us His Word that brings us to repentance.  Out of the wreckage of our sin, the Lord can rebuild us in His image.  This is what Jeremiah was doing for the people.  He was warning them only to bring about repentance and prevent suffering.  

    The Lord has done the same thing for the New Testament Church.  He brought the Jews and Gentiles together as a holy nation, the New Israel, the Church of Jesus Christ after His Ascension.  He raised up a new visible church during the time of the Reformation after the church’s teachings deviated from the Word of God.  Even our individual destruction takes place when the Lord admonishes us into turning from our wicked ways and listening to His Word.  Our soul is saved.

    All of these “holy destructions” are able to bring blessings and restoration because of the destruction of God’s Holy One.  Jesus’ destruction on the cross was a holy destruction.  He was destroyed, but God raised Him up again, bringing something good out of the destruction.

    His destruction was a painful experience.  He had done nothing wrong and helped people His whole life.  By the scheming of wicked men he was destroyed, and, amazingly, this was according to God’s holy plan.  Out of the destruction, God brought the highest good.  After three days in the tomb – resurrection!  His resurrection is our resurrection.  Out of Christ’s Holy Destruction comes our salvation.

    Jeremiah showed his faith when he said, “But as for me, behold, I am in your hands.  Do with me as seems good and right to you.” (v. 14)  Because of Jesus’ holy destruction and resurrection, we can cling to the same faith.  Our sins are forgiven.  The Words of absolution are certain.  Our Baptism remains.  We will not be destroyed eternally.  We are saved.  Holy Destruction!

                                Amen.      

March 9, 2022 – Lent                                      Text:  John 12:1-11

Dear Friends in Christ,

    Marie Kondo is known for organizing.  She has written four books and had a Netflix series on the subject.  She has been listed by TIME magazine as an influential person because she realized that people are surrounded by so much complexity and clutter.  Her method of organizing is known as the KonMari method.  It consists in gathering all your belongings and then only keeping things that bring sparks of joy.  

    Who doesn’t need to simplify?  Who doesn’t need to declutter?  Who doesn’t want sparks of joy?

    In Lent, we are meeting witnesses to Christ’s Passion in John’s Gospel.  Today, John introduces us to the Marie Kondo of the Bible.  Who is that?  Mary.  Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus.  Mary who simplifies and declutters.  Mary who helps us to see sparks of joy.

    How does Mary do it?  She does it by . . .

“REPLACING GET WITH GIVE”

    Pretty simple, right?  Replace get with give.  Get only clutters things.  Get only confuses things.  Get only makes us miserable.  Get ahead.  Get back.  Get even.  Get even more.  Get revenge.  Mary replaces get with give.  Mary gives freely.  Mary gives joyfully.

    Are you in an emotional rut and you would like sparks of joy?  Replace get with give.  Here’s the context.  In John 11, Lazarus dies.  After four days, he stinks to high heaven.  Jesus weeps.  Then He shouts, “Lazarus, come out.”  Lazarus comes out alive and a little groggy. 

    Well, the Jewish leaders are not happy.  Raising people from the dead.  Jesus is no longer a nuisance He is a threat.  From that day on they made their plans for His death.  As we get to John 12, Jesus has a price on His head.  So does Lazarus.  “The chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.” (vs. 10-11)  The evidence, Lazarus must be destroyed with Jesus.

    That’s the context.  Here is the cost.  “Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.” (v. 3)  Do you know the cost?  A year’s income.  Wow!  Ever dropped that much in an instant?  Me either.  Mary is stepping out in faith.  Get is being replaced with give.

    Now the comparison.  It is between Mary and Judas.  Mary is extravagant and has gone over the top.  Judas?  He feigns concern for the poor but wanted the money for himself.  Judas is threatened.  All because Mary lives by one word – give.

    Mary is generous.  Judas is greedy.  Mary gives with joy.  Judas is a miser.  Mary sacrifices financially.  Judas won’t give a nickel.  Mary shows her faith with actions.  Judas talks a good game but doesn’t mean it.  Mary loves the word give.  All Judas can do is get.  Get more.  Get ahead.  And it will kill him.

    It all leads to the cross.  “’Leave her alone,’ Jesus replied, ‘so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.’” (v. 7)  Mary understands the cross.  She believes these words, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”  And these from John 2:13:  “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up..”  Mary gives Jesus everything she has.  Jesus is going to give Mary everything she needs.  This preparation fills the room with the smell of costly perfume.

    Smells are powerful, aren’t they?  The smell of a workplace.  The smell of a school.  The smell of a bakery.  How about scents?  The perfume of your wife, or your mom or your grandma?  Smells can bring out emotions.  It may take us back to the person it reminds us of.

    That is true of Jesus.  This strong perfume lingers with Jesus throughout Holy Week as He makes His way to the cross.  When Jesus gave Himself completely – all of His love and mercy and grace, holding nothing back for us – He might still have a faint smell of the sweet fragrance.  A reminder He mad been marked with one word – give.

