Monday, July 6, 2015

Sixth Sunday After Pentecost (B) 2015- (Concordia wedding)

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

Text: Mark 6:1-6
Theme: Authoritative Teacher, Rejected Prophet, Faithful Bridegroom

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

Creation and redemption are punctuated with nuptial overtones. The Holy Scriptures begin and end with distinct depictions of marriage. Both divine-human, and human-human relationships are described within this analogy. All believers collectively constitute the Bride- the church. Christ is the loyal Bridegroom. Note again, how the apostle concludes one of the most detailed descriptions of marriage in the Bible, “‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a profound mystery- but I am talking about Christ and the church.”1 His love for us is unfathomably broad and deep. While our comprehension of it is like a drop in the ocean. But the Holy Spirit is always leading us into a fuller appreciation of God’s grace in Christ.

Today’s gospel account is a stark reminder that the full implications of Jesus’ identity and mission are not naturally accepted. Today Jesus got a cold reception from the hometown folks. The citizens of Jesus’ own hometown simply couldn’t come to terms with Him being the Messiah. Does that mean that no one from Nazareth was saved? Certainly not! We hear of the steadfastness of His family members later in the story. The same mindset is prevalent today: The expert usually thought to come from somewhere else. Familiarity breeds contempt. It is a contempt that is often born of jealously. Christ performed no miracles in Nazareth because of their lack of faith. They had place for the human Jesus, but not for the divine.

Dear friends, an age-old dogma is quickly regaining ascendancy in our society: The supremacy of self. We have little room for God. It’s not really new, but only the same old ego re-asserting and re-inventing itself. Natural law no longer underpins the full scope of shared values of our culture. Convictions held for generations about the limit of personal liberties and parameters of human relationships are quickly being eroded. Christians should expect this trend to continue. It’s human nature to push the boundaries of self-indulgence. Previous taboos and former restraints are quickly vanishing. The self-control St. Paul mentions as a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is rarely held up as a virtue.

We should be clear in understanding that human nature never fundamentally changes. Sin motivates the heart and governs the will until God intervenes. Every human from the time of conception is turned away from the will of the Almighty. We are bent on going our own way. The townspeople took offence at Jesus. They couldn’t bear the upshot of His teaching. No one can until the Holy Spirit softens the heart. People will show no faithfulness to Christ as a Bridegroom until they believe that they need rescue from the power of sin and death and that He is the only one who can do it. The pureness and tenderness of His love means little to the person satiated with the affection of other things. The pretense of love is the deception of idolatry. It is the powerful draw of egocentricity. It is alluring, but hollow. It has serious consequences.

We rightly lament how many marriages today fail. But the conundrum is more broad-based. The pressure is on all relationships; parent with child, child with parent, sibling with sibling, friend with friend, co-worker with co-worker. At the core is a crisis of identity; a complex contradiction about how any individual relates properly to another, and most importantly, to God. Only Christ can resolve this deeply pervasive chaos of the heart. Only the forgiveness that He bestows- a forgiveness forged in the fire of the cross- can bear up under any assault humans can muster.

Forgiveness that is only a formality, a fine-sounding, but hollow religious concept will have little or no effect on relationships in desperate need of healing and fortification. The forgiveness of Christ; the One who suffered willingly; the One who bled publically; the One who surrendered openly is no imaginary reality. It’s not an abstract concept intended a grist for the mill of human ideas. It’s a divine benevolence that has the power to transform.

You are absolved when He says the word. Your slate is wiped clean. You are freed by the same power with which you were baptized. You are forgiven when you take His body and blood upon your lips in faith. His pardon is a present reality. It’s not an IOU. It’s not a pledge that becomes activated at some future date. It’s not dependent on any conditions still to be met. Faith receives the pure and complete mercy of Christ. He died and rose for you and that gives you the greatest certainty.

Certainty is one of the great blessings that flow from adherence to Christ’s truth. The conscience can only truly be at ease when it rests on the clear promises of God. And so believers are free to engage in the discussions of secular society; in fact, they are encouraged to do so as salt, light, and leaven in the world. But we do so speaking the truth in love. We do so with the conviction and courage that the battle is not ours, but Christ’s.

Think how many battles throughout history were surrendered prematurely because courage was lost! Think how many sporting contests were yielded, not because the opponent had greater skill, but because courage failed! Countless are the examples where even well-intentioned people lost hope because the obstacles appeared too great. The spies sent to survey the land of Cana returned saying, “All the people we saw there were of great size…We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”2

But the Lord of heaven and earth says, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”3 And He says even more emphatically, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”4 He says of His people, “I give then eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.”5

Dear friends, God has always faced rejection and Christ knew how to meet it; by marching headlong to the cross. When Adam and Eve fell afoul of God’s favour they tried to hide from Him. They attempted to cover their shame. But God provided proper clothing, more practical, yes; but imminently more significant. He clothed them with His armor, spiritual garments that foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus Himself. As we reflect on the wedding of Graham and Lori today, we pray that God would protect every husband and wife with His spiritual armor and that every member of the Bride of Christ, every believer, would be clothed with the same purity and power.

