+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 5:24
Theme: Incorruptible Resurrection
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Today is a Sunday to put last things first. On this final Sunday of the Church Year our gospel reading focuses not on those cosmic and tumultuous events that will precede the end of the world (we will hear more about those in coming weeks); but on the most relevant and significant reality that will affect human beings: the resurrection of the dead. It will be the culmination of Jesus’ work and show the stunning power of God over death. Jesus says, “As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.”1 “Just as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He is pleased to give it.”2
The dead will be raised. In Christ, the dead have been raised. You see, all believers experience two resurrections. The first is a spiritual resurrection. This resurrection is baptismal. The Scripture says, “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.3 The Holy Spirit raises us from spiritual death through the power of Christ’s death and resurrection.
Spiritual death is a genuine incapacitation. Fully matured sin results in death. It is not a theoretical or contrived state in which people are still able to exercise some natural power to know God, love God, or consider the implications of His truth. It is rather, such a complete darkness and blindness that God is considered the enemy, if not consciously, at least willfully. “The sinful mind is hostile to God. it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.”4 “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.”5
So important is this truth we can’t properly appreciate the gospel without believing it. It’s akin to believing we are sinners who cannot save ourselves. We are completely at God’s mercy. The Lutheran Reformers said it this way, “Just as a man who is physically dead cannot of his own powers prepare or adapt himself to obtain temporal life again, so the man who is spiritually dead in sins cannot of his own strength adapt or apply himself to the acquisition of spiritual and heavenly righteousness and life.”6 Spiritual resurrection is the same thing as conversion or regeneration. That which was dead is made alive. It is the work of the Holy Spirit.
The second resurrection is the resurrection of the body on the Last Day. At the coming of Christ all the dead will be raised, their bodies will be reunited with their souls, and all will be gathered before Him for judgment. The wicked will be condemned to everlasting torment. Christians will enjoy eternity in their complete personhoods; redeemed and restored in the image of Christ. The Scripture says, “The Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”7 This mystery is beyond our comprehension but is the consummation of our hope.
Until that day we live in the tension of the already but not yet. The struggle for souls is fierce. Satan knows how to play on our fears. Christians struggle too. One theologian expressed it this way, “Anxiety is the liturgy we offer to the idols who have failed us.”8 Misplaced trust will always result in a false sense of security or in angst and fear. If we place our hope in money, become over-confident in good health, too reliant on a good job, overly-dependent on a stable family, we will be disappointed. If too many supports crash down at once we may be in crisis. We fret. We worry. We wring our hands in anxiety and sometimes desperation. Our expectations have become unreasonable because our hope has been mislaid.
The borrowed spiritual capital our society has been living on these past decades is quickly running out. People have little interest in distinguishing between what is true and what is false. The mantra is tolerance. But what does this really mean? People naturally want material prosperity, but at what cost? At what point will people realize they cannot find meaning in life just through indulgence in material things? We can already see how the vicious cycles of addiction, violence, and abuse are decimating the stability of society. These problems cannot be solved through legislation and law enforcement. Hearts must be changed.
It would be tempting for believers to just give up and give in. As the saying goes, “If you can beat ‘em, join ‘em.” And that’s exactly what many are doing. We must be honest and courageous enough to recognize the hollow claim of many who say their faith really matters. The proof is in the pudding. Actions speak louder than words. We can fool ourselves and others but we can’t fool God. We are never without hope because we have the One who is God of the living and the dead. We have forgiveness free and certain.
To the naked human eye God’s redemption of the world through an infant born in a manger and crucified on a cross doesn’t square with what’s visible. The triumph of Christ isn’t readily apparent. The reign of God isn’t immediately evident. The rule of the Holy Spirit isn’t clearly visible. The power and presence of God is hidden in apparent weakness. God wants His love to be known through the cross. His mercy is understood through sacrifice. Grace is displayed through Jesus’ complete surrender. Human logic cannot grasp these truths. The Holy Spirit is required. We are saved by grace through faith. No one can be saved any other way. His means of word, water, bread, and wine appear too mundane to accomplish magnificent spiritual achievements. Yet Christ is present in a peaceful and powerful manner. That’s the nature of forgiveness. It is God’s mode of operation in this world.
But rest assured, there will be no mistaking Christ’s glorious return. “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: ‘As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God’”9 There will be no second chances, no negotiating, no plea-bargaining. Christ will be recognized as Lord over all. Satan’s “day” will be done. An incorruptible resurrection awaits us. Christ, the Lord over life and death says today, “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.”10 May God make it so in His time! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Last Sunday Of the Church Year
22 November, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 5:26
2 John 5:21
3 Romans 3:3-4
4 Romans 8:7
5 Colossians 2:13
6 Formula of Concord, SD 11
7 Philippians 3:20-21
8 Kenneth Korby
9 Romans 14:10-11
10 John 5:24
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Christian Burial of Herta Lane (17 November 2015)
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Romans 8:35
Theme: Inseparable Love
Dear family, friends, and loved ones of Herta, and especially her children; Marianne, Linda, Brian, and Kevin,
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to be silent, and a time to speak. A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to be born and a time to die.” 1 Those timeless words were recorded in Holy Writ for the benefit of humanity until the final curtain call of history. There is appointed for every person a time to die. Herta’s time to die has passed. But now she just begins to really live. Released from the struggles of this life, freed from the power of sin, ushered safely through the portal to eternity, Herta now rests in the presence of God Almighty. She is at peace. Thanks be to God for His resounding love!
We heard in the Bible reading that nothing can separate the believer from the love of Christ. Not angels or demons, height, depth, powers, principalities or death itself. Could there be a more relevant truth or comforting than this? Death is the final stage of the pathology of sin. It’s not something the world likes to believe, preferring instead to think that death is just natural- part of a cosmic biological cycle. But where would that leave those who are made in the image of the Creator? Sin merits a punishment that cannot be reconciled with the idea that people are just animals. The reconciliation of Christ was required to restore us to God.
Many would just like to ignore death altogether. But that’s a foolish and dangerous game. Reflection on mortality is perhaps the best way to shake people out of the naïve stupor of invincibility. No one can avoid death. No one can avoid facing the judgment. No one will just cease to exist. If we meditate on that soberly the Holy Spirit soon brings us to a humble repentance. Humans are made for eternity. Thanks be to God that Christ has taken the punishment- His own death on the cross- to spare us from the unspeakable evil of separation from God forever.
Herta Lane understood the evil humanity is capable of. She lived through war. War is hell. It unleashes the depths of human depravity. It helps us to quickly sort out the essentials of life. It inflicts wounds. It accumulates scars. It robs people of their futures. But in spite of her experience of these horrors Herta never lost hope. She carried on with persistence and determination. She knew that the greater war had already been won. And so she pressed in faithfulness.
Nothing meant more to Herta than her family. She enjoyed spending time with them. She enjoyed caring for them. She rejoiced when they were happy. She grieved when they were sorrowful. She was willing to sacrifice everything for their well-being. She made sure that they knew she loved them unconditionally. It was a reflection of God’s unconditional love in Christ.
Outwardly Herta’s walk of faith was steady and uncomplicated. She was a quiet but strong disciple. Inwardly, it’s likely she balanced in her heart the tension between witnessing the severities of life and the blessings she was privileged to enjoy. She understood that sometimes it’s only the sheer mercy of God that carries one through. Herta was saved by grace. Accounted righteous for Christ’s sake because His blood was shed for her. She was clothed with His holiness in baptism. She regularly was strengthened by His body and blood in holy communion. She received again and again His word of forgiveness. Dear friends, she is in His strong and capable embrace. Sin and Satan cannot touch her. That does not mean we don’t mourn her death.
Grief is one of the most powerful of human emotions. It is a measure of our frailty but also of our capacity for compassion. Jesus Himself wept at the tomb of Lazarus. But He also said, “I am going to there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”2 Therefore, Christians do not grieve as if they were without hope. Christ promises, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”3 Apart from Christ the living are already dead. With Christ the dead are already living.
The Bible reminds Christians that we are all strangers and aliens in the world4; we are pilgrims passing through. Herta understood what that meant. She moved from Europe to England until Australia finally became her home. But true citizenship is in heaven. Life is fleeting and transient, each day a precious gift. If we don’t learn to treasure life it will soon pass us by. These things no longer concern Herta. Her soul has arrived at the destination. Her body awaits the final transformation.
