+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 20:23
Theme: A Sacred Trust
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Let the one who has not sinned cast the first stone1 - at Thomas. The prudent will be reluctant to move their tongues or their arms. Why Thomas and why this doubting? Because he was human and he was chosen to bring glory to the risen Christ. There is no use in rushing to judgment. His doubt served as the occasion to teach the faith to many. “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”2
Today’s gospel account moves us to the evening of Easter Sunday. Fear turns to amazement and then to joy. Were the disciples not at least as happy as the father of the prodigal son? Their Master now stood among them again. After a greeting of peace weighted with pardon Jesus wastes no time commissioning His disciples for the task at hand. “As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you…If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”3
Here we have the bestowal of sacred authority. It is apostolic authority. It is pastoral authority. It is biblical authority. We should not be jaded by the negative connotation the term authority is often freighted with in modern usage. This is authority that tends only to the glory of God. It is the special authority Christ has given to His church on earth to forgive or retain sins according to Christ’s command.
Only certain men are called by the church to wield this authority on her behalf.
We are in danger- witlessly or intentionally- of propagating a view of the pastoral office that is essentially functional. That is, the belief that the minister is just there to perform certain functions. If it’s just a matter of practicality why can’t anyone do it? But the pastor is called to stand in the stead of Christ, bear the word, and be conscientious about the consequences. Some will reject God’s truth. Others will be brought to repentance. But regardless of the response the pastor is called to remain faithful to the truth; representing the faithfulness of Christ, the Bridegroom, to His Bride, the church.
The world always has and always will recoil at the Bible’s claim of exclusivity: “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus who gave Himself as a ransom for all men.”4 There are no grey areas in matters of truth. There is no neutral ground between the dominion of darkness and the kingdom of light. God suffers no idols- least of all elevating ourselves onto pedestals. Shades of grey and illusions of neutrality are only expressions of our ignorance and incapacities. They are exactly as transient as we are mortal. There is no safety in some ‘middle ground’ between God and Satan. God’s call to repentance is never just a generic warning to curb sinfulness. It is a specific call to turn away from self-centeredness and Satan’s interests and turn to the triune God revealed only in Jesus Christ.
God doesn’t supply air to breathe also to the wicked because He intends to convert them through such indulgences. Nor does He intend to give them the impression that it doesn’t matter anyway; that all is well in the end. What He does intend, is to show the unbelieving that He is patient with evil because He is giving opportunity for repentance. “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”5
To bring people to repentance and faith is exactly the on-going purpose and significance of this authority Jesus’ vested His disciples with? Our Lutheran Confessions say, “To obtain such faith God instituted the office of the ministry, that is, provided the Gospel and the sacraments. Through these, as through means, He gives the Holy Spirit, who works faith, when and where He pleases, in those who hear the Gospel.”6 Today Nathan Underwood hears the Gospel and the Holy Spirit is pleased to be present to forgive His sins and welcome Him into the kingdom. Today He is reborn of the Spirit. He has been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection and now can live with Him. He is incorporated through the same order by which Christ opened the gates of heaven.
The sequence of Good Friday to Easter is not a presentation of possibilities, but the necessary order for the fulfillment of the promise. As Christians we understand this as a universal reality. That is, there can be no enduring life for mortals apart from the death of God’s Son. It wasn’t optional; it was necessary. God, in His infinite wisdom and compassion, determined that was the only way to redeem humanity. “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”7 “In Him we live and move and have our being.”8
A soldier returning from Afghanistan had his left leg blown off in an explosion. Greeted by reporters at the airport he was asked how he felt about losing his leg in the conflict. His reply, “Sir, I didn’t lose my leg, I gave it.” It’s important as a matter of perspective. Christ didn’t simply lose His life, He gave it. He was crucified for us and for our salvation. Believers now live in expectation of a greater reality. We’re not looking to go back. We’re straddling two dimensions; being drawn into the future.
We spoke last week about the distinction between God’s work of restoration and His work of resurrection or recreation. Think of Lazarus- four days in the tomb. Could you, if you were Lazarus fully appreciate your resuscitation? Would it be a fog? Yes, it would be a mind-numbing joy to realize you were alive again. But could you grasp what you had returned from? The raising of Lazarus was for the purpose of glorifying Christ and engendering faith in those who saw it. His was a personal encounter with the Messiah that served the greater purpose of Christ’s mission. But rest assured, despite the claims of those in modern times who supposedly saw- or went to heaven and came back- it would never be our desire to return to this existence.
We must be careful not to confuse the general hardships we endure because we are part of the fallen creation (or the general goodness we enjoy because God is merciful to that creation) with the chastisements or sacred blessings that come because we are His children. Of course the two realities overlap. Christ came to release the creation from its bondage holistically. Physical healing only happens at His pleasure. Spiritual life is only accomplished with His blessing.
In church and in our baptismal living we are ‘practicing’ our resurrection. It is a spiritual reality every time we are absolved. It is a foretaste of the feast to come every time we commune. Your sins- the temptations particular to your weaknesses- still chase you, but they do not constitute your identity. They stalk you but they do not label you. Temptations will always accompany you in your Christian life. But the Holy Spirit is your companion. You cannot be free of temptations - Satan is persistent. But you can be free of the punishment of sin and the condemnation of God’s wrath. You can be free from the burden of guilt.
Again, the challenge lies in the fact that we are often expecting, praying for, and working towards restoration; when in fact what Christ is bestowing on us is resurrection. Christ is living and we have new life in Him. He bears the scars of His crucifixion. These are the trophies that give our lives meaning. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Second Sunday of Easter
7 April 2013
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 See John 8:7
2 John 20:29
3 John 20:21, 23
4 1 Timothy 2:5-6
5 2 Peter 3:9
6 Augsburg Confession, Article 5
7 Luke 20:38
8 Acts 17:28
Monday, April 8, 2013
Sunday, March 31, 2013
The Resurrection of our Lord (C) 2013
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 24:1-12
Theme: The Resurrected Life
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Cemeteries are just temporary repositories of physical remains. This truth is not based on the pending destruction of the world due to climate change or nuclear war. It is based on the defiance of death’s power by Jesus Christ, the Firstborn from the dead. The tomb of Jesus hardly served the purpose for which it was hewn. It is fundamentally no different for us. Whether it is two nights or two millennia the grave is no barrier to Him who calls forth the dead.
Where HE is there exists only life. “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”1 So said the angels who greeted the women at the tomb. The first Easter was the dawn of the new age. It is also the last age. The sun will rise day by day only until we are raised by the Son of Righteousness. It will then become obsolete.
The historical foundation of Christianity stands on the factual validity of this event. “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith…If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins,”2 said the apostle Paul in the First Century. It remains true today. If the crucified Jesus is not also the living Jesus then sorting out the lessons of His earthly ministry ranks among the least of our concerns. If Christ is not living than our repentance is in vain and the bondage of sin is not broken. Then all spiritual pursuits are pointless in the end.
But the Christ who is the object of our faith is the man who rose bodily from the dead. Ours is not a speculative, philosophical theology. It is not an amalgamated concept of a distant, abstract deity. It is not a synthesis of ethical and moral principles. It is not a construction of social pragmatism offering only benefits in the here and now. We join the glad refrain as part of the church which exists in and from His life-giving triumph. He has freed us from the fear of death.
“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” It was a pointed question to say the least. Was it a dig at their lack of faith? Should these women not have anticipated the scene they were about to observe? Initial responses were numb and contemplative reflections. But the reactions of His followers soon swelled into grand alleluias. The crucified Lord was living. Death’s power had been shattered. It was more than their minds could comprehend. They had witnessed Him raise Lazarus3, revive Jairus’s daughter4 and resuscitate the son of the widow of Nain5. But now, succumbed to torture, surrendered to abuse, abandoned in fear, and entombed in death…He lives! He talks. He breathes! He eats! He has scars but no infirmity.
The event has taken place in the past but the benefits are unending in the present. As sinners we live in the past. Or stated more specifically, in-so-far-as we live as sinners we live in the past. We revel in the fading glory of the Old Adam and cling to the decaying schema of this world. But as saints, as the redeemed, as the adopted sons of the Father, we live in the present and the future. We can only live this life properly and fully not because we have managed to cope with our fears, not because we are distracted by our indulgences, not because we are driven by desperation, but because we believe. We are promised the blessing of the incorruptible life.
