+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 4:2
Theme: The Journey
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
We’re on a journey. It’s a voyage we can’t opt out of. It’s an expedition through the prosperities and adversities of this terrestrial life. But not all who accompany us, both adversaries and advocates, are earth-bound creatures. When mortality is reached, only one, the Lord Jesus Christ, can see us across the threshold. Today is the first Sunday in Lent. Lent is a time of special observance Christians have historically followed to help them re-appreciate and re-appropriate the passion and resurrection of Jesus. The word lent means ‘spring season’, a misnomer for those of us approaching the autumnal equinox. Nevertheless, the spiritual correlation applies. Lent is a time for renewed gratitude, recovered fidelity, and restored hope.
The 40-day temptation of Jesus is the scriptural account that initiates our journey. Undoubtedly during this span Satan attempted many persuasions and engaged in much subtlety. The length of time in the wilderness, 40 days, not only resonates with key events in biblical history, it is an analogy of the Christian’s pilgrimage throughout this temporal life. Temptation is never far away. The temptations that are noted are threefold. They involve Jesus’ human needs, His understanding of His mission, and His confidence in God the Father. Satan challenges Him to turn stone into bread, to worship him instead of God, and to test God’s patience and trustworthiness. Christ does not yield to any of the devils’ efforts and in the end, he is driven away “until an opportune time.”1
Satan is the master of creating doubt. The seed of doubt is what he sows tirelessly and prodigiously. He broadcasts it generously and generically across the breadth and width of humanity. He also plants it specifically- a single seed carefully placed in a vulnerable heart. He is not always successful. But he doesn’t give up. If the seed of doubt does not germinate, he has no growing crop of deception to tend. If it doesn’t take root, he has no hope for a harvest of unrighteousness. These seeds of doubt are not all of the same variety, but they all work toward the same goal: Separation from God.
Don’t think for a moment that the seeds of doubt the devil is sowing only relate to the bigger questions about the meaning and existence of life. Did God create the universe? Am I the maker of my own destiny? Am I accountable for my sins? Can I make my own rules? Will I be judged? Is there an afterlife? Will good prevail over evil? Does hell even exist? Does God Himself exist…and so forth. Yes, the devil is certainly happy to derail peoples’ faith through the falsification of these ‘big picture’ issues.
Yet, for those who hold a Christian worldview in whole or in part, the doubt he seeks to sow is often very practical and personal? Does my spouse love me selflessly? Do my friends or colleagues appreciate me? Will people be honest with me in business? Do people think poorly of me or gossip about me? What is my reputation in the community? Does it matter if I’m not totally honest in this or that situation? Dear friends, you are not called to pander to this doubt, but to repent of it. Victorious doubt is sin. If we don’t fear, love, and trust God above all things we’re breaking the foundational commandment. In every aspect of every relationship God wants us always moving from suspicion to certainty.
When the seed of doubt takes root, trust is immediately compromised. If the growing doubt is watered and fertilized, that is, if the matter is indulged through speculation or neglect and not resolved through clarification, then trust’s foundation begins to crack. Its fabric begins to tear. The root of a tree can crack the foundation of a house, raise a segment of the road, or obstruct the flow of a drain. A torn garment can become completely useless. The dysfunction is often not easily rectified.
God not only has the antidote to doubt, He provides the means to reconcile the brokenness it creates. Doubt can only be rectified by the triumph of certainty and brokenness corrected by the restoration of trust. Without trust no stable relationship can develop. Remember, Satan cannot read your mind, he just has a wealth of experience in dealing with human nature. He has no real power over you. Luther says in his famous hymn we just sang, “Scowl fierce as he will, he can harm us none…one little world can fell him.”2 The devil cannot tolerate the divine word and he has no authority to seize it from you. What does the apostle say today, ‘“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming. That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”3
Dear friends, Jesus resisted temptation for you. He stood firm against the wiles of the devil for you. He fasted for you. He suffered for you. He sacrificed everything for you. Through His baptism He stands in solidarity with you. He descended into hell to the proclaim the victory you participate in. He overcame death to spare you from its finality. He resisted turning stone into bread so you could be fed by the holy bread. He responded to every temptation of the devil with the word of God. That’s a model for us to follow.
Sometimes lent is misunderstood as a dreary, negative, overly self-deprecating time of the church year. Solemnity is overly emphasized at the expense of expressions of joy. The pastor hides the alleluias from us and prattles on about sin more than usual. Yet, far from being dominated by tedium and misery, lent is an exciting opportunity for renewal. It’s an opportunity to refocus on those core truths that define us as God’s people.
This life is a journey. For Christians it’s a daily struggle to live in the baptismal promise and bear the crosses that are placed on us. Christian life is not a collection of ‘spiritual events’- think baptisms, confirmations, and funerals, along with Christmas and Easter services. Christianity reduced to ‘milestone’ achievements and ‘special-occasion’ observances is a ceremonial adherence to the faith and a certain indication that meaningful connection with the faith is on its way to obsolescence. We can see that all around us. The baptised and confirmed of one generation become only the baptised of the next. Thereafter all connection with the church is often lost.
Still, the Good Shepherd never stops seeking the lost sheep. The Scripture says, “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”4 And that repentance leads to the motivation and the tenacity to pursue the struggle of faithfulness in this life. Do you think there is one Olympic athlete that never spent any time or effort preparing for the games? Is there any individual so superior to all the other competitors that no training is required at all to win the gold? I would be surprised if together we could name a single example. Therefore, the apostle says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”5 Christ has run the gauntlet for us. The outcome of our race is not in doubt. We will be crowned according to the Scripture, “Be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”6 Christ didn’t remain in the wilderness and we won’t either. Lent is a time to contemplate such things. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
First Sunday in Lent
10 March 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 4:13
2 A Mighty Fortress, LH 195, stz3
3 Romans 10:8-9
4 Luke 15:10
5 1 Corinthians 9:24-25
6 Revelation 2:10
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Monday, March 4, 2019
The Transfiguration of our Lord (C) 2019
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 9:35
Theme: ‘Listen To Him’
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Often when one thing ends, another begins. Today the Season of Epiphany comes to a conclusion. The Messiah who has consistently revealed His divinity through miracles and teaching makes a short, but dramatic show of His majesty on the Mount of Transfiguration. Exactly what happened will remain somewhat mysterious. The inner circle of His disciples, Peter, James, and John, witnessed Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah after seeing a spectacular change in His appearance. He shone with the brightness of the sun. The affair ends with the voice of the heavenly Father, “This is My Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him.”1
The declaration of the Father is an unmistakable affirmation of the work and identity of Jesus.
Listen to Him! Oh, what a challenge it is to listen! Ours is a world of sound-bites, of buzzwords, of abbreviated expressions aimed at communicating the very smallest bits of information. Attention-spans are shrinking to micro-sized wavelengths. If you can’t say it in a few words you’re probably in danger of losing a good portion of your audience.
We’re conditioned to tune-out, shut down, or move on. Often this happens now with the click of the mouse or the tap of the finger. We have the technology to change the channel, advance the video, or delete the file. If we’re too hasty we can just come back to it later, retrieve it from the archive, or find it in the trash bin. The choices we have for media exposure are truly extraordinary. It doesn’t mean though, that the options are necessarily helpful, healthy, or truthful. The challenge to sift out what’s meaningful from the noise has always been there but now the competition is more intense.
The call to listen is also a call to honestly reflect on what voices or authorities shape our beliefs or values. We’re often being conditioned without even recognizing it. Are you addicted to your smart phone or to social media? Do we recognize the sinister side of such convenience? Not only the vulnerability to predators using such mediums brings with it, but also what is says about our own motivations? Do we allow ourselves to be wired 27/4 for fear of missing out or because of low self-worth? These are serious issues in our society.
What does it mean to listen to Christ? Our heavenly Father is not simply asking that we pause to concentrate for a few moments on the transfigured Jesus, as if we were receiving a little bit of interesting information. He is calling us to discipleship. Listening, in biblical context, involves obedience. It entails following. The call to repentance is a call to turn from all wayward paths and follow the narrow road. If we agree listening isn’t a strength of our current culture, it’s worth reflecting on what some of the consequences might be. Who is this Jesus and why should people still listen to Him? The answer is as simple as it is profound: Christ is the Way and the Truth and the Life2. All other truths that govern life in time and in eternity are connected seamlessly, if not immediately recognizably, to Him. Yet the certainty of what is truth, and agreement on who we look to to verify it is undergoing radical transformation in our society.
How is knowledge of the truth lost? In a society free from crippling tyranny, false teaching establishes itself in three basic stages. Firstly, those who are hesitant about the accepted teaching ask for tolerance and sensitivity. They give reassurance that their speculations are mostly of a private nature and pose no threat to the established teaching. No one need to listen to them, they only want the privilege of indulging their doubts and exploring a new position on the issue in question. In the second stage, those advocating a new teaching ask for a level playing field. Open-mindedness and fairness, they say, demands equality for the discussion of ideas.
