February 22, 2023 – Ash Wednesday     Text:  Luke 18:9-14

Dear Friends in Christ,

Brushing your teeth.  Texting. Eating your lunch.  Opening a door.  Driving your car.  What do these mundane activities have in common?  They are most often accomplished by using your hands.  Take away your hands and these everyday tasks are very hard.

Your hands are an indispensable part of your life.  Hands figure prominently in the events surrounding our Savior’s suffering and death.  This will be the theme for our Lenten sermons, “The Hands of the Passion.”  The hands tonight do not belong to Jesus or Peter or Judas or Caiaphas or Pilate.  They are the hands of the two men in our text.

Most are familiar with the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, but as we study it again, focus on their hands.  Make a connection between the actions of their hands and the attitudes of their hearts.  Then apply it to what you observe in your own life, to appreciate and embrace what it means to have . . .

“HANDS OF REPENTANCE”

The setting is the temple in Jerusalem.  Two men have come to pray.  They begin the same way, “God,” but that is where the similarities end.  The first man is a Pharisee, the spiritual elite of Jewish society.  They were reverent and obedient.

He prayed, “God, I thank you…”.  What a great beginning.  Should have stopped there.  “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.”  His hands were folded but he was giving himself a pat on the back.  He had been keeping the commandments.  

He actually felt he was going beyond.  “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.”  He looked good, didn’t he?  The other people probably looked up to him.  But what about beneath the surface.  What was in his head and in his heart?  

We don’t know his motivation; Luke doesn’t tell us.  He could have been blinded by sinful pride or he prayed loudly to mask his insecurity.  

Ash Wednesday is about acknowledging our sinfulness and asking God for forgiveness.  We look to Jesus as the only hope for our sin.  The Pharisee looked past his sins and saw no reason to repent.  He went home empty-handed.  

The other worshippers probably didn’t see the other man who stood at a distance.  He was ashamed of what he had done, with eyes downward and beating his breast he offered a simple prayer, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”  He didn’t compare himself to others or put together a splashy resume.  He stared into the mirror of God’s Law.  He saw himself for who he was, a helpless sinner who could only beg for mercy.

It was a short prayer – seven English words – but it was powerful and genuine.  Jesus declared, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Jesus addressed this parable to the self-righteous who treated others with contempt.

Can you think of anyone who fits the description?  The classmate always telling you how great she is?  The co-worker suggesting how to do your job.  The friend who uses the Christmas letter to brag about the family.  Or, do you see someone who looks a lot like you?

If we complain about people who makes themselves out as being better than us, aren’t we making ourselves better than them?  When we criticize those who look down on us, aren’t we turning our noses against them?  C’mon, we would never stand up in church and call out another worshiper like the Pharisee did, but could God judge us for the way we pass judgement on each other in our hearts?

We can easily slip into Pharisee mode.  We need to be imitating the tax collector.  We need to fold hands and open hearts and confess every day, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

Then we look to the parable and notice one more person in this little story, the person who told it.  If anyone should be boasting it is the storyteller.  He honored his parents.  He obeyed laws of the land and Ten Commandments perfectly.  Not for his own benefit.  Everything he did, He did for you.  If anyone shouldn’t be humble it is Jesus.  Yet He made himself nothing and came in human flesh.  He was a servant who allowed himself to be humiliated and executed for your sin and my sin.

He took your place so that you have a place in heaven.  He shed body and blood so you can receive it tonight and go away from this altar knowing His mercy is upon you.  His mercy assures you that you don’t have to be weighed down by guilt.  Your Savior is with you.  You know where you are going when you die.  You can leave this house of worship with humble confidence because you are in good hands.  You are in God’s hands.

Amen.         

February 19, 2023 – Transfiguration       Texts:  2 Peter 1:16-19; Matthew 17:1-9

Dear Friends in Christ,

Ever wonder where we get certain sayings from?  Are you “down in the dumps?”  “Dumps” is found in the Dutch and German languages.  In Dutch it means a “mental haze or dullness.”  In German, “heavy or gloomy.”  The earliest use of the word is found in Sir Thomas More’s A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, written in 1529.  “What heaps of heaviness, hath of late fallen among us already, with which some of our poor family be fallen into such dumps.”

