+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti Amen +
Text: John 13:1
Theme: The End and Beginning of Love
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The love of Christ is never deficient. Heavy in heart, tired in body and burdened in spirit, Jesus gathered His fledgling band of disciples to entrust them with the most sacred gift the church possesses. On the eve of His sacrificial death He instituted the sacrament of life. He celebrated with them the final Passover meal. No longer would they wait for God’s redemption. It had arrived. They would be the first to partake of this blessed meal that the church enjoys to the end of time.
Why did God choose bread and wine? Bread was essential to maintain life. Wine helped to make life palatable. Bread was critical for survival, wine was useful for celebration. After disembarking from the ark Noah planted a vineyard. Unfortunately he also overindulged. All things- godly things, that is- in moderation. Bread and wine were always at the heart of the Passover meal. Manna bread was supplied by God for the Israelites during their journey in the wilderness. It was provisional food until they reached the Promised Land. Now the true spiritual food was given by Jesus.
“What is the benefit of this eating and drinking? These words, ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,’ show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.”1 The Lord’s Supper is a perpetual, life-sustaining, soul-nurturing gift to the church. It establishes the consciences of the faithful in the certainty that Christ is among us. At His ascension Christ entered fully into the sacramental life of the church. When we avail ourselves of this sacred blessing we are participating in the life of the triune God through the only Man who is God.
This participation is only possible because Christ removes the offence of sin for the believer. Evil and unbelief cannot coexist peacefully in the presence of the Holy One. Some people believe they can avoid facing the guilt of sin. But that is only a temporary situation. All will be present at the Last Judgment. Attendance is compulsory. There will be no apologies. To believe otherwise is to live in a dangerous deception. Yet there are many who still believe they are masters of their own destiny. God alone can break through such idolatry. Only the Holy Spirit can correct the falsehoods of the spirit of the age.
Has the food of the church gotten stale? Is the heavenly banquet out of date? Are so many souls so gorged with the delicacies of the world that there is no appetite for the meal of immortality? Have spiritual taste buds become dulled? These questions have obvious, but not simple answers. Fewer people are at the dinner table because they don’t see the value of being part of the family at all. Often the reason given is there are more important things to do.
What makes God’s truth, His promises and His presence relevant and important? The cry for relevance must be framed in a way that reveals selfish ulterior motives. Invalid assumptions must be deconstructed. Prerequisites and preconditions that censure God must be named for what they are- idolatry. The will of God is always relevant. It is not, however, pliable. It is not subject to human consensus and manipulation. Holy Week brings us face to face with these questions.
The timid conscience sometimes shies away from approaching the altar. The devil would have us to believe that some measure of holiness is necessary first. His temptations are sinister. Repentant souls should rush to the rail like lovers rushing to embrace after a long absence apart. To be sure, the self-righteous and unrepentant will only bring judgment on themselves and should refrain. So too, those who do not hold the public teaching of the church where the sacrament is offered. A false motive is not hidden from the Lord and neither can a hardened heart be concealed from the Spirit.
But Holy Communion is the best antidote for a struggling faith. Baptism washes sins away. Communion poisons them. The pure blood of Christ is a potent remedy to sin’s ailment. His body is the food of immortality. The Israelites gained access to the presence of God through the sacrificial blood. Not even the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies without the blood of atonement. But now the baptized receive the blood of Christ Himself. His blood justifies us before God and empowers us to love one another. The Christian community is a forgiven fellowship. Its members do not seek honour for themselves but the well-being of others. Christ modeled that in the Upper Room.
The disciples were not sure how they would face tomorrow. What did Jesus say to them? “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth.”2. He said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”3 How will you face tomorrow? You will have the sacrament today. How will you handle the regrets of the past? You will receive the comfort of the present. How will the failures of yesterday be resolved? They will be relieved by the gifts of the present day. How will doubts about the future be laid to rest? They will be shouldered by Him who possesses eternity. You have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. You now receive Him as immortal food. The mountaintop is not reached without treading through the valleys. Christ has done that for us. He has passed through the valley of the shadow of death.4 He is our Light at the end of the tunnel. He lives! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
1 Luther’s Small Catechism
2 John 16:12-13
3John 14:18
4 See Psalm 23:4
Maundy Thursday
2 April 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
Friday, April 3, 2015
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Palm Sunday (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Mark 11:10
Theme: The Coming Kingdom
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The approach of God never goes unnoticed. Today He is met with heightened anticipation. Hosanna means “Lord, save!” It is a prayer of hope and an acclamation of truth. It is the mantra of Palm Sunday. Already by Jesus time it was an ancient utterance. It is a phrase weighted with such significance that the church chose to incorporate it into the song which accompanies our approach to the altar for Holy Communion, “Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”1
Today begins the holiest week of the year for Christians. Our Redeemer will be lifted upon a cross. He will succumb to death. His followers will teeter on the precipice of despair. But Easter will resurrect their shattered hopes. The decisiveness of the events before us can hardly be overstated. Without Good Friday the wrath of God remains unappeased. Without the resurrection the power of death remains unbroken. Without a living Saviour who bears the marks of sacrifice we would be only dying souls with no future beyond this present life.
But our God comes. Lacking the pomp and circumstance of a royal visitation the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem was the antithesis of worldly ceremony, outward similarities excepted. Cheering crowds welcomed Him. Palms were waved. Garments were strewn. Expectations were raised. Yet His retinue was hardly regal. His devotees included a core group of fisherman, a tax collector, a religious zealot, and a traitor. The donkey upon which He rode previewed the cross upon which He would be hung. A donkey was a beast of burden not a royal steed. Jerusalem was the venue for divine sacrifice. Pilate was soon to have a volatile situation on his hands.
The approach of God never goes unnoticed. His word exacts response. The arrogant mock it. The apathetic ignore it. The baptized cherish it. Christ came not with swords but with words. He came not to coerce but to convince. He came not to be served but to serve. He came not with ideas but with truth. His own followers harbored false aspirations about His kingdom.
Their deceived ambitions were quickly dashed. Their Messiah was arrested, sentenced to death, and hung on a cross like a common criminal. Their misplaced ideas are not unique. Do we too hold misinformed expectations about ultimate things? Sin is like an aggressive cancer that continually attacks our faith. We can never be comfortable with sin; never make peace with it.
The world forthrightly challenges our reason for joining this palm-wielding crowd; and along with it our repentance, our hope, our devotion, our anticipation. It seems to many people to be hopelessly out-of-step with the world’s agenda. Our world remains full of bloodshed and strife, violence and dissension. Ideological clashes within society are fomenting unrest. Traditional values are being turned upside-down. Belief in universal truth continues to decline. A general increase in affluence has brought opportunity for indulgence but not more meaning to life. Relationships are fractured, children are left vulnerable; families are often in disarray. Lives remain broken. We seem to have more opportunities available to us than ever before but less stability. It would seem to be a big leap to believe that all of these crises can be brought to justice and healing, wholeness and resolution by this one man who was hung upon a cross. It seems out-of-sync to raise our voices and say, “Hosanna! Blessed in He who comes in the name of the Lord…hosanna in the highest!”2
But the approach of God always elicits response. The response of faith must part ways with the response of unbelief. The mission field is at our doorstep. People are looking for answers. They are seeking help. Society is witnessing a resurgence of interest in mediators. Palm-readers, fortune-tellers, channeling mediums, wiccan priestesses; all enjoy renewed attention from those looking for contact with the supernatural. We can only help if we are wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Dabbling in the demonic is not an innocuous activity. It opens people to spiritual attack. It desensitizes people to the power of evil. Satan is masterful at giving the outward appearance that everything is being held together while inwardly there is chaos and pain. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for being nicely decorated tombs but on the inside full of death.
But we have the Lord of life! Born in Bethlehem, protected in Egypt, raised in Nazareth, crucified in Jerusalem, ascended from Bethany, and enthroned in the heavenly Jerusalem this Saviour also dwells in the heart of every believer regardless of time or place.