Dear friends, the desensitizing power of sin makes us perennial ‘under-appreciators’ of the new life we have in Christ. In Him we are not merely resuscitated or restored, we are resurrected. The former is a return to the old. The latter is an advance to the new. Examples of the old are common-place, second nature. Illustrations of the new are grasped only by the eyes of faith.
The old is what we know and it has its satisfactions. When you are finally out from under a huge debt you feel liberated. You feel like you can start again. When you battle through an addiction and ‘kick the habit’ you feel restored. You feel like you have your life back. When you are declared cancer free you are overjoyed. You feel like your “old self.” In all these things you are resuscitated: returned to your former condition. But when you are forgiven you are resurrected. You are a new creation. You may not ‘feel’ anything at all. But God’s promise, not your feeling is your motivation.
Now we are not saying in any way, shape, or form that God’s work of resuscitation and restoration is unimportant. It is part of God’s generous providence. But it does not require the sacrifice of His Son and the intervention of the Spirit. God continues to show patience even with a wicked and unbelieving world. The Bible says “He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”6 Yet for the unbelieving, God’s generosity can only serve as the pretext and context for His alien work- His work of convicting the unrepentant of their sins. He never intends the tolerability of this life to be an alternative to reception into the world to come. His forbearance always serves to create the opportunity for repentance. It is never intended to help people “get by” without Christ.
His proper work, His sacred work is the work of His Son and the Spirit- the work of resurrection, and recreation. In the resurrection there is a profound joy and incomprehensible peace. Because we are recreated in Christ we can truly recreate that is, live in faith as God intended. Faith is truly uninhibited in its movement towards others. Luther describes it thus,
“Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man would stake his life on it a thousand times . . . Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith; and so it is impossible for it not to do good works incessantly” 7.
Not that faith ever goes off half-cocked. But it is certainly never found dawdling for lack of conviction. It engages the task according to the need at the time. During General Stonewall Jackson's famous valley campaign in the American Civil War Jackson's army found itself on one side of a river when it needed to be on the other side. After telling his engineers to plan and build a bridge so the army could cross, he called his wagon master in to tell him that it was urgent the wagon train cross the river as soon as possible. The wagon master started gathering all the logs, rocks and fence rails he could find and built a bridge. Long before day light General Jackson was told by his wagon master all the wagons and artillery had crossed the river. Jackson asked where the engineers were and what they were doing. The wagon master's only reply was that they were in their tent drawing up plans for a bridge.
Already resurrected spiritually in baptism we anticipate the resurrection of the body on the other side of the grave. Baptismal living involves learning to expect things from God which are much greater than the mundane things we often settle for in this life. When you kneel at the altar to receive the body and blood of the Crucified; if you are expecting only to be comforted, only to be encouraged, only to be reminded of God’s covenant of love, you are setting your sights too low. In the sacrament He heals you with the resurrection promise. You are not just receiving a little extra strength to face the fall-out of sin in the here and now, you are receiving the Spirit’s power that anticipates the resurrected life. You are celebrating already now the fact that you will be released from all of sins’ burdens.
“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” These are words never to be encountered by Christ’s followers again. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Resurrection of our Lord
31 March 2013
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 24:5-7
2 1 Corinthians 15:14, 17
3 See John 11:38-44
4 See Luke 8:49-56
5 See Luke 7:11-17
6 Matthew 5:45
7 Martin Luther, Preface to Romans
Τί ζητεῖτε τὸν ζῶντα μετὰ τῶν νεκρῶν;
(Why do you seek the living among the dead?)
Luke 24:5
Text: Luke 24:1-12
Theme: The Resurrected Life
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Cemeteries are just temporary repositories of physical remains. This truth is not based on the pending destruction of the world due to climate change or nuclear war. It is based on the defiance of death’s power by Jesus Christ, the Firstborn from the dead. The tomb of Jesus hardly served the purpose for which it was hewn. It is fundamentally no different for us. Whether it is two nights or two millennia the grave is no barrier to Him who calls forth the dead.
Where HE is there exists only life. “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”1 So said the angels who greeted the women at the tomb. The first Easter was the dawn of the new age. It is also the last age. The sun will rise day by day only until we are raised by the Son of Righteousness. It will then become obsolete.
The historical foundation of Christianity stands on the factual validity of this event. “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith…If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins,”2 said the apostle Paul in the First Century. It remains true today. If the crucified Jesus is not also the living Jesus then sorting out the lessons of His earthly ministry ranks among the least of our concerns. If Christ is not living than our repentance is in vain and the bondage of sin is not broken. Then all spiritual pursuits are pointless in the end.
But the Christ who is the object of our faith is the man who rose bodily from the dead. Ours is not a speculative, philosophical theology. It is not an amalgamated concept of a distant, abstract deity. It is not a synthesis of ethical and moral principles. It is not a construction of social pragmatism offering only benefits in the here and now. We join the glad refrain as part of the church which exists in and from His life-giving triumph. He has freed us from the fear of death.
“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” It was a pointed question to say the least. Was it a dig at their lack of faith? Should these women not have anticipated the scene they were about to observe? Initial responses were numb and contemplative reflections. But the reactions of His followers soon swelled into grand alleluias. The crucified Lord was living. Death’s power had been shattered. It was more than their minds could comprehend. They had witnessed Him raise Lazarus3, revive Jairus’s daughter4 and resuscitate the son of the widow of Nain5. But now, succumbed to torture, surrendered to abuse, abandoned in fear, and entombed in death…He lives! He talks. He breathes! He eats! He has scars but no infirmity.
The event has taken place in the past but the benefits are unending in the present. As sinners we live in the past. Or stated more specifically, in-so-far-as we live as sinners we live in the past. We revel in the fading glory of the Old Adam and cling to the decaying schema of this world. But as saints, as the redeemed, as the adopted sons of the Father, we live in the present and the future. We can only live this life properly and fully not because we have managed to cope with our fears, not because we are distracted by our indulgences, not because we are driven by desperation, but because we believe. We are promised the blessing of the incorruptible life.
Dear friends, the desensitizing power of sin makes us perennial ‘under-appreciators’ of the new life we have in Christ. In Him we are not merely resuscitated or restored, we are resurrected. The former is a return to the old. The latter is an advance to the new. Examples of the old are common-place, second nature. Illustrations of the new are grasped only by the eyes of faith.
The old is what we know and it has its satisfactions. When you are finally out from under a huge debt you feel liberated. You feel like you can start again. When you battle through an addiction and ‘kick the habit’ you feel restored. You feel like you have your life back. When you are declared cancer free you are overjoyed. You feel like your “old self.” In all these things you are resuscitated: returned to your former condition. But when you are forgiven you are resurrected. You are a new creation. You may not ‘feel’ anything at all. But God’s promise, not your feeling is your motivation.
Now we are not saying in any way, shape, or form that God’s work of resuscitation and restoration is unimportant. It is part of God’s generous providence. But it does not require the sacrifice of His Son and the intervention of the Spirit. God continues to show patience even with a wicked and unbelieving world. The Bible says “He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”6 Yet for the unbelieving, God’s generosity can only serve as the pretext and context for His alien work- His work of convicting the unrepentant of their sins. He never intends the tolerability of this life to be an alternative to reception into the world to come. His forbearance always serves to create the opportunity for repentance. It is never intended to help people “get by” without Christ.
His proper work, His sacred work is the work of His Son and the Spirit- the work of resurrection, and recreation. In the resurrection there is a profound joy and incomprehensible peace. Because we are recreated in Christ we can truly recreate that is, live in faith as God intended. Faith is truly uninhibited in its movement towards others. Luther describes it thus,
“Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man would stake his life on it a thousand times . . . Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith; and so it is impossible for it not to do good works incessantly” 7.
Not that faith ever goes off half-cocked. But it is certainly never found dawdling for lack of conviction. It engages the task according to the need at the time. During General Stonewall Jackson's famous valley campaign in the American Civil War Jackson's army found itself on one side of a river when it needed to be on the other side. After telling his engineers to plan and build a bridge so the army could cross, he called his wagon master in to tell him that it was urgent the wagon train cross the river as soon as possible. The wagon master started gathering all the logs, rocks and fence rails he could find and built a bridge. Long before day light General Jackson was told by his wagon master all the wagons and artillery had crossed the river. Jackson asked where the engineers were and what they were doing. The wagon master's only reply was that they were in their tent drawing up plans for a bridge.
