+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Matthew 21:9
Theme: Hosanna!
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Not every celebration is planned. God sometimes startles us with blessings that demand immediate expression of joy. The conception of a child, a cancer-free diagnosis, the acquisition of a job, rescue from an accident or pending disaster are but a few examples. Our sinful human nature is so potent at nurturing skepticism we are often surprised by His mercies great and small. Though such things tend to provide a boost to our faith, God desires that our trust be anchored more deeply in His promises. Our faith should not rely on a quota of personal satisfactions but the bare- and often masked- certainty of His Word.
Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem was not exactly a planned celebration. But hopes ran high and people joined the gathering crowd to welcome Jesus as a deliverer and ruler. Perhaps this would be the moment for Israel to regain independence and glory. It was actually a minor expectation compared to what Christ actually did accomplish. The climax of the Christian Church Year begins today. Shouts of jubilation on Palm Sunday crescendo to cries of “Crucify Him!” on Good Friday. It was an intense and bewildering week for Jesus’ disciples that ended with His resurrection.
All the hype of Palm Sunday was dashed by Good Friday. Pilate posed the question, “What is truth?”1 Others ridiculed Him saying, “Come down from the cross and save Yourself!”2 Jesus responded with, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,”3 and, “My kingdom is not of this world.”4 But the suspicion goes on. Falsehood, skepticism, and doubt about Christian truth increasingly saturate public discourse and educational institutions. It wears on the believer. It slowly erodes the underpinnings of our belief. Sometimes we hardly notice it. The frog is not boiled instantly. The water is slowly heated and the frog adjusts.
But before the frog attempts to leap to safety it is too close to death. It is paralyzed. Faith is more commonly lost through a gradual slipping away than it is by a dramatic turn of events. Through neglect and apathy faith loses it vigor and becomes vulnerable to attack. Faith is never partial. Saving faith is always a complete faith. But faith can be strong or weak and everything in between. A defenseless faith may limp along for a while- until the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
Throughout much of western society the image of God has transitioned from that of a father, with whom we have a relationship and to whom we are accountable, to that of an ageing and frail grandfather about whom people only reminisce and with whom there is little association. God is to be neither feared nor revered as Judge or Redeemer but only passingly referenced an obsolete concept.
Many believers have responded by retreating into a confidential sheltering of their faith. Yet the self-deception of being a ‘private’ Christian is a nearly always an infallible sign of danger and decay. It’s not, of course, that this withdrawal is usually planned or perpetrated with evil intent. Rejection of the Holy Spirit’s work is not usually as crass as we assume it to be. Overt blasphemy is not an activity even determined skeptics often care to engage in. Denial of God’s truth is more often manifest as a capitulation to indulgences that appeal to our selfish desires or a tacit failure to speak or act against evil or falsehood. Often rejection of the Holy Spirit’s work is clearly a triumph of human self-governance over God’s will. We want our way, God’s approval not excepted. Other things take priority in life, and little by little, God is squeezed out. Repentance for giving in to this temptation should be a regular part of our confession.
Into this milieu of complexity and spiritual struggle the cry of Palm Sunday goes up, “Hosanna, Lord save!” Lord, save us from rampant materialism in this age. Lord, save us from the skepticism and doubt that tears away the anchor of our souls. Lord, save us from denying your truth because of shame or fear. Lord, save us from addiction, depression and loss of hope. Lord, save us from loss of compassion for the unborn, the elderly, and the most vulnerable of society. Lord, save us from idolatry of persons and things.
Lord, grant depth to our devotion. Give stability to witness. Lord, increase our passion for your truth. Lord you were crowned with thorns that we might be crowned with eternal life. Make us worthy heirs of your sacred treasures. In all these petitions Christ does not fail us. He is the incarnate love of God. He rode a donkey, not a stallion; wore a crown of thorns not a crown of gold. He did not shrink back from bearing your sins and mine to the cross. He dealt death its fatal blow. He opened the gates of heaven to all repentant sinners who take refuge in Him.
The parents of a five-year-old daughter girl named Lindsay overheard her telling her little friend about Jesus. The children were sitting on the front steps of the house, and the parents tiptoed up to the window to see and hear better. Lindsay told her friend that Jesus had forgiven her sins and if she believed in Him she would go to heaven. The little girl was convinced, and said a prayer of thanks to God. When she was done praying, she looked up at Lindsay and asked, "Will my mother be in heaven too?" Lindsay thought for a moment and replied, "Yeah, if she believes in Jesus. But if you don't want her there, don't tell her about Him!"
Still, such possessiveness exists. St. Matthew says, “When the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things He did and the children shouting in the temple area, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ they were indignant. ‘Do you hear what these children are saying?’ they asked Him. ‘Yes,’ replied Jesus, ‘have you never read, ‘from the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?”5 Yes, out of the mouths of babes!
Christ is still the Lord of the church. Let us not be ashamed to follow a crucified Saviour. Let us not be embarrassed to worship the Servant King. The Lord of compassion welcomes those who are humble in heart. He raises us above strictly worldly concerns. You are not baptized into a kingdom of this world. You do not partake at this altar of cultural or earthly food. You need not wait to be surprised by God’s blessings. Always, the living Christ is with you.
Fittingly, the resurrection soon became the most important expression of joy in the early church. Once recovered from their stupor and enlightened by the Holy Spirit those early believers made Sunday the new Sabbath. They understood creation had been remade and restored. On the seventh day of creation God rested. But on the first day of the week, the eighth day, the dawn of the new era, He redeemed that lost creation. “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! “6 Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Palm Sunday
17 April, 2011
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 18:38 2 Mark 15:30
3 Luke 23:34 4 John 18:36
5 Matthew 21:15-16 6 Matthew 21:9
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Midweek Lenten Sermon 13 April 2011
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: 1 John 1:7
Theme: Cleansed With Blood
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Forgiveness is not easy. Oh yes, if we decide there is little at stake for us, then forgiveness is easy. If we’re not really hurt or damaged or inflicted with personal pain the duty to forgive someone can be a comfortable process. But in these cases forgiveness isn’t nearly so essential or restorative. The presupposition of seeking and granting forgiveness is the fact that a wrong has been committed and recognized and restoration is needed. Something has caused separation and reconciliation is required. Fear has been induced and trust needs to be regained. Then the work begins.
Tonight’s image is about blood and the source of forgiveness. Blood is the divine currency of our redemption. It speaks to the supremacy of forgiveness. Do we casually assume that it is easy for God to forgive? Do we think that because He is God it is a trivial and simple matter? Dear friends, procuring divine forgiveness was an excruciatingly arduous task. How exactly that is is unknowable to us. But this we do know: Jesus Christ hung upon the cross and cried “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”1 “[God] did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all.”2 “The blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”3
Many question the need for such a strong emphasis on forgiveness. Did the people of biblical times have a pre-occupation with sin? Did they worry too much about spiritual matters? To others the historical chasm seems too great to overcome. Time and distance are thought to be barriers too large to get past. Jesus was then. We are now. Creation is past. Creatures are present. The ancients were darkened. We are enlightened. Such thinking governs the contemporary, scientific, and rational collective intellect. The prehistoric past is dismissed as the age of superstition. The present lauded as the age of reason. They had fear and fantasy. We have self-reliance and evidence.
That’s a fine illusion until you stand at the threshold of death. Call then upon your science, your humanism, and philosophy. Barter your good deeds and your selfless intentions with the consuming darkness. Convince yourself that sin and forgiveness don’t matter. Suddenly the bedrock of human certainty and accomplishment crumbles away like a child’s sand castle washed over by a gentle wave. All the components of our exalted system of human genius are pulled apart like tiny particles of sand absorbed into a vast ocean of uncertainty. Who can speak about the powers of death except Him who has conquered it? In the lower left of this painting the risen Christ is treading on death and Satan. No one else could do it. In this victory the believer participates by faith.
