Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Mark 8:27 - 35 We Carry Our Crosses


Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
            A Christian once remarked to me that apart from our Lord, the gospel writers always gave St. Peter the best lines to speak, so we’ll begin this morning’s reflections with Peter. In the passage just before this morning’s gospel reading, he spoke for the other disciples and said that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.  How pleased the Savior must have been to hear this confession of faith.  But then Peter said something that greatly displeased the Lord.  He heard what Jesus said about his suffering, rejection, and death, and he was distressed.  Jesus’ prediction of his resurrection, you see, had not registered in Peter’s mind.  He heard only the bad news, so he said that such terrible things shouldn’t happen to the Son of God.  Jesus knew, however, that his future included a cross of suffering and that anyone who tried to keep him from it would be tempting him the way Satan tempted him in the wilderness.  He needed to break the influence of Peter’s well-intentioned concern.  Suffering comes before glory.  We sow in tears and reap in joy.  This is a rule of earthly life that was especially true for our Lord.  We don’t accomplish anything worthwhile without discipline, sacrifice, and hardship.  Athletes train; students stick to their books; mothers and fathers – and grandparents – make sacrifices every day.  Jesus gave up his earthly life so that the whole world may know God.
            He needed to speak sharply to Peter, then, but he didn’t hold Peter’s lapse against him.  He lifted him up, instead, and strengthened him to carry his own cross.  It’s human nature to say that a person who offends us once will do so again and so it may be best to break off relations.  Jesus works by a different principle.  He wanted Peter to be the best man he could be, so he forgave him.  He introduced Peter and the other disciples to one of the secrets of worthwhile living.  People who want meaningful lives accept burdens.  If we want to accomplish something like finding a new place to live or raising a family, we pay attention to that and give up other things, as interesting and tempting as they may be.  We carry our crosses.  A full life includes sacrifice and self-denial.
            Crosses are not pleasant or easy.  They challenge us.  We hardly ever get to choose the ones that we’ll carry.  Our crosses are imposed from outside us.  “If I have to give up that month in Hawaii to help my neighbor who is ill,” we might say, “then I won’t by myself anymore.”  Or: “I’ll lose my good nature if I have to go out of the house and deal with people who are impossible to get along with.”  We learn from Jesus’ example, however, that crosses bring rewards and that blessings come from self-denial.  Our flesh may rebel, but the Holy Spirit that lives within us strengthens us to walk along the rocky road that leads to satisfaction.        
            When we Christians speak about carrying crosses, we often refer to something very specific, not just any hardship, but the burdens we bear because we’re Christians – first, the penalties the unbelieving world may put upon us, which are very severe in certain countries, and even difficult in Canada as materialism and misuse of freedom capture so many minds.  We carry a cross when for Jesus’ sake we deny ourselves pleasures and privileges that are available nowadays in abundance.  In the second place, we carry a cross when we recognize our shortcomings and feel sorry for our sins.  This is a daily reality for us, because our consciences are very active.  We feel grief when the Holy Spirit convinces us of our sins, and we may wonder at low moments if we have made a mess of our lives.  We know how Peter must have felt when the Lord called him Satan.
            As Jesus forgave his apostles, though, he also pardons us.  No matter how weak our flesh or grave our offenses may be, the blood of Christ washes us clean and strengthens us.  The Savior is infinitely forgiving.  He encourages us never to give up the hope of abundant, godly living.  He doesn’t give up on us.  He empowers us to deny ourselves for the sake of the best.
            Along with the blessing of forgiveness, he confers a new status upon us.  We’re ordinary people, of course, but at the same time our Christian faith means that we are the Heavenly Father’s adopted daughters and sons.  The Lord assures us of his fatherly goodness.  He promised Jacob that he would be with him and watch over him.  He promised never to leave him.  The Father’s love for his people is much greater than the love of an earthly father, and so we trust that the crosses he gives us – whether concern for others or the stress of living in a secular culture or awareness if sin – will not be too heavy for us to carry.  We don’t lose sight of the better life he has prepared for us, because his fatherly hand strengthens us to persevere.
