+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Matthew 10:28
Theme: Peace and Contention
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah is the Hebrew word for ‘Praise the Lord’. What a joy-filled privilege to address you today! If distance makes the heart grow fonder our hearts are surely bursting with gratitude. No one could have guessed the calendar year would start with 10 Sundays in our houses of worship followed by 10 Sundays of separation and distant hearing of God’s word. But the incarnate Jesus is never distant from us, nor is the ever-present Spirit. God has not forgotten us. He has not left us as orphans. In all circumstances God finds a way to care for His people.
Today’s gospel continues on from last week where Jesus sent out the apostles. Jesus speaks frankly and soberly. We don’t find here in this section of Scripture the kind-hearted, push over, tolerates-anything-and-everything Jesus. God Himself stands upon the earth and He serves notice that there will be a reckoning. He summons His followers. He calls them to allegiance. He equips them for service. He calls for candidness. He calls for faithfulness. He warns of division.
He says, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”1 The Prince of Peace stands and says, “Do not suppose I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”2…….The dissidence is deafening! Is He not supposed to broker a truce, oversee a ceasefire, initiate the establishment of a utopia? Is He not the bearer of prosperity, the adjudicator of conflict, and the solicitor of consensus? Shouldn’t Jesus be the poster child for the campaign for everyone to just get along? Look at the conflict, tension, anger, and violence we see in the world today. It was no different at the time of Christ. Wasn’t He supposed to solve all of that?
Rest assured; Jesus is not of two minds. He is not duplicitous. He is not schizophrenic. He is the Prince of Peace indeed! Yet, He is also a lightning rod for division. This is a necessary reality. There can be no harmony between good and evil, no consensus between truth and falsehood, no amalgamating of heaven and hell. Christ and Satan do not share power. The devil has been defeated and at the final advent of Christ he and the demons, and the wicked, will be forever locked out from the presence of God and the hope of glory.
Do we pray for peace? Yes! Do we work towards peace? Yes! Will there ever be perfect peace in this world? No! There is peace. It is His peace. It is not human peace. How was this peace accomplished? By His bloody sacrifice on the cross. The event of atonement is complete. There is no further sacrifice for sins necessary. Jesus has paid it all. There are no I(s) to be dotted or T(s) to be crossed. There are no hidden costs. The life of God’s Son has made recompense for our sins. He went willingly to the cross. He rose victoriously from the grave. He has redeemed us from death and hell. The Scripture says clearly and unequivocally, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”3
You might wonder, then, why we still need to keeping talking about it and meeting here. Of course, there is the urgency of evangelism. The gift secured, is not yet the gift received. The existence of money does not mean that a particular person possesses it. The availability of food doesn’t mean anyone has consumed it. So too, Christ’s procurement of salvation doesn’t mean that everyone received it. The continual work of the Holy Spirit is to see to that task. The eternal gospel must be published for those who have not heard it.
And, it must also be taught to those who don’t understand it. News that’s been heard is not necessarily news that’s been understood. Do we have a higher privilege than that of sharing and teaching the faith in word and deed? We are alive on this earth to support others through the joys and struggles of this life. Seen clearly, understood correctly, viewed from the perspective of what really matters, this is a sacred calling.
Yes, but what about us, those of us who are regular members of the church? Aren’t we baptized? Aren’t most of us confirmed? Do we not call on the Lord’s name every day in our family and private prayers? Does that mean, then, that we mainly participate in our congregations because most of us enjoy one of more aspects of the fellowship offered? Perhaps we like the social interaction? Or perhaps we feel a moral or spiritual obligation to be in God’s house because that’s how we were raised? Undoubtedly there is truth in these reasons.
But, dear friends, the most important reason any of us is present to hear God’s truth and receive His gifts is that we are still sinners. The gospel is not simply information. It is the power of God for salvation4. It is the power that continually revives, renews, and restores us. It has vivifying, life-giving capacity. Hearing the gospel is not a once-off need.
When was the last time you had a nice meal and then thought to yourself, “I sure hope I never have to eat that great food again!” If not your palate, your stomach will soon be demanding more food. When was the last time you embraced a loved one and thought, “I certainly hope I never have to suffer through that again?” The same is true for us meeting together in the Lord’s presence.
Why are we here? Because of the three great foes that are aligned against us. The devil steals, he obstructs, he white ants, he deceives. He causes contention, commotion, and confusion. He suffers us to enjoy temporal blessings only in so far as we do this thanklessly and without faith. Spiritual blessings he does not tolerate at all. The world also aligns itself against godliness. It allures, it distracts, it tempts, it conceals. The world seduces us to live as if this life were an end in itself. Finally, we are vulnerable in and of ourselves. Our own sinful natures are weak, they are easily misled, they are easily flattered. Left to ourselves we find our own idols or become gods to ourselves.
Why are we here? Here we are censured for our ungodliness. Here we receive forgiveness. Here we are showered with God’s love. Here we are built up in divine wisdom. Here we are strengthened to carry our crosses and make witness to our neighbours. We are about to receive the body and blood of the holy Son of God. We have foregone it for some time. We did it out of concern for the general welfare of others. Yet, we shouldn’t forget that everything we do- even for the public health of the community- is temporary in this fleeting life. Only the things of God are eternal. Holy Communion connects us with His immortal permanence.
Dear friends, we are here to celebrate that fact that we have been released from the fear of death. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”5 We are looking forward to an immortal life. Will there continue to be contention in this world? Yes! Will there finally be peace? Yes! Through the blood of the cross Christ has already made peace between us and the heavenly Father. The divine ledger will be balanced. The debt does not remain unpaid. Your name, your account, your record…your online history, everything that blemishes your name and reputation will be cleared.
Welcome back to God’s house. I pray we all cherish it a little more than before. Do not fear. God is in His house and we cannot be hidden from Him anywhere in the universe. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Third Sunday After Pentecost
21 June 2020
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 10:28 2 Matthew 10:24
3 John 3:16 4 See Romans 1:16
5 Matthew 10:28
Monday, June 22, 2020
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Funeral for Norman John Menz (5 June 2020)
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 14:2
Theme: The Stability of His Kingdom
Dear family, friends, and loved ones of Norm; and especially you Barb, present over the live feed but not in person, and also Gary, Cynthia, Trevor, Bradley, and Karen, his children;
The same Lord who said, “I am the way and the truth and the life,”1 promises the faithful that they will be “receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.”2 Norman Menz has been promised that kingdom- an unshakeable one. What a glaring contrast to the world we observe at the moment! Should we be astonished at how quickly the stability of the world can be capsized? Fear and uncertainty are still hurtling across the global horizon. Disquiet and skepticism about the ability of established authorities to offer viable solutions is on the rise. Where will it all end? God knows, and He will work good through it.
Important blessings will come from the current crisis. The illusion that collectively we can meet any threat facing humanity is being shattered. Life is more vulnerable than many may have thought. We are fragile. We are fallible. God intends that our false hopes will be destroyed. He intends to save us from a false sense of security in worldly things. True stability is trust in God’s promise untainted by mixed loyalties. Jesus Christ has overcome the power of sin. He has disarmed the threat of hell. Death has been conquered.
We stand at this graveside resolutely clinging to that truth. No one comes to their grave an architect of their own destiny. Self-definition is all the rage in our modern culture. There are few things our society prizes more than the opportunity to be self-made people. And yes, opportunity is one of the blessings of freedom and prosperity. But spiritually, before the Almighty, in the face of sin, death, and hell, the claim of self-definition is the grandest of illusions. We have nothing that we haven’t been given. Norm has been given life in Christ. His race is finished.
But we live on and our needs haven’t changed. All of our accomplishments and achievements, everything we are praised and recognized for in this life, all that we have accumulated, everything we take pride in, all of it together set against the wrath of God counts for nothing. They like dust on the scales. We can neither appease nor negotiate with God. He justly demands compensation for our sins. We cannot provide it. In the end we can do nothing but repent, which is not an offering to God, but a yearning to receive. And God does not fail to provide what we lack.
The payment was made. The sacrifice as given. God’s wrath was appeased. The Son of God poured out His own blood on the cross. His life was forfeit, crushed by the weight of our sins. Jesus Christ was crucified, but then raised to life on the third day. So, at the end of the day there’s only one way to arrive at the eternal day, the day of light, and peace, and joy, the day never marred by sickness, or sorrow or death. Through the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we are declared righteousness and holy through faith. All who cast themselves on His mercy will never be put to shame. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”3
Norm was baptised in the Methodist church. The importance of that may have been forgotten by Norm for much of his life. But it wasn’t forgotten by God. Baptism is God’s act of claiming sinners for His kingdom, of promising His faithfulness. It is a new birth into a new family. It includes a promise of a divine inheritance. That inheritance, that family identity can be, and often is rejected after baptism. The allure of worldliness is powerful. Many take the wide road. But rebellion and selfishness don’t make God unreliable, they only demonstrate the power of sinfulness.
Norm was led to a more deliberate consideration of his mortality as his health began to fail. God was working covertly and overtly to prepare him for leaving this world. The Shepherd doesn’t stop searching for His sheep. He pursues them. He yearns for them. He wants to bring them home. “In My Father’s house,” He says, “are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you.”4 This He has done for Norm.
Norm was blessed in many ways throughout his life. His life was filled with activity, and family, and love. In their wedding Norm and Barb promised to be faithful to each other ‘til death do they part’. They cleaved together, made a life, raised a family, grew old together. They shared joys and sorrows, good times, and heartache. They experienced regrets but shared many other things you would never trade for the world. Their wedding text was from 1 Corinthians 13, we heard it earlier. It’s about the supremacy of love. In this life there is never complete purity of love. It is always tainted with selfishness and failure. But there is perfect love and that’s what all believers look forward to. There is unending joy. A cross has made it possible.