Already resurrected spiritually in baptism we anticipate the resurrection of the body on the other side of the grave. Baptismal living involves learning to expect things from God which are much greater than the mundane things we often settle for in this life. When you kneel at the altar to receive the body and blood of the Crucified; if you are expecting only to be comforted, only to be encouraged, only to be reminded of God’s covenant of love, you are setting your sights too low. In the sacrament He heals you with the resurrection promise. You are not just receiving a little extra strength to face the fall-out of sin in the here and now, you are receiving the Spirit’s power that anticipates the resurrected life. You are celebrating already now the fact that you will be released from all of sins’ burdens.
“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” These are words never to be encountered by Christ’s followers again. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Resurrection of our Lord
31 March 2013
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 24:5-7
2 1 Corinthians 15:14, 17
3 See John 11:38-44
4 See Luke 8:49-56
5 See Luke 7:11-17
6 Matthew 5:45
7 Martin Luther, Preface to Romans
Τί ζητεῖτε τὸν ζῶντα μετὰ τῶν νεκρῶν;
(Why do you seek the living among the dead?)
Luke 24:5
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Good Friday 2013
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 19:18
Theme: Crucified For Sinners
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
“God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”1 “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”2 “He died for all.”3 His act of sacrifice was not a pious analogy or religious parable. It was not a historically limited illustration of human attempts to represent God’s goodness. It was the once-for-all, sufficient means of reconciling humanity to God.
Yet there are few things more unpalatable to the mindset of the current generation than the claim that there is an exclusive way for something to be accomplished. At every turn we are indoctrinated with the idea that all things are relative. Nothing is set in concrete. Nothing is universally true. Is there not more than one way to skin a fox? Values are said to depend on the perspective of the observer. Even history is open for reinterpretation according to the preferences of the spectator.
What spiritual truths can really interest the modern cynic? Perhaps a grand synthesis in which philosophies, ancient and modern, are rolled into one pluralistic system of myth and fable to suit the spiritual proclivities of those who are adverse to all things dogmatic? Many want the freedom to dabble with no consequences; the option to indulge with no responsibilities. Others prefer the skeptical disdain that the pursuit of any standard of truth is even worthwhile at all. All that matters is the value you place on your ambitions today. Tomorrow is another story. Society should tolerate and even institutionalize such ideals. We are in the process of learning where such subjective philosophies lead.
“Carrying His own cross, He went out to the place of the Skull. Here they crucified Him.”4 The foundation of Christianity must stand on the bedrock of Christ’s atonement otherwise it crumbles away on sinking sand. It all boils down to this point: When the gold is purified from the dross, the wheat separated from the chaff, when contenders for glory prove to be pretenders, when all possibilities are sieved through the matrix of divine truth, there stands alone this one act sufficient to atone for sinners.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that this chief doctrine of Christianity is undervalued. It can only be cherished by sinners. There is no place for Christ where other idols reign. There can be no more appropriate occasion to entreat the Holy Spirit to purge us of all transgressions that seek to supplant His rule in our lives. Repentance is not simply a remedial exercise that insures we keep to some measure of religious formality. Repentance involves a collision of our stubborn wills with God’s truth about the consequences of our sin. The prospect hell and eternal condemnation is not something we should care to manage on our own.
Christ came into the world to witness to the truth.5 Through the activity of the church the Holy Spirit bears the word into the world. What authority does the church have? It has the Office of the Keys. It has only the authority of the Word. But this is more than sufficient for the task. It converts the unenlightened through baptismal rebirth. It draws those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness”6 to the holy table where they are fed. The crucifixion supplies the word with an infinite source of grace. The resurrection with the power to sustain life.
The word of God is not information. It is power to convict wills and transform hearts. The law of God is not a legislative treatise to be debated in regards to its usefulness in jurisprudence. It is the condemning declaration of a holy God that weighs sinners in the balance and finds them wanting.7 The gospel of Christ is not an ethical platform to be assessed for its possibilities in promoting public prosperity. It is the declaration of righteousness that bestows on the sinner faith, forgiveness and freedom.
Yet the word doesn’t work through osmosis. It is proclaimed into the world. Did Nineveh repent until Jonah was sent with a message of judgment8? Did Nebuchadnezzar honour the God of the Hebrews before He gave Daniel the wisdom to interpret his dream9? Did Naaman wash in the Jordan and enjoy relief from his leprosy until Elisha’s messenger prevailed on him10? Did the disciples believe the women who returned from the tomb11? But respond they did when acted upon by God’s powerful word.
Jesus came preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.”12 Now so near that the darkness that descended while He was on the cross was palpable. Now so near that the trembling earth would have caused on-lookers to lose their physical and spiritual balance. Now so near that the Messiah’s own mother would need an earthly surrogate. Now so near that the Jews were left dumbfounded when the barrier to the Holy of Holies was slashed open. Now so near that Jesus said, “It is finished.”9 In this event humanity is redeemed. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Good Friday
29 March 2013
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Romans 5:8 2 Romans 4:25 3 2 Corinthians 5:15
4 John 19:17-18 5 See John 18:37 6 Matthew 5:6
7 See Daniel 5:27 8 See Jonah 3:3-10 9 See Daniel 2:46-47
10 See 2 kings 5:13-15 11 See Luke 24:11 12 Matthew 4:17
13 John 19:30
Text: John 19:18
Theme: Crucified For Sinners
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
“God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”1 “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”2 “He died for all.”3 His act of sacrifice was not a pious analogy or religious parable. It was not a historically limited illustration of human attempts to represent God’s goodness. It was the once-for-all, sufficient means of reconciling humanity to God.
Yet there are few things more unpalatable to the mindset of the current generation than the claim that there is an exclusive way for something to be accomplished. At every turn we are indoctrinated with the idea that all things are relative. Nothing is set in concrete. Nothing is universally true. Is there not more than one way to skin a fox? Values are said to depend on the perspective of the observer. Even history is open for reinterpretation according to the preferences of the spectator.
What spiritual truths can really interest the modern cynic? Perhaps a grand synthesis in which philosophies, ancient and modern, are rolled into one pluralistic system of myth and fable to suit the spiritual proclivities of those who are adverse to all things dogmatic? Many want the freedom to dabble with no consequences; the option to indulge with no responsibilities. Others prefer the skeptical disdain that the pursuit of any standard of truth is even worthwhile at all. All that matters is the value you place on your ambitions today. Tomorrow is another story. Society should tolerate and even institutionalize such ideals. We are in the process of learning where such subjective philosophies lead.
“Carrying His own cross, He went out to the place of the Skull. Here they crucified Him.”4 The foundation of Christianity must stand on the bedrock of Christ’s atonement otherwise it crumbles away on sinking sand. It all boils down to this point: When the gold is purified from the dross, the wheat separated from the chaff, when contenders for glory prove to be pretenders, when all possibilities are sieved through the matrix of divine truth, there stands alone this one act sufficient to atone for sinners.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that this chief doctrine of Christianity is undervalued. It can only be cherished by sinners. There is no place for Christ where other idols reign. There can be no more appropriate occasion to entreat the Holy Spirit to purge us of all transgressions that seek to supplant His rule in our lives. Repentance is not simply a remedial exercise that insures we keep to some measure of religious formality. Repentance involves a collision of our stubborn wills with God’s truth about the consequences of our sin. The prospect hell and eternal condemnation is not something we should care to manage on our own.
Christ came into the world to witness to the truth.5 Through the activity of the church the Holy Spirit bears the word into the world. What authority does the church have? It has the Office of the Keys. It has only the authority of the Word. But this is more than sufficient for the task. It converts the unenlightened through baptismal rebirth. It draws those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness”6 to the holy table where they are fed. The crucifixion supplies the word with an infinite source of grace. The resurrection with the power to sustain life.