            Together with forgiveness and a new status, the Savior also transforms us.  He renews our minds.  Paul wrote in Romans: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  God’s Spirit fine tunes us so that we focus on Jesus instead of the things of the world that momentarily catch our attention.  We direct our wills and our desires toward Christ in whom we find riches beyond riches.
            A sports psychologist once said that he works to build up the self-esteem of the athletes who come to him by getting them to change the kinds of thoughts they think.  Most people have a high number of thoughts every hour.  A surprising number of thoughts for many people are negative, and many of these negative thoughts are directed at themselves, such thoughts as, “Oh, I’m not going to do well today,” or “I can’t cope” or “I guess I’ll never reach the goal I set for myself.”  The psychologist said that he trains athletes to turn such thoughts around and to say instead, “I’m going to do my best,” or “I’ll make a bit of progress today” or “I’m going to stretch myself this week.”  He said that this discipline produces remarkable results.  If we think well of ourselves, we have a good chance of doing well.  But thoughts can create self-fulfilling prophecies.
            It’s easy to imagine adapting these guidelines to fit a Christian pattern.  Suppose that instead of surrendering to negative thoughts when we meet a stressful situation, we train ourselves to say: “The Spirit is working on me.  I’ll be able to cope.”  Or: “God is guiding me to renew my mind.”  Or: “The Lord will help me to bear up under these burdens.”  Then the rocky road will smooth out and we won’t lose our pictures of the better life our Heavenly Father is creating for us.  To strive for better understanding of our Lord’s promise to transform would make a good exercise.  We’d do well to remember every time we catch a hurtful thought flying in our own direction to say this: “I am forgiven, a child of God; his power to transform is renewing me.  His cross is reshaping me.”  If we think this sort of thing, we proclaim Jesus’ victory over the devil to ourselves and we are strengthened to bear the weight of our own crosses.  We become confident that the fruits of salvation are planted deep in our minds and hearts.
            Progress in devotion to our Lord isn’t always obvious, of course.  There are times when faith is deeply hidden, as God is hidden from our sight, periods when joy seems far removed from us.  Such wintry moments don’t corrupt our minds, thank God.  We remember that we are forgiven, that we are God’s beloved children, and that his transforming power is at work on us.  He gives us the valleys through which we pass so that we may receive from him – and only from him – the faith to keep on going.  He steadies us so that we don’t drop our crosses, because then we are most like Christ, who teaches us how to take the difficult but rewarding road, the way of self-denial and sacrifice that leads to victory and ever-lasting joy.
            Now, from what I’ve seen, I suspect that St. Peter’s people don’t shrink from carrying crosses.  I’m sure you often make sacrifices for the good of others, resist temptation with God’s help, patiently endure the roadblocks that secular society puts in your way, and repent of your sins.  Though rewards can be hidden and delayed, I believe that you take to heart Jesus’ admonition to deny ourselves and to pass by earthly glitter.
            What a witness you make to your neighbors.  You show them that life is more than work and fun, providing material things and building comfortable nests.  You set examples by following the cross that leads to victory. As you live under the cross in sacrifice, self-denial, and joy, you show your n neighbors that there is a better way than the way of the world.  Some will pay attention and seek God along with you.
            The whole Christian church is passing through a time of humbling just now.  As always, the kingdom lives under the cross, and the cross ultimately comes from God.  He chastens his people for a purpose, to purify us so that we will turn to him in faith.  He teaches the church today the same lesson the Savior taught Peter, that God’s people don’t find their fulfillment in comfort and security of life.  We don’t live for our stomachs or our bank accounts.  Nor do we think the church needs to be powerful and glamorous.  We are people of the cross, whom the Lord encourages and nourishes in his special way.  We know a lot about what it means to carry a cross.  The point is that the Lord carries us. He will keep on strengthening us and helping us to endure.  Peter missed the message about Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  Thanks to God, we do not make the same mistake.  We keep on going; we don’t give up.  A very great day is coming and we’ll be part of it.  The Lord will return.  He will claim us and all believers.  When that day comes, the crosses of the present day will look like nothing.  In Jesus’ Name we give thanks.  AMEN.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge of Christ Jesus.  AMEN.                             