Once achieved, this stage attains equal footing of the new teaching with the old. The original teaching is still the officially accepted one, but the proposed teaching has now been given legitimacy. Assurances are often made that no challenges will be made to overturn the original teaching. In the final stage, the new teaching supplants the original, and soon, ironically, though predictably, the original teaching is no longer tolerated. These types of changes can take years, decades, and even centuries. And at some point, the pendulum often begins to swing back.
In many ways our contemporary challenge is not new at all. It is as ancient as the faith and its founder. God does not change. Christ is immortal. He was crucified to atone for the sins of the entire world. He rose again on the third day in victory over death. These truths are unalterable. He sends His Spirit to attend us and gives His body and blood to sustain us. Yet, how do we present these truths to a society increasingly skeptical, apathetic, and even hostile? And how do we correct misguided convictions within our own Christian communities? How can we avoid giving the impression that baptism is a ceremonial ritual that magically guarantees the person has a free pass to heaven? How can we deconstruct the fallacy that once confirmed the Christian journey of listening and learning is over? If you have the answers, please let me know!
Rest assured, divine truths do not change, only our perception of misuse of them do. The legitimacy of baptism is unchanged. And the power and promise of baptism for an infant is no different than for that of an adult. The Holy Spirit is present to forgive sins and engender faith. We can’t see it with our physical eyes, but we believe it through the eyes of faith. (Erin Jo is no more, and no less a redeemed child of God than the most mature saint among us.)
The transfiguration of Jesus was a glimpse into the future. For Peter, James, and John it was a peak at the eternal majesty of the immortal Son of God. It was recorded for us as a boost for our faith. For unlike Moses and Elijah, your part in this sequence of events- the last era before the coming of Christ in glory- is not yet complete. As long as you draw breath, God still has purpose for you. You have vocations of service. You have the privilege of being served. Don’t ever think that any godly service is insignificant in His eyes. The challenge you have parallels the broader challenge of the church’s mission: to live with integrity in a culture of corruption, to distinguish truth from falsehood, to love the unlovable. The Scripture says, “Love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”3 And, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”4 Remember, when you forgive someone, you are granting them an undeserved pardon. It’s the same pardon repentant believers receive from God.
It’s no coincidence when the cloud lifts that, Peter, James, and John find themselves alone with Jesus. Moses and Elijah have recessed back into the heavenly dimension. Their part in the chronicle of divine salvation is complete. The way has been prepared. The promises of been proclaimed. Christ must fulfill them and no one else can. He can and He did. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”5 Salvation is complete in Him. Christ will not fail you. In the hour of your death He will not be absent. At the time of your judgment He will not forsake you. He finishes what He starts and initiates for us grand new adventures.
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Transfiguration of our Lord
3 March 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 9:35
2 See John 14:6
3 1 Peter 4:8
4 1 Corinthians 13:6
5 Acts 4:12
Text: Luke 9:35
Theme: ‘Listen To Him’
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Often when one thing ends, another begins. Today the Season of Epiphany comes to a conclusion. The Messiah who has consistently revealed His divinity through miracles and teaching makes a short, but dramatic show of His majesty on the Mount of Transfiguration. Exactly what happened will remain somewhat mysterious. The inner circle of His disciples, Peter, James, and John, witnessed Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah after seeing a spectacular change in His appearance. He shone with the brightness of the sun. The affair ends with the voice of the heavenly Father, “This is My Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him.”1
The declaration of the Father is an unmistakable affirmation of the work and identity of Jesus.
Listen to Him! Oh, what a challenge it is to listen! Ours is a world of sound-bites, of buzzwords, of abbreviated expressions aimed at communicating the very smallest bits of information. Attention-spans are shrinking to micro-sized wavelengths. If you can’t say it in a few words you’re probably in danger of losing a good portion of your audience.
We’re conditioned to tune-out, shut down, or move on. Often this happens now with the click of the mouse or the tap of the finger. We have the technology to change the channel, advance the video, or delete the file. If we’re too hasty we can just come back to it later, retrieve it from the archive, or find it in the trash bin. The choices we have for media exposure are truly extraordinary. It doesn’t mean though, that the options are necessarily helpful, healthy, or truthful. The challenge to sift out what’s meaningful from the noise has always been there but now the competition is more intense.
The call to listen is also a call to honestly reflect on what voices or authorities shape our beliefs or values. We’re often being conditioned without even recognizing it. Are you addicted to your smart phone or to social media? Do we recognize the sinister side of such convenience? Not only the vulnerability to predators using such mediums brings with it, but also what is says about our own motivations? Do we allow ourselves to be wired 27/4 for fear of missing out or because of low self-worth? These are serious issues in our society.
What does it mean to listen to Christ? Our heavenly Father is not simply asking that we pause to concentrate for a few moments on the transfigured Jesus, as if we were receiving a little bit of interesting information. He is calling us to discipleship. Listening, in biblical context, involves obedience. It entails following. The call to repentance is a call to turn from all wayward paths and follow the narrow road. If we agree listening isn’t a strength of our current culture, it’s worth reflecting on what some of the consequences might be. Who is this Jesus and why should people still listen to Him? The answer is as simple as it is profound: Christ is the Way and the Truth and the Life2. All other truths that govern life in time and in eternity are connected seamlessly, if not immediately recognizably, to Him. Yet the certainty of what is truth, and agreement on who we look to to verify it is undergoing radical transformation in our society.
How is knowledge of the truth lost? In a society free from crippling tyranny, false teaching establishes itself in three basic stages. Firstly, those who are hesitant about the accepted teaching ask for tolerance and sensitivity. They give reassurance that their speculations are mostly of a private nature and pose no threat to the established teaching. No one need to listen to them, they only want the privilege of indulging their doubts and exploring a new position on the issue in question. In the second stage, those advocating a new teaching ask for a level playing field. Open-mindedness and fairness, they say, demands equality for the discussion of ideas.
Once achieved, this stage attains equal footing of the new teaching with the old. The original teaching is still the officially accepted one, but the proposed teaching has now been given legitimacy. Assurances are often made that no challenges will be made to overturn the original teaching. In the final stage, the new teaching supplants the original, and soon, ironically, though predictably, the original teaching is no longer tolerated. These types of changes can take years, decades, and even centuries. And at some point, the pendulum often begins to swing back.
In many ways our contemporary challenge is not new at all. It is as ancient as the faith and its founder. God does not change. Christ is immortal. He was crucified to atone for the sins of the entire world. He rose again on the third day in victory over death. These truths are unalterable. He sends His Spirit to attend us and gives His body and blood to sustain us. Yet, how do we present these truths to a society increasingly skeptical, apathetic, and even hostile? And how do we correct misguided convictions within our own Christian communities? How can we avoid giving the impression that baptism is a ceremonial ritual that magically guarantees the person has a free pass to heaven? How can we deconstruct the fallacy that once confirmed the Christian journey of listening and learning is over? If you have the answers, please let me know!
Rest assured, divine truths do not change, only our perception of misuse of them do. The legitimacy of baptism is unchanged. And the power and promise of baptism for an infant is no different than for that of an adult. The Holy Spirit is present to forgive sins and engender faith. We can’t see it with our physical eyes, but we believe it through the eyes of faith. (Erin Jo is no more, and no less a redeemed child of God than the most mature saint among us.)
The transfiguration of Jesus was a glimpse into the future. For Peter, James, and John it was a peak at the eternal majesty of the immortal Son of God. It was recorded for us as a boost for our faith. For unlike Moses and Elijah, your part in this sequence of events- the last era before the coming of Christ in glory- is not yet complete. As long as you draw breath, God still has purpose for you. You have vocations of service. You have the privilege of being served. Don’t ever think that any godly service is insignificant in His eyes. The challenge you have parallels the broader challenge of the church’s mission: to live with integrity in a culture of corruption, to distinguish truth from falsehood, to love the unlovable. The Scripture says, “Love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”3 And, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”4 Remember, when you forgive someone, you are granting them an undeserved pardon. It’s the same pardon repentant believers receive from God.
It’s no coincidence when the cloud lifts that, Peter, James, and John find themselves alone with Jesus. Moses and Elijah have recessed back into the heavenly dimension. Their part in the chronicle of divine salvation is complete. The way has been prepared. The promises of been proclaimed. Christ must fulfill them and no one else can. He can and He did. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”5 Salvation is complete in Him. Christ will not fail you. In the hour of your death He will not be absent. At the time of your judgment He will not forsake you. He finishes what He starts and initiates for us grand new adventures.
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Transfiguration of our Lord
3 March 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 9:35
2 See John 14:6
3 1 Peter 4:8
4 1 Corinthians 13:6
5 Acts 4:12
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Seventh Sunday After Epiphany (C) 2019
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 6:32-33
Theme: Exceptional Love
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God loves the unlovable. He does so not in a mindless, or robotic manner, but as the deepest expression of His true nature. He is not moved by outside influences. God is not drawn to that which is desirable, as humans are, rather He takes pity on the unsightly in soul. God is not motivated by anything that you have, or are, or do. The cross is the definitive revelation God’s utterly indiscriminate love. It is not indiscriminate because it’s aimless, but because it’s absolutely all-embracing. No truth could be more reassuring.
