+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Matthew 11:2-11
Theme: The Example of John
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God is patient with us in our frailty. And we should think here firstly not of frailty of mind or body, but of spirit. Jesus Christ was born into human flesh so that our flesh, our sinful nature, would not totally overcome and destroy any hope that our souls could live. Jesus, who was spirit, assumed a body and lives in that body, so that we with mortal bodies might be gifted with His immortality. Advent and Christmas are about these truths.
Our Advent gospel today relates to us the situation of John the Baptist- the voice of the one who calls to repentance. We find Him in prison. His end was near. Have you ever considered why Jesus didn’t rescue John from being beheaded by Herod? This Messiah who calmed the sea, healed the sick, passed through the crowd and even raised the dead, how simple of a thing to free John the Baptist from prison. His own cousin was unjustly cut down by the arrogant and ruthless ruler. Jesus could have prevented it. After all, He raised His good friend Lazarus. But it was not part of the divine plan.
The situation with John was different. His case was a preview of martyrdom. His was a unique place in the history of Christianity. He did not have to wait as long as some for his heavenly reward. He was zealous and passionate, but there was no thought for personal safety or worldly indulgences. John had no interest in the satisfactions and glories associated with the common pursuits of humanity. He didn’t seek to leave an inheritance to his descendants, bolster his standing in the community, or while away his days occupied in hobbies. His single endeavor was to prepare people for the coming of the Messiah. In this regard he was uncompromising.
John the Baptist could have relented in relation to calling Herod to repentance. He could have thought to save his own skin first and justified it as an opportunity to go on with his ministry. But he wouldn’t “keep his options open” for selfish reasons. In this regard He is an example of true sacrifice and an encouragement to us. The sinner in us tends to want to negotiate for our own self gain. Consider the incident with Caesar Augustus. After his victory over Antony at Actium, Caesar came back to Rome in triumph. Among the huge crowd who greeted him was a man who had a bird that he had taught to say, "Hail, Caesar victorious!" Caesar was impressed and bought the bird for a large sum. Then someone got Caesar aside and whispered to him that the man had another bird that was just as talented. The man was summoned and Caesar asked for a demonstration of what the other bird could do. The man declined, but Caesar insisted. When the bird was produced it said, "Hail, Antony victorious!"
God will not be impressed with our efforts to hedge our spiritual bets. We cannot deceive Him. He reads the heart. The penitent soul knows this and that is why the church added the words of Psalm 51 to the liturgy, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.”1 We continue to entreat the Lord to do what we can never and could never do for ourselves: purify our hearts. He does not fail us. He freely and fully forgives our sins. Christ didn’t suffer humiliation, shame, and death because you were able to rectify your own sins. He didn’t conquer death and rise from the grave because there was another way for you to gain eternal life. Your baptism stands as a testimony to God’s initiative to rescue you from certain calamity. Satan is restrained and hell barred in your life because He did these things for you.
Despite his fortitude, John the Baptist was still prone to the temptations and struggles of the sinful nature. Prison was tough. John had no direct contact with Jesus and so had to rely on second-hand reports. John perhaps wondered why Jesus wasn’t more heavy- handed in judgment. So he sent his own disciples to enquire of Jesus’ activities. “Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.’”2
Perhaps, you feel like God has left you in the lurch; in your own dark prison like John. Perhaps the hope Advent and the expectation of Christmas is more of a burden for you than a time of peace and celebration. Your Saviour knows just the right time. Remember our epistle today, “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”3 Do you think it is only coincidence that this passage is appointed for the Third Sunday of Advent? Whether farmers here are waiting patiently or not we’ll let God be the judge. The bigger picture of course involves the kingdom of Christ and His spiritual harvest. It is an ongoing harvest that will one day come to a dramatic finish.
In the Lord’s Prayer we petition God for His kingdom to come. And though we may typically pass right over the meaning because of our familiarity with it, it’s likely that when most people reflect on it they think of the time Christ will return to end the world. Advent bids us to be prepared for this coming event. But if we’re not careful here we can draw the wrong conclusions about how God works now. You see, we don’t sort of wait in limbo- scurrying about with our affairs while glancing suspiciously out of the corner of one eye for signs God might be preparing to visit.
Consider how Luther teaches about this petition in the catechism. “God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.”4 It’s sort of a different way to think of the coming of God’s kingdom. Normally we’d think of Jesus’ glorious return with angels and the end times events that will precede it. Indeed, that is how it will be. But God’s kingdom also comes in the here and now. It comes whenever and wherever the Holy Spirit creates and nurtures faith in the human heart. It comes whenever the words of absolution cheer your soul. It comes whenever you receive his sacred body and holy blood. For the individual believer these things are far more important than when Christ will come again. May the God of strength fill you with the single-mindedness of John and the hope and expectation of Advent. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Third Sunday of Advent
12 December 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 LHS, p.13
2 Matthew 11:4
3 James 5:7-8
4 Luther’s Small Catechism
Monday, December 13, 2010
Address to Catechumens, Dec 12, 2010
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Hebrews 13:5
Theme: God Will Never Leave You
Dear candidates for confirmation; Ben, Joel, Shannon, and Levi,
The marvelous thing about Christianity is that even when we fail, God forgives; even when we mess up, God gets it right. He makes things right through Jesus. And he does it for eternity. That’s what the Bible calls grace. Your whole Christian life is about living in and understanding this grace.
It is unlikely that any of you remember your baptism because you were all baptized as infants. It’s unlikely that any of you remember being born either. You were also born as infants. But not remembering being born doesn’t change who you are. You have a birth certificate, it has your name on it and it tells you who you belong to. It says who your parents are. You didn’t decide to be born. God gave you parents and He gave you to them.
As an infant you didn’t decide to be baptized either. God gave you new life when the Holy Spirit gave you the gift of faith and made you part of the family of the true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But you did decide- or at least agree in some sense- to prepare to make a public confession of your faith on this day. You came each week to study the Bible and the catechism to grow in your knowledge of God’s Word and faith. In other words, your presence here shows that you think it is important to identify yourself with the Christian faith. It’s nothing to take lightly. You are soon to make a promise; a public promise to remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the teachings of the Bible as you have learned them through Luther’s Small Catechism.
Now maybe the time has been, or will come when you are struggling at school, with friends, or at home. Maybe others have ridiculed you for your faith- these challenges won’t go away as you get older. You may wonder about the purpose or meaning of your life and how things will all work out. But you have a God that can do more than you could ever imagine. And God says, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”1 Christ died for your sins.
Today is only one day in your Christian journey. It’s an important day, but only one day. And if I, or the church has given you or your family the impression that everything is now done and dusted, that we’ve crossed all the i’s and dotted all the t’s, if you see this a hoop you’ve now successfully jumped through, then I have failed you. This is just one step along the way. It’s not a coincidence that Christianity was first called “The Way.” The way is Jesus every day of every week of every year.
When you make your promise today you will be invited to take greater responsibility and have greater privileges in the life of the church. It begins today with receiving the sacrament of Holy Communion. I encourage you to be in God’s house to receive it regularly, seriously, and cheerfully. I encourage you to live joyfully the life of faith the Holy Spirit has given you. And may God bless you from this day forward as you journey with Him to the time and place you will meet the Saviour face to face. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Third Sunday of Advent
Confirmation Sunday
12 December 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Hebrews 13:5
Text: Hebrews 13:5
Theme: God Will Never Leave You
Dear candidates for confirmation; Ben, Joel, Shannon, and Levi,
The marvelous thing about Christianity is that even when we fail, God forgives; even when we mess up, God gets it right. He makes things right through Jesus. And he does it for eternity. That’s what the Bible calls grace. Your whole Christian life is about living in and understanding this grace.