“He was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures.”3 These words ground the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ in the context of history. The foundations of Christian truth are not based on unverifiable claims of cult leaders or the untenable ideals of humanistic philosophers. Christian teaching is based on plain, historical fact; truth which transformed the world. The historical circumstances themselves do not command peoples’ devotion. Christians are not materialists. That is, we believe there is more to reality than meets the eye; more than we can measure with our senses or comprehend with our intellect. Yet through these events -which crescendo to a climax with the cross and resurrection- the Holy Spirit incorporates believers into the life of God.
It seems remarkable that the crowds who welcomed Jesus with shouts of hosanna on Palm Sunday could so quickly be shouting “Crucify Him!”4 by Good Friday. Exactly which people were involved we don’t know. Clearly there was widespread and acute disillusionment. Many were misguided in their expectations of the Messiah. People are fickle by nature. They are easily turned away from defending the truth and we are no different. We may even boldly stand up with Peter and say to the Lord, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown you.”5 It was easy to do when Peter believed Christ would squash all worldly resistance with His power. When suffering was involved it was another matter altogether. Are we willing to conform our lives to the ways of honesty and integrity in the face of pressure in society, at work, in school, and even within the family? Are we willing to defend the name of Christ and the teachings of the Christian faith when ridiculed or challenged?
Dear friends, the only unassailable source of strength for you is found in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His sacrificial death was the darkest tragedy ever witnessed, but also the power of salvation. The crucifixion is the basis on which the Holy Spirit converts unbelieving hearts. The crucifixion is the reason baptismal water is effective. The crucifixion is the source of the forgiveness offered in the bread and wine of Holy Communion. The crucifixion is the power by which our sinful desires are put to death and our lives are sanctified. The Spirit says, “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”6
The Messiah comes for you. You are not saved because you know or are related to someone who believes. You are not nourished by watching someone else eat. Your God comes to you. He is with you in the presence of the Spirit. He is for you in the promise of forgiveness. He is in you in the power of the sacrament. In Christ the kingdom of God has come. You are a citizen of that kingdom. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Palm Sunday
29 March, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 LH, p. 16, from the sanctus
2 Mark 11:9-10
3 Nicene Creed
4 Mark 15:14
5Matthew 26:35
6Romans 6:6
Text: Mark 11:10
Theme: The Coming Kingdom
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The approach of God never goes unnoticed. Today He is met with heightened anticipation. Hosanna means “Lord, save!” It is a prayer of hope and an acclamation of truth. It is the mantra of Palm Sunday. Already by Jesus time it was an ancient utterance. It is a phrase weighted with such significance that the church chose to incorporate it into the song which accompanies our approach to the altar for Holy Communion, “Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”1
Today begins the holiest week of the year for Christians. Our Redeemer will be lifted upon a cross. He will succumb to death. His followers will teeter on the precipice of despair. But Easter will resurrect their shattered hopes. The decisiveness of the events before us can hardly be overstated. Without Good Friday the wrath of God remains unappeased. Without the resurrection the power of death remains unbroken. Without a living Saviour who bears the marks of sacrifice we would be only dying souls with no future beyond this present life.
But our God comes. Lacking the pomp and circumstance of a royal visitation the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem was the antithesis of worldly ceremony, outward similarities excepted. Cheering crowds welcomed Him. Palms were waved. Garments were strewn. Expectations were raised. Yet His retinue was hardly regal. His devotees included a core group of fisherman, a tax collector, a religious zealot, and a traitor. The donkey upon which He rode previewed the cross upon which He would be hung. A donkey was a beast of burden not a royal steed. Jerusalem was the venue for divine sacrifice. Pilate was soon to have a volatile situation on his hands.
The approach of God never goes unnoticed. His word exacts response. The arrogant mock it. The apathetic ignore it. The baptized cherish it. Christ came not with swords but with words. He came not to coerce but to convince. He came not to be served but to serve. He came not with ideas but with truth. His own followers harbored false aspirations about His kingdom.
Their deceived ambitions were quickly dashed. Their Messiah was arrested, sentenced to death, and hung on a cross like a common criminal. Their misplaced ideas are not unique. Do we too hold misinformed expectations about ultimate things? Sin is like an aggressive cancer that continually attacks our faith. We can never be comfortable with sin; never make peace with it.
The world forthrightly challenges our reason for joining this palm-wielding crowd; and along with it our repentance, our hope, our devotion, our anticipation. It seems to many people to be hopelessly out-of-step with the world’s agenda. Our world remains full of bloodshed and strife, violence and dissension. Ideological clashes within society are fomenting unrest. Traditional values are being turned upside-down. Belief in universal truth continues to decline. A general increase in affluence has brought opportunity for indulgence but not more meaning to life. Relationships are fractured, children are left vulnerable; families are often in disarray. Lives remain broken. We seem to have more opportunities available to us than ever before but less stability. It would seem to be a big leap to believe that all of these crises can be brought to justice and healing, wholeness and resolution by this one man who was hung upon a cross. It seems out-of-sync to raise our voices and say, “Hosanna! Blessed in He who comes in the name of the Lord…hosanna in the highest!”2
But the approach of God always elicits response. The response of faith must part ways with the response of unbelief. The mission field is at our doorstep. People are looking for answers. They are seeking help. Society is witnessing a resurgence of interest in mediators. Palm-readers, fortune-tellers, channeling mediums, wiccan priestesses; all enjoy renewed attention from those looking for contact with the supernatural. We can only help if we are wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Dabbling in the demonic is not an innocuous activity. It opens people to spiritual attack. It desensitizes people to the power of evil. Satan is masterful at giving the outward appearance that everything is being held together while inwardly there is chaos and pain. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for being nicely decorated tombs but on the inside full of death.
But we have the Lord of life! Born in Bethlehem, protected in Egypt, raised in Nazareth, crucified in Jerusalem, ascended from Bethany, and enthroned in the heavenly Jerusalem this Saviour also dwells in the heart of every believer regardless of time or place.
“He was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures.”3 These words ground the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ in the context of history. The foundations of Christian truth are not based on unverifiable claims of cult leaders or the untenable ideals of humanistic philosophers. Christian teaching is based on plain, historical fact; truth which transformed the world. The historical circumstances themselves do not command peoples’ devotion. Christians are not materialists. That is, we believe there is more to reality than meets the eye; more than we can measure with our senses or comprehend with our intellect. Yet through these events -which crescendo to a climax with the cross and resurrection- the Holy Spirit incorporates believers into the life of God.
It seems remarkable that the crowds who welcomed Jesus with shouts of hosanna on Palm Sunday could so quickly be shouting “Crucify Him!”4 by Good Friday. Exactly which people were involved we don’t know. Clearly there was widespread and acute disillusionment. Many were misguided in their expectations of the Messiah. People are fickle by nature. They are easily turned away from defending the truth and we are no different. We may even boldly stand up with Peter and say to the Lord, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown you.”5 It was easy to do when Peter believed Christ would squash all worldly resistance with His power. When suffering was involved it was another matter altogether. Are we willing to conform our lives to the ways of honesty and integrity in the face of pressure in society, at work, in school, and even within the family? Are we willing to defend the name of Christ and the teachings of the Christian faith when ridiculed or challenged?
Dear friends, the only unassailable source of strength for you is found in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His sacrificial death was the darkest tragedy ever witnessed, but also the power of salvation. The crucifixion is the basis on which the Holy Spirit converts unbelieving hearts. The crucifixion is the reason baptismal water is effective. The crucifixion is the source of the forgiveness offered in the bread and wine of Holy Communion. The crucifixion is the power by which our sinful desires are put to death and our lives are sanctified. The Spirit says, “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”6
The Messiah comes for you. You are not saved because you know or are related to someone who believes. You are not nourished by watching someone else eat. Your God comes to you. He is with you in the presence of the Spirit. He is for you in the promise of forgiveness. He is in you in the power of the sacrament. In Christ the kingdom of God has come. You are a citizen of that kingdom. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Palm Sunday
29 March, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 LH, p. 16, from the sanctus
2 Mark 11:9-10
3 Nicene Creed
4 Mark 15:14
5Matthew 26:35
6Romans 6:6
Monday, March 23, 2015
Fifth Sunday In Lent (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 12:21
Theme: Consulting the Source
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
“Go to the source.” Have you ever given or received that advice? If you have, it’s good advice. It’s biblical advice. It’s the best way to find out the truth. Second-hand information is only as reliable as the messenger and people can be very unreliable. Strained relationships are especially vulnerable to hearsay. When speculation and uncertainty, gossip and even slander threaten to cause undo harm or needless offence we are wise to get our information from the source. Often it doesn’t happen because of fear. Sometimes it seems to require too much effort. Not infrequently we may even be avoiding the truth. But truth is the only stable foundation.