Jesus invites His followers to practice the same indiscriminate love that He models. He says, "If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.”1 If our motivation for generosity is the hope that we will receive something in return then, by definition, we’re not showing unconditional love, we’re just participating in the world’s game of give and take.
Instead, we’re called upon to step out in faith, even endure being wronged and mistreated, having no expectation of reimbursement, and believing God will make good on a greater reward. Careful discernment is required here. God’s not telling us to be door mats, fence-sitters, or people with no values or convictions. When Jesus says today, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned,”2 He is not advocating an open tolerance of all things from all people. He is talking about arrogant judgment about peoples’ personal motives.
We do make judgments. We are called to do it. In fact, it’s nearly impossible not to. We must distinguish between truth and falsehood, between good and evil. This must be done not just in theory, but in practice. One of the great ironies of our age of political correctness is the hypocritical double standard about who is justified to judge. Regardless of what the world does, final authority to judge sin lies with God. But He calls us to account for our sin now. He calls us to recognize transgression and repudiate it. The Holy Spirit must convict the heart before He can truly comfort it.
What is clear is that you do not have the authority to judge whether a person is worthy of forgiveness. We are not in the place of God. It’s wise to remember that in every context. Remember what Joseph said to his brothers when they feared he would condemn them for their prior mistreatment of him, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?”3 Or the response of the king of Israel to the king of Aram over the healing of Naaman. The Scripture says, “And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me."4 Only God can forgive the debt of sin.
The relevant question for us is how we handle sin and forgiveness in relation to one another.
You do not have the permission, you are not authorized to harbor resentment in your heart against someone who asks to be forgiven. In His very next breath after teaching the Lord’s Prayer, the Lord Jesus says, “if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”5 A couple of different objections are often raised to this requirement of Christian charity. Firstly, it is argued that the offender may not be sincere in his or her request for forgiveness. Therefore, animosity can be justifiably nursed because the perpetrator cannot be trusted. The demand comes forth: “They must prove themselves first!” “There must be conditions!”
This objection is easily answered. God alone can hold people accountable for the deception of false repentance. He alone has authority to condemn. He alone sees infallibly into peoples’ hearts. He alone knows, every motivation, every desire, every reason for action or inaction, habitual or impulsive. The Christian is called to step out in faith trusting in Christ’s promise. If we don’t believe God can and will change people’s hearts, then we’ve lost confidence in the gospel. That is never a tenable position.
Secondly, the objection can be raised that the offended person isn’t able to forgive from the heart, he or she is too hurt, too scarred, and the forgiveness would be hollow. This objection is more complex and reveals the genuine struggle of the heart. Last week Jeremiah reminded us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”6 The key is to remember that the validity of the forgiveness granted is not dependent upon the disposition of the one granting it. The heart might still be vexed with anger, confusion, regret, or fear, the resolution of which must be given over to God. The forgiveness issued, however, carries not only a divine mandate, but also Christ’s transforming power. Forgiveness is, by definition, the granting of an undeserved pardon. We can change the heart of exactly no one. God can change the heart of precisely anyone.
It’s surely no coincidence that clashes between Jesus and the Jewish ruling authorities often centred on the issue of forgiveness. For example, when Jesus heals the crippled man in Matthew chapter nine, He says, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-he then said to the paralytic-"Rise, pick up your bed and go home."7 The Pharisees had rightly asked, “Who can forgive sins but God alone.”8Dear friends, your baptism makes you a continual benefactor of this same forgiveness. By it our paralyzed souls are given legs to spring up and compete in the race of life. By forgiveness we are freed from the burden of bargaining for God’s favour. We have nothing to offer Him. His death and resurrection supply everything.
So, you are loved with an exceptional love. This divine love is in no way dependent on you being desirable, appealing, or the least bit virtuous, deserving, or righteous. The Scripture says, “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!”9 God’s love in Christ is exceptional. It is so not in the sense of being the top tier, as if a peer-group were involved. The love of the triune God is incomparable. It is unique. No one else, regardless of how passionate and selfless their love is, can save you from the threat of hell and of everlasting death. God invites you to believe, no strings attached that this is how He loves you. He invites you to taste that love in the heavenly meal. He invites you to rest in that love knowing your sins have been forgiven. That same love gives us buoyancy when we’re weighted down with the burdens of life. In our Saviour’s name, amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Seventh Sunday After Epiphany
24 February 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 6:32-34
2 Luke 6:37
3 Genesis 50:9
4 2 Kings 5:7
5 Matthew 6:15
6 Jeremiah 17:9
7 Matthew 9:6
8 Luke 5:21
9 Romans 5:10
Text: Luke 6:32-33
Theme: Exceptional Love
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God loves the unlovable. He does so not in a mindless, or robotic manner, but as the deepest expression of His true nature. He is not moved by outside influences. God is not drawn to that which is desirable, as humans are, rather He takes pity on the unsightly in soul. God is not motivated by anything that you have, or are, or do. The cross is the definitive revelation God’s utterly indiscriminate love. It is not indiscriminate because it’s aimless, but because it’s absolutely all-embracing. No truth could be more reassuring.
Jesus invites His followers to practice the same indiscriminate love that He models. He says, "If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.”1 If our motivation for generosity is the hope that we will receive something in return then, by definition, we’re not showing unconditional love, we’re just participating in the world’s game of give and take.
Instead, we’re called upon to step out in faith, even endure being wronged and mistreated, having no expectation of reimbursement, and believing God will make good on a greater reward. Careful discernment is required here. God’s not telling us to be door mats, fence-sitters, or people with no values or convictions. When Jesus says today, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned,”2 He is not advocating an open tolerance of all things from all people. He is talking about arrogant judgment about peoples’ personal motives.
We do make judgments. We are called to do it. In fact, it’s nearly impossible not to. We must distinguish between truth and falsehood, between good and evil. This must be done not just in theory, but in practice. One of the great ironies of our age of political correctness is the hypocritical double standard about who is justified to judge. Regardless of what the world does, final authority to judge sin lies with God. But He calls us to account for our sin now. He calls us to recognize transgression and repudiate it. The Holy Spirit must convict the heart before He can truly comfort it.
What is clear is that you do not have the authority to judge whether a person is worthy of forgiveness. We are not in the place of God. It’s wise to remember that in every context. Remember what Joseph said to his brothers when they feared he would condemn them for their prior mistreatment of him, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?”3 Or the response of the king of Israel to the king of Aram over the healing of Naaman. The Scripture says, “And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me."4 Only God can forgive the debt of sin.
The relevant question for us is how we handle sin and forgiveness in relation to one another.
You do not have the permission, you are not authorized to harbor resentment in your heart against someone who asks to be forgiven. In His very next breath after teaching the Lord’s Prayer, the Lord Jesus says, “if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”5 A couple of different objections are often raised to this requirement of Christian charity. Firstly, it is argued that the offender may not be sincere in his or her request for forgiveness. Therefore, animosity can be justifiably nursed because the perpetrator cannot be trusted. The demand comes forth: “They must prove themselves first!” “There must be conditions!”
This objection is easily answered. God alone can hold people accountable for the deception of false repentance. He alone has authority to condemn. He alone sees infallibly into peoples’ hearts. He alone knows, every motivation, every desire, every reason for action or inaction, habitual or impulsive. The Christian is called to step out in faith trusting in Christ’s promise. If we don’t believe God can and will change people’s hearts, then we’ve lost confidence in the gospel. That is never a tenable position.
Secondly, the objection can be raised that the offended person isn’t able to forgive from the heart, he or she is too hurt, too scarred, and the forgiveness would be hollow. This objection is more complex and reveals the genuine struggle of the heart. Last week Jeremiah reminded us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”6 The key is to remember that the validity of the forgiveness granted is not dependent upon the disposition of the one granting it. The heart might still be vexed with anger, confusion, regret, or fear, the resolution of which must be given over to God. The forgiveness issued, however, carries not only a divine mandate, but also Christ’s transforming power. Forgiveness is, by definition, the granting of an undeserved pardon. We can change the heart of exactly no one. God can change the heart of precisely anyone.
It’s surely no coincidence that clashes between Jesus and the Jewish ruling authorities often centred on the issue of forgiveness. For example, when Jesus heals the crippled man in Matthew chapter nine, He says, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-he then said to the paralytic-"Rise, pick up your bed and go home."7 The Pharisees had rightly asked, “Who can forgive sins but God alone.”8Dear friends, your baptism makes you a continual benefactor of this same forgiveness. By it our paralyzed souls are given legs to spring up and compete in the race of life. By forgiveness we are freed from the burden of bargaining for God’s favour. We have nothing to offer Him. His death and resurrection supply everything.