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Ephesians 6:10 - 20, Mark 7 The Armor of God


Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
            We begin our message this morning by using our imaginations a bit.  A person who has been a Christian for many decades receives a letter from a newer Christian, who raises several questions that have come to mind during a business trip.  What does it mean to be a human being?  What does it mean to be a Christian?  Where does a Christian find the strength to hold on in faith when sin is a big part of life?  The older Christian answers write away.
            I feel honored that you have confidence to me to share your concerns about the temptations you’ve been facing and about the way some of the people you meet behave.  Dishonesty and shady dealings are always a shock to Christian people.  It’s a sign of your faith that God moves you to ask big questions that I’ll do my best to answer.
            You asked about human nature.  You say you once thought that people are basically good and trustworthy and that we have the ability to live well and solve our problems.  All we need is a good will and a loving heart and training in the difference between right and wrong.  You say that recent experiences cause you to doubt your old beliefs.  Life teaches most of us to ask the questions you’re wondering about.  What do we think when we come up against human weakness and the power of sin, as you are doing now?   During our worship last Sunday –  and I hope you find Christians to worship with each week while you’re away – we heard about teachings Jesus offered a group of Pharisees.  He ended his talk with a mighty list of sins – evil thoughts, murder, malice, folly.  He mentioned 13 in all.  What a picture of human nature.  We can’t say that people are naturally good.  Sin darkens and complicates everything.  Everyone’s a sinner, except for Jesus.
            Now, there are several ways of looking at sin.  One is to minimize it and claim that sin is an accident, a nonessential, that it doesn’t really touch the core of our natures, something like a hangnail or a cut that may need a few stitches but not major surgery.  If you believe this, you may also think we can always choose what’s good and that we have the power within ourselves to repair what needs fixing.  You mention, though, temptations you’ve felt while on your trip.  The Lord tempts no one, but he uses temptation to teach us that we aren’t strong on our own and that we need his help to stay focused on the good.
            Another way to deal with sin – and you should especially avoid this – is blaming others.  This is the path that Adam and Eve took.  “All my problems would be over if so and so got out of my life.”  “I did the wrong thing because I fell in with evil companions.”  Or: “If the world isn’t good, how can you expect me to be good?”  We humans love to shift blame, but it’s not the Christian way.  We are responsible for our behavior.  We ask God to pardon us if we fall.  We welcome his hand to guide us.
            Our gospel text reminded us of still another method people sometimes use to cope with the power of sin. The religious experts of our Lord’s day believed that people become sinful if we come into contact with anything that’s unclean.  They established hundreds of prohibitions in addition to laws God gave Moses in hopes of building a fence around wickedness.  They didn’t eat certain foods; they had to wash their hands in a prescribed way.  They believed that people wouldn’t sin if their lives were surrounded by ritual.
            A good try, but it didn’t work.  Jesus shook up these very pious people when he told them thattheir man-made traditions were shallow and superficial.  They were concerned about cleanliness, but their hearts were full of hypocrisy and their worship was in vain.  They were as susceptible as anyone to sin because sin arises from within us.  You may be seeing some of this in your travels.  People who look like upstanding citizens on the outside may be something else underneath.  Watch out you don’t fall into the same hypocrisy yourself.  Keep low to the ground.  Ask the Lord to forgive you every day.  Be on guard.  The devil works to corrupt souls.  He doesn’t care whether our hands are dirty or not.  He shoots for the heart.
            So – to answer your first question – according to God’s Word, to be human is to be fallible.  The sin we inherit from Adam and Eve works with our enemy the devil to corrupt the image of God in which our Creator made us.  We are not simply good people who wander off the track now and then.  We are weak and frail and prone to transgression.  Sin is at the center of what it means to be human.