The word of God is not information. It is power to convict wills and transform hearts. The law of God is not a legislative treatise to be debated in regards to its usefulness in jurisprudence. It is the condemning declaration of a holy God that weighs sinners in the balance and finds them wanting.7 The gospel of Christ is not an ethical platform to be assessed for its possibilities in promoting public prosperity. It is the declaration of righteousness that bestows on the sinner faith, forgiveness and freedom.
Yet the word doesn’t work through osmosis. It is proclaimed into the world. Did Nineveh repent until Jonah was sent with a message of judgment8? Did Nebuchadnezzar honour the God of the Hebrews before He gave Daniel the wisdom to interpret his dream9? Did Naaman wash in the Jordan and enjoy relief from his leprosy until Elisha’s messenger prevailed on him10? Did the disciples believe the women who returned from the tomb11? But respond they did when acted upon by God’s powerful word.
Jesus came preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.”12 Now so near that the darkness that descended while He was on the cross was palpable. Now so near that the trembling earth would have caused on-lookers to lose their physical and spiritual balance. Now so near that the Messiah’s own mother would need an earthly surrogate. Now so near that the Jews were left dumbfounded when the barrier to the Holy of Holies was slashed open. Now so near that Jesus said, “It is finished.”9 In this event humanity is redeemed. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Good Friday
29 March 2013
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Romans 5:8 2 Romans 4:25 3 2 Corinthians 5:15
4 John 19:17-18 5 See John 18:37 6 Matthew 5:6
7 See Daniel 5:27 8 See Jonah 3:3-10 9 See Daniel 2:46-47
10 See 2 kings 5:13-15 11 See Luke 24:11 12 Matthew 4:17
13 John 19:30
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Maundy Thursday 2013
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 13:8
Theme: “Unless I Wash You…”
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
After sundown Jesus and His disciples began to celebrate the Passover. Laden with history, saturated with memory, they commemorated the faithfulness of Yahweh to His people. It was exemplified by their deliverance from bondage and inheritance of the Promised Land. A people always living on the precipice of death He never failed to revive His remnant.
Yet this Passover was more than a repetition of the past. Christ’s hour had come. The Messiah would be glorified. But His glory would be achieved through sacrifice. There would be death. These events were imminent and it was time to initiate the new covenant with His followers. Pilate washed his hands. But Jesus washed the disciple’s feet. Humans look to justify themselves, while God’s Son stoops to the task. Forgiveness is not obtained by wielding force, but by receiving His divine endowment. “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me,”1 He said.
The Last Supper might be aptly named in the context of Jesus’ immanent departure but it is a misnomer as it applies to the on-going life of the church. For in this regard it is not the last but the first. This initial dispensation of the sacrament from the hands of Jesus to the lips of the disciples was the inauguration of a feast that continues to be administered across the span of time and space in the church until His return in glory.
We participate in the life of God sacramentally. That is, we have fellowship with God through those tangible, audible, visible means that He has ordained as avenues for us. You cannot dictate the way in which God will relate to you. You cannot construct your own personalized manner of having access to God. Any efforts to do so result in a false sense of security. They will end in the hollow realization that God does not promise to be present except in the manner of His choosing. The repentant sinner does not presume upon God but learns to receive what He offers.
We have the word. His word accomplishes all things. It is the sword of the Spirit. We cannot journey back to the cross. We don’t need too. The benefits are brought forward to us.
Holy Communion is the staple diet of the baptized. It is filled with God’s promises. It lacks none of His blessings. The blood of Christ communicates to us the life of God. “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?”2
He is the Giver; you are a receiver. He is the Provider; you are the benefactor. He is the Lover; you are the beloved. In Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit the direction of grace is always one way. Mercy flows from Him to us. There is no equilibrium, no mutual benefit; no reciprocity. The lost sheep do not find the Shepherd. Condemned sinners do not clear their own charges. The dead are not revived under their own power. Christ’s is a one-sided intervention. His is a unilateral mediation; the Holy One on behalf of the transgressor. Never is our own contribution critical or even helpful.
But His initiative does invoke a response. And it never fails to do so lest faith be shown to be nominal only. Faith is active in love. And what form does the response of faith take? The possibilities are infinite, but they are all necessarily directed to God through our neighbour. Your generosity, your compassion, your giving of your time and money, your willingness to sacrifice your ambitions- none of which the Almighty stands in need of directly- are all expressions of faith that benefit fellow sinners. The Christian cannot exist in isolated devotion or self-absorption. Like divine love our passion is always extending away from ourselves towards others. Faith returns to God via the detour through our neighbour.
As it does so it embodies the characteristics of Him who conceived it. At the top of the list tonight is humility. Jesus modeled it for His disciples. “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”3 What does it mean to wash the feet of others? Humility reframes our perspective. The Scriptures paint an image of ourselves we could never identify on our own.
Winston Churchill was once asked if it thrilled him to know that every time he made a speech, the room was packed to overflowing. "It's quite flattering," replied Sir Winston. "But whenever I feel that way, I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big." Did you hear about the pastor who claimed he had written a wonderful sermon about humility? He was waiting for a large attendance before he preached it. Servanthood cannot be motivated by the desire for recognition. To head out in the wrong direction is to end at the wrong destination.
Love turned back towards itself is eventually revealed as idolatry. “Love one another,”4 He said on the eve of His crucifixion. Faith active in love knows no direct path to God. It detours constantly to where the neighbour dwells; a thousand ghettos in a dark and desperate land. The neighbour dwells in bitterness, resentment, and anger; in temptation, frailty, and pain; in grief, separation, and despair; in aggression, selfishness, and apathy. Here love enters, stoops to wash the soiled foot, and points to the Saviour. Hope enters the world of death with the message of life. The task that lay before the apostles is the privilege we still participate in. And our “labour in the Lord in not in vain.”5 because the crucified One lives and He is Lord of the Church.
Participation in the very same sacred meal Jesus shared with His disciples connects us with the communion of the faithful and the mystery of His death-destroying sacrifice. “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”6 It is only in confessing His death in the very manner of how we live life that world can find life that does not end. “These words, ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,’ show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.”7 Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Maundy Thursday
28 March 2013
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 13:8
2 1 Corinthians 10:16
3 John 13:14-15
4 John 13:34
5 1 Corinthians 15:58
6 1 Corinthians 11:26
7 Luther’s Small Catechism
Text: John 13:8
Theme: “Unless I Wash You…”
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
After sundown Jesus and His disciples began to celebrate the Passover. Laden with history, saturated with memory, they commemorated the faithfulness of Yahweh to His people. It was exemplified by their deliverance from bondage and inheritance of the Promised Land. A people always living on the precipice of death He never failed to revive His remnant.
Yet this Passover was more than a repetition of the past. Christ’s hour had come. The Messiah would be glorified. But His glory would be achieved through sacrifice. There would be death. These events were imminent and it was time to initiate the new covenant with His followers. Pilate washed his hands. But Jesus washed the disciple’s feet. Humans look to justify themselves, while God’s Son stoops to the task. Forgiveness is not obtained by wielding force, but by receiving His divine endowment. “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me,”1 He said.
The Last Supper might be aptly named in the context of Jesus’ immanent departure but it is a misnomer as it applies to the on-going life of the church. For in this regard it is not the last but the first. This initial dispensation of the sacrament from the hands of Jesus to the lips of the disciples was the inauguration of a feast that continues to be administered across the span of time and space in the church until His return in glory.
We participate in the life of God sacramentally. That is, we have fellowship with God through those tangible, audible, visible means that He has ordained as avenues for us. You cannot dictate the way in which God will relate to you. You cannot construct your own personalized manner of having access to God. Any efforts to do so result in a false sense of security. They will end in the hollow realization that God does not promise to be present except in the manner of His choosing. The repentant sinner does not presume upon God but learns to receive what He offers.
We have the word. His word accomplishes all things. It is the sword of the Spirit. We cannot journey back to the cross. We don’t need too. The benefits are brought forward to us.
Holy Communion is the staple diet of the baptized. It is filled with God’s promises. It lacks none of His blessings. The blood of Christ communicates to us the life of God. “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?”2
He is the Giver; you are a receiver. He is the Provider; you are the benefactor. He is the Lover; you are the beloved. In Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit the direction of grace is always one way. Mercy flows from Him to us. There is no equilibrium, no mutual benefit; no reciprocity. The lost sheep do not find the Shepherd. Condemned sinners do not clear their own charges. The dead are not revived under their own power. Christ’s is a one-sided intervention. His is a unilateral mediation; the Holy One on behalf of the transgressor. Never is our own contribution critical or even helpful.