Christ is the faultless Bridegroom. He is beyond reproach. In His devotion to His Bride, the church, He utterly exhausted the full capacity of His love. It took from Him His last breath. Adam gave up a rib. Perhaps his was a restless sleep. But his union with Eve completed the divine ordering of creation. Christ, however, gave up an impeccable life. His rest in the tomb was a spiritual eclipse, deep and black. But His resurrection prepared the way for a reunion with His Bride; an event of such cosmic proportions that it is nothing short of the divine ordering of eternity. Christ is faithful, now and forever! Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
5 July, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Ephesians 5:31-32
2 Number 13:32-33
3 John 16:33
4 Matthew 10:28
5 John 10:28

Sixth Sunday After Pentecost (B) 2015 -Bookpurnong, Myrla

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

Text: Mark 6:1-6
Theme: Authoritative Teacher, Rejected Prophet

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

“There is nothing new under the sun.”1 So reflected Solomon in the wisdom of his maturity! “Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.”2 That does change the fact that the human psyche craves the appearance and the experience of something new. It is the way of humans. Our era of intense media marketing has just taken it to a new level. How many false representations have been made claiming to offer something new under the sun! The creative mind of God is the only true source of anything new.

One thing that is not new is the rejection that Christ faced today. Jesus got a cold reception from the hometown folks. The citizens of Jesus’ own hometown simply couldn’t come to terms with Him being the Messiah. Does that mean that no one from Nazareth was saved? Certainly not! We hear of the steadfastness of His family members later in the story. The same mindset is prevalent today: The expert usually comes from somewhere else. Familiarity breeds contempt. It is a contempt that is also born of jealously. He performed no miracles in Nazareth because of their lack of faith. They had place for the human Jesus, but not for the divine.

Dear friends, an age-old dogma is quickly regaining ascendancy in our society: The supremacy of self. We have little room for God. It’s nothing really new, but only the same old ego re-asserting and re-inventing itself. Natural law no longer underpins the full scope of shared values of our culture. Convictions held for generations about the limit of personal liberties and parameters of human relationships are quickly being eroded. Christians should expect this trend to continue. It’s human nature to push the boundaries of self-indulgence. Previous taboos and former restraints are quickly vanishing. The self-control St. Paul mentions as a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is hardly held up as a virtue.

We should be clear in understanding that human nature never fundamentally changes. Sin motivates the heart and governs the will until God intervenes. Every human from the time of conception is turned away from the will of the Almighty. We are bent on going our own way. The townspeople took offence at Jesus. They couldn’t bear the upshot of His teaching. No one can until the Holy Spirit softens the heart. People will show no faithfulness to Christ until they believe that they need rescue from the power of sin and death and He is the only one who can do it. The pureness and tenderness of His love means little to the person satiated with the affection of other things. The pretense of love is the deception of idolatry. It is the powerful draw of egocentricity. It is alluring, but hollow. It has serious consequences.

We rightly lament how many marriages today fail, the prevalence of domestic violence, situations of fear, intimidation, and hopelessness which characterize the lives of too many. The pressure is on all relationships; parent with child, child with parent, sibling with sibling, friend with friend, co-worker with co-worker. The Lord calls on us to love our enemies, yet we can sometimes barely love those who should be most dear to us. At the core is a crisis of identity; a complex contradiction about how any individual relates properly to another, and to God. Only Christ can resolve this deeply pervasive chaos of the heart. Only the forgiveness that He bestows- a forgiveness forged in the fire of the cross- can bear up under any assault humans can muster.

Forgiveness that is only a formality, a fine-sounding, but hollow religious concept will have little or no effect on relationships in desperate need of healing and fortification. The forgiveness of Christ, the One who suffered willingly, the One who bled publically, the One who surrendered openly is no imaginary reality. It’s not an abstract concept intended a grist for the mill of human ideas. It’s a divine benevolence that has the power to transform.

You are absolved when He says the word. Your slate is wiped clean. You are freed by the same power with which you were baptized. You are forgiven when you take His body and blood upon your lips in faith. His pardon is a present reality. It’s not an IOU. It’s not a pledge that becomes activated at some future date. It’s not dependent on any conditions still to be met. Faith receives the pure and complete mercy of Christ. He died and rose for you and that gives you the greatest certainty.

Certainty is one of the great blessings that flow from adherence to Christ’s truth. The conscience can only truly be at ease when it rests on the clear promises of God. Believers are free to engage in the discussions of secular society; in fact, they are encouraged to do so as salt, light, and leaven in the world. But we do so speaking the truth in love. We do so with the conviction and courage that the battle is not ours, but Christ’s

Think how many battles throughout history were surrendered prematurely because courage was lost! Think how many sporting contests were yielded, not because the opponent had greater skill, but because courage failed! Countless are the examples where even well-intentioned people lost hope because the obstacles appeared too great. The spies sent to survey the land of Cana returned saying, “All the people we saw there were of great size…We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”3

But the Lord of heaven and earth says, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”4And He says even more emphatically, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”5 He says of His people, “I give then eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.”6

Christ is the Good Shepherd. He is the faultless Bridegroom. He is beyond reproach. In His devotion to His Bride, the church, He utterly exhausted the full capacity of His love. It took from Him His last breath. Adam gave up a rib. Perhaps his was a restless sleep. His union with Eve completed the divine ordering of creation. Christ gave up an impeccable life. His rest in the tomb was a spiritual eclipse, deep and black. But His resurrection prepared the way for a reunion with His Bride, an event of such cosmic proportions that it is nothing short of the divine ordering of eternity.

Dear friends, God has always faced rejection and Christ knew exactly how to meet it; by marching headlong to the cross. God is unalterable and unchanging, and yet His love to us is continually new. “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning.”7 He continually renews us in His love. Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
5 July, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Ecclesiastes 1:9
2 Ecclesiastes 3:15
3 Number 13:32-33
4 John 16:33
5 Matthew 10:28
6 John 10:28
7 Lamentations 3:22-23