February 22, 2015 Text: Genesis 22:1-18

Dear Friends in Christ,

Recently Toni and I found out about a tragedy in different ways. She learned about it while talking with her mother. Members of the Jirovec family informed me when I was helping pack the truck for Dawn’s move. It involved a 17-year-old young man who was killed by a drunk driver around the community in Minnesota where Toni grew up. She was familiar with the family.
The other night as I was doing the dishes Toni read me the obituary from her phone. As she did all I could think about was that obituary could have been for either of our sons. Star athlete, popular at school, homecoming king, helped out at his church, good student, got along well with everybody. I will admit it got me a little emotional.
That is what having children can do to us. I once received a letter from a friend who said they never understood love until they had a child. Many of you are blessed this morning to have your child or children next to you in the pew. Many more of you can think about your child or children as I relate these stories. For our children they don’t fully understand the love a parent has for their child. But they will – oh they will!
Abraham is that parent. Isaac is that son. It tugs at our heartstrings. It is emotional. The parents of the young man killed in the accident could have thought this. Abraham would have been justified if he asked God . . .
“WHY ME?”
Abraham might surely have asked, “Why me?” when God asked him to take his son Isaac and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. This request from God was an amazing test of faith. Isaac was the son given to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. He was the heir who would continue God’s covenant promise to Abraham. For this and the fact he was the boy’s father Abraham loved Isaac. Oh the heartache of this parent as God makes his request.
But this test was met with faith and obedience. Abraham trusted God. He trusted in spite of the past challenges in receiving a son. He trusted in spite of future plans God predicted through that son. Abraham did as God commanded. He obeyed in spite of the three-day journey to change his mind. He obeyed in spite of the emotions he must have felt as he heard Isaac’s questions. We’ve been there, haven’t we? You hurt when your child hurts. Our empathy is strongest with our children. We completely understand the “Why me?”
While Abraham may have been asking the “Why me?” God was answering “I will” provide the lamb. God provided the lamb for Abraham. God provided the lamb for all people. God does what he would not allow Abraham to do: Not “Why me?” from Abraham, but “I will” from God.
Rembrandt painted Abraham just as he is about to thrust the knife into Isaac. In the painting, as Abraham looks up in response to God’s call, the knife is actually flying out of his hand into the air as if he had been waiting for the voice. Rembrandt portrays a mixture of awe, amazement, and relief on Abraham’s face. The painting is even more poignant when we learn that the same model used for Abraham’s face was used for the father in the return of the prodigal son. Both paintings capture the Father-heart of God.
He is our blessed Father and God’s “I will” is the result of and a demonstration of his love for sinners. And “to this day” God does work in the midst of our “Why me’s?” to provide his “I will.” God will provide for the one enduring the trials. The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who was faithful for us in all trials and temptations, now offers forgiveness freely, including those times when we prove unfaithful in the midst of life’s trials. With joy and thanksgiving, God’s words to Abraham can be spoken to him concerning his own Son, Jesus Christ: “You have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” In this way, “Why me?” can become an expression of wonder and astonishment in the face of God’s grace toward sinners.
Sometimes we pooh-pooh the fact that God sacrificed His son Jesus. We don’t get to the same place emotionally for one reason or another. His though was the ultimate sacrifice because it paid the price for all of us. He lived perfectly, yet was tortured, beaten, and killed. His resurrection gives us hope in the midst of the “Why me’s?” when we are undergoing life’ trials.
Abraham remained faithful to the words of God in the midst of what seemed illogical and contrary to reason. This faithfulness is ours through the Holy Spirit. We trust the promises of God in the midst of what seems to us illogical and contrary.
God’s people have received and continue to receive encouragement through the example of Abraham remaining faithful and obedient to God. That is why this incident is cited in Hebrews 11:17 and James 2:21. In the same way, faithfulness on the part of God’s children today can be a source of great encouragement for others, even encouraging unbelievers to inquire as to the source of their steadfast hope in the midst of life’s trials. Martin Luther wrote this, “One Christian who has been tried is worth a hundred who have not been tried, for the blessing of God grows in trials. He who has experienced them can teach, comfort, and advise many in body and spiritual matters.”
The story of the young man killed by the drunk driver made it from small town Minnesota to the big city newspaper in Minneapolis. In the article, the mother of the young man was quoted as saying, “We were blessed to have Colton for 17 years. We want you to pray for the man who was drunk and caused the accident. He has a wife and family as well. They need your prayers.” Wow! That can only come from a Christian who knows the hope we have through Christ. What a witness.
May God give us the faith by which He will work in us and through us, especially during those times we are tempted to ask, “Why me?”
Amen

