+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Mark 5:21-43
Theme: Powerful, but not Showy
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Jesus was never showy. He was not gaudy. It’s a reality we shouldn’t lose sight of. He never summoned a crowd or emotionally manipulated one. He had many opportunities to do it. More than once He arranged for privacy before performing a miracle. Part of the reason may be practical. Without crowd control things can quickly get out of hand. Primarily though, He was motivated by humility which is the truest expression of His nature. You cannot be both authentically humble and ostentatious at the same time. “The son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”1
In today’s gospel Jesus had two opportunities to make a spectacle. Instead He showed grace and propriety. Two desperate people sought Him. One was a distressed member of society’s elite whose daughter was dying, the other a woman whom the physicians had no power to cure. Jesus was a magnet for the misplaced, displaced, the downtrodden and the desperate. Many sought Him in curiosity. But those who hungered for healing and thirsted for relief sought Him in faith. Jesus was gentle with the frail, corrective of the wayward, firm with the arrogant, patient with hapless; but He was dismissive of no one. He desired no one to remain in the darkness of unbelief.
Both Jairus and the woman with bleeding disregarded cultural expectations and made themselves vulnerable to Christ’s mercy. Neither was disappointed. At twelve years of age the daughter of Jairus was on the cusp of marriageable age for her culture. Christ’s resuscitation of her restored her not only to her family, but to society. The unnamed woman who was subject continual bleeding for 12 years was only made poor and worse by the doctors. Christ restored to the worshipping community and to society. She was no longer unclean. She was no longer a burden to society.
Dear friends, as we meditate on the on the compassion Christ displayed today the last thing we should do is think, “Thank goodness I’m not in need like those people were!” If you fancy yourself to be a pretty naturally pious person you’d better pause for a reality check. Every sickness, every anxiety, every doubt is a complication of sin. And none of us are immune. God’s holy law doesn’t permit a single transgression. One wayward thought, one false motive, one misstep and we are liable under the whole law. The corrupted nature we have from the moment of conception makes it impossible. The salty well doesn’t produce fresh water. The salt must be removed. We’re gathered here as sinners. If that were not the case the main purpose of being here would already be obsolete.
Desperation often drives decisive action. When caution is thrown foolishly to the wind the results can be disastrous. It’s wise to check for your parachute before jumping out of an airplane at 30,000 feet! Satan tried to convince Christ to throw Himself off the pinnacle of the temple relying on the angels to break His fall. Jesus responded, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”2 But the reckless testing of God is not the same as a leap of faith. The leap of faith, properly understood, involves relinquishing the tight control we like to have over our own affairs and leaving ourselves to the providence of God. God will not abandon us. He will not ignore us. He is not too impotent to help us.
We’re gathered here as sinners, but we are forgiven sinners; redeemed. The Bible has another word for it and the word is saints. A saint is a ‘holy one’. We are made holy through the Lamb’s blood. So we are also gathered here as saints. Paul addresses the Christians in Philippi as saints.”3He is not speaking to the deceased, nor is he talking to some class of superior-Christians. He is addressing the baptized (and through them, those who would be baptized). Yes, saints are full of fears, faults, and foibles. They often feel helpless, hapless, and hopeless. Saints are not morally blameless or superior; they rely solely on grace. They cherish the cross and rejoice in the empty tomb. Do we pity the woman who desperately sought Jesus, or do we identify with her? Does the anxious Jairus resonate with us?
In the body of Christ it’s not a matter of us and them. We all need and participate in the same blessings of God. Every time we walk by that font we should remember that God has redeemed us through that font (or one similar) and brought us into His family. In baptism God drowns our natural piety (which is nothing more than selfishness in disguise) along with the flagrant sins which open us to guilt and God’s condemnation, and He breathes new life into us through the Spirit. He seizes us from the darkness of Satan’s grasp. Every time we kneel at the communion rail we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes4. We confess by our reception of His body and blood that forgiveness and life are found in His sacrifice.
Through these gifts God makes us-spiritually poor souls- rich in His grace. It’s a generosity we have the privilege to mirror, as St. Paul speaks of today. It would be difficult to make a convincing argument that in the West the standard of living in regards to material things was higher 25 years ago, 50 years ago, or 100 years ago than it is today. People have more stuff than ever before and always seem to be looking for more. It doesn’t mean life is safer, more stable, or more meaningful; often less so. But it’s a measure of the things we value. Support for the proclamation of the gospel locally or for missionary activity overseas continues to decline in parallel with the decline of faith. Yet, in other parts of the world Christianity is flourishing and people are crying out for resources to teach them the faith. The generosity of God’s people cannot be driven by guilt or brow-beating. Such measures are not only short-lived, but counter-productive in the long run. “We love because He first loved us.”5
The raising of Jairus’ daughter points to Jesus’ own resurrection from the dead. Lazarus too, is yet to be raised. Christ is not a limited worker of signs and wonders pointing to someone or something greater. He is the Lord of life and death. In the person of Christ someone greater than Solomon had arrived. In the person of Christ something greater than the temple was present. The same Jesus lives and intercedes for you and me. The same Redeemer will come again in glory. Meanwhile, His presence is mostly made known through very ordinary-seeming acts of love. Of course, there’s nothing ordinary about the cross.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
28 June, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Mark 10:45
2 Matthew 4:7
3 See Philippians 1:1
4 See 1 Corinthians 11:26
5 1 John 4:19
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Fourth Sunday After Pentecost (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Mark 4:41
Theme: “Who Is This?”
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Jesus was sleeping. The common connection most immediately made with a slumbering Jesus recalls the charm of His infancy… “The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.”1 But this Jesus was a grown man. Aside from relaying to us the plain details of the account, the fact that Jesus was sleeping reminds us of His humanity. Jesus Christ did not have the appearance of a man only. He experienced fatigue. He became hungry. He thirsted. He was tempted. He endured afflictions common to humanity. Your Saviour is not the Son of God in human façade. He is the Child of the Virgin and the new Adam.
Jesus had had a long day teaching the crowds. The disciples were sea-faring men. This was an opportunity for Jesus to rest. But soon trouble arose. The Sea of Galilee is infamous for sudden squalls that put sailors, crew, and passengers at risk. Few things are more terrifying than being at the mercy of a perilous sea. The boat was soon taking on water and was becoming swamped. The panicked disciples quickly woke Jesus, questioning His apparent indifference at the hazard which had engulfed them. Their faith was anemic and forgetful. They would soon be admonished.
Oh, dear friends, how closely- if we are honest- can we relate to the disciples on the turbulent sea! Our faith too, is so easily afflicted with amnesia. Long before a single hair on our head has been singed worry overcomes us. We forget that the ever-present and always watchful Lord attends us. We seek to rouse Him from His slumber. We raise accusations of apathy. We claim a reversal of the order of Gethsemane where the disciples could not keep their eyelids open to watch with Jesus for a single hour. How close we are to the unbelievers the Psalmist speaks of who said, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.”2 In such moments of doubt we learn something about ourselves as sinners.
Before the disciples are chastised the architect of the universe speaks. He rebukes the wind and the waves and the Scripture says there was a great calm. The contrast with the storm was astonishing. Chaos was quenched. His command over the forces of nature evokes stunned fear from the disciples. Mere words cannot relate what that ragged band of fishermen experienced. But the Holy Spirit uses such words to further the cause of faith. The great question seized them: “Who is this Man?” Is it safe to be to near to Him? Is it wise to be too far from Him? They were stricken with awe.
Turbulent water usually has biblical associations with demonic and uncontrollable power. Moving water is an immense and unmanageable force. But today the disciples witness the Master of the elements. Miracles are evidence of Jesus’ divinity. A God who is incapable of miracles is a God who is not omnipotent and is really no God at all. God is not a projection of collective human consciousness. He is not a fabricated image of knowledge and holiness. He is not the motionless backdrop for the stage on which human history is played out. He cannot be domesticated. He is living, dynamic, and powerful. He intervenes. He initiates, orchestrates, administrates, and terminates. He is the giver of life and punisher in death. The miraculous involves transgressing the laws of nature. But these are the laws which He created.