The gospel is always contemporary. It puts us in contact with the living Christ. Time and distance are not barriers to the Holy Spirit. If Christ lives and He is immortal than of what concern is time and space? His promise is as effective for you now as it was for the saints in the past. In this picture the artist stands under the shower of Christ’s blood. It is a unique and powerful image. The Scripture says, “This is the one who came by water and blood- Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.”4 He came that you might be cleansed from your deepest, darkest deeds.
There was a pastor named Timothy Brown who never got along well with his congregation. But they all turned out for his very last service and hope of reconciliation was in the air. In his last sermon, he quoted from John 14, "In my Father's house are many rooms…I go there to prepare a place for you." That ended the sermon and the service. It seemed to be a gracious conclusion to His ministry, an olive branch. It was not until several days later that the congregation learned that Pastor Brown had left to be the pastor at the state penitentiary. "In my Father's house are many rooms…I go to prepare a place for you."
Forgiveness is not easy. Our sinful natures always want reconciliation on their own terms just as a selfish faith wants to have the blessings of the inheritance without having a living relationship with God. This, of course, is really no faith at all. You can’t simply show up at the reading of the will. You can’t you have the blessings of marriage without having a spouse. You can’t appreciate parenthood without having a child. You can’t be snatched from the gates of hell without being transported to God’s presence in heaven.
Childish ideas about eternity must go. Jesus is not the chief tour guide of a celestial entertainment mecca. He is not there to provide the fulfillment of every indulgent request- such ideas won’t even cross our minds then. He Himself and the entire company of heaven are the all-sufficient activity of the next life. We will be more than contentedly occupied just to be in the presence of the Holy Trinity. Christ IS the enjoyment of eternal life!
We must believe that now by faith. Take Him at His word. The blood of the cross accomplished the cleansing of your soul. The guilt of your sins was buried at your baptism. Return there in humility and trust. The Holy Spirit will greet you. Bend not just your knee but your heart at His altar. There He will feed you with His own divine life. Yes, your body still needs to pass through the portal of death. But your soul goes unhindered to Him who is the resurrection and the life. Amen.
1 Psalm 22:1
2 Romans 8:32
3 1 John 1:7
4 1 John 5:6
+ in nomine Jesu +
Midweek Lenten Service 13 April 2011
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
Text: 1 John 1:7
Theme: Cleansed With Blood
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Forgiveness is not easy. Oh yes, if we decide there is little at stake for us, then forgiveness is easy. If we’re not really hurt or damaged or inflicted with personal pain the duty to forgive someone can be a comfortable process. But in these cases forgiveness isn’t nearly so essential or restorative. The presupposition of seeking and granting forgiveness is the fact that a wrong has been committed and recognized and restoration is needed. Something has caused separation and reconciliation is required. Fear has been induced and trust needs to be regained. Then the work begins.
Tonight’s image is about blood and the source of forgiveness. Blood is the divine currency of our redemption. It speaks to the supremacy of forgiveness. Do we casually assume that it is easy for God to forgive? Do we think that because He is God it is a trivial and simple matter? Dear friends, procuring divine forgiveness was an excruciatingly arduous task. How exactly that is is unknowable to us. But this we do know: Jesus Christ hung upon the cross and cried “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”1 “[God] did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all.”2 “The blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”3
Many question the need for such a strong emphasis on forgiveness. Did the people of biblical times have a pre-occupation with sin? Did they worry too much about spiritual matters? To others the historical chasm seems too great to overcome. Time and distance are thought to be barriers too large to get past. Jesus was then. We are now. Creation is past. Creatures are present. The ancients were darkened. We are enlightened. Such thinking governs the contemporary, scientific, and rational collective intellect. The prehistoric past is dismissed as the age of superstition. The present lauded as the age of reason. They had fear and fantasy. We have self-reliance and evidence.
That’s a fine illusion until you stand at the threshold of death. Call then upon your science, your humanism, and philosophy. Barter your good deeds and your selfless intentions with the consuming darkness. Convince yourself that sin and forgiveness don’t matter. Suddenly the bedrock of human certainty and accomplishment crumbles away like a child’s sand castle washed over by a gentle wave. All the components of our exalted system of human genius are pulled apart like tiny particles of sand absorbed into a vast ocean of uncertainty. Who can speak about the powers of death except Him who has conquered it? In the lower left of this painting the risen Christ is treading on death and Satan. No one else could do it. In this victory the believer participates by faith.
The gospel is always contemporary. It puts us in contact with the living Christ. Time and distance are not barriers to the Holy Spirit. If Christ lives and He is immortal than of what concern is time and space? His promise is as effective for you now as it was for the saints in the past. In this picture the artist stands under the shower of Christ’s blood. It is a unique and powerful image. The Scripture says, “This is the one who came by water and blood- Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.”4 He came that you might be cleansed from your deepest, darkest deeds.
There was a pastor named Timothy Brown who never got along well with his congregation. But they all turned out for his very last service and hope of reconciliation was in the air. In his last sermon, he quoted from John 14, "In my Father's house are many rooms…I go there to prepare a place for you." That ended the sermon and the service. It seemed to be a gracious conclusion to His ministry, an olive branch. It was not until several days later that the congregation learned that Pastor Brown had left to be the pastor at the state penitentiary. "In my Father's house are many rooms…I go to prepare a place for you."
Forgiveness is not easy. Our sinful natures always want reconciliation on their own terms just as a selfish faith wants to have the blessings of the inheritance without having a living relationship with God. This, of course, is really no faith at all. You can’t simply show up at the reading of the will. You can’t you have the blessings of marriage without having a spouse. You can’t appreciate parenthood without having a child. You can’t be snatched from the gates of hell without being transported to God’s presence in heaven.
Childish ideas about eternity must go. Jesus is not the chief tour guide of a celestial entertainment mecca. He is not there to provide the fulfillment of every indulgent request- such ideas won’t even cross our minds then. He Himself and the entire company of heaven are the all-sufficient activity of the next life. We will be more than contentedly occupied just to be in the presence of the Holy Trinity. Christ IS the enjoyment of eternal life!
We must believe that now by faith. Take Him at His word. The blood of the cross accomplished the cleansing of your soul. The guilt of your sins was buried at your baptism. Return there in humility and trust. The Holy Spirit will greet you. Bend not just your knee but your heart at His altar. There He will feed you with His own divine life. Yes, your body still needs to pass through the portal of death. But your soul goes unhindered to Him who is the resurrection and the life. Amen.
1 Psalm 22:1
2 Romans 8:32
3 1 John 1:7
4 1 John 5:6
+ in nomine Jesu +
Midweek Lenten Service 13 April 2011
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Fifth Sunday In Lent A (2011)
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 11:4
Theme: “[It] Will Not End In Death”
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Life involves the honest recognition of limitations. We have limited capacities. Daily we are reminded of our mortality. Our need for sleep, our struggles in relationships, our mistakes in business, our impatience at work, our frailty in health, our inability to rectify past failures; these are all symptomatic of our limited faculties. These issues tend to dominate the daily life of the average person but much greater issues loom in the background. Can you merit God’s favour? Or do you take it for granted? Can you forgive sins? Can you prohibit death? Can you negotiate your status in eternity? Are you conscious of your place in His kingdom here and now? The movement of these considerations from the background to the foreground is a sign of the activity and maturity of your faith. Only in Christ can these restrictions be transcended. Only by grace can we participate in the ultimate blessings God alone possesses.
These truths are vividly illustrated by today’s gospel account. Jesus is called to the aid of a close friend named Lazarus. Though Lazarus was very near death, Christ delays His arrival. It seemed perplexing. He said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”1 But Lazarus did die. He had been in the tomb for four days when Jesus finally arrived. In the meantime the hours must have been filled with sorrow and doubt for Mary and Martha, his sisters. Was Jesus wrong? Had they misunderstood? Were they deceived about who He was?