Herta, like all believers, will be resurrected-bodily- to a reality in which struggle no longer exists. Immortality is no imaginary dream. Believers will in body and soul enjoy a vibrancy of life that is far beyond our comprehension now. God has promised this. If God does not keep His promises then we are all without hope. The advances of the modern age will not save us. But the ancient truth of our Immortal Saviour will. Herta has received the crown of life. A lamb tucked safely into the fold of the Good Shepherd she faces no dangers and had no cares. Thanks be to God! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Christian Burial of Herta Lane
17 November, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Ecclesiastes 3:1,6,7,4,2 2 John 14:2-3 3 John 11:25 4 1 Peter 2:11
Text: Romans 8:35
Theme: Inseparable Love
Dear family, friends, and loved ones of Herta, and especially her children; Marianne, Linda, Brian, and Kevin,
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to be silent, and a time to speak. A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to be born and a time to die.” 1 Those timeless words were recorded in Holy Writ for the benefit of humanity until the final curtain call of history. There is appointed for every person a time to die. Herta’s time to die has passed. But now she just begins to really live. Released from the struggles of this life, freed from the power of sin, ushered safely through the portal to eternity, Herta now rests in the presence of God Almighty. She is at peace. Thanks be to God for His resounding love!
We heard in the Bible reading that nothing can separate the believer from the love of Christ. Not angels or demons, height, depth, powers, principalities or death itself. Could there be a more relevant truth or comforting than this? Death is the final stage of the pathology of sin. It’s not something the world likes to believe, preferring instead to think that death is just natural- part of a cosmic biological cycle. But where would that leave those who are made in the image of the Creator? Sin merits a punishment that cannot be reconciled with the idea that people are just animals. The reconciliation of Christ was required to restore us to God.
Many would just like to ignore death altogether. But that’s a foolish and dangerous game. Reflection on mortality is perhaps the best way to shake people out of the naïve stupor of invincibility. No one can avoid death. No one can avoid facing the judgment. No one will just cease to exist. If we meditate on that soberly the Holy Spirit soon brings us to a humble repentance. Humans are made for eternity. Thanks be to God that Christ has taken the punishment- His own death on the cross- to spare us from the unspeakable evil of separation from God forever.
Herta Lane understood the evil humanity is capable of. She lived through war. War is hell. It unleashes the depths of human depravity. It helps us to quickly sort out the essentials of life. It inflicts wounds. It accumulates scars. It robs people of their futures. But in spite of her experience of these horrors Herta never lost hope. She carried on with persistence and determination. She knew that the greater war had already been won. And so she pressed in faithfulness.
Nothing meant more to Herta than her family. She enjoyed spending time with them. She enjoyed caring for them. She rejoiced when they were happy. She grieved when they were sorrowful. She was willing to sacrifice everything for their well-being. She made sure that they knew she loved them unconditionally. It was a reflection of God’s unconditional love in Christ.
Outwardly Herta’s walk of faith was steady and uncomplicated. She was a quiet but strong disciple. Inwardly, it’s likely she balanced in her heart the tension between witnessing the severities of life and the blessings she was privileged to enjoy. She understood that sometimes it’s only the sheer mercy of God that carries one through. Herta was saved by grace. Accounted righteous for Christ’s sake because His blood was shed for her. She was clothed with His holiness in baptism. She regularly was strengthened by His body and blood in holy communion. She received again and again His word of forgiveness. Dear friends, she is in His strong and capable embrace. Sin and Satan cannot touch her. That does not mean we don’t mourn her death.
Grief is one of the most powerful of human emotions. It is a measure of our frailty but also of our capacity for compassion. Jesus Himself wept at the tomb of Lazarus. But He also said, “I am going to there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”2 Therefore, Christians do not grieve as if they were without hope. Christ promises, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”3 Apart from Christ the living are already dead. With Christ the dead are already living.
The Bible reminds Christians that we are all strangers and aliens in the world4; we are pilgrims passing through. Herta understood what that meant. She moved from Europe to England until Australia finally became her home. But true citizenship is in heaven. Life is fleeting and transient, each day a precious gift. If we don’t learn to treasure life it will soon pass us by. These things no longer concern Herta. Her soul has arrived at the destination. Her body awaits the final transformation.
Herta, like all believers, will be resurrected-bodily- to a reality in which struggle no longer exists. Immortality is no imaginary dream. Believers will in body and soul enjoy a vibrancy of life that is far beyond our comprehension now. God has promised this. If God does not keep His promises then we are all without hope. The advances of the modern age will not save us. But the ancient truth of our Immortal Saviour will. Herta has received the crown of life. A lamb tucked safely into the fold of the Good Shepherd she faces no dangers and had no cares. Thanks be to God! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Christian Burial of Herta Lane
17 November, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Ecclesiastes 3:1,6,7,4,2 2 John 14:2-3 3 John 11:25 4 1 Peter 2:11
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Twenty-Fifth Sunday After Pentecost (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Mark 13:7-9
Theme: Stability Within Upheaval
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Maturity has its limits. Understanding has its thresholds. That is, until Christ comes in glory. Tell a young child that something will happen in nine months’ time and it will mean very little to them. Explain that a relative lives several thousand kilometers away and their eyes may glaze over. The concepts of time and space present difficult challenges for the human mind. Even in adulthood we struggle. They are not abstract concepts, yet the actual experience of these realities is often complex. Today Jesus reminds us of the profound spiritual implications.
As we approach the end of the Church Year we encounter again those Scriptures which speak of the circumstances of Christ’s return. The challenge is not to see this as just an annual trigger, a reminder of Christ’s promise much like the annual notices we get to remind us of dental check-ups, insurance reviews, or tax submissions. The specter of Christ’s imminent return looms over our perspective of the here and now. The One who has come is coming again. We are living on borrowed time. Yet we are already in sync with eternity. That is part of the mystery of Christ’s resurrected and ascended presence among us.
Today Jesus instructs His disciples using the temple and its surrounds as the point of reference. The disciples are impressed with the magnificence of the temple. It would seem to be a paradigm of stability. But Christ says it will all crumble. Then follows an extended description of the turmoil that will precede Jesus’ return. “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines.”1
The instability initiated by the fall into sin will run its course and only be brought to conclusion by Jesus’ Second Coming. Believers should have no misgivings about these truths.
Nations rise and fall. Empires come and go. Societies prosper; then falter. Ideologies flourish; then fade. Novelties become fads. Fads become customs. Customs become traditions. Traditions become dogmas- seemingly unalterable parts of the fabric of the culture. But then they are overthrown- sometimes with violence, sometimes through apathy- and they quickly vanish and are forgotten. Legends become myths. Myths become forgotten until they are reincarnated by those who had no prior knowledge of the consequences of their false foundations; those who were never taught the lessons of history. Then they slowly, subtly at first, begin to show the symptoms of corruption they had displayed before.
You see, idolatry never ages. It’s perennially rejuvenated youthfulness must continue as evidence of Satan’s desperate agenda of denying the living God. Don’t thinks for an instant that Satan is on holiday. Don’t imagine that sin is passé, a thing of the past. Don’t believe for a moment that your internal desires, those seedy, selfish cravings will just cease to exist. You are no less of a sinner in your maturity than you were in your youth. You might be more adept at covering up your sin, but you are no less guilty. The need for repentance never ceases until we take our final breath. We pray that the Holy Spirit would justly convict us; working a humility within us that cherishes the grace we have in our Lord.
Sometimes we must consider whether our expectations are misguided, unreasonable or altogether false. They must be continually measured against the Scriptures and revised accordingly. If our expectation is that Christianity should benefit us with some worldly recognition or praise for being faithful to God, well, then we’re laboring under a grand delusion. If we expect life to be carefree and painless then we’ve misread or are ignorant of the clear message of Jesus to His followers. Baptismal living is a struggle. If we think this world can march on in unbridled prosperity and that our own mortality can be avoided then we are naïve or willfully ignorant about biblical truth.
Everything created is fragile, but the words and promises of God are indestructible.
Some foundations are unshakeable. Christ is the perfect and complete incarnation of the living God. His work of sacrifice can never be torn down. The cross can never be gainsaid. The disciples marveled at the magnificence of the Jerusalem temple today. But Jesus warns it would all be destroyed. What makes a church a worthy place of worship is not the quality or character of its architecture but the presence of the Word of God. The church is ancient. It is the fellowship of God’s people right back to the first sinners who were redeemed.