Perhaps that was the motivation today for the Greeks who sought an audience with Christ? How important were these Greeks? Did they have some vested interest in finding out who Jesus was? They were obviously God-fearers, for they had come to worship at the Passover feast. Many times the crowds were pressing on Jesus and undoubtedly often demanded a hearing from Him. What made them different? The circumstances, though intriguing, are not essential. We’re not even told if Jesus actually met with them. Christ’s response is what is significant. It was an opportunity to reveal the source.
And what does He reveal? His impending death! And furthermore the Father from heaven speaks and validates His Son. Could there be a more foolish way to institute a kingdom than to die a humiliating death? Is this not the kind of “wisdom” that would have been ridiculed by the Greeks? Imagine the mental and spiritual strain Christ endured when facing the cross. In the Garden of Gethsemane “His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”1 Today He says, “Now My heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”2
Remember, dear friends, the Holy Spirit makes no effort to convince you of the logic of Jesus’ death. His goal is to teach you, that in spite of all the intellectual capacity you can muster to rationalize this event, that though contrary to your most refined sensibilities and counter to your innate sense of justice, the bloody sacrifice of this Man, who alone is God, was necessary to reconcile you to the Father. It was absolutely essential to rescue you from the power of sin and dominion of Satan. It was indispensable to prevent you from being consigned to the outer darkness where this is nothing but weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of Jesus are the only source of true joy and hope. Repentance has the death of Christ as both its source and its goal. Everything else in which you put your trust in is idolatry. Consider the true nature of sin. Facing our transgressions of God’s will and being held accountable is not matter of tidying up a spiritual balance sheet, keeping up a good outward image, or refraining from blatant sins such as theft, deceit, adultery, or greed. The core problem is that our natural inclinations are deeply offensive to God, hopelessly self-centred, and damaging to the well-being of others.
Therefore the cry of the penitent is invariable, “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” The specific content with which that plea is filled relates to the circumstances of the individual. It may relate more personally to you in the context of your struggle with greed, jealously, addiction, keeping up appearances or being troubled by doubt, confusion, depression, or despair. But the fundamental premise always remains unchanged: The creature is at the mercy of the Creator, the sheep are dependent on the Shepherd; the sinner is lost without the Saviour. Our dependency on Him is never misplaced.
This Fifth Sunday in Lent is also the Sunday of the Annunciation. The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would bear the Messiah. Dear friends, the words of the angel Gabriel spoken to Mary are true for you too. “The Lord is with you.”3 It’s not just that at Christmas He gets closer to the world. He becomes part of His creation. The first Adam was made of the dust and back to dust he doomed all humanity. The second Adam, the new Adam, was conceived in the flesh of the Virgin and in that flesh He has redeemed all humanity. Eve was the mother of all the living but she gave birth to those who would inherit death. Mary gave birth to the One who would die so we could inherit life. The vulnerable ChristChild, once protected in the sanctuary of Mary’s womb is now our fortress, our place of refuge from sin, death, and Satan’s power.
Zechariah spoke of these things. Here is his prophecy, “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because with have heard that God is with you.’”4 We have heard that God is with you. He is there, present among you, in the flesh. Pleas of yearning are heard. Cries of repentance are answered. Sin and darkness are scattered. We have heard that GOD IS WITH YOU. Does this sound familiar? Six hundred years later Matthew writes, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel”- which translated means “God with us.”5
The “one Jew” referred to by Zechariah is not Jesus. It is any believer in Jesus to whom an unbeliever, a doubter, a skeptic, a seeker comes to find contact with God. So convincing are the acts of God, so consoling are His promises, so respected are His people, His true remnant, that unbelievers are drawn to God through them. They have is word and where the word is the Holy Spirit is always in attendance. It is the source of forgiveness, salvation, and life.
Dear friends, in every way, by every means, we are directed to and connected with the source in our Christian life. The Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures to reveal Christ to us. Christ is our access to the Father. We are baptized into His family. We are fed at His table. His blood is not food for the anonymous masses; it is food for you the identified, called, and redeemed sinner- or it is no food at all. You are not nourished by watching someone else eat. You are not fed by merely recalling a historical event. You have the source. In Him you have life. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Fifth Sunday In Lent
The Annunciation
22 March, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 22:44
2 John 12:27-28
3 Luke 1:28
4 Zechariah 8:23
5Matthew 1:22-23
Text: John 12:21
Theme: Consulting the Source
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
“Go to the source.” Have you ever given or received that advice? If you have, it’s good advice. It’s biblical advice. It’s the best way to find out the truth. Second-hand information is only as reliable as the messenger and people can be very unreliable. Strained relationships are especially vulnerable to hearsay. When speculation and uncertainty, gossip and even slander threaten to cause undo harm or needless offence we are wise to get our information from the source. Often it doesn’t happen because of fear. Sometimes it seems to require too much effort. Not infrequently we may even be avoiding the truth. But truth is the only stable foundation.
Perhaps that was the motivation today for the Greeks who sought an audience with Christ? How important were these Greeks? Did they have some vested interest in finding out who Jesus was? They were obviously God-fearers, for they had come to worship at the Passover feast. Many times the crowds were pressing on Jesus and undoubtedly often demanded a hearing from Him. What made them different? The circumstances, though intriguing, are not essential. We’re not even told if Jesus actually met with them. Christ’s response is what is significant. It was an opportunity to reveal the source.
And what does He reveal? His impending death! And furthermore the Father from heaven speaks and validates His Son. Could there be a more foolish way to institute a kingdom than to die a humiliating death? Is this not the kind of “wisdom” that would have been ridiculed by the Greeks? Imagine the mental and spiritual strain Christ endured when facing the cross. In the Garden of Gethsemane “His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”1 Today He says, “Now My heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”2
Remember, dear friends, the Holy Spirit makes no effort to convince you of the logic of Jesus’ death. His goal is to teach you, that in spite of all the intellectual capacity you can muster to rationalize this event, that though contrary to your most refined sensibilities and counter to your innate sense of justice, the bloody sacrifice of this Man, who alone is God, was necessary to reconcile you to the Father. It was absolutely essential to rescue you from the power of sin and dominion of Satan. It was indispensable to prevent you from being consigned to the outer darkness where this is nothing but weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of Jesus are the only source of true joy and hope. Repentance has the death of Christ as both its source and its goal. Everything else in which you put your trust in is idolatry. Consider the true nature of sin. Facing our transgressions of God’s will and being held accountable is not matter of tidying up a spiritual balance sheet, keeping up a good outward image, or refraining from blatant sins such as theft, deceit, adultery, or greed. The core problem is that our natural inclinations are deeply offensive to God, hopelessly self-centred, and damaging to the well-being of others.
Therefore the cry of the penitent is invariable, “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” The specific content with which that plea is filled relates to the circumstances of the individual. It may relate more personally to you in the context of your struggle with greed, jealously, addiction, keeping up appearances or being troubled by doubt, confusion, depression, or despair. But the fundamental premise always remains unchanged: The creature is at the mercy of the Creator, the sheep are dependent on the Shepherd; the sinner is lost without the Saviour. Our dependency on Him is never misplaced.
This Fifth Sunday in Lent is also the Sunday of the Annunciation. The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would bear the Messiah. Dear friends, the words of the angel Gabriel spoken to Mary are true for you too. “The Lord is with you.”3 It’s not just that at Christmas He gets closer to the world. He becomes part of His creation. The first Adam was made of the dust and back to dust he doomed all humanity. The second Adam, the new Adam, was conceived in the flesh of the Virgin and in that flesh He has redeemed all humanity. Eve was the mother of all the living but she gave birth to those who would inherit death. Mary gave birth to the One who would die so we could inherit life. The vulnerable ChristChild, once protected in the sanctuary of Mary’s womb is now our fortress, our place of refuge from sin, death, and Satan’s power.