So, you are loved with an exceptional love. This divine love is in no way dependent on you being desirable, appealing, or the least bit virtuous, deserving, or righteous. The Scripture says, “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!”9 God’s love in Christ is exceptional. It is so not in the sense of being the top tier, as if a peer-group were involved. The love of the triune God is incomparable. It is unique. No one else, regardless of how passionate and selfless their love is, can save you from the threat of hell and of everlasting death. God invites you to believe, no strings attached that this is how He loves you. He invites you to taste that love in the heavenly meal. He invites you to rest in that love knowing your sins have been forgiven. That same love gives us buoyancy when we’re weighted down with the burdens of life. In our Saviour’s name, amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Seventh Sunday After Epiphany
24 February 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 6:32-34
2 Luke 6:37
3 Genesis 50:9
4 2 Kings 5:7
5 Matthew 6:15
6 Jeremiah 17:9
7 Matthew 9:6
8 Luke 5:21
9 Romans 5:10
Monday, February 18, 2019
Sixth Sunday After Epiphany (C) 2019
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 6:20-26
Theme: Perseverance And Reward
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
How well do you handle rejection? Can you easily cope with being ostracized? Today Jesus, the One who faced the ultimate rejection, greets us with these words, “Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.”1 The sentiments expressed here are not particularly comforting regarding the opposition Christians may face for holding to their faith. However, also implied here is the ultimate reassurance that when we have the blessing of Christ, we have all we need and more. The reward of faith is not commensurate with what the world values.
It goes without saying that in our current secular climate these pithy truths of Jesus are patently counter-cultural and even downright unappealing. Nor do they fit well with the mantra of the prosperity gospel preachers: “If only you believe strongly enough God will shower you with prosperity and material blessings.” We shouldn’t too quickly claim that we understand the full import of these words either. Rejection, exclusion, and isolation because of our faith is something we may understand better in theory than from actual experience. God may have a lot more persecution on His agenda in order to purify the faith of His people. Our Master never says faith guarantees a care-free existence. Gold is purified either by heat or submersion in hydrochloric acid, not by running it under tap water or soaking it in a lovely bath of Epsom salts. So too, our faith. The Scripture says, “Now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine…”2
The heart of Jesus’ message is perseverance and the promise of reward. Many of the great feats of the world were not accomplished by cleverness or good fortune, but by perseverance and sacrifice. The Panama Canal officially opened in 1914, after 32 years of construction. The 51-mile canal, an engineering and construction marvel, connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It revolutionized world shipping patterns. It removed the need for ships to travel the long and dangerous route around Cape Horn, at the southern tip of South America. The canal saves about 7,800 miles on a sea trip from New York to San Francisco. More than 75,000 men and women worked on the canal in total. At the height of construction, there were 40,000 workers working there at one time. An estimated 28,000 workers died during construction- a staggering figure. That’s an enormous sacrifice, but the reward is still reaped by many. It’s well documented that Abraham Lincoln was a failure at many endeavors in business and in politics. But he persevered until the time God used him for great accomplishments.
Dear friends, we never have to search out opportunities to prove the steadfastness of our faith. The world brings them to us as a matter of course. In some contexts, and for certain issues the intensity is much greater though. For example, how many are bold enough to say they support the sacredness of heterosexual marriage on the basis of God’s authority alone? Or do we retreat to silence or even capitulate? How many would defend the sanctity of life when confronted? Are we brave enough to call out the hypocritical double-standard that labels an unborn child as nonhuman but- perhaps only a few hours later when it comes out of the womb- name it a person with full protection under the law? Are we gallant enough to identify this as pure evil? Do we not see it as a symptom of a deeper disorder?
Can we recognize how deeply the disease of sin permeates all of our lives? Is our repentance authentic? Is our faith nothing more than a fashionable virtue that becomes too much of a liability when times are tough? Rest assured, God will render judgment. We should invoke Him with repentant prayers that we may be spared from it. The Scripture says, “It is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”3
We must remember these things don’t depend on our strength and ability anyway. Faith is a gift of the Spirit. Our trust never rests on human authority. And consider the promise our Lord makes, “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.”4
Yet, why does the promise of the heavenly reward seem to be insufficient for so many? Why is it so lightly cherished? Perhaps people believe they’re simply entitled to it? Perhaps we think the privilege of God’s acceptance is a birthright. But God does not suffer egotism lightly. No one is entitled to a free pass into heaven. The forgiveness you have is not a trivial gift. It is more valuable than all you own or will ever possess.
What glorious confidence our second reading gives us today. If you have never read First Corinthians chapter 15 challenge yourself to go home and do it this week. Read the whole chapter. Make yourself accountable by reading it out loud. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. ”5 There you have it! Emphatic! Categorical! Resolute! Our hope is shattered, empty, in vain, if Christ remains in the grave. Trust in the idea that His short time on earth inspires and impels us forward to love humanity and that we should be be satisfied with that for the goal of our mortal existence is a pernicious lie and utter tragedy. The prophets compare it to enduring pregnancy but then never giving birth. “We were with child, we writhed in pain, but we gave birth to wind.”6 What’s the point of enduring persecution, of investing our time and resources in the kingdom, of making sacrifices for the well-being of others if this life is an end in itself?
No, dear friends, God does not fail to make good on His promises. He is the victor over death. The Lord says, “Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?”7 Hope is not lost. “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”8 In baptism you are vested with the power of Christ’s resurrection. In the sacrament of Holy Communion you are nourished with His life.
The triune God will not forsake His people. The greater your trial, the more His compassion. The deeper your darkness, the more brilliant His light. The heavier your burden, the broader His shoulders. The more vexatious your challenge, the more sensitive His solution. He doesn’t promise to preempt our suffering. He cares too much for us to do that. He wants our faith to be as hard as steel but as pliable as a spider’s web. “Consider it pure joy…- the Scripture says- whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”9 Again, it says, “Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.”10 What confidence do we have when facing the challenges of living our faith? The Lord over life and death says to us, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for Your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”11 Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Sixth Sunday After Epiphany
17 February 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 6:22
2 1 Peter 1:6-7
3 1 Peter 4:17
4 Luke 6:23
5 1 Corinthians 15:17-19
6 Isaiah 26:18
7 Isaiah 66:9
8 1 Corinthians 15:20
9 James 1:2-3
10 1 Corinthians 15:58
11 Luke 12:32
Text: Luke 6:20-26
Theme: Perseverance And Reward
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
How well do you handle rejection? Can you easily cope with being ostracized? Today Jesus, the One who faced the ultimate rejection, greets us with these words, “Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.”1 The sentiments expressed here are not particularly comforting regarding the opposition Christians may face for holding to their faith. However, also implied here is the ultimate reassurance that when we have the blessing of Christ, we have all we need and more. The reward of faith is not commensurate with what the world values.
It goes without saying that in our current secular climate these pithy truths of Jesus are patently counter-cultural and even downright unappealing. Nor do they fit well with the mantra of the prosperity gospel preachers: “If only you believe strongly enough God will shower you with prosperity and material blessings.” We shouldn’t too quickly claim that we understand the full import of these words either. Rejection, exclusion, and isolation because of our faith is something we may understand better in theory than from actual experience. God may have a lot more persecution on His agenda in order to purify the faith of His people. Our Master never says faith guarantees a care-free existence. Gold is purified either by heat or submersion in hydrochloric acid, not by running it under tap water or soaking it in a lovely bath of Epsom salts. So too, our faith. The Scripture says, “Now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine…”2
The heart of Jesus’ message is perseverance and the promise of reward. Many of the great feats of the world were not accomplished by cleverness or good fortune, but by perseverance and sacrifice. The Panama Canal officially opened in 1914, after 32 years of construction. The 51-mile canal, an engineering and construction marvel, connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It revolutionized world shipping patterns. It removed the need for ships to travel the long and dangerous route around Cape Horn, at the southern tip of South America. The canal saves about 7,800 miles on a sea trip from New York to San Francisco. More than 75,000 men and women worked on the canal in total. At the height of construction, there were 40,000 workers working there at one time. An estimated 28,000 workers died during construction- a staggering figure. That’s an enormous sacrifice, but the reward is still reaped by many. It’s well documented that Abraham Lincoln was a failure at many endeavors in business and in politics. But he persevered until the time God used him for great accomplishments.
Dear friends, we never have to search out opportunities to prove the steadfastness of our faith. The world brings them to us as a matter of course. In some contexts, and for certain issues the intensity is much greater though. For example, how many are bold enough to say they support the sacredness of heterosexual marriage on the basis of God’s authority alone? Or do we retreat to silence or even capitulate? How many would defend the sanctity of life when confronted? Are we brave enough to call out the hypocritical double-standard that labels an unborn child as nonhuman but- perhaps only a few hours later when it comes out of the womb- name it a person with full protection under the law? Are we gallant enough to identify this as pure evil? Do we not see it as a symptom of a deeper disorder?
Can we recognize how deeply the disease of sin permeates all of our lives? Is our repentance authentic? Is our faith nothing more than a fashionable virtue that becomes too much of a liability when times are tough? Rest assured, God will render judgment. We should invoke Him with repentant prayers that we may be spared from it. The Scripture says, “It is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”3
We must remember these things don’t depend on our strength and ability anyway. Faith is a gift of the Spirit. Our trust never rests on human authority. And consider the promise our Lord makes, “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.”4
Yet, why does the promise of the heavenly reward seem to be insufficient for so many? Why is it so lightly cherished? Perhaps people believe they’re simply entitled to it? Perhaps we think the privilege of God’s acceptance is a birthright. But God does not suffer egotism lightly. No one is entitled to a free pass into heaven. The forgiveness you have is not a trivial gift. It is more valuable than all you own or will ever possess.