Now what do these truths have to do with you? Much in every way! Each and every day you are Christ’s witnesses in the world. You provide the listening ear, the gentle embrace, the hard truth according to the situation you’re in. Your support, encouragement, and even chastisement are part of your vocation of serving others. What does our Scripture say, “Let hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us no give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”2 In Christ we have stability within upheaval. We have peace in the midst of chaos. We have certainty in the face of doubt. We have the foundation of truth smack in the middle of a sea of falsehood.
Many still desperately lack that certainty. No one is beyond the reach of God’s redeeming love. No one has descended so far into the abyss of utter darkness that the rays of Christ’s light cannot penetrate. If we doubt this truth then we have surrendered the central teaching of the Christian faith. Christ came to reconcile sinners. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.”3 In baptism believers are incorporated into the death and resurrection of God’s one and only Son. The Holy Spirit has sealed you for the day of redemption.
Meanwhile, we live on borrowed time yet in sync with eternity. And how we live matters. Good habits should be recognized and strengthened. Bad habits should be identified and reformed. Christian life involves litany and liturgy. Litany involves the practice of beseeching God with prayers of supplication and thanksgiving. It is characterized by the ongoing conversation we have with and through our Great High Priest. Liturgy involves the rhythm of worship- of receiving the giftings of the Giver and responding in humble reverence. It is characterized by God’s service to us in Christ- through word and sacrament- and our response through the power of the Holy Spirit.
A sandcastle built in the path of a rising ocean tide doomed for destruction. It cannot stand. Our fallen world cannot stand. But we look forward to a more stable foundation. Christ has built His kingdom on much firmer ground. The foundation is built on the righteousness and truth of God Himself. Immortal and indestructible He promises that we will share in His life. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Twenty-Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
15 November, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Mark 13:8
2 Hebrews 10:23-25
3 Romans 5:10
Text: Mark 13:7-9
Theme: Stability Within Upheaval
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Maturity has its limits. Understanding has its thresholds. That is, until Christ comes in glory. Tell a young child that something will happen in nine months’ time and it will mean very little to them. Explain that a relative lives several thousand kilometers away and their eyes may glaze over. The concepts of time and space present difficult challenges for the human mind. Even in adulthood we struggle. They are not abstract concepts, yet the actual experience of these realities is often complex. Today Jesus reminds us of the profound spiritual implications.
As we approach the end of the Church Year we encounter again those Scriptures which speak of the circumstances of Christ’s return. The challenge is not to see this as just an annual trigger, a reminder of Christ’s promise much like the annual notices we get to remind us of dental check-ups, insurance reviews, or tax submissions. The specter of Christ’s imminent return looms over our perspective of the here and now. The One who has come is coming again. We are living on borrowed time. Yet we are already in sync with eternity. That is part of the mystery of Christ’s resurrected and ascended presence among us.
Today Jesus instructs His disciples using the temple and its surrounds as the point of reference. The disciples are impressed with the magnificence of the temple. It would seem to be a paradigm of stability. But Christ says it will all crumble. Then follows an extended description of the turmoil that will precede Jesus’ return. “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines.”1
The instability initiated by the fall into sin will run its course and only be brought to conclusion by Jesus’ Second Coming. Believers should have no misgivings about these truths.
Nations rise and fall. Empires come and go. Societies prosper; then falter. Ideologies flourish; then fade. Novelties become fads. Fads become customs. Customs become traditions. Traditions become dogmas- seemingly unalterable parts of the fabric of the culture. But then they are overthrown- sometimes with violence, sometimes through apathy- and they quickly vanish and are forgotten. Legends become myths. Myths become forgotten until they are reincarnated by those who had no prior knowledge of the consequences of their false foundations; those who were never taught the lessons of history. Then they slowly, subtly at first, begin to show the symptoms of corruption they had displayed before.
You see, idolatry never ages. It’s perennially rejuvenated youthfulness must continue as evidence of Satan’s desperate agenda of denying the living God. Don’t thinks for an instant that Satan is on holiday. Don’t imagine that sin is passé, a thing of the past. Don’t believe for a moment that your internal desires, those seedy, selfish cravings will just cease to exist. You are no less of a sinner in your maturity than you were in your youth. You might be more adept at covering up your sin, but you are no less guilty. The need for repentance never ceases until we take our final breath. We pray that the Holy Spirit would justly convict us; working a humility within us that cherishes the grace we have in our Lord.
Sometimes we must consider whether our expectations are misguided, unreasonable or altogether false. They must be continually measured against the Scriptures and revised accordingly. If our expectation is that Christianity should benefit us with some worldly recognition or praise for being faithful to God, well, then we’re laboring under a grand delusion. If we expect life to be carefree and painless then we’ve misread or are ignorant of the clear message of Jesus to His followers. Baptismal living is a struggle. If we think this world can march on in unbridled prosperity and that our own mortality can be avoided then we are naïve or willfully ignorant about biblical truth.
Everything created is fragile, but the words and promises of God are indestructible.
Some foundations are unshakeable. Christ is the perfect and complete incarnation of the living God. His work of sacrifice can never be torn down. The cross can never be gainsaid. The disciples marveled at the magnificence of the Jerusalem temple today. But Jesus warns it would all be destroyed. What makes a church a worthy place of worship is not the quality or character of its architecture but the presence of the Word of God. The church is ancient. It is the fellowship of God’s people right back to the first sinners who were redeemed.
Now what do these truths have to do with you? Much in every way! Each and every day you are Christ’s witnesses in the world. You provide the listening ear, the gentle embrace, the hard truth according to the situation you’re in. Your support, encouragement, and even chastisement are part of your vocation of serving others. What does our Scripture say, “Let hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us no give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”2 In Christ we have stability within upheaval. We have peace in the midst of chaos. We have certainty in the face of doubt. We have the foundation of truth smack in the middle of a sea of falsehood.
Many still desperately lack that certainty. No one is beyond the reach of God’s redeeming love. No one has descended so far into the abyss of utter darkness that the rays of Christ’s light cannot penetrate. If we doubt this truth then we have surrendered the central teaching of the Christian faith. Christ came to reconcile sinners. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.”3 In baptism believers are incorporated into the death and resurrection of God’s one and only Son. The Holy Spirit has sealed you for the day of redemption.
Meanwhile, we live on borrowed time yet in sync with eternity. And how we live matters. Good habits should be recognized and strengthened. Bad habits should be identified and reformed. Christian life involves litany and liturgy. Litany involves the practice of beseeching God with prayers of supplication and thanksgiving. It is characterized by the ongoing conversation we have with and through our Great High Priest. Liturgy involves the rhythm of worship- of receiving the giftings of the Giver and responding in humble reverence. It is characterized by God’s service to us in Christ- through word and sacrament- and our response through the power of the Holy Spirit.
A sandcastle built in the path of a rising ocean tide doomed for destruction. It cannot stand. Our fallen world cannot stand. But we look forward to a more stable foundation. Christ has built His kingdom on much firmer ground. The foundation is built on the righteousness and truth of God Himself. Immortal and indestructible He promises that we will share in His life. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Twenty-Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
15 November, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Mark 13:8
2 Hebrews 10:23-25
3 Romans 5:10
Friday, November 13, 2015
Twenty-Fourth Sunday After Pentecost (B) 2015
+ + In nomine Patri et Filii et Spiritus Sancti Amen +
Text: Mark12:44
Theme: All or Nothing
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Jesus was observant. He was watching how much money people put into the temple offering box. But He wasn't a casual observer. He always took the opportunity to teach. The most important lessons aren't necessarily learned in classrooms, but in the experiences of life. Today a humble widow was at the centre of His object lesson. Our Lord elevates her above the rich and ostentatious saying, "She out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." It was a stark contrast to those who gave out of their excess. It was a commentary on her faith.
She gave all she had to live on. Think of the implications. This widow is a superlative example of unconditional trust. There is no hedging, no rationalising, no questioning of whether she is doing the prudent thing. The widow's mite story cannot be turned into a moralism or used tritely as the basis for a stewardship campaign. Without earthly hope she looks to the God of hope. Materially poor, she is spiritually rich. It sounds like a nice religious platitude doesn't it? One we would all nod our heads in agreement to while simultaneously hoping the label never applies to us. Many people say they'd never want to win the lottery either!
The Bible says a lot about generosity. Giving should be cheerful, regular, and proportionate. It should not be a matter of legalistic regulation but a movement of the heart and an expression
of the will. Where we direct our resources says a lot about what and who we believe in. It's a window into the soul. The widow understood that she was a steward; a caretaker on behalf of the true owner. She believed that the Creator would provide for her needs.