Zechariah spoke of these things. Here is his prophecy, “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because with have heard that God is with you.’”4 We have heard that God is with you. He is there, present among you, in the flesh. Pleas of yearning are heard. Cries of repentance are answered. Sin and darkness are scattered. We have heard that GOD IS WITH YOU. Does this sound familiar? Six hundred years later Matthew writes, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel”- which translated means “God with us.”5
The “one Jew” referred to by Zechariah is not Jesus. It is any believer in Jesus to whom an unbeliever, a doubter, a skeptic, a seeker comes to find contact with God. So convincing are the acts of God, so consoling are His promises, so respected are His people, His true remnant, that unbelievers are drawn to God through them. They have is word and where the word is the Holy Spirit is always in attendance. It is the source of forgiveness, salvation, and life.
Dear friends, in every way, by every means, we are directed to and connected with the source in our Christian life. The Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures to reveal Christ to us. Christ is our access to the Father. We are baptized into His family. We are fed at His table. His blood is not food for the anonymous masses; it is food for you the identified, called, and redeemed sinner- or it is no food at all. You are not nourished by watching someone else eat. You are not fed by merely recalling a historical event. You have the source. In Him you have life. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Fifth Sunday In Lent
The Annunciation
22 March, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 22:44
2 John 12:27-28
3 Luke 1:28
4 Zechariah 8:23
5Matthew 1:22-23
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Fourth Sunday In Lent (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 3:21
Theme: Into The Light
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
“God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,” with these words we confess the same truth with those who forged the Nicene Creed nearly 17 centuries ago concerning the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. We concur that Christ is Light out of Light1, the second Light referring to God the Father. Jesus possesses and participates in the same essential divinity as the Father. The allusion here is to a particular quality of that divinity denoted as light. Now lest we think this is much ado about nothing our gospel today instructs us otherwise. It says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”2 Light is required for vision. In Christ we see God, not with fleshly eyes, but through Spirit-given eyes of faith.
St Paul describes God as dwelling in unapproachable light.3 Human beings are not capable of peering into this light because it is qualitatively different than the created light to which we are accustomed. It is tied up with the magnificence of His glory. It is not proper for us to speculate about mysteries which are not yet disclosed to us so the question again follows: What benefit is there to linger longer on the topic except as a reference point to confess and give glory to God as we do in the Nicene Creed? Again, the reward is that Christ and His work are understood all the more clearly. God did not remain recessed in His own inaccessible light leaving us with only the fading light of the natural sun; rather, He clothed His own pure light in human flesh in the person of Jesus. Even as the Psalmist says, “He wraps Himself in light as with a garment.”4
Christ comes for a purpose and His work is twofold. Firstly, the Light exposes. Until this happens Jesus’ proper work of forgiveness and salvation comes to no effect. Christ came to a dark world. You know the darkness. It resonates with your natural self, your sinful nature, your devious spirit. You know what it means when your motives dart around in the shadows, when they look for concealment in the dark corners of your mind. You know when the darkness presses in, clouding your judgment and weighing on your conscience. The history of the darkness of sin is long and deep. How dark was the exit5 from the Garden of Eden for our first parents! How dark was the ninth plague on the Egyptians!6 How dark was the situation when Jesus said at the moment of His betrayal, “This is you hour-when darkness reigns.”7 How dark is the sinner who thinks they need no forgiveness from God!
Lest we think we can present our dark deeds as products of the light- and we are indeed led to such deception because the world fortifies us in such audacity- the holy law of God emphatically exposes our hypocrisy and deception. He says through Isaiah, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.”8
Our sins, you see, can never be cast in a good light, or in better light. Lent does not fit us with rose-coloured glasses. The Scriptures do not give us circus mirrors with which to view ourselves. Even if celebrated by the world our sins are condemned by Him who judges it. Under the light of divine judgment there are no shadows. He bends the light to reveal every angle. He sees the tangled web of lies we weave, the labyrinth in which we conceal our motives; and the arrogance and jealousy which fuels our egos. He knows the anger that boils in our blood, the bitterness that festers in our hearts; the regrets that darken our souls. He sees our neglect of the Sabbath, our disregard for authority, and our mistreatment of our spouses- all for what they really are.
The Light exposes. The Light also reveals. That is Christ’s second, but primary and proper work. He reveals truth. On public display is the Messiah, the King of the Jews hanging there on the cross being sacrificed for the sins of the world. Hear again the Scriptures, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved- and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”9 “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”10
He is resurrected. He lives and so the light of Easter never fades. Jesus says today, “Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”11 Christians do not have a hidden agenda. We’re not part of a secret society. We unapologetically, but with gentleness and respect, endeavor to shine His light into the dark places of people’s lives.
In every way believers are connected to Christ. To only pretend so is to just play clever but dangerous spiritual games. Christ is the Shepherd, the Vine, the Head, the Cornerstone, the Bridegroom, the Light of the World. The Shepherd has sheep. The vine has branches. The Head has a body. The Cornerstone has a temple. The Bridegroom has a bride. The Light has objects which it illumines. Those descriptions all refer to you, His baptized. You have no other purpose than to reflect His light. You are baptized, forgiven, and fed with His body and blood to be strengthened for that very purpose.
Dear friends when the servant of God, the pastor, lifts up his hands and says, “The Lord make His face shine on you…”12 the Holy Spirit can through that divine promise rekindle tenuous faith, brighten darkened souls, and cheer the downcast in heart. All of the glitz and glimmer of the world, the very best human resourcefulness has to offer- the capability of medicine, the proficiency of technology, the competency of psychiatric and psychological expertise- is all utter darkness in the presence of Him who is Life and Light. You, dear friends, are not in darkness for Christ is the Light no darkness can overcome. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Fourth Sunday In Lent
15 March, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 φώς έκ φωτός, Light of Light, Greek
2 John 3:19
3 See 1 Timothy 6:16
4 Psalm 104:2
5See Genesis 3:23
6 See Exodus 10:21-23
7 Luke 22:53
8 Isaiah 5:20
9 Ephesians 2:4-6
10 John 3:16
11John 3:21
12Numbers 6:25
Text: John 3:21
Theme: Into The Light
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
“God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,” with these words we confess the same truth with those who forged the Nicene Creed nearly 17 centuries ago concerning the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. We concur that Christ is Light out of Light1, the second Light referring to God the Father. Jesus possesses and participates in the same essential divinity as the Father. The allusion here is to a particular quality of that divinity denoted as light. Now lest we think this is much ado about nothing our gospel today instructs us otherwise. It says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”2 Light is required for vision. In Christ we see God, not with fleshly eyes, but through Spirit-given eyes of faith.
St Paul describes God as dwelling in unapproachable light.3 Human beings are not capable of peering into this light because it is qualitatively different than the created light to which we are accustomed. It is tied up with the magnificence of His glory. It is not proper for us to speculate about mysteries which are not yet disclosed to us so the question again follows: What benefit is there to linger longer on the topic except as a reference point to confess and give glory to God as we do in the Nicene Creed? Again, the reward is that Christ and His work are understood all the more clearly. God did not remain recessed in His own inaccessible light leaving us with only the fading light of the natural sun; rather, He clothed His own pure light in human flesh in the person of Jesus. Even as the Psalmist says, “He wraps Himself in light as with a garment.”4
Christ comes for a purpose and His work is twofold. Firstly, the Light exposes. Until this happens Jesus’ proper work of forgiveness and salvation comes to no effect. Christ came to a dark world. You know the darkness. It resonates with your natural self, your sinful nature, your devious spirit. You know what it means when your motives dart around in the shadows, when they look for concealment in the dark corners of your mind. You know when the darkness presses in, clouding your judgment and weighing on your conscience. The history of the darkness of sin is long and deep. How dark was the exit5 from the Garden of Eden for our first parents! How dark was the ninth plague on the Egyptians!6 How dark was the situation when Jesus said at the moment of His betrayal, “This is you hour-when darkness reigns.”7 How dark is the sinner who thinks they need no forgiveness from God!