Maybe you would prefer “to be on cloud nine?”  Meaning being elated, on the highest cloud, closest to heaven.  Why nine?  Most likely it comes from The International Cloud Atlas, written in 1896.  Ten types of clouds were listed.  Cumulonimbus was number nine on the list.  It is the tallest of all clouds and therefore the closest to heaven.

I can say with confidence we would all prefer “to be on cloud nine” than “down in the dumps.”  We would all like that “mountaintop experience” where we can feel good all the time.  Like Peter in today’s text, we want to find a good place.  If we could do that maybe it would change our perspective on life.  We are going to look at another saying in the course of this sermon.  We have put it in the title . . .

“THE TRANSFIGURATION WILL TIDE YOU OVER”

As we live the tension between the dumps and the mountaintop, we are to live by faith, which helps us to navigate the good times and the bad times.  There isn’t anything that isn’t touched by sin and death.  Because of this we can’t always find ourselves on “cloud nine.”

As we wait for the fulfillment of faith and hope and the eternal mountaintop, the cloud nine of heaven, we rest in the word of promise which will come to pass.  Our gospel is a mountaintop experience.  What Peter, James, and John see is not only for them, but also for us.  The prophetic Word of our Old Testament lesson from Exodus is fulfilled in our Gospel.  Peter who was an eyewitness to this miracle encourages us in the Epistle today “to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”  (v. 19b).  Like them, we have to leave cloud nine and live in the dumps of this world, but we do so with renewed faith and hope.

This glimpse of heaven we see today in the people – Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, John – and the transfiguration of the most important person on this mountain Jesus, are designed “to tide us over” until we reach the fulfillment of the transfiguration of Jesus in us.  We are “tiding over” until we become like Christ and see the Savior face-to-face.

“Tiding over” was a seafaring term and the word tide is synonymous with “time.”  The literal meaning was “in the absence of wind to fill the sails, float with the tide.”  John Smith, the captain who help to establish Jamestown wrote this in 1627:  “To tide over to a place, is to go over with the tide of ebb or flood, and stop the contrary by anchoring till the next tide.”

As we navigate our time on this benighted sphere, Christ has given us what we need to tide over.  We might prefer the wind, but the tide will have to do.  Let’s say it this way.  We want to be in heaven with Jesus and all of that glory.  That is the mountaintop.  That time has not yet come.  So, the Lord gives us His Word – the testimony of the apostles and the Old Testament – to get us through the dumps.  Like Peter, we would like to stay on the mountain, let’s build here.  But we have to move along with simply the promise of what’s to come.

We are each getting older.  Sagging skin, bones brittle, graying hair.  We live life in the shadow of death.  What the disciples see in Jesus is their future.  What they communicate to us is our future.  I love this verse, after the transfiguration, verse 8, “And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.”  Beautiful.  Isn’t that what we want to see?  Luther gives this great description that moves us from “in the dumps” to “cloud nine.”  Listen:

“First, the resurrection of the dead and the future glory and brightness of our bodies are shown.  Secondly, there is added the appearance of Moses and Elijah, who prove by their appearing that they had never really died, and that there is yet another life, besides the earthly life, from which they were transferred.  Thirdly, this appearance teaches us also that we should despise death, and look upon it merely as an emigration or a sleep.  In short, this appearance proves that this life is nothing at all in comparison with the future life.  Fourthly, this appearance proves that sin is overcome.  For it necessarily follows as an incontrovertible conclusion, that, where death is overcome, there sin is also overcome.”

If you came here “down in the dumps” I pray that this good news of the transfiguration will tide you over.  This gospel should strengthen our faith and keep us from giving up when all seems to be against us.  The only God who saves us, the Triune God, is going to do it.  Your tide is in the name of the triune God, the one placed on you at your Baptism.  This will tide you over until that saving wind hits your sails and you are forever in the full majesty of Christ.

Amen.    