            But the picture isn’t complete if we stop there, because God provides a remedy.  His Son gave his life so that we might be healed.  His blood washes us clean.  He casts our sins thousands and thousands of miles away and declares us to be sinless for Jesus’ sake. 
            And so we come to our second question – what does it mean to be a Christian human?  We live in Christ and he lives in us.  The devil may taunt us; the world may vex us; our weakness may be clear to us.  But we do not give up.  We endure in faith.  You say you’re thinking of leaving your work.  That may not be necessary if you can stand up for what’s right and help keep your company from breaking the law.  You’ll set a good example for others to follow.  It takes courage, but you can do it, because God equips his saints to live in the world.  And if you do decide to leave, trust that the Lord won’t let you come to harm. He will guide you andstrengthen you.  
            Our readings included Paul’s well-known words about the armor of God, which has seven parts, he says.  Truth, righteousness, and peace come first.  When Paul wrote about truth, he meant God’s saving truth, the gospel, the proclamation that God loves everyone and that he saves us through our faith in Jesus’ blood.  The Lord is never far away from us.  Paul wrote in another letter that we live and move and have our being in him.  Jesus frees us from bondage to sin and death and various man-made regulations.  He holds us in his truth; he himself is truth.
            Righteousness is part of God’s truth.  We have no righteousness of our own to hold up against sin.  We have no inborn ability to keep God’s law, so we put on the righteousness of Christ that we receive by faith as a gift of heaven.  God sinks this righteousness so deep in our hearts that our desire for him overcomes our inclination for sin.  We aren’t good on our own.  God declares us to be good – for the sake of his son.  He’ll help you resist the temptations around you.  The devil cannot do us permanent harm, because we’re confident of our righteous standing before God.
            Righteousness means that we’re at peace with our maker and redeemer.  His wrath has ended; we approach him in confidence.  We live bravely before God.  We resist sin and the devil –  as you are doing now – in Jesus’ name.  Satan flees from us because he knows that the Savior is our friend forever.  He never troubles us for long, because our souls and consciences are at peace.
            You probably remember that Paul mentions the shield of faith.  He means two things when he speaks about faith here: first, the sturdy teachings of Scripture that bring us to salvation and second our own personal faith that these teachings build up in our hearts.  So if Satan hurls a temptation your way or if you ever find yourself in a perilous situation, you have an invitation from God – a command – to say such things as this: “The Bible teaches and I believe that Jesus is my friend and Savior.”  Because we carry assurances from God in our souls, faith works like a shield between us and sin.  We are strong, because the Christian faith to which we cling is strong.  Your Christian faith is you guarantee that you won’t fall.
            Salvation comes next in Paul’s inventory.  He doesn’t mean the salvation in full that Jesus will bring with him when he returns in glory or a hope that salvation will come sometime in the future.  He means the salvation we receive right now.  All believers are saved now, in this present life.  You probably recall what Paul wrote in another place: “Now is the day of salvation.”  Salvation protects us.  It is God’s will to keep his children from eternal harm.  You don’t have to worry that the situation you’re in now is too perilous for you to cope.  The Savior includes you in his plan.  His strength will lift you up.  The salvation he offers you as a gift should inspire you to go on with the battle against sin.
            The next two pieces in the armor of God – the sword of the Spirit and prayer – should also encourage you to be active in the struggle with sin.  Jesus calls his children to be vigorous and bold.  He equips us to help ourselves and serve his kingdom.  So resist temptation, my friend, and don’t be afraid to speak out against wrong-doing.  Take the initiative in setting good against evil.  Reach out with God’s help to make the world around you better.
            Now, I want to say a few words about prayer.  Paul admonishes us to be active in prayer every day.  Jesus helps us keep the spirit of prayer.  We pray for strength, for deliverance from trouble, and for forgiveness.  Ask God to show you the right way and he will; ask him to keep you from being one of his enemies and pray especially if the power of sin seems to strike.   We sometimes cry out for his help and his blessings; we remember to thank him after he showers good things on us.
            So, to go back where I started, we include the fact of sin in our picture of human nature, but we save the biggest place for Jesus’ victory over sin and the devil and the redemption of the world, which Jesus rules and not the forces of evil. 