It is unlikely that any of you remember your baptism because you were all baptized as infants. It’s unlikely that any of you remember being born either. You were also born as infants. But not remembering being born doesn’t change who you are. You have a birth certificate, it has your name on it and it tells you who you belong to. It says who your parents are. You didn’t decide to be born. God gave you parents and He gave you to them.
As an infant you didn’t decide to be baptized either. God gave you new life when the Holy Spirit gave you the gift of faith and made you part of the family of the true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But you did decide- or at least agree in some sense- to prepare to make a public confession of your faith on this day. You came each week to study the Bible and the catechism to grow in your knowledge of God’s Word and faith. In other words, your presence here shows that you think it is important to identify yourself with the Christian faith. It’s nothing to take lightly. You are soon to make a promise; a public promise to remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the teachings of the Bible as you have learned them through Luther’s Small Catechism.
Now maybe the time has been, or will come when you are struggling at school, with friends, or at home. Maybe others have ridiculed you for your faith- these challenges won’t go away as you get older. You may wonder about the purpose or meaning of your life and how things will all work out. But you have a God that can do more than you could ever imagine. And God says, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”1 Christ died for your sins.
Today is only one day in your Christian journey. It’s an important day, but only one day. And if I, or the church has given you or your family the impression that everything is now done and dusted, that we’ve crossed all the i’s and dotted all the t’s, if you see this a hoop you’ve now successfully jumped through, then I have failed you. This is just one step along the way. It’s not a coincidence that Christianity was first called “The Way.” The way is Jesus every day of every week of every year.
When you make your promise today you will be invited to take greater responsibility and have greater privileges in the life of the church. It begins today with receiving the sacrament of Holy Communion. I encourage you to be in God’s house to receive it regularly, seriously, and cheerfully. I encourage you to live joyfully the life of faith the Holy Spirit has given you. And may God bless you from this day forward as you journey with Him to the time and place you will meet the Saviour face to face. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Third Sunday of Advent
Confirmation Sunday
12 December 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Hebrews 13:5
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Second Sunday of Advent-A 2010
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Matthew 3:1-12
Theme: John’s Timeless Message
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
It doesn’t matter what the time or circumstance- promising harvest, difficult conditions, or uncertain outcomes- Advent comes. Advent comes and John the Baptist announces it. John appears as an eccentric and rugged figure. His diet and dress are unusual. Might we not still have a few locusts left to share with him! He was an undaunted and unwieldy character. And would he be viewed today as anything but a radical or misfit? The powers of the time soon had him beheaded. But he preached with power, and he preached the truth. People came to him. How seldom today do people rush to the preaching of biblical truth! The modern secular mind has little use for such obsolete piety. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit draws and faith is kindled. The Word wiggles its way into confused hearts and navigates into skeptical minds. Seeds are planted and some take root.
John the Baptist comes announcing important news. It’s not the news of the day or even the news of the century. It is the news that will define human history. More than that, it is the news of the activity of God which determines eternity. He preaches a baptism of repentance. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”1 John comes to shake us out of our spiritual slumbers. He comes to challenge our self-righteousness, to engage us in assessing our outlook on life.
John comes with pointed and unequivocal words. He comes to convict. The preaching of the law can happen overtly, as when we are called into account for our sins: You shall not give false testimony; you shall not steal; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not covet, etc. Even wayward thoughts and intentions condemn us. Our unrighteousness is exposed, if not openly before others, certainly in our conscience before God. It’s no secret the Holy Spirit intends to use God’s law to drive us to repentance. Ultimately He wants people to see that apart from Christ they are idolaters. That’s exactly what John the Baptist was doing today.
But the preaching of the law can also happen with subtlety. It can even mask itself as a “positive” motivation towards piety. This happens easily and frequently when were are given the impression that if only we strive harder to act as Christians, then we will be more certain of God’s love. If our obedience increases, then we can be sure of God’s forgiveness. It’s even a common misunderstanding that the essence of Christianity is the message that Jesus shows us how to live a more morally upright life. The Bible says, “Love your neighbour as yourself,”2 and Jesus inspires us to do that. Yes, indeed, but not one person has, or ever will. Whenever we get the sense that we’re not living up to the standards and expectations that God would like, that is the work of the law, not the gospel. And alone it leads to a spiritual dead end. “The mere preaching of the law without Christ either produces presumptuous people, who believe that they can fulfill the law by external works, or drives man utterly to despair.”3
But what the law is powerless to accomplish in us the gospel graciously bestows. We need have no uncertainty about whether we can achieve or maintain God’s favour. Christ went to the cross, voluntarily, willingly; with great determination and under great duress. There He was sacrificed for the sins of the world. The child of Bethlehem could not remain in the manger as an object of adoration. He did not remain secluded in Nazareth as the hopes of the ages failed. Those who admired Him in the manger had yet to look upon the horrifying spectacle of the cross. The forgiveness He offers is complete, free, and unconditional.
The work of the gospel is never relegated to the past event of Jesus’ death on the cross. Anytime we are given the impression that God’s work is done and now it’s up to us to finish what God has started, then we’re being misled. You are baptized not into the Jesus who once walked the earth but now is gone; or the Jesus who you only hope will come; you are baptized into the crucified and living Saviour. He is the Advent Redeemer coming to you in forgiveness proclaimed into your ears and sacred food and drink placed on your lips. He comes and meets you in your darkness. He greets you in your loneliness. He cheers you in your sorrow. He comforts you in your uncertainty. And He works to dislodge the faulty foundations upon which your life is built. The strengthening and deepening of your faith involves a greater understanding of your dependence on God’s mercy.
Advent teaches us to not get ahead of ourselves; to not put our own plans, or even accomplishments before those of God. During the 1978 fireman's strike in England, the British army took over emergency firefighting. On January 14 they were called out by an elderly lady in South London to retrieve her cat. They arrived with impressive haste, very cleverly and carefully rescued the cat, and started to drive away. But the lady was so grateful she invited the squad of heroes in for tea. Driving off later with fond farewells and warm waving of arms, they ran over the cat and killed it. Self-satisfaction can be a powerful and dangerous distraction. Let us not be so absorbed in congratulating ourselves for our piety or our worldly accomplishments that we destroy not only our own humility, but the very work of God we are to be about. But let us have courage, confidence, and hope that our “labour in the Lord is not in vain.”4
Advent is not only about the coming of Jesus in glory, but Jesus as the “Coming One.” He breaches time and space to redeem fallen creation. He gives us immediate access to His grace and forgiveness. In Advent we are reminded that God will finish what He begins. From cradle to grave, from faith’s creation to its completion at death, God is the author and finisher5. We confess as Luther did, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ , my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”6
“May the God hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”7 Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Second Sunday of Advent
5 December 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 3:2
2 Matthew 19:19
3 Tappert, SD 559, 9
4 1 Corinthians 15:58
5 See Hebrews 12:2
6 Luther’s Small Catechism
7 Romans 15:13
Text: Matthew 3:1-12
Theme: John’s Timeless Message
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
It doesn’t matter what the time or circumstance- promising harvest, difficult conditions, or uncertain outcomes- Advent comes. Advent comes and John the Baptist announces it. John appears as an eccentric and rugged figure. His diet and dress are unusual. Might we not still have a few locusts left to share with him! He was an undaunted and unwieldy character. And would he be viewed today as anything but a radical or misfit? The powers of the time soon had him beheaded. But he preached with power, and he preached the truth. People came to him. How seldom today do people rush to the preaching of biblical truth! The modern secular mind has little use for such obsolete piety. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit draws and faith is kindled. The Word wiggles its way into confused hearts and navigates into skeptical minds. Seeds are planted and some take root.
