“What Kind of God is This…” Genesis 18.20-32…Pentecost 10C, July ‘13

 Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The message from God’s Word this 10^th Sunday after Pentecost is taken from Genesis 18:20-32, it’s entitled, “What Kind of God is This?” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

CS Lewis, the great 20^th Century Christian writer and defender of the faith writes this about prayer in his book, “God in the Dock: “Praying for particular things always seems to me like advising God how to run the world.  Wouldn’t it be wiser to assume that [God] knows best?  On the same principle, I suppose you never ask a man next to you to pass the salt, because God knows best whether you ought to have salt or not.  And I suppose you never take an umbrella, because God knows whether you ought to be wet or dry…  The odd thing is that [God] should let us influence the course of events at all.  But since He lets us do it in one way I don’t see why He should let us do it in the other.” 

We’ve all had the experience of talking to a stranger on the telephone. You don’t know anything about the person. You don’t know what kind of day the person’s having. You also can’t see the person’s body language when you talk on the phone. You watch your words carefully. You’re on pins and needles as you try to conduct business with this stranger. It might be important business such as insurance claims, stock transactions, health-care needs, or a host of other critical matters. It’s not easy to speak with someone you can’t see, is it? 

You know, when you stop to think about it, you can’t see God either when you pray. Does that create some uneasy questions? What kind of God is he really?  What kind of God is this that we pray to each day?

In our text from Genesis 18 Abraham is speaking to God. Abraham knows that our God is a God of justice. God is talking about destroying two wicked cities, Sodom and Gomorrah. But Abraham asks, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? . . . Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike” (vv 23, 25). Abraham knows God would never do such a thing. He’s a just God. Abraham knows that in that justice God will punish sin. Abraham doesn’t try to defend Sodom and Gomorrah. He doesn’t try to rationalize away their sin. He doesn’t make excuses for them. In fact, he doesn’t comment at all on their sin. He is speaking to God, who is just. God hates sin. He punishes sin. Abraham is praying to God for those who may live in Sodom and Gomorrah who are righteous, not for those who have sinned. God will punish the sins of people. Abraham knows it.

When we speak with God our Heavenly Father, we should know just what Abraham knows. God hated the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Don’t rationalize away your sin by saying, “I’m not as sinful at the people of Sodom and Gomorrah” or by saying, “I’m not as sinful as other people I know.” Don’t make any excuses for your sins either. Don’t try to make some lame defense. God is a holy God. He hates sin. He hated the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. He hates our sins too. He hates our pride and thanklessness. He hates our greed and selfishness. He hates our foul language and our lustful thoughts. He hates them just as he hated the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. His justice demands just the same for you and me as sinful people. Abraham pleaded with God for the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah. He knew that God would punish the wicked. God did then, and he will now too.

Remember when you were a kid and you knew you’d done what your father told you never to do? He was going to find out. You knew your mother would tell him. She told you that you should tell him, and you knew you had to. You knew he’d be angry. You were afraid. You knew there would be punishment. You also knew something else. You knew he loved you. He would punish you in love. He would forgive you. He would still love you. So you took a deep breath and told him.

Abraham knew the same about his God. There’s another side to the Almighty. He’s just. He’s also gracious.  He’s a God of both Law & Gospel. How well Abraham knew that. God had just affirmed the promise he’d made to Abraham. He would have a son in a year. God had forgiven Abraham before too. God had heard Abraham speak to him before. He had listened. So now in faith Abraham speaks with God boldly. He pleads to God because he knows the heart of God. God is just. Even in his justice he thinks about mercy. Abraham is bold to ask. He’s not bargaining with God. He’s praying in faith to a gracious God to have mercy on his nephew Lot, his wife, his sons, his daughters, and their spouses. He pleads until he’s asking for only 10 righteous people. Only 10, the number in Lot’s family.

Notice that God never loses his patience with Abraham’s prayers. He never stops him. Abraham says, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak” (v 30). The Lord is never angry with Abraham. He listens, and he answers according to his mercy, his grace, his love. The gracious God listens to his child Abraham pray to him. God never tires of it. Never.

And, God will never tire of hearing you either. He will listen. For he loves to hear from his children. You can’t ask too much, too little. You can’t come too much. You can’t try his patience with your pleading. He will listen. He will answer in his time and in his way.

Abraham comes in faith to a gracious God. God promises not to destroy the city for the 10. He would keep his promise. He saved Lot’s family, the righteous ones, in those wicked cities from the hellish destruction that is still in evidence to this day.