The parting caused by death has now come. That’s true not only for Barb and Norm, for all who loved Norm and will miss him. A loved one cannot be replaced. A Spirit-given peace must fill the void. No one is immune to the pain of separation. Grief favors no one, the prosperous or the downtrodden, the professional or the common laborer, young or old, all are in the same boat. But for Christians grief is not the last word for the Scripture says that believers do not grieve like those who have no hope.
The current circumstances of on-going restrictions have been very stressful for families faced with grief. Customs and conventions of social decorum have been thrown into chaos. Emotions are thrown into turmoil. Difficult and sometimes contentious decisions have to be made. It’s all a reminder of how quickly things can change and get beyond our control. It’s also a reminder that each day is a gift. It is to be prized, not taken for granted.
Thankfully, dear friends, there will be no social-distancing in heaven. There will be no need. In the presence of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, saints and angels, there will be no consequences of sin; only peace, and joy, and light. This life is fragile. But His kingdom is unshakeable. Norm now knows what that means. Thanks be to God!
+ In nomine Jesu +
Christian Burial of Norman John Menz
5 June 2020
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 14:6
2 Hebrews 12:28
3 John 3:16-17
4 John 14:2
Text: John 14:2
Theme: The Stability of His Kingdom
Dear family, friends, and loved ones of Norm; and especially you Barb, present over the live feed but not in person, and also Gary, Cynthia, Trevor, Bradley, and Karen, his children;
The same Lord who said, “I am the way and the truth and the life,”1 promises the faithful that they will be “receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.”2 Norman Menz has been promised that kingdom- an unshakeable one. What a glaring contrast to the world we observe at the moment! Should we be astonished at how quickly the stability of the world can be capsized? Fear and uncertainty are still hurtling across the global horizon. Disquiet and skepticism about the ability of established authorities to offer viable solutions is on the rise. Where will it all end? God knows, and He will work good through it.
Important blessings will come from the current crisis. The illusion that collectively we can meet any threat facing humanity is being shattered. Life is more vulnerable than many may have thought. We are fragile. We are fallible. God intends that our false hopes will be destroyed. He intends to save us from a false sense of security in worldly things. True stability is trust in God’s promise untainted by mixed loyalties. Jesus Christ has overcome the power of sin. He has disarmed the threat of hell. Death has been conquered.
We stand at this graveside resolutely clinging to that truth. No one comes to their grave an architect of their own destiny. Self-definition is all the rage in our modern culture. There are few things our society prizes more than the opportunity to be self-made people. And yes, opportunity is one of the blessings of freedom and prosperity. But spiritually, before the Almighty, in the face of sin, death, and hell, the claim of self-definition is the grandest of illusions. We have nothing that we haven’t been given. Norm has been given life in Christ. His race is finished.
But we live on and our needs haven’t changed. All of our accomplishments and achievements, everything we are praised and recognized for in this life, all that we have accumulated, everything we take pride in, all of it together set against the wrath of God counts for nothing. They like dust on the scales. We can neither appease nor negotiate with God. He justly demands compensation for our sins. We cannot provide it. In the end we can do nothing but repent, which is not an offering to God, but a yearning to receive. And God does not fail to provide what we lack.
The payment was made. The sacrifice as given. God’s wrath was appeased. The Son of God poured out His own blood on the cross. His life was forfeit, crushed by the weight of our sins. Jesus Christ was crucified, but then raised to life on the third day. So, at the end of the day there’s only one way to arrive at the eternal day, the day of light, and peace, and joy, the day never marred by sickness, or sorrow or death. Through the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we are declared righteousness and holy through faith. All who cast themselves on His mercy will never be put to shame. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”3
Norm was baptised in the Methodist church. The importance of that may have been forgotten by Norm for much of his life. But it wasn’t forgotten by God. Baptism is God’s act of claiming sinners for His kingdom, of promising His faithfulness. It is a new birth into a new family. It includes a promise of a divine inheritance. That inheritance, that family identity can be, and often is rejected after baptism. The allure of worldliness is powerful. Many take the wide road. But rebellion and selfishness don’t make God unreliable, they only demonstrate the power of sinfulness.
Norm was led to a more deliberate consideration of his mortality as his health began to fail. God was working covertly and overtly to prepare him for leaving this world. The Shepherd doesn’t stop searching for His sheep. He pursues them. He yearns for them. He wants to bring them home. “In My Father’s house,” He says, “are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you.”4 This He has done for Norm.
Norm was blessed in many ways throughout his life. His life was filled with activity, and family, and love. In their wedding Norm and Barb promised to be faithful to each other ‘til death do they part’. They cleaved together, made a life, raised a family, grew old together. They shared joys and sorrows, good times, and heartache. They experienced regrets but shared many other things you would never trade for the world. Their wedding text was from 1 Corinthians 13, we heard it earlier. It’s about the supremacy of love. In this life there is never complete purity of love. It is always tainted with selfishness and failure. But there is perfect love and that’s what all believers look forward to. There is unending joy. A cross has made it possible.
The parting caused by death has now come. That’s true not only for Barb and Norm, for all who loved Norm and will miss him. A loved one cannot be replaced. A Spirit-given peace must fill the void. No one is immune to the pain of separation. Grief favors no one, the prosperous or the downtrodden, the professional or the common laborer, young or old, all are in the same boat. But for Christians grief is not the last word for the Scripture says that believers do not grieve like those who have no hope.
The current circumstances of on-going restrictions have been very stressful for families faced with grief. Customs and conventions of social decorum have been thrown into chaos. Emotions are thrown into turmoil. Difficult and sometimes contentious decisions have to be made. It’s all a reminder of how quickly things can change and get beyond our control. It’s also a reminder that each day is a gift. It is to be prized, not taken for granted.
Thankfully, dear friends, there will be no social-distancing in heaven. There will be no need. In the presence of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, saints and angels, there will be no consequences of sin; only peace, and joy, and light. This life is fragile. But His kingdom is unshakeable. Norm now knows what that means. Thanks be to God!
+ In nomine Jesu +
Christian Burial of Norman John Menz
5 June 2020
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 14:6
2 Hebrews 12:28
3 John 3:16-17
4 John 14:2
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Holy Trinity (A) 2020
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Matthew 28:19-20
Theme: Trinitarian Fellowship
Dear people of God blessed by the Spirit,
To celebrate the Trinity as the one God who exists in three persons is to celebrate His self-revelation to us. One in essence, three in persons, the triune God is disclosed to us through the Holy Scriptures. Therefore, Jesus says today, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”1 God’s name is not an honorary title. It is descriptive of His identity, the way in which He chooses to be made known. Wherever His name is called upon, there His presence and power are attendant.
And that’s exactly why the Holy Spirit gathers us for the hearing of divine truth. Of course, those who hear cannot all be painted with the same brush. Some are “all ears”. They eagerly expect the blessing of God. They understand and receive the benefits. Others perceive the sound but fluctuate between their interest being piqued and their apathy being affirmed. Still others filter very discriminatingly wanting to avoid any exposure that would threaten their perspective on life and the way it’s governed. God knows all this. He knows our needs.
Therefore, the Holy Spirit commences conversations through crisis. He’s doing that all around the world right now as people work through the trauma of losing freedom, opportunities, assets, and life itself on a scale not seen in recent memory. Sorrow in the world is opportunity for rejoicing in heaven. Only the sick need a doctor. Each soul the Spirit brings to a knowledge of the truth is a cause for rejoicing. God is always in pursuit of lost souls. He pursues lost sheep to the very moment they take their last breath.
That’s true not just for strangers out there who we hope will be reached with the message of the gospel. It’s true also for your family and friends who have wandered from the faith and become estranged from the church. The Good Shepherd is pursuing these lost and wandering sheep also. Many of them don’t recognize they are lost and still consider themselves to be firmly in the fellowship of believers. It’s a subtle and powerful deception. But God is not deceived. He reads the heart.
Faith, you see, is not a token assent to truth. It entails the irrepressible desire to follow. Faith is conviction in action. Yes, it struggles constantly with the confidence that God is faithful, that God is honest, that God is attentive. Sometimes God’s goodness is abundantly clear to us. At other times it may appear God is aloof, judgmental, or even cruel. Your faith may be strong or weak, or somewhere in between, but it’s no good claiming that your faith is invariable because it is a living thing. There’s nothing static or linear about faith. It’s not one dimensional. You can’t put it on the shelf for a while and expect it not to diminish.
It’s no coincidence that on this Trinity Sunday we hear the very first words of the Bible. God’s creation reaches its pinnacle with the formation of Adam and Eve. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”2 It’s profoundly humbling to know we are created in the image of God. It’s also the lens for our understanding of the entirety of existence.
If we don’t believe that humanity is tied organically and without exception to Adam, the first man, and propagated through Eve, the first woman, then our worldview is not biblical. Our truths and values are then resting, at least partially, on different foundations. When the storm that is Second Coming and final judgment arrive those foundations will crumble away like sandcastles on the beach.
The Trinity made Adam in His own image. He placed Adam and Eve in an unspoiled paradise where they could live as recipients of His blessings forever. Death was not in the world before the fall into sin. Death is not natural; it is part of the curse. It is the result of separation from God. Perpetual cycles of propagation and mortality do not explain the origin of life, but only describe what we now observe. Evolutionary science has not explained the origin of life and it never will because it is impossible to repeat it.
These matters aren’t just issues of curiosity. The biblical witness is all tied together- from beginning to end. It is seamlessly woven. Like the tunic of Christ, it’s all of one piece3. If Christ is mistaken in His commendation of the Mosaic account of creation, then redemption too becomes unhinged from history. Furthermore, Jesus is found to be a false interpreter of the Scriptures. A world that has always had death in it cannot be restored to its original purity. Death is not a property of perfection. If we stand in judgment over particular teachings of the Bible what’s to stop us from claiming judgment over all of Scripture? The emasculation of the Scriptures continues apace in many parts of the church.