John the Baptist comes announcing important news. It’s not the news of the day or even the news of the century. It is the news that will define human history. More than that, it is the news of the activity of God which determines eternity. He preaches a baptism of repentance. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”1 John comes to shake us out of our spiritual slumbers. He comes to challenge our self-righteousness, to engage us in assessing our outlook on life.
John comes with pointed and unequivocal words. He comes to convict. The preaching of the law can happen overtly, as when we are called into account for our sins: You shall not give false testimony; you shall not steal; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not covet, etc. Even wayward thoughts and intentions condemn us. Our unrighteousness is exposed, if not openly before others, certainly in our conscience before God. It’s no secret the Holy Spirit intends to use God’s law to drive us to repentance. Ultimately He wants people to see that apart from Christ they are idolaters. That’s exactly what John the Baptist was doing today.
But the preaching of the law can also happen with subtlety. It can even mask itself as a “positive” motivation towards piety. This happens easily and frequently when were are given the impression that if only we strive harder to act as Christians, then we will be more certain of God’s love. If our obedience increases, then we can be sure of God’s forgiveness. It’s even a common misunderstanding that the essence of Christianity is the message that Jesus shows us how to live a more morally upright life. The Bible says, “Love your neighbour as yourself,”2 and Jesus inspires us to do that. Yes, indeed, but not one person has, or ever will. Whenever we get the sense that we’re not living up to the standards and expectations that God would like, that is the work of the law, not the gospel. And alone it leads to a spiritual dead end. “The mere preaching of the law without Christ either produces presumptuous people, who believe that they can fulfill the law by external works, or drives man utterly to despair.”3
But what the law is powerless to accomplish in us the gospel graciously bestows. We need have no uncertainty about whether we can achieve or maintain God’s favour. Christ went to the cross, voluntarily, willingly; with great determination and under great duress. There He was sacrificed for the sins of the world. The child of Bethlehem could not remain in the manger as an object of adoration. He did not remain secluded in Nazareth as the hopes of the ages failed. Those who admired Him in the manger had yet to look upon the horrifying spectacle of the cross. The forgiveness He offers is complete, free, and unconditional.
The work of the gospel is never relegated to the past event of Jesus’ death on the cross. Anytime we are given the impression that God’s work is done and now it’s up to us to finish what God has started, then we’re being misled. You are baptized not into the Jesus who once walked the earth but now is gone; or the Jesus who you only hope will come; you are baptized into the crucified and living Saviour. He is the Advent Redeemer coming to you in forgiveness proclaimed into your ears and sacred food and drink placed on your lips. He comes and meets you in your darkness. He greets you in your loneliness. He cheers you in your sorrow. He comforts you in your uncertainty. And He works to dislodge the faulty foundations upon which your life is built. The strengthening and deepening of your faith involves a greater understanding of your dependence on God’s mercy.
Advent teaches us to not get ahead of ourselves; to not put our own plans, or even accomplishments before those of God. During the 1978 fireman's strike in England, the British army took over emergency firefighting. On January 14 they were called out by an elderly lady in South London to retrieve her cat. They arrived with impressive haste, very cleverly and carefully rescued the cat, and started to drive away. But the lady was so grateful she invited the squad of heroes in for tea. Driving off later with fond farewells and warm waving of arms, they ran over the cat and killed it. Self-satisfaction can be a powerful and dangerous distraction. Let us not be so absorbed in congratulating ourselves for our piety or our worldly accomplishments that we destroy not only our own humility, but the very work of God we are to be about. But let us have courage, confidence, and hope that our “labour in the Lord is not in vain.”4
Advent is not only about the coming of Jesus in glory, but Jesus as the “Coming One.” He breaches time and space to redeem fallen creation. He gives us immediate access to His grace and forgiveness. In Advent we are reminded that God will finish what He begins. From cradle to grave, from faith’s creation to its completion at death, God is the author and finisher5. We confess as Luther did, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ , my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”6
“May the God hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”7 Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Second Sunday of Advent
5 December 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 3:2
2 Matthew 19:19
3 Tappert, SD 559, 9
4 1 Corinthians 15:58
5 See Hebrews 12:2
6 Luther’s Small Catechism
7 Romans 15:13
Monday, November 29, 2010
First Sunday of Advent- A (2010)
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Matthew 24:36-44
Theme: The Coming Redeemer
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Advent is the season of anticipation. For this new Church Year Saint Matthew’s account of the Good News in Christ is the primary source of our gospel selections. “Keep watch,” says the evangelist, “because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”1Advent is not the beginning, per se, but the expectation of the completion. Advent looks forward to the fulfillment of promises. It reminds us that God constantly comes to us. Christian life involves the anticipation that the nature of His coming will one day dramatically transform our existence. This requires patience, perseverance and trust.
Imagine the expectation there would have been when God was about to create the universe! Only initially there was nothing and no one in existence to enjoy it. But then what joy there was anticipating the new creation in Christ. Advent points us forward to the experience of that new creation. Meanwhile, we are warned today not to fall into spiritual lethargy. This existence won’t go on indefinitely. The ancient record is called on for testimony. Judgment has come swiftly before.
The time of Noah was characterized by blatant ungodliness and immorality. There was no fear, reverence, or love of God. And there was only hatred, jealousy and fear in human relationships. Moses describes the situation this way, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”2 We know the consequences were dramatic. Suddenly the cesspool of unrighteous humanity was swept away by the flood.
But it wasn’t without warning. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Only he had no converts. People assumed Noah was crazy and God was jesting. We should be careful not to make assumptions when it comes to the motives of others, especially God’s motives. There is the story of a visitor to the zoo who noticed one of the keepers sobbing quietly in a corner and on inquiry was told that an elephant had died. "Fond of him, was he?" the visitor asked. "It's not that," came the reply, "He's the one who has to dig the grave."
Modifying the image of God to suit our own tastes is one of humanity’s more accomplished pursuits. We like to fit God into our mold. We like to hold Him captive to our definitions of prosperity and have Him toe the line to meet our expectations and values. We like to have Him condone and accept our sins. We make Him into a paper tiger and in this way disarm any threats. Of course this is foolish and dangerous thinking. Never assume. Take God at His word. Repent, because He will judge sin.
But Christ comes to bring salvation to His elect. Whatever it is that you long for relief from- grief, temptation, pain, loneliness, bitterness; the resolution is found in Him. And that is what we desperately want to do for people. We want to reassure them that their struggles will soon be over. We want to comfort them, console them and be the bearer of good news. But we must take heed lest the good news we bear is nothing more than wishful, empty thinking. Human emotion, no matter how intense, is no substitute for divine truth. Life is messy and we cannot by-pass the struggle. Healing and relief come in Christ’s time and way.
Police stopped a teen-age girl in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, after complaints that a car had been seen going around her neighbourhood in reverse for some time. The girl told police that her parents had let her use the car, but she had put too much mileage on it. "I was just trying to unwind some of it," she said. Wishful but naïve thinking. We can’t simply ‘undo’ the past experiences of life. We can’t unwind the mileage racked up from years of traveling down the road of selfishness, dishonesty, or unbelief. Our travels through life cause us to accumulate scars.
But the coming of Christ changes things. He doesn’t rewind us so that the past is erased. Your life is written in history. But He does absorb all the damage; the intentional damage, the incidental damage, the collateral damage of sin. He absorbs the damage caused by your evil intentions, your ignorance, and the damage that comes about because you were a victim. He gathers it, compresses it, and destroys it by living and dying through the consequences. That’s how salvation was accomplished. That’s what His sacrifice means. He suffered the punishment of sin, death, and hell so that all believers might be spared. This is the Good News of Advent.