You have a gracious God who has saved you too. In his justice God demanded punishment for sin. In his justice he threatened you and me with death now and eternally. But, in God’s justice he also thinks upon his mercy. He acts to rescue you and me just as he did Lot and his family. The punishment of a just God is going to fall on this sinful world. God never wanted it this way. Here we see the heart of God. He acts to rescue you and me from a hellish destruction. He sends his Son to the rescue. His grace is so great that he satisfies his own justice by punishing not you and me for our sins, but his own Son. That is what was happening on the cross. God was being a just God. In the cross we see the justice of God. Sin must be punished, so God punishes his own Son instead of you and me. His Son takes our place. His Son takes our punishment. His Son takes all we deserve. In doing so we are rescued from the hellish destruction of a just God.

In Jesus Christ we are the righteous ones. Jesus’ righteousness is our righteousness. Because he was righteous for us, we are righteous too. On the day of our Baptism we were clothed with Christ. On the day of our Baptism we were clothed in Christ’s righteousness. When God looks upon us, he sees his Son. He sees perfect righteousness. Soon on the Last Day, when God comes to complete his justice on the earth, he will rescue his righteous ones from that punishment as sure as he did Lot and his family.

This gracious God has come to your rescue. This gracious God will listen to you as you come to him to confess your sins. We come knowing the holy and just God with whom we speak. We also know that like our forgiving, earthly father, we have even a greater, forgiving, heavenly Father. He loves to hear from us.

To what kind of God do we talk? We talk with the just and holy God just as Abraham did. He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness and threatens the same for all who live in sin. Abraham knew something else about this God. His nature, his very being is love, an undeserved love that he wants to pour out on you and me, on all. We know that. We have been on the receiving end of that grace, that undeserved love. We know it every time we look at the cross.

You know to whom you’re talking. He’s your gracious God, who with all patience, love, mercy, and kindness listens to you. You know you can come anytime. You know you can come about anything. You know it because you are looking at the cross. You know the God to whom you are talking.  This is the kind of God we worship and believe in.  Amen.

“God Has a Sense of Humor” Genesis 18.1-14, Pentecost 9C, July ‘13

Please pray with me.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer.  Amen.  The message from God’s Word today for this 9^th Sunday after Pentecost comes to us from Genesis 18:1-14 and is entitled, “God Has a Sense of Humor?” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

Maybe you’ve heard someone say or even thought for yourself that God must have a sense of humor. We know the word joy is found frequently in the Scriptures. What about the word laugh? Laughter is mentioned 33 times in the Old Testament and 6 times in the New Testament. Sometimes laughter is brought about by doubt and unbelief, almost a laughter of mockery. At other times, there’s a laughter to salvation. This is a laughter of joy over the salvation God has won for us.

God wants us to laugh out of joy for the salvation he has won for us. Jesus tells us in his own words in Luke 6:21, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” There may be sorrow in our earthly lives, reasons for us to weep. There will come a time when the weeping will be replaced by laughter over all that God has done for us, and we will weep no more.

In our text we find that Sarah laughs. And, in Genesis 17 we hear that Abraham laughed. The world laughs at our faith. We laugh in response to God’s promises, sometimes in Christian joy and sometimes in unbelief. But, the question is who gets the last laugh?  After all, the maxim says, “He who laughs last laughs best.”

Consider for a moment Abraham laughing at God’s promise. When God promised Abraham a son in Genesis 17:17 it says, “Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?’” Abraham didn’t think it could be. Abraham had a son by Sarah’s maid. Maybe God was talking about him. God wasn’t. God was talking about Sarah his wife. God had invited Abraham in Gen. 15:5, “look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be.” Is it surprising that at age 100 Abraham laughed at such a promise? But, God would work a miracle. Abraham laughed in doubt when the promise was made. God would keep the promise. Abraham would laugh again, not in doubt but in joy over the birth of his son. God kept his promise.

In our text three visitors came to Abraham. Who were they? We know that one was the Lord himself. The other two were angels. God was now going to let Sarah in on all of this. God wanted Sarah to laugh for joy. God wants us all to laugh for joy in his amazing promises. 