Dear friends, the self-revelation of God is tied exclusively to the Bible. If we could truly understand God through the wonders of creation- and the creation is mind-bogglingly magnificent- there would be no need for the publication of the gospel. If we could grasp God, access Him, come to Him, truly know Him by applying only human intellect, determination, and ingenuity, there would be no need for the righteousness of faith. There would be no point to the coming of Christ in the flesh, His suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension. His atoning work would be unnecessary. Yet, God decided not only to save us, but to spare no expense in doing so. The immortal, holy, Son of God, sacrificed Himself for your sins and mine.
It was an act of grace when God spoke creation into existence. It was a profound outpouring of His love. The fact that we exist, that anything exists at all is not due to obligation or entitlement, but to the free act of the Holy Trinity desiring to be in fellowship with creation. We can throw all kinds of why questions and other queries at this truth, but we won’t be able to uncover the mystery. Why was God compelled to create? Was He compelled? Why did He not abandon His fallen creation? He is eternal, incomprehensible love. Beyond this we can say little more. But the coming of Christ says everything that God needs to say. The Holy Spirit doesn’t waste words. And He doesn’t speak in riddles. He communicates to us clearly and consistently the redeeming love of Jesus. We hear it in the delightful words of the gospel, we taste it in the Sacrament of the Altar, we are cleansed by it in the waters of baptism.
Trinity Sunday, is a day to celebrate your baptism. In your baptism the triune God severed your identity with the old eon, the fallen age, the dominion of Satan and claimed you for His kingdom of light and joy and immortality. Today is a day to celebrate your creation in the Father’s image, your renewal in the image of the Son, and the companionship you have in the Spirit. Today is a day to remember how small your problems are compared to the largeness of God’s solutions; how temporary our sufferings are compared to the permanency of His glory. The intent is not to make light of our struggles but to put them in perspective. There is nothing we lack that God cannot supply.
It doesn’t matter what you have, if you don’t have the gospel you don’t have anything of lasting value. It doesn’t matter what you lack, what you’ve been deprived of, or what things rightfully yours, that have been taken from you, when you have the grace of God in Jesus Christ, you have everything. Hell is no treat to you. Death cannot harm you. There are no earthly treasures or riches, accomplishments or acclamations that compare to possessing the righteousness of Him who covered your sins. Through the cross we come to the day of resurrection and into the presence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The promise of Jesus Christ cannot fail, “Behold, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”4 The triune God established our existence and He will bring it to completion eternally. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Holy Trinity
7 June 2020
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 28:19 2 Genesis 1:27
3 See John 19:23 4 Matthew 28:20
Text: Matthew 28:19-20
Theme: Trinitarian Fellowship
Dear people of God blessed by the Spirit,
To celebrate the Trinity as the one God who exists in three persons is to celebrate His self-revelation to us. One in essence, three in persons, the triune God is disclosed to us through the Holy Scriptures. Therefore, Jesus says today, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”1 God’s name is not an honorary title. It is descriptive of His identity, the way in which He chooses to be made known. Wherever His name is called upon, there His presence and power are attendant.
And that’s exactly why the Holy Spirit gathers us for the hearing of divine truth. Of course, those who hear cannot all be painted with the same brush. Some are “all ears”. They eagerly expect the blessing of God. They understand and receive the benefits. Others perceive the sound but fluctuate between their interest being piqued and their apathy being affirmed. Still others filter very discriminatingly wanting to avoid any exposure that would threaten their perspective on life and the way it’s governed. God knows all this. He knows our needs.
Therefore, the Holy Spirit commences conversations through crisis. He’s doing that all around the world right now as people work through the trauma of losing freedom, opportunities, assets, and life itself on a scale not seen in recent memory. Sorrow in the world is opportunity for rejoicing in heaven. Only the sick need a doctor. Each soul the Spirit brings to a knowledge of the truth is a cause for rejoicing. God is always in pursuit of lost souls. He pursues lost sheep to the very moment they take their last breath.
That’s true not just for strangers out there who we hope will be reached with the message of the gospel. It’s true also for your family and friends who have wandered from the faith and become estranged from the church. The Good Shepherd is pursuing these lost and wandering sheep also. Many of them don’t recognize they are lost and still consider themselves to be firmly in the fellowship of believers. It’s a subtle and powerful deception. But God is not deceived. He reads the heart.
Faith, you see, is not a token assent to truth. It entails the irrepressible desire to follow. Faith is conviction in action. Yes, it struggles constantly with the confidence that God is faithful, that God is honest, that God is attentive. Sometimes God’s goodness is abundantly clear to us. At other times it may appear God is aloof, judgmental, or even cruel. Your faith may be strong or weak, or somewhere in between, but it’s no good claiming that your faith is invariable because it is a living thing. There’s nothing static or linear about faith. It’s not one dimensional. You can’t put it on the shelf for a while and expect it not to diminish.
It’s no coincidence that on this Trinity Sunday we hear the very first words of the Bible. God’s creation reaches its pinnacle with the formation of Adam and Eve. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”2 It’s profoundly humbling to know we are created in the image of God. It’s also the lens for our understanding of the entirety of existence.
If we don’t believe that humanity is tied organically and without exception to Adam, the first man, and propagated through Eve, the first woman, then our worldview is not biblical. Our truths and values are then resting, at least partially, on different foundations. When the storm that is Second Coming and final judgment arrive those foundations will crumble away like sandcastles on the beach.
The Trinity made Adam in His own image. He placed Adam and Eve in an unspoiled paradise where they could live as recipients of His blessings forever. Death was not in the world before the fall into sin. Death is not natural; it is part of the curse. It is the result of separation from God. Perpetual cycles of propagation and mortality do not explain the origin of life, but only describe what we now observe. Evolutionary science has not explained the origin of life and it never will because it is impossible to repeat it.
These matters aren’t just issues of curiosity. The biblical witness is all tied together- from beginning to end. It is seamlessly woven. Like the tunic of Christ, it’s all of one piece3. If Christ is mistaken in His commendation of the Mosaic account of creation, then redemption too becomes unhinged from history. Furthermore, Jesus is found to be a false interpreter of the Scriptures. A world that has always had death in it cannot be restored to its original purity. Death is not a property of perfection. If we stand in judgment over particular teachings of the Bible what’s to stop us from claiming judgment over all of Scripture? The emasculation of the Scriptures continues apace in many parts of the church.
Dear friends, the self-revelation of God is tied exclusively to the Bible. If we could truly understand God through the wonders of creation- and the creation is mind-bogglingly magnificent- there would be no need for the publication of the gospel. If we could grasp God, access Him, come to Him, truly know Him by applying only human intellect, determination, and ingenuity, there would be no need for the righteousness of faith. There would be no point to the coming of Christ in the flesh, His suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension. His atoning work would be unnecessary. Yet, God decided not only to save us, but to spare no expense in doing so. The immortal, holy, Son of God, sacrificed Himself for your sins and mine.
It was an act of grace when God spoke creation into existence. It was a profound outpouring of His love. The fact that we exist, that anything exists at all is not due to obligation or entitlement, but to the free act of the Holy Trinity desiring to be in fellowship with creation. We can throw all kinds of why questions and other queries at this truth, but we won’t be able to uncover the mystery. Why was God compelled to create? Was He compelled? Why did He not abandon His fallen creation? He is eternal, incomprehensible love. Beyond this we can say little more. But the coming of Christ says everything that God needs to say. The Holy Spirit doesn’t waste words. And He doesn’t speak in riddles. He communicates to us clearly and consistently the redeeming love of Jesus. We hear it in the delightful words of the gospel, we taste it in the Sacrament of the Altar, we are cleansed by it in the waters of baptism.
Trinity Sunday, is a day to celebrate your baptism. In your baptism the triune God severed your identity with the old eon, the fallen age, the dominion of Satan and claimed you for His kingdom of light and joy and immortality. Today is a day to celebrate your creation in the Father’s image, your renewal in the image of the Son, and the companionship you have in the Spirit. Today is a day to remember how small your problems are compared to the largeness of God’s solutions; how temporary our sufferings are compared to the permanency of His glory. The intent is not to make light of our struggles but to put them in perspective. There is nothing we lack that God cannot supply.
It doesn’t matter what you have, if you don’t have the gospel you don’t have anything of lasting value. It doesn’t matter what you lack, what you’ve been deprived of, or what things rightfully yours, that have been taken from you, when you have the grace of God in Jesus Christ, you have everything. Hell is no treat to you. Death cannot harm you. There are no earthly treasures or riches, accomplishments or acclamations that compare to possessing the righteousness of Him who covered your sins. Through the cross we come to the day of resurrection and into the presence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The promise of Jesus Christ cannot fail, “Behold, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”4 The triune God established our existence and He will bring it to completion eternally. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Holy Trinity
7 June 2020
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 28:19 2 Genesis 1:27
3 See John 19:23 4 Matthew 28:20
Monday, June 1, 2020
Day of Pentecost (A) 2020
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Acts 2:17
Theme: The Spirit Poured Out
Dear people blessed by the Spirit,
Jesus summoned the Spirit. The Father released Him. He hovered over the waters of creation. He animated the prophets. He confused languages at Babel. He directed the patriarchs and matriarchs. He rebuked the king. He forgave the king. He departed from the temple. He returned to the temple. He comforted the exiles. He sustained hope in the remnant. He overshadowed the Virgin. He left the human body of Jesus and returned to it on the third day. These things He did in the first age.
Again, Jesus summoned the Spirit. The Father released Him. He overshadowed the apostles. He came down as tongues of fire. He empowered the church. Visitors to the earthly Jerusalem were astounded. Hopefuls of the heavenly Jerusalem were vindicated. The gospel was proclaimed. Babel was reversed. Languages were multiplied for the cause unity. Faith was gifted. Unbelief was defeated. These things happened on Pentecost. The final age had begun.