Jesus’ opportunity to rest was cut short. As soon as He stepped off the boat on the other side of the lake He was greeted by a man oppressed by evil spirits. So numerous was the cadre of demons they were called Legion. When Jesus sent them into a heard of pigs that ran off a steep bank and were drown in the lake, it caused a great commotion among the people of the town. When they came to investigate they found the formerly possessed man sitting calmly; in his right mind. The One who had calmed the wind and the waves also silenced the demons. Their reaction to this great stillness was these same as that of the disciples; fear.
Godly fear is a component of faith that leads to repentance. It consists of reverence, respect, and awe. Carnal fear involves the terror of unbelief and avoids contact with the Almighty. Of course, we know that God can only be avoided at the risk of great peril. Departure from the will of God eventually has very tangible consequences. The Ten Commandments were carved in stone. Christ re-iterated the moral code of love, confirming its permanence. True love has boundaries. These boundaries serve the well-being of others. God’s laws protect people and property from exploitation and abuse. Sexual relationships that deviate from God’s design are, by definition, harmful to individuals and society. In our current social climate Christians need the confidence of knowing God’s truth does not change and our consciences can be at peace as we remain faithful to Him.
Dear friends, every relationship a Christian is involved in is governed by the unconditional love of Christ. Human relationships do not determine our relationship with God. God defines the relationships we have with others. Your baptism is of more importance than your image in society. Your place in Christ’s holy church is of greater value than the assessment of your peers. Your concern for peoples’ souls is driven by your own identity in Christ. Who is the Commander of the wind and sea? He is Light, Love, and Life.
Evil never sleeps until Christ puts it to rest. He silences the loudest shouts of Satan. Christ silences the stinging accusations of guilt that agitate our consciences. He calms the tempestuous heart being tossed to and fro on the sea of human opinion. He puts to rest all anxiety that is faced in this mortal life. He promises calm to His people who dwell in a restless and chaotic world. He provides peace for those wearied by the daily battle with sin.
The God who controls the wind and waves is the same Redeemer who endured cross and shame. The greatest display of His power is revealed in His immeasurable mercy. He sacrificed His very life that we might live. The cross became the Creators throne; the cold, dark tomb His royal bed. His sleep of death was short but revolutionary. The resurrection validated His victory. The biblical witness assures you that your darkest fears and deepest desires are not beyond His capacity to understand or resolve. In Christ there is always hope. The scripture says, “Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”3 “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”4 The storms of life cannot pull loose the anchor of God’s love.
Jesus no longer sleeps. His exalted humanity shares so completely the divine nature He possesses the ceaseless vibrancy of life. He intercedes tirelessly for our good. He prepares a place for us; a refuge eternally secure from any tempest. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
21 June, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Lutheran Hymnal, #634
2 Psalm 94:7
3 Romans 5:5
4 Hebrews 6:19
Text: Mark 4:41
Theme: “Who Is This?”
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Jesus was sleeping. The common connection most immediately made with a slumbering Jesus recalls the charm of His infancy… “The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.”1 But this Jesus was a grown man. Aside from relaying to us the plain details of the account, the fact that Jesus was sleeping reminds us of His humanity. Jesus Christ did not have the appearance of a man only. He experienced fatigue. He became hungry. He thirsted. He was tempted. He endured afflictions common to humanity. Your Saviour is not the Son of God in human façade. He is the Child of the Virgin and the new Adam.
Jesus had had a long day teaching the crowds. The disciples were sea-faring men. This was an opportunity for Jesus to rest. But soon trouble arose. The Sea of Galilee is infamous for sudden squalls that put sailors, crew, and passengers at risk. Few things are more terrifying than being at the mercy of a perilous sea. The boat was soon taking on water and was becoming swamped. The panicked disciples quickly woke Jesus, questioning His apparent indifference at the hazard which had engulfed them. Their faith was anemic and forgetful. They would soon be admonished.
Oh, dear friends, how closely- if we are honest- can we relate to the disciples on the turbulent sea! Our faith too, is so easily afflicted with amnesia. Long before a single hair on our head has been singed worry overcomes us. We forget that the ever-present and always watchful Lord attends us. We seek to rouse Him from His slumber. We raise accusations of apathy. We claim a reversal of the order of Gethsemane where the disciples could not keep their eyelids open to watch with Jesus for a single hour. How close we are to the unbelievers the Psalmist speaks of who said, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.”2 In such moments of doubt we learn something about ourselves as sinners.
Before the disciples are chastised the architect of the universe speaks. He rebukes the wind and the waves and the Scripture says there was a great calm. The contrast with the storm was astonishing. Chaos was quenched. His command over the forces of nature evokes stunned fear from the disciples. Mere words cannot relate what that ragged band of fishermen experienced. But the Holy Spirit uses such words to further the cause of faith. The great question seized them: “Who is this Man?” Is it safe to be to near to Him? Is it wise to be too far from Him? They were stricken with awe.
Turbulent water usually has biblical associations with demonic and uncontrollable power. Moving water is an immense and unmanageable force. But today the disciples witness the Master of the elements. Miracles are evidence of Jesus’ divinity. A God who is incapable of miracles is a God who is not omnipotent and is really no God at all. God is not a projection of collective human consciousness. He is not a fabricated image of knowledge and holiness. He is not the motionless backdrop for the stage on which human history is played out. He cannot be domesticated. He is living, dynamic, and powerful. He intervenes. He initiates, orchestrates, administrates, and terminates. He is the giver of life and punisher in death. The miraculous involves transgressing the laws of nature. But these are the laws which He created.
Jesus’ opportunity to rest was cut short. As soon as He stepped off the boat on the other side of the lake He was greeted by a man oppressed by evil spirits. So numerous was the cadre of demons they were called Legion. When Jesus sent them into a heard of pigs that ran off a steep bank and were drown in the lake, it caused a great commotion among the people of the town. When they came to investigate they found the formerly possessed man sitting calmly; in his right mind. The One who had calmed the wind and the waves also silenced the demons. Their reaction to this great stillness was these same as that of the disciples; fear.
Godly fear is a component of faith that leads to repentance. It consists of reverence, respect, and awe. Carnal fear involves the terror of unbelief and avoids contact with the Almighty. Of course, we know that God can only be avoided at the risk of great peril. Departure from the will of God eventually has very tangible consequences. The Ten Commandments were carved in stone. Christ re-iterated the moral code of love, confirming its permanence. True love has boundaries. These boundaries serve the well-being of others. God’s laws protect people and property from exploitation and abuse. Sexual relationships that deviate from God’s design are, by definition, harmful to individuals and society. In our current social climate Christians need the confidence of knowing God’s truth does not change and our consciences can be at peace as we remain faithful to Him.
Dear friends, every relationship a Christian is involved in is governed by the unconditional love of Christ. Human relationships do not determine our relationship with God. God defines the relationships we have with others. Your baptism is of more importance than your image in society. Your place in Christ’s holy church is of greater value than the assessment of your peers. Your concern for peoples’ souls is driven by your own identity in Christ. Who is the Commander of the wind and sea? He is Light, Love, and Life.
Evil never sleeps until Christ puts it to rest. He silences the loudest shouts of Satan. Christ silences the stinging accusations of guilt that agitate our consciences. He calms the tempestuous heart being tossed to and fro on the sea of human opinion. He puts to rest all anxiety that is faced in this mortal life. He promises calm to His people who dwell in a restless and chaotic world. He provides peace for those wearied by the daily battle with sin.
The God who controls the wind and waves is the same Redeemer who endured cross and shame. The greatest display of His power is revealed in His immeasurable mercy. He sacrificed His very life that we might live. The cross became the Creators throne; the cold, dark tomb His royal bed. His sleep of death was short but revolutionary. The resurrection validated His victory. The biblical witness assures you that your darkest fears and deepest desires are not beyond His capacity to understand or resolve. In Christ there is always hope. The scripture says, “Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”3 “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”4 The storms of life cannot pull loose the anchor of God’s love.
Jesus no longer sleeps. His exalted humanity shares so completely the divine nature He possesses the ceaseless vibrancy of life. He intercedes tirelessly for our good. He prepares a place for us; a refuge eternally secure from any tempest. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
21 June, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Lutheran Hymnal, #634
2 Psalm 94:7
3 Romans 5:5
4 Hebrews 6:19
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Third Sunday After Pentecost (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Mark 4:26-34
Theme: Unreasonable Love
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God never merely says things; He does things. Human words are often vain, weak, false, and ineffectual. God’s word is always purposeful, powerful, truthful and effective. The Lord says, “So is My word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”1 But this power and activity is often not observable to the human eye. The eye blinded by sin cannot discern the activity of God. Nevertheless, in the person of Christ, through the cross and empty tomb, God brings the chaotic and rebellious world under His control. This cannot be empirically proven to you. It is an article of faith. Faith clings firmly to that which is not only unobservable, but often unreasonable.