February 18, 2015 – Ash Wednesday Text: Isaiah 41:14-16

Dear Friends in Christ,

If you could be any animal in the world, which one would you choose? Maybe, like Isaiah, you would soar on wings like an eagle. Or, like Amos, perhaps the lion is your animal of choice because he is king of the jungle. Or maybe, like Elisha, you boast in the bear, because you could maim and maul.
How many of you would like to become a worm? Show of hands? That’s what I thought – we don’t have any worm wannabes in the sanctuary tonight. Worms have no arms, no legs, and no eyes! They are small and insignificant and if you ask me they don’t have the best of personalities.
No one ever stops their car to rescue a worm. We don’t read editorials that say we must stop the genocidal atrocity taking place in our lakes and rivers. Think of a worm being a team’s mascot. Will we ever hear of the Los Angeles Leaches or the Michigan Maggots or the Washington Worms? I don’t think so.
Our text Isaiah 41:14 calls God’s people a worm: “Fear not, you worm Jacob.” Why does God call the community in Babylon a worm? Didn’t He get the memo that calling someone a worm isn’t the best way to boost self-esteem or encourage people to get up and get going?
Buried under the boot of Babylon, in Isaiah 40-55 the exiles are also called weak and weary, bruised reeds and smoldering wicks, deaf and blind, childless, widowed, divorced, and a stubborn rebel from birth. God has a word for that: worm.
It is Ash Wednesday, another season of the Passion and . . .
“GOD HAS A WORD FOR THAT”
“You worm Jacob” is equated with “those who are dead.” Isaiah’s invites us to compare dead people with worms. Dead people are buried – so are worms. Dead people are stepped on – so are worms. Dead people are surrounded by dirt – so are worms. Dead people are ignored and soon forgotten – and so are worms.
The exiles had seen terror on every side. They are caught in a culture where their most treasured narratives and liturgies are being mocked, trivialized, or dismissed as being simply irrelevant. The beast called Babylon had swallowed everything up. Their hopelessness is epitomized in Psalm 22:1: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” And then in verse 6 David says, “I am a worm and not a man.”
Now, what should I think of myself when I am captive to sin and far away from the Father? When I don’t walk humbly with God? When I feel no compassion for the lost? When I take no delight in the Word, recoil from prayer, harbor lustful thoughts and pant for the praises of people? When I am deceptive, mean-spirited, and petty? God has a word for that: worm. “Pastor, didn’t you get the memo that calling people a worm isn’t the best way to boost self-esteem or encourage us to get up and get going?”
No, I didn’t. Because thinking highly of ourselves has nothing to do with God’s Word. Rather He longs for us to cry out with Isaiah, “I am a man of unclean lips”; and with Job, “Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes”; and with Paul, “O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death!” This is what Lent is all about. Acknowledging who we are in God’s sight – sinful and unclean in thought, word, and deed. Lent is when we confess these sins, grieve over them, and repent before Almighty God. You see, only people who are dead and buried and surrounded by dirt cry out for life and resurrection.
Hear again Isaiah 41:14: “Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the One who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.” The Lord is not a football coach rallying the team. He is “your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” A redeemer is your next-of-kin-relative who buys back your inheritance, frees you from slavery, and pays off your debt. Whatever has gone bad, your redeemer will make good.
Couple with Redeemer is “Holy One of Israel.” It means the Lord is completely set apart and different from everyone and everything else.
Isaiah couples your Redeemer – the completely immanent One – with the Holy One of Israel – the completely transcendent One. In this way, he announces that the Lord alone is able to marshal every power in the universe for a single, loving, furious, relentless goal – to bring us love and life, forgiveness and salvation!
How does He do it? In the fullness of time, God became our next-of-kin-relative, literally. And then He took another step. He became dirty, despised, and dismissed. But then He took another, almost incomprehensible step. It was one for the ages. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” And then verse 6, “I am a worm and not a man.” Here is Jesus, nailed to the tree, His body bent and twisted. Here is Jesus, a bloody, horrific mess. Here is Jesus, mocked, ridiculed, and abandoned. God has a word for that: worm.
He did it all for you. And so God’s transforming word to us is exactly this. Isaiah 41:15 and 16: “Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff; you shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest will scatter them. And you shall rejoice in the Lord; in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.”
Worms become mountain movers! The lowly and despised are loved and lifted up. Our Lenten sackcloth and ashes are not the last word. On Easter they will be exchanged for baptismal robes washed white in the blood of Jesus. “The blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the gospel is preached to the poor.” (Matt. 11:5) God has a word for that. Grace!
Amen.