Lest we think we can present our dark deeds as products of the light- and we are indeed led to such deception because the world fortifies us in such audacity- the holy law of God emphatically exposes our hypocrisy and deception. He says through Isaiah, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.”8
Our sins, you see, can never be cast in a good light, or in better light. Lent does not fit us with rose-coloured glasses. The Scriptures do not give us circus mirrors with which to view ourselves. Even if celebrated by the world our sins are condemned by Him who judges it. Under the light of divine judgment there are no shadows. He bends the light to reveal every angle. He sees the tangled web of lies we weave, the labyrinth in which we conceal our motives; and the arrogance and jealousy which fuels our egos. He knows the anger that boils in our blood, the bitterness that festers in our hearts; the regrets that darken our souls. He sees our neglect of the Sabbath, our disregard for authority, and our mistreatment of our spouses- all for what they really are.
The Light exposes. The Light also reveals. That is Christ’s second, but primary and proper work. He reveals truth. On public display is the Messiah, the King of the Jews hanging there on the cross being sacrificed for the sins of the world. Hear again the Scriptures, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved- and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”9 “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”10
He is resurrected. He lives and so the light of Easter never fades. Jesus says today, “Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”11 Christians do not have a hidden agenda. We’re not part of a secret society. We unapologetically, but with gentleness and respect, endeavor to shine His light into the dark places of people’s lives.
In every way believers are connected to Christ. To only pretend so is to just play clever but dangerous spiritual games. Christ is the Shepherd, the Vine, the Head, the Cornerstone, the Bridegroom, the Light of the World. The Shepherd has sheep. The vine has branches. The Head has a body. The Cornerstone has a temple. The Bridegroom has a bride. The Light has objects which it illumines. Those descriptions all refer to you, His baptized. You have no other purpose than to reflect His light. You are baptized, forgiven, and fed with His body and blood to be strengthened for that very purpose.
Dear friends when the servant of God, the pastor, lifts up his hands and says, “The Lord make His face shine on you…”12 the Holy Spirit can through that divine promise rekindle tenuous faith, brighten darkened souls, and cheer the downcast in heart. All of the glitz and glimmer of the world, the very best human resourcefulness has to offer- the capability of medicine, the proficiency of technology, the competency of psychiatric and psychological expertise- is all utter darkness in the presence of Him who is Life and Light. You, dear friends, are not in darkness for Christ is the Light no darkness can overcome. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Fourth Sunday In Lent
15 March, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 φώς έκ φωτός, Light of Light, Greek
2 John 3:19
3 See 1 Timothy 6:16
4 Psalm 104:2
5See Genesis 3:23
6 See Exodus 10:21-23
7 Luke 22:53
8 Isaiah 5:20
9 Ephesians 2:4-6
10 John 3:16
11John 3:21
12Numbers 6:25
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Third Sunday In Lent (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 2:17
Theme: Zeal For God’s House
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God is patient. He is long-suffering even with the unbeliever. God wishes to spare people from the grief of openly sinning against others. He wishes to protect the most vulnerable from the exploits of the most powerful. The commandments serve to define, protect, and nurture the believer’s relationship with God and with other people. But they apply also to those who do not believe, warning believer and unbeliever alike that there are consequences for disregarding God’s will.
The law convicts the heart and threatens punishment. When Christians follow God’s commandments out of fear of punishment, shame, or consequences they are showing that their sinful nature has gotten the upper hand. The Old Adam must be repressed with threats. When, however, we follow His commands out of trust that they are for our well-being and the good of others, there evidence of faith. When God is taken at His word the commandments are already fulfilled; for Christ kept them perfectly. When the command of God is doubted or despised nothing is fulfilled; we have severed ourselves from Christ.
God’s love is fully known only in Christ. Jesus was a regular worshipper in the synagogue and frequent visitor to the temple. He did not invent a self-styled religion. He fulfilled the hope that had been promised to Adam and Eve, ratified by covenant with the patriarchs, and forecasted by the prophets. Today He exercised His moral authority by driving out of the temple courts those who were brazenly fleecing the worshippers at the temple. Not surprisingly, the religious leaders were not impressed. They challenged His authority.
Jesus was not obliged to cater to anyone’s demands or bow to anyone’s requests. The Jews were always seeking a sign from Him. The miracles He did perform they often denied or ignored. Still, some miracles were witnessed by so many people and were so irrefutable that the authorities had to deal with the consequences. In today’s response for a sign Christ said, “‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up’…He was speaking about the temple of His body.”1 An unmistakable prediction of His resurrection; it also connected Him with the temple. The place to find God was transitioning from a house of stone to a body of flesh- Jesus Himself.
People demanding evidence for Christianity must finally find it here. Jesus the Christ was laid in a tomb, death had taken Him. But death could not hold Him. On the morning after the Sabbath, He rose bodily from the grave and began to show Himself alive to His followers. Christ alone has power over death. Immortality resides in Him. Life emanates from Him. The Scripture says He “has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”2 The gospel is not answerable to human logic.
Human reason has its limits. We can paint God into a box and reflect happily on our achievement, but God’s not really in there. We’ve only deceived our own conscience. Let God be true and every man a liar3, the Bible says. Trying to decide on a case by case basis when to follows God’s wisdom compared to human wisdom is to chase diminishing returns. More importantly, it tears authority and truth away from God and locates them within human jurisdiction. The authority of the forgiveness of sins is not dependent on some human consensus of what is fair. The sins of repentant sinners are forgiven because God, in Christ, declares it to be so. You are forgiven, not because some criteria have been met by you, but because Christ hung from the cross.
Dear friends, Christ’s passion in cleansing the temple should remind us that we easily fall under Satan’s spell of lethargy. Spiritual numbness dampens our interest and appreciation of holy things. The Holy Spirit’s attentiveness to us counters the devil’s work. It is not without reason that we sing, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.”4
Well, aware that spiritual apathy is a perennial danger for Christians Luther constructed his final question for those preparing to take communion in as follows: “But what should you do if you are not aware of this need and have no hunger or thirst for the Sacrament? To such a person no better advice can be given than this: first, he should touch his body to see if he still has flesh and blood. Then he should believe what the Scriptures say of it in Galatians 5 and Romans 7. Second, he should look around to see whether he is still in the world, and remember that there will be no lack of sin and trouble, as the Scriptures say in John 15-16 and 1 John 2 and 5. Third, he will certainly have the devil also around him, who with his lying and murdering day and night will let him have no peace, with or without…”5
Note how tangible Luther’s advice is. If apathy has quenched your desire for Holy Communion he doesn’t recommend some highbrow spiritual meditation as an antidote. He says to pinch yourself to see if you’re still alive. He tells us to look around at the world and observe the sin and turmoil that is so prevalent. He tells us not to naively think that Satan is napping. All of his advice directs us to Scripture, apart from which we can have no certainty or any desire for God’s grace at all.
Time and wear begin to take their toll on our bodies and minds. In sickness or trauma our decay can accelerate. But the soul does not age. Your spirit is not liable to the effects of time. Rather, it is vulnerable to any and every temptation to doubt God’s word. The mature Christian can regress back to an adolescent and even an infantile faith when estranged from God’s means of grace even for a short period of time. Yet every time your soul receives the promise of forgiveness, the comfort of the Spirit, and the peace of Christ that anchors us even in the raging storms of life, you are refreshed with the vibrancy of the risen Saviour.