What could be more unreasonable than this claim of Scripture about Jesus? “Having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”2 What evidence can we find of this? Yet this is the heart of the gospel message of redemption. Here all is secured, or all is lost. Christ has disarmed all the powers of sin. That reality; understood now by faith- and in heaven in its fullness- affects each and every facet of your life. You can live life with purpose. You can confess your sins with humility. You can help others with patience. You can endure illness with confidence. You can even face death without fear. Unbelievers cannot relate to this “peace that passes all understanding.”3 It is hidden from their eyes.
Dear friends, there are grand and glorious things going on on a universal scale which are way beyond our control, but also of which God has made us part. The work of Christ is so paradoxical we cannot but receive it by faith. In today’s gospel, Jesus employs parables about agriculture. They depict the work of God on a grand scale. We are part of it, but we do not have the bird’s eye view. You cannot see the expanse of the forest when you are in amongst the trees. Parables address such conundrums. Jesus’ spoke many parables and a general word about them is worth mentioning.
Parables are not quaint, pithy tales intended to capture the imagination to the end that the hearer may merely ponder them from a comfortable, detached perspective. Parables, like the word of God in general, always have the purpose and power of transforming those who hear. They are never about trivial things, but always about divine truths of great magnitude. Parables are about Christ and sinners, heaven and hell, justice and mercy, truth and falsehood, life and death. They are about the mystery of the incarnate Christ and His redemption of a fallen world. Any claim that parables are simple stories for the simple-minded or unlearned, widely misses Jesus’ own description, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to the others I speak in parables, so that ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’”4 The person and work of Christ are so contrary to human reason and sensibility, they are in and of themselves mysteries. But God is not aloof from us. Parables describe the paradox of such mysteries.
So what about today’s parables? Jesus’ describes the sowing and growing of the seed. Where do you fit in? You are one whose faith has germinated from God’s word. You are redeemed by Christ’s blood, saved by His grace, baptized into His name, sealed for His inheritance. You have His Spirit. You are living and growing in the field, the world, in which Satan also is cultivating His evil ones. The weeds will grow with the wheat, but at the harvest everything is sorted out.
No one will escape the harvesters. St. Paul teaches the same thing today in plain language. He says, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”5 How can sinners face the judgment? Good intentions will not save us. Ignorance is no defence. Negotiation will be fruitless. Denial will get us nowhere. When Franklin Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,”6 he was not denying the righteous judgment of Almighty God against sin. Many today, though, act as if facing their mortality was inconsequential.
It is exactly this end-time harvest, which drives the mission of the church. This mission is the church’s very life. We believe that we are only pilgrims here. We have concern for peoples’ souls. The faithful are sustained by His word and Spirit and body and blood until the final gathering into His barn. The harvest is increased by the same word and Spirit working mysteriously, but powerfully and reliably until the end of the age. The entire world is a field. We may be in just one small corner. We may feel like our part is insignificant. Yet we are called to faithfulness. We have great privileges. We can love because He first loved us.
Parables remind us that the thinking of God is often counter-intuitive to human thinking. This cannot be more supremely illustrated than in the central teaching of Christianity. God, out of sheer grace, has looked upon detestable sinners and granted them forgiveness, pardon, and peace. It is completely incomprehensible from a human standpoint why someone would sacrifice everything, even their own life, in order to benefit sworn enemies. Yet, that is exactly what Christ has done for us. The Scripture says, “When we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son.”7
The grace of God in Christ is the greatest of all paradoxes; the holy Son of God is convicted so that sinful human beings may be acquitted. Divine love involves the willingness and ability to give up absolutely everything and expect nothing else in return. Again, the Scriptures, “Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing….He humbled Himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross.”8 He was laid in the grave but death could not hold Him. It won’t be able to hold you either. We are born of imperishable seed and have His incorruptible life. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Third Sunday After Pentecost
14 June, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Isaiah 55:11
2 Colossians 2:15
3 See Philippians 4:7
4 Luke 8:10
52 Corinthians 5:10
6Presidential Inaugural Address, 1932
7Romans 5:10
8Philippians 2:6-8
Text: Mark 4:26-34
Theme: Unreasonable Love
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God never merely says things; He does things. Human words are often vain, weak, false, and ineffectual. God’s word is always purposeful, powerful, truthful and effective. The Lord says, “So is My word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”1 But this power and activity is often not observable to the human eye. The eye blinded by sin cannot discern the activity of God. Nevertheless, in the person of Christ, through the cross and empty tomb, God brings the chaotic and rebellious world under His control. This cannot be empirically proven to you. It is an article of faith. Faith clings firmly to that which is not only unobservable, but often unreasonable.
What could be more unreasonable than this claim of Scripture about Jesus? “Having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”2 What evidence can we find of this? Yet this is the heart of the gospel message of redemption. Here all is secured, or all is lost. Christ has disarmed all the powers of sin. That reality; understood now by faith- and in heaven in its fullness- affects each and every facet of your life. You can live life with purpose. You can confess your sins with humility. You can help others with patience. You can endure illness with confidence. You can even face death without fear. Unbelievers cannot relate to this “peace that passes all understanding.”3 It is hidden from their eyes.
Dear friends, there are grand and glorious things going on on a universal scale which are way beyond our control, but also of which God has made us part. The work of Christ is so paradoxical we cannot but receive it by faith. In today’s gospel, Jesus employs parables about agriculture. They depict the work of God on a grand scale. We are part of it, but we do not have the bird’s eye view. You cannot see the expanse of the forest when you are in amongst the trees. Parables address such conundrums. Jesus’ spoke many parables and a general word about them is worth mentioning.
Parables are not quaint, pithy tales intended to capture the imagination to the end that the hearer may merely ponder them from a comfortable, detached perspective. Parables, like the word of God in general, always have the purpose and power of transforming those who hear. They are never about trivial things, but always about divine truths of great magnitude. Parables are about Christ and sinners, heaven and hell, justice and mercy, truth and falsehood, life and death. They are about the mystery of the incarnate Christ and His redemption of a fallen world. Any claim that parables are simple stories for the simple-minded or unlearned, widely misses Jesus’ own description, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to the others I speak in parables, so that ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’”4 The person and work of Christ are so contrary to human reason and sensibility, they are in and of themselves mysteries. But God is not aloof from us. Parables describe the paradox of such mysteries.
So what about today’s parables? Jesus’ describes the sowing and growing of the seed. Where do you fit in? You are one whose faith has germinated from God’s word. You are redeemed by Christ’s blood, saved by His grace, baptized into His name, sealed for His inheritance. You have His Spirit. You are living and growing in the field, the world, in which Satan also is cultivating His evil ones. The weeds will grow with the wheat, but at the harvest everything is sorted out.
No one will escape the harvesters. St. Paul teaches the same thing today in plain language. He says, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”5 How can sinners face the judgment? Good intentions will not save us. Ignorance is no defence. Negotiation will be fruitless. Denial will get us nowhere. When Franklin Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,”6 he was not denying the righteous judgment of Almighty God against sin. Many today, though, act as if facing their mortality was inconsequential.
It is exactly this end-time harvest, which drives the mission of the church. This mission is the church’s very life. We believe that we are only pilgrims here. We have concern for peoples’ souls. The faithful are sustained by His word and Spirit and body and blood until the final gathering into His barn. The harvest is increased by the same word and Spirit working mysteriously, but powerfully and reliably until the end of the age. The entire world is a field. We may be in just one small corner. We may feel like our part is insignificant. Yet we are called to faithfulness. We have great privileges. We can love because He first loved us.
