May 17, 2020                                                                                    Text:  John 14:19-21

Dear Friends in Christ,

            A fellow by the name of Ralph Larson observed this, “We poor humans boast of our freedom, then exhibit our shackles of material enslavement.  We insist that nobody can tell us what to do – but the clanking of our chains gives our plight away.” 

            “Nobody can tell us what to do.”  I don’t know about you but I have never been good about being told what to do.  These last few months have not been easy in that respect.  How about you?  “The clanking of our chains gives our plight away.”  What are some catch words used during the pandemic – enslaved, quarantined, house arrest, freedom restricted, tied to our home.  For some in nursing homes it has been even worse – they use words like “imprisoned in my room.”

            We are shackled to this world.  Why has there been all this fear and anxiety?  It really comes down to one word – death.  People do not want to die.  We have flipped our lives upside down to avoid the question prevalent since two people were tossed out of the Garden of Eden – “What happens to me when I die.”

            For the Christian the direction is a little different.  Let’s use our text to find some answers . . .

“WE ARE SHACKLED TO LIFE (ETERNAL)”

            We start with a big concern on many of our minds.  It’s rooted in Jesus’ words of verse 21, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.  And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

            We love the commandments or so we should.  They bring order to life.  We also know that we do not keep them perfectly.  We fall short.  The greatest work is to believe that Christ is the One who came to keep the commandments perfectly in our stead, suffer and die in payment for our sin and be raised to eternal life so that we would be assured of eternal life.  And remember this, it is the Holy Spirit who works faith in us so that we can believe.

            That brings us to verse 19, “Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me.  Because I live, you also will live.”

            Recall these words of Jesus:  “I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live…” (John 14:25a)  “Though he die.”  We can’t stop the process.  I recall this scene from the TV show MASH.  Henry Blake, played by Bloomington’s own McLean Stevenson, was asked about death by a fellow surgeon.  This was his reply.  “In command school, they taught us two rules.  Rule #1, in war young men die.  Rule #2, doctors can’t stop Rule#1.”  There will be no human cure for death or dying.  No vaccine will come along that will prevent our hearts from eventually stopping.  There is though a heavenly cure:  Christ paying for our sin.  Christ declaring victory over the grave.  Didn’t we just sing it confidently:  “Jesus lives!  The victory’s won!  Jesus is my confidence!”  “Yet shall he live.”  Not life tied to earth, but heavenly eternal joy and light.

            Jesus says, “Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:26)  The day will come when the body shuts down – an accident, a disease, aging – but the promise is unchangeable:  Whoever believes in me, though he die (to this world), yet shall he live.  That is a promise we can take to the grave.

            Years ago this story came out of Buenos Aires, Argentina.  There was man who feared the pain he was going to have because of bunion surgery.  It read:

            “He requested a general anesthetic.  Tragically, the general anesthetic led to a heart attack.  The physicians opened his chest and massaged his heart and revived him.  But later he suffered a stomach contraction resulting in the rupture of the stomach…Then while being carried on a stretcher, he tumbled off, broke a leg and collarbone and injured his heart further.  At the end of his ordeal the unfortunate man had a breathing tube in his throat, a drainage tube in his stomach, a leg in plaster and an arm in a sling.  He still had not had the bunion removed.”

            Welcome to life in this world, right?  We have so many unknowns.  We have the mountaintop moments and then we experience the valley happenings.  Then death occurs.  Paul Eldridge wrote, “We free ourselves from the womb, but there is no knife sharp enough to cut the umbilical cord which binds us to our grave.”  On the contrary, there is a knife that can cut the umbilical cord to our grave.  It is our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ who has overcome sin, death, and hell for us.

            Hear the promise again:  “Because I live, you also will live.”  Hang on to this comforting thought as you navigate the unknown day-to-day.  The Savior says to you, “Whoever believes will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  This is unending joy and comfort and peace.  No more being shackled to this life.

            Lastly this quote, “what death did to Jesus is nothing compared to what Jesus did to death.”  We can say, in Christ Jesus We Are Shackled To Life . . . Eternal!