Dear friends, we live in the final age. And we are no further from the power and presence of God than believers were on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is not one second older or one step slower than He was on that day or when He hovered over the waters at the first creation. He is not the tiniest bit fatigued. He is not a fraction impaired. He betrays not a trace of apathy. The Spirit’s love burns with eternal brightness and warmth. His passion is undiminished. His passion burns for you.
It’s no coincidence that there was quite a cosmopolitan crowd gathered in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. The gospel is intended for every people group of every time and every place. No knowledge, no news, no blessing is more relevant or more essential than the gospel. It is meant for all ears and all hearts at all times. It’s probably impossible for most of us to imagine what it was like to hear the gospel in your mother tongue for the first time. It is life changing. However, the gospel is not only the most relevant and essential declaration ever to be published it is also- because of its intent- the most vehemently opposed.
Even on the Day of Pentecost some thought the apostles were drunk. They apparently didn’t believe God would manifest His power. Jesus said that when the Spirit came, He would “convict the world of guilt in regard to sin.”1 Remember, the Holy Spirit is not how we wish Him to be. The Holy Spirit is as the Scriptures reveal a Him. Gods of our own making are called idols and they are as fickle and fallible as the people who construct them. All of us are prone to god-making in one form or another. We might not recognize it as such, thinking we are only fortifying our ideals with religious, moral, or spiritual justification. Do we mine the Bible in search of evidence for our preconceived notions? Is the Bible used as a proof book for our otherwise established opinions and values?
Most pastors would be happy to know people were mining the Bible at all. But the Scriptures can be used to support a wide range of falsehoods when taken out of context. That tends to be our mode of operation especially when we reflect on our own sinfulness. We manipulate the context. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to disguise your repentance under the cloak of anonymity? To acknowledge generally, but not seriously and specifically, that you are a sinner?
Undoubtedly that’s why Luther plies us with such direct and personal questions in the catechism. “Consider your place in life according to the Ten Commandments: Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife or worker? Have you been disobedient, unfaithful, or lazy? Have you been hot-tempered, rude, or quarrelsome? Have you hurt someone by your words or deeds? Have you stolen, been negligent, wasted anything, or done any harm?2 We’re not just generic sinners, we think, plan, say, and do very specific sinful things. The Holy Spirit is not the affirmer of our inflated egos. He is a masterful surgeon. He humbles us so that God may lift us up in due time.
Have no doubt, people of God that the Holy Spirit is with you. If you honestly believe Christ is your Redeemer, you have the Holy Spirit. He is the Comforter, the Advocate, the Helper. The Holy Spirit is the giver of faith and the taker of doubt, the breath of life and the repeller of death. He strides through the dark world as a bearer of light- the light of Him who is the light of the world, the light of Him who is the light of men, Jesus, the Redeemer. Christ is the physician for those yearning to be rid of their cancer. He is the balm for those harried by the festering wounds of their sins. He is the medicine for those who are spiritually sick. He is light for those living in darkness and the shadow of death.
Pentecost was a grand and glorious day for the dissemination of the Good News. The work of prophets and angels was conferred on apostles and disciples. Angels, those sublime, swift and powerful creatures are privileged to proclaim that gospel. They attend the throne of God and yet they long to look into the mystery. Rightly understood, that is profoundly humbling. The atoning, sacrificial love of the Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity is so incomprehensible that angels struggle to understand it. No wonder the Holy Spirit is required for us to believe it. And yet it’s not incomprehensible because it is a secret, or in doubt, or requires an academic degree to receive or benefit from it. It is the plainest, clearest message in the world. It is incomprehensible because it’s far beyond our capacity to appreciate why God loves us so much!
What do the Scriptures say? “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”3 Again, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”4 The Holy Spirit came to teach us these truths. He came to comfort us with the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. The Suffering Servant was crucified for you but gained victory over death on the third day.
The Spirit also came to lead us in battle, in the daily struggle of a cross-bearing life. Against the tendencies of our sinful natures the Holy Spirit seeks to sanctify us. From God’s perspective we are already declared righteous by grace, through faith for Christ’s sake. This is the miracle of God justifying sinners through His Son. Yet, from our perspective, it’s always a work in progress; messy, incomplete, unpredictable, and somewhat mysterious. Think only of question three in the confession and absolution: “Do you intend with the help of the Holy Spirit to live as in God's presence, and to strive daily to lead a holy life, even as Christ has made you holy?”5 The tension will not be resolved until we transition to the next life.
Meanwhile, the Spirit will continue to work in and through you. It won’t always be painless. But He promises that at some point it will be rewarding. Will you have the strength, will you have the wisdom, will you have the courage, will you have the humility to love others as Christ has loved you? Will you be continually and cheerfully able to sacrifice your interests for the sake of others? Or will you be hindered by selfishness, by greed, by apathy, by hard-heartedness? Of course you will! God knows our limitations and we do well to learn them too. Don’t try to shoulder burdens that only God can lift. But don’t fear lifting the burdens of others who don’t have the strength. God will lift you up in due time.
The Holy Spirt won’t be controlled or manipulated by the strength or cleverness of men. He is grieved by rejection. He is driven away by steadfast unbelief. But He is not disheartened. He is never lacking in zeal. He binds Himself to the written word, the Holy Scriptures, and the Incarnate Word, the Lord Jesus. And through them He can thaw the coldest hearts and cheer the darkest minds. Joy, and peace, and hope always accompany Him.
These have been trying times for God’s baptised people all around the world. The promised Holy Spirit came to gather His church on Pentecost, and He has begun to gather it again. We pray that the struggles and lessons of isolation prove to be beneficial. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be blessed. So too, we pray that those who are hungering and thirsting for the Supper of our Lord and the close fellowship of the faithful will be overflowing with joy in the Spirit when we arrive at the appointed time. “God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”6 Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Day of Pentecost
31 May 2020
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 16:8 2 Luther’s Small Catechism
3 2 Corinthians 4:6 4 Titus 3:5-7
5 LH page 6 6 Romans 5:5
Text: Acts 2:17
Theme: The Spirit Poured Out
Dear people blessed by the Spirit,
Jesus summoned the Spirit. The Father released Him. He hovered over the waters of creation. He animated the prophets. He confused languages at Babel. He directed the patriarchs and matriarchs. He rebuked the king. He forgave the king. He departed from the temple. He returned to the temple. He comforted the exiles. He sustained hope in the remnant. He overshadowed the Virgin. He left the human body of Jesus and returned to it on the third day. These things He did in the first age.
Again, Jesus summoned the Spirit. The Father released Him. He overshadowed the apostles. He came down as tongues of fire. He empowered the church. Visitors to the earthly Jerusalem were astounded. Hopefuls of the heavenly Jerusalem were vindicated. The gospel was proclaimed. Babel was reversed. Languages were multiplied for the cause unity. Faith was gifted. Unbelief was defeated. These things happened on Pentecost. The final age had begun.
Dear friends, we live in the final age. And we are no further from the power and presence of God than believers were on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is not one second older or one step slower than He was on that day or when He hovered over the waters at the first creation. He is not the tiniest bit fatigued. He is not a fraction impaired. He betrays not a trace of apathy. The Spirit’s love burns with eternal brightness and warmth. His passion is undiminished. His passion burns for you.
It’s no coincidence that there was quite a cosmopolitan crowd gathered in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. The gospel is intended for every people group of every time and every place. No knowledge, no news, no blessing is more relevant or more essential than the gospel. It is meant for all ears and all hearts at all times. It’s probably impossible for most of us to imagine what it was like to hear the gospel in your mother tongue for the first time. It is life changing. However, the gospel is not only the most relevant and essential declaration ever to be published it is also- because of its intent- the most vehemently opposed.
Even on the Day of Pentecost some thought the apostles were drunk. They apparently didn’t believe God would manifest His power. Jesus said that when the Spirit came, He would “convict the world of guilt in regard to sin.”1 Remember, the Holy Spirit is not how we wish Him to be. The Holy Spirit is as the Scriptures reveal a Him. Gods of our own making are called idols and they are as fickle and fallible as the people who construct them. All of us are prone to god-making in one form or another. We might not recognize it as such, thinking we are only fortifying our ideals with religious, moral, or spiritual justification. Do we mine the Bible in search of evidence for our preconceived notions? Is the Bible used as a proof book for our otherwise established opinions and values?
Most pastors would be happy to know people were mining the Bible at all. But the Scriptures can be used to support a wide range of falsehoods when taken out of context. That tends to be our mode of operation especially when we reflect on our own sinfulness. We manipulate the context. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to disguise your repentance under the cloak of anonymity? To acknowledge generally, but not seriously and specifically, that you are a sinner?
Undoubtedly that’s why Luther plies us with such direct and personal questions in the catechism. “Consider your place in life according to the Ten Commandments: Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife or worker? Have you been disobedient, unfaithful, or lazy? Have you been hot-tempered, rude, or quarrelsome? Have you hurt someone by your words or deeds? Have you stolen, been negligent, wasted anything, or done any harm?2 We’re not just generic sinners, we think, plan, say, and do very specific sinful things. The Holy Spirit is not the affirmer of our inflated egos. He is a masterful surgeon. He humbles us so that God may lift us up in due time.
Have no doubt, people of God that the Holy Spirit is with you. If you honestly believe Christ is your Redeemer, you have the Holy Spirit. He is the Comforter, the Advocate, the Helper. The Holy Spirit is the giver of faith and the taker of doubt, the breath of life and the repeller of death. He strides through the dark world as a bearer of light- the light of Him who is the light of the world, the light of Him who is the light of men, Jesus, the Redeemer. Christ is the physician for those yearning to be rid of their cancer. He is the balm for those harried by the festering wounds of their sins. He is the medicine for those who are spiritually sick. He is light for those living in darkness and the shadow of death.