Parables remind us that the thinking of God is often counter-intuitive to human thinking. This cannot be more supremely illustrated than in the central teaching of Christianity. God, out of sheer grace, has looked upon detestable sinners and granted them forgiveness, pardon, and peace. It is completely incomprehensible from a human standpoint why someone would sacrifice everything, even their own life, in order to benefit sworn enemies. Yet, that is exactly what Christ has done for us. The Scripture says, “When we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son.”7
The grace of God in Christ is the greatest of all paradoxes; the holy Son of God is convicted so that sinful human beings may be acquitted. Divine love involves the willingness and ability to give up absolutely everything and expect nothing else in return. Again, the Scriptures, “Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing….He humbled Himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross.”8 He was laid in the grave but death could not hold Him. It won’t be able to hold you either. We are born of imperishable seed and have His incorruptible life. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Third Sunday After Pentecost
14 June, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Isaiah 55:11
2 Colossians 2:15
3 See Philippians 4:7
4 Luke 8:10
52 Corinthians 5:10
6Presidential Inaugural Address, 1932
7Romans 5:10
8Philippians 2:6-8
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Second Sunday After Pentecost (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Mark 3:27
Theme: Master of Satan
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Christ, our Lord, tells us that the gates of hell will not prevail against His kingdom1. The assumptions that lie behind His words are not to be taken lightly. Christ offers this reassurance in the face of the formidable power of evil. Satan is a serious foe. Sin and death are brutal enemies. They don’t entertain the idea of negotiation and they take no prisoners. Christ has come to us as the resurrection and the life2 and victor over sin, death, and Satan. What are we to make, then, of today’s accusation that Jesus was in league with Satan?
To ears that have been thoroughly accustomed to hearing reverent things spoken about the name of Christ, these demonizing claims may seem audacious. Beelzebul refers to Baal-zebul3, meaning ‘Baal is prince.’ Baal was the name of one of the most prominent idols in ancient Canaanite religion. Baal was called upon for a wide range of fortune-telling and occult activities and was regularly sacrificed to. The history of Baal worship was long and is well-documented. The Jews are here accusing Jesus of being possessed by the spirit of idolatry and working in alliance with Satan Himself.
But if Jesus is casting out demons and freeing people from bondage to his ways how can He be in allegiance with Satan? The devil would then be undermining his own efforts. Such a suggestion does not follow sound logic. In reality, Christ is in the process of dismantling Satan’s scheme of domination. Jesus describes Himself as the stronger man who has now breached the devil’s security and is plundering his house. He then proceeds to label this claim as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Christ works by the Spirit of God and to demonize Him is to equate the spiritual works and goals of Satan with those of the Messiah. This is a grievous sin. Jesus calls it an eternal sin which is not forgiven.4
It’s been said that if you are worried about committing the unforgivable sin, then you haven’t actually committed it; because if you had you would have no interest in the question. The deceitful nature of the human heart should cause us to pause before attempting to simplify the matter too much. We always like a guise for our desire to go on sinning. These words of Christ are forthright and the context shows no evidence of exaggeration. When the Holy Spirit and His means are continually, steadfastly, and willfully rejected the opportunity for the forgiveness of sins is obstructed. We have absolutely no assurance that the Holy Spirit will circumvent His appointed means. If baptism is rejected, Holy Communion is despised, and the hearing of God’s word abandoned, faith has no avenues to be sustained and the soul is in grave danger.
Undoubtedly that’s why Jesus singles it out as being so ominous. It’s notable that at this point in Jesus’ life His own family thought He was out of His mind.5 They came to take Him home, presumably to protect Him and their own reputations. Jesus essentially ignores them emphasizing the doing of God’s will. The world will always have an agenda. Its agenda will always be driven by the desire for self-promotion and self-indulgence. It entails the quest for power, money, popularity, prosperity and security.
Pursuit of the agenda involves practices of dishonesty and inequality. The agenda is based on human measures of value. The principles which allow this agenda to be pursued may in some measure agree with God’s will. A certain order and stability is needed in society to allow safe pursuit of goals. Both God and the secular government want a level of peace and order in society. But the unbelieving world will only promote the acquisition of things that are self-serving. The church always maintains a critique of the world’s agenda in some measure. Otherwise, we would be in denial that we live in a sinful world.
When the church capitulates fully to the agenda of the society at large, then it ceases not only to offer constructive criticism, but fails to transform people by catechizing them in the truth of Holy Scripture. Eternal salvation is ultimately at stake. The church must be steadfast in its proclamation of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ regardless of its popularity or results. The Word of God transforms without the aid of human embellishment or the deterrent of human corruption. The church’s call is to integrity and diligence. Because the world’s agenda is relentless and continues to push until checked by God’s judgment, we can, as Christians, have no misgivings about our task. Those segments of Christianity which condone or promote unbiblical agendas such as those of evolution, homosexuality, abortion and other things contrary to the word of God, have forsaken their mission to be salt and light in the world. They cannot in the same breath claim to serve the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In human terms, we may be very lonely, yes, even harassed and mocked when taking our stand on the truth. We may feel increasingly isolated from the ideals and pursuits of society. It’s a reality we had better get used to. Trends are pointing to an intensifying intolerance of the convictions of the Christian faith. The perception that Christianity- despite particular convictions distasteful to the post-modern mind- is generally a positive influence on society is no longer widely held.
But we have the assurance with which Paul speaks of, “Am I trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”6 Only God’s opinion ultimately matters. And as Christian fathers and mothers, bosses and employees, grandchildren and retires, as trusted friends, we have a great accountability regarding the integrity of our faith. Our Christian faith is never a purely private affair. We may influence countless people by never uttering a word. The Bible says, “You are the salt of the earth.”7 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”8
The Christian, who speaks and lives the truth, speaks with the greatest authority and has an incalculable influence. This is so because the Christian speaks and lives with the authority of Christ. We should always stand in awe of and never underestimate that power. Precisely because we understand that power is not our own, it gives rise not to arrogance but humility within us. Those who have been granted the greatest authority are in need of exercising the greatest humility. In proportion to one’s power and influence must be the diligence to avoid abusing that power. A leader is not a greater sinner than the common person when he or she falls- only likely to affect many more people. A Christian is a frail vessel carrying a great authority. We are the temples of the Holy Spirit.
We may sense a growing coldness from the world. But the apostle reminds us of the holy companionship we have. “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.”9 The world always has an alluring call. But we know the Master’s voice. “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.”10Jesus Christ has plundered Satan’s house. His death and resurrection have robbed the devil of His power. He has been bound by the cross. He has been put on notice. He knows his time is short. The same death and resurrection are the power by which you live. You are His baptized. You are His chosen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Second Sunday After Pentecost
7 June, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 See Matthew 16:18 2 See John 11:25
3 See 2 Kings 1:2 4 See Mark 3:29
5 See Mark 3:21 6 Galatians 1:10
7 Matthew 5:13 8Matthew 5:14
91 John 1:3 10John 10:27-28
Text: Mark 3:27
Theme: Master of Satan
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Christ, our Lord, tells us that the gates of hell will not prevail against His kingdom1. The assumptions that lie behind His words are not to be taken lightly. Christ offers this reassurance in the face of the formidable power of evil. Satan is a serious foe. Sin and death are brutal enemies. They don’t entertain the idea of negotiation and they take no prisoners. Christ has come to us as the resurrection and the life2 and victor over sin, death, and Satan. What are we to make, then, of today’s accusation that Jesus was in league with Satan?
To ears that have been thoroughly accustomed to hearing reverent things spoken about the name of Christ, these demonizing claims may seem audacious. Beelzebul refers to Baal-zebul3, meaning ‘Baal is prince.’ Baal was the name of one of the most prominent idols in ancient Canaanite religion. Baal was called upon for a wide range of fortune-telling and occult activities and was regularly sacrificed to. The history of Baal worship was long and is well-documented. The Jews are here accusing Jesus of being possessed by the spirit of idolatry and working in alliance with Satan Himself.
But if Jesus is casting out demons and freeing people from bondage to his ways how can He be in allegiance with Satan? The devil would then be undermining his own efforts. Such a suggestion does not follow sound logic. In reality, Christ is in the process of dismantling Satan’s scheme of domination. Jesus describes Himself as the stronger man who has now breached the devil’s security and is plundering his house. He then proceeds to label this claim as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Christ works by the Spirit of God and to demonize Him is to equate the spiritual works and goals of Satan with those of the Messiah. This is a grievous sin. Jesus calls it an eternal sin which is not forgiven.4
It’s been said that if you are worried about committing the unforgivable sin, then you haven’t actually committed it; because if you had you would have no interest in the question. The deceitful nature of the human heart should cause us to pause before attempting to simplify the matter too much. We always like a guise for our desire to go on sinning. These words of Christ are forthright and the context shows no evidence of exaggeration. When the Holy Spirit and His means are continually, steadfastly, and willfully rejected the opportunity for the forgiveness of sins is obstructed. We have absolutely no assurance that the Holy Spirit will circumvent His appointed means. If baptism is rejected, Holy Communion is despised, and the hearing of God’s word abandoned, faith has no avenues to be sustained and the soul is in grave danger.