Yet He delayed for the benefit of His disciples and the other witnesses. God is not constrained by the circumstances which demand urgency from humans. When all hope of human aid is lost, God brings restoration and life. That is what He did for Lazarus. Such examples should bolster our prayers and our faith. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”2
This biblical account is more than a tender but powerful show of Christ’s compassion. It is a lesson about our limitations and dependence on God. There is a parallel between the physical and spiritual power over life and death that human beings possess. Just as we possess the power to bring physical death we can also initiate spiritual death. Faith can be smothered and finally snuffed out. But we have neither the power of physical life nor of spiritual life. This privilege is God’s alone. Lazarus could not raise himself to life. No person can bring themselves to spiritual life. Only the Holy Spirit can raise the soul from death. Should you choose to end your life you would have no power to bring it back. That is the very definition of dead and death. Without Christ spiritual and finally eternal death reign unchallenged.
That’s what makes baptism so important and magnificent. It is Christ’s very own promise and action of sending the Holy Spirit to grant faith and spiritual life to an individual. The Scripture says, “Faith comes through hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”3 Baptism is a visible and tangible vehicle for the word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. The word is clothed with water and carries the authority of God’s own name.
Baptism is not a family ritual or mere religious ceremony. It is the beginning of a life of faith. It is a participation in the death and resurrection of Christ. It is the means by which Christ initiates people into His body, the church. Let us not forget what an astounding privilege it is to be received into the one, holy, Christian and apostolic church! Life in the church is marked by a continual contact with Christ: Hearing His promises, receiving His forgiveness, partaking of His body and blood, walking the way of the cross.
This season of Lent is marching on and Holy Week draws near. It is the most sacred time of year marked by the most intense sorrow, repentance, humility, hope and joy. As such, it necessarily defines Christianity. The raising of Lazarus today is a little preview of Easter. But Easter cannot be equally recognized by people of faith as a secular holiday and the most important Christian celebration. We are headed for a parting of the ways. It can be no other way because the Lord knows those who are His4. We can disregard the truth. We can ignore it. But we cannot nullify it. Eventually we will all be called to account. We cannot prevent those things which God decrees. And we cannot initiate and complete things God does not countenance. If God intends to judge sin and unbelief, who can stop Him? If He promises to raise those who believe in Him, who can prevent it?
Thanks be to God that He has sent us His Son to lift from us the weight of sin and death! As the prophet Ezekiel described earlier, He has come to this valley of dry bones5 and raised us out of spiritual deadness by breathing into us His own life and clothing us with His own righteousness. The apostle says the same thing this way, “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies thorough His Spirit, who lives in you.”6
To have Christ live in you through the Spirit is to be freed to confidently serve others. There is a story about a hunter in the jungle who came across an elephant that was limping. The hunter followed it closely. Finally it toppled over. The hunter examined its feet. In one foot there was a very large thorn so he removed. Being a regular and seasoned hunter who encountered many elephants the man eventually forgot about the incident. Many years passed and the hunter was in the cheap seats at a circus which had come to town. A turn was given by a troupe of performing elephants. One of these elephants reached out its trunk, encircled his waist, and lifted him from his cheap seat and set him down in a seat in a private box.
A timely favour is rarely forgotten by those with integrity and never by God. But whether or not we receive appreciation when we think it’s due is not really our concern. Our efforts are not for self-recognition but for the sake of the kingdom. As the apostle says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers.”7
Dear friends, this mortal life is not an end in itself unless unrepentance and unbelief bind it with that limitation. Lazarus’s return to life was not yet a resurrection. It was a resuscitation. Christ restored him to his previous bodily state, an existence still governed by a fallen world and its consequences. The resurrection of believers on the last day is something much, much more. It is modeled on Jesus’ own resurrection. The Scripture says, “[Christ] will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”8 Life involves the acceptance of limitations. But the sickness of sin will not end in eternal death. Christ has no limitations. He is the life, hope, and eternal salvation of all who believe. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Fifth Sunday In Lent
10 April, 2011
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 11:4 2 John 11:25-26
3 Romans 10:17 4 See 2 Timothy 2:19
5 See Ezekiel 37:1-14 6 See Romans 8:11
7 Galatians 6:9-10 8 Philippians 3:21
Text: John 11:4
Theme: “[It] Will Not End In Death”
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Life involves the honest recognition of limitations. We have limited capacities. Daily we are reminded of our mortality. Our need for sleep, our struggles in relationships, our mistakes in business, our impatience at work, our frailty in health, our inability to rectify past failures; these are all symptomatic of our limited faculties. These issues tend to dominate the daily life of the average person but much greater issues loom in the background. Can you merit God’s favour? Or do you take it for granted? Can you forgive sins? Can you prohibit death? Can you negotiate your status in eternity? Are you conscious of your place in His kingdom here and now? The movement of these considerations from the background to the foreground is a sign of the activity and maturity of your faith. Only in Christ can these restrictions be transcended. Only by grace can we participate in the ultimate blessings God alone possesses.
These truths are vividly illustrated by today’s gospel account. Jesus is called to the aid of a close friend named Lazarus. Though Lazarus was very near death, Christ delays His arrival. It seemed perplexing. He said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”1 But Lazarus did die. He had been in the tomb for four days when Jesus finally arrived. In the meantime the hours must have been filled with sorrow and doubt for Mary and Martha, his sisters. Was Jesus wrong? Had they misunderstood? Were they deceived about who He was?
Yet He delayed for the benefit of His disciples and the other witnesses. God is not constrained by the circumstances which demand urgency from humans. When all hope of human aid is lost, God brings restoration and life. That is what He did for Lazarus. Such examples should bolster our prayers and our faith. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”2
This biblical account is more than a tender but powerful show of Christ’s compassion. It is a lesson about our limitations and dependence on God. There is a parallel between the physical and spiritual power over life and death that human beings possess. Just as we possess the power to bring physical death we can also initiate spiritual death. Faith can be smothered and finally snuffed out. But we have neither the power of physical life nor of spiritual life. This privilege is God’s alone. Lazarus could not raise himself to life. No person can bring themselves to spiritual life. Only the Holy Spirit can raise the soul from death. Should you choose to end your life you would have no power to bring it back. That is the very definition of dead and death. Without Christ spiritual and finally eternal death reign unchallenged.
That’s what makes baptism so important and magnificent. It is Christ’s very own promise and action of sending the Holy Spirit to grant faith and spiritual life to an individual. The Scripture says, “Faith comes through hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”3 Baptism is a visible and tangible vehicle for the word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. The word is clothed with water and carries the authority of God’s own name.
Baptism is not a family ritual or mere religious ceremony. It is the beginning of a life of faith. It is a participation in the death and resurrection of Christ. It is the means by which Christ initiates people into His body, the church. Let us not forget what an astounding privilege it is to be received into the one, holy, Christian and apostolic church! Life in the church is marked by a continual contact with Christ: Hearing His promises, receiving His forgiveness, partaking of His body and blood, walking the way of the cross.
This season of Lent is marching on and Holy Week draws near. It is the most sacred time of year marked by the most intense sorrow, repentance, humility, hope and joy. As such, it necessarily defines Christianity. The raising of Lazarus today is a little preview of Easter. But Easter cannot be equally recognized by people of faith as a secular holiday and the most important Christian celebration. We are headed for a parting of the ways. It can be no other way because the Lord knows those who are His4. We can disregard the truth. We can ignore it. But we cannot nullify it. Eventually we will all be called to account. We cannot prevent those things which God decrees. And we cannot initiate and complete things God does not countenance. If God intends to judge sin and unbelief, who can stop Him? If He promises to raise those who believe in Him, who can prevent it?
Thanks be to God that He has sent us His Son to lift from us the weight of sin and death! As the prophet Ezekiel described earlier, He has come to this valley of dry bones5 and raised us out of spiritual deadness by breathing into us His own life and clothing us with His own righteousness. The apostle says the same thing this way, “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies thorough His Spirit, who lives in you.”6
To have Christ live in you through the Spirit is to be freed to confidently serve others. There is a story about a hunter in the jungle who came across an elephant that was limping. The hunter followed it closely. Finally it toppled over. The hunter examined its feet. In one foot there was a very large thorn so he removed. Being a regular and seasoned hunter who encountered many elephants the man eventually forgot about the incident. Many years passed and the hunter was in the cheap seats at a circus which had come to town. A turn was given by a troupe of performing elephants. One of these elephants reached out its trunk, encircled his waist, and lifted him from his cheap seat and set him down in a seat in a private box.