What glorious confidence our second reading gives us today. If you have never read First Corinthians chapter 15 challenge yourself to go home and do it this week. Read the whole chapter. Make yourself accountable by reading it out loud. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. ”5 There you have it! Emphatic! Categorical! Resolute! Our hope is shattered, empty, in vain, if Christ remains in the grave. Trust in the idea that His short time on earth inspires and impels us forward to love humanity and that we should be be satisfied with that for the goal of our mortal existence is a pernicious lie and utter tragedy. The prophets compare it to enduring pregnancy but then never giving birth. “We were with child, we writhed in pain, but we gave birth to wind.”6 What’s the point of enduring persecution, of investing our time and resources in the kingdom, of making sacrifices for the well-being of others if this life is an end in itself?
No, dear friends, God does not fail to make good on His promises. He is the victor over death. The Lord says, “Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?”7 Hope is not lost. “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”8 In baptism you are vested with the power of Christ’s resurrection. In the sacrament of Holy Communion you are nourished with His life.
The triune God will not forsake His people. The greater your trial, the more His compassion. The deeper your darkness, the more brilliant His light. The heavier your burden, the broader His shoulders. The more vexatious your challenge, the more sensitive His solution. He doesn’t promise to preempt our suffering. He cares too much for us to do that. He wants our faith to be as hard as steel but as pliable as a spider’s web. “Consider it pure joy…- the Scripture says- whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”9 Again, it says, “Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.”10 What confidence do we have when facing the challenges of living our faith? The Lord over life and death says to us, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for Your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”11 Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Sixth Sunday After Epiphany
17 February 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 6:22
2 1 Peter 1:6-7
3 1 Peter 4:17
4 Luke 6:23
5 1 Corinthians 15:17-19
6 Isaiah 26:18
7 Isaiah 66:9
8 1 Corinthians 15:20
9 James 1:2-3
10 1 Corinthians 15:58
11 Luke 12:32
Monday, February 11, 2019
Pam Fielke Funeral (8 February 2019)
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 14:2
Theme: Prepared By The Saviour
Dear family, friends and loved ones of Pam, and especially you, Leanne, Ken, Grant, Craig, and Tony, her children:
God doesn’t have contingency plans. He doesn’t need them. He knows what will come to pass. So, when the Lord Jesus, the conqueror of death, says today, “In My Father’s house are many rooms… I am going there to prepare a place for you,”1 He was not speaking of possibilities, probabilities, or contingencies. God’s preparations are only made in anticipation of a future event that will be fulfilled with certainty. Today we celebrate that no more preparations need to be made for Pam Fielke’s reception into heaven. It has come to pass. Pam has been released from the burden of this mortal existence. She is at peace. Thanks be to God!
So, how is it possible? Really? This radical transition. In the record of Jesus’ life, we come across various descriptions of His interactions with people such as this one, “They were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.”2 The words of Christ were gripping and incisive. The utterances of Jesus had clout. You see, the people of Jesus’ day, like us, understandably expected claims of extraordinary magnitude to be verified by independent authorities. But who would Christ turn to to sanction or validate His assertions? Even the greatest human authorities are fallible. Experts in every field have their failings and limitations. Exceptional claims must be substantiated again and again and again before they gain widespread credibility. What did Jesus do to validate His claims? Well, there was this little matter of rising from the dead. Of course, countless other miracles had already demonstrated His divinity.
Dear friends, ours is an age of skepticism about the need for God’s assistance. Do you think that any person who dies today is in any less need of divine clemency than the great figures of ancient times, the princes or the paupers of the Middle Ages, the popes or the peasants, the victims of wars past or benefactors of peaceful eras? Are we any closer to God’s mercy? Are we any further from His grace? No. The condemnation of sin is no less real than if God had rebuked Adam and Eve two days ago. The call to repentance is never obsolete. It is never inapplicable.
I first met Pam and Ray in 2006 when Pam was a still a member of the Bookpurnong Ladies’ Guild. At some point they welcomed me into their home for a guild meeting and this green horn from across the ocean learned a little bit more about farming in the Mallee and the resilience of those who do it. Pam had a spirited sense of humor. Her wit served her well both in the daily routine of life and through the more difficult challenges. She was a devoted wife and mother and competent in everything required of her. She endured the loss of a child.
Still, all humans have significant limitations. Some require resolution. How can the gates of heaven be unbolted? Could Pam do it with her wit, her generosity, or her resilience? Can I do it with seminary training or biblical knowledge? Can you succeed with your sincerity, your philanthropy, or your kindheartedness? No, dear friends the threshold of heaven cannot be crossed, it cannot be breached, it cannot be accessed by the strivings, heroic or otherwise, of any individual. The combined ingenuity, piety, and tenacity of all humanity is not able push open the gates of heaven or overcome the finality of death.
But what does the Scripture say? “Jesus, who went before us, has entered [heaven] on our behalf.”3 “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”4 Christ said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”5 And, “Everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”6
Pam Fielke was a forgiven sinner. Immersed in Christ’s forgiveness from the time of her baptism she was made a child of God and promised an everlasting inheritance. The wedding text her and Ray shared proved to be a steadfast support for her, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”7 At her confirmation Pam was assigned this verse from Matthew 24, “The one who endures to the end will be saved.”8 And that’s exactly what Pam did. Through Christ’s grace, and His strength she endured until He called her home. “In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”9
It can be reasonably argued that Pam had suffered from her vascular dementia long enough. It was time for her to be relieved. Only God can really say. He chose to summon her and for that we’re thankful even while we grieve. We might say that from a purely human perspective there is never a good time for death. After all, death is final. There are no second chances. There’s no going back. But, dear friends, if we could truly comprehend what those who are in the presence of the triune God, saints and angels now enjoy, there’s little question anyone would want to come back!
Leanne, Ken, Grant, Craig, Tony, grief doesn’t schedule appointments. It doesn’t ask permission to intrude upon your life. It is not polite. It doesn’t negotiate. You might try to postpone its beginning, suspend its progress, or hasten its conclusion but you won’t find any of these efforts to be very helpful. Instead, the Scriptures empower you to face grief head on. Every person that is lost from our lives is unique and that makes them irreplaceable. But don’t think for even a moment that God is too feeble or apathetic to sustain you even in times of darkest doubt?
Does God care about our personal worries? Of course He does. God cares about everything, but He is indebted to no one. Christ is the exalted One, but He’s also the Suffering Servant. The victim of Calvary was not an unwilling pawn. He was not naïve or clueless. He was not ill-informed about the task. He knew He was facing death. He knew He was going to be sacrificed. He went to the cross anyway.
Jesus Christ is immortal, and He has overturned the power of death. And He can, and He will, reassemble our disintegrated bodies and resurrect them in like manner to His glorious body. It will not be slight-of-hand or a magician’s deception. The resurrected will not be in a mystifying trance or feel like they are in some kind of suspended out-of-body experience. Our perception will be as natural and familiar as what we enjoy right now. Therefore, Job says, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes.”10 Pam has been crowned with life. Thanks be to God! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Christian Burial of Pamela Helen Fielke
8 February 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 14:2 2 Mark 1:22
3 Hebrews 6:20 4 Ephesians 2:8
5 John 11:25 6 Acts 10:43
7 Matthew 28:20 8 Matthew 24:13
9 John 14:2 10 Job 19:26-27
Text: John 14:2
Theme: Prepared By The Saviour
Dear family, friends and loved ones of Pam, and especially you, Leanne, Ken, Grant, Craig, and Tony, her children:
God doesn’t have contingency plans. He doesn’t need them. He knows what will come to pass. So, when the Lord Jesus, the conqueror of death, says today, “In My Father’s house are many rooms… I am going there to prepare a place for you,”1 He was not speaking of possibilities, probabilities, or contingencies. God’s preparations are only made in anticipation of a future event that will be fulfilled with certainty. Today we celebrate that no more preparations need to be made for Pam Fielke’s reception into heaven. It has come to pass. Pam has been released from the burden of this mortal existence. She is at peace. Thanks be to God!
So, how is it possible? Really? This radical transition. In the record of Jesus’ life, we come across various descriptions of His interactions with people such as this one, “They were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.”2 The words of Christ were gripping and incisive. The utterances of Jesus had clout. You see, the people of Jesus’ day, like us, understandably expected claims of extraordinary magnitude to be verified by independent authorities. But who would Christ turn to to sanction or validate His assertions? Even the greatest human authorities are fallible. Experts in every field have their failings and limitations. Exceptional claims must be substantiated again and again and again before they gain widespread credibility. What did Jesus do to validate His claims? Well, there was this little matter of rising from the dead. Of course, countless other miracles had already demonstrated His divinity.