            The Savior equips us with powerful weapons to use against his enemies and ours.  Good will always prevail over evil, though it may take time and lots of patience and prayer from us.  The Christian picture of human nature includes God’s promise that he will share his power with us.  He fights alongside us so that the coming victory over sin will be both his and ours.
            Somebody once said that evil is dull and ordinary.  Life would surely be tedious and heavy if we gave way to the sin our Lord mentions.  But praise God, these are not the distinguishing features of life for his people.  Jesus is at the center.  He brings us to joy of salvation and the hope of everlasting life in his presence.   We praise him for completing the picture of human nature.  His invisible armor protects us so that we will be worthy to take part in the promised life to come.  I hope you’ll make full use of his armor so that your walk with him will be confident and that you may look ahead joyfully to the victory that will come.  In Jesus’ name we give thanks.  AMEN.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge of Christ Jesus.  AMEN.                                                            



Thursday, September 6, 2012

Mark 7:31 - 37 -- "He Has Done All Things Well"

Grace and Peace to you from Him who is and who was and who is to come,
           I think school is starting soon for many folks, so I want to tell you that the mother of a 6th grader once said to me that school wasn’t meant for boys.  They hurry through their school work, she said, and don’t really care if they do a good job or not. What they really want is to finish each task in a hurry so they can go out and play.
            But there is a bit of the child in all of us, and I think we understand the feeling this mother described – that work is a burden to be cast off as quickly as possible.  Children grow to become adults, however, and we learn that work and other responsibilities bring benefits to ourselves and others.  We learn the value of doing things well, to be thorough and persistent, to look for the big picture, to have a sense of purpose, and to pay attention to details.  Knowing that we can do something well is one of life’s great satisfactions.
            Sometimes, though, we need an extra push to do well.  It’s easy to decide to do well at the start of something – a project or a career or even in September when the school year begins.  But as days go by and work piles up, challenges may arise and enthusiasm wanes.  Our spirits may slip and we can tell ourselves that something usually comes along to make a hash of our efforts so what’s the point of doing well?    
            This isn’t the frame of mind, though, that our Lord has in mind for us. If something is worth beginning well, it’s also worth finishing well.  The Lord sets an example for us and provides the inspiration we need.  As the people in in this morning’s gospel text observed, he does all things well.  What’s more, he passes his desire for excellence on to us.  He gives the will not to lower our sights, but to keep our eyes focused on the best we can do.
            He performed well every part of the mission his father gave him – he healed the sick and consoled the grieving; he spread the word of truth; he gathered disciples and created a kingdom of believers; he gave his life as a sacrifice for our sins so that the highway of salvation will always be open to us.  Everything he touched turned out well.  Such great faith and love filled him that nothing could discourage him.  The excellence of his work drew people to him, as in this morning’s gospel.
            A little background information will help us appreciate it better.  The cities Mark mentions were outside Israel.  In the days when the Israelites returned to their homeland from captivity in Egypt, God commanded them to take this area for their own, but they lacked the strength or will-power to carry out the task, so Joshua’s army failed at this part of their mission.    Tyre and Sidon became important centers of trade and industry.  Pagan religions flourished there.  Instead of churches, as we see on the streets of southern Ontario, the people worshiped at temples dedicated to false gods with such names as Zeus or Hercules or Dionysus.  Tyre was famous for its purple dye; Sidon was a prosperous port; the Decapolis was a region of cities the Romans had brought together in a tight-knit league for defense and trade.  For centuries, this area was closed to the religion of the Israelites so the people there didn’t hear the word of God.
            But Jesus took it upon himself to visit this pagan territory.  He performed numerous miracles of healing.  As Isaiah said the Messiah would do, he healed the lame, opened the eyes of the blind, and unstopped the ears of the deaf.  People usually want better lives than what they have.  We can imagine life without illness or poverty or war, without anger and fighting and unbelief.  Some of the folks in those pagan lands, where Jesus may have stayed for six to eight months, saw in the Lord the fulfillment from God of their deepest wishes.  They knew that Jesus understood their infirmities of body and soul and that he would heal them in good time if they kept faith with him.  They understood that he would do more for them than any powerless pagan deity and so their hearts went out to him.  “He has done everything well,” they exclaimed and gave glory to the God if Israel.