Undoubtedly that’s why Jesus singles it out as being so ominous. It’s notable that at this point in Jesus’ life His own family thought He was out of His mind.5 They came to take Him home, presumably to protect Him and their own reputations. Jesus essentially ignores them emphasizing the doing of God’s will. The world will always have an agenda. Its agenda will always be driven by the desire for self-promotion and self-indulgence. It entails the quest for power, money, popularity, prosperity and security.
Pursuit of the agenda involves practices of dishonesty and inequality. The agenda is based on human measures of value. The principles which allow this agenda to be pursued may in some measure agree with God’s will. A certain order and stability is needed in society to allow safe pursuit of goals. Both God and the secular government want a level of peace and order in society. But the unbelieving world will only promote the acquisition of things that are self-serving. The church always maintains a critique of the world’s agenda in some measure. Otherwise, we would be in denial that we live in a sinful world.
When the church capitulates fully to the agenda of the society at large, then it ceases not only to offer constructive criticism, but fails to transform people by catechizing them in the truth of Holy Scripture. Eternal salvation is ultimately at stake. The church must be steadfast in its proclamation of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ regardless of its popularity or results. The Word of God transforms without the aid of human embellishment or the deterrent of human corruption. The church’s call is to integrity and diligence. Because the world’s agenda is relentless and continues to push until checked by God’s judgment, we can, as Christians, have no misgivings about our task. Those segments of Christianity which condone or promote unbiblical agendas such as those of evolution, homosexuality, abortion and other things contrary to the word of God, have forsaken their mission to be salt and light in the world. They cannot in the same breath claim to serve the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In human terms, we may be very lonely, yes, even harassed and mocked when taking our stand on the truth. We may feel increasingly isolated from the ideals and pursuits of society. It’s a reality we had better get used to. Trends are pointing to an intensifying intolerance of the convictions of the Christian faith. The perception that Christianity- despite particular convictions distasteful to the post-modern mind- is generally a positive influence on society is no longer widely held.
But we have the assurance with which Paul speaks of, “Am I trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”6 Only God’s opinion ultimately matters. And as Christian fathers and mothers, bosses and employees, grandchildren and retires, as trusted friends, we have a great accountability regarding the integrity of our faith. Our Christian faith is never a purely private affair. We may influence countless people by never uttering a word. The Bible says, “You are the salt of the earth.”7 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”8
The Christian, who speaks and lives the truth, speaks with the greatest authority and has an incalculable influence. This is so because the Christian speaks and lives with the authority of Christ. We should always stand in awe of and never underestimate that power. Precisely because we understand that power is not our own, it gives rise not to arrogance but humility within us. Those who have been granted the greatest authority are in need of exercising the greatest humility. In proportion to one’s power and influence must be the diligence to avoid abusing that power. A leader is not a greater sinner than the common person when he or she falls- only likely to affect many more people. A Christian is a frail vessel carrying a great authority. We are the temples of the Holy Spirit.
We may sense a growing coldness from the world. But the apostle reminds us of the holy companionship we have. “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.”9 The world always has an alluring call. But we know the Master’s voice. “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.”10Jesus Christ has plundered Satan’s house. His death and resurrection have robbed the devil of His power. He has been bound by the cross. He has been put on notice. He knows his time is short. The same death and resurrection are the power by which you live. You are His baptized. You are His chosen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Second Sunday After Pentecost
7 June, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 See Matthew 16:18 2 See John 11:25
3 See 2 Kings 1:2 4 See Mark 3:29
5 See Mark 3:21 6 Galatians 1:10
7 Matthew 5:13 8Matthew 5:14
91 John 1:3 10John 10:27-28
Monday, May 25, 2015
Day of Pentecost (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 16:15
Theme: Distributing the Inheritance
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God speaks. He is a God who communicates. He communicates through word and deed, with clarity and with power. The writer of Hebrews begins his letter saying, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, who He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.”1 Today, on Pentecost, the truth of God’s communication to us also takes centre stage. Pentecost is one of the high festivals of the church year. On this day the church celebrates the promise of the Son to send the Spirit from the Father.
The end goal of the Holy Spirit is always the same. The Holy Spirit always seeks to lead the unbeliever to Christ. And the Holy Spirit always seeks to lead the believer back to Christ again, and again for forgiveness and sanctification. Jesus gives us some insight to the Holy Spirit’s work in today’s gospel. He uses the law like a surgical tool. “He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in Me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see Me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the price of this world now stands condemned.”2
Christ says the Holy Spirit will convict the word in regard to sin, because of their unbelief. Repentance and conversion are miracles of the Holy Spirit. Every degree of unrepentance is always a manifestation of unbelief, a rejection of the grace of God, a repudiation of Jesus’ work. The Holy Spirit offers no comfort for those who are content in their sinning or defiant in their unrighteousness. Such persons despise the forgiveness offered by Christ and shun His sacrificial work on the cross. When hardened in a state of unbelief, a human being is powerless to trust in Christ. For this reason, we declare with Luther, “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.”3
This is a remarkable statement because it confesses our complete ineptitude in spiritual things. It casts us wholly on the mercy of Christ; it makes us completely vulnerable to His promise. And that’s exactly where we need to be, because what feels risky to us (complete reliance on God) is actually the safest situation we can be in. The disciples were told to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came. Not until they were empowered by Him could they begin their witness to the world. Not surprisingly, that witness began with the miraculous ability to communicate the gospel in many languages.
Through human agency, Christ leavens the fallen world with His great reversal and restoration. The Biblical history of redemption is replete with facets of this reversal. The living Christ is the reversal of the Old Adam of death. Christ’s reign of righteousness is a reversal of Satan’s reign of evil, as He says, “The prince of this world now stands condemned.”4 The fallen era of the old covenant finds reversal in the new covenant marked by the Spirit. The pillar of the gospel’s singular confession dwarfs the Tower of Babel’s streams of confusion. Pentecost is a reversal of Babel. God gathers in forgiveness, what, in judgment, He was forced to scatter. From the plain of Shinar, an idolatrous humanity was scattered over the face of the earth. From the city of Jerusalem, a new community was gathered from an idolatrous world. At Babel, one language was divided into many tongues to confuse the message among many people and separate them. On Pentecost, the one message was spoken in many tongues to unite and gather many people. All Christians are agents of this reversal.
Our agency and our witnessing is not a matter of orchestrating something inconsistent with our baptismal life, but living faithfully in the promise of forgiveness. The Scripture says, “The fruit of Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”5 To keep in step with the Spirit means to live by the realities of the cross. The Holy Spirit will not lead us through the struggles of life by taking us through detours or enticing us to find strength or rest or answers from man-made sources; the Holy Spirit always takes us straight to the cross. He reminds us of the Saviour who died there for our sins and gives us strength and life and salvation.
The Holy Spirit distributes the blessings of the Father and the inheritance of the Son. Jesus says, “He will bring glory to me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”5 Think how great the endowment is that you have from God! Your dark, dirty, stained, and corrupted soul is cleansed, covered, renewed, and restored. You are clothed with a baptismal robe. You are fed with sacred food. You are tenderly embraced in divine love. You are protected with such spiritual armor that Satan cannot penetrate it. On the surface of it your life may appear pretty mundane, but you are in many respects an undercover agent bearing witness to the truths of the Spirit and the grace of the Son in both the small gestures of kindness and large sacrifices of time and resource you make.
