Friday, May 27, 2016

Holy Trinity (C) 2016

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: John 7:38
Theme: ‘Flowing Into The Future’

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

The theme for the 2016 convention of the district is “Flowing into the Future”. The river is the lifeblood of our region. The thematic tie-in with Pentecost fits nicely. The Holy Spirit’s work in baptism and His subsequent toil in sanctification are “aquatic endeavors.” What does the water of baptism signify? Luther explains, “It indicates the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to life before God in righteousness and purity forever.”1 Christian living is a daily reality.

It can hardly be surprising that water is a key theme throughout the biblical narrative. God designated water as a compound that sustains life. Lack of water is symbolic of spiritual deprivation. The Spirit brooded over the face of the water at creation. God used water at the time of Noah to cleanse the earth. The Israelites crossed the Red Sea to be tested in the desert. They traversed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land. God ordained water to be the chief element in baptism. Jesus met the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well and quenched her thirst with living water. The heavenly Jerusalem is depicted with the river of life flowing from the temple.

Calls to repentance and warning of judgment make occasional reference to water too. “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘when I will send a famine through the land- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.’”2 Could this happen to us? To transgress the 3rd Commandment (the Sabbath Day) is to despise the preaching of God’s Word. The welfare of the world’s population in the future largely depends on the management of physical water. What about spiritual water? Access to dependable water will determine where populations can expand and will be a significant factor in in contentions and disputes. Water is an essential. The Riverland depends on the flow of the Murray. The Murray doesn’t always flow. Droughts remind us we are dependent on the providence of God. What about spiritual water?

What does it mean that streams of living water will flow from the believer? Well, how gratuitous that we’re given an immediate explanation, “By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.3 The Spirit’s activity will be unmistakable in the lives of believers. Spiritual vitality depends both on baptismal water and the continued quenching of spiritual thirst through the life-giving word. This is the work of the Spirit. Today is also Holy Trinity Sunday. We acknowledge one God in three persons; the Trinity in unity. It is a mystery beyond human comprehension. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist in a dynamic oneness, sharing one divine essence, yet as three distinct persons working in concert for our salvation.

Whenever the church meets in convention we try to assess the bigger picture and plan for the future. Where is the LCA headed? Are we flowing into the future, and if we are, what’s our salinity? Are we fresh enough to bring life to a parched land? Are we salty enough to give the flavor of God’s love to a bland culture? Are we stagnant or even flowing in reverse, as it were? These are questions for individuals and the church collectively.

We’re not without centuries of Christian history to guide us. The church has been through spiritual droughts before. It has been under persecution. It has had the mission field at its doorstep, as we do now. Did the early church have a strategic plan? Did they have a governance review? Did they even have a mission statement? What programs has the church undertaken over the centuries in order to revive itself? Have they been effective?

The early Christians carried the message of the crucified and risen Jesus wherever they went. Some were welcomed. Some were rebuffed. Some were martyred. They were not sinless or self-reliant. They needed shepherds. They were contentious, apathetic, arrogant. They were greedy, lazy, and immoral. They were like us! The people they rubbed shoulders with were like people in our society. The depravity of original sin does not change with the times.

Their entire pilgrimage involved coming to terms with this God who had come to them in human flesh. Remember the contentions that arose of Jesus’ identity today. They were Jews struggling to be Christians; or pagans struggling to be Christians. What are we? Christians struggling to remain as such? Modern secularists trying to find our way to true Christianity? Hedonists or Darwinists at heart trying to assess if we can handle being publicly labeled as followers of Jesus? Is knowledge of biblical history becoming obsolete among us? Are Adam and Eve mythical figures to us? Is Jesus a legendary hero but a modern-day has been? If we are ignorant or conviction-less about these matters can we expect unbelievers to interested or convinced?

Dear friends, the sacrifice of Christ doesn’t become less relevant over time. He is the Saviour now as He was then. His work of redemption transcends time and place. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”4 That salvation is still by grace, through faith. We’re living in an age when identity with Christianity makes one increasingly vulnerable to opposition. Jesus says, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.”5 But what could be more antithetical to worldly wisdom than to rejoice in suffering? We will find few concessions from society here. There will be little capitulation. The clash of values is acute. Suffering is to be avoided at nearly all costs. Here we face a call to integrity as believers. How deep are the inroads of cultural ideology into our hearts?
The Scripture promises suffering begets perseverance; perseverance, character; character hope. “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”6 We live in exciting times. Challenges are mounting; but opportunities are multiplying. We have a precious treasure that’s long been part of our heritage. We have confidence in God’s word of truth. We have the shinning brilliance of sins forgiven that we can offer to a guilt-driven world. We have true freedom from the accusations of Satan, the threat of hell, and the fear of death. Christ has walked the gauntlet for us and His triumph has been achieved.

We know what’s served in the sacred meal. The shed blood of Christ; His sacrificed body, consoling, absolving, reviving us. We know our prayers do not go unanswered; the tiniest request bends His ear. We know the promises of Christ to intercede never go unfulfilled. We know the Father never errs, the Son never sleeps, the Spirit never falters. Sin cannot triumph. Confusion will give way to clarity. Doubt will be overcome with certainty. Fear will be surpassed by courage. Grief will be superseded by joy. The old order of things will pass away. Resurrected, we will see God in our own flesh- for, Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

The church is the ark of salvation. In it we navigate the stormy seas of this life. The Lord Jesus Christ is the captain and He sails us into the future. Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

First Sunday After Pentecost
Holy Trinity
SA/NT District Synod
22 May, 2016
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Luther’s Small Catechism
2 Amos 8:11
3 John 7:39
4 Joel 2:32
5 Matthew 5:11-12
6 Romans 5:5

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