But His initiative does invoke a response. And it never fails to do so lest faith be shown to be nominal only. Faith is active in love. And what form does the response of faith take? The possibilities are infinite, but they are all necessarily directed to God through our neighbour. Your generosity, your compassion, your giving of your time and money, your willingness to sacrifice your ambitions- none of which the Almighty stands in need of directly- are all expressions of faith that benefit fellow sinners. The Christian cannot exist in isolated devotion or self-absorption. Like divine love our passion is always extending away from ourselves towards others. Faith returns to God via the detour through our neighbour.
As it does so it embodies the characteristics of Him who conceived it. At the top of the list tonight is humility. Jesus modeled it for His disciples. “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”3 What does it mean to wash the feet of others? Humility reframes our perspective. The Scriptures paint an image of ourselves we could never identify on our own.
Winston Churchill was once asked if it thrilled him to know that every time he made a speech, the room was packed to overflowing. "It's quite flattering," replied Sir Winston. "But whenever I feel that way, I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big." Did you hear about the pastor who claimed he had written a wonderful sermon about humility? He was waiting for a large attendance before he preached it. Servanthood cannot be motivated by the desire for recognition. To head out in the wrong direction is to end at the wrong destination.
Love turned back towards itself is eventually revealed as idolatry. “Love one another,”4 He said on the eve of His crucifixion. Faith active in love knows no direct path to God. It detours constantly to where the neighbour dwells; a thousand ghettos in a dark and desperate land. The neighbour dwells in bitterness, resentment, and anger; in temptation, frailty, and pain; in grief, separation, and despair; in aggression, selfishness, and apathy. Here love enters, stoops to wash the soiled foot, and points to the Saviour. Hope enters the world of death with the message of life. The task that lay before the apostles is the privilege we still participate in. And our “labour in the Lord in not in vain.”5 because the crucified One lives and He is Lord of the Church.
Participation in the very same sacred meal Jesus shared with His disciples connects us with the communion of the faithful and the mystery of His death-destroying sacrifice. “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”6 It is only in confessing His death in the very manner of how we live life that world can find life that does not end. “These words, ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,’ show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.”7 Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Maundy Thursday
28 March 2013
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 13:8
2 1 Corinthians 10:16
3 John 13:14-15
4 John 13:34
5 1 Corinthians 15:58
6 1 Corinthians 11:26
7 Luther’s Small Catechism
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Funeral For Roberta Miller
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 10:27
Theme: “No One Can Snatch Them Out of My Hand.”
Dear Friends of Robi,
God’s thoughts and ways are higher than our thoughts and ways. That truth may at first seem to provide little comfort, but it’s an important reminder of our limitations. We must let God be God. There’s no way to manage Him. There is no point in taking issue with His decrees. The Saviour has called Robi to Himself. That He has done so is an act of divine mercy. The Good Shepherd calls His sheep. The place prepared for her is now occupied. Her stresses in life have now ended.
Life rushes along and it’s easy to forget that we are never more than one step from eternity. But it’s a step we can’t manage on our own. Robi understood that she was a sinner. She was struggling to believe that by grace she was also a saint. During visits she pulled her Luther’s Small Catechism off the shelf and said, “I’ve been saying my prayers, pastor; every night.” Then she would often say something to the effect that she hoped she was good enough to ‘make the cut’. It was a great opportunity to talk about the true meaning of the gospel.
We are not saints by nature. We do not become saints by any good deeds, obedience, pure living, or charity. We cannot do anything in part or in whole to make ourselves righteous before God. But righteous we are through faith in what Christ has done for us. In Him we are forgiven, cleared of our guilt.
You see, that’s how God looks at the forgiven sinner. He looks through the cross. And when He looks through the cross He sees His Son and He is pleased. Christ suffered a tortuous crucifixion – the single most sacrificial act in the history of humanity and the only one that could free us from our sins- and then rose victorious from the grave. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”1
The world is still full of skeptics, it always will be. Christ doesn’t fit into their box. But He didn’t fit into the tomb either. Who are we, as mortals facing the inevitable power of death, to question Him who shattered death’s hold? Who are we, as creatures of the shadows, to interrogate Him who is the eternal source of light? Yes, the complaints will always remain: God is too apathetic, or inattentive, or impotent- and even the strongest believers have their doubts- but what alternative can we offer? Will we charge recklessly, stumbling headlong into the world of unbelief and anxiety? Will we rush into the darkness unarmed and unprotected?
At a time when many of His followers had begun to turn back because His teaching were too much to accept, Jesus asked the His twelve disciples, “You do not want to leave too, do You…Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.”2 He is the Prince of Peace. The meaning of the gospel is that God has made an unconditional promise in Christ.
That promise is first made in baptism. Roberta was baptized as an infant and from that moment she was a child of eternal inheritance. She was received into fellowship with the Holy Trinity and in communion with the holy Christian church. Her faith was nurtured further when she was confirmed. That doesn’t mean she was suddenly perfect or immune to the temptations of sin. But it does mean that God promised not to forsake her.
She knew her frailties. She knew her days were numbered. Few, if any, ever knew the true extent of her struggles. She made friends and was a blessing to others. But she kept her personal affairs mostly to herself. But God knew. He knew how physically fragile she was. He tended to her with gentleness and compassion.
Robi is now freed from all pain and sorrow. She is released from the constraints of sin. She awaits the resurrection on the Last Day. Robi was one of Christ’s lambs. He said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.”3 She is in His hands. Thanks be to God!
+ In nomine Jesu +
Christian Funeral of Roberta Sue Miller
22 March 2013
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 11:25
2 John 6:67-69
3 John 10:28
Text: John 10:27
Theme: “No One Can Snatch Them Out of My Hand.”
Dear Friends of Robi,
God’s thoughts and ways are higher than our thoughts and ways. That truth may at first seem to provide little comfort, but it’s an important reminder of our limitations. We must let God be God. There’s no way to manage Him. There is no point in taking issue with His decrees. The Saviour has called Robi to Himself. That He has done so is an act of divine mercy. The Good Shepherd calls His sheep. The place prepared for her is now occupied. Her stresses in life have now ended.
Life rushes along and it’s easy to forget that we are never more than one step from eternity. But it’s a step we can’t manage on our own. Robi understood that she was a sinner. She was struggling to believe that by grace she was also a saint. During visits she pulled her Luther’s Small Catechism off the shelf and said, “I’ve been saying my prayers, pastor; every night.” Then she would often say something to the effect that she hoped she was good enough to ‘make the cut’. It was a great opportunity to talk about the true meaning of the gospel.
We are not saints by nature. We do not become saints by any good deeds, obedience, pure living, or charity. We cannot do anything in part or in whole to make ourselves righteous before God. But righteous we are through faith in what Christ has done for us. In Him we are forgiven, cleared of our guilt.
You see, that’s how God looks at the forgiven sinner. He looks through the cross. And when He looks through the cross He sees His Son and He is pleased. Christ suffered a tortuous crucifixion – the single most sacrificial act in the history of humanity and the only one that could free us from our sins- and then rose victorious from the grave. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”1
The world is still full of skeptics, it always will be. Christ doesn’t fit into their box. But He didn’t fit into the tomb either. Who are we, as mortals facing the inevitable power of death, to question Him who shattered death’s hold? Who are we, as creatures of the shadows, to interrogate Him who is the eternal source of light? Yes, the complaints will always remain: God is too apathetic, or inattentive, or impotent- and even the strongest believers have their doubts- but what alternative can we offer? Will we charge recklessly, stumbling headlong into the world of unbelief and anxiety? Will we rush into the darkness unarmed and unprotected?
At a time when many of His followers had begun to turn back because His teaching were too much to accept, Jesus asked the His twelve disciples, “You do not want to leave too, do You…Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.”2 He is the Prince of Peace. The meaning of the gospel is that God has made an unconditional promise in Christ.
That promise is first made in baptism. Roberta was baptized as an infant and from that moment she was a child of eternal inheritance. She was received into fellowship with the Holy Trinity and in communion with the holy Christian church. Her faith was nurtured further when she was confirmed. That doesn’t mean she was suddenly perfect or immune to the temptations of sin. But it does mean that God promised not to forsake her.