God speaks. But His words are never idle or impotent. His words are life. The same Spirit who participated in the original creation will facilitate the new and final one. We’ll let Ezekiel have the final say, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put My Spirit in you and you will live.”7Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Day of Pentecost
24 May, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Hebrews 1:1-2
2 John 16:8-11
3 Explanation to the Third Article
4 John 16:11
5 Galatians 5:22-25
6 John 16:14-16
7 Ezekiel 37:12-14
Text: John 16:15
Theme: Distributing the Inheritance
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God speaks. He is a God who communicates. He communicates through word and deed, with clarity and with power. The writer of Hebrews begins his letter saying, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, who He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.”1 Today, on Pentecost, the truth of God’s communication to us also takes centre stage. Pentecost is one of the high festivals of the church year. On this day the church celebrates the promise of the Son to send the Spirit from the Father.
The end goal of the Holy Spirit is always the same. The Holy Spirit always seeks to lead the unbeliever to Christ. And the Holy Spirit always seeks to lead the believer back to Christ again, and again for forgiveness and sanctification. Jesus gives us some insight to the Holy Spirit’s work in today’s gospel. He uses the law like a surgical tool. “He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in Me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see Me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the price of this world now stands condemned.”2
Christ says the Holy Spirit will convict the word in regard to sin, because of their unbelief. Repentance and conversion are miracles of the Holy Spirit. Every degree of unrepentance is always a manifestation of unbelief, a rejection of the grace of God, a repudiation of Jesus’ work. The Holy Spirit offers no comfort for those who are content in their sinning or defiant in their unrighteousness. Such persons despise the forgiveness offered by Christ and shun His sacrificial work on the cross. When hardened in a state of unbelief, a human being is powerless to trust in Christ. For this reason, we declare with Luther, “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.”3
This is a remarkable statement because it confesses our complete ineptitude in spiritual things. It casts us wholly on the mercy of Christ; it makes us completely vulnerable to His promise. And that’s exactly where we need to be, because what feels risky to us (complete reliance on God) is actually the safest situation we can be in. The disciples were told to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came. Not until they were empowered by Him could they begin their witness to the world. Not surprisingly, that witness began with the miraculous ability to communicate the gospel in many languages.
Through human agency, Christ leavens the fallen world with His great reversal and restoration. The Biblical history of redemption is replete with facets of this reversal. The living Christ is the reversal of the Old Adam of death. Christ’s reign of righteousness is a reversal of Satan’s reign of evil, as He says, “The prince of this world now stands condemned.”4 The fallen era of the old covenant finds reversal in the new covenant marked by the Spirit. The pillar of the gospel’s singular confession dwarfs the Tower of Babel’s streams of confusion. Pentecost is a reversal of Babel. God gathers in forgiveness, what, in judgment, He was forced to scatter. From the plain of Shinar, an idolatrous humanity was scattered over the face of the earth. From the city of Jerusalem, a new community was gathered from an idolatrous world. At Babel, one language was divided into many tongues to confuse the message among many people and separate them. On Pentecost, the one message was spoken in many tongues to unite and gather many people. All Christians are agents of this reversal.
Our agency and our witnessing is not a matter of orchestrating something inconsistent with our baptismal life, but living faithfully in the promise of forgiveness. The Scripture says, “The fruit of Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”5 To keep in step with the Spirit means to live by the realities of the cross. The Holy Spirit will not lead us through the struggles of life by taking us through detours or enticing us to find strength or rest or answers from man-made sources; the Holy Spirit always takes us straight to the cross. He reminds us of the Saviour who died there for our sins and gives us strength and life and salvation.
The Holy Spirit distributes the blessings of the Father and the inheritance of the Son. Jesus says, “He will bring glory to me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”5 Think how great the endowment is that you have from God! Your dark, dirty, stained, and corrupted soul is cleansed, covered, renewed, and restored. You are clothed with a baptismal robe. You are fed with sacred food. You are tenderly embraced in divine love. You are protected with such spiritual armor that Satan cannot penetrate it. On the surface of it your life may appear pretty mundane, but you are in many respects an undercover agent bearing witness to the truths of the Spirit and the grace of the Son in both the small gestures of kindness and large sacrifices of time and resource you make.
God speaks. But His words are never idle or impotent. His words are life. The same Spirit who participated in the original creation will facilitate the new and final one. We’ll let Ezekiel have the final say, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put My Spirit in you and you will live.”7Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Day of Pentecost
24 May, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Hebrews 1:1-2
2 John 16:8-11
3 Explanation to the Third Article
4 John 16:11
5 Galatians 5:22-25
6 John 16:14-16
7 Ezekiel 37:12-14
Ella Neumann Funeral (19 May 2015)
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 11:25-26
Theme: Resurrected Life
Dear family, friends and loved ones of Ella Neumann,
God has answered Ella’s prayer. It was her firm desire to make a swift exit from this mortal life. That request was granted. Her sudden death leaves those who knew and loved her in shock but we cannot begrudge her the reward she now enjoys. Her toils have ended. Her struggles are over. The crown of life is hers. She fully participates in Christ’s triumphant victory. She is home.
The reality that Christ has achieved for her is the focus of our reflection. The fact of Ella’s baptism some 86 years ago is not an insignificant historical detail. Time is immaterial to the effectiveness of God’s work. In her baptism Ella was embraced in the Father’s love and promised an inheritance in the kingdom. That inheritance she now enjoys. She looked forward; longing to be released from the limitations of her declining life.
A number of years ago I greeted Ella warmly after church and asked how she was. I took notice of her response because I had never heard it before. She said, “I’ll pass with a push!” ‘Pass with a push’ is apparently a colloquial expression that means you’re getting by but a little assistance would be mighty helpful. The phrase became an ongoing source of friendly jibing between the two of us. It’s also descriptive of the reality we often face. Sometimes we need more than just a little help along the way, especially as we stand at the threshold of heaven.
Ella witnessed many changes during her lifetime, but the most fundamental things do not change. Life is still precarious. Sin must still be resolved. Following the two world wars of the last century those who thought the collective goodness of humanity would prevail on society became disillusioned. The conviction that the human race could progress to a level of morality, altruism, and civility that protected the well-being and freedom of all was shattered by the horrors of human destruction on a mass scale. Nothing has happened in recent times to convince us that things will change anytime soon. The Holy Scriptures tell us they never will. Advances in technology, medicine, or social affluence should never be confused with fundamental progress in human nature. People today are not born more honourable, noble, or upright, they are only born into different circumstances with different opportunities.
Individually though, the conviction that people are basically good by nature is still widely held. It is the driving force behind every effort to find oneness, wholeness, heath or healing by looking within. Every attempt to put oneself right with God by accessing inner goodness is a spiritually fatal endeavor. Christ says, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”1 Death and decay were not part of the original equation. They are the result of sin. Sin is an all-permeating reality from which no one is exempt. There is no moral or spiritual hygiene that prevents us from coming into contact with it. All are held to account. All are guilty. All are in need of grace.
Ella understood the consequences of being a sinner. She knew she was saved by grace, through faith in her Saviour. She confessed that truth and she lived it. Her confirmation verse was “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.”2 She knew the cross had reconciled her to God. She was happy to be associated with His ‘foolishness’.
Ella’s middle- Marie- is a derivation of one of the most famous names in history. Mary was the mother of our Lord and a different Mary, a close friend of Jesus, is relevant to our gospel today. Mary was the one who sat at Jesus’ feet and listened attentively to His words. Ella was a keen disciple of God’s word but she also saw to the education of the young in the faith. She had no children of her own but she was a faithful teacher for many children of the church. She regularly taught Saturday School and then Sunday School. She was active in handing on the faith to the next generation. Ella was never pretentious. What you saw is what you got. She called a spade a spade. She wasted little time with cover-ups or appearances. She was never short on humour and was long on integrity. She knew what it meant to work hard and get by with little. But she knew that salvation depended on Christ and that He would not fail her.
A woman in charge of the laundry services for a large company was the last one on staff after everyone else had left for a month’s break. She loaded all the uniforms into industrial washers, set them going, left, and never returned. The clothes were thoroughly cleaned, but because they were never dried or removed, when they were discovered a month later, they were moldy and ruined. They couldn’t be worn. A surgeon in a remote village was performing a protracted operation on patient in critical condition. While pausing to sanitize his hands the surgeon had a sudden stroke. Before another doctor arrived the patient died because the surgery was still incomplete. Both were tragic in their own way.
Dear friends, the sacrificial death of Christ for us was not the same sort of tragedy. Christ does not begin anything He does not finish. He does not launder our souls in His blood and then forget to clothe us with His immortality. He does not remove our sin with surgical precision and then fail to sew us up and heal us. God’s word says “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”3 His crucifixion atoned for our sins. His resurrection attains for us everlasting life. His Spirit attends us always.