Christ was zealous for the Lord’s house. God is zealous for you. He is firm with the skeptical. He is gentle with the weak. He is unyielding with the schemer. He is full of cheer for the sorrowful. He is hope for those who are despairing. He is pure, unbounded, unconditional love for the sinner. He is never remiss, never inattentive. He is the Physician of the body and the anchor of the soul6. Christ cleared the temple with a whip of cords. He then cleared the debt of sin after the whip was put to His own back. God’s house still stands because He is its foundation, its head; its very life. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Third Sunday In Lent
8 March, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 2:19-21
2 2 Timothy 1:10
3 See Romans 3:4
4 LHS, p.13
5 Luther’s Small Catechism
6 See Hebrews 6:19
Text: John 2:17
Theme: Zeal For God’s House
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God is patient. He is long-suffering even with the unbeliever. God wishes to spare people from the grief of openly sinning against others. He wishes to protect the most vulnerable from the exploits of the most powerful. The commandments serve to define, protect, and nurture the believer’s relationship with God and with other people. But they apply also to those who do not believe, warning believer and unbeliever alike that there are consequences for disregarding God’s will.
The law convicts the heart and threatens punishment. When Christians follow God’s commandments out of fear of punishment, shame, or consequences they are showing that their sinful nature has gotten the upper hand. The Old Adam must be repressed with threats. When, however, we follow His commands out of trust that they are for our well-being and the good of others, there evidence of faith. When God is taken at His word the commandments are already fulfilled; for Christ kept them perfectly. When the command of God is doubted or despised nothing is fulfilled; we have severed ourselves from Christ.
God’s love is fully known only in Christ. Jesus was a regular worshipper in the synagogue and frequent visitor to the temple. He did not invent a self-styled religion. He fulfilled the hope that had been promised to Adam and Eve, ratified by covenant with the patriarchs, and forecasted by the prophets. Today He exercised His moral authority by driving out of the temple courts those who were brazenly fleecing the worshippers at the temple. Not surprisingly, the religious leaders were not impressed. They challenged His authority.
Jesus was not obliged to cater to anyone’s demands or bow to anyone’s requests. The Jews were always seeking a sign from Him. The miracles He did perform they often denied or ignored. Still, some miracles were witnessed by so many people and were so irrefutable that the authorities had to deal with the consequences. In today’s response for a sign Christ said, “‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up’…He was speaking about the temple of His body.”1 An unmistakable prediction of His resurrection; it also connected Him with the temple. The place to find God was transitioning from a house of stone to a body of flesh- Jesus Himself.
People demanding evidence for Christianity must finally find it here. Jesus the Christ was laid in a tomb, death had taken Him. But death could not hold Him. On the morning after the Sabbath, He rose bodily from the grave and began to show Himself alive to His followers. Christ alone has power over death. Immortality resides in Him. Life emanates from Him. The Scripture says He “has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”2 The gospel is not answerable to human logic.
Human reason has its limits. We can paint God into a box and reflect happily on our achievement, but God’s not really in there. We’ve only deceived our own conscience. Let God be true and every man a liar3, the Bible says. Trying to decide on a case by case basis when to follows God’s wisdom compared to human wisdom is to chase diminishing returns. More importantly, it tears authority and truth away from God and locates them within human jurisdiction. The authority of the forgiveness of sins is not dependent on some human consensus of what is fair. The sins of repentant sinners are forgiven because God, in Christ, declares it to be so. You are forgiven, not because some criteria have been met by you, but because Christ hung from the cross.
Dear friends, Christ’s passion in cleansing the temple should remind us that we easily fall under Satan’s spell of lethargy. Spiritual numbness dampens our interest and appreciation of holy things. The Holy Spirit’s attentiveness to us counters the devil’s work. It is not without reason that we sing, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.”4
Well, aware that spiritual apathy is a perennial danger for Christians Luther constructed his final question for those preparing to take communion in as follows: “But what should you do if you are not aware of this need and have no hunger or thirst for the Sacrament? To such a person no better advice can be given than this: first, he should touch his body to see if he still has flesh and blood. Then he should believe what the Scriptures say of it in Galatians 5 and Romans 7. Second, he should look around to see whether he is still in the world, and remember that there will be no lack of sin and trouble, as the Scriptures say in John 15-16 and 1 John 2 and 5. Third, he will certainly have the devil also around him, who with his lying and murdering day and night will let him have no peace, with or without…”5
Note how tangible Luther’s advice is. If apathy has quenched your desire for Holy Communion he doesn’t recommend some highbrow spiritual meditation as an antidote. He says to pinch yourself to see if you’re still alive. He tells us to look around at the world and observe the sin and turmoil that is so prevalent. He tells us not to naively think that Satan is napping. All of his advice directs us to Scripture, apart from which we can have no certainty or any desire for God’s grace at all.
Time and wear begin to take their toll on our bodies and minds. In sickness or trauma our decay can accelerate. But the soul does not age. Your spirit is not liable to the effects of time. Rather, it is vulnerable to any and every temptation to doubt God’s word. The mature Christian can regress back to an adolescent and even an infantile faith when estranged from God’s means of grace even for a short period of time. Yet every time your soul receives the promise of forgiveness, the comfort of the Spirit, and the peace of Christ that anchors us even in the raging storms of life, you are refreshed with the vibrancy of the risen Saviour.
Christ was zealous for the Lord’s house. God is zealous for you. He is firm with the skeptical. He is gentle with the weak. He is unyielding with the schemer. He is full of cheer for the sorrowful. He is hope for those who are despairing. He is pure, unbounded, unconditional love for the sinner. He is never remiss, never inattentive. He is the Physician of the body and the anchor of the soul6. Christ cleared the temple with a whip of cords. He then cleared the debt of sin after the whip was put to His own back. God’s house still stands because He is its foundation, its head; its very life. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Third Sunday In Lent
8 March, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 2:19-21
2 2 Timothy 1:10
3 See Romans 3:4
4 LHS, p.13
5 Luther’s Small Catechism
6 See Hebrews 6:19
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Second Sunday In Lent (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Mark 8:34-37
Theme: More Than The World
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Life is a gift. Therefore, we never possess it on our own terms. The whole of our journey in this time and space involves receiving from the Giver that we may be reshaped in the image of His Son, beginning in time; completed in eternity. Lent’s call to repentance consistently directs us back to the cross for the source of our spiritual life. A person can attempt to live before God without fear of judgment out of arrogance; that is the mark of unbelief. But to live before God without fear in faith is to do nothing else than live beneath the cross.
Living in this way does not come naturally. Consider today’s conversation between Jesus and Peter. Was not Saint Peter, eminent among the disciples, at this point in time, the example and advocate of a humanistic and skeptical understanding of Christ’s mission? Sacrifice was not in the cards; not sacrifice to the point of death. Peter saw his dreams of a restored Israel quickly unravelling. He saw his place of power vanishing. We can hardly imagine a sharper rebuke from the Lord. His apostle could have no misgivings about the necessity of the crucifixion. Even though the disciples’ eyes weren’t fully opened until Pentecost it was essential that Christ was clear about His intent. His rebuke is applicable to every individual of the human race. The Scripture says, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”1
The viability of religion in many people’s lives today depends on a combination of factors, including; personal convenience, relevance, felt needs, and flexibility in belief and lifestyle choices. People want their spiritual life to be meaningful, yet relatively effortless. They want to feel their needs are being met and that they are contributing to something important. But, generally, they don’t want to be held to any definitive beliefs nor have their lifestyles impinged upon by a greater authority. The Bible is often carefully employed to serve these expectations.
Even a cursory study of history shows the Bible has been used to support a wide diversity of philosophies and ideologies, theoretical and pragmatic, which are not consistent with the truth of Christianity. Such misuse has a long history testified to by St. Paul’s own defence when he said, “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity.”2 The contemporary pace of such misuse is perhaps as rapid as ever. Recent decades have seen people claim support in the Scriptures for things ranging from fatalism to feminism, abortion to homosexuality, universalism to pacifism, relativism to skepticism. Many claims are held in contradiction. When the Bible is made to say everything, in the end it often says nothing, at least not anything authoritative. That’s exactly the goal of some.