She knew her frailties. She knew her days were numbered. Few, if any, ever knew the true extent of her struggles. She made friends and was a blessing to others. But she kept her personal affairs mostly to herself. But God knew. He knew how physically fragile she was. He tended to her with gentleness and compassion.
Robi is now freed from all pain and sorrow. She is released from the constraints of sin. She awaits the resurrection on the Last Day. Robi was one of Christ’s lambs. He said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.”3 She is in His hands. Thanks be to God!
+ In nomine Jesu +
Christian Funeral of Roberta Sue Miller
22 March 2013
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 11:25
2 John 6:67-69
3 John 10:28
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Palm Sunday (C) 2013
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 19:38
Theme: Ill-Fated or Divinely Directed
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week. That first Palm Sunday was the start of Passover, the week in which Jesus was arrested, tried, sentenced, and crucified. Christ’s entry into Jerusalem began with great fanfare and expectation. The crowds welcomed Him with shouts of “Hosanna! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.”1 By Friday things got ugly. They were more than disappointed with His mission. They let themselves be ruled by mob mentality. But, “The One enthroned in heaven laughs.”2
Serious consideration of who Jesus Christ is, what He did and what it means has been steadily declining in our culture of apathy and relativism. There isn’t much of an appetite for a plan of divine intervention. To some skeptics the crucifixion of Jesus was not divinely-directed but rather ill-fated. The ministry of the healer of Nazareth came to a tragic end and His mission had to be resuscitated later by His followers. This view relegates Jesus Christ to the annals of history affording subsequent generations only the opportunity to ponder His accomplishments. Of course this is not the perspective of faith. And it exercises little restraint in criticizing the Almighty. The most foolish are often the most bold.
But we should be reticent in making excuses for ourselves. How easily we too can be led astray when things aren’t going our way; when God doesn’t fit into our box? We are tempted to join the crowds and condemn Christ (though often secretly and with great piety) for failing to meet our needs. This can quickly lead to a loss of perspective. Prosperous independence from Him is an illusion. It is Satan’s deception. The devil would have it that we always underestimate the gravity of sin.
Can you stand up under the scrutiny of the Almighty? Can you endure His gaze? Can you give account for your transgressions? Will you put yourself up against the heroes of the faith who still required forgiveness? Moses was not allowed to cross into the promised land3. David was not allowed to build the temple4. St. Paul was kept humble by a thorn in the flesh5. Are we more virtuous? Dare we harbor secret thoughts that our own righteousness is sufficient?
Sin is not just a therapeutic problem. It is an existential crisis. The dimensions and consequences of sin are beyond our comprehension, let alone our control. Yes, the struggle against temptation and sin’s fruit- self-centeredness- is daily, hourly, even ‘minutely’. Such wrestling characterizes the Christian life. The Holy Spirit leads us in this tussle. Willful sin does not reign unchecked in the believer. The believer, resists, regrets, repents and seeks forgiveness for each failure. This way of the Christian life never ceases because the guilt of sin is not ‘manageable’. We can never be satisfied that we’ve ‘gotten on top of it’. We never reach perfection in this life. Nor can we concede to ignorance and apathy.
Christ came to resolve the very real, relevant, and eternal consequences of sin. The antipathy of indifference, His passion was the defining revelation of the heart of God. His sacrifice was a deliberate and unconditional substitution on our behalf. This is the ultimate Good News. Though the Gospel is pure in its simplicity- Christ died for sins and makes us beneficiaries by grace- it cannot be grasped by any natural aptitude or faculties that we possess. The apostle says, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 6 This remains true today. The Holy Spirit gathers His church. He does it through the authoritative application of the forgiveness of sins.
When you receive the declaration “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”, you are absolved before God in heaven because of the death and resurrection of Christ. We can say with confidence that the sins of Jessica Anne have been forgiven and she has been welcomed into the kingdom of God. Our basis for confessing this is not some religious sentimentality but the clear words of Holy Scripture. “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?”7 His death is the source of our forgiveness. “All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”8
Pray for Jessica, all the newly baptized, and all who have recently been converted to the truth. Apathy, indifference and false security seek to gain the upper hand in the heart and mind. Satan wants nothing more than for us to think that after baptism or confirmation everything is ‘done and dusted’ and we can just sit back and relax. In this way he seeks to slowly suffocate the life of the faithful. Tomorrow marks the Annunciation of our Lord. The angel Gabriel was sent to Mary to announce the conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit. His incarnation continues to be the event that sanctifies the life in every womb even as through His word He conceives spiritual life.
Dear friends, Christ died for all. It matters not who you are or what you have done. Pharisees, prostitutes, tax-collectors; murderers, idolaters, adulterers; deceivers, offenders, slanderers are forgiven, one and all. Washed clean in baptismal waters, purified by the blood of the Lamb, clothed with the righteous garments of Christ, cherished by the Bridegroom, tended by the Shepherd, fed with sacrificial fare, we are His treasured possession. Such is the all-sufficiency of His grace! Such is the magnitude of His sacrifice! It is not measurable, not decipherable, not comprehensible. It far excels our grandest imaginations of altruism or compassion.
Then it propels us into the fray with the strength to shed light in our little corner of the world. We live, work, and brush shoulders with people who are full of anxiety and doubt. According to one study, the average person's anxiety is focused 40% on things that will never happen, 30% on things about the past that can't be changed, 12% on things relating to criticism by others, mostly untrue, 10% on health concerns, which gets worse with stress, and 8% on real problems that will be faced. So the average person needlessly wastes a lot of energy that could be used addressing the eight percent.
Though Christians are not immune to worry we see things from a different perspective. We have different allegiances and different motivations. The Lord gave this reminder to Isaiah that applies to us also, “Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, He is the one you are to fear.”9 GK Chesterton reminds us that “Those who marry the spirit of the age will find themselves widows in the next.”
But believers will not be found widows. In Christ there is always hope. In Christ there is calmness. In Christ there is peace. Today the Prince of Peace rode into Jerusalem with humility. Palm branches were waved in excitement but then abandoned in disappointment. There will be no such reversal for those before the throne in heaven who hold palm branches in their hands.10 We look forward to the time we will join them and raise our hosannas. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Palm Sunday
24 March 2013
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 See John 12:13; Luke 19:38
2 Psalm 2:4
3 See Deuteronomy 34:4
4 See 2 Samuel 7:13
5 See 2 Corinthians 12:7
6 1 Corinthians 1:18
7 Romans 6:3
8 Galatians 3:27
9 Isaiah 8:12-13
10 See Revelation 7:9
Text: Luke 19:38
Theme: Ill-Fated or Divinely Directed
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week. That first Palm Sunday was the start of Passover, the week in which Jesus was arrested, tried, sentenced, and crucified. Christ’s entry into Jerusalem began with great fanfare and expectation. The crowds welcomed Him with shouts of “Hosanna! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.”1 By Friday things got ugly. They were more than disappointed with His mission. They let themselves be ruled by mob mentality. But, “The One enthroned in heaven laughs.”2
Serious consideration of who Jesus Christ is, what He did and what it means has been steadily declining in our culture of apathy and relativism. There isn’t much of an appetite for a plan of divine intervention. To some skeptics the crucifixion of Jesus was not divinely-directed but rather ill-fated. The ministry of the healer of Nazareth came to a tragic end and His mission had to be resuscitated later by His followers. This view relegates Jesus Christ to the annals of history affording subsequent generations only the opportunity to ponder His accomplishments. Of course this is not the perspective of faith. And it exercises little restraint in criticizing the Almighty. The most foolish are often the most bold.
But we should be reticent in making excuses for ourselves. How easily we too can be led astray when things aren’t going our way; when God doesn’t fit into our box? We are tempted to join the crowds and condemn Christ (though often secretly and with great piety) for failing to meet our needs. This can quickly lead to a loss of perspective. Prosperous independence from Him is an illusion. It is Satan’s deception. The devil would have it that we always underestimate the gravity of sin.