Dear friends, it's a great lie of Satan to believe there other ways to meet every human need. In Psalm 12 David laments the depravity of the human race. "Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man." The complaint has been repeated countless times over the centuries. Most every generation has reason to question whether evil is prospering more than ever before. Have the foundations of godliness crumbled so badly that the thought of rebuilding them seems like a Herculean task? Any effort at judging should begin with a look in the mirror.
Our own sins are never as insignificant as we'd like to think they are. We are naturally geniuses at minimalizing our own culpability. Today Jesus warned people not to be like the scribes. They were experts at pointing out other people's sins while downplaying their own. We don't have to search very long to discover the sins that condemn us. The psalmist writes, "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long." In other words when we try to conceal our sins from God the burden of guilt weighs on us. We know our tendencies. We know the temptations we are prone to; greed, selfishness, lust, deceit, gossip, hard-heartedness towards others. And God knows us better than we know ourselves.
He knows our condition precisely and that's why He sent His Son. That is why the Spirit has been poured out. And His blessings are not merger. Faith grasps all of God's mercy or it has nothing. There is nothing piecemeal about salvation. We don't have some forgiveness or rely on just enough spiritual capital to carry us over the line. In a worldly sense everything is quantified; measured in units. We have just so much money, just so many possessions, a certain level of health, a career status with parameters, relationships with finite limits. We count, measure, quantify, and track. It's a necessary way of life. But the love of God in Christ defies all of these categories and methods. In Christ we have treasures beyond calculation.
Baptised, forgiven, and freed, we stand in debt to no human power or to Satan's claims. The word of absolution spoken to you is not conditional. It is sheer grace; pure mercy. You are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. We live in the shadow of the cross and the light of Easter morning. Divine food is our regular diet; the table set by the King. And still so many labour under the burden of life without unconditional love and starved for spiritual food.
That's where our vocations come in as God's holy people. One person's crisis is another person's opportunity. It's true not only in business ventures. When people become vulnerable to the vicissitudes of life and schemes of Satan the opportunity for spiritual balm presents itself. The downtrodden and the broken are especially open to the gospel. Those labouring under a search for meaning in the hollowness of a broken world are especially open to the Good News of purpose and permanence. The Holy Spirit uses the hard experiences of life to chip away at our veneer of invincibility.
Forgiveness is the currency of healthy relationships. Absent forgiveness, relationships either become shallow or embittered. They will stiffen, become brittle, and break. The genuine pardoning of offences is the cement that rebuilds the foundation- sometimes one brick at a time. We have the privilege of being God's agents of healing. Christ reminds us of great rejoicing in heaven over one soul who repents, one person who learns forgiveness, one lamb that's gathered into the fold.
Our Messiah is no religious guru who lives on only by His message of a bygone era. He is no washed-up zealot whose cause faded when His first followers lost momentum. Our Redeemer bore the world's transgressions on a Roman instrument of torture. His spent frame was placed in the tomb but did not decay. In His risen and glorified body He lives and rules eternally. He has tender words for the timid, strength for the weak, light for those in the shadows and hope for those on the verge of despair. Christ embraces us in our frailty. He journeys with us through prosperity and adversity. He assures us the destination has been secured. He is our Redeemer and Shepherd and King.
The Spirit reminds us today that Christ will not return to deal with sin. He will return to deal with sinners. He will not return to handle sin because that necessity has already been accomplished. Christ died for sins, all sins, every sin- past, present, and future- once and for all. The sacrifice has been made; the debt has been paid. He is coming to reward the faithful. That day is coming, the final day, the last day, the consummation of all things. God's people have awaited it since the first promise of the Messiah. It will be said on that day, "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
The widow waited on the Lord, a beggar, she depended on Him for everything. We are no different, beggars too, we await the full enjoyment of of heavenly treasures. Amen.
+ in Nomine Jesu +
Twenty-Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
8 November, 2015
Mark 12:44 2 Psalm 12:1 Rev Darrin L Kohrt
Text: Mark12:44
Theme: All or Nothing
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Jesus was observant. He was watching how much money people put into the temple offering box. But He wasn't a casual observer. He always took the opportunity to teach. The most important lessons aren't necessarily learned in classrooms, but in the experiences of life. Today a humble widow was at the centre of His object lesson. Our Lord elevates her above the rich and ostentatious saying, "She out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." It was a stark contrast to those who gave out of their excess. It was a commentary on her faith.
She gave all she had to live on. Think of the implications. This widow is a superlative example of unconditional trust. There is no hedging, no rationalising, no questioning of whether she is doing the prudent thing. The widow's mite story cannot be turned into a moralism or used tritely as the basis for a stewardship campaign. Without earthly hope she looks to the God of hope. Materially poor, she is spiritually rich. It sounds like a nice religious platitude doesn't it? One we would all nod our heads in agreement to while simultaneously hoping the label never applies to us. Many people say they'd never want to win the lottery either!
The Bible says a lot about generosity. Giving should be cheerful, regular, and proportionate. It should not be a matter of legalistic regulation but a movement of the heart and an expression
of the will. Where we direct our resources says a lot about what and who we believe in. It's a window into the soul. The widow understood that she was a steward; a caretaker on behalf of the true owner. She believed that the Creator would provide for her needs.
Dear friends, it's a great lie of Satan to believe there other ways to meet every human need. In Psalm 12 David laments the depravity of the human race. "Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man." The complaint has been repeated countless times over the centuries. Most every generation has reason to question whether evil is prospering more than ever before. Have the foundations of godliness crumbled so badly that the thought of rebuilding them seems like a Herculean task? Any effort at judging should begin with a look in the mirror.
Our own sins are never as insignificant as we'd like to think they are. We are naturally geniuses at minimalizing our own culpability. Today Jesus warned people not to be like the scribes. They were experts at pointing out other people's sins while downplaying their own. We don't have to search very long to discover the sins that condemn us. The psalmist writes, "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long." In other words when we try to conceal our sins from God the burden of guilt weighs on us. We know our tendencies. We know the temptations we are prone to; greed, selfishness, lust, deceit, gossip, hard-heartedness towards others. And God knows us better than we know ourselves.
He knows our condition precisely and that's why He sent His Son. That is why the Spirit has been poured out. And His blessings are not merger. Faith grasps all of God's mercy or it has nothing. There is nothing piecemeal about salvation. We don't have some forgiveness or rely on just enough spiritual capital to carry us over the line. In a worldly sense everything is quantified; measured in units. We have just so much money, just so many possessions, a certain level of health, a career status with parameters, relationships with finite limits. We count, measure, quantify, and track. It's a necessary way of life. But the love of God in Christ defies all of these categories and methods. In Christ we have treasures beyond calculation.
Baptised, forgiven, and freed, we stand in debt to no human power or to Satan's claims. The word of absolution spoken to you is not conditional. It is sheer grace; pure mercy. You are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. We live in the shadow of the cross and the light of Easter morning. Divine food is our regular diet; the table set by the King. And still so many labour under the burden of life without unconditional love and starved for spiritual food.
That's where our vocations come in as God's holy people. One person's crisis is another person's opportunity. It's true not only in business ventures. When people become vulnerable to the vicissitudes of life and schemes of Satan the opportunity for spiritual balm presents itself. The downtrodden and the broken are especially open to the gospel. Those labouring under a search for meaning in the hollowness of a broken world are especially open to the Good News of purpose and permanence. The Holy Spirit uses the hard experiences of life to chip away at our veneer of invincibility.
Forgiveness is the currency of healthy relationships. Absent forgiveness, relationships either become shallow or embittered. They will stiffen, become brittle, and break. The genuine pardoning of offences is the cement that rebuilds the foundation- sometimes one brick at a time. We have the privilege of being God's agents of healing. Christ reminds us of great rejoicing in heaven over one soul who repents, one person who learns forgiveness, one lamb that's gathered into the fold.
Our Messiah is no religious guru who lives on only by His message of a bygone era. He is no washed-up zealot whose cause faded when His first followers lost momentum. Our Redeemer bore the world's transgressions on a Roman instrument of torture. His spent frame was placed in the tomb but did not decay. In His risen and glorified body He lives and rules eternally. He has tender words for the timid, strength for the weak, light for those in the shadows and hope for those on the verge of despair. Christ embraces us in our frailty. He journeys with us through prosperity and adversity. He assures us the destination has been secured. He is our Redeemer and Shepherd and King.