Pentecost was a grand and glorious day for the dissemination of the Good News. The work of prophets and angels was conferred on apostles and disciples. Angels, those sublime, swift and powerful creatures are privileged to proclaim that gospel. They attend the throne of God and yet they long to look into the mystery. Rightly understood, that is profoundly humbling. The atoning, sacrificial love of the Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity is so incomprehensible that angels struggle to understand it. No wonder the Holy Spirit is required for us to believe it. And yet it’s not incomprehensible because it is a secret, or in doubt, or requires an academic degree to receive or benefit from it. It is the plainest, clearest message in the world. It is incomprehensible because it’s far beyond our capacity to appreciate why God loves us so much!
What do the Scriptures say? “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”3 Again, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”4 The Holy Spirit came to teach us these truths. He came to comfort us with the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. The Suffering Servant was crucified for you but gained victory over death on the third day.
The Spirit also came to lead us in battle, in the daily struggle of a cross-bearing life. Against the tendencies of our sinful natures the Holy Spirit seeks to sanctify us. From God’s perspective we are already declared righteous by grace, through faith for Christ’s sake. This is the miracle of God justifying sinners through His Son. Yet, from our perspective, it’s always a work in progress; messy, incomplete, unpredictable, and somewhat mysterious. Think only of question three in the confession and absolution: “Do you intend with the help of the Holy Spirit to live as in God's presence, and to strive daily to lead a holy life, even as Christ has made you holy?”5 The tension will not be resolved until we transition to the next life.
Meanwhile, the Spirit will continue to work in and through you. It won’t always be painless. But He promises that at some point it will be rewarding. Will you have the strength, will you have the wisdom, will you have the courage, will you have the humility to love others as Christ has loved you? Will you be continually and cheerfully able to sacrifice your interests for the sake of others? Or will you be hindered by selfishness, by greed, by apathy, by hard-heartedness? Of course you will! God knows our limitations and we do well to learn them too. Don’t try to shoulder burdens that only God can lift. But don’t fear lifting the burdens of others who don’t have the strength. God will lift you up in due time.
The Holy Spirt won’t be controlled or manipulated by the strength or cleverness of men. He is grieved by rejection. He is driven away by steadfast unbelief. But He is not disheartened. He is never lacking in zeal. He binds Himself to the written word, the Holy Scriptures, and the Incarnate Word, the Lord Jesus. And through them He can thaw the coldest hearts and cheer the darkest minds. Joy, and peace, and hope always accompany Him.
These have been trying times for God’s baptised people all around the world. The promised Holy Spirit came to gather His church on Pentecost, and He has begun to gather it again. We pray that the struggles and lessons of isolation prove to be beneficial. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be blessed. So too, we pray that those who are hungering and thirsting for the Supper of our Lord and the close fellowship of the faithful will be overflowing with joy in the Spirit when we arrive at the appointed time. “God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”6 Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Day of Pentecost
31 May 2020
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 16:8 2 Luther’s Small Catechism
3 2 Corinthians 4:6 4 Titus 3:5-7
5 LH page 6 6 Romans 5:5
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
ANZAC DAY 2020 Address (from 25 April 2020)
(My apologies I forgot to post this earlier)
Anzac Day Address 2020
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
Sacrifice means that one person or group of people is benefitted in some way at the expense of another. One loses, another gains. One gives, another receives. One takes on risk, another enjoys safety. One faces peril, the other is protected. One suffers injury, another has health. One dies, another lives. In war, a price is paid, and like the worth of a life itself, only the omniscient God can put a value on it. Today we remember those who paid the highest price. They shall not be forgotten.
Many right now, in these days of seclusion and separation, are making sacrifices. Some feel like they are being sacrificed, their jobs, their careers, their businesses and retirements, their hopes and their dreams. To many, the future is filled with uncertainty and even fear. Yet, how small are our sacrifices compared to what many of those who went to war had to surrender? How minor are our deprivations compared with what they had to forfeit?
Being separated from family and loved ones during these times of restriction helps us understand more empathetically the heartache of those who went to conflict. Combat always comes with the possibility of mortality, a confronting truth to face, and often with little time to do it. Many went off to battle not knowing that the psychological struggle, the spiritual contest, might be even more severe than the physical conflict. The warrior must come to terms, one way or another, sooner or later, with the possibility of never seeing loved ones, home, and family again.
The warrior must be prepared to meet his or her Maker. The ultimate test of someone’s integrity is measured by their actions under threat of mortality. Does self-preservation or sacrifice rule in the heat of battle? The Almighty doesn’t require flawlessness. He knows we are flesh and blood, weak-in-the-knees, faint of heart, have feet of clay. In the real world of war there are no comic book superheroes. But there are noble warriors. And they are not rare birds. Each one who puts duty and country before personal well-being is just such a dutiful servant. They shall not be forgotten.
War causes upheaval. It changes lives. World War 1, World War 2, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, many other conflicts altered the lives not only of the soldiers, but of those who kept the home fires burning. Families were shattered, lives were ruined, dreams were lost. Yet through these sacrifices, others prospered and the freedoms we enjoy were protected. Our liberties were established and maintained. They shall not be forgotten.
ANZAC Day remembrances should always teach us anew how exceedingly precious life is. We take it for granted so easily. We abuse its privileges. We demand submission to our own ideals, to our own expectations and parameters of liberty. So, lest we fallaciously think we are entitled to liberty, our remembrance calls us back to gratitude. We have nothing that we are not finally given, and that from God. We don’t finally have the power to preserve our own freedoms and livelihoods. We entrust that to our gracious Lord.
Yes, there are still vexing questions. Why does God work as He does? We are not privy to the details. One person is healed while another is taken. One family experiences tragedy while another lives carefree. One person suffers loss while another prospers. All this makes God appear unpredictable, almost fickle. How can God avoid the verdict of favouritism! Logic cannot answer these mysteries and only faith can endure them. Sometimes God loves the individual at what appears to be the expense of the greater community. Other times the individual seems to suffer on behalf of the common good. Yet God is not a distant dictator decreeing arbitrary laws. He immersed Himself in the disorder of humanity, its frailty and fallenness. In the person of Jesus Christ God did not sanitize death. He endured it. He suffered through it and He conquered it.
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”1 John 4:10 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.” 1 John 3:16 The world is not free from conflict. And some will use our extraordinary circumstances to disadvantage the distracted or the weak. Still, we have the presence and promise of Him for whom all the fury and savagery of men is no threat. May the merciful God, for sake of His Son give us the determination to pursue peace, the courage to value life, the means to protect the vulnerable, and the respect necessary to properly honour the fallen.
Prayer
Merciful Lord God, giver and restorer of life, at this hour of solemn observance we recognise the sacrifice of those who paid the ultimate price. We commend to you our reflections made with the help of words and those silent meditations that rest deep within caring hearts. Bless those families and individuals affected by the legacy of conflict and war. Embrace them in Your love. Guide the leaders of our nation. Equip them with wisdom and arm them with integrity. Favour us with your divine love for the sake of Him who gave His life in sacrifice for all. Amen.
Anzac Day Address 2020
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
Sacrifice means that one person or group of people is benefitted in some way at the expense of another. One loses, another gains. One gives, another receives. One takes on risk, another enjoys safety. One faces peril, the other is protected. One suffers injury, another has health. One dies, another lives. In war, a price is paid, and like the worth of a life itself, only the omniscient God can put a value on it. Today we remember those who paid the highest price. They shall not be forgotten.
Many right now, in these days of seclusion and separation, are making sacrifices. Some feel like they are being sacrificed, their jobs, their careers, their businesses and retirements, their hopes and their dreams. To many, the future is filled with uncertainty and even fear. Yet, how small are our sacrifices compared to what many of those who went to war had to surrender? How minor are our deprivations compared with what they had to forfeit?
Being separated from family and loved ones during these times of restriction helps us understand more empathetically the heartache of those who went to conflict. Combat always comes with the possibility of mortality, a confronting truth to face, and often with little time to do it. Many went off to battle not knowing that the psychological struggle, the spiritual contest, might be even more severe than the physical conflict. The warrior must come to terms, one way or another, sooner or later, with the possibility of never seeing loved ones, home, and family again.
The warrior must be prepared to meet his or her Maker. The ultimate test of someone’s integrity is measured by their actions under threat of mortality. Does self-preservation or sacrifice rule in the heat of battle? The Almighty doesn’t require flawlessness. He knows we are flesh and blood, weak-in-the-knees, faint of heart, have feet of clay. In the real world of war there are no comic book superheroes. But there are noble warriors. And they are not rare birds. Each one who puts duty and country before personal well-being is just such a dutiful servant. They shall not be forgotten.
War causes upheaval. It changes lives. World War 1, World War 2, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, many other conflicts altered the lives not only of the soldiers, but of those who kept the home fires burning. Families were shattered, lives were ruined, dreams were lost. Yet through these sacrifices, others prospered and the freedoms we enjoy were protected. Our liberties were established and maintained. They shall not be forgotten.
ANZAC Day remembrances should always teach us anew how exceedingly precious life is. We take it for granted so easily. We abuse its privileges. We demand submission to our own ideals, to our own expectations and parameters of liberty. So, lest we fallaciously think we are entitled to liberty, our remembrance calls us back to gratitude. We have nothing that we are not finally given, and that from God. We don’t finally have the power to preserve our own freedoms and livelihoods. We entrust that to our gracious Lord.