God tells the events that will occur. Sarah would have a child by the time they returned a year later.  Genesis 18:10 says, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” All the while Sarah is listening behind the tent flap. When she hears these words she couldn’t help but laugh. Only, it wasn’t a laughter of joy. By no means! It was the laughter of doubt. It angered God. The laughter of unbelief always angers God. He asked, “Why did Sarah laugh?” (v 13). To Sarah, the promise seemed utterly ridiculous. Sarah was just too old to have children. It couldn’t be possible. Sarah didn’t believe. God’s promise brought the laughter of unbelief, not the laughter of joy.

Remember that people laughed at Jesus too. Remember how he came to the house of Jairus, whose daughter had died? When Jesus told them she was just sleeping, they laughed in unbelief. But the laughter of unbelief changed to laughter of joy when the Lord Jesus raised the little girl from death. 

How about us, do we laugh at God’s promises? Do we laugh in unbelief that sinful people like us will actually wind up in heaven? Do we laugh at the promise that Christ has done all to save us? Do we laugh at God’s promise to forgive us for the sins that we do over and over again in our weakness? Do we laugh when we think God will provide for all we need every day? We at times have laughed at the promises of God. When we’re struggling with temptation, when we’re beaten down by the world, when we’re sick, when we’re fighting financial troubles, we laugh inside at God’s promises. They just can’t be. They’re too good to be true. No way! God asked Sarah and Abraham a question, and this question is for you and me too, Gen. 18:14 says, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  Is there a time when your troubles are too big for God? No. God can change your laughter of unbelief to laughter of joy.

Sarah would soon be laughing for joy. God convicted her unbelief that day. She came to believe the promise made. For the writer of Hebrews says, “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered him faithful who had promised” (Heb 11:11 NASB). How was that again? By faith! By faith in the promise of God, promises he always keeps, the laughter of unbelief is changed to the laughter of joy. Abraham and Sarah did laugh for joy when their son was born.

There would be another special Son born. A Son of promise! Promised by God to the world. In him all nations of the world would be blessed. This, too, was the promise to Abraham. From his seed would come forth one who would be a blessing to all people. Yes, they would laugh at this Son. They would laugh because Jesus said he was the Son of God. They would laugh at him when he would not come down from the cross. They laughed in unbelief and mockery. Still the promise is sure in John 6:40, “Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” No way, they said. But, God keeps his promises. The most astonishing promise is that through Jesus Christ you have eternal life.

Through faith in Christ you are sons and daughters of God. Just as a son of promise was born to Abraham and Sarah, so we are children of the promise made to us in Jesus Christ. He was the Promised One from Abraham’s line, from David’s line. He has conquered our unbelief! He is living proof that God keeps his promises, for he rose again on the third day and is alive today.  John 1:12 says, “To those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

Today God wants you to laugh for joy. He wants you to know he will keep his promises made to you. Sarah confessed, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me” (Gen 21:6). God has brought you laughter too. Others laugh at your faith, your witness in this world. But who cares! You are laughing for joy in his promises. You will stand before the throne of God someday and laugh for joy for you are in heaven forever. God fulfills his promises so that over and over again now and forever we can laugh for joy.

So, Who got the last laugh? Sarah laughed at God, and Abraham did too. But God got the last laugh. For he said the name of the son born to them would be Isaac. In this we find a touch of God’s sense of humor, because the Hebrew name Isaac is translated “he laughed.” God got the last laugh. God will give you the joy of laughter in his forgiveness, in his salvation, and in his promises. Believing in his promise, you will laugh forever.  Amen.

“The Most Important Thing”

I read an article recently that said six out of ten parents of children ages 8 to 12 have bought their child a cell phone.  I also read that nine out of ten adults have a cell phone.  That’s amazing.  We think we can't go anywhere without a phone anymore, in fact we have even created a word for the fear leaving your cell phone behind, mobophobia. I wouldn't go so far as to say that cell phones are bad, but if we’re not careful they can keep us from paying attention to some important things.  For example, have you ever seen someone talking on the phone while driving?  That isn't very safe, is it?  Have you ever been talking to a friend when their phone rang?  What happened?  My guess is that they probably answered their phone.  That isn't very polite.  Have you ever seen a family enter a restaurant and as soon as they sat down, everyone took out their phone?   That's quality family time, isn't it?

In Jesus' day, they didn't even have phones, but that didn't keep them from being distracted.  Luke 10:38-42 tells a story about a woman who became distracted when Jesus was a guest in her home.  Jesus was in the village of Bethany where his friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived.  Jesus went to their home to visit and Martha began to prepare dinner.  Her sister Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to the words he had to say.  The Bible says that Martha was distracted by all the preparation.  She became upset with her sister and went to Jesus to complain and make sure that Mary would help her.