The Good News prophesied in ancient times, recorded by the evangelists in sacred Scripture; the Good News conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary; the Good News of the incarnate Son of God born in Bethlehem, crucified on Calvary, and raised from the dead- this Good News, Jesus Christ in the flesh, is the only news that is truly good, sacred and holy. It is not merely news that peaks your curiosity like secular tabloids. It is the life-giving, life-changing gospel of the forgiveness of sins in the person of Jesus, Immanuel. He comes to sinners lost in darkness and unbelief and there He brings light and life. He does this through the Scriptures proclaimed, through baptism, through Holy Communion.
Now why does God choose this method and these means? Water and words? But not just any words. Spirit-activated words, words from the mouth of the Son and the heart of the Father. It is His gracious way of affirming that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was accomplished for every person in every time and every place. Forgiveness and faith change the advent of Christ from judgment to acquittal and acceptance. That is what happens in baptism.
The sacrament of baptism is not only a reminder to parents and sponsors of their solemn responsibility of nurturing Poppy’s faith (whose baptism we just celebrated). It is a message to parents that something; Someone bigger and more powerful is the primary player in the child’s life. Baptism involves a sort of surrender of authority. Christ alone will do for Poppy what no parent, godparent, or anyone else can do. Only the Holy Spirit can gift a person with faith. Now, that in no way diminishes the tremendous charge parents, family and even the whole church has. God works through means. Paul says, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.”3 But, thankfully, final outcomes rest with God.
In this life Advent is a continual reality. Jesus Christ is ALWAYS the Coming One. In His coming He is not aloof or inattentive. But presently He is disguised, hidden in word, water, bread and wine. His methods are disguised even in hardship and trial. He blesses us with our own special “thorns in the flesh.” Through these we come to understand that His grace alone is sufficient. In this life, glory is a future expectation, while grace is a present blessing. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
First Sunday of Advent
28 November 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 24:42
2 Genesis 6:5
3 1 Corinthians 3:6
Text: Matthew 24:36-44
Theme: The Coming Redeemer
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Advent is the season of anticipation. For this new Church Year Saint Matthew’s account of the Good News in Christ is the primary source of our gospel selections. “Keep watch,” says the evangelist, “because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”1Advent is not the beginning, per se, but the expectation of the completion. Advent looks forward to the fulfillment of promises. It reminds us that God constantly comes to us. Christian life involves the anticipation that the nature of His coming will one day dramatically transform our existence. This requires patience, perseverance and trust.
Imagine the expectation there would have been when God was about to create the universe! Only initially there was nothing and no one in existence to enjoy it. But then what joy there was anticipating the new creation in Christ. Advent points us forward to the experience of that new creation. Meanwhile, we are warned today not to fall into spiritual lethargy. This existence won’t go on indefinitely. The ancient record is called on for testimony. Judgment has come swiftly before.
The time of Noah was characterized by blatant ungodliness and immorality. There was no fear, reverence, or love of God. And there was only hatred, jealousy and fear in human relationships. Moses describes the situation this way, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”2 We know the consequences were dramatic. Suddenly the cesspool of unrighteous humanity was swept away by the flood.
But it wasn’t without warning. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Only he had no converts. People assumed Noah was crazy and God was jesting. We should be careful not to make assumptions when it comes to the motives of others, especially God’s motives. There is the story of a visitor to the zoo who noticed one of the keepers sobbing quietly in a corner and on inquiry was told that an elephant had died. "Fond of him, was he?" the visitor asked. "It's not that," came the reply, "He's the one who has to dig the grave."
Modifying the image of God to suit our own tastes is one of humanity’s more accomplished pursuits. We like to fit God into our mold. We like to hold Him captive to our definitions of prosperity and have Him toe the line to meet our expectations and values. We like to have Him condone and accept our sins. We make Him into a paper tiger and in this way disarm any threats. Of course this is foolish and dangerous thinking. Never assume. Take God at His word. Repent, because He will judge sin.
But Christ comes to bring salvation to His elect. Whatever it is that you long for relief from- grief, temptation, pain, loneliness, bitterness; the resolution is found in Him. And that is what we desperately want to do for people. We want to reassure them that their struggles will soon be over. We want to comfort them, console them and be the bearer of good news. But we must take heed lest the good news we bear is nothing more than wishful, empty thinking. Human emotion, no matter how intense, is no substitute for divine truth. Life is messy and we cannot by-pass the struggle. Healing and relief come in Christ’s time and way.
Police stopped a teen-age girl in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, after complaints that a car had been seen going around her neighbourhood in reverse for some time. The girl told police that her parents had let her use the car, but she had put too much mileage on it. "I was just trying to unwind some of it," she said. Wishful but naïve thinking. We can’t simply ‘undo’ the past experiences of life. We can’t unwind the mileage racked up from years of traveling down the road of selfishness, dishonesty, or unbelief. Our travels through life cause us to accumulate scars.
But the coming of Christ changes things. He doesn’t rewind us so that the past is erased. Your life is written in history. But He does absorb all the damage; the intentional damage, the incidental damage, the collateral damage of sin. He absorbs the damage caused by your evil intentions, your ignorance, and the damage that comes about because you were a victim. He gathers it, compresses it, and destroys it by living and dying through the consequences. That’s how salvation was accomplished. That’s what His sacrifice means. He suffered the punishment of sin, death, and hell so that all believers might be spared. This is the Good News of Advent.
The Good News prophesied in ancient times, recorded by the evangelists in sacred Scripture; the Good News conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary; the Good News of the incarnate Son of God born in Bethlehem, crucified on Calvary, and raised from the dead- this Good News, Jesus Christ in the flesh, is the only news that is truly good, sacred and holy. It is not merely news that peaks your curiosity like secular tabloids. It is the life-giving, life-changing gospel of the forgiveness of sins in the person of Jesus, Immanuel. He comes to sinners lost in darkness and unbelief and there He brings light and life. He does this through the Scriptures proclaimed, through baptism, through Holy Communion.
Now why does God choose this method and these means? Water and words? But not just any words. Spirit-activated words, words from the mouth of the Son and the heart of the Father. It is His gracious way of affirming that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was accomplished for every person in every time and every place. Forgiveness and faith change the advent of Christ from judgment to acquittal and acceptance. That is what happens in baptism.
The sacrament of baptism is not only a reminder to parents and sponsors of their solemn responsibility of nurturing Poppy’s faith (whose baptism we just celebrated). It is a message to parents that something; Someone bigger and more powerful is the primary player in the child’s life. Baptism involves a sort of surrender of authority. Christ alone will do for Poppy what no parent, godparent, or anyone else can do. Only the Holy Spirit can gift a person with faith. Now, that in no way diminishes the tremendous charge parents, family and even the whole church has. God works through means. Paul says, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.”3 But, thankfully, final outcomes rest with God.
In this life Advent is a continual reality. Jesus Christ is ALWAYS the Coming One. In His coming He is not aloof or inattentive. But presently He is disguised, hidden in word, water, bread and wine. His methods are disguised even in hardship and trial. He blesses us with our own special “thorns in the flesh.” Through these we come to understand that His grace alone is sufficient. In this life, glory is a future expectation, while grace is a present blessing. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
First Sunday of Advent
28 November 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 24:42
2 Genesis 6:5
3 1 Corinthians 3:6
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Last Sunday of the Church Year- C
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 19:11-27
Theme: The Return of Christ
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God doesn’t leave loose ends. He allows for no unfinished business. On this last Sunday in the Church Year we are reminded that Christ will “come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.”1 The inauguration of Christ’s kingdom is initially interpreted by His followers as a defeat. Our gospel account begins by telling us that because Jesus is near Jerusalem “people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.”2 In other words, they thought that the dramatic revelation of God’s glory was upon them. But Jesus commences the establishment of His dominion through suffering, scorn, ridicule, injustice, crucifixion, and death. Considering the shocking contrast with their expectations it’s easy to see their misunderstanding. But we shouldn’t think it’s merely a problem of human miscalculation. God grants the eyes of faith to perceive divine mysteries only in His time. The mind of God is not transparent.