A timely favour is rarely forgotten by those with integrity and never by God. But whether or not we receive appreciation when we think it’s due is not really our concern. Our efforts are not for self-recognition but for the sake of the kingdom. As the apostle says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers.”7
Dear friends, this mortal life is not an end in itself unless unrepentance and unbelief bind it with that limitation. Lazarus’s return to life was not yet a resurrection. It was a resuscitation. Christ restored him to his previous bodily state, an existence still governed by a fallen world and its consequences. The resurrection of believers on the last day is something much, much more. It is modeled on Jesus’ own resurrection. The Scripture says, “[Christ] will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”8 Life involves the acceptance of limitations. But the sickness of sin will not end in eternal death. Christ has no limitations. He is the life, hope, and eternal salvation of all who believe. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Fifth Sunday In Lent
10 April, 2011
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 11:4 2 John 11:25-26
3 Romans 10:17 4 See 2 Timothy 2:19
5 See Ezekiel 37:1-14 6 See Romans 8:11
7 Galatians 6:9-10 8 Philippians 3:21
Monday, April 4, 2011
Fourth Sunday in Lent A (2011)
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 9:3
Theme: In Service of Glory
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God Himself bears the reproach of sin. He accepts the responsibility. Full stop! Christ is the scapegoat in the truest sense of the word. Not that God is the author or architect of sin. Sin has its origins in Satan and wayward human nature. Yet God alone, in the person of Christ undertakes to rescue us from sin, death, and Satan’s power. There is no other escape from the bondage of sin and its consequences. This truth is the core of Christianity.
The situation of this blind man today is a microcosm of humanity. Though the attendant circumstances of your life may be vastly different the spiritual realities are unchanged. You, in your present day context of Broadband, nice cars, advanced medicine, and comfy homes face the same spiritual issues as this blind man who relied on oral communication, travel by foot, ancient remedies, and meager accommodation. The consequences of sin are not limited by the era or context. Sin knows no ancient or modern distinctions. But neither does grace. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”1
We are launched into the story with the pressing question at the forefront of the disciples’ minds. Who sinned? Whose fault was it? Who is to blame? What is the cause of the terrible misfortune this man has been facing? We quickly see the assumption that underlies their question. There must be a direct and discernable cause for this misfortune. But now comes a highly significant response from the Lord, “‘Neither this man nor His parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.’”2
Now this is a daring assessment from the Saviour! Yes, it means that Jesus dismisses the idea that the man was guilty of a particular sin. That is important. It’s much more satisfying to human reason to think that the condition was brought on by some wickedness of himself or his parents. It also leaves open the possibility- at least in theory- that the individual can undertake some measure of correction or compensation to right himself with God. But there is a greater implication still. Here Jesus is brave enough to judge that this man had been suffering blindness his entire life for the purpose of this moment. He was waiting until the time this encounter arrived. Who else could have the authority or audacity to make such an assessment? Think of the implication. It means that this man suffered through life in ancient society meeting with great disadvantage because of his blindness to glorify God at this moment. It hardly seems fair. Who determines what is fair and just? And on what basis?
That’s a thorny topic, isn’t it? And is the cause of much angst, conflict, dejection, and even polarization. How should Christians approach this? Our Lutheran Confessions give this guidance, “Troubles are not always penalties for certain past deeds, but works of God, intended for our profit, that the power of God might be made more manifest in our weakness.”3 “As a rule, these troubles are punishment for sin. In the godly they have another and better purpose, that is, to exercise them so that in their temptations they may learn to seek God’s help and to acknowledge the unbelief in their hearts.”4 Are your prayers in the midst of trial tempered with such patience? Do they persevere with such persistence and hope?
Dear friends, take comfort in knowing that when God allows you to suffer trial He intends to exercise and strengthen your faith. He would have our trials lead not to resentment or despair, but to desire for His mercy, to perseverance, and finally comfort. Faith is not exercised by conditions or circumstances that move us on an independent trajectory from God. That is, whenever we are moving in the direction of spiritual self-reliance we are moving away from God. We are not speaking here of growing in our knowledge of the truth and confidence in our witness. These are good things that mark maturity in our faith. We are referring to any and every situation, or circumstance or even ‘spiritual’ pursuit that would dampen our desire for forgiveness or diminish our appreciation of His grace.
What may seem somewhat obvious here is actually a powerful opportunity for the devil to deceive. Sometimes people falsely believe they have grown in their faith when they have gotten past the need to continually and regularly receive forgiveness. But maturing faith moves in the opposite direction. The more clearly sin is identified the greater grace is appreciated. The passion of our devotion follows accordingly.
In their effort to discredit Jesus and His miracle by disgracing this blind man the Jews investigate the parents. His parents respond very carefully. He can speak for himself. John immediately tells us why. “His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.”5 In other words, recognition of Jesus as the Messiah resulted in exclusion. The ecclesiastical equivalent today would be excommunication from the congregation. Public, open and unrepentant sin should be addressed for the well-being of the unrepentant sinner and for the good of the worshipping community. It’s a discipline the church rarely practices today and one symptom in the decline of the church’s vitality.
The situation here is actually more serious yet. To be banned from the synagogue was to be also cut-off from all the hopes and blessings of Israel. It involved being treated like Gentile unbelievers. It had far-reaching implications for one’s standing in society. The blind man’s parents would not risk it. There was too much at stake.
Inevitably God must bring us to that time and place when we see what’s at stake. The Lenten season reminds us of the implications of bearing the cross. To be identified with Christ is to be a follower and confessor of His truth. This may seem easy when there is no resistance. But when personal hardship and sacrifice are demanded then our devotion is really tested. It can be no other way because there can be no harmony between the truth of Christ and the falsehood of the world.
That Jesus directs the blind man to the pool of Siloam is no coincidence. It was used in the sacred rites for the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. Siloam means ‘the One Sent.’ Jesus fully intends to identify Himself as the Sent One, the Messiah. He has been sent to bring cleansing, healing and the water of life. We see here a baptismal connection. Those, who through baptism are born again, now have cleansing and spiritual sight.
In bondage to sin’s power only Christ, the great physician, could initiate our healing. Christ became the victim of the curse of the cross not by coercion, but by the free expression of His love for humanity. His grace far transcends the obligation of pity from a well-resourced benefactor. There is no self-interest at Calvary. His is a redeeming grace that seeks the most unlovable of objects: wicked, disobedient, sinful human beings. His is an unmerited, unbridled compassion.
With the eyes of faith believers see the world differently. St. Paul said earlier, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.”6 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.”7 No darkness, spiritual blindness, or physical malady can overcome the light of Christ. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Fourth Sunday In Lent
3 April, 2011
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Hebrews 13:8 2 John 9:3
3 AP XII 207, 160 4 AP XII 206, 151
5 John 9:22 6 Ephesians 5:8-10
7 John 9:5
Text: John 9:3
Theme: In Service of Glory
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God Himself bears the reproach of sin. He accepts the responsibility. Full stop! Christ is the scapegoat in the truest sense of the word. Not that God is the author or architect of sin. Sin has its origins in Satan and wayward human nature. Yet God alone, in the person of Christ undertakes to rescue us from sin, death, and Satan’s power. There is no other escape from the bondage of sin and its consequences. This truth is the core of Christianity.