"Martha, Martha," Jesus said, "you are worried and upset about many things.  But there’s one thing that’s the most important and Mary has discovered it."  Martha was doing her best to make Jesus feel welcome, but Mary had discovered something more important.  What was that thing?  It was sitting at the feet of Jesus and receiving his words into her heart.  Mary knew that to listen at the feet of Jesus was to receive from Him the faith in Jesus to believe in Him as our Savior who died to save us from our sins. 

It’s important for you and me to be careful that we don't get so busy "doing things for Jesus" that we forget to listen to his words and take them to heart.  Remember how the Apostle Paul reminds us that, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17)   That is the most important thing!

“Who is My Neighbor” Luke 10.25–37, Pentecost 8C, ’13,

1.                   Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  The message from God’s Word this 8^th Sunday after Pentecost comes to us from Luke 10:25-37, and is entitled, “Who is My Neighbor,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                  Luke 10:25: 29 says, “²⁵And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”  ²⁹But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”   The parable of the Good Samaritan came about as an answer to a question about eternal life. It wasn’t an honest question, but it was a good question. A “certain lawyer” asked the question—but he wasn’t a lawyer in the sense we think of it.

3.                  I heard a little story about lawyers in our judicial system. Two lawyers were in court. It was a difficult case, and there was a great deal of controversy. The court opened and lawyer number one jumped up and called the other lawyer a liar. The second lawyer jumped up to retaliate and called the first lawyer a thief. The judge rapped for silence, and said, “Now that the lawyers have identified themselves, we will begin the case.”

4.                  But, the lawyer in this parable wasn’t part of a judicial system; instead he was an interpreter of the Mosaic Law, and in that sense he was a lawyer.  Now our Lord had a very wonderful way of dealing with questions. He answered a question by asking a question. This is known as the Socratic method because Socrates used it: answer a question with a question. It lets a man answer his own question. So the lawyer tries to put Jesus on the witness stand, and Jesus turns around and puts the lawyer on the witness stand.  Now if the lawyer had been honest with Jesus’ question, which he wasn’t, he would have said, “Master, I’ve sincerely tried to love God with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind, and my neighbor as myself. But I can’t do it. I’ve miserably failed. So how can I inherit eternal life?” But instead of being honest, the lawyer adopted this evasive method and said, “And who is my neighbor?”

5.                    The lawyer here in Luke 10 has a lot in common with most people in the world.  Most people believe they are saved by fulfilling what they think are their duties toward their neighbor.  They completely forget about the necessity of fearing, loving, and trusting God above all things.  But, focusing on the neighbor while ignoring God is nothing but self-deception.  No one can fulfill the requirement of the Law of God this way.  Much, much more is involved.

6.                  The lawyer who, according to our text tested Jesus, thought that he had fulfilled the commandment of love for his neighbor.  But what did our Lord answer him?  He responded with a parable, saying that a Jew who traveled from Jerusalem to Jericho fell among robbers that stripped him, beat him, and left him half-dead.  A priest and a Levite passed by without showing mercy to the suffering man.  But, one of the Samaritans to whom the Jews were so hostile, came by and “had compassion” on him (Luke 10:33).  Although he saw his enemy lying in his own blood, he didn’t rejoice over his misfortune, but heartily cared for him.  Why did our Lord Jesus tell this parable?  He wanted to show the lawyer that a person must love both his friend and his enemy if he’s to fulfill his duty toward his neighbor.  It’s even possible that this lawyer was a Levite and that he squirmed at this point because it touched him in a personal way.

7.                  This story shows that no person can justify himself before God and make himself holy, for no one can perfectly fulfill the commandment to love his enemy as his friend.  Many people, even those who don’t believe in Jesus as their Savior, have shamed their enemies by the kindnesses they extend to them, but where is the person who can say he loves his enemy like a friend?  All Christians must conquer their anger against their enemies and finally embrace them with love, but where is the person who can say that he never carried anger against his enemy in his heart?  If he became angry with his enemy even once, he didn’t fulfill the commandment of love for the neighbor and he condemns himself as a transgressor of the God’s Law.