February 12, 2023       Text:  1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Dear Friends in Christ,

Have you ever been holding a baby that needs a change?  As that smell permeates the nostrils you may say something like, “Poowee!”  A baby needs a change.  Quite regularly, in fact.  A baby can’t change himself.  They eventually grow out of it.  In the meantime, if babies are going to grow up and be healthy, they need a change.

In our text for this morning St. Paul is calling the Corinthian Christians babies, spiritual babies.  You know what that means.  Babies need a change.  If they are going to grow up spiritually . . . 

“THEY NEED A CHANGE”

Babies need lots of changes.  We have been changed.  You and I were conceived and born in sin.  We were adorable little babies, but we were drooling enemies of God.  When brought to the faith, believers in Christ, a new person was created.  We love God.  We trust in God above all things.

This was St. Paul and the Christians in Corinth.  Paul was formerly named Saul.  Saul was a pursuer and persecutor of Christian believers.  But he was changed.  The Holy Spirit made him a proclaimer of the Gospel, a planter of churches, a traveler for the way, the truth, and the life.

The Corinthians were changed.  They heard and believed the Gospel and so when Paul addressed them at the beginning of his letter, he said this, “those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.” (1:2).  This change largely came through the ministry of two men – Paul and Apollos.  Each had preached the Gospel that changes people so miraculously.

How are we like these believers in Corinth?  We have been changed by the Good News.  We have been brought to faith in Christ – many of us by Baptism as babies.  Even before are memories were fully formed, the Holy Spirit was creating us to be believers in Jesus.  Back when we were needing many changes a day, we were changed!

How do you handle change?  Many of us like it or dislike it depending on what it is.  In this profession you have to embrace change.  You never know where you might be serving the Lord’s people.  But we have learned.  People are people.  Whether in Texas or Kansas or Illinois.  All have the same joys and challenges.  That change is no big deal.  On the other hand, I don’t care for technological changes.  I want to use cash and send letters and shop for clothes in person.  I am proudly an “old soul.”  How about you?  Change – yes, or change – no?

I love the way Paul addresses this church when he says, “behaving only in a human way.” (v. 3b).  These folks needed change so there could be growth.  They could no longer stay with mother’s milk.  Solid food was on the menu.  They would move from people of the flesh to people of the Spirit.  They still had rivalries – some for Paul, some for Apollos.  These men were on the same side, they weren’t divided personally.  

Do we ever behave in a human way?  Ah…yea.  Hello human, ever give in to the desires of the flesh?  Ever get jealous?  Have any rivalries?  Feed in the trough of milk when what your soul needs is the heavenly banquet?  We can still be babies who need a change.  Just follow us for a while, we will show you – “poowee!”  This all separates us from God and one another.  Infant behavior can only lead to death. 

The Son of God made the change we need.  Christ, the unchanging God, did become flesh for all jealousy, strife, for all who are behaving only in a human way.  Since “each will receive his wages according to his labor” (v. 8b), we rejoice in what Christ has done.  The wage of his labor on the cross is full and free forgiveness.  The wage of his labor in and out of the grave is life new and never-ending.  These wages of cross and tomb are delivered to us in water and Word – Holy Baptism; bread and wine, body and blood – Holy Supper.  This is the food we babies need to grow.  God gives this food, even as we are still babies.

When God changes us, we grow.  Think of going off to kindergarten.  Had to have a picture, didn’t you?  Now picture you at your high school or college graduation.  In those intervening years you were planted, watered, and you grew.  You matured.  There is growth in watering and planting.  It is taking place right now as this Word is shared.  God gives the growth.  He is the source of growth in His new creation, the Church.  The Church is God’s field.

In many parts of country, we are not near planting time.  No plowing or tilling yet for seeds to be dropped.  Even though it’s February, it is planting and watering time.  The Epiphany season – encouragement to be part of Christ’s mission for the Church.  It is always a time for God to give growth.  Every day is a Lift High The Cross day.

The Church faithfully sows the seed of Christ’s Gospel.  The Church faithfully waters what is planted.  We all want to see a great harvest.  We pray about it and then we affirm and celebrate this statement:  “only God gives the growth.”