Dear friends, ours is an age of skepticism about the need for God’s assistance. Do you think that any person who dies today is in any less need of divine clemency than the great figures of ancient times, the princes or the paupers of the Middle Ages, the popes or the peasants, the victims of wars past or benefactors of peaceful eras? Are we any closer to God’s mercy? Are we any further from His grace? No. The condemnation of sin is no less real than if God had rebuked Adam and Eve two days ago. The call to repentance is never obsolete. It is never inapplicable.
I first met Pam and Ray in 2006 when Pam was a still a member of the Bookpurnong Ladies’ Guild. At some point they welcomed me into their home for a guild meeting and this green horn from across the ocean learned a little bit more about farming in the Mallee and the resilience of those who do it. Pam had a spirited sense of humor. Her wit served her well both in the daily routine of life and through the more difficult challenges. She was a devoted wife and mother and competent in everything required of her. She endured the loss of a child.
Still, all humans have significant limitations. Some require resolution. How can the gates of heaven be unbolted? Could Pam do it with her wit, her generosity, or her resilience? Can I do it with seminary training or biblical knowledge? Can you succeed with your sincerity, your philanthropy, or your kindheartedness? No, dear friends the threshold of heaven cannot be crossed, it cannot be breached, it cannot be accessed by the strivings, heroic or otherwise, of any individual. The combined ingenuity, piety, and tenacity of all humanity is not able push open the gates of heaven or overcome the finality of death.
But what does the Scripture say? “Jesus, who went before us, has entered [heaven] on our behalf.”3 “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”4 Christ said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”5 And, “Everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”6
Pam Fielke was a forgiven sinner. Immersed in Christ’s forgiveness from the time of her baptism she was made a child of God and promised an everlasting inheritance. The wedding text her and Ray shared proved to be a steadfast support for her, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”7 At her confirmation Pam was assigned this verse from Matthew 24, “The one who endures to the end will be saved.”8 And that’s exactly what Pam did. Through Christ’s grace, and His strength she endured until He called her home. “In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”9
It can be reasonably argued that Pam had suffered from her vascular dementia long enough. It was time for her to be relieved. Only God can really say. He chose to summon her and for that we’re thankful even while we grieve. We might say that from a purely human perspective there is never a good time for death. After all, death is final. There are no second chances. There’s no going back. But, dear friends, if we could truly comprehend what those who are in the presence of the triune God, saints and angels now enjoy, there’s little question anyone would want to come back!
Leanne, Ken, Grant, Craig, Tony, grief doesn’t schedule appointments. It doesn’t ask permission to intrude upon your life. It is not polite. It doesn’t negotiate. You might try to postpone its beginning, suspend its progress, or hasten its conclusion but you won’t find any of these efforts to be very helpful. Instead, the Scriptures empower you to face grief head on. Every person that is lost from our lives is unique and that makes them irreplaceable. But don’t think for even a moment that God is too feeble or apathetic to sustain you even in times of darkest doubt?
Does God care about our personal worries? Of course He does. God cares about everything, but He is indebted to no one. Christ is the exalted One, but He’s also the Suffering Servant. The victim of Calvary was not an unwilling pawn. He was not naïve or clueless. He was not ill-informed about the task. He knew He was facing death. He knew He was going to be sacrificed. He went to the cross anyway.
Jesus Christ is immortal, and He has overturned the power of death. And He can, and He will, reassemble our disintegrated bodies and resurrect them in like manner to His glorious body. It will not be slight-of-hand or a magician’s deception. The resurrected will not be in a mystifying trance or feel like they are in some kind of suspended out-of-body experience. Our perception will be as natural and familiar as what we enjoy right now. Therefore, Job says, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes.”10 Pam has been crowned with life. Thanks be to God! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Christian Burial of Pamela Helen Fielke
8 February 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 14:2 2 Mark 1:22
3 Hebrews 6:20 4 Ephesians 2:8
5 John 11:25 6 Acts 10:43
7 Matthew 28:20 8 Matthew 24:13
9 John 14:2 10 Job 19:26-27
Harvest Thanksgiving (3rd & 10th February 2019)
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Deuteronomy 26:11
Theme: Rejoice In His Goodness
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The godly farmer who prepares the soil, sows the seed, and tends the growing crop hopes for a good harvest believing that God is able to provide it. If that hope is only the prospect of benefitting from the changes and chances of the season than it is nothing more than a worldly wish. The unbelieving farmer farms to take advantage of God’s benevolence and thus elevate himself in the world’s eyes. The godly farmer gratefully receives God’s blessings and uses the benefits to the advantage of his neighbour. Faith, and the motivations it produces are the determining factors as to whether one is seeking to exploit God’s generosity or allocate it. Harvest Thanksgiving can only be meaningful to those who recognize the source. Everyone benefits from God’s generosity. For the believer God’s generosity in this life is a small foretaste of grander blessings to come; for the ungodly it is a small consolation in view of a future destitute of His favour.
The Israelites were instructed to celebrate God’s blessing on their agricultural season during the Feast of Booths1, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles. This festival marked the end of the harvest. It lasted a week and was also the conclusion to the half of their liturgical year that began with Passover. The eighth and final day was designated as a high and holy day. One of the unique features of the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles is that the Israelites we to set up temporary shelters around the sanctuary to reside in during the week-long feast. These tents, or booths, would provide temporary protection and surely would have reminded the Israelites of their transitory time in the desert. During the Feast of Booths, the Israelites spent the week in temporary dwellings around the sanctuary, but the permanence of God’s presence was what was really being celebrated.
God’s people were commanded to give of their firstfruits to indicate their thankfulness and show their lives were orientated towards Him. But outward actions still meant nothing without the integrity of the heart. Just going through the motions amounts to empty ritual. Nothing has changed today. The hollowness of much of organized Christianity is now echoing all around us. What is the answer, for example, to apathy about the mission of the church? Surely this involves serious soul-searching! If we lack interest in the spiritual welfare of others, either as individuals or as communities of believers, the deeper issue is our own relationship with Christ. It’s a confronting truth.
Why did the crowds come searching for Jesus today? Well, they were part of the 5000 that had had their bellies filled. What a great way to celebrate Harvest Thanksgiving! These people didn’t want to lose touch with the source of their welfare. Jesus immediately addresses their misguided intentions. “I tell you the truth, you are looking for Me, not because you saw the miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”2 They witnessed the miracle, they benefitted from, it but they didn’t make the much more important connection. They filled their stomachs, but their souls were still starving. So, Jesus says to them, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”3
You see, the most serious consequence of original sin is unbelief. At every turn we are prone to mistrust or misrepresent God’s promises. The Scriptures call it a curse. It’s the curse of looking inward, the curse of desperately searching for security and meaning in the wrong places. Christ came to lift that curse. After the judgment on man’s wickedness, rendered at the time of Noah’s flood, God made a covenant that previewed the end of the curse. The Bible says, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”4 So, God guarantees His providence. His judgment will be restrained.
But how? And why? Just because the flood appeased His wrath? No, there’s more. The fulfillment is summarized in these words, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’”5 The curse was broken when Jesus offered His own body as a sacrifice of atonement and rose as the firstborn from the dead. The curse of sin is broken. We are freed from death’s power. We feast on the banquet of the ‘firstfruits’ of Christ’s grace when we dine on His body and blood in the heavenly meal. It is manna from above. Because you are what you eat, we are never the same. The Lord’s Supper is the food of immortality.
The Israelites were instructed to bring the firstfruits of their harvest. The language of firstfruits is retained in the New Testament, as when Paul says, “We have the firstfruits of the Spirit”6. He also says, “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices.”7 God looks at us as if we were each a firstborn son. But not just any firstborn, one that has been redeemed and consecrated to God. Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven, the true spiritual manna. He alone gives life to the soul. Yes, we must still toil to grow food from the soil. That was part of the curse on Adam. But no labor is needed to provide for the soul. Jesus is the grain of wheat that fell in the soil and died so that He could bear much fruit8.
Dear friends, some harvests are better than others. Farming is still an occupation of faith, though with food security, insurance and contingencies, probably not as much as it once was. Yet, believers should not obsess about whether the next harvest will be good or not. Just as Christians don’t speculate on whether God will presently relieve them of a certain struggle or grant a fervent wish. We commend these things to God and proceed daily to bear the cross. Each day the Holy Spirit must teach us the meaning of “Your will be done.”9 Then we learn to live in hope.