The pace of the secularization of our culture has increased. The luxury previous generations perhaps had in assuming that a Christian ethos and foundation was widely understood and accepted in society is quickly vanishing. Apathy about Christian truth is commonplace. But faith in Jesus Christ is not like claiming allegiance to a political party or other organizations whose agenda you support. It involves a holistic embrace of God’s will for us in Christ. Eternal things are at stake. “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of Me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes again in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”3
There could be no compromise between Christ and Peter at this pivotal juncture. Peter’s position was satanic. There is no getting around the fact that the biblical teaching on salvation is exclusive. Redemption is unapologetically unilateral. There is no possibility of cooperative effort, no room to incorporate supplementary strategies. Christ alone is the Light, the Door, the Shepherd, the way and the truth and the life. More explicitly, His death alone was the ransom price for all held captive by sin’s power. Believers are freed and forgiven because Christ allowed Himself to receive the punishment due from the Father’s wrath against sin. The Scripture says, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!”4
The truth of Christ is like an anvil. On it are crushed all human opinions and efforts that conflict with God’s will. Christ interprets the Psalm about Himself saying, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”5 On it is crushed the will and power of Satan. On it is hammered out the punishment for our sins. On Christ, the Rock, the church has an unshakeable foundation.
Lent is always a foreshadowing of coming blessings. Lent is a time to take leave of the past, those sins and attitudes which drag us down and haunt us. Today Both Abram and Sarai had their names changed. The new reality was resonant with the fulfillment of God’s promise to them. The struggles of the past were behind them. In faith they already looked forward to the coming of God’s Son. We are the spiritual children Abraham. Note what the Scripture says, “The words ‘it was credited to him’ were not written for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness- for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”6
These are not pious but immaterial wishes. The Holy Spirit makes this divine act of love relevant to the individual. To really trust that the Father loves us unconditionally through the Son requires the Spirit’s power. It is too much for us to handle. Faith is a gift. Just as we cannot sustain our physical lives without outside support- the daily nutrition we must have- so too, we cannot sustain our spiritual lives without the continual nourishment of His grace. We are brought to life through the Holy Spirit’s work in baptism and nurtured with a steady diet of the word of forgiveness and the bread and wine of the altar. These gifts are of greater worth than all the world’s riches. There is nothing we can give in exchange for the soul. But Christ gave everything. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Second Sunday In Lent
1 March, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 1 Corinthians 1:18
2 2 Corinthians 2:17
3 Mark 8:36-38
4 Romans 5:8-9
5 Luke 20:17-18
6 Romans 4:24-25
Text: Mark 8:34-37
Theme: More Than The World
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Life is a gift. Therefore, we never possess it on our own terms. The whole of our journey in this time and space involves receiving from the Giver that we may be reshaped in the image of His Son, beginning in time; completed in eternity. Lent’s call to repentance consistently directs us back to the cross for the source of our spiritual life. A person can attempt to live before God without fear of judgment out of arrogance; that is the mark of unbelief. But to live before God without fear in faith is to do nothing else than live beneath the cross.
Living in this way does not come naturally. Consider today’s conversation between Jesus and Peter. Was not Saint Peter, eminent among the disciples, at this point in time, the example and advocate of a humanistic and skeptical understanding of Christ’s mission? Sacrifice was not in the cards; not sacrifice to the point of death. Peter saw his dreams of a restored Israel quickly unravelling. He saw his place of power vanishing. We can hardly imagine a sharper rebuke from the Lord. His apostle could have no misgivings about the necessity of the crucifixion. Even though the disciples’ eyes weren’t fully opened until Pentecost it was essential that Christ was clear about His intent. His rebuke is applicable to every individual of the human race. The Scripture says, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”1
The viability of religion in many people’s lives today depends on a combination of factors, including; personal convenience, relevance, felt needs, and flexibility in belief and lifestyle choices. People want their spiritual life to be meaningful, yet relatively effortless. They want to feel their needs are being met and that they are contributing to something important. But, generally, they don’t want to be held to any definitive beliefs nor have their lifestyles impinged upon by a greater authority. The Bible is often carefully employed to serve these expectations.
Even a cursory study of history shows the Bible has been used to support a wide diversity of philosophies and ideologies, theoretical and pragmatic, which are not consistent with the truth of Christianity. Such misuse has a long history testified to by St. Paul’s own defence when he said, “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity.”2 The contemporary pace of such misuse is perhaps as rapid as ever. Recent decades have seen people claim support in the Scriptures for things ranging from fatalism to feminism, abortion to homosexuality, universalism to pacifism, relativism to skepticism. Many claims are held in contradiction. When the Bible is made to say everything, in the end it often says nothing, at least not anything authoritative. That’s exactly the goal of some.
The pace of the secularization of our culture has increased. The luxury previous generations perhaps had in assuming that a Christian ethos and foundation was widely understood and accepted in society is quickly vanishing. Apathy about Christian truth is commonplace. But faith in Jesus Christ is not like claiming allegiance to a political party or other organizations whose agenda you support. It involves a holistic embrace of God’s will for us in Christ. Eternal things are at stake. “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of Me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes again in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”3
There could be no compromise between Christ and Peter at this pivotal juncture. Peter’s position was satanic. There is no getting around the fact that the biblical teaching on salvation is exclusive. Redemption is unapologetically unilateral. There is no possibility of cooperative effort, no room to incorporate supplementary strategies. Christ alone is the Light, the Door, the Shepherd, the way and the truth and the life. More explicitly, His death alone was the ransom price for all held captive by sin’s power. Believers are freed and forgiven because Christ allowed Himself to receive the punishment due from the Father’s wrath against sin. The Scripture says, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!”4
The truth of Christ is like an anvil. On it are crushed all human opinions and efforts that conflict with God’s will. Christ interprets the Psalm about Himself saying, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”5 On it is crushed the will and power of Satan. On it is hammered out the punishment for our sins. On Christ, the Rock, the church has an unshakeable foundation.
Lent is always a foreshadowing of coming blessings. Lent is a time to take leave of the past, those sins and attitudes which drag us down and haunt us. Today Both Abram and Sarai had their names changed. The new reality was resonant with the fulfillment of God’s promise to them. The struggles of the past were behind them. In faith they already looked forward to the coming of God’s Son. We are the spiritual children Abraham. Note what the Scripture says, “The words ‘it was credited to him’ were not written for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness- for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”6
These are not pious but immaterial wishes. The Holy Spirit makes this divine act of love relevant to the individual. To really trust that the Father loves us unconditionally through the Son requires the Spirit’s power. It is too much for us to handle. Faith is a gift. Just as we cannot sustain our physical lives without outside support- the daily nutrition we must have- so too, we cannot sustain our spiritual lives without the continual nourishment of His grace. We are brought to life through the Holy Spirit’s work in baptism and nurtured with a steady diet of the word of forgiveness and the bread and wine of the altar. These gifts are of greater worth than all the world’s riches. There is nothing we can give in exchange for the soul. But Christ gave everything. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Second Sunday In Lent
1 March, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 1 Corinthians 1:18
2 2 Corinthians 2:17
3 Mark 8:36-38
4 Romans 5:8-9
5 Luke 20:17-18
6 Romans 4:24-25
Sunday, February 22, 2015
First Sunday In Lent (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Mark 1:15
Theme: Repent! Again?
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Coincidences only are so in appearance. What’s hidden from our eyes is seen with clarity by God with. Chance is the currency of skeptics. Purpose is the motivation of God. It was not by coincidence that after His baptism Christ was led immediately by the Spirit into the wilderness. There was no time for sentimental celebration of His anointing; the work of redemption had to be begun in earnest. Lent reminds us that Christ is not a casual companion of those seeking to medicate their miseries or change their worldly fortunes. He is the resolute Redeemer who sacrifices life and limb to ransom unworthy sinners.
Satan always has a very busy Lenten season. He has no authority to challenge God’s truth but that doesn’t stop him from trying. He despises all contact believers have with God’s word. He especially hates a renewed focus on forgiveness and a commitment to truth; particularly Christ as the way and the truth and the life1. Falsehood loves uncertainty. Error thrives on ambiguities. The less clarity on a certain teaching or specific belief the more opportunity Satan has to create doubt and confusion. In today’s culture he is aided by the pervasive influence of political correctness. Any claim of absolute truth is met with targeted derision. Even the most credible evidence is often dismissed out of hand. Though its core nature remains unchanged the appearance of falsehood is always in flux. It has no stability.