The situation of this blind man today is a microcosm of humanity. Though the attendant circumstances of your life may be vastly different the spiritual realities are unchanged. You, in your present day context of Broadband, nice cars, advanced medicine, and comfy homes face the same spiritual issues as this blind man who relied on oral communication, travel by foot, ancient remedies, and meager accommodation. The consequences of sin are not limited by the era or context. Sin knows no ancient or modern distinctions. But neither does grace. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”1
We are launched into the story with the pressing question at the forefront of the disciples’ minds. Who sinned? Whose fault was it? Who is to blame? What is the cause of the terrible misfortune this man has been facing? We quickly see the assumption that underlies their question. There must be a direct and discernable cause for this misfortune. But now comes a highly significant response from the Lord, “‘Neither this man nor His parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.’”2
Now this is a daring assessment from the Saviour! Yes, it means that Jesus dismisses the idea that the man was guilty of a particular sin. That is important. It’s much more satisfying to human reason to think that the condition was brought on by some wickedness of himself or his parents. It also leaves open the possibility- at least in theory- that the individual can undertake some measure of correction or compensation to right himself with God. But there is a greater implication still. Here Jesus is brave enough to judge that this man had been suffering blindness his entire life for the purpose of this moment. He was waiting until the time this encounter arrived. Who else could have the authority or audacity to make such an assessment? Think of the implication. It means that this man suffered through life in ancient society meeting with great disadvantage because of his blindness to glorify God at this moment. It hardly seems fair. Who determines what is fair and just? And on what basis?
That’s a thorny topic, isn’t it? And is the cause of much angst, conflict, dejection, and even polarization. How should Christians approach this? Our Lutheran Confessions give this guidance, “Troubles are not always penalties for certain past deeds, but works of God, intended for our profit, that the power of God might be made more manifest in our weakness.”3 “As a rule, these troubles are punishment for sin. In the godly they have another and better purpose, that is, to exercise them so that in their temptations they may learn to seek God’s help and to acknowledge the unbelief in their hearts.”4 Are your prayers in the midst of trial tempered with such patience? Do they persevere with such persistence and hope?
Dear friends, take comfort in knowing that when God allows you to suffer trial He intends to exercise and strengthen your faith. He would have our trials lead not to resentment or despair, but to desire for His mercy, to perseverance, and finally comfort. Faith is not exercised by conditions or circumstances that move us on an independent trajectory from God. That is, whenever we are moving in the direction of spiritual self-reliance we are moving away from God. We are not speaking here of growing in our knowledge of the truth and confidence in our witness. These are good things that mark maturity in our faith. We are referring to any and every situation, or circumstance or even ‘spiritual’ pursuit that would dampen our desire for forgiveness or diminish our appreciation of His grace.
What may seem somewhat obvious here is actually a powerful opportunity for the devil to deceive. Sometimes people falsely believe they have grown in their faith when they have gotten past the need to continually and regularly receive forgiveness. But maturing faith moves in the opposite direction. The more clearly sin is identified the greater grace is appreciated. The passion of our devotion follows accordingly.
In their effort to discredit Jesus and His miracle by disgracing this blind man the Jews investigate the parents. His parents respond very carefully. He can speak for himself. John immediately tells us why. “His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.”5 In other words, recognition of Jesus as the Messiah resulted in exclusion. The ecclesiastical equivalent today would be excommunication from the congregation. Public, open and unrepentant sin should be addressed for the well-being of the unrepentant sinner and for the good of the worshipping community. It’s a discipline the church rarely practices today and one symptom in the decline of the church’s vitality.
The situation here is actually more serious yet. To be banned from the synagogue was to be also cut-off from all the hopes and blessings of Israel. It involved being treated like Gentile unbelievers. It had far-reaching implications for one’s standing in society. The blind man’s parents would not risk it. There was too much at stake.
Inevitably God must bring us to that time and place when we see what’s at stake. The Lenten season reminds us of the implications of bearing the cross. To be identified with Christ is to be a follower and confessor of His truth. This may seem easy when there is no resistance. But when personal hardship and sacrifice are demanded then our devotion is really tested. It can be no other way because there can be no harmony between the truth of Christ and the falsehood of the world.
That Jesus directs the blind man to the pool of Siloam is no coincidence. It was used in the sacred rites for the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. Siloam means ‘the One Sent.’ Jesus fully intends to identify Himself as the Sent One, the Messiah. He has been sent to bring cleansing, healing and the water of life. We see here a baptismal connection. Those, who through baptism are born again, now have cleansing and spiritual sight.
In bondage to sin’s power only Christ, the great physician, could initiate our healing. Christ became the victim of the curse of the cross not by coercion, but by the free expression of His love for humanity. His grace far transcends the obligation of pity from a well-resourced benefactor. There is no self-interest at Calvary. His is a redeeming grace that seeks the most unlovable of objects: wicked, disobedient, sinful human beings. His is an unmerited, unbridled compassion.
With the eyes of faith believers see the world differently. St. Paul said earlier, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.”6 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.”7 No darkness, spiritual blindness, or physical malady can overcome the light of Christ. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Fourth Sunday In Lent
3 April, 2011
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Hebrews 13:8 2 John 9:3
3 AP XII 207, 160 4 AP XII 206, 151
5 John 9:22 6 Ephesians 5:8-10
7 John 9:5
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Midweek Lenten Service March 30, 2011
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Matthew 22:1-4 Theme: Fear and Freedom
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
At first glance it appears to be a sort of strange juxtaposition of images. A festive Medieval banquet spread out with the all the delicacies and involving all the joyous fellowship of a celebration while over it looms the imposing image of Christ on the cross. In the parable of the wedding banquet the king sends his servants to tell those who are invited, “Everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”1 These words should sound familiar. They are the words with which the pastor, the servant of Christ, customarily invites believers to partake of the banquet of Holy Communion. “Come, for all things are now ready.”
Tonight we continue our Lenten series focusing on images associated with the Passion. We will consider two questions associated with this painting. Firstly, on what basis can the king, the host of the banquet, which itself is symbolic of the heavenly feast, say “Come, for all things are now ready?” The answer is as simple as it is profound, as far-reaching as it is unique. Jesus breathed His last from the cross saying, “It is finsihed2.” The sacrifice is complete. The price is paid. Sin is atoned for. The banquet has commenced. The guests are deemed worthy. The celebrations begin. Thus the image of the Crucified looms over the festive scene.
But, remember, many of those invited to the banquet did not come. Our second question is “Why?” Well, the Scripture tells us they had other, ostensibly more important, business to attend to. I suggest to you that one of the greatest barriers to participation in the banquet- and here I mean an active and honest faith- is fear. Fear separates us from God. But, what kind of fear? Arrogance can be a fear of letting God be God. Busyness can be a fear of ‘wasting your time’ with things of the kingdom. Apathy can even be a fear of being challenged by the Holy Spirit and responsible for our witness. And you see, we can become quite comfortable with our sins and we fear having them exposed or sometimes even fear being forgiven. We are afraid of a tarnished reputation and of losing control.
There is a legend which says that there was a mouse that was very afraid of cats. So she wished she could become a cat. Her wish came true and she turned into a cat. Then she saw a dog and became afraid again and wished she were a dog. Her wish was granted and she turned into a dog. Then she saw a lion and she was terrified by his power and strength and wished she could become a lion so that she would not have to be terrified of the lion. Her wish was granted and she became a lion. Then she saw a man with a gun about to shoot her with his gun. You can imagine what happened next. She wished she could become a human and she did. But when she was sitting in her house she saw a mouse and she was scared of the mouse. The little mouse frightened her.
Now, whether or not this is an appropriate time to be preaching about mice, you can be the judge. We certainly hope our current experience doesn’t become labelled as anything legendary. Fear is often wrapped up with a sinful mistrust of God. It is often a measure of failure in protecting our own selfish interests. When we lose control or feel things are not working out according to our plans we may begin to be afraid. What fears are most crippling and incapacitating for you?
Dear friends, think of that little mouse. Do you desire to become what you fear? Sometimes people who are bullied later become bullies. Sometimes people who are oppressed in a relationship later become oppressors. Sometimes people who are wronged by others with power or influence later find themselves having these same powers at their disposal and doing the same things. But the greatest and most proper fear is the fear of death and eternal separation from God. This fear is conquered by the death and resurrection of God’s own Son. And because we are justified by grace we need not fear whether Satan is too powerful nor whether we are too unworthy. All of our lesser fears are then resolved on the basis of this freedom, of this security.