Today’s parable ends with the horrifying reality of God’s judgment. It’s not something that can simply be overlooked. The judgment of sin and unbelief is a trenchant and comprehensive teaching of Scripture. All attempts to downplay the final execution of God’s wrath, which is nothing less than eternity in hell, are misguided. Appeals to the doctrine of God’s love don’t allow us to brush aside His justice. The consequences of a compromised doctrine of sin are far-reaching. Humans seek to be the arbiters of conflict and the sole determiners of truth and value. Personal accountability before God becomes a nonentity. Soon guilt and repentance are nothing more than psychological or therapeutic concepts. Finally, the very reason for Christ’s sacrifice, death and resurrection are eliminated. Repeated biblical warnings about people being unprepared for Christ’s return should suffice to convict us of our sin and the need for His grace. Still, the Holy Spirit must direct us.
The difficulty raised in speaking of the return of Christ is the implication that He has been gone. This is a natural, human way of thinking. People go on trips and journeys and then they return. Meanwhile, life goes on in their absence often with little or no influence from them. There may be preparation for their return accompanied by new expectations. But in the meantime circumstances and even fundamental realities change, often beyond the person’s control.
Things are a different with Christ. Nothing changes without His approval. We do not have an absentee Saviour. And is the Holy Spirit is not an agent that only acts in Christ’s stead. Remember Jesus said to His disciples before His ascension, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”3 Fleshing out what this means is pivotal for life in this “one, holy Christian and Apostolic church”4 in which we reside. We are not the body of Christ that exists without access to His body. To operate as such is to over-spiritualize the Bible’s teaching on the church and limit the parameters of God’s presence. The prophet said, “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).”5
Yes, God with us, in adversity and prosperity, in sorrow and in joy. God with us, forgiving, renewing, restoring, reclaiming. God with us through the humble means of word and sacrament. The sacraments are testimonies against the teaching- explicit or implicit- of the ‘real absence’ of Christ. Elvis may have left the building but Christ has not left His people.
You are His baptized child. Baptism incorporates you into the life of the Holy Trinity, not by your decision or confession, but by His willingness to receive you as His child; His willingness to be identified with you. And once He identifies with you He doesn’t forsake you. As true God and true man he addresses our every need. Consider what the Lutheran confessions say, “He has instituted His Holy Supper for the certain assurance and confirmation of this, so that He will be with us, and dwell, work, and be effective in us also according to that nature from which He has flesh and blood.”6
So how do these truths relate to today’s parable? We are subjects of the King, but we are not to live as if the King is absent. His return is not a matter of an absentee landlord returning to be brought up to speed on His business. His coming in glory is a matter of the final consummation of His kingdom. We live now as members of His kingdom entrusted with His gifts. Faithfulness is the key teaching here. Note that none of the servants claim to have gained more money on their own. “Sir, your mina has earned ten more, etc.”7 It’s not talent, ability or accomplishment that is the focus, but the integrity and trustworthiness of those entrusted with the riches of others. There will always be differences in outcomes. It’s no use fretting over the gifts and talents others seem to have which exceed your own. It is easy to be jealous of the blessings of others. But such comparisons are not helpful.
The man who simply hid his gift was driven by fear. He did not trust the nobleman or understand what was being asked of him. He didn’t understand himself as a subject of the king so he did not participate in the activity of the kingdom. His was a different loyalty. His heart was in a different place. His motivation was to protect himself. He feared the nobleman but did not trust him. For Him the king did not return in grace and glory but for retribution.
But for the saints, we poor sinners who labor under the cross, it will be pure joy. We will see with our eyes what we can only now see by faith. Remember the saga of the trapped miners in Chile. They were held captive in the bowels of the earth. How joyous was their freedom! There is more than one lesson in their rescue and transition back to the daylight. The Chilean miners’ eyes had to re-adjust to the light of the sun. This is a good analogy for the limitations of this existence. The darkness of sin prevents us from looking upon the brilliance of God. Even to see God as He has veiled Himself in His incarnate Son requires the Holy Spirit’s provision of spiritual vision. To see Christ in His glory will be something altogether more than anything human beings have ever experienced.
Dear friends, the Bible says, “God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him[Christ], and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.”8 He died for your sins and He is risen. He lives eternally. At the precipice of death, the Lord, our righteousness, swallows up all fears, darkness, and doubt; He swallows up hell’s power. Then the hidden baptismal life is instantly transformed to resurrected glory. God doesn’t leave loose ends. He allows for no unfinished business. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Last Sunday of the Church Year
21 November 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Nicene Creed
2 Luke 19:11
3 Matthew 28:20
4 Nicene Creed
5 Matthew 1:23
6 SD VIII, 79
7 Luke 19:16
8 Colossians 1:19-20
Text: Luke 19:11-27
Theme: The Return of Christ
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God doesn’t leave loose ends. He allows for no unfinished business. On this last Sunday in the Church Year we are reminded that Christ will “come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.”1 The inauguration of Christ’s kingdom is initially interpreted by His followers as a defeat. Our gospel account begins by telling us that because Jesus is near Jerusalem “people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.”2 In other words, they thought that the dramatic revelation of God’s glory was upon them. But Jesus commences the establishment of His dominion through suffering, scorn, ridicule, injustice, crucifixion, and death. Considering the shocking contrast with their expectations it’s easy to see their misunderstanding. But we shouldn’t think it’s merely a problem of human miscalculation. God grants the eyes of faith to perceive divine mysteries only in His time. The mind of God is not transparent.
Today’s parable ends with the horrifying reality of God’s judgment. It’s not something that can simply be overlooked. The judgment of sin and unbelief is a trenchant and comprehensive teaching of Scripture. All attempts to downplay the final execution of God’s wrath, which is nothing less than eternity in hell, are misguided. Appeals to the doctrine of God’s love don’t allow us to brush aside His justice. The consequences of a compromised doctrine of sin are far-reaching. Humans seek to be the arbiters of conflict and the sole determiners of truth and value. Personal accountability before God becomes a nonentity. Soon guilt and repentance are nothing more than psychological or therapeutic concepts. Finally, the very reason for Christ’s sacrifice, death and resurrection are eliminated. Repeated biblical warnings about people being unprepared for Christ’s return should suffice to convict us of our sin and the need for His grace. Still, the Holy Spirit must direct us.
The difficulty raised in speaking of the return of Christ is the implication that He has been gone. This is a natural, human way of thinking. People go on trips and journeys and then they return. Meanwhile, life goes on in their absence often with little or no influence from them. There may be preparation for their return accompanied by new expectations. But in the meantime circumstances and even fundamental realities change, often beyond the person’s control.
Things are a different with Christ. Nothing changes without His approval. We do not have an absentee Saviour. And is the Holy Spirit is not an agent that only acts in Christ’s stead. Remember Jesus said to His disciples before His ascension, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”3 Fleshing out what this means is pivotal for life in this “one, holy Christian and Apostolic church”4 in which we reside. We are not the body of Christ that exists without access to His body. To operate as such is to over-spiritualize the Bible’s teaching on the church and limit the parameters of God’s presence. The prophet said, “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).”5
Yes, God with us, in adversity and prosperity, in sorrow and in joy. God with us, forgiving, renewing, restoring, reclaiming. God with us through the humble means of word and sacrament. The sacraments are testimonies against the teaching- explicit or implicit- of the ‘real absence’ of Christ. Elvis may have left the building but Christ has not left His people.