But Christ is our unshakable foundation. Today Jesus leaves the wilderness and begins the most significant span of three years in the history of the human race. His objective is nothing less than the conquest of Satan, the downfall of hell, and the defeat of death. Part and parcel is the establishment of righteousness and truth in the kingdom of God. Lent is a microcosm of Christ’s public ministry.
The first words to roll off His lips in the public ministry are familiar ones, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”2 Does it ever end? Do we ever get past the need for repentance? Or are we meant to go on, and on, laboring, agonizing; struggling with the complications and consequences of our transgressions? Where does it all stop? Repentance is not something we can initiate or accomplish on our own. The Holy Spirit must soften our hardened hearts and transform our self-focused wills.
Often we get the whole equation backwards. We approach things as if God needed us; as if He was dependent on us to keep His church going. Oh what a favour we’re doing for God when we show up in house! How could God ever manage without us! Dear friends, does the infant ever say to the parents, “How could you ever manage without me? How would you look after yourselves? God is not wandering around looking for meaning and purpose in life; people are the ones desperate for identity and fulfillment. God is not lost or lonely; people are. God doesn’t abandon people or fail people; people fail and abandon God. God is not in need; we are. But this same God is zealous for you with an unparalleled love.
Perhaps we’re weary of hearing the Good News? Are we so over-indulged in cheap grace that we have no appetite for forgiveness? Do we believe our indiscretions to be minor and therefore in need of no redress? Once you can verify with absolute certainty that you are no longer a sinner, that your every interaction with others is above reproach, that every thought in your mind and word that comes off your lips is holy and true, that your very nature is so pure that the Almighty God has made you the poster child of righteousness, then repentance has become obsolete for you. You have to tick all the boxes. But self-acknowledged sinners always hunger and thirst for righteousness.
It has been verified, however, with absolute certainty that punishment for the sins of those who are repentant are no longer held against them. The Bible says, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”3 Decisive action was taken at a place called Calvary. The sentence was decreed. The crown was fitted. The nails were driven. The cross was raised. The insults were hurled. The libation was offered. The Spirit was released. The task was finished. The power to be made new was unleased. “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him [Christ], and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things…by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.”4
He died and rose for you. You are saved by His grace.
And you are saved for a purpose here and now. Christianity allows the freedom to serve others without self-interest. It flows from the confidence of knowing that our needs will be met in Christ. The things we cannot grasp or concur with here in time, the things we grapple with and cause us angst, will be resolved in eternity. Knowledge will be perfect as will unanimity in truth. Meanwhile, we struggle on together giving witness to God’s love for the world in word and deed.
Lent is a time for renewal. The word Lent relates to the new life that comes with spring. For Christians it became associated with the 40 days leading up to Easter. The world desperately needs such renewal. There were forty days of rain and the earth was cleansed. The children of Noah had hope. “I will establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”5 Humanity began anew. God had made a covenant. The rainbow was a sign of the promise. Through a small amount of baptismal water the Christian is cleansed. The soul begins anew. God makes a covenant. Perhaps a rainbow should be depicted over every baptismal font? In baptism the storm of death passes by and a new day dawns.
Lent is a time to remember that God’s involvement in our lives is not haphazard. Human frailty often capitulates to coincidence. Too much effort is required to reconcile the deeper issues, to consider how God is working through it all. But we can rest in Christ’s purposes. The Scripture says, “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me”6 Faith reposes in God’s promises. Christ is your Anointed. He is your Champion. He is your Lent. That is not happenstance. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
First Sunday In Lent
22 February, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
Text: Mark 1:15
Theme: Repent! Again?
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Coincidences only are so in appearance. What’s hidden from our eyes is seen with clarity by God with. Chance is the currency of skeptics. Purpose is the motivation of God. It was not by coincidence that after His baptism Christ was led immediately by the Spirit into the wilderness. There was no time for sentimental celebration of His anointing; the work of redemption had to be begun in earnest. Lent reminds us that Christ is not a casual companion of those seeking to medicate their miseries or change their worldly fortunes. He is the resolute Redeemer who sacrifices life and limb to ransom unworthy sinners.
Satan always has a very busy Lenten season. He has no authority to challenge God’s truth but that doesn’t stop him from trying. He despises all contact believers have with God’s word. He especially hates a renewed focus on forgiveness and a commitment to truth; particularly Christ as the way and the truth and the life1. Falsehood loves uncertainty. Error thrives on ambiguities. The less clarity on a certain teaching or specific belief the more opportunity Satan has to create doubt and confusion. In today’s culture he is aided by the pervasive influence of political correctness. Any claim of absolute truth is met with targeted derision. Even the most credible evidence is often dismissed out of hand. Though its core nature remains unchanged the appearance of falsehood is always in flux. It has no stability.
But Christ is our unshakable foundation. Today Jesus leaves the wilderness and begins the most significant span of three years in the history of the human race. His objective is nothing less than the conquest of Satan, the downfall of hell, and the defeat of death. Part and parcel is the establishment of righteousness and truth in the kingdom of God. Lent is a microcosm of Christ’s public ministry.
The first words to roll off His lips in the public ministry are familiar ones, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”2 Does it ever end? Do we ever get past the need for repentance? Or are we meant to go on, and on, laboring, agonizing; struggling with the complications and consequences of our transgressions? Where does it all stop? Repentance is not something we can initiate or accomplish on our own. The Holy Spirit must soften our hardened hearts and transform our self-focused wills.
Often we get the whole equation backwards. We approach things as if God needed us; as if He was dependent on us to keep His church going. Oh what a favour we’re doing for God when we show up in house! How could God ever manage without us! Dear friends, does the infant ever say to the parents, “How could you ever manage without me? How would you look after yourselves? God is not wandering around looking for meaning and purpose in life; people are the ones desperate for identity and fulfillment. God is not lost or lonely; people are. God doesn’t abandon people or fail people; people fail and abandon God. God is not in need; we are. But this same God is zealous for you with an unparalleled love.
Perhaps we’re weary of hearing the Good News? Are we so over-indulged in cheap grace that we have no appetite for forgiveness? Do we believe our indiscretions to be minor and therefore in need of no redress? Once you can verify with absolute certainty that you are no longer a sinner, that your every interaction with others is above reproach, that every thought in your mind and word that comes off your lips is holy and true, that your very nature is so pure that the Almighty God has made you the poster child of righteousness, then repentance has become obsolete for you. You have to tick all the boxes. But self-acknowledged sinners always hunger and thirst for righteousness.
It has been verified, however, with absolute certainty that punishment for the sins of those who are repentant are no longer held against them. The Bible says, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”3 Decisive action was taken at a place called Calvary. The sentence was decreed. The crown was fitted. The nails were driven. The cross was raised. The insults were hurled. The libation was offered. The Spirit was released. The task was finished. The power to be made new was unleased. “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him [Christ], and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things…by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.”4
He died and rose for you. You are saved by His grace.
And you are saved for a purpose here and now. Christianity allows the freedom to serve others without self-interest. It flows from the confidence of knowing that our needs will be met in Christ. The things we cannot grasp or concur with here in time, the things we grapple with and cause us angst, will be resolved in eternity. Knowledge will be perfect as will unanimity in truth. Meanwhile, we struggle on together giving witness to God’s love for the world in word and deed.
Lent is a time for renewal. The word Lent relates to the new life that comes with spring. For Christians it became associated with the 40 days leading up to Easter. The world desperately needs such renewal. There were forty days of rain and the earth was cleansed. The children of Noah had hope. “I will establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”5 Humanity began anew. God had made a covenant. The rainbow was a sign of the promise. Through a small amount of baptismal water the Christian is cleansed. The soul begins anew. God makes a covenant. Perhaps a rainbow should be depicted over every baptismal font? In baptism the storm of death passes by and a new day dawns.
Lent is a time to remember that God’s involvement in our lives is not haphazard. Human frailty often capitulates to coincidence. Too much effort is required to reconcile the deeper issues, to consider how God is working through it all. But we can rest in Christ’s purposes. The Scripture says, “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me”6 Faith reposes in God’s promises. Christ is your Anointed. He is your Champion. He is your Lent. That is not happenstance. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
First Sunday In Lent
22 February, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)