            Jesus accomplished through faith and love what the army of Joshua could not do.  He brought the kingdom of God into a strong-hold of hard-hearted paganism and many people accepted it for as long as Jesus was with them.  He introduced the church of God into gentile territory, and it has been there ever since.   What’s more, he didn’t act hesitantly or with a spirit of experimentation, he visited pagan cities with conviction and certainty that his work would produce good fruit, and so he did all things well.
            He still does things well today.  The society around us values talent, whether in sports or work or entertainment.  We can be in awe of folks who use their abilities well.  We also hear about people who use their talents to get the best of others. 
            Jesus breaks through worldly ideas of excellence by way of the Bible to bring us himself and his promises.  If we’re discouraged or discontented or tempted to close in on ourselves, Jesus opens our hearts to focus on him.  He gives us himself to feed on and enters our hearts to become part of us.  We discover that true excellence depends on other values than worldly ones, in particular faith and love.
            Now, it’s a characteristic of some Christians to have our failings and our sins always before us, but we can’t aspire to anything worthwhile if our shortcomings perpetually haunt us.  Faith begins with the trust that our trespasses are forgiven through Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross and that this forgiveness is salvation.  Since we always want to do things for ourselves, we put up numerous impediments to admitting that we need to be forgiven.  It’s easy to make excuses for ourselves.  Someone once said to me that even some folks who attend church regularly may not understand their need for forgiveness or that forgiveness is available.  I doubt that’s true for anyone here, but just in case...if we don’t trust that  Jesus died for all the sins of all mankind including our own, then everything we do now will be shallow and second-rate and disaster will befall us in eternity.  Fortunately, Jesus’ forgiveness never stops, and abundant joy awaits even those who come to appreciate what our Lord has done after years of neglecting him.  Faith begins with gratitude for Jesus’ pardon.
            This saving faith has an impact on our daily lives now.  It brings us confidence in ourselves.  We are certain that the accusations of Satan and some of our neighbors can’t hurt us. Saving faith means that we look in the first place to God and not to other people for meaning, direction, and approval. Saving faith makes it possible for us to do well everything that comes our way.
            The second ingredient of excellence is love.  There are many different kinds of love.  Here we mean the kind of love that God has for mankind, the love that sent Jesus deep into the heart of paganism with the healing word of God.  St. Paul said the last word on Christian love – that without it a person is nothing.  Absence of love has the same effect on the quality of work as the absence of faith – the results are shallow and noisy, like tinkling cymbals.  But with the kind of love that seeks the highest good of others, the outcome is bound to be excellent.  Christian love isn’t easy, but God makes it possible.  We don’t brood about people who make life unpleasant for us but focus on Christ and our understanding of his plans for us.  Then we see our neighbors’ failings less and less and think instead about what we might do for them in love and with the wisdom and insight the Lord gives us.  We’ll never be perfect in love on this side of the grave, but with God’s help we do our best.  Our attempts to bear the burdens of others is what God means by love.
            Jesus did all things so well that his ministry in the Middle East almost two thousand years ago reverberates in the world today as our congregation testifies and thousands of others  demonstrate.  The Holy Spirit brings us together to teach us, to pardon us, and to transform us so that we too become excellent.  As we go about our tasks of love, we know that in Christ we, too, do all things well.
            We remember that for Christians, excellence is more than mastering skills and the ability to influence others.  Our Lord gives us his qualities to live by – faith and love.  Whether it is school or work or raising a family or helping out in church and community, things go well because we act as our Lord did – in faith and love, which are the guidelines that lead to Christian excellence and the qualities the Lord intends to fill our lives with.  So in his Name we rejoice.  AMEN. 
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge of Christ Jesus. AMEN.