You are His baptized child. Baptism incorporates you into the life of the Holy Trinity, not by your decision or confession, but by His willingness to receive you as His child; His willingness to be identified with you. And once He identifies with you He doesn’t forsake you. As true God and true man he addresses our every need. Consider what the Lutheran confessions say, “He has instituted His Holy Supper for the certain assurance and confirmation of this, so that He will be with us, and dwell, work, and be effective in us also according to that nature from which He has flesh and blood.”6
So how do these truths relate to today’s parable? We are subjects of the King, but we are not to live as if the King is absent. His return is not a matter of an absentee landlord returning to be brought up to speed on His business. His coming in glory is a matter of the final consummation of His kingdom. We live now as members of His kingdom entrusted with His gifts. Faithfulness is the key teaching here. Note that none of the servants claim to have gained more money on their own. “Sir, your mina has earned ten more, etc.”7 It’s not talent, ability or accomplishment that is the focus, but the integrity and trustworthiness of those entrusted with the riches of others. There will always be differences in outcomes. It’s no use fretting over the gifts and talents others seem to have which exceed your own. It is easy to be jealous of the blessings of others. But such comparisons are not helpful.
The man who simply hid his gift was driven by fear. He did not trust the nobleman or understand what was being asked of him. He didn’t understand himself as a subject of the king so he did not participate in the activity of the kingdom. His was a different loyalty. His heart was in a different place. His motivation was to protect himself. He feared the nobleman but did not trust him. For Him the king did not return in grace and glory but for retribution.
But for the saints, we poor sinners who labor under the cross, it will be pure joy. We will see with our eyes what we can only now see by faith. Remember the saga of the trapped miners in Chile. They were held captive in the bowels of the earth. How joyous was their freedom! There is more than one lesson in their rescue and transition back to the daylight. The Chilean miners’ eyes had to re-adjust to the light of the sun. This is a good analogy for the limitations of this existence. The darkness of sin prevents us from looking upon the brilliance of God. Even to see God as He has veiled Himself in His incarnate Son requires the Holy Spirit’s provision of spiritual vision. To see Christ in His glory will be something altogether more than anything human beings have ever experienced.
Dear friends, the Bible says, “God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him[Christ], and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.”8 He died for your sins and He is risen. He lives eternally. At the precipice of death, the Lord, our righteousness, swallows up all fears, darkness, and doubt; He swallows up hell’s power. Then the hidden baptismal life is instantly transformed to resurrected glory. God doesn’t leave loose ends. He allows for no unfinished business. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Last Sunday of the Church Year
21 November 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Nicene Creed
2 Luke 19:11
3 Matthew 28:20
4 Nicene Creed
5 Matthew 1:23
6 SD VIII, 79
7 Luke 19:16
8 Colossians 1:19-20
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost C
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 18:1-8
Theme: God’s Justice
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The Christian life is a marathon not a sprint. God deals with us accordingly. The temptation to lose heart, to give up- to concede in the mind and will that God will not intervene- is always lurking about. The perceived inaction of God is easily misconstrued. People start to doubt the certainty of God’s help and search for other measures of security. Even the disciples were prone to this. Today He told them the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge.
The widow’s determination is commended. But the contrast between God and this judge is the main point. Jesus wants us to see the comparison. It is necessary that He constantly brings things into perspective. As sinful humans we are incessantly plagued with self-focused and narrow-minded vision. Even an unscrupulous person in authority may respond to the requests of someone they are not naturally inclined to assist. No doubt this unrighteous judge had no vested interest in helping the widow. He was frustrated and irritated by her. Yet he reasoned it was better to get her off his back than keep hearing her cries for justice. How much more inclined to us is our merciful God than this judge was to the widow!
Jesus says, “And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly.”1 What a tremendous promise we have here from God. God acts. And when its time He acts quickly. We only waste time and energy if we fret and worry about when that time will be. It can be a vicious and never-ending cycle. When will the locusts come and how bad will they be? What will happen to the grain prices? When will so and so apologise so our relationship can be reconciled? How will the government accomplish anything worthwhile? Does God not see? Can He not hear?
The Bible bids us to persist in our prayers and wait for God’s will to be carried out in His time. Our energies and resources are to be directed elsewhere. The prophet Isaiah says, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, not His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”2 Can we admit that we often try to coerce God into coming into line with our agendas? Dare we act in arrogance or selfishness? Dare we dismiss our sins as insignificant, remain unrepentant and yet demand justice and fairness from God?
How often are our complaints due to ignorance His word? Here is what Paul says to Timothy, “From infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”3 From infancy! How little regard there is for this truth today. The Bible is treated like an obsolete resource that parents can refer their children to when and if they show interest at some point, rather than the very word of God. Still, where the Word is proclaimed, the Spirit works when and where He pleases. Repentance is initiated. Faith is created and the church is called into existence and enlarged.
When God begins something He promises the means to nourish and complete it. The great importance of infant baptism should be noted here. Baptism is a promise of grace and an actual means by which the Holy Spirit imparts forgiveness in Christ. There is no limit of age. An infant can hear the voice of God, just as it can hear-even before birth- the voice of its father or mother. Who are we to limit the work of the Holy Spirit on the heart, mind, and will of another? God’s work is often hidden to the naked eye, but in faith we trust His activity is taking place.
Trusting that God is both Creator and Redeemer gives us a very different perspective on reality. Our hope doesn’t rest in humanity, but in the hands of Him who was cradled in a manger and had His arms stretched out on a cross. Jesus forgives our sins. He reconciles us to the Father by giving His own life. He resolves the crises of mankind. He finally subdues all forces of evil. He banishes all falsehood, Satan, and hell. He declares sinners to be righteous. Our hope doesn’t lie in scientific solutions. Our reconciliation isn’t in human ingenuity or our justice in perfect government. Christ is Saviour and Lord.
That doesn’t mean the Bible ever calls on us to be naïve or gullible optimists. We don’t throw caution to the wind. Salvation is not a given. It is a gift. Knowledge of who we are and what we are capable of –that is, our capacity for evil- drives our need for God. To know yourself is to know you need forgiveness. This reality never changes while you draw life and breath. We are baptized and so live in repentance. In Christ we are secure but never resting on our laurels. We can be content but never lax. St. Peter says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful.”4 Our eternal well-being is hardly a trivial or light-hearted matter. But this never excludes joy, hope, and peace. The Holy Spirit lifts the heaviest loads off the most burdened consciences. He shines the light of Christ into the darkest of hearts.
These same truths are what we mirror to those outside the communion of saints. Our mission to the world should be marked with urgency, but not panic. We have a positive outlook, but not baseless giddiness; skepticism of human ability but confidence in divine truths. These truths teach us to sacrifice for the sake of the disadvantaged, especially spiritually, take risks for the unenlightened, and generally love our neighbour.
Outcomes are left to God. But we have the joy of knowing the church is always growing because the number of those in heaven is never decreased. God prevails for His saints, in their midst and on their behalf. He does bring justice. None will finally oppose Him. Widows will be given a fair trial. The downtrodden will be lifted up. Those without a voice will be heard. Those in bondage will be set free. The crucified, risen and living Christ sees to these things. We look forward to the unhindered enjoyment of His victory as Jeremiah says today, “The time is coming…I will put My law in their minds and write it on their heart…no longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest.”5 Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost
17 October 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 18:7-8
2 Isaiah 59:1-2
3 2 Timothy 3:15
4 1 Peter 5:8
5 Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34
Text: Luke 18:1-8
Theme: God’s Justice
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The Christian life is a marathon not a sprint. God deals with us accordingly. The temptation to lose heart, to give up- to concede in the mind and will that God will not intervene- is always lurking about. The perceived inaction of God is easily misconstrued. People start to doubt the certainty of God’s help and search for other measures of security. Even the disciples were prone to this. Today He told them the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge.