The Spirit reminds us today that Christ will not return to deal with sin. He will return to deal with sinners. He will not return to handle sin because that necessity has already been accomplished. Christ died for sins, all sins, every sin- past, present, and future- once and for all. The sacrifice has been made; the debt has been paid. He is coming to reward the faithful. That day is coming, the final day, the last day, the consummation of all things. God's people have awaited it since the first promise of the Messiah. It will be said on that day, "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
The widow waited on the Lord, a beggar, she depended on Him for everything. We are no different, beggars too, we await the full enjoyment of of heavenly treasures. Amen.
+ in Nomine Jesu +
Twenty-Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
8 November, 2015
Mark 12:44 2 Psalm 12:1 Rev Darrin L Kohrt
Monday, September 28, 2015
Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Mark 9:42-50
Theme: Of Sin and Salvation
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
What is your greatest hope? Does it involve career, family, assets, or accomplishments? Is it spiritual? What is your greatest fear? Does it relate to health, reputation, or relationships? Does it take seriously your mortality? Is your greatest worry offset by an even greater confidence? These questions, though perhaps not posed precisely as such, relate to the very meaning and purpose of our existence. We are blessed with so much, yet it’s easy to forget that to lose connection with God is to, finally, lose everything. But when we have Christ, even if we have nothing else, we have all things. The Scripture says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish.”1
Of course, it’s not quite so simple as to say that apart from God we have nothing. Jesus makes it crystal clear today that without Him we have a horrifying set of realities to face. The summation of which is hell. A place called the Hinnom Valley lies to the southwest of Jerusalem. For centuries it was used as a garbage dump and a place of human sacrifice. Smoldering fires often burned there continuously. Christ references it today as an analogy for the eternal fires of hell. The Scripture says in regard to the wicked king Manasseh “He burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers.”2 The Greek word for hell derives its name from this point of reference.
An image of destruction and punishment, Jesus uses it to warn people about being a stumbling block to the faith of others. The imagery Jesus uses is vivid and confronting. Fire and water are given spiritual dimensions of retribution. “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.”3 How often even in our present day is a raging bushfire likened to the fires of hell! How easily an unrestrained flood is compared to an agent of destruction! Today we are called to account for our actions as sinners. Judgment is neither uncertain nor negotiable.
Dear friends, God demands perfection but only Christ could achieve it. The holy will of God is only achieved through the past, present, and future work of the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. When we pray in the Lord’s Pray, “Your will be done,”4 we are not simply referring to sweeping generalities regarding the work of God in the world. We are not praying for things remote from daily life. Nor are we only praying for God-pleasing resolutions to things like the refugee crisis in Syria or the violent extremism of ISIS. We are praying that Christ’s work of salvation would govern our attitudes and actions. We are praying for understanding and acceptance of our vocations and how we serve others through them. The will of God is that we understand the privileges and responsibilities that we have as redeemed members of His body.
The Scriptures never assume the average believer is a supra-spiritual person, a holier-than-thou fanatic unconnected to the real lives of real people. The Bible isn’t full of hyped-up piety or false aspiration that denies the hard realities of mortal existence. The Psalms teach us to pour out our complaints as much as they inspire us to lift our voices in praise. The prophets teach us to rend our hearts as often as they encourage us to be resolute in our convictions. The patriarchs were vulnerable as often as they were stalwart. The apostles faltered as frequently as they rose to the occasion. Elijah despaired. Jonah resented the grace shown to unbelievers. Thomas doubted the crucified Jesus could be living. Abraham laughed at God’s promises. Sarah too! Rahab was a prostitute. Matthew was a tax-collector. Zaccheus was too! All became agents and servants of the most high God.
God uses the frail and the faulty. If He didn’t there would be no one worthy to serve Him. The baptized are not perfected; they are forgiven. We have perfect forgiveness from a faultless Saviour. You are an agent of God’s perfect love clothed in human frailty. You can save no one; Christ does that. Yet in every circumstance and in every way the compassion of God can come to others through you. Remember what James says today, “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”5
Alignment with God’s will is the test of faithfulness. The LCA will soon meet in national synod. This too will be a test of corporate integrity. We pray that our will becomes conformed to God’s will even when we don’t understand how it will be of benefit to ourselves or others. Our trust for His daily provision is built upon the completed act of salvation already accomplished through His atoning death and glorious resurrection. You are declared blameless through Christ’s blood. You, the sinner, me the scoundrel; we are delivered from the threat of everlasting condemnation as a sheer act of grace. His mercy cannot be earned; it is freely given. It is lavishly poured out upon us.
Fire and water are used as imagery for redemption too. Christ was drowned in the ocean of our sins. We are baptized into His death and resurrection. Jesus endured the fire of God’s wrath on the cross. The Holy Spirit cleanses us- as with fire. Daily bread is critical for our bodies. Sacramental food is essential for our well-being overall. Liquid is vital for our physiology. The Living Water is crucial for the whole of our existence. These things strengthen us for His service.
Your faith sprouts legs when you carry the burdens of others. Your faith takes flight when you send words of hope to those separated from loved ones by time and distance. Your faith grows ears when you patiently listen to those who have no one to pour out their problems to. Your faith develops voice when you speak on behalf of those who have been suppressed. Your faith shows integrity when you gently correct those who wander from the truth. The timid soul may need a confidante. The guilty conscience may need to hear words of forgiveness. The despondent heart may need words of encouragement. The weak in spirit may need to be lifted by the strength of another.
Jesus left the heights of heaven to spare us from the depths of hell. He handled the unclean. He exorcised demons. He healed every disease. He dined with tax-collectors and prostitutes. These were not religious stunts of a Messianic hopeful. These were the activities of the Son of God in human flesh; activities through which people enslaved by the manifestations of evil- in a creation hampered and harassed by sin- were redeemed and restored as His cherished sons and daughters. Christ continues such work of reclamation today. He already shouldered the millstone. He was drowned in the ocean of our sins that we might sail on the ocean of His grace safely in the ark- His holy church. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost
27 September, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 1 Peter 1:3-4
2 2 Chronicles 33:36
3 Mark 9:42
4Matthew 6:10
5 James 5:20
Text: Mark 9:42-50
Theme: Of Sin and Salvation
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
What is your greatest hope? Does it involve career, family, assets, or accomplishments? Is it spiritual? What is your greatest fear? Does it relate to health, reputation, or relationships? Does it take seriously your mortality? Is your greatest worry offset by an even greater confidence? These questions, though perhaps not posed precisely as such, relate to the very meaning and purpose of our existence. We are blessed with so much, yet it’s easy to forget that to lose connection with God is to, finally, lose everything. But when we have Christ, even if we have nothing else, we have all things. The Scripture says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish.”1
Of course, it’s not quite so simple as to say that apart from God we have nothing. Jesus makes it crystal clear today that without Him we have a horrifying set of realities to face. The summation of which is hell. A place called the Hinnom Valley lies to the southwest of Jerusalem. For centuries it was used as a garbage dump and a place of human sacrifice. Smoldering fires often burned there continuously. Christ references it today as an analogy for the eternal fires of hell. The Scripture says in regard to the wicked king Manasseh “He burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers.”2 The Greek word for hell derives its name from this point of reference.
An image of destruction and punishment, Jesus uses it to warn people about being a stumbling block to the faith of others. The imagery Jesus uses is vivid and confronting. Fire and water are given spiritual dimensions of retribution. “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.”3 How often even in our present day is a raging bushfire likened to the fires of hell! How easily an unrestrained flood is compared to an agent of destruction! Today we are called to account for our actions as sinners. Judgment is neither uncertain nor negotiable.
Dear friends, God demands perfection but only Christ could achieve it. The holy will of God is only achieved through the past, present, and future work of the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. When we pray in the Lord’s Pray, “Your will be done,”4 we are not simply referring to sweeping generalities regarding the work of God in the world. We are not praying for things remote from daily life. Nor are we only praying for God-pleasing resolutions to things like the refugee crisis in Syria or the violent extremism of ISIS. We are praying that Christ’s work of salvation would govern our attitudes and actions. We are praying for understanding and acceptance of our vocations and how we serve others through them. The will of God is that we understand the privileges and responsibilities that we have as redeemed members of His body.