Yes, there are still vexing questions. Why does God work as He does? We are not privy to the details. One person is healed while another is taken. One family experiences tragedy while another lives carefree. One person suffers loss while another prospers. All this makes God appear unpredictable, almost fickle. How can God avoid the verdict of favouritism! Logic cannot answer these mysteries and only faith can endure them. Sometimes God loves the individual at what appears to be the expense of the greater community. Other times the individual seems to suffer on behalf of the common good. Yet God is not a distant dictator decreeing arbitrary laws. He immersed Himself in the disorder of humanity, its frailty and fallenness. In the person of Jesus Christ God did not sanitize death. He endured it. He suffered through it and He conquered it.
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”1 John 4:10 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.” 1 John 3:16 The world is not free from conflict. And some will use our extraordinary circumstances to disadvantage the distracted or the weak. Still, we have the presence and promise of Him for whom all the fury and savagery of men is no threat. May the merciful God, for sake of His Son give us the determination to pursue peace, the courage to value life, the means to protect the vulnerable, and the respect necessary to properly honour the fallen.
Prayer
Merciful Lord God, giver and restorer of life, at this hour of solemn observance we recognise the sacrifice of those who paid the ultimate price. We commend to you our reflections made with the help of words and those silent meditations that rest deep within caring hearts. Bless those families and individuals affected by the legacy of conflict and war. Embrace them in Your love. Guide the leaders of our nation. Equip them with wisdom and arm them with integrity. Favour us with your divine love for the sake of Him who gave His life in sacrifice for all. Amen.
Seventh Sunday of Easter (A) 2020
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: 1 Peter 5:6
Theme: In Due Time
Dear followers of Christ Jesus,
God tolerates unbelief. He bears with wickedness, but He doesn’t do so passively. He’s always seeking, always searching, always renovating. He governs the dominions of the world in a such a way as to make possible the proclamation of His Word. The way He does this is by no means always clear to us. In fact, it often appears that God is powerless in human affairs. But, rest assured, nothing could be further from the truth. His judgement, His justice, and His mercy will all prevail and redound to His glory for eternity. Faith anchors us to Christ so that through the mystery of God’s providence and the maelstrom of the world’s fury, we are kept hidden in His wounds until- according to the apostolic injunction- we reach the final epiphany. The Spirit says to you, “You died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”1
But, none of us are in glory yet. And the devil would like to prevent us from getting there.
Speaking to believers who were doing it pretty tough under persecution, the apostle says today, “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”2 Now, that’s completely contrary to human intuition. Surely if the Spirit of God rests on us we would be shielded from insult and injury? Surely life should be trouble-free?
And that’s exactly the danger of domesticating Christianity and trying to make it serve the systems of the world. Last week I said that the contented ego is not shaken from its stronghold by the seduction of usefulness. I also said- as a parallel statement- that unbelief is not cured by arguments for utility. The decree of God attacks our egos. It especially attacks egos plated with the armor of self-righteousness. The ego must be dethroned. People who believe they are in charge of their own destinies naturally think paradise is in store for them. But that is the most tragic delusion imaginable. If your ego is ruling a kingdom with faulty foundations it will eventually come crashing down. The Scripture therefore says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.”3
Let’s consider what the contented ego means. Contentedness generally means that one is happy with the current circumstances, not seeking something else, not yearning, not complaining. St Paul says, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”4 And again, “If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”5 And finally, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”6 So, the contented ego I’m referring to here is not the person who is satisfied with what God has provided. Contentedness with God’s provision is a godly thing, a gift and fruit of faith. Imagine how much less stress there would be in relationships specifically and life generally if people were content with their blessings!
Instead, I’m speaking of the person content in his or her own independence from God, in his or her own self-righteousness. It need not mean the person is an egomaniac per se. But it does relate to people who are satisfied with their position regarding ultimate authority, and finally, mortality and eternity. It is the person who is happy to either venture their final destiny without God or stand on his or her own merits before God’s throne of judgment. So, a person with a contented ego could be (and often is) a very religious person. Christ singled out the Pharisees as just such type of people. They had the appearance of holiness but were decidedly smug in their self-righteousness. As such, they were farther from the kingdom of God than repentant prostitutes and tax-collectors7.
Now the premise is that people with contented egos are not shaken from their positions of security (even though their consciences are falsely pacified), and are not shaken from moral and spiritual self-reliance, by the appeal that Christianity will be useful to them. Again, St Peter says, “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed.”8 How does that entice followers? An autocrat doesn’t stop being a despot because someone offers him assistance in consolidating power. But what about the average Joe? What will shake the contented person in Western society today, in our prosperous society; what will shake them out of unbelief or pseudo Christian faith? Will the fall out caused by the coronavirus do it? Perhaps? And if so, thanks be to God!
Neither Christ, nor the prophets before Him, nor the apostles after Him went out proclaiming: “Follow the way of Christianity because it will be very helpful to you.” “Follow Jesus because His teachings are full of useful ideas.” “Become a Christian so that you fit in with society.” No, the clarion call of the prophetic, Christological, and apostolic message is repentance and faith. So, the question is not whether God and the teachings of Jesus are useful to us but whether they are true. Are they authoritative? Are they destiny-altering? Are they definitive for the very meaning of life, its purpose and existence? Indeed, they are. The question then becomes, “In what way are we useful to God?”
Why do secular, officially atheistic, and sometimes even authoritarian governments tolerate, support, and even promote expressions of Christianity? The general answer is usefulness. When governments believe that Christianity, on the whole, is more of a positive influence on society than a negative one, they’re more likely to tolerate it. The key function of government is stability. The goal is prosperity and the betterment of temporal society. In so for as Christianity contributes to these goals it may be countenanced. Of course, key here is which goals or values are held by the majority of society or those in power, and do they align with Christian truth? It’s exactly at this point that friction is increasing between the unchanging divine truth and the morphing values of our society.
But remember, Satan is the real adversary and he has drawn a target on your back. St. Peter says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”9 Sin grips us, and we can’t shake it off with good intentions or enthusiastic attempts at moral rectitude. Satan knows this. Sin must be forgiven, and the sinful nature must be crucified. Satan hates that. These realities are worked out in your baptism and in its continual relevance in your life as the word again and again calls you to repentance and faith. The Holy Spirit wasn’t a guest at your baptism, He’s a constant companion, an advocate, an intercessor in your cross-bearing following of Jesus. We live a cross-bearing life that God makes useful for His kingdom according to His good pleasure.
Jesus Christ was sacrificed on the altar of the cross and there the dominion of sin was broken. His perfect life was given on behalf of sinners. Could you offer your life to atone for your own sins, let alone the sins of others? Could you compensate for your smallest indiscretion not to mention you most flagrant iniquities? Could you make a convincing argument that God should be patient with you? Lest you entertain for a moment that some measure of these things might be possible, hear clearly the holy word spoken by the Spirit of truth10, “The ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough.”11 But the life of Jesus was more than sufficient.
We’re nearing the third of the three great Christian festivals. Jesus Christ ascended bodily to heaven forty days after His resurrection from the dead. The Holy Spirit was unleashed on day 50. But the Son hasn’t left us, and the Spirit isn’t ‘social-distancing’ from us either. The Father’s work is being done, often hidden behind the forbearance of God. Yes, Jesus has made the once-for-all sacrifice. But the activity of individual reclamation goes on until His final epiphany. The gospel is an inextinguishable light. The darkness will not overcome it. And we are already possessors of the divine promises. Dear friends, believers are not waiting to find out whether they will inherit eternal life (at least they shouldn’t be), we already possess it. So, just as we are pilgrims on earth, our feet firmly planted on the terra firma, while at the same time being citizens of heaven, we also operate in the dimension of time, while simultaneously participating in the rest of Him who transcends time. We are dual citizens.
Don’t be too quick, then, to judge what God tolerates. There’s more going on than meets the eye. God is patient. He is patient with sinners. But’s He’s not slow to shower us with His love. He’s not remiss in attending to our real needs. “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”12 He will lift you up in due time. He will lift you beyond any memory of struggle or adversity, sorrow or despair, pain or rage. And He will do it not because it’s practical, but because without Him it is impossible. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Seventh Sunday of Easter
24 May 2020
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Colossians 3:3-4 2 1 Peter 4:14
3 1 Peter 5:6 4 Philippians 3:11
5 1 Timothy 6:8 6 1 Timothy 6:6
7 See Matthew 21:31 8 1 Peter 4:14
9 1 Peter 5:8 10 See John 14:17
11 Psalm 49:8 121 Peter 5:7
Text: 1 Peter 5:6
Theme: In Due Time
Dear followers of Christ Jesus,
God tolerates unbelief. He bears with wickedness, but He doesn’t do so passively. He’s always seeking, always searching, always renovating. He governs the dominions of the world in a such a way as to make possible the proclamation of His Word. The way He does this is by no means always clear to us. In fact, it often appears that God is powerless in human affairs. But, rest assured, nothing could be further from the truth. His judgement, His justice, and His mercy will all prevail and redound to His glory for eternity. Faith anchors us to Christ so that through the mystery of God’s providence and the maelstrom of the world’s fury, we are kept hidden in His wounds until- according to the apostolic injunction- we reach the final epiphany. The Spirit says to you, “You died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”1
But, none of us are in glory yet. And the devil would like to prevent us from getting there.
Speaking to believers who were doing it pretty tough under persecution, the apostle says today, “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”2 Now, that’s completely contrary to human intuition. Surely if the Spirit of God rests on us we would be shielded from insult and injury? Surely life should be trouble-free?
And that’s exactly the danger of domesticating Christianity and trying to make it serve the systems of the world. Last week I said that the contented ego is not shaken from its stronghold by the seduction of usefulness. I also said- as a parallel statement- that unbelief is not cured by arguments for utility. The decree of God attacks our egos. It especially attacks egos plated with the armor of self-righteousness. The ego must be dethroned. People who believe they are in charge of their own destinies naturally think paradise is in store for them. But that is the most tragic delusion imaginable. If your ego is ruling a kingdom with faulty foundations it will eventually come crashing down. The Scripture therefore says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.”3
Let’s consider what the contented ego means. Contentedness generally means that one is happy with the current circumstances, not seeking something else, not yearning, not complaining. St Paul says, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”4 And again, “If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”5 And finally, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”6 So, the contented ego I’m referring to here is not the person who is satisfied with what God has provided. Contentedness with God’s provision is a godly thing, a gift and fruit of faith. Imagine how much less stress there would be in relationships specifically and life generally if people were content with their blessings!