The widow’s determination is commended. But the contrast between God and this judge is the main point. Jesus wants us to see the comparison. It is necessary that He constantly brings things into perspective. As sinful humans we are incessantly plagued with self-focused and narrow-minded vision. Even an unscrupulous person in authority may respond to the requests of someone they are not naturally inclined to assist. No doubt this unrighteous judge had no vested interest in helping the widow. He was frustrated and irritated by her. Yet he reasoned it was better to get her off his back than keep hearing her cries for justice. How much more inclined to us is our merciful God than this judge was to the widow!
Jesus says, “And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly.”1 What a tremendous promise we have here from God. God acts. And when its time He acts quickly. We only waste time and energy if we fret and worry about when that time will be. It can be a vicious and never-ending cycle. When will the locusts come and how bad will they be? What will happen to the grain prices? When will so and so apologise so our relationship can be reconciled? How will the government accomplish anything worthwhile? Does God not see? Can He not hear?
The Bible bids us to persist in our prayers and wait for God’s will to be carried out in His time. Our energies and resources are to be directed elsewhere. The prophet Isaiah says, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, not His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”2 Can we admit that we often try to coerce God into coming into line with our agendas? Dare we act in arrogance or selfishness? Dare we dismiss our sins as insignificant, remain unrepentant and yet demand justice and fairness from God?
How often are our complaints due to ignorance His word? Here is what Paul says to Timothy, “From infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”3 From infancy! How little regard there is for this truth today. The Bible is treated like an obsolete resource that parents can refer their children to when and if they show interest at some point, rather than the very word of God. Still, where the Word is proclaimed, the Spirit works when and where He pleases. Repentance is initiated. Faith is created and the church is called into existence and enlarged.
When God begins something He promises the means to nourish and complete it. The great importance of infant baptism should be noted here. Baptism is a promise of grace and an actual means by which the Holy Spirit imparts forgiveness in Christ. There is no limit of age. An infant can hear the voice of God, just as it can hear-even before birth- the voice of its father or mother. Who are we to limit the work of the Holy Spirit on the heart, mind, and will of another? God’s work is often hidden to the naked eye, but in faith we trust His activity is taking place.
Trusting that God is both Creator and Redeemer gives us a very different perspective on reality. Our hope doesn’t rest in humanity, but in the hands of Him who was cradled in a manger and had His arms stretched out on a cross. Jesus forgives our sins. He reconciles us to the Father by giving His own life. He resolves the crises of mankind. He finally subdues all forces of evil. He banishes all falsehood, Satan, and hell. He declares sinners to be righteous. Our hope doesn’t lie in scientific solutions. Our reconciliation isn’t in human ingenuity or our justice in perfect government. Christ is Saviour and Lord.
That doesn’t mean the Bible ever calls on us to be naïve or gullible optimists. We don’t throw caution to the wind. Salvation is not a given. It is a gift. Knowledge of who we are and what we are capable of –that is, our capacity for evil- drives our need for God. To know yourself is to know you need forgiveness. This reality never changes while you draw life and breath. We are baptized and so live in repentance. In Christ we are secure but never resting on our laurels. We can be content but never lax. St. Peter says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful.”4 Our eternal well-being is hardly a trivial or light-hearted matter. But this never excludes joy, hope, and peace. The Holy Spirit lifts the heaviest loads off the most burdened consciences. He shines the light of Christ into the darkest of hearts.
These same truths are what we mirror to those outside the communion of saints. Our mission to the world should be marked with urgency, but not panic. We have a positive outlook, but not baseless giddiness; skepticism of human ability but confidence in divine truths. These truths teach us to sacrifice for the sake of the disadvantaged, especially spiritually, take risks for the unenlightened, and generally love our neighbour.
Outcomes are left to God. But we have the joy of knowing the church is always growing because the number of those in heaven is never decreased. God prevails for His saints, in their midst and on their behalf. He does bring justice. None will finally oppose Him. Widows will be given a fair trial. The downtrodden will be lifted up. Those without a voice will be heard. Those in bondage will be set free. The crucified, risen and living Christ sees to these things. We look forward to the unhindered enjoyment of His victory as Jeremiah says today, “The time is coming…I will put My law in their minds and write it on their heart…no longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest.”5 Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost
17 October 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 18:7-8
2 Isaiah 59:1-2
3 2 Timothy 3:15
4 1 Peter 5:8
5 Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34
Monday, October 11, 2010
Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost C
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 17:17
Theme: All Were Cleansed
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The one leper who returned was a Samaritan. This was significant. Jesus’ reference to him as a ‘foreigner’ allows us to infer that the other nine were Jewish. Why had they not returned to thank Jesus? Was this not another example in the long history of the people of Judah and Jerusalem rejecting the prophets sent to them? Was it a preview of the coming renunciation of Him at His suffering and crucifixion? The consequences of such rejection are no different today. Christ says, “Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me before men, I will disown him before My Father in heaven.”1
Jesus’ habit of holding up Samaritans as good spiritual examples was insulting to the Jews. It probably seemed insensitive and unnecessary to many. But this served to make Jesus’ teaching all the more effective. The Jews could be called to repentance at the same time Gentiles were assured they too could be included in the kingdom. There is no ancestry, bloodline, class or status that either assures or prevents membership in the kingdom. The law condemns all. Grace opens heaven’s gates without prejudice.
All ten lepers were cleansed, but were all saved? They were healed in body, but were they restored in soul? Only God can judge. Part of spiritual wisdom is having the humility to “get the log out of our own eye”2, and the maturity to endorse God’s forgiveness to others. This is not easy. We live in community with other believers. Like us, they are sinners. Jesus explained that important petition in the Lord’s Prayer in this way, “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”3 Can we condemn those whom Christ has forgiven? Can we enslave those whom Christ has freed? Can we snub those whom Christ has welcomed? Is our sense of justice and satisfaction more holy than God’s? Are our standards more rigorous than His? Can our need for revenge take higher priority than His declaration of absolution?
We are told today that the leper who retuned was made well by his faith4. Only he had the appropriate response to Jesus; humility, worship, thanksgiving. These are marks of the Holy Spirit’s activity. Faith is always a ‘receiver’ of God’s gifts. Faith is never a negotiating strategy. No one is owed anything from God because they have faith in Him. Faith itself is a gift from Him. And remember, our trust in God is not predicated on what benefits we think He can offer us- even if these are eternal blessings. Least of all can we bargain with God hoping to gain certain advantages after vowing specific acts of charity or obedience. We believe in God because His promises are true and Christ is truth. Everything is sorted out on that basis.
When things are going smoothly in life it’s easy to accept these propositions. When we’re healthy, happy and prosperous, free from crisis or trauma we readily tolerate the favour of God. When there is no opposition to our Christian belief or no conflict raised by living the same we might be quick to think God is rewarding our piety. Or we may wrongly assume life is naturally meant to be trouble-free and that our sanctification is facilitated effortlessly.
But, in fact, the reality is otherwise. Life is plagued with misery and we are often surprised with hardship or sorrow. God allows or even sends to us difficulties and sorrows? There is no way to gloss-over or excuse this truth. How then, can this be a basis for faith? How can we judge or measure God’s intentions? It’s unhelpful and dangerous to speculate beyond what the Scriptures reveal to us.
Evil often seems to come as a random succession of disparate events. An accident occurs, a job is lost, a crime is committed, a sickness is diagnosed- all in close proximity. Yet Satan always works to unite these in purpose and goal. He tries to wear us down. What the secular world may call a string of bad luck is in fact, a highly coordinated effort. But God is at work here too. The question is in what way? The specifics are beyond our perception. We can’t know the hidden mind of God. But the purpose is not in doubt. God persistently seeks to crucify our sinful nature, curb our self-centredness, conform us to Christ, and cultivate genuine thankfulness. Someone once said, “In adversity we usually want God to do a removing job when He wants to do an improving job. To realize the worth of the anchor, we need to feel the storm.”