The Scriptures never assume the average believer is a supra-spiritual person, a holier-than-thou fanatic unconnected to the real lives of real people. The Bible isn’t full of hyped-up piety or false aspiration that denies the hard realities of mortal existence. The Psalms teach us to pour out our complaints as much as they inspire us to lift our voices in praise. The prophets teach us to rend our hearts as often as they encourage us to be resolute in our convictions. The patriarchs were vulnerable as often as they were stalwart. The apostles faltered as frequently as they rose to the occasion. Elijah despaired. Jonah resented the grace shown to unbelievers. Thomas doubted the crucified Jesus could be living. Abraham laughed at God’s promises. Sarah too! Rahab was a prostitute. Matthew was a tax-collector. Zaccheus was too! All became agents and servants of the most high God.
God uses the frail and the faulty. If He didn’t there would be no one worthy to serve Him. The baptized are not perfected; they are forgiven. We have perfect forgiveness from a faultless Saviour. You are an agent of God’s perfect love clothed in human frailty. You can save no one; Christ does that. Yet in every circumstance and in every way the compassion of God can come to others through you. Remember what James says today, “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”5
Alignment with God’s will is the test of faithfulness. The LCA will soon meet in national synod. This too will be a test of corporate integrity. We pray that our will becomes conformed to God’s will even when we don’t understand how it will be of benefit to ourselves or others. Our trust for His daily provision is built upon the completed act of salvation already accomplished through His atoning death and glorious resurrection. You are declared blameless through Christ’s blood. You, the sinner, me the scoundrel; we are delivered from the threat of everlasting condemnation as a sheer act of grace. His mercy cannot be earned; it is freely given. It is lavishly poured out upon us.
Fire and water are used as imagery for redemption too. Christ was drowned in the ocean of our sins. We are baptized into His death and resurrection. Jesus endured the fire of God’s wrath on the cross. The Holy Spirit cleanses us- as with fire. Daily bread is critical for our bodies. Sacramental food is essential for our well-being overall. Liquid is vital for our physiology. The Living Water is crucial for the whole of our existence. These things strengthen us for His service.
Your faith sprouts legs when you carry the burdens of others. Your faith takes flight when you send words of hope to those separated from loved ones by time and distance. Your faith grows ears when you patiently listen to those who have no one to pour out their problems to. Your faith develops voice when you speak on behalf of those who have been suppressed. Your faith shows integrity when you gently correct those who wander from the truth. The timid soul may need a confidante. The guilty conscience may need to hear words of forgiveness. The despondent heart may need words of encouragement. The weak in spirit may need to be lifted by the strength of another.
Jesus left the heights of heaven to spare us from the depths of hell. He handled the unclean. He exorcised demons. He healed every disease. He dined with tax-collectors and prostitutes. These were not religious stunts of a Messianic hopeful. These were the activities of the Son of God in human flesh; activities through which people enslaved by the manifestations of evil- in a creation hampered and harassed by sin- were redeemed and restored as His cherished sons and daughters. Christ continues such work of reclamation today. He already shouldered the millstone. He was drowned in the ocean of our sins that we might sail on the ocean of His grace safely in the ark- His holy church. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost
27 September, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 1 Peter 1:3-4
2 2 Chronicles 33:36
3 Mark 9:42
4Matthew 6:10
5 James 5:20
Monday, September 21, 2015
Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Mark 9:35
Theme: Less is More
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The transparency of the gospels not only commends their integrity to us, it allows us to be tutored in the successes and failures of real people. Time and again we hear of the indiscretions of Jesus’ closest followers. Today the disciples were arguing about who among them was the greatest. It’s now 2000 years later and nothing’s changed. Real sinners need a real Saviour. It’s both as simple and as profound as that. It’s also a simplified way to understand the profound reasons why so many absent themselves from God’s house. Why is Christianity struggling? Either people don’t believe they are real sinners; or they don’t believe that here they will find a real Saviour- or both!
Jesus thoroughly knows human nature. He understands our weaknesses. Today He says, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”1 In a society captivated by high-profile athletes, schooled in attitudes of self-promotion, and generally bathed in the philosophy of self-indulgence, the model that Christ emulates here is largely a foreign concept. Political happenings are, perhaps, exhibit A. We aren’t inclined to sacrificial service by nature and the secular world won’t teach it to us. It must be taught by the Spirit. Christ is not merely the example for us; His work is substitutionary. Jesus was born into this world in humble estate and He died under the most humiliating of circumstances. He is the holy, unapproachable God, yet He lowered Himself to embrace our humanity and bear the full consequences of our sins.
The world sees little wisdom in this, but God does not see things through sinful human eyes. God sees things with a view to the resurrection. Sin blinds us to the significance of being estranged from God. Jesus says, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.”2 These are serious words. The person who is ensnared in his sins will end up perishing eternally. How can this be prevented? Christ is talking about how one avoids hell, eternal destruction. The matter is so serious the cause of sin must be removed. Therefore Jesus speaks of removing the hand, foot, or eye if it causes one to sin. Nothing is more important than one’s eternal destination.
There is more to this issue than the avoidance of sin in outward, physical form. The hands or the feet or the eyes do not act independently of the body. The heart, mind and will form the essence of what constitutes a human being; especially spiritually. They are also the seat of sin. Our Lord Himself says, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”3 If the foot is infected with gangrene, removing it can save the entire body. So, too, with the hand, and so forth. Still, taken to its logical conclusion, Jesus’ illustration becomes reduced to an absurdity. At some point the amputation of parts of the body no longer saves the body, but brings death to the entire body. Jesus is pointing to something more here. Yes, we must be aware of the temptations we are particularly prone to and steadfastly avoid them, but the matter isn’t thereby resolved. The desire to sin still remains.
Sinful desire is just as worthy of eternal condemnation in God’s eyes as are sinful deeds. Desire is the motivation of action. Sinful desire cannot be removed from the heart by amputation. The heart must be changed. The entire sinful nature must be crucified and raised to life again. We can’t do this on our own. That is really Jesus’ point. We cannot avoid hell on our own, we are doomed. But God, through His word and Spirit makes new people of us. In baptism our sinful nature is drowned and our hearts are cleansed. We are forgiven. Christ laid to rest the punishment for our sins by suffering for us. We could not do it. Salvation, rescue from the perils of hell is by grace, through faith.
As new creations we now live in that grace even though sin still clings to us. After conversion the Holy Spirit engages the struggle within us against the sinful nature. Remember, baptism changes us from the inside out. The heart, mind and will control those members of the body that would participate in sin. What the eyes see is filtered through eyes of faith. What the ears receive is vetted by hearing attuned to God’s truth. A purely motivated heart will lead to godly action, but no outward performance will change the heart inwardly.
Christ turned the popular idea of leadership on its head. He came only to serve. That is what He continues to do. He serves us with the forgiveness of sins declared emphatically in the absolution. He serves us with the strength and power of His body and blood through which we participate in the fruits of His suffering and death. He serves us through the support, comfort, encouragement, and even chastisement we receive from fellow believers. He is the suffering servant who was victorious through sacrifice.
Christ is always engaged in re-forging a proper understanding of relationships. It was completely counter-cultural to suggest that hospitality to children- who had no status in ancient society- should be the model for relating to one another in a godly fashion. It was a reversal- lifting up the lowest and humbling the self-revered. This isn’t a legalistic decree, but the supreme illustration of a Christ-like attitude.
Christ, of course, is pointing us beyond this temporal life. The Christ, crucified for you, lives for you- and with you, and in you, and among us. Through Him we have fellowship with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is the very essence of life. The hope of receiving the inheritance of heaven independent of a relationship with Christ is a mere illusion. God is not an anonymous benefactor obligated to grant wishes like a genie let out of a bottle. He doesn’t run a government services or charitable organization that issues grants or subsidies through a screening process. Heaven is not a place where we privately or independently indulge in all the activities that most take our fancy.
The unmitigated presence of the Trinity is the essence of heaven. We look forward to eternity not because we’ll be free to occupy ourselves with personal agendas. We look forward to heaven not because we’ll be left unattended and unsupervised to pursue our interests. We will be fully, freely and fearlessly engaged in the sharing of perfected life. The perfection of untarnished relationships will be paramount.