                                                                                                                                    Amen.  

May 10, 2020                                                                    Text:  Acts 6:1-9; 7:2a, 51-60

Dear Friends in Christ,

            How many of you like movie previews?  They give brief snippets of scenes, which are supposed to give you an overview of the film.  These previews have grown over the years.  You can be 10 minutes late to the theatre and the previews are still playing.  Convenient I guess for the perpetually tardy.

            This morning our sermon text from Acts is the stoning of Stephen.  It is not the whole story.  For that you need to read all of Acts 6 and 7.  We just get pieces in our text.  We get scenes.  We have highlights from the film. 

            This story has it all.  Miraculous powers.  Murderous threats that get carried out.  Impassioned speech.  A Christian man willing to stand for his faith.  God is here, but what is He doing?  This morning, we are going to take a moment to meditate on,

“SCENES OF GOD AT WORK”

            As our focus on this story comes into view we see various ways that God is at work.  The disciples are collecting food for the needy and working and praying and laying their hands upon co-workers in the Kingdom.  Stephen is mentioned as “a man full of faith.”

            This scene could be right out of our congregation.  The Pastor preaches and prays and the congregants collect food for a local food pantry or do mission work in our community.  Even in the mundane God is there.

            The scene shifts to see God at work in marvelous ways.  The action is ramping up as Stephen gives a speech.  Again, only a part of his words are in our text.  It may be hard to go back to the first time you heard this story concerning Stephen but what did you think would happen?  Did you expect God, as some superhero, to swoop in and save Stephen from stoning?  Did you want the happy ending?

            God works in a way where the marvelous and the murderous are woven together with one another.  Luke wants us to know that God works wonders in the suffering of this world.

            Look carefully at the scene.  When Stephen is dragged out and stoned how is he positioned?  He falls to his knees.  Is he falling because of the stoning or is he kneeling in reverence to God?  The answer is yes to both.  You would think there would be a difference between being knocked to the ground with stones and kneeling in prayer.  But, according to Luke, sometimes they look the same.

            As Stephen is dying he cries out.  He is not screaming in pain.  He is saying, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” (7:60)  He breathes his last and falls asleep.  A moment that recalls Jesus’s words on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

            Even in this bloody scene with suffering and dying, God is still at work.  Because Jesus entered into our world and suffered and died to take away our sin, Stephen can ask that these misguided humans be forgiven.  Stephen knew that because of Jesus rising from the dead, sin and evil and death itself had been conquered.  He met death willingly – who follows in his train?

            What scene from your life has our Lord entered?  For all of us it is this temporary annoyance we’ve lived under for almost two months.  When things are out of our control, we get scared.  Stones are coming at us – do this, don ‘t do this, wear a mask, stay away from your church, go to a store, keep a distance, work from home, school work online, but in all of this hasn’t it driven us to our knees?  How many times in the last few months have you asked God for direction?  Have you gone to Him to know if you are doing the right thing?  Go out – stay home.  Have mini services at church or not worry about it?  Listen to the government or use your own common sense? 

            The thing to see in these scenes is that the Lord is there.  He has kept you safe.  He has kept many still working.  He has allowed the church to survive through your prayers and offerings.  You are nearing the end of your school year.  You have food and clothing and a hot water heater that works.  And you know from history that this is only temporary.  The scenes from Stephen’s life encourage you to see God at work in your world.

            Stephen wasn’t afraid.  He was “a man full of faith.”  He didn’t go looking to die, but he also didn’t shy away from the consequences of his words.  God was at work in the world of Stephen and we remember him to this day.

            God rules over all things and works in our world.  He created us, claimed us as His own in Baptism, calls us to serve him in our various vocations, and promises to raise us up to live with Him in the new creation.

            Will this scene we are living in have a happy ending for all of us?  I can’t give that assurance.  But know this – God is not distant from the world.  His promises of life and salvation endure until the end.  He works in the mundane and the marvelous and nothing – not even death – can separate us from His love and mercy.  I’ve enjoyed these scenes of God at work . . . how about you?            Amen.