Instead, I’m speaking of the person content in his or her own independence from God, in his or her own self-righteousness. It need not mean the person is an egomaniac per se. But it does relate to people who are satisfied with their position regarding ultimate authority, and finally, mortality and eternity. It is the person who is happy to either venture their final destiny without God or stand on his or her own merits before God’s throne of judgment. So, a person with a contented ego could be (and often is) a very religious person. Christ singled out the Pharisees as just such type of people. They had the appearance of holiness but were decidedly smug in their self-righteousness. As such, they were farther from the kingdom of God than repentant prostitutes and tax-collectors7.
Now the premise is that people with contented egos are not shaken from their positions of security (even though their consciences are falsely pacified), and are not shaken from moral and spiritual self-reliance, by the appeal that Christianity will be useful to them. Again, St Peter says, “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed.”8 How does that entice followers? An autocrat doesn’t stop being a despot because someone offers him assistance in consolidating power. But what about the average Joe? What will shake the contented person in Western society today, in our prosperous society; what will shake them out of unbelief or pseudo Christian faith? Will the fall out caused by the coronavirus do it? Perhaps? And if so, thanks be to God!
Neither Christ, nor the prophets before Him, nor the apostles after Him went out proclaiming: “Follow the way of Christianity because it will be very helpful to you.” “Follow Jesus because His teachings are full of useful ideas.” “Become a Christian so that you fit in with society.” No, the clarion call of the prophetic, Christological, and apostolic message is repentance and faith. So, the question is not whether God and the teachings of Jesus are useful to us but whether they are true. Are they authoritative? Are they destiny-altering? Are they definitive for the very meaning of life, its purpose and existence? Indeed, they are. The question then becomes, “In what way are we useful to God?”
Why do secular, officially atheistic, and sometimes even authoritarian governments tolerate, support, and even promote expressions of Christianity? The general answer is usefulness. When governments believe that Christianity, on the whole, is more of a positive influence on society than a negative one, they’re more likely to tolerate it. The key function of government is stability. The goal is prosperity and the betterment of temporal society. In so for as Christianity contributes to these goals it may be countenanced. Of course, key here is which goals or values are held by the majority of society or those in power, and do they align with Christian truth? It’s exactly at this point that friction is increasing between the unchanging divine truth and the morphing values of our society.
But remember, Satan is the real adversary and he has drawn a target on your back. St. Peter says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”9 Sin grips us, and we can’t shake it off with good intentions or enthusiastic attempts at moral rectitude. Satan knows this. Sin must be forgiven, and the sinful nature must be crucified. Satan hates that. These realities are worked out in your baptism and in its continual relevance in your life as the word again and again calls you to repentance and faith. The Holy Spirit wasn’t a guest at your baptism, He’s a constant companion, an advocate, an intercessor in your cross-bearing following of Jesus. We live a cross-bearing life that God makes useful for His kingdom according to His good pleasure.
Jesus Christ was sacrificed on the altar of the cross and there the dominion of sin was broken. His perfect life was given on behalf of sinners. Could you offer your life to atone for your own sins, let alone the sins of others? Could you compensate for your smallest indiscretion not to mention you most flagrant iniquities? Could you make a convincing argument that God should be patient with you? Lest you entertain for a moment that some measure of these things might be possible, hear clearly the holy word spoken by the Spirit of truth10, “The ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough.”11 But the life of Jesus was more than sufficient.
We’re nearing the third of the three great Christian festivals. Jesus Christ ascended bodily to heaven forty days after His resurrection from the dead. The Holy Spirit was unleashed on day 50. But the Son hasn’t left us, and the Spirit isn’t ‘social-distancing’ from us either. The Father’s work is being done, often hidden behind the forbearance of God. Yes, Jesus has made the once-for-all sacrifice. But the activity of individual reclamation goes on until His final epiphany. The gospel is an inextinguishable light. The darkness will not overcome it. And we are already possessors of the divine promises. Dear friends, believers are not waiting to find out whether they will inherit eternal life (at least they shouldn’t be), we already possess it. So, just as we are pilgrims on earth, our feet firmly planted on the terra firma, while at the same time being citizens of heaven, we also operate in the dimension of time, while simultaneously participating in the rest of Him who transcends time. We are dual citizens.
Don’t be too quick, then, to judge what God tolerates. There’s more going on than meets the eye. God is patient. He is patient with sinners. But’s He’s not slow to shower us with His love. He’s not remiss in attending to our real needs. “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”12 He will lift you up in due time. He will lift you beyond any memory of struggle or adversity, sorrow or despair, pain or rage. And He will do it not because it’s practical, but because without Him it is impossible. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Seventh Sunday of Easter
24 May 2020
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Colossians 3:3-4 2 1 Peter 4:14
3 1 Peter 5:6 4 Philippians 3:11
5 1 Timothy 6:8 6 1 Timothy 6:6
7 See Matthew 21:31 8 1 Peter 4:14
9 1 Peter 5:8 10 See John 14:17
11 Psalm 49:8 121 Peter 5:7
Monday, May 18, 2020
Sixth Sunday of Easter (A) 2020
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 14:21
Theme: Practical Christianity
Dear followers of Him who is the way, and the truth and the life,
People are pragmatic by necessity if not by nature. So, it’s understandable that many would take a practical approach to God and Christianity. They ask such questions as, “What difference will it make in my life if I believe in God?” Let’s put aside the eternal destiny considerations of heaven or hell and just focus on the present implications. (After all, who wouldn’t say they believe in God if they were convinced the only alternative without Him was ending up in hell?) And let’s focus on the present circumstances employing the terms Jesus uses today. He speaks of loving, knowing, and obeying God. How is it possible to know God, love God, follow God, and obey God? Doing so inevitably has very real, tangible consequences for our lives.
Show me a Bible verse that says, “Once you’re a believer life is guaranteed to go better.”
We should not try to promote or market Christianity with claims that it’s practical, useful, or worst of all, a charter or endowment for prosperity. The cynical enquiry of “how Christianity can help me?” cannot be addressed by trying to satisfy the skepticism tangibly. Unbelief is not cured by arguments for utility. It is not answered with logic. It is overcome by truth. The contented ego is not shaken from its stronghold by the seduction of usefulness, but by unanswerable condemnation and self-denying, incorruptible love. Only God is that love. Only Christ reveals it. Only the Holy Spirit makes it accessible.
As we continue to work our way through the latter chapters of John’s gospel we’re hearing more about the Holy Spirit. It’s not surprising because Pentecost is only two weeks off. The Holy Spirit is key to following God quite aside from whether we think it’s practical to do so. What’s telling is that the Holy Spirit doesn’t make Jesus redundant. The Holy Spirit has nothing to teach you except the love of Jesus. But in teaching you the love of Christ He has more than He can teach you in a thousand lifetimes.
Why do we need the Spirit? Let’s look at core biblical truth. The Bible says you must repent. This truth is not really up for debate. Except for those who think salvation will automatically happen for everyone, it is widely accepted. Contrition, true sorrow for sin, is necessary before one can genuinely receive the forgiveness of sins. So, repentance is mandatory. But can we repent? Here there is confusion, disagreement, and division. To state the question more precisely, can a human being under the natural powers of the human will turn him or herself from servitude to sin to trust in the promises of God? Here servitude to sin need not mean pursuing an openly ungodly life but only that life is lived without reference to, or care of, the will of God. In short, can we turn from unbelief to faith under our own power? And, can we repeatedly bend our own wills back to God in true repentance?
The biblical answer is an unequivocal no. But, as just mentioned, many Christians falsely think the human will does have such natural ability. Yet, the Scripture says, “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.”1 And again, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”2 Or, to use Jesus’ own words today, “The world cannot accept [the Holy Spirit] , because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.”3 Stated generally, original sin means that a person is unable, by nature, to truly know, love, or trust in God or turn to Him. We are spiritually incapacitated from the time of birth. Even spiritually dead. Understanding this underscores the importance of baptism which is a life-giving spiritual gift. St. Peter says today that the deliverance wrought in baptism is akin to the rescue of Noah’s family at the time of the flood- a divine intervention.
So yes, God does ask, even demands that we do the impossible. He demands that we recognize our misplaced trust and redirect it to the proper place, God Himself. But this is exactly what we are unable to do. God demands the humanly impossible. Why? It doesn’t seem fair. He demands this so that we completely despair of any hope of saving ourselves or contributing even in the tiniest measure to our own salvation. You see, if we were able to convert ourselves, if we were able to recognize God’s goodness, His mercy in Christ, to initially choose Him, to decide for Him under our own steam, through our own independent decision-making, then we would have already taken a big step towards our salvation. And surely we would deserve some credit- at least a little!
But the Holy Spirit will not be robbed of His majesty. And Christ will not be made redundant. No individual will be given credit or receive praise for his or her own conversion or the conversion of someone else. Claiming to have converted someone else can be a dizzying exaltation of one’s ego. Believing you have converted yourself is an overt claim, even if unrecognized, to possess divine power. If we deludedly think we can save ourselves, we are deifying ourselves. This is the opposite of godliness, it is blasphemy. It undermines and even eliminates the need for Christ’s sacrificial work.