What frees our tongues to sing in joyful praise of God? What opens our hearts to express gratitude for innumerable blessings? What releases us to invest our time and energies in those who are downtrodden, traumatized, lost, lonely, forlorn, living in the shadows of despair, enslaved to the capricious whims of the world? It is the absolute certainty that in Christ the last will be first. We are the last but Christ has prioritized our well-being for eternity. Every Sunday is a celebration of these truths.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
20 September, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Mark 9:35
2 Mark 9:45-46
3 Matthew 15:19
Text: Mark 9:35
Theme: Less is More
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The transparency of the gospels not only commends their integrity to us, it allows us to be tutored in the successes and failures of real people. Time and again we hear of the indiscretions of Jesus’ closest followers. Today the disciples were arguing about who among them was the greatest. It’s now 2000 years later and nothing’s changed. Real sinners need a real Saviour. It’s both as simple and as profound as that. It’s also a simplified way to understand the profound reasons why so many absent themselves from God’s house. Why is Christianity struggling? Either people don’t believe they are real sinners; or they don’t believe that here they will find a real Saviour- or both!
Jesus thoroughly knows human nature. He understands our weaknesses. Today He says, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”1 In a society captivated by high-profile athletes, schooled in attitudes of self-promotion, and generally bathed in the philosophy of self-indulgence, the model that Christ emulates here is largely a foreign concept. Political happenings are, perhaps, exhibit A. We aren’t inclined to sacrificial service by nature and the secular world won’t teach it to us. It must be taught by the Spirit. Christ is not merely the example for us; His work is substitutionary. Jesus was born into this world in humble estate and He died under the most humiliating of circumstances. He is the holy, unapproachable God, yet He lowered Himself to embrace our humanity and bear the full consequences of our sins.
The world sees little wisdom in this, but God does not see things through sinful human eyes. God sees things with a view to the resurrection. Sin blinds us to the significance of being estranged from God. Jesus says, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.”2 These are serious words. The person who is ensnared in his sins will end up perishing eternally. How can this be prevented? Christ is talking about how one avoids hell, eternal destruction. The matter is so serious the cause of sin must be removed. Therefore Jesus speaks of removing the hand, foot, or eye if it causes one to sin. Nothing is more important than one’s eternal destination.
There is more to this issue than the avoidance of sin in outward, physical form. The hands or the feet or the eyes do not act independently of the body. The heart, mind and will form the essence of what constitutes a human being; especially spiritually. They are also the seat of sin. Our Lord Himself says, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”3 If the foot is infected with gangrene, removing it can save the entire body. So, too, with the hand, and so forth. Still, taken to its logical conclusion, Jesus’ illustration becomes reduced to an absurdity. At some point the amputation of parts of the body no longer saves the body, but brings death to the entire body. Jesus is pointing to something more here. Yes, we must be aware of the temptations we are particularly prone to and steadfastly avoid them, but the matter isn’t thereby resolved. The desire to sin still remains.
Sinful desire is just as worthy of eternal condemnation in God’s eyes as are sinful deeds. Desire is the motivation of action. Sinful desire cannot be removed from the heart by amputation. The heart must be changed. The entire sinful nature must be crucified and raised to life again. We can’t do this on our own. That is really Jesus’ point. We cannot avoid hell on our own, we are doomed. But God, through His word and Spirit makes new people of us. In baptism our sinful nature is drowned and our hearts are cleansed. We are forgiven. Christ laid to rest the punishment for our sins by suffering for us. We could not do it. Salvation, rescue from the perils of hell is by grace, through faith.
As new creations we now live in that grace even though sin still clings to us. After conversion the Holy Spirit engages the struggle within us against the sinful nature. Remember, baptism changes us from the inside out. The heart, mind and will control those members of the body that would participate in sin. What the eyes see is filtered through eyes of faith. What the ears receive is vetted by hearing attuned to God’s truth. A purely motivated heart will lead to godly action, but no outward performance will change the heart inwardly.
Christ turned the popular idea of leadership on its head. He came only to serve. That is what He continues to do. He serves us with the forgiveness of sins declared emphatically in the absolution. He serves us with the strength and power of His body and blood through which we participate in the fruits of His suffering and death. He serves us through the support, comfort, encouragement, and even chastisement we receive from fellow believers. He is the suffering servant who was victorious through sacrifice.
Christ is always engaged in re-forging a proper understanding of relationships. It was completely counter-cultural to suggest that hospitality to children- who had no status in ancient society- should be the model for relating to one another in a godly fashion. It was a reversal- lifting up the lowest and humbling the self-revered. This isn’t a legalistic decree, but the supreme illustration of a Christ-like attitude.
Christ, of course, is pointing us beyond this temporal life. The Christ, crucified for you, lives for you- and with you, and in you, and among us. Through Him we have fellowship with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is the very essence of life. The hope of receiving the inheritance of heaven independent of a relationship with Christ is a mere illusion. God is not an anonymous benefactor obligated to grant wishes like a genie let out of a bottle. He doesn’t run a government services or charitable organization that issues grants or subsidies through a screening process. Heaven is not a place where we privately or independently indulge in all the activities that most take our fancy.
The unmitigated presence of the Trinity is the essence of heaven. We look forward to eternity not because we’ll be free to occupy ourselves with personal agendas. We look forward to heaven not because we’ll be left unattended and unsupervised to pursue our interests. We will be fully, freely and fearlessly engaged in the sharing of perfected life. The perfection of untarnished relationships will be paramount.
What frees our tongues to sing in joyful praise of God? What opens our hearts to express gratitude for innumerable blessings? What releases us to invest our time and energies in those who are downtrodden, traumatized, lost, lonely, forlorn, living in the shadows of despair, enslaved to the capricious whims of the world? It is the absolute certainty that in Christ the last will be first. We are the last but Christ has prioritized our well-being for eternity. Every Sunday is a celebration of these truths.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
20 September, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Mark 9:35
2 Mark 9:45-46
3 Matthew 15:19
Monday, September 14, 2015
Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost (B) 2015
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Mark 8:29
Theme: Big Questions
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Do not doubt for a moment that God is honest in His intentions. Do not question for a second that God is transparent in His motives. Do not query for an instant whether God will hold without wavering to the promises He has made. “He remembers His covenant forever, the word He commanded, for a thousand generations.”1 God has no hidden agendas.
His plan is to fully reclaim, restore, and resurrect humans condemned to eternal judgment. You are the object of His agenda. He pursues you with clarity and determination.
Today we’re privy to a conversation that involves a defining moment in the lives of the disciples. Christ poses to them the question of His identity. “Who do people say I am?”
He follows up with parallel questions on the value of temporal and eternal life. “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”3 Peter has the right answer to the biggest question but he doesn’t understand the consequences. The suffering of Christ was more than he bargained for. It wasn’t a theoretical question for him either. The path of all of Christ’s followers necessarily mirrors that of the Master. Peter thought he was signing up for crown-wearing instead of cross-bearing. He was looking for a place of glory in Christ’s earthly dominion. Christ was preparing him for the glory of the heavenly kingdom. The crown of life indeed awaited Peter, but it could only be achieved through Jesus’ crown of thorns.
The “big question” regarding Christ’s identity remains perennially relevant. It can be restated (in fact it must) but it cannot be revised. It can be ignored, but only until the judgment at the longest. The answer to the question is of course nothing more, but certainly nothing less, than the confession of truth that defines Christianity. The question first posed privately to the disciples now occupies the public mission of the church. The answer to Christ’s identity is the only answer to the power of sin. It concerns us all. The confession of divine truth is a public matter by definition.
People have always maintained private opinions. They always will. Not every opinion is worth, contesting, challenging, or imposing upon others. We learn to vet them and focus on the most significant matters. It hardly means, however, there is consensus on what these are. Sinful human beings typically downplay the dangers and effects of transgressing God’s will. We often marginalize the risk of affirming falsehood and its associated implications. God’s patience in judging is misread as leniency. His swift chastisement is misinterpreted as callousness. Whether we’re seeking to be excused for our unrighteous actions towards others or praised for our hypocritical piety, we like God to share in our failure by overlooking it or approving it. The call to repentance entails the full range of our indiscretions.
The critical matter at issue in today’s gospel account is the very nature of God’s self-disclosure to us. Merely naming Jesus as the Christ doesn’t embrace what that means. The path of the cross is self-effacing to the core. The crucifixion is the definitive revelation of God’s love to us in Christ. Do you think it was unimportant for the prophets to define exactly who Jesus is when Isaiah wrote of Him 600 years before His birth? “Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”4
Do you think it was not important for the apostles to define exactly who Jesus is when they wrote after His death and resurrection, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”5 Do you think it was not important for the church in the early centuries to define exactly who Jesus is when they labored to summarize the Christian faith in the Nicene Creed? “Jesus Christ… God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.” Our salvation depends upon the fact that Jesus is who He says He is and does what He says He does. The more clearly we understand Him the better off we are and the more effectively we can be His witnesses.