Let us be clear about what the Scriptures say and rejoice in them. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins...but Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.””4 He says, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”5 He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”6
Ella’s soul resides in the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, saints and angels. She awaits the resurrection of the body as we all do. As the beautiful hymn says Ella has fallen asleep in Jesus’ wounds. She has opened her eyes to the glorious brightness of eternity. The cares and the dangers of this mortal life no longer concern her. Sin cannot reach her. Satan cannot scare her. Death cannot touch her. She is with her Shepherd, her Saviour; her King. She need not worry if she’ll pass with a push for she enjoys vitality, the measure of which we can only envisage in faith. But, like Ella, we will not be disappointed when we see Him face to face. Thanks be to God for His immeasurable love. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Christian Burial of Ella Marie Neumann
19 May 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 15:19
2 1 Corinthians 1:18
3 Philippians 1:6
4 1 Corinthians 15:17, 20
5 John 5:24
6 John 11:25
Text: John 11:25-26
Theme: Resurrected Life
Dear family, friends and loved ones of Ella Neumann,
God has answered Ella’s prayer. It was her firm desire to make a swift exit from this mortal life. That request was granted. Her sudden death leaves those who knew and loved her in shock but we cannot begrudge her the reward she now enjoys. Her toils have ended. Her struggles are over. The crown of life is hers. She fully participates in Christ’s triumphant victory. She is home.
The reality that Christ has achieved for her is the focus of our reflection. The fact of Ella’s baptism some 86 years ago is not an insignificant historical detail. Time is immaterial to the effectiveness of God’s work. In her baptism Ella was embraced in the Father’s love and promised an inheritance in the kingdom. That inheritance she now enjoys. She looked forward; longing to be released from the limitations of her declining life.
A number of years ago I greeted Ella warmly after church and asked how she was. I took notice of her response because I had never heard it before. She said, “I’ll pass with a push!” ‘Pass with a push’ is apparently a colloquial expression that means you’re getting by but a little assistance would be mighty helpful. The phrase became an ongoing source of friendly jibing between the two of us. It’s also descriptive of the reality we often face. Sometimes we need more than just a little help along the way, especially as we stand at the threshold of heaven.
Ella witnessed many changes during her lifetime, but the most fundamental things do not change. Life is still precarious. Sin must still be resolved. Following the two world wars of the last century those who thought the collective goodness of humanity would prevail on society became disillusioned. The conviction that the human race could progress to a level of morality, altruism, and civility that protected the well-being and freedom of all was shattered by the horrors of human destruction on a mass scale. Nothing has happened in recent times to convince us that things will change anytime soon. The Holy Scriptures tell us they never will. Advances in technology, medicine, or social affluence should never be confused with fundamental progress in human nature. People today are not born more honourable, noble, or upright, they are only born into different circumstances with different opportunities.
Individually though, the conviction that people are basically good by nature is still widely held. It is the driving force behind every effort to find oneness, wholeness, heath or healing by looking within. Every attempt to put oneself right with God by accessing inner goodness is a spiritually fatal endeavor. Christ says, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”1 Death and decay were not part of the original equation. They are the result of sin. Sin is an all-permeating reality from which no one is exempt. There is no moral or spiritual hygiene that prevents us from coming into contact with it. All are held to account. All are guilty. All are in need of grace.
Ella understood the consequences of being a sinner. She knew she was saved by grace, through faith in her Saviour. She confessed that truth and she lived it. Her confirmation verse was “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.”2 She knew the cross had reconciled her to God. She was happy to be associated with His ‘foolishness’.
Ella’s middle- Marie- is a derivation of one of the most famous names in history. Mary was the mother of our Lord and a different Mary, a close friend of Jesus, is relevant to our gospel today. Mary was the one who sat at Jesus’ feet and listened attentively to His words. Ella was a keen disciple of God’s word but she also saw to the education of the young in the faith. She had no children of her own but she was a faithful teacher for many children of the church. She regularly taught Saturday School and then Sunday School. She was active in handing on the faith to the next generation. Ella was never pretentious. What you saw is what you got. She called a spade a spade. She wasted little time with cover-ups or appearances. She was never short on humour and was long on integrity. She knew what it meant to work hard and get by with little. But she knew that salvation depended on Christ and that He would not fail her.
A woman in charge of the laundry services for a large company was the last one on staff after everyone else had left for a month’s break. She loaded all the uniforms into industrial washers, set them going, left, and never returned. The clothes were thoroughly cleaned, but because they were never dried or removed, when they were discovered a month later, they were moldy and ruined. They couldn’t be worn. A surgeon in a remote village was performing a protracted operation on patient in critical condition. While pausing to sanitize his hands the surgeon had a sudden stroke. Before another doctor arrived the patient died because the surgery was still incomplete. Both were tragic in their own way.
Dear friends, the sacrificial death of Christ for us was not the same sort of tragedy. Christ does not begin anything He does not finish. He does not launder our souls in His blood and then forget to clothe us with His immortality. He does not remove our sin with surgical precision and then fail to sew us up and heal us. God’s word says “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”3 His crucifixion atoned for our sins. His resurrection attains for us everlasting life. His Spirit attends us always.
Let us be clear about what the Scriptures say and rejoice in them. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins...but Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.””4 He says, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”5 He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”6
Ella’s soul resides in the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, saints and angels. She awaits the resurrection of the body as we all do. As the beautiful hymn says Ella has fallen asleep in Jesus’ wounds. She has opened her eyes to the glorious brightness of eternity. The cares and the dangers of this mortal life no longer concern her. Sin cannot reach her. Satan cannot scare her. Death cannot touch her. She is with her Shepherd, her Saviour; her King. She need not worry if she’ll pass with a push for she enjoys vitality, the measure of which we can only envisage in faith. But, like Ella, we will not be disappointed when we see Him face to face. Thanks be to God for His immeasurable love. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Christian Burial of Ella Marie Neumann
19 May 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 15:19
2 1 Corinthians 1:18
3 Philippians 1:6
4 1 Corinthians 15:17, 20
5 John 5:24
6 John 11:25
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Seventh Sunday of Easter (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 17:11
Theme: Holy Intercession
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Christ understands the distresses of this mortal life. He has lived through them. The Scripture says, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin.”1 It’s not surprising then that He continues to mediate for us. Today’s gospel is a beautiful illustration. This intense and richly worded prayer is often called the High Priestly prayer. It gives insight into Jesus’ work of intercession on our behalf. He never tires, He never rests, He never lapses, He never stops until we are resurrected with Him in heaven.
But we are not there yet. In the incarnation of Jesus time and space are redeemed, but time and space are also transcended and marked for collapse. Christ’s birth into the world means that time is no longer just ticking away endlessly and aimlessly without purpose. It means that this dimension of space in which we dwell has been reclaimed by its Creator. Everything is moving towards consummation in Christ. Denial, resistance, or ignorance will not spare the unbeliever from the judgment. But the repentant soul who takes refuge in the mercy of Christ never needs to doubt His forgiveness. John summarizes succinctly today, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”2
Jesus does not pray today that the disciples are immediately taken to heaven with Him. Rather, He prays fervently for protection from the evil one. Satan’s attacks are more sinister than we often acknowledge. Often we engage him childishly or naively, discounting both his intent and his influence. One of the most persistent symptoms of sin is overconfidence in our spiritual abilities and a false sense of security about our worthiness in God’s eyes. The world teaches that all people are basically good; they’re only in need of some prompting. The Holy Scripture says we are naturally full of utter darkness; worthy of condemnation. Both propositions cannot be true. They stand in contradiction. The crucifixion shows which conviction is true.
Dear friends, it’s remarkable that Jesus prayed these words just before His suffering and death. He was single-minded about the task before Him: Loving the world until the end. It alerts us to remember our priorities. You do not have the strength, the time, or the energy to pursue all the things you are most passionate about, let alone the things you have less interest in. How do you prioritize? Do you give precedence to those things which are financially lucrative? Do you put family first? Do you chase happiness? Are you driven by guilt? Do you find yourself being pulled in many directions at once without clear conviction about what is most important? No one can do everything. What motivates us to value the things we invest most in? What motivates us to love? What do we risk?