Often Jesus’ directives to stop fearing were essentially pronouncements of forgiveness and freedom. The declaration of forgiveness releases you from fear. Its power lies in the sacrificial death of Christ. The word of absolution spoken to you and pronounced upon you carries the weight and authority of Him who has won the victory. At the cross, the very image of darkness, humiliation, and defeat fear has met its end. Once the sacrifice is completed Satan’s threats of death and hell are rendered powerless.
Still, these great and wonderful truths would remain abstract and distant were they not communicated to us through God’s chosen means. Here is where the baptized learn to appreciate and be met by God where He desires. Without seeking to limit the sovereignty of God- He cannot be bound or restricted- we recognize that for our well-being He has bound Himself and thus the work of His Spirit to the word and sacraments. And these things are powerful, forgiving, healing and restoring because- and only because- they are ordained by the incarnate, crucified, risen and living Christ. The prerogative of God to act independently from all means is not really our concern. We understand His activity as located in the flesh and blood Jesus. This is a particularly Lutheran understanding. In Christ we have freedom. But not in the Jesus who is a mere dispenser of information about the sovereign Father. We have it in the Jesus who is Himself God of God, light of light, very God of very God of the same substance of the Father. He is both the host and the food of the Banquet.
How blessed we are to have already a foretaste of this feast to come. To dine at the Lord’s Table is to dine at the very gate of heaven and consume the very food offered there.
Amen. + in nomine Jesu +
Midweek Lenten Service
1 Matthew 22:4 30 March 2011
2 John 19:30 Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
Text: Matthew 22:1-4 Theme: Fear and Freedom
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
At first glance it appears to be a sort of strange juxtaposition of images. A festive Medieval banquet spread out with the all the delicacies and involving all the joyous fellowship of a celebration while over it looms the imposing image of Christ on the cross. In the parable of the wedding banquet the king sends his servants to tell those who are invited, “Everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”1 These words should sound familiar. They are the words with which the pastor, the servant of Christ, customarily invites believers to partake of the banquet of Holy Communion. “Come, for all things are now ready.”
Tonight we continue our Lenten series focusing on images associated with the Passion. We will consider two questions associated with this painting. Firstly, on what basis can the king, the host of the banquet, which itself is symbolic of the heavenly feast, say “Come, for all things are now ready?” The answer is as simple as it is profound, as far-reaching as it is unique. Jesus breathed His last from the cross saying, “It is finsihed2.” The sacrifice is complete. The price is paid. Sin is atoned for. The banquet has commenced. The guests are deemed worthy. The celebrations begin. Thus the image of the Crucified looms over the festive scene.
But, remember, many of those invited to the banquet did not come. Our second question is “Why?” Well, the Scripture tells us they had other, ostensibly more important, business to attend to. I suggest to you that one of the greatest barriers to participation in the banquet- and here I mean an active and honest faith- is fear. Fear separates us from God. But, what kind of fear? Arrogance can be a fear of letting God be God. Busyness can be a fear of ‘wasting your time’ with things of the kingdom. Apathy can even be a fear of being challenged by the Holy Spirit and responsible for our witness. And you see, we can become quite comfortable with our sins and we fear having them exposed or sometimes even fear being forgiven. We are afraid of a tarnished reputation and of losing control.
There is a legend which says that there was a mouse that was very afraid of cats. So she wished she could become a cat. Her wish came true and she turned into a cat. Then she saw a dog and became afraid again and wished she were a dog. Her wish was granted and she turned into a dog. Then she saw a lion and she was terrified by his power and strength and wished she could become a lion so that she would not have to be terrified of the lion. Her wish was granted and she became a lion. Then she saw a man with a gun about to shoot her with his gun. You can imagine what happened next. She wished she could become a human and she did. But when she was sitting in her house she saw a mouse and she was scared of the mouse. The little mouse frightened her.
Now, whether or not this is an appropriate time to be preaching about mice, you can be the judge. We certainly hope our current experience doesn’t become labelled as anything legendary. Fear is often wrapped up with a sinful mistrust of God. It is often a measure of failure in protecting our own selfish interests. When we lose control or feel things are not working out according to our plans we may begin to be afraid. What fears are most crippling and incapacitating for you?
Dear friends, think of that little mouse. Do you desire to become what you fear? Sometimes people who are bullied later become bullies. Sometimes people who are oppressed in a relationship later become oppressors. Sometimes people who are wronged by others with power or influence later find themselves having these same powers at their disposal and doing the same things. But the greatest and most proper fear is the fear of death and eternal separation from God. This fear is conquered by the death and resurrection of God’s own Son. And because we are justified by grace we need not fear whether Satan is too powerful nor whether we are too unworthy. All of our lesser fears are then resolved on the basis of this freedom, of this security.
Often Jesus’ directives to stop fearing were essentially pronouncements of forgiveness and freedom. The declaration of forgiveness releases you from fear. Its power lies in the sacrificial death of Christ. The word of absolution spoken to you and pronounced upon you carries the weight and authority of Him who has won the victory. At the cross, the very image of darkness, humiliation, and defeat fear has met its end. Once the sacrifice is completed Satan’s threats of death and hell are rendered powerless.
Still, these great and wonderful truths would remain abstract and distant were they not communicated to us through God’s chosen means. Here is where the baptized learn to appreciate and be met by God where He desires. Without seeking to limit the sovereignty of God- He cannot be bound or restricted- we recognize that for our well-being He has bound Himself and thus the work of His Spirit to the word and sacraments. And these things are powerful, forgiving, healing and restoring because- and only because- they are ordained by the incarnate, crucified, risen and living Christ. The prerogative of God to act independently from all means is not really our concern. We understand His activity as located in the flesh and blood Jesus. This is a particularly Lutheran understanding. In Christ we have freedom. But not in the Jesus who is a mere dispenser of information about the sovereign Father. We have it in the Jesus who is Himself God of God, light of light, very God of very God of the same substance of the Father. He is both the host and the food of the Banquet.
How blessed we are to have already a foretaste of this feast to come. To dine at the Lord’s Table is to dine at the very gate of heaven and consume the very food offered there.
Amen. + in nomine Jesu +
Midweek Lenten Service
1 Matthew 22:4 30 March 2011
2 John 19:30 Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Second Sunday In Lent A (2011)
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 3:1-17
Theme: Baptism and the Spirit
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Life is a kaleidoscope. It is a sequence of constantly moving activities and events. Prosperity and adversity, challenges, and successes compose a dynamic medley of life’s experiences. The intention of Lent is to bring understanding to where we are headed; to identify purpose in confusion, form order from chaos, and locate stability in turmoil. Above all Lent calls us back to giving priority to the most fundamental of needs and realities.
Christ gives us this direction today. Our appointed gospel reading is thoroughly baptismal. “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”1 Remember Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness immediately after His baptism and we are specifically told that He was led there by the Spirit2.
It’s helpful to be mindful of these connections in the Lenten season.
Jesus said, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”3 All human beings inherit from their parents the virus of original sin going right back to Adam. We are born, each and every one of us, without natural fear, love, and trust in God. We are conceived with the propensity towards selfishness and disregard for the needs of others. We have no ability on our own to approach God nor can we even conceive of the need to be reconciled to Him. This is the catastrophic reality of original sin. There are no exceptions.
The Holy Spirit, however, converts our profane souls and sets them in tune with God. The gospel can do with one word what volumes of the most sophisticated human philosophy can never accomplish. The result is transformational. Baptism forges a new relationship between the believer and God. It breaks new ground. It changes our whole orientation.
The human desires which formerly were (and could only be8) directed toward self and those from whom we hope to gain some benefit or advantage now enter upon a new conflict, a new struggle. The will of God is now in competition. Whereas formerly (in a unbelieving state) we are content to follow our own agenda and may even do so somewhat peacefully, now the spirit struggles against the flesh and the flesh against the spirit in pursuit of God’s will. The Christian’s struggle against temptation is an infallible mark of the presence of faith. Where there is no faith there is no struggle. Where there is no struggle there is no faith.