Without the Spirit we cannot repent. Without the Spirit we cannot believe. And without such faith we would have no serious interest in the will of God- what He says, or what it means to follow Him- practical or not. Repentance isn’t a one-off thing, and neither is faith. It’s hard to express these biblical truths more winsomely and directly than Luther does in his Third Article explanation. “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”4
Perhaps you’re thinking at this point that the sermon is too narrowly focused? When do we come in? What’s our part? Doesn’t the Bible say we all have a role to play? Yes, but until we see what only the Holy Spirit can show us, until we believe that Jesus is the indispensable component of the equation, any calculation will always be false regardless of the other components. Until we see that He is the head of the body, all the other parts of the body are unable to function, they have no direction, no coordination, no purpose. A body cannot live without a head.
A particular financial institution had professional, honest, and well-trained staff, a safe and useable facility, a reliable security system, and all the structures and protocols in place to meet the needs of customers. But it had one problem. It didn’t have any money. Even a well-run institution without money is not a bank. If it has no money it has nothing to loan, nothing to debit, nothing to credit, cannot collect any fees or give any grants, it is not really a bank. A bank without money is just a building with people and other assets. A plan of salvation without Jesus is an exercise in futility, and a tragic one at that.
That doesn’t mean your part in the picture is unimportant, but it is completely contingent. Without Him we are like a body without a head, like a bank without any money. But with, and in, and through Him we are part of a marvelous and mysterious reality- the fellowship of believers- and everyone has their part. Believers do follow God and seek His will. Maybe you excel at listening, or you’re more skilled at explaining. Maybe showing hospitality is your specialty. Perhaps giving is a capacity you’ve been blessed with and it fills you with joy to be generous? Maybe you’re best at one-on-one or better at coordinating groups? Perhaps you prefer to work behind-the-scenes, or maybe being in the front row doesn’t fuss you? Possibly your best efforts involve high energy periodic bursts of activity? Or maybe slow and steady suits you just fine?
Regardless, you can pursue the following of God’s will fearlessly. There is nothing that you can sacrifice that Christ can’t restore. Jesus said to His anxious disciples today, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”5 Here is the pure, sweet comfort of the gospel. If you do not have a favourite Bible verse perhaps you’d like to consider this one? Dear friends, the one, holy, Christian and apostolic church is an orphanage for sinners. Believers are cut-off, abandoned, deserted by the world, and left for dead by Satan. Those who do not give allegiance to the world’s agenda are deserted by it. But you are kept by God. You are possessed by Him. You are part of an orphanage with the King of the universe as the head of the house. You are not fatherless; you have divine patronage. And you have life in His Son. Jesus says, “Because I live, you also will live.”6 We believe in Christ and follow Him not because it’s practical to do so, but because His teaching is truth. We are gripped by the immortal love of the crucified and risen One. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Sixth Sunday of Easter
17 May 2020
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Romans 8:7 2 1 Corinthians 2:14
3 John 14:17 4 Luther’s Small Catechism
5 John 14:18 6 John 14:19
Text: John 14:21
Theme: Practical Christianity
Dear followers of Him who is the way, and the truth and the life,
People are pragmatic by necessity if not by nature. So, it’s understandable that many would take a practical approach to God and Christianity. They ask such questions as, “What difference will it make in my life if I believe in God?” Let’s put aside the eternal destiny considerations of heaven or hell and just focus on the present implications. (After all, who wouldn’t say they believe in God if they were convinced the only alternative without Him was ending up in hell?) And let’s focus on the present circumstances employing the terms Jesus uses today. He speaks of loving, knowing, and obeying God. How is it possible to know God, love God, follow God, and obey God? Doing so inevitably has very real, tangible consequences for our lives.
Show me a Bible verse that says, “Once you’re a believer life is guaranteed to go better.”
We should not try to promote or market Christianity with claims that it’s practical, useful, or worst of all, a charter or endowment for prosperity. The cynical enquiry of “how Christianity can help me?” cannot be addressed by trying to satisfy the skepticism tangibly. Unbelief is not cured by arguments for utility. It is not answered with logic. It is overcome by truth. The contented ego is not shaken from its stronghold by the seduction of usefulness, but by unanswerable condemnation and self-denying, incorruptible love. Only God is that love. Only Christ reveals it. Only the Holy Spirit makes it accessible.
As we continue to work our way through the latter chapters of John’s gospel we’re hearing more about the Holy Spirit. It’s not surprising because Pentecost is only two weeks off. The Holy Spirit is key to following God quite aside from whether we think it’s practical to do so. What’s telling is that the Holy Spirit doesn’t make Jesus redundant. The Holy Spirit has nothing to teach you except the love of Jesus. But in teaching you the love of Christ He has more than He can teach you in a thousand lifetimes.
Why do we need the Spirit? Let’s look at core biblical truth. The Bible says you must repent. This truth is not really up for debate. Except for those who think salvation will automatically happen for everyone, it is widely accepted. Contrition, true sorrow for sin, is necessary before one can genuinely receive the forgiveness of sins. So, repentance is mandatory. But can we repent? Here there is confusion, disagreement, and division. To state the question more precisely, can a human being under the natural powers of the human will turn him or herself from servitude to sin to trust in the promises of God? Here servitude to sin need not mean pursuing an openly ungodly life but only that life is lived without reference to, or care of, the will of God. In short, can we turn from unbelief to faith under our own power? And, can we repeatedly bend our own wills back to God in true repentance?
The biblical answer is an unequivocal no. But, as just mentioned, many Christians falsely think the human will does have such natural ability. Yet, the Scripture says, “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.”1 And again, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”2 Or, to use Jesus’ own words today, “The world cannot accept [the Holy Spirit] , because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.”3 Stated generally, original sin means that a person is unable, by nature, to truly know, love, or trust in God or turn to Him. We are spiritually incapacitated from the time of birth. Even spiritually dead. Understanding this underscores the importance of baptism which is a life-giving spiritual gift. St. Peter says today that the deliverance wrought in baptism is akin to the rescue of Noah’s family at the time of the flood- a divine intervention.
So yes, God does ask, even demands that we do the impossible. He demands that we recognize our misplaced trust and redirect it to the proper place, God Himself. But this is exactly what we are unable to do. God demands the humanly impossible. Why? It doesn’t seem fair. He demands this so that we completely despair of any hope of saving ourselves or contributing even in the tiniest measure to our own salvation. You see, if we were able to convert ourselves, if we were able to recognize God’s goodness, His mercy in Christ, to initially choose Him, to decide for Him under our own steam, through our own independent decision-making, then we would have already taken a big step towards our salvation. And surely we would deserve some credit- at least a little!
But the Holy Spirit will not be robbed of His majesty. And Christ will not be made redundant. No individual will be given credit or receive praise for his or her own conversion or the conversion of someone else. Claiming to have converted someone else can be a dizzying exaltation of one’s ego. Believing you have converted yourself is an overt claim, even if unrecognized, to possess divine power. If we deludedly think we can save ourselves, we are deifying ourselves. This is the opposite of godliness, it is blasphemy. It undermines and even eliminates the need for Christ’s sacrificial work.
Without the Spirit we cannot repent. Without the Spirit we cannot believe. And without such faith we would have no serious interest in the will of God- what He says, or what it means to follow Him- practical or not. Repentance isn’t a one-off thing, and neither is faith. It’s hard to express these biblical truths more winsomely and directly than Luther does in his Third Article explanation. “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”4
Perhaps you’re thinking at this point that the sermon is too narrowly focused? When do we come in? What’s our part? Doesn’t the Bible say we all have a role to play? Yes, but until we see what only the Holy Spirit can show us, until we believe that Jesus is the indispensable component of the equation, any calculation will always be false regardless of the other components. Until we see that He is the head of the body, all the other parts of the body are unable to function, they have no direction, no coordination, no purpose. A body cannot live without a head.
A particular financial institution had professional, honest, and well-trained staff, a safe and useable facility, a reliable security system, and all the structures and protocols in place to meet the needs of customers. But it had one problem. It didn’t have any money. Even a well-run institution without money is not a bank. If it has no money it has nothing to loan, nothing to debit, nothing to credit, cannot collect any fees or give any grants, it is not really a bank. A bank without money is just a building with people and other assets. A plan of salvation without Jesus is an exercise in futility, and a tragic one at that.
That doesn’t mean your part in the picture is unimportant, but it is completely contingent. Without Him we are like a body without a head, like a bank without any money. But with, and in, and through Him we are part of a marvelous and mysterious reality- the fellowship of believers- and everyone has their part. Believers do follow God and seek His will. Maybe you excel at listening, or you’re more skilled at explaining. Maybe showing hospitality is your specialty. Perhaps giving is a capacity you’ve been blessed with and it fills you with joy to be generous? Maybe you’re best at one-on-one or better at coordinating groups? Perhaps you prefer to work behind-the-scenes, or maybe being in the front row doesn’t fuss you? Possibly your best efforts involve high energy periodic bursts of activity? Or maybe slow and steady suits you just fine?
Regardless, you can pursue the following of God’s will fearlessly. There is nothing that you can sacrifice that Christ can’t restore. Jesus said to His anxious disciples today, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”5 Here is the pure, sweet comfort of the gospel. If you do not have a favourite Bible verse perhaps you’d like to consider this one? Dear friends, the one, holy, Christian and apostolic church is an orphanage for sinners. Believers are cut-off, abandoned, deserted by the world, and left for dead by Satan. Those who do not give allegiance to the world’s agenda are deserted by it. But you are kept by God. You are possessed by Him. You are part of an orphanage with the King of the universe as the head of the house. You are not fatherless; you have divine patronage. And you have life in His Son. Jesus says, “Because I live, you also will live.”6 We believe in Christ and follow Him not because it’s practical to do so, but because His teaching is truth. We are gripped by the immortal love of the crucified and risen One. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Sixth Sunday of Easter
17 May 2020
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Romans 8:7 2 1 Corinthians 2:14
3 John 14:17 4 Luther’s Small Catechism
5 John 14:18 6 John 14:19
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