February 15, 2015 – Transfiguration Text: Mark 9:2-9

Dear Friends in Christ,

Toni and I were vacationing with my parents and 3 year-old Karson in Monterrey, California. We were at appropriately…and my mom always thought this was funny…Dennis the Menace Park. This is a great park for children. Slides and swings and sand and you’re on the coast of California. Anyway, Karson had a wonderful time sliding and swinging and just enjoying being a kid. At some point it had to end. We had other places we wanted to go to and we didn’t want to wear out the grandparents. Karson, of course, didn’t want to go. It wasn’t quite Dennis the Menace like but you can understand his reasons for wanting to stay. He was in his glory – take a look at this park on the Internet and you will know what I mean.
We were all kids once. We can relate. There are places we just did not want to leave. As adults our understanding is a little different. We know we have to come down the mountain. Life is like that. And when it is, aren’t we glad we have a Savior? It’s Transfiguration Sunday and the Lord says . . .
“HERE I AM”
On the mountain of glory, a sustained heavenly visit has appeal. It did for Peter, James, and John. Who could blame them. Jesus had talked about being killed, denying self, taking up a cross, losing one’s life. Now they are in heaven’s company with Moses and Elijah and it seemed better.
It would be for us too especially if the last word we heard from the surgeon was cancer, or from the boss, “We’re going to let you go.” Just as we are prone to rely on worldly diversions – in the workshop, playing video games, snapchatting, facebooking, on Netflix, shopping, investing in our sports teams, knitting – to avoid the painful realities of life, surely we’d welcome a heavenly interruption by the likes of Moses and Elijah for the same reason.
How powerless life’s problems seem when we allow our imaginations to converse with the one who crossed the Red Sea and stood before I AM on holy ground. Or sit beside the prophet and ask him about the chariot of fire. A sustained heavenly visit has great appeal.
For Jesus, securing our eternal glory for us had greater appeal. He must go back down the mountain. There is but one plan of salvation and He is it. The blood of thousands and thousands of lambs sacrificed for hundreds of years means nothing, and the Spirit of death cannot “pass over” our sins if the blood of the Lamb of God is not poured out for us. Jesus would descend from the mount of glory not to provide people with problems, one more temporary diversion, but to reach the crest of Calvary, curing people of life’s problems, even sin, death, and hell, for all eternity.
Jesus leads his disciples back down the mountain. They were to be strengthened by this heavenly meeting for what was now to come – Jesus’ suffering and theirs. Following Jesus is not a passive life. It’s highly interactive. Now works righteousness here. No merits for salvation earned or given. It’s just that Jesus’ followers follow.
The pains suffered by first-century Christians is well-documented. Scripture itself tells us of Paul, Peter, James, and Stephen. We know about the millions of Christians today who are persecuted around the world. If we are not directly persecuted for our faith, then life’s situations – illness, divorce, trouble with children, loss of job, old age, finances – cause suffering or hardship. It becomes suffering for Christ’s sake when we endure and respond in faith.
Followers of Jesus will not allow the quality of life, money matters, or worldly comforts to dictate our outlook or decisions. Rather, we picture ourselves coming down the mountain, not alone, but with Jesus saying, “Here I AM with you,” and we know His glory will prevail.
Jesus’s followers know that he says, “I AM here to strengthen you through suffering.” And, “I AM here with you in suffering to use you to witness to others.”
Pastor Richard Wurmbrand knows about Christ’s strength for him in suffering and about witnessing. Before his release in 1964, he was tortured for 14 years in communist Romanian prisons for his involvement with the Christian underground.
At one time, Rev. Wurmbrand survived on an hour of sleep a night with a guard opening and shutting the spyhole in the door each minute or so. His interrogator constantly threated him, “Don’t you know I can order your execution tonight?” Wurmbrand spoke of Christ and told his torturer to put his hand over Wurmbrand’s heart. If it beat rapidly from fright, the man would know there is no God and no eternal life. If it beat calmly, indicating Wurmbrand was at peace, then the interrogator would know there is a God and eternal life. Instead of putting his hand on Wurmbrand’s chest, he struck his face saying, “Can’t you see that…your savior, or whatever you call him, isn’t going to open any prison doors?” Wurmbrand replied, “His name is Jesus Christ, and if He wishes, He can release me.”
Paul writes, “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Rom. 8:18) That is the way it is for Jesus’ followers. We work and witness and even suffer for Christ. We are not earning a trip to heaven. We just know that He has work for us to do. By His own work and witness, death and resurrection, He earned our trip to heaven. We follow Him because He says, “I AM here with you on earth, and I AM taking you to be with me in heaven.”
Amen.