Consider, for example how the Ninth and Tenth Commandments forbid coveting. Jealousy and selfish desire lead to grumbling. These commandments call us to be content. They call us to recognize the countless ways God’s fills our lives with blessings and continues to provide. But what about when we are content with the wrong things? What about when there is no struggle? What about when people are happy to go on in their materially rich but spiritually vacuous lives? What about when they are happy carry on without the knowledge and presence of God and just take their chances.
Such contentment, though genuine in and of itself, is actually based on idolatry. It is founded on the false trust in persons or things that are not or have no relation to the true God. Such contentment can be used by Satan to keep people deadened to their need for God. Nicodemus, you see, was not content. He was not satisfied with the caricature of Christ that he was hearing from the Jewish rulers. Himself a Pharisee, he was privy to all their high level conversations. But he was not content and so he went to Jesus himself. Not lacking for any material desire He wanted to hear first-hand from Jesus about true spiritual riches.
Jesus then utters those oft-quoted words, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”5
Still the argument rages on “If God really loves the world than why another earthquake and tsunami?” Something’s wrong here, the skeptics say. Yes! Something is wrong, terribly wrong. The world is spiraling into chaos because of sin. It’s been happening since Adam and Eve’s fall. These things are nothing new. Only the infinite patience of God prevents the instant destruction of all ungodliness and unbelief.
God’s love for the world is not a matter of tolerance of human foibles. It is a love that reconciles through true sacrifice. Only the death and resurrection of Christ could accomplish this. It’s easy to drivel on endlessly about the love of God and not convey anything more than God’s general contentment with humanity. It can become nothing more than a meaningless platitude or a generalized cliché. At worst it becomes a legalist call for people to achieve their own spiritual certainty and security through their love of others.
It may come as a shock that Christ doesn’t love you because He’s generally obligated to like all people. Christ passionately desires your salvation because unconditional compassion is the truest expression of His very being. It’s not about something He sees in you or even about not giving up hope on you. It’s about fellowship with the Holy Trinity. He passionately desires that you share eternally in the life of God. That is the import of your baptism.
Lent is the season for perseverance. As such it’s a microcosm for a Christian’s entire life. The consequences of the fallen world inundate us. We become tired and vulnerable and may even consider throwing in the towel. But we press on. We push on by God’s grace relying on His promises. News reports show that a 69-year-old South Korean woman obtained her driver's license after 960 tries. Yes, you heard that right, 960! How that’s possible is hard to say. Now, we must admire her persistence but we might think twice before getting into her car. It’s true of our life too, isn’t it?
We press on as the great apostle said, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”6 We gain wisdom and maturity. We learn to test the spirits, recognize the devil’s temptations and combat them. We strive to serve the interests of others and not our own selfish desires.
From the files of driving instruction comes this story also. A driving instructor was giving lessons to an extremely nervous student who panicked when ever another car approached on a particular two-lane road. One day, however, they got to the same stretch of road, and she remained completely calm. “This time you’re doing fine!” exclaimed the instructor. “Yes,” the novice driver agreed. “Now when I see another car coming, I shut my eyes.”
Dear friends, we need not fear the adversities and challenges of life; Christ is our comfort and defense. We need not blindly follow the agenda secular society. Christ has given us the eyes of faith. We need not gorge ourselves on the unwholesome delicacies of the world. Christ feeds us with His body and blood. We are the baptized. Christ identifies us as His own.
May the Holy Spirit more clearly reveal these truths to you during this holy season of Lent. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Second Sunday In Lent
20 March 2011
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 3:5 2 See Matthew 4:1
3 John 3:6 4 See Romans 8:5-8
5 John 3:16 6 Philippians 3:13-14
Text: John 3:1-17
Theme: Baptism and the Spirit
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Life is a kaleidoscope. It is a sequence of constantly moving activities and events. Prosperity and adversity, challenges, and successes compose a dynamic medley of life’s experiences. The intention of Lent is to bring understanding to where we are headed; to identify purpose in confusion, form order from chaos, and locate stability in turmoil. Above all Lent calls us back to giving priority to the most fundamental of needs and realities.
Christ gives us this direction today. Our appointed gospel reading is thoroughly baptismal. “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”1 Remember Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness immediately after His baptism and we are specifically told that He was led there by the Spirit2.
It’s helpful to be mindful of these connections in the Lenten season.
Jesus said, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”3 All human beings inherit from their parents the virus of original sin going right back to Adam. We are born, each and every one of us, without natural fear, love, and trust in God. We are conceived with the propensity towards selfishness and disregard for the needs of others. We have no ability on our own to approach God nor can we even conceive of the need to be reconciled to Him. This is the catastrophic reality of original sin. There are no exceptions.
The Holy Spirit, however, converts our profane souls and sets them in tune with God. The gospel can do with one word what volumes of the most sophisticated human philosophy can never accomplish. The result is transformational. Baptism forges a new relationship between the believer and God. It breaks new ground. It changes our whole orientation.
The human desires which formerly were (and could only be8) directed toward self and those from whom we hope to gain some benefit or advantage now enter upon a new conflict, a new struggle. The will of God is now in competition. Whereas formerly (in a unbelieving state) we are content to follow our own agenda and may even do so somewhat peacefully, now the spirit struggles against the flesh and the flesh against the spirit in pursuit of God’s will. The Christian’s struggle against temptation is an infallible mark of the presence of faith. Where there is no faith there is no struggle. Where there is no struggle there is no faith.
Consider, for example how the Ninth and Tenth Commandments forbid coveting. Jealousy and selfish desire lead to grumbling. These commandments call us to be content. They call us to recognize the countless ways God’s fills our lives with blessings and continues to provide. But what about when we are content with the wrong things? What about when there is no struggle? What about when people are happy to go on in their materially rich but spiritually vacuous lives? What about when they are happy carry on without the knowledge and presence of God and just take their chances.
Such contentment, though genuine in and of itself, is actually based on idolatry. It is founded on the false trust in persons or things that are not or have no relation to the true God. Such contentment can be used by Satan to keep people deadened to their need for God. Nicodemus, you see, was not content. He was not satisfied with the caricature of Christ that he was hearing from the Jewish rulers. Himself a Pharisee, he was privy to all their high level conversations. But he was not content and so he went to Jesus himself. Not lacking for any material desire He wanted to hear first-hand from Jesus about true spiritual riches.
Jesus then utters those oft-quoted words, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”5
Still the argument rages on “If God really loves the world than why another earthquake and tsunami?” Something’s wrong here, the skeptics say. Yes! Something is wrong, terribly wrong. The world is spiraling into chaos because of sin. It’s been happening since Adam and Eve’s fall. These things are nothing new. Only the infinite patience of God prevents the instant destruction of all ungodliness and unbelief.
God’s love for the world is not a matter of tolerance of human foibles. It is a love that reconciles through true sacrifice. Only the death and resurrection of Christ could accomplish this. It’s easy to drivel on endlessly about the love of God and not convey anything more than God’s general contentment with humanity. It can become nothing more than a meaningless platitude or a generalized cliché. At worst it becomes a legalist call for people to achieve their own spiritual certainty and security through their love of others.
It may come as a shock that Christ doesn’t love you because He’s generally obligated to like all people. Christ passionately desires your salvation because unconditional compassion is the truest expression of His very being. It’s not about something He sees in you or even about not giving up hope on you. It’s about fellowship with the Holy Trinity. He passionately desires that you share eternally in the life of God. That is the import of your baptism.
Lent is the season for perseverance. As such it’s a microcosm for a Christian’s entire life. The consequences of the fallen world inundate us. We become tired and vulnerable and may even consider throwing in the towel. But we press on. We push on by God’s grace relying on His promises. News reports show that a 69-year-old South Korean woman obtained her driver's license after 960 tries. Yes, you heard that right, 960! How that’s possible is hard to say. Now, we must admire her persistence but we might think twice before getting into her car. It’s true of our life too, isn’t it?
We press on as the great apostle said, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”6 We gain wisdom and maturity. We learn to test the spirits, recognize the devil’s temptations and combat them. We strive to serve the interests of others and not our own selfish desires.