If the resolution of the matter is within your grasp or if your heart has judged the matter closed, then you are no longer living in hope. Your heart and mind have moved on and your prayers will express only anger, or joy, frustration or gratitude. Hope endures only through faith and all else is darkness and confusion. You may even be preparing yourself that your hopes may be dashed. But where the believer’s hope is pressed to its limits is precisely where Christ intervenes for His saints. He does this no sooner than necessary because we “live by faith, not by sight.”10 Why did Thomas believe: Because Thomas saw the dead Jesus alive, or because Jesus made the dead (spiritually) Thomas live? God blesses us abundantly in our physical and spiritual needs, our vocations and our harvests of grain and those of His kingdom. Today we give thanks. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Harvest Thanksgiving
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
3 February 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 See Leviticus 23:33-43
2 John 6:26
3 John 6:27
4 Genesis 8:22
5 Galatians 2:13
6 Romans 8:23
7 Romans 12:12
8 John12:24
9 Matthew 6:10
10 2 Corinthians 5:7
Text: Deuteronomy 26:11
Theme: Rejoice In His Goodness
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The godly farmer who prepares the soil, sows the seed, and tends the growing crop hopes for a good harvest believing that God is able to provide it. If that hope is only the prospect of benefitting from the changes and chances of the season than it is nothing more than a worldly wish. The unbelieving farmer farms to take advantage of God’s benevolence and thus elevate himself in the world’s eyes. The godly farmer gratefully receives God’s blessings and uses the benefits to the advantage of his neighbour. Faith, and the motivations it produces are the determining factors as to whether one is seeking to exploit God’s generosity or allocate it. Harvest Thanksgiving can only be meaningful to those who recognize the source. Everyone benefits from God’s generosity. For the believer God’s generosity in this life is a small foretaste of grander blessings to come; for the ungodly it is a small consolation in view of a future destitute of His favour.
The Israelites were instructed to celebrate God’s blessing on their agricultural season during the Feast of Booths1, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles. This festival marked the end of the harvest. It lasted a week and was also the conclusion to the half of their liturgical year that began with Passover. The eighth and final day was designated as a high and holy day. One of the unique features of the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles is that the Israelites we to set up temporary shelters around the sanctuary to reside in during the week-long feast. These tents, or booths, would provide temporary protection and surely would have reminded the Israelites of their transitory time in the desert. During the Feast of Booths, the Israelites spent the week in temporary dwellings around the sanctuary, but the permanence of God’s presence was what was really being celebrated.
God’s people were commanded to give of their firstfruits to indicate their thankfulness and show their lives were orientated towards Him. But outward actions still meant nothing without the integrity of the heart. Just going through the motions amounts to empty ritual. Nothing has changed today. The hollowness of much of organized Christianity is now echoing all around us. What is the answer, for example, to apathy about the mission of the church? Surely this involves serious soul-searching! If we lack interest in the spiritual welfare of others, either as individuals or as communities of believers, the deeper issue is our own relationship with Christ. It’s a confronting truth.
Why did the crowds come searching for Jesus today? Well, they were part of the 5000 that had had their bellies filled. What a great way to celebrate Harvest Thanksgiving! These people didn’t want to lose touch with the source of their welfare. Jesus immediately addresses their misguided intentions. “I tell you the truth, you are looking for Me, not because you saw the miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”2 They witnessed the miracle, they benefitted from, it but they didn’t make the much more important connection. They filled their stomachs, but their souls were still starving. So, Jesus says to them, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”3
You see, the most serious consequence of original sin is unbelief. At every turn we are prone to mistrust or misrepresent God’s promises. The Scriptures call it a curse. It’s the curse of looking inward, the curse of desperately searching for security and meaning in the wrong places. Christ came to lift that curse. After the judgment on man’s wickedness, rendered at the time of Noah’s flood, God made a covenant that previewed the end of the curse. The Bible says, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”4 So, God guarantees His providence. His judgment will be restrained.
But how? And why? Just because the flood appeased His wrath? No, there’s more. The fulfillment is summarized in these words, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’”5 The curse was broken when Jesus offered His own body as a sacrifice of atonement and rose as the firstborn from the dead. The curse of sin is broken. We are freed from death’s power. We feast on the banquet of the ‘firstfruits’ of Christ’s grace when we dine on His body and blood in the heavenly meal. It is manna from above. Because you are what you eat, we are never the same. The Lord’s Supper is the food of immortality.
The Israelites were instructed to bring the firstfruits of their harvest. The language of firstfruits is retained in the New Testament, as when Paul says, “We have the firstfruits of the Spirit”6. He also says, “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices.”7 God looks at us as if we were each a firstborn son. But not just any firstborn, one that has been redeemed and consecrated to God. Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven, the true spiritual manna. He alone gives life to the soul. Yes, we must still toil to grow food from the soil. That was part of the curse on Adam. But no labor is needed to provide for the soul. Jesus is the grain of wheat that fell in the soil and died so that He could bear much fruit8.
Dear friends, some harvests are better than others. Farming is still an occupation of faith, though with food security, insurance and contingencies, probably not as much as it once was. Yet, believers should not obsess about whether the next harvest will be good or not. Just as Christians don’t speculate on whether God will presently relieve them of a certain struggle or grant a fervent wish. We commend these things to God and proceed daily to bear the cross. Each day the Holy Spirit must teach us the meaning of “Your will be done.”9 Then we learn to live in hope.
If the resolution of the matter is within your grasp or if your heart has judged the matter closed, then you are no longer living in hope. Your heart and mind have moved on and your prayers will express only anger, or joy, frustration or gratitude. Hope endures only through faith and all else is darkness and confusion. You may even be preparing yourself that your hopes may be dashed. But where the believer’s hope is pressed to its limits is precisely where Christ intervenes for His saints. He does this no sooner than necessary because we “live by faith, not by sight.”10 Why did Thomas believe: Because Thomas saw the dead Jesus alive, or because Jesus made the dead (spiritually) Thomas live? God blesses us abundantly in our physical and spiritual needs, our vocations and our harvests of grain and those of His kingdom. Today we give thanks. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Harvest Thanksgiving
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
3 February 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 See Leviticus 23:33-43
2 John 6:26
3 John 6:27
4 Genesis 8:22
5 Galatians 2:13
6 Romans 8:23
7 Romans 12:12
8 John12:24
9 Matthew 6:10
10 2 Corinthians 5:7
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Third Sunday After Epiphany (C) 2019
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 4:14-21
Theme: Word, Rest, Freedom
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Jesus went to church. That fact may seem unsurprising, but it is also profound. Today’s summary of Jesus’ preaching in His hometown of Nazareth is an inexhaustible well of soul-refreshing water. Jesus said, “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”1 Mindful of this, we’ll take three sips of this water in the next few minutes hoping to imbibe the following truths: 1) the authority of Scripture in relation to the gospel, 2), the meaning of the Sabbath and importance of public worship, and, 3) the relationship between the One who frees and those of us who are freed. Scripture, sabbath, freedom- these are our foci.
We begin with the words of Jesus that conclude our reading for today. “[Jesus] began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."2 He is referring to the prophecy of Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good new to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed…”3 Jesus is more than the bearer of good tidings. He is the incarnation of God’s promises. What the Spirit promises comes true in Jesus.
Jesus recognises the words of Isaiah as the words of Holy Scripture. This gives clear credibility to the prophetic proclamation. The Son of God treats Scripture as the word of God. Throughout His ministry Jesus validates the reliability of the Old or ‘First’ Testament. Modern attempts to dismiss the authority of the OT should deal honestly with the witness of Jesus. Christianity is fully reliant on a complete interdependence between Jesus, the God-in-the-flesh Messiah, and the Scriptures, the written word of God. The one cannot be marginalized at the expense of the other. Salvation comes only through trusting in the sin-atoning death, and life-sustaining resurrection of Jesus Christ for sinners. The Holy Spirit creates faith through this proclamation of the gospel. The gospel, however, is only part of the wider witness of Scripture. The credibility of the gospel is reliant on the authority of Scripture. The Jesus of the Bible is the only Jesus we can know with certainty. And Jesus is never at odds with the teachings of the Bible.
Secondly, Jesus went to church. He went to the synagogue. His example alone should be enough to settle any questions about the necessity of attending public worship. Christ was only doing what the faithful have always done. The Third Commandment says,"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”4 Luther offers a succinct explanation. “What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.”5 The Sabbath day for Christians is about reverence for God’s word. It is a time of spiritual rest and worship. The Sabbath, rightly understood, is a welcomed relief from the rigors of daily life. God’s house is a sanctuary and His people migrants who have found a permanent home. No matter what day public worship is held- Sunday through to Saturday- it is a participation in the Sabbath.
The fact that God even welcomes us into His house is an astonishing miracle. Your sins are such a serious affront to God’s holiness that it merits exclusion from His presence for eternity. It’s no small gesture on God’s part that He forgives your debt of sins and throws open the gates of heaven. It’s not a matter of courtesy. Christ was nailed to a cross to make it possible. Every time we walk through the doors into God’s house it’s a foreshadowing of entering into His presence in heaven.
So, attendance in God’s house should be routine, habitual, but the struggle to prevent it is very, very real. Satan delights in dictating our schedules. He does this overtly, as when he convinces us to do something out of selfishness because we are arrogant, or angry or lazy. He does it with finesse, as when he convinces us that some alternative activity is more noble or important. If you think the suggestion of demonic intrusion is too brazen or too preachy, think only of your own sinful nature and how easily you can be led astray through weakness, peer-pressure, or selfishness.