Can you stand up under the scrutiny of the Almighty? Can you endure His gaze? Can you give account for your transgressions? Will you put yourself up against the heroes of the faith who still required forgiveness? Moses was not allowed to cross into the promised land3. David was not allowed to build the temple4. St. Paul was kept humble by a thorn in the flesh5. Are we more virtuous? Dare we harbor secret thoughts that our own righteousness is sufficient?
Sin is not just a therapeutic problem. It is an existential crisis. The dimensions and consequences of sin are beyond our comprehension, let alone our control. Yes, the struggle against temptation and sin’s fruit- self-centeredness- is daily, hourly, even ‘minutely’. Such wrestling characterizes the Christian life. The Holy Spirit leads us in this tussle. Willful sin does not reign unchecked in the believer. The believer, resists, regrets, repents and seeks forgiveness for each failure. This way of the Christian life never ceases because the guilt of sin is not ‘manageable’. We can never be satisfied that we’ve ‘gotten on top of it’. We never reach perfection in this life. Nor can we concede to ignorance and apathy.
Christ came to resolve the very real, relevant, and eternal consequences of sin. The antipathy of indifference, His passion was the defining revelation of the heart of God. His sacrifice was a deliberate and unconditional substitution on our behalf. This is the ultimate Good News. Though the Gospel is pure in its simplicity- Christ died for sins and makes us beneficiaries by grace- it cannot be grasped by any natural aptitude or faculties that we possess. The apostle says, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 6 This remains true today. The Holy Spirit gathers His church. He does it through the authoritative application of the forgiveness of sins.
When you receive the declaration “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”, you are absolved before God in heaven because of the death and resurrection of Christ. We can say with confidence that the sins of Jessica Anne have been forgiven and she has been welcomed into the kingdom of God. Our basis for confessing this is not some religious sentimentality but the clear words of Holy Scripture. “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?”7 His death is the source of our forgiveness. “All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”8
Pray for Jessica, all the newly baptized, and all who have recently been converted to the truth. Apathy, indifference and false security seek to gain the upper hand in the heart and mind. Satan wants nothing more than for us to think that after baptism or confirmation everything is ‘done and dusted’ and we can just sit back and relax. In this way he seeks to slowly suffocate the life of the faithful. Tomorrow marks the Annunciation of our Lord. The angel Gabriel was sent to Mary to announce the conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit. His incarnation continues to be the event that sanctifies the life in every womb even as through His word He conceives spiritual life.
Dear friends, Christ died for all. It matters not who you are or what you have done. Pharisees, prostitutes, tax-collectors; murderers, idolaters, adulterers; deceivers, offenders, slanderers are forgiven, one and all. Washed clean in baptismal waters, purified by the blood of the Lamb, clothed with the righteous garments of Christ, cherished by the Bridegroom, tended by the Shepherd, fed with sacrificial fare, we are His treasured possession. Such is the all-sufficiency of His grace! Such is the magnitude of His sacrifice! It is not measurable, not decipherable, not comprehensible. It far excels our grandest imaginations of altruism or compassion.
Then it propels us into the fray with the strength to shed light in our little corner of the world. We live, work, and brush shoulders with people who are full of anxiety and doubt. According to one study, the average person's anxiety is focused 40% on things that will never happen, 30% on things about the past that can't be changed, 12% on things relating to criticism by others, mostly untrue, 10% on health concerns, which gets worse with stress, and 8% on real problems that will be faced. So the average person needlessly wastes a lot of energy that could be used addressing the eight percent.
Though Christians are not immune to worry we see things from a different perspective. We have different allegiances and different motivations. The Lord gave this reminder to Isaiah that applies to us also, “Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, He is the one you are to fear.”9 GK Chesterton reminds us that “Those who marry the spirit of the age will find themselves widows in the next.”
But believers will not be found widows. In Christ there is always hope. In Christ there is calmness. In Christ there is peace. Today the Prince of Peace rode into Jerusalem with humility. Palm branches were waved in excitement but then abandoned in disappointment. There will be no such reversal for those before the throne in heaven who hold palm branches in their hands.10 We look forward to the time we will join them and raise our hosannas. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Palm Sunday
24 March 2013
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 See John 12:13; Luke 19:38
2 Psalm 2:4
3 See Deuteronomy 34:4
4 See 2 Samuel 7:13
5 See 2 Corinthians 12:7
6 1 Corinthians 1:18
7 Romans 6:3
8 Galatians 3:27
9 Isaiah 8:12-13
10 See Revelation 7:9
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Fifth Sunday In Lent (C) 2013
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 12:7
Theme: A Burial Price
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Six days before His death the house of Lazarus of Bethany was filled with the smell of Christ’s burial perfume. It was a preemptive strike. Let us not forget that Lazarus was ‘familiar’ with the fragrance of burial preparations. He had already spent time in the tomb. Christ raised him. As much as Jesus, the eternal Son of the Father both transcends time and contravenes it, so too does He constrict and suspend it. Six days before the event Mary anoints Jesus for His burial. The sacrifice is so imminent it is nearly inaugurated. Jesus was born to die. The womb was a passage way to the grave, the cradle a prerequisite for the cross. It had to happen this way because Jesus’ body was not available in the tomb to anoint. He had risen!
This anointing of Jesus by Mary was a testimony to the gospel, a work of the Spirit. Noah built an altar to the Lord. Yahweh smelled the pleasing aroma of the sacrifice and the flood’s curse was lifted. God sniffed the animal sacrifices of the Israelites and was delighted that they pointed the people to the coming Messiah. Finally the stench of Calvary ascended to His nose and the curse of sin was broken. For us sinners this news is a sweet fragrance.
But it was a smell Judas couldn’t tolerate. Here we have a small conundrum for proponents of a social gospel. Judas is their advocate. “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.”1 Think of the possibilities and the magnitude! A year’s wages! Imagine if you had that at your disposal; the charities you could help, the people you could assist! But separated from the proper motive and detached from Christ all charitable efforts- even those by Christians- degenerate into humanistic philanthropy. Unbelievers too can be very generous and charitable- excelling the efforts of Christians even. Muslims and Hindus may exhibit a higher standard of morality and humanity than many Christians. But the motive and purpose is very different.
The deceived motive is a dead end regardless of how impressive things look in this life. The other is the fruit of the gospel. Today Saint Paul gives powerful testimony to the supremacy of the gospel. Even though he would have had more right than most to put confidence in His Jewish heritage- and he was a Pharisee- it was all futile apart from Christ. The same temptations and tendencies still cling to us too. We are always prone to relying on some measure of our own piety, our obedience, our charity, or at least our good intentions. We are prone to wondering just how faithful we have to be to remain in God’s good graces. What are the benchmarks? What are the thresholds? How much possibility is there for pushing the envelope? Isn’t God supposed to be tolerant?
Whenever we start to embark on this line of reasoning we are fleeing the gospel promise and retreating to the law for our defence. We are not giving thanks for the trials and blessings, both of which enable us to witness to His name. Instead we are wondering what will be sufficient to keep Him satisfied. There is no way to retreat from this minefield except to fall prostrate at the foot of the cross. “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.”2 This is the cry of the repentant heart.
Dear friends, the forgiveness of God is not an abstract allowance, the possession of which can be assumed. It is not some sort of inalienable right that simply kicks in when we seek to allocate it. Forgiveness is ephemeral to the impenitent but concrete for the contrite. And it is never unmediated. The mercy of God is facilitated through those means which He has ordained for the establishment and maintenance of our relationship with Him. The locus of grace is in a person- Jesus Christ- and is distributed to us through word and sacrament. Ambassadors speak on His behalf. The Office of the Ministry was established by Christ so that His truth and His absolution might be publicly communicated to sinners. As a called and ordained servant I do not speak on my own authority. I don’t speak simply on the collective authority of a commission or synod. I speak on Christ’s authority. Only on this authority can there be certainty.
Faith is only nourished through this forgiveness. Otherwise it becomes weak from malnutrition and brittle from egotism. Faith cannot be self-sustained. Tending our faith with our own resources only establishes the idolatry of our own agendas and perspectives. In an age in which we are taught that everyone’s opinion is as valid as anyone else’s' (as long as you are tolerant of theirs) we are in desperate need of an objective basis for truth and reality. Subjectivity is winning the day. It speaks powerfully to our narcissistic tendencies. If relativism is the presupposition all parties must agree on then the best that can be hoped for is some measure of consensus with practical aims for the here and now. In regards to life and death, heaven and hell, sin and grace, this simply will not do.