C. S. Lewis says, “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin or your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable...The only place outside heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers...of love is hell.”
Perhaps your prayer life has fallen on hard times? The busyness of your schedule or the apathy in your heart has pushed it aside. Perhaps it’s bogged down with formality or frail from superficiality? Maybe the devil has almost convinced you that it’s a waste of time; it just doesn’t work, your prayers don’t seem to be answered. Nagging, threats, or condemnations may convict you, and in-so-far-as they facilitate true repentance they are necessary. But the law gives no strength to accomplish what it demands, even in the case of prayer. The power rests with God alone. You are freed to pray because by grace Christ has set you free.
The unbeliever prays to an idol or prays aimlessly for that’s all he or she can do. But the baptized people of God lift their hearts and their voices to the Father of light, through the Son crowned with thorns, in the presence of the Spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit prays for you. Christ intercedes for you. As surely as the dead are raised; as surely as Christ has been resurrected from death, your prayer life too is raised, renewed, and recreated from the doldrums, from the darkness, from the ashes. For prayer is nothing more than one response of faith and faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Faith can move mountains because it draws on Him whose mighty power set the earth on its foundation. How often our prayers are not too assertive, but too paltry! Nothing is impossible with God. Christ Himself requests of the Father that we be sanctified in the truth. He says, “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name.”3 What more can we ask for than the Son as our Mediator, Redeemer, and Judge; the Spirit as our Advocate, Comforter, and Counselor; the Father Himself as our Rock, Refuge, and Fortress? The angels, too, are not remiss in their attentiveness.
Thursday marked the Festival of the Ascension; forty days since Easter. In the ascension Christ passes with His humanity into the majestic presence of God. We are to think of this presence not only in terms of light and beauty and holiness, but also in terms of power, rule, and intercession. Christ lifts sinner to the right hand of God. The right hand of God is not a distant and dreamy place; it is right here where Christ breaches time and space through His means of grace. The Scripture says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down) or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim).”4
The Christ who dwells at God’s right hand is not different from the One who promises “I am with you always.”5 It’s not as though Jesus is gone and we must get by with the Spirit until He returns. The Holy Spirit is not Christ’s vicar. His role is not substitutionary. The Spirit points to Christ and attests to Him. The Holy Spirit discloses the mind of Christ. Christ seeks the glory of the Father. The Spirit seeks the glory of the Son.
Where does the penitent go; the soul aching for pardon? To the risen and ascended Christ in the sacrament. The lonely widow or widower? Where do they meet the Immanuel, God-with-us? In the sacrament. Where does the person bruised in conscience and battered in heart go to meet the Suffering Servant who still bears His scars in the flesh? In the sacrament. Where does the person who desires to leave regret behind “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead?” 6 To Him “who is and who was and who is to come,”7 in the sacrament. Christ is among us as One who serves. Our prayers are carried by Him. Our salvation is secured by Him. Thanks be to God! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Seventh Sunday of Easter
17 May, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Hebrews 4:15
2 1 John 5:11-12
3 John 17:11
4 Romans 10:6-8
5 Matthew 28:20
6 Philippians 3:13
7 Revelation 1:8
Text: John 17:11
Theme: Holy Intercession
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Christ understands the distresses of this mortal life. He has lived through them. The Scripture says, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin.”1 It’s not surprising then that He continues to mediate for us. Today’s gospel is a beautiful illustration. This intense and richly worded prayer is often called the High Priestly prayer. It gives insight into Jesus’ work of intercession on our behalf. He never tires, He never rests, He never lapses, He never stops until we are resurrected with Him in heaven.
But we are not there yet. In the incarnation of Jesus time and space are redeemed, but time and space are also transcended and marked for collapse. Christ’s birth into the world means that time is no longer just ticking away endlessly and aimlessly without purpose. It means that this dimension of space in which we dwell has been reclaimed by its Creator. Everything is moving towards consummation in Christ. Denial, resistance, or ignorance will not spare the unbeliever from the judgment. But the repentant soul who takes refuge in the mercy of Christ never needs to doubt His forgiveness. John summarizes succinctly today, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”2
Jesus does not pray today that the disciples are immediately taken to heaven with Him. Rather, He prays fervently for protection from the evil one. Satan’s attacks are more sinister than we often acknowledge. Often we engage him childishly or naively, discounting both his intent and his influence. One of the most persistent symptoms of sin is overconfidence in our spiritual abilities and a false sense of security about our worthiness in God’s eyes. The world teaches that all people are basically good; they’re only in need of some prompting. The Holy Scripture says we are naturally full of utter darkness; worthy of condemnation. Both propositions cannot be true. They stand in contradiction. The crucifixion shows which conviction is true.
Dear friends, it’s remarkable that Jesus prayed these words just before His suffering and death. He was single-minded about the task before Him: Loving the world until the end. It alerts us to remember our priorities. You do not have the strength, the time, or the energy to pursue all the things you are most passionate about, let alone the things you have less interest in. How do you prioritize? Do you give precedence to those things which are financially lucrative? Do you put family first? Do you chase happiness? Are you driven by guilt? Do you find yourself being pulled in many directions at once without clear conviction about what is most important? No one can do everything. What motivates us to value the things we invest most in? What motivates us to love? What do we risk?
C. S. Lewis says, “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin or your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable...The only place outside heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers...of love is hell.”
Perhaps your prayer life has fallen on hard times? The busyness of your schedule or the apathy in your heart has pushed it aside. Perhaps it’s bogged down with formality or frail from superficiality? Maybe the devil has almost convinced you that it’s a waste of time; it just doesn’t work, your prayers don’t seem to be answered. Nagging, threats, or condemnations may convict you, and in-so-far-as they facilitate true repentance they are necessary. But the law gives no strength to accomplish what it demands, even in the case of prayer. The power rests with God alone. You are freed to pray because by grace Christ has set you free.
The unbeliever prays to an idol or prays aimlessly for that’s all he or she can do. But the baptized people of God lift their hearts and their voices to the Father of light, through the Son crowned with thorns, in the presence of the Spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit prays for you. Christ intercedes for you. As surely as the dead are raised; as surely as Christ has been resurrected from death, your prayer life too is raised, renewed, and recreated from the doldrums, from the darkness, from the ashes. For prayer is nothing more than one response of faith and faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Faith can move mountains because it draws on Him whose mighty power set the earth on its foundation. How often our prayers are not too assertive, but too paltry! Nothing is impossible with God. Christ Himself requests of the Father that we be sanctified in the truth. He says, “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name.”3 What more can we ask for than the Son as our Mediator, Redeemer, and Judge; the Spirit as our Advocate, Comforter, and Counselor; the Father Himself as our Rock, Refuge, and Fortress? The angels, too, are not remiss in their attentiveness.
Thursday marked the Festival of the Ascension; forty days since Easter. In the ascension Christ passes with His humanity into the majestic presence of God. We are to think of this presence not only in terms of light and beauty and holiness, but also in terms of power, rule, and intercession. Christ lifts sinner to the right hand of God. The right hand of God is not a distant and dreamy place; it is right here where Christ breaches time and space through His means of grace. The Scripture says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down) or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim).”4
The Christ who dwells at God’s right hand is not different from the One who promises “I am with you always.”5 It’s not as though Jesus is gone and we must get by with the Spirit until He returns. The Holy Spirit is not Christ’s vicar. His role is not substitutionary. The Spirit points to Christ and attests to Him. The Holy Spirit discloses the mind of Christ. Christ seeks the glory of the Father. The Spirit seeks the glory of the Son.
Where does the penitent go; the soul aching for pardon? To the risen and ascended Christ in the sacrament. The lonely widow or widower? Where do they meet the Immanuel, God-with-us? In the sacrament. Where does the person bruised in conscience and battered in heart go to meet the Suffering Servant who still bears His scars in the flesh? In the sacrament. Where does the person who desires to leave regret behind “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead?” 6 To Him “who is and who was and who is to come,”7 in the sacrament. Christ is among us as One who serves. Our prayers are carried by Him. Our salvation is secured by Him. Thanks be to God! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Seventh Sunday of Easter
17 May, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Hebrews 4:15
2 1 John 5:11-12
3 John 17:11
4 Romans 10:6-8
5 Matthew 28:20
6 Philippians 3:13
7 Revelation 1:8
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