Our focus is so often misplaced. We fret and worry about so many things. Is my faith strong enough? Am I good enough for God? Will my health ever be restored? Will my relationships ever be mended? Will I get through this grief? How do I measure up in the eyes of others? These are not unimportant concerns. But they are not resolved by any abilities that we have or can acquire. Remember the mustard seed. If what Christ has done isn’t true than none of that matters anyway. If Christ’s death was not an atonement for sins than all other concerns are trivial by comparison. The apostle Paul says it clearly, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”5
The question is not so much “What can God do for me?” But “Can you not see what God has already done!” His blessings are not haphazardly dispensed in some random or un-unified way. God is not reactive. He is neither like a primed emergency services authority poised to respond to the next disaster, nor like a harried Father scrambling to find ways to help His wayward or endangered children. He who creates and He who redeems and He who blesses and restores does so according to His unchanging nature revealed in Christ.
God doesn’t trail human history. He designs, authorizes, and executes it. Even Satan’s powers are in subjection. As such, existence flows from and returns to the source He designates. The love of God is on display on the cross. There exposed publicly for the world to witness is the deep and mysterious compassion of the Almighty. There His power is hidden in weakness and His authority is veiled in helplessness. There the heavenly and just wrath is absorbed by the sacrifice of the Messiah’s own blood. There Satan meets his doom. There the Son of God dies for the children of men. There life prevails; for lepers, thankful or ungrateful- for us.
And God is pleased through seemingly ordinary means to promise extraordinary things.
Your baptism isn’t a past or temporary event, but a present reality. It not only ties you into the historical reality of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but makes you a participant in the eternal kingdom. Holy Communion is more a participation in a future feast than it is in a perishable meal whose vitality soon expires. The words of Scripture, the words of the Spirit, are not provisional human words, but the voice of God. These are all previews of things to come. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost
10 October 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 10:32-33
2 See Matthew 7:5
3 Matthew 6:14-15
4 See Luke 17:19
5 1 Corinthians 15:17
Text: Luke 17:17
Theme: All Were Cleansed
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The one leper who returned was a Samaritan. This was significant. Jesus’ reference to him as a ‘foreigner’ allows us to infer that the other nine were Jewish. Why had they not returned to thank Jesus? Was this not another example in the long history of the people of Judah and Jerusalem rejecting the prophets sent to them? Was it a preview of the coming renunciation of Him at His suffering and crucifixion? The consequences of such rejection are no different today. Christ says, “Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me before men, I will disown him before My Father in heaven.”1
Jesus’ habit of holding up Samaritans as good spiritual examples was insulting to the Jews. It probably seemed insensitive and unnecessary to many. But this served to make Jesus’ teaching all the more effective. The Jews could be called to repentance at the same time Gentiles were assured they too could be included in the kingdom. There is no ancestry, bloodline, class or status that either assures or prevents membership in the kingdom. The law condemns all. Grace opens heaven’s gates without prejudice.
All ten lepers were cleansed, but were all saved? They were healed in body, but were they restored in soul? Only God can judge. Part of spiritual wisdom is having the humility to “get the log out of our own eye”2, and the maturity to endorse God’s forgiveness to others. This is not easy. We live in community with other believers. Like us, they are sinners. Jesus explained that important petition in the Lord’s Prayer in this way, “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”3 Can we condemn those whom Christ has forgiven? Can we enslave those whom Christ has freed? Can we snub those whom Christ has welcomed? Is our sense of justice and satisfaction more holy than God’s? Are our standards more rigorous than His? Can our need for revenge take higher priority than His declaration of absolution?
We are told today that the leper who retuned was made well by his faith4. Only he had the appropriate response to Jesus; humility, worship, thanksgiving. These are marks of the Holy Spirit’s activity. Faith is always a ‘receiver’ of God’s gifts. Faith is never a negotiating strategy. No one is owed anything from God because they have faith in Him. Faith itself is a gift from Him. And remember, our trust in God is not predicated on what benefits we think He can offer us- even if these are eternal blessings. Least of all can we bargain with God hoping to gain certain advantages after vowing specific acts of charity or obedience. We believe in God because His promises are true and Christ is truth. Everything is sorted out on that basis.
When things are going smoothly in life it’s easy to accept these propositions. When we’re healthy, happy and prosperous, free from crisis or trauma we readily tolerate the favour of God. When there is no opposition to our Christian belief or no conflict raised by living the same we might be quick to think God is rewarding our piety. Or we may wrongly assume life is naturally meant to be trouble-free and that our sanctification is facilitated effortlessly.
But, in fact, the reality is otherwise. Life is plagued with misery and we are often surprised with hardship or sorrow. God allows or even sends to us difficulties and sorrows? There is no way to gloss-over or excuse this truth. How then, can this be a basis for faith? How can we judge or measure God’s intentions? It’s unhelpful and dangerous to speculate beyond what the Scriptures reveal to us.
Evil often seems to come as a random succession of disparate events. An accident occurs, a job is lost, a crime is committed, a sickness is diagnosed- all in close proximity. Yet Satan always works to unite these in purpose and goal. He tries to wear us down. What the secular world may call a string of bad luck is in fact, a highly coordinated effort. But God is at work here too. The question is in what way? The specifics are beyond our perception. We can’t know the hidden mind of God. But the purpose is not in doubt. God persistently seeks to crucify our sinful nature, curb our self-centredness, conform us to Christ, and cultivate genuine thankfulness. Someone once said, “In adversity we usually want God to do a removing job when He wants to do an improving job. To realize the worth of the anchor, we need to feel the storm.”
Our focus is so often misplaced. We fret and worry about so many things. Is my faith strong enough? Am I good enough for God? Will my health ever be restored? Will my relationships ever be mended? Will I get through this grief? How do I measure up in the eyes of others? These are not unimportant concerns. But they are not resolved by any abilities that we have or can acquire. Remember the mustard seed. If what Christ has done isn’t true than none of that matters anyway. If Christ’s death was not an atonement for sins than all other concerns are trivial by comparison. The apostle Paul says it clearly, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”5
The question is not so much “What can God do for me?” But “Can you not see what God has already done!” His blessings are not haphazardly dispensed in some random or un-unified way. God is not reactive. He is neither like a primed emergency services authority poised to respond to the next disaster, nor like a harried Father scrambling to find ways to help His wayward or endangered children. He who creates and He who redeems and He who blesses and restores does so according to His unchanging nature revealed in Christ.
God doesn’t trail human history. He designs, authorizes, and executes it. Even Satan’s powers are in subjection. As such, existence flows from and returns to the source He designates. The love of God is on display on the cross. There exposed publicly for the world to witness is the deep and mysterious compassion of the Almighty. There His power is hidden in weakness and His authority is veiled in helplessness. There the heavenly and just wrath is absorbed by the sacrifice of the Messiah’s own blood. There Satan meets his doom. There the Son of God dies for the children of men. There life prevails; for lepers, thankful or ungrateful- for us.
And God is pleased through seemingly ordinary means to promise extraordinary things.
Your baptism isn’t a past or temporary event, but a present reality. It not only ties you into the historical reality of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but makes you a participant in the eternal kingdom. Holy Communion is more a participation in a future feast than it is in a perishable meal whose vitality soon expires. The words of Scripture, the words of the Spirit, are not provisional human words, but the voice of God. These are all previews of things to come. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost
10 October 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 10:32-33
2 See Matthew 7:5
3 Matthew 6:14-15
4 See Luke 17:19
5 1 Corinthians 15:17
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