Even though it is now winning the day subjectivity can only be a passing perspective on reality. Otherwise hope and meaning are inevitably drowned in the tidal wave of personal preferences. Even the secular mind searches for stability based on stronger foundations. No wonder chaos and futility is overcoming the soul of Western society even as fear dominates the Islamic world.
For many in the immediate past and current generation Christianity has become tired and boring. The church itself must shoulder much of the blame. User-friendly Christianity is not the faith of the Bible. To many, Christianity has been presented as being a therapeutic and benign basis of morality with eternal benefits- just for having your name enrolled! Yet to characterize God as domesticated, Satan as emasculated and sin all but eradicated hardly represents the cross-bearing struggle of the baptismal life.
Faith is never stagnant. Our faith is to be innocent but not ignorant. Christ taught humility, not simple-mindedness. He taught modesty, not naivetés. He sent His disciples out to be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves.3 He didn’t promise comfort but conflict. People avoid boredom. But can knowing the One who said, “I hold the keys of death and Hades.”4 be boring? Is baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ5 uninspiring? Is participating in the body and blood of Christ and thus proclaiming “the Lord’s death until He comes.”6 ever trivial?
Christ lives and we live as His ambassadors. Paul’s plea is ours, to “be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but…the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.” 7 How fabulous is the variety of descriptive imagery the Scriptures use to express the fullness of God’s love in Christ! Note how the apostle employs the terminology of John. “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To one the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.”8
Dear friends, Lent is drawing to a close and Holy Week is near. As we reflect on the meaning of these events let us honour the words of Christ who countenanced Mary’s act of devotion. What was the burial price? Was the perfume wasted? There is nothing we devote to Him that He cannot repay. Who dare assess the value of Christ’s sacrifice? We will have an eternity with Him to benefit from what He accomplished for sinners. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Fifth Sunday in Lent
17 March 2013
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 12:5
2 LH #330, Rock of Ages
3 See Matthew 10:16
4 Revelation 1:18
5 See Romans 6:4
6 1 Corinthians 11:26
7 Philippians 3:9
8 2 Corinthians 2:14-16
Text: John 12:7
Theme: A Burial Price
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Six days before His death the house of Lazarus of Bethany was filled with the smell of Christ’s burial perfume. It was a preemptive strike. Let us not forget that Lazarus was ‘familiar’ with the fragrance of burial preparations. He had already spent time in the tomb. Christ raised him. As much as Jesus, the eternal Son of the Father both transcends time and contravenes it, so too does He constrict and suspend it. Six days before the event Mary anoints Jesus for His burial. The sacrifice is so imminent it is nearly inaugurated. Jesus was born to die. The womb was a passage way to the grave, the cradle a prerequisite for the cross. It had to happen this way because Jesus’ body was not available in the tomb to anoint. He had risen!
This anointing of Jesus by Mary was a testimony to the gospel, a work of the Spirit. Noah built an altar to the Lord. Yahweh smelled the pleasing aroma of the sacrifice and the flood’s curse was lifted. God sniffed the animal sacrifices of the Israelites and was delighted that they pointed the people to the coming Messiah. Finally the stench of Calvary ascended to His nose and the curse of sin was broken. For us sinners this news is a sweet fragrance.
But it was a smell Judas couldn’t tolerate. Here we have a small conundrum for proponents of a social gospel. Judas is their advocate. “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.”1 Think of the possibilities and the magnitude! A year’s wages! Imagine if you had that at your disposal; the charities you could help, the people you could assist! But separated from the proper motive and detached from Christ all charitable efforts- even those by Christians- degenerate into humanistic philanthropy. Unbelievers too can be very generous and charitable- excelling the efforts of Christians even. Muslims and Hindus may exhibit a higher standard of morality and humanity than many Christians. But the motive and purpose is very different.
The deceived motive is a dead end regardless of how impressive things look in this life. The other is the fruit of the gospel. Today Saint Paul gives powerful testimony to the supremacy of the gospel. Even though he would have had more right than most to put confidence in His Jewish heritage- and he was a Pharisee- it was all futile apart from Christ. The same temptations and tendencies still cling to us too. We are always prone to relying on some measure of our own piety, our obedience, our charity, or at least our good intentions. We are prone to wondering just how faithful we have to be to remain in God’s good graces. What are the benchmarks? What are the thresholds? How much possibility is there for pushing the envelope? Isn’t God supposed to be tolerant?
Whenever we start to embark on this line of reasoning we are fleeing the gospel promise and retreating to the law for our defence. We are not giving thanks for the trials and blessings, both of which enable us to witness to His name. Instead we are wondering what will be sufficient to keep Him satisfied. There is no way to retreat from this minefield except to fall prostrate at the foot of the cross. “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.”2 This is the cry of the repentant heart.
Dear friends, the forgiveness of God is not an abstract allowance, the possession of which can be assumed. It is not some sort of inalienable right that simply kicks in when we seek to allocate it. Forgiveness is ephemeral to the impenitent but concrete for the contrite. And it is never unmediated. The mercy of God is facilitated through those means which He has ordained for the establishment and maintenance of our relationship with Him. The locus of grace is in a person- Jesus Christ- and is distributed to us through word and sacrament. Ambassadors speak on His behalf. The Office of the Ministry was established by Christ so that His truth and His absolution might be publicly communicated to sinners. As a called and ordained servant I do not speak on my own authority. I don’t speak simply on the collective authority of a commission or synod. I speak on Christ’s authority. Only on this authority can there be certainty.
Faith is only nourished through this forgiveness. Otherwise it becomes weak from malnutrition and brittle from egotism. Faith cannot be self-sustained. Tending our faith with our own resources only establishes the idolatry of our own agendas and perspectives. In an age in which we are taught that everyone’s opinion is as valid as anyone else’s' (as long as you are tolerant of theirs) we are in desperate need of an objective basis for truth and reality. Subjectivity is winning the day. It speaks powerfully to our narcissistic tendencies. If relativism is the presupposition all parties must agree on then the best that can be hoped for is some measure of consensus with practical aims for the here and now. In regards to life and death, heaven and hell, sin and grace, this simply will not do.
Even though it is now winning the day subjectivity can only be a passing perspective on reality. Otherwise hope and meaning are inevitably drowned in the tidal wave of personal preferences. Even the secular mind searches for stability based on stronger foundations. No wonder chaos and futility is overcoming the soul of Western society even as fear dominates the Islamic world.
For many in the immediate past and current generation Christianity has become tired and boring. The church itself must shoulder much of the blame. User-friendly Christianity is not the faith of the Bible. To many, Christianity has been presented as being a therapeutic and benign basis of morality with eternal benefits- just for having your name enrolled! Yet to characterize God as domesticated, Satan as emasculated and sin all but eradicated hardly represents the cross-bearing struggle of the baptismal life.
Faith is never stagnant. Our faith is to be innocent but not ignorant. Christ taught humility, not simple-mindedness. He taught modesty, not naivetés. He sent His disciples out to be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves.3 He didn’t promise comfort but conflict. People avoid boredom. But can knowing the One who said, “I hold the keys of death and Hades.”4 be boring? Is baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ5 uninspiring? Is participating in the body and blood of Christ and thus proclaiming “the Lord’s death until He comes.”6 ever trivial?
Christ lives and we live as His ambassadors. Paul’s plea is ours, to “be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but…the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.” 7 How fabulous is the variety of descriptive imagery the Scriptures use to express the fullness of God’s love in Christ! Note how the apostle employs the terminology of John. “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To one the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.”8
Dear friends, Lent is drawing to a close and Holy Week is near. As we reflect on the meaning of these events let us honour the words of Christ who countenanced Mary’s act of devotion. What was the burial price? Was the perfume wasted? There is nothing we devote to Him that He cannot repay. Who dare assess the value of Christ’s sacrifice? We will have an eternity with Him to benefit from what He accomplished for sinners. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Fifth Sunday in Lent
17 March 2013
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 12:5
2 LH #330, Rock of Ages
3 See Matthew 10:16
4 Revelation 1:18
5 See Romans 6:4
6 1 Corinthians 11:26
7 Philippians 3:9
8 2 Corinthians 2:14-16
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