From the files of driving instruction comes this story also. A driving instructor was giving lessons to an extremely nervous student who panicked when ever another car approached on a particular two-lane road. One day, however, they got to the same stretch of road, and she remained completely calm. “This time you’re doing fine!” exclaimed the instructor. “Yes,” the novice driver agreed. “Now when I see another car coming, I shut my eyes.”
Dear friends, we need not fear the adversities and challenges of life; Christ is our comfort and defense. We need not blindly follow the agenda secular society. Christ has given us the eyes of faith. We need not gorge ourselves on the unwholesome delicacies of the world. Christ feeds us with His body and blood. We are the baptized. Christ identifies us as His own.
May the Holy Spirit more clearly reveal these truths to you during this holy season of Lent. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Second Sunday In Lent
20 March 2011
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 3:5 2 See Matthew 4:1
3 John 3:6 4 See Romans 8:5-8
5 John 3:16 6 Philippians 3:13-14
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Midweek Lenten Devotion, March 16, 2011
Text: Hebrews 9:22
Theme: Images and Reality
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The fish and not the cross was the main image of early Christianity. The torturous and bloody scene of a crucifixion was perhaps too fresh in the minds of early Christians. It was too stomach-turning, too repulsive. Nevertheless the image of the crucifixion soon identified followers of Jesus Christ with an act of God that was both insufferable and incomprehensible in the Roman world. It is today the most recognizable symbol of the Christian faith; though it might be argued that the full depth of its significance is waning.
In our Lenten journey we are focusing on images of the Passion. If “a picture paints a thousand words” how many words does a depiction of Christ’s crucifixion entail? Of course it’s not the number of words that concerns us but the meaning conveyed. Our Scripture for this evening is from Hebrews chapter nine, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”1 Blood is the currency of reconciliation. Sacramental Christianity is bloody Christianity. That is, the bloody sacrifice of Christ informs every teaching and practice of the church. Lutherans do not trivialize the resurrection by abandoning the horror of the crucifixion. The risen Christ bears the scars of the cross. And the resurrection itself does not consign the crucifixion to the historical past. Rather it elevates it as the eternal access to the Father’s love and blessings of the Holy Trinity.
Some images become vested with meaning based solely on our experience. Pictures of war evoke for soldiers memories of very personal experiences. Images of floods, and earthquakes, and tsunamis will be life-long traumas etched on the hearts and minds of many this year. Other images are God’s windows into the sacred acts of redemption. We don’t understand these naturally. We grasp these by faith. The Scriptures paint a picture of what Christ has accomplished and the Spirit enables us to “understand” it by faith. Oh, yes, we can gaze upon the pitiful sight of the crucifixion and be moved by compassion and sorrow quite naturally. Suffering and death trigger human sympathy- one of the tangible proofs that humans were made in the image of God. But to see there- in the foolishness of the cross- the very wisdom of God requires a supernatural intervention.
Why the need for the shedding of blood at all? Why not a painless dispute resolution process? Why not a mere verbal pardoning for all transgressions? Here we enter one of the deep mysteries of Christian teaching. God created us with flesh and blood, soul and spirit and it was necessary for the means of salvation to be commensurate with the nature and magnitude of humanity’s abandonment of God. Dear friends, the undertaking of reconciliation to God was no trivial matter. A man who was down on his luck was told by a Christian man to be thankful. "Thankful! What have I to be thankful for?" grumbled the sour-looking man to the Christian. "I can't even pay my debts." "In that case," prompted the Christain, "be thankful that you aren't one of your creditors."
People today are not so much concerned about guilt and judgment and forgiveness in life as they are about whether life has meaning, and purpose, and opportunity. They don’t see that these categories are inseparably related. Society tells us truth is relative and that there is little reason to be accountable for our false ideas or selfish motives. We are told we’re not answerable to a higher power; we are rather victims of the misconduct of others. Instead of repenting and seeking forgiveness we seek empowerment. Instead of pursuing reconciliation we pursue license to control.
But the crucifixion is not the image of self-empowerment or the icon for permission to do as we please. It is the defining picture of sacrifice and humility. While praying in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but yours be done.”2 The Father was willing to shed the blood of His Son that we might be spared. When the body and blood of Christ is taken upon your lips; when the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in your hearing; when the name of the Holy Trinity is spoken at baptism and to begin each Divine Service you can be certain that the fruits of Jesus’ shed blood are being communicated to you. This bloodied Saviour is your God and Lord. He is our Lenten journey. It’s a short pilgrimage and mere prelude to our Sabbath rest. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Midweek Lenten Service
16 March 2011
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Hebrews 9:22
2 Luke 22:42
Theme: Images and Reality
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The fish and not the cross was the main image of early Christianity. The torturous and bloody scene of a crucifixion was perhaps too fresh in the minds of early Christians. It was too stomach-turning, too repulsive. Nevertheless the image of the crucifixion soon identified followers of Jesus Christ with an act of God that was both insufferable and incomprehensible in the Roman world. It is today the most recognizable symbol of the Christian faith; though it might be argued that the full depth of its significance is waning.
In our Lenten journey we are focusing on images of the Passion. If “a picture paints a thousand words” how many words does a depiction of Christ’s crucifixion entail? Of course it’s not the number of words that concerns us but the meaning conveyed. Our Scripture for this evening is from Hebrews chapter nine, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”1 Blood is the currency of reconciliation. Sacramental Christianity is bloody Christianity. That is, the bloody sacrifice of Christ informs every teaching and practice of the church. Lutherans do not trivialize the resurrection by abandoning the horror of the crucifixion. The risen Christ bears the scars of the cross. And the resurrection itself does not consign the crucifixion to the historical past. Rather it elevates it as the eternal access to the Father’s love and blessings of the Holy Trinity.
Some images become vested with meaning based solely on our experience. Pictures of war evoke for soldiers memories of very personal experiences. Images of floods, and earthquakes, and tsunamis will be life-long traumas etched on the hearts and minds of many this year. Other images are God’s windows into the sacred acts of redemption. We don’t understand these naturally. We grasp these by faith. The Scriptures paint a picture of what Christ has accomplished and the Spirit enables us to “understand” it by faith. Oh, yes, we can gaze upon the pitiful sight of the crucifixion and be moved by compassion and sorrow quite naturally. Suffering and death trigger human sympathy- one of the tangible proofs that humans were made in the image of God. But to see there- in the foolishness of the cross- the very wisdom of God requires a supernatural intervention.
Why the need for the shedding of blood at all? Why not a painless dispute resolution process? Why not a mere verbal pardoning for all transgressions? Here we enter one of the deep mysteries of Christian teaching. God created us with flesh and blood, soul and spirit and it was necessary for the means of salvation to be commensurate with the nature and magnitude of humanity’s abandonment of God. Dear friends, the undertaking of reconciliation to God was no trivial matter. A man who was down on his luck was told by a Christian man to be thankful. "Thankful! What have I to be thankful for?" grumbled the sour-looking man to the Christian. "I can't even pay my debts." "In that case," prompted the Christain, "be thankful that you aren't one of your creditors."
People today are not so much concerned about guilt and judgment and forgiveness in life as they are about whether life has meaning, and purpose, and opportunity. They don’t see that these categories are inseparably related. Society tells us truth is relative and that there is little reason to be accountable for our false ideas or selfish motives. We are told we’re not answerable to a higher power; we are rather victims of the misconduct of others. Instead of repenting and seeking forgiveness we seek empowerment. Instead of pursuing reconciliation we pursue license to control.
But the crucifixion is not the image of self-empowerment or the icon for permission to do as we please. It is the defining picture of sacrifice and humility. While praying in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but yours be done.”2 The Father was willing to shed the blood of His Son that we might be spared. When the body and blood of Christ is taken upon your lips; when the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in your hearing; when the name of the Holy Trinity is spoken at baptism and to begin each Divine Service you can be certain that the fruits of Jesus’ shed blood are being communicated to you. This bloodied Saviour is your God and Lord. He is our Lenten journey. It’s a short pilgrimage and mere prelude to our Sabbath rest. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Midweek Lenten Service
16 March 2011
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Hebrews 9:22
2 Luke 22:42
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