    Jesus said this in Matthew 26:13:  “Wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”  Why is that?  Because the kingdom of God is not about hoarding.  The kingdom of God isn’t about being cheap.  The kingdom of God isn’t about get.  Get will kill us.  God’s kingdom is about give. Then what?  Sparks of joy.  “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)  Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, shows us that the kingdom of God is about giving generously, giving joyfully, and giving completely.

    We can boil it all down tonight.  As a child of God we have one simple, powerful and life-changing word.  Try it out.  It will bring so much joy.  The word?  Aw, c’mon, you know by now, don ‘t you?  G-I-V-E.  Give.

                                    Amen.

March 6, 2022                              Text:  Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Dear Friends in Christ,

    Most of you have heard of St. Patrick.  He even has a celebration day later this month.  He was born around 386 AD to a pious Roman Catholic family.  Grandfather was a Pastor, father a deacon but religion wasn’t a big topic at his home.  At 16 he was captured by Irish pirates and sold into slavery to tend sheep.  A druid priest owned him.  During this time of bondage he cried to the Lord in prayer and became more convinced of his Christian faith.  He then escaped Ireland became a free man and in response to his “redemption” he was ordained a bishop.  He then returned to Ireland to shepherd a small Christian congregation and spread God’s Word to unbelievers.  After initial resistance, the Holy Spirit opened the hearts of many through St. Patrick and unbielevers were brought to faith.

    Patrick would understand the journey of our text.  Israel going from slavery to freedom.  God wanted them to remember.  He too would like us to remember our journey from bondage to sin and death to being free and redeemed through the work of Christ.  It is all encapsulated in Lent.

“AND SO IT BEGINS”

    The Israelites have an inheritance waiting for them.  A land the Lord is giving them to live in.  A response to the Lord their God should then follow.

    What did these people have to go through to get to this point?  Well, they had to suffer.  The Israelites were the slaves of the Egyptians and their leader Pharaoh.  Their lives were bitter as day and night they were making brick and mortar to build the Egyptian empire.  Were their cries to the Lord not heard over the sound of the whips the taskmasters used on their bodies?  

    Cyril of Jerusalem, an early Church Father saw Pharaoh as a figure for Satan.  A cruel tyrant of sin and evil.  “The old evil foe now means deadly woe; deep guile and great might are his dread arms in fight.”  This same Satan uses his slyness and treachery to fight against you, to wear you down, to destroy you.  Maybe you see dimly the Promised Land ahead because the riches of the world or the concerns of your life or the sickness that won’t go away bring gloom and fear.  Satan and sin and death are cruel taskmasters.  They can tighten their grip as you labor and doubt.

    “Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.” (v. 7)  Lent confronts us with our sin.  John the Baptist cries out in the wilderness, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt. 3:2) 

    We do have one advantage in Lent.  We know the end of the journey:  Christ’s cross and open tomb.  We know the grace and mercy and love that Jesus has for us His wayward children.  We know Jesus turned aside the temptations of Satan and in obedience won our salvation.  Again this Lent we kneel before the Lord in humble shame and guilt and hear those beautiful words – “You are forgiven.  You are mine.”

    The Lord made good on His promise to the Israelite nation.  Moses said, “Let my people go” and after plagues and Passover, Pharaoh did.  But then as evil people are apt to do, he changes his mind.  We can trap them at the Red Sea.  Pharaoh and his army were no match for Almighty God.  Dry ground…let’s go!  Then a massive drowning of those who let their hatred engulf them.

    They were brought out of Egypt into a land flowing with milk and honey.  Mmm…pass the biscuits.  This was the greatest redemptive act of the whole Old Testament.

    This foreshadowed the greatest redemptive act in human history.  The redemptive act of God for all mankind that brought eternal salvation for sinners and the restoration of all creation.  The outstretched arm of God for Israel foreshadows another outstretched arm on a Roman cross.  “Father forgive them,” he declares, and we are released from bondage to sin and eternal death.  The chains fall powerless.

Jesus bleeds and dies and rises so that our promised land door is open.  We live forever in a land flowing with life and joy and peace. 

    Our Lenten journey therefore turns into our Easter eternity.  Lent lasts for a moment.  Easter lasts a lifetime and forever.  In our baptismal faith we live on earth in both Lent and Easter.  We sin, we grieve, we suffer, we repent…and daily we are forgiven.  We are children of paradise.  

    The Israelites brought their firstfruits to the Lord and worshipped Him because of their deliverance.  We give our offerings and display our good works and worship Jesus because He redeemed us.  This is our response to God’s grace and mercy and love.  The waters do not overwhelm us as we walk into eternity.

    Lent is a picture of life – font to grave.  We enter this Lent with the confidence of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus, as He journeys to the cross and rises from the dead for us – to rescue us, to save us eternally, and to take us to His eternal kingdom.  And so it begins . . . again.

                        Amen.