Dear friends, it is not the mission of the church to go out into the world with religious options for consideration. It is not our mission to provide food-for-thought and encourage people to form their own opinions. It is not our charge to present the biblical doctrine as one set of truths among many. Least of all is it helpful to go out with a message marked by uncertainty, confusion and apathy. The world may be full of people that are largely uninformed about the Christian truth, but they are very perceptive and discerning about whether that truth is proclaimed with authority and clarity. It is easy to spot people who do not really believe what they are saying. The Holy Spirit refines our faith for this very reason. We must be purged of the tendency to act contrary to what we believe.
There are many falsehoods, half-truths, and misperceptions we may have to live with in this life. Life is often beset with complexity and confusion. But it is truth that we seek to die in. What matters in the end is not a faith that we can live with but a faith we can die with. When the final breath exhales from our lungs we want to die in the clarity of truth. All ideologies and philosophies that have figured prominently in our lives will be nothing but cherished or bitter memories depending upon our experience. The forgiveness of sins, however, is the passport to the permanency of the unending experience of joy.
Dear friends, God doesn’t have opinions. He does not lie. He speaks to us about things high and holy things, yes; but these things also relate to our daily life in the body of Christ. God speaks in an orderly way. God orders things in a purposeful way. God speaks with specificity but He doesn’t speak privately. He speaks in reference to vocation, and thus He speaks preferentially.
Everyone serves, but in different ways, with different responsibility and different accountability. A student doesn’t have the same accountability as a teacher. An employee doesn’t have the same responsibility as a boss. A carpenter doesn’t have the same accountability as a judge. A waiter doesn’t have the same responsibility as a surgeon. Children are not equipped to make decisions for the family and they are not called to do so. Fathers have different God-given obligations than mothers. Pastors are accountable to God for their flocks in a way that lay people aren’t. All pursue integrity. All consider the well-being of others first. All serve the common good. And as believers we all seek to build up the body of Christ.
Dear friends, in the pursuit of these things in truth, our confession of Christ’s identity is revealed. But our failures do not change the reality of who He is. It doesn’t matter how many times you have failed, Christ has not and will not fail you. He has gone through death for you. You are baptized into His death and resurrection. He lives to intercede for you. He offers you pardon in His body and blood. He wipes your slate clean. He puts a value on your soul that is incomparable by any human measure. What can a person give in exchange for their soul?6 That’s a big question. Not anything! Not everything! Christ gave His blood. The greatest was required. The greatest was given. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost
13 September, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Psalm 105:8 2 Mark 8:27 3 Mark 8:36
4 Isaiah 53:4-5 5 Hebrews 1:3-4 6 See Mark 9:37
Text: Mark 8:29
Theme: Big Questions
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Do not doubt for a moment that God is honest in His intentions. Do not question for a second that God is transparent in His motives. Do not query for an instant whether God will hold without wavering to the promises He has made. “He remembers His covenant forever, the word He commanded, for a thousand generations.”1 God has no hidden agendas.
His plan is to fully reclaim, restore, and resurrect humans condemned to eternal judgment. You are the object of His agenda. He pursues you with clarity and determination.
Today we’re privy to a conversation that involves a defining moment in the lives of the disciples. Christ poses to them the question of His identity. “Who do people say I am?”
He follows up with parallel questions on the value of temporal and eternal life. “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”3 Peter has the right answer to the biggest question but he doesn’t understand the consequences. The suffering of Christ was more than he bargained for. It wasn’t a theoretical question for him either. The path of all of Christ’s followers necessarily mirrors that of the Master. Peter thought he was signing up for crown-wearing instead of cross-bearing. He was looking for a place of glory in Christ’s earthly dominion. Christ was preparing him for the glory of the heavenly kingdom. The crown of life indeed awaited Peter, but it could only be achieved through Jesus’ crown of thorns.
The “big question” regarding Christ’s identity remains perennially relevant. It can be restated (in fact it must) but it cannot be revised. It can be ignored, but only until the judgment at the longest. The answer to the question is of course nothing more, but certainly nothing less, than the confession of truth that defines Christianity. The question first posed privately to the disciples now occupies the public mission of the church. The answer to Christ’s identity is the only answer to the power of sin. It concerns us all. The confession of divine truth is a public matter by definition.
People have always maintained private opinions. They always will. Not every opinion is worth, contesting, challenging, or imposing upon others. We learn to vet them and focus on the most significant matters. It hardly means, however, there is consensus on what these are. Sinful human beings typically downplay the dangers and effects of transgressing God’s will. We often marginalize the risk of affirming falsehood and its associated implications. God’s patience in judging is misread as leniency. His swift chastisement is misinterpreted as callousness. Whether we’re seeking to be excused for our unrighteous actions towards others or praised for our hypocritical piety, we like God to share in our failure by overlooking it or approving it. The call to repentance entails the full range of our indiscretions.
The critical matter at issue in today’s gospel account is the very nature of God’s self-disclosure to us. Merely naming Jesus as the Christ doesn’t embrace what that means. The path of the cross is self-effacing to the core. The crucifixion is the definitive revelation of God’s love to us in Christ. Do you think it was unimportant for the prophets to define exactly who Jesus is when Isaiah wrote of Him 600 years before His birth? “Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”4
Do you think it was not important for the apostles to define exactly who Jesus is when they wrote after His death and resurrection, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”5 Do you think it was not important for the church in the early centuries to define exactly who Jesus is when they labored to summarize the Christian faith in the Nicene Creed? “Jesus Christ… God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.” Our salvation depends upon the fact that Jesus is who He says He is and does what He says He does. The more clearly we understand Him the better off we are and the more effectively we can be His witnesses.
Dear friends, it is not the mission of the church to go out into the world with religious options for consideration. It is not our mission to provide food-for-thought and encourage people to form their own opinions. It is not our charge to present the biblical doctrine as one set of truths among many. Least of all is it helpful to go out with a message marked by uncertainty, confusion and apathy. The world may be full of people that are largely uninformed about the Christian truth, but they are very perceptive and discerning about whether that truth is proclaimed with authority and clarity. It is easy to spot people who do not really believe what they are saying. The Holy Spirit refines our faith for this very reason. We must be purged of the tendency to act contrary to what we believe.
There are many falsehoods, half-truths, and misperceptions we may have to live with in this life. Life is often beset with complexity and confusion. But it is truth that we seek to die in. What matters in the end is not a faith that we can live with but a faith we can die with. When the final breath exhales from our lungs we want to die in the clarity of truth. All ideologies and philosophies that have figured prominently in our lives will be nothing but cherished or bitter memories depending upon our experience. The forgiveness of sins, however, is the passport to the permanency of the unending experience of joy.
Dear friends, God doesn’t have opinions. He does not lie. He speaks to us about things high and holy things, yes; but these things also relate to our daily life in the body of Christ. God speaks in an orderly way. God orders things in a purposeful way. God speaks with specificity but He doesn’t speak privately. He speaks in reference to vocation, and thus He speaks preferentially.
Everyone serves, but in different ways, with different responsibility and different accountability. A student doesn’t have the same accountability as a teacher. An employee doesn’t have the same responsibility as a boss. A carpenter doesn’t have the same accountability as a judge. A waiter doesn’t have the same responsibility as a surgeon. Children are not equipped to make decisions for the family and they are not called to do so. Fathers have different God-given obligations than mothers. Pastors are accountable to God for their flocks in a way that lay people aren’t. All pursue integrity. All consider the well-being of others first. All serve the common good. And as believers we all seek to build up the body of Christ.
Dear friends, in the pursuit of these things in truth, our confession of Christ’s identity is revealed. But our failures do not change the reality of who He is. It doesn’t matter how many times you have failed, Christ has not and will not fail you. He has gone through death for you. You are baptized into His death and resurrection. He lives to intercede for you. He offers you pardon in His body and blood. He wipes your slate clean. He puts a value on your soul that is incomparable by any human measure. What can a person give in exchange for their soul?6 That’s a big question. Not anything! Not everything! Christ gave His blood. The greatest was required. The greatest was given. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost
13 September, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Psalm 105:8 2 Mark 8:27 3 Mark 8:36
4 Isaiah 53:4-5 5 Hebrews 1:3-4 6 See Mark 9:37
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)