Yes, God makes the change.

Amen.  

February 5, 2023 Text:  Isaiah 58:3-9a

Dear Friends in Christ,

A big thing for people is that they want “their voices heard.”  They want people in authority to give credence to their ideas and suggestions.  An employee would like it from their employer.  A child would like it from their parent.  A player would like it from their coach.  A citizen would like it from their government.  The subordinate would like the authority to hear them and not just pay lip service to their thoughts.

In the church how do we get our voices heard?  Through worship, and prayer, and praise.  Through these means we bring our cares and concerns to our Heavenly Father.  He doesn’t just give us “lip service” but He genuinely cares about what we have to say.

In our text for today Israel wanted to be heard but they went about it all wrong.  They think that their fasting will be a means of motivating God to answer their prayers and petitions.  The Lord wants more than that.  He doesn’t just want us . . . 

“PAYING LIP SERVICE”

The people of God in our text make a great pretense of loving the Lord.  They think that their fasting ought to earn them something.  The Lord should really hear their voices now because they are following His commands.  They have been deceived into thinking they are a righteous nation and an obedient people who can expect God’s deliverance and blessings.

God only required one day of fasting and that was the Day of Atonement.  The people thought if “one day is good, why not make it all the time.  God will really love us then, right?”  What was to be an occasion for self-denial became an opportunity for self-advancement at the expense of others.  Their fasting only led to “quarrel and fight.”  The fasting put them in an ugly mood.  Their fasting was not a day acceptable to the Lord.  The Lord calls for acts of righteousness and justice, and all the people are giving Him is lip service.

Do we ever pay the Lord lip service?  Do we have an attitude that infiltrates our relationship with the Lord?  Maybe we are especially gracious or kind or loving or we sacrifice for others and then we start to think that God owes us.  Shouldn’t we earn a little extra credit with the Lord for being such a shining light to those around us?  We can’t just pay lip service.  Religious observances cannot substitute for moral integrity.  A day acceptable to the Lord is not filled with empty worship, but a day of self-denial.

Such a self-denial was first accomplished by our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.  He went to the cross without revenge but with obedience to the will of the Father.  He offered up to our Heavenly Father an acceptable day.  Jesus didn’t pay lip service to our sinful plight as humans.  He did what He said He was going to do.  Pay for our sins.  Forgive our lip service.  The day of His crucifixion He became our righteousness.  Self-reliance gives way to faith and trust in His sacrifice.  Our Lord’s victory overcomes our self-righteousness.  We humbly accept this gift and claim the new life He offers through His death on the cross and His resurrection.

Because of all that He has done for us, we don’t just pay Him lip service.  We give Him a life of service.  The prophet Isaiah shows us the shallowness of the people.  They thought they could draw near to the Lord through their own righteous worship.  What the Lord wanted was for the bonds of wickedness to be loosened, the oppressed to go free, to share bread with the hungry, bring the homeless into a home and to cover the naked.  Through these acts of self-denial Isaiah writes, “Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.  Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’” (vs. 8-9a)

A day acceptable to the Lord, a life where we don’t just pay Him lip service, is when we embody the servanthood of Christ and look first to the needs of others.  We share the bounty of our blessings with those who struggle along life’s journey.

Look at our Gospel lesson in Matthew this day.  We “are the salt of the earth.”  We “are the light of the world.”  Light comes from doing the work of the Lord.  It keeps us out of the darkness.  “Others…may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

That always has to be our motivation.  We don’t shine so that the world will give us glory.  We don’t share for a pat on the back.  We don’t self-deny so we can take in all the accolades.  We do it as a fruit of our faith.  The Holy Spirit uses us to further the work of the Lord’s Kingdom.  By not just paying lip service our sacrificial service advances the cause of Christianity.  The good works of the Christian is still the go to play in the world’s playbook.  Where would we be if the Lord didn’t allow us to make a difference?  

Jesus didn’t pay lip service.  He paid life service.  His sacrifice became our ours.  His grace and blessing allows us to be salt and light.  Here “I am” because of the great “I am.”

Amen.