At some juncture we reached the tipping point- and this reality is in a state of flux- where it has become inconvenient, and even counter-cultural to preference attending the public liturgy above other things. That is, it’s no longer fashionable or considered desirable to go to church regularly. The statistics are undeniable. Of all people, Christ understood that faith is not a private matter. Though our faith is personal- no one can believe for us, and we can’t believe for anyone else- it is never completely private. The fellowship of the faithful is a communal gathering. Your convictions are established, tested, and confirmed, through interaction with others. This interaction is facilitated by the Holy Spirit working through the word. Reciprocity in sharing the divine things characterizes our common life together. The baptized gather together, eating the holy meal together, receiving God’s admonition, forgiveness, and instruction together.
Thirdly, Jesus says today He has been sent to proclaim freedom. Public worship is the place where those who are bound in sin become free. The nature of this truth strikes right at the heart of the gospel. The core of the Bible’s message is the one-way direction of God’s activity from Him to us. He humbles Himself by being conceived of the Virgin. He endures suffering. He absorbs the divine wrath. He succumbs to death. God initiates. He perseveres. He completes. We can do none of these things. In so doing, He justifies sinners by grace through faith. Resurrected on the third day, ascended to the Father’s throne of power, Christ lives, never to suffer death again. He has subdued Satan, He has conquered death.
So, God doesn’t forgive you (thus freeing you) if you love Him first. His promise is not dependent on the strength or sincerity of your devotion. You have His forgiveness when you believe Him…no strings attached, no conditions appended. Now, you might be thinking, isn’t it conditional on our repentance? Well, your reception of forgiveness can be understood in that way, but the validity of God’s promise is not dependent on your repentance. Our repentance does not trigger God’s forgiveness. Making God’s forgiveness, or the certainty of His pardon, or, put conversely, the certainty that He accepts us, conditional on our repentance is like saying that our traveling north is conditional on us not heading south. If you’re heading south and you’ve been turned around- and this is what repentance is: God turning us around from self-destruction to divine restitution-now you’re heading north.
This isn’t all much to do about nothing, an exercise in tedious repetitiveness because we already knew that God loves us, or an advanced course for the super-spiritual who are seeking a higher degree of piety. Making the forgiveness of God dependent in any way on human action is like saying to the clearly guilty criminal “You can be released from jail free of charge if you can prove your innocence.” The Bible says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”6
You are free. The guilt of sin no longer binds you to the punishment of God. But what are you freed for? To what purpose are you freed? You are not given license to sin, but to serve. You are not freed from the will of God. You are not freed to be a self-subsisting, self-managed being. You are not spiritually self-reliant or self-supporting. Your freedom entails subordination. You are subordinate to the design of God’s kingdom, Christ’s church, according to His patterns and purposes. In being subject to God’s created order you have freedom. You are freed to show love that is extraordinary. St. Paul says today, “You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it,”7 and as such you are a recipient of the extraordinary love of God.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Third Sunday After Epiphany
27 January 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 4:14
2 Luke 4:21
3 Luke 4:18
4 Exodus 20:8
5 Luther’s Small Catechism
6 John 8:36
7 1 Corinthians 12:27
Text: Luke 4:14-21
Theme: Word, Rest, Freedom
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Jesus went to church. That fact may seem unsurprising, but it is also profound. Today’s summary of Jesus’ preaching in His hometown of Nazareth is an inexhaustible well of soul-refreshing water. Jesus said, “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”1 Mindful of this, we’ll take three sips of this water in the next few minutes hoping to imbibe the following truths: 1) the authority of Scripture in relation to the gospel, 2), the meaning of the Sabbath and importance of public worship, and, 3) the relationship between the One who frees and those of us who are freed. Scripture, sabbath, freedom- these are our foci.
We begin with the words of Jesus that conclude our reading for today. “[Jesus] began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."2 He is referring to the prophecy of Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good new to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed…”3 Jesus is more than the bearer of good tidings. He is the incarnation of God’s promises. What the Spirit promises comes true in Jesus.
Jesus recognises the words of Isaiah as the words of Holy Scripture. This gives clear credibility to the prophetic proclamation. The Son of God treats Scripture as the word of God. Throughout His ministry Jesus validates the reliability of the Old or ‘First’ Testament. Modern attempts to dismiss the authority of the OT should deal honestly with the witness of Jesus. Christianity is fully reliant on a complete interdependence between Jesus, the God-in-the-flesh Messiah, and the Scriptures, the written word of God. The one cannot be marginalized at the expense of the other. Salvation comes only through trusting in the sin-atoning death, and life-sustaining resurrection of Jesus Christ for sinners. The Holy Spirit creates faith through this proclamation of the gospel. The gospel, however, is only part of the wider witness of Scripture. The credibility of the gospel is reliant on the authority of Scripture. The Jesus of the Bible is the only Jesus we can know with certainty. And Jesus is never at odds with the teachings of the Bible.
Secondly, Jesus went to church. He went to the synagogue. His example alone should be enough to settle any questions about the necessity of attending public worship. Christ was only doing what the faithful have always done. The Third Commandment says,"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”4 Luther offers a succinct explanation. “What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.”5 The Sabbath day for Christians is about reverence for God’s word. It is a time of spiritual rest and worship. The Sabbath, rightly understood, is a welcomed relief from the rigors of daily life. God’s house is a sanctuary and His people migrants who have found a permanent home. No matter what day public worship is held- Sunday through to Saturday- it is a participation in the Sabbath.
The fact that God even welcomes us into His house is an astonishing miracle. Your sins are such a serious affront to God’s holiness that it merits exclusion from His presence for eternity. It’s no small gesture on God’s part that He forgives your debt of sins and throws open the gates of heaven. It’s not a matter of courtesy. Christ was nailed to a cross to make it possible. Every time we walk through the doors into God’s house it’s a foreshadowing of entering into His presence in heaven.
So, attendance in God’s house should be routine, habitual, but the struggle to prevent it is very, very real. Satan delights in dictating our schedules. He does this overtly, as when he convinces us to do something out of selfishness because we are arrogant, or angry or lazy. He does it with finesse, as when he convinces us that some alternative activity is more noble or important. If you think the suggestion of demonic intrusion is too brazen or too preachy, think only of your own sinful nature and how easily you can be led astray through weakness, peer-pressure, or selfishness.
At some juncture we reached the tipping point- and this reality is in a state of flux- where it has become inconvenient, and even counter-cultural to preference attending the public liturgy above other things. That is, it’s no longer fashionable or considered desirable to go to church regularly. The statistics are undeniable. Of all people, Christ understood that faith is not a private matter. Though our faith is personal- no one can believe for us, and we can’t believe for anyone else- it is never completely private. The fellowship of the faithful is a communal gathering. Your convictions are established, tested, and confirmed, through interaction with others. This interaction is facilitated by the Holy Spirit working through the word. Reciprocity in sharing the divine things characterizes our common life together. The baptized gather together, eating the holy meal together, receiving God’s admonition, forgiveness, and instruction together.
Thirdly, Jesus says today He has been sent to proclaim freedom. Public worship is the place where those who are bound in sin become free. The nature of this truth strikes right at the heart of the gospel. The core of the Bible’s message is the one-way direction of God’s activity from Him to us. He humbles Himself by being conceived of the Virgin. He endures suffering. He absorbs the divine wrath. He succumbs to death. God initiates. He perseveres. He completes. We can do none of these things. In so doing, He justifies sinners by grace through faith. Resurrected on the third day, ascended to the Father’s throne of power, Christ lives, never to suffer death again. He has subdued Satan, He has conquered death.
So, God doesn’t forgive you (thus freeing you) if you love Him first. His promise is not dependent on the strength or sincerity of your devotion. You have His forgiveness when you believe Him…no strings attached, no conditions appended. Now, you might be thinking, isn’t it conditional on our repentance? Well, your reception of forgiveness can be understood in that way, but the validity of God’s promise is not dependent on your repentance. Our repentance does not trigger God’s forgiveness. Making God’s forgiveness, or the certainty of His pardon, or, put conversely, the certainty that He accepts us, conditional on our repentance is like saying that our traveling north is conditional on us not heading south. If you’re heading south and you’ve been turned around- and this is what repentance is: God turning us around from self-destruction to divine restitution-now you’re heading north.
This isn’t all much to do about nothing, an exercise in tedious repetitiveness because we already knew that God loves us, or an advanced course for the super-spiritual who are seeking a higher degree of piety. Making the forgiveness of God dependent in any way on human action is like saying to the clearly guilty criminal “You can be released from jail free of charge if you can prove your innocence.” The Bible says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”6
You are free. The guilt of sin no longer binds you to the punishment of God. But what are you freed for? To what purpose are you freed? You are not given license to sin, but to serve. You are not freed from the will of God. You are not freed to be a self-subsisting, self-managed being. You are not spiritually self-reliant or self-supporting. Your freedom entails subordination. You are subordinate to the design of God’s kingdom, Christ’s church, according to His patterns and purposes. In being subject to God’s created order you have freedom. You are freed to show love that is extraordinary. St. Paul says today, “You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it,”7 and as such you are a recipient of the extraordinary love of God.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Third Sunday After Epiphany
27 January 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 4:14
2 Luke 4:21
3 Luke 4:18
4 Exodus 20:8
5 Luther’s Small Catechism
6 John 8:36
7 1 Corinthians 12:27
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)