8.                  The law of love for the neighbor demands that we rejoice in the happiness of our enemy as if it were our own and grieve over his misfortune as if it had happened to us.  It requires us to be just as concerned for his temporal and eternal welfare as we are for our own, and to pray just as much for him as for ourselves.  We must be more interested in our enemy obtaining forgiveness from God for his sin against us than in receiving an apology from him ourselves.  Remember Jesus says, “But, I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” in Matt. 5:44.

9.                  Only Jesus, the Son of God, demonstrated such love on earth.  Only Jesus always returned evil with good, wickedness with kindness, curses with blessings, and hate with love.  Jesus mourned with great tears, the misfortunes of His persecutors, prayed for His murders, and gave up His life on the cross for the salvation of all His enemies.  Who has perfectly followed our Savior’s example?  No one.  For this reason, the commandment to love the neighbor shows that no person can justify himself before God and save himself.  This is why we need Jesus to save us from our sins by His death on the cross for us.  Only Jesus has fulfilled all of God the Father’s will for our lives.  Jesus, even though he had committed no sins of his own, took our sin upon Himself to pay the penalty of sin for us to make us NOT GUILTY before God our Heavenly Father.

10.              This parable has a practical application for you and me today. Any person you can help is your neighbor. It doesn’t mean that only the person living next to you is your neighbor. People need Jesus, the Good Samaritan. There’s a great deal of talk about getting the gospel out to the world, but not much of an effort is made to see that people know about Christ. It’s like the young man who was courting a girl. He wrote her a letter and said to her, “I would climb the highest mountain for you, swim the deepest river for you, cross the widest sea for you, and cross the burning desert for you!” Then he added a P.S.: “If it does not rain next Wednesday, I will come to see you.” That sounds like the average Christian’s commitment to Christ!

11.              The world today is like the man that fell among thieves and needs our help. The world needs Jesus. Christ can not only rescue us from drowning, but He can teach us to swim. Ritualism and formalism see mankind drowning and say, “Swim, brother, swim.” But man can’t swim. Legalism and liberalism push across toward man and say, “Hang on, brother, hang on.” But man can’t hang on. There’s a song that says, “I was sinking deep in sin far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more; but the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry, from the waters lifted me, now safe am I.” Jesus has lifted us out of the mire of our sins and from death itself and has given us eternal life in His name. This is the message of the Good Samaritan.  Amen.

Prayer:  Lord, thank you for this gift.  Help me read Your Word in the right way, as if it were a letter to me from You.  Help me read it as a greeting You have given me.  Help me hear You speaking personally to me today.  Help me realize that You’ve written it for my sake.  I know of course, that You have sent Your Word out to all people in every era.  So help me hear that You are speaking. May Your Word come to life for me.  You have sent Your Word to accomplish Your work.  Let it work in me too to love my neighbor as You have loved me and given up Your life for me.  Amen.

“God Still Blesses “Jerusalem” Isaiah 66.10-14, Pentecost 7C, July ‘13

1.   Please pray with me.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer.  Amen.  The message from God’s Word for us today comes to us from the Old Testament lesson from Isaiah 66:10-14, it’s entitled, “God Still Blesses “Jerusalem,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.   This Sunday school chorus captures the heart of what we’re hearing here in Isaiah 66: “One door and only one, and yet its sides are two. I’m on the inside; on which side are you?”  This chapter is about the ultimate choice facing humanity. Those who confess that Israel’s God is Creator of the universe and accept his ways in humility will enjoy fellowship with him in a new heaven and a new earth. Those who deny that reality, seeking to define the terms of their existence for themselves, will perish eternally. 

3.   This fact has some important consequences for us today.  First, we must be careful not to minimize the reality of this choice in our presentation of the biblical message. It’s often said that people today respond better to positive messages than to negative ones. But, the danger we as the Church run into is failing to warn people about the risk of refusing the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. We may fail to communicate to people that this is a life-or-death issue. We tell people that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives. Do we ever tell them what happens if they reject God’s wonderful plan? A person is in the backseat of a car hurtling out of control down a hill toward a sharp turn and a cliff. Do we only tell them that if they jump out life will be less anxious? Do we consider the reality of these options in our own decisions?

4.   One of the tragedies of modern child-rearing theory is that we’ve forgotten that always allowing a child to “have it your way” is deadly, because it fails to teach the child that our choices have inescapable consequences. But, this is difficult. Only those who have raised children know how stubborn a child’s determination is to have his or her own way. Somehow we who are parents must steel ourselves to the inevitable conflict of the will that must occur as we try to bring our children to surrender their own way or face the consequences. This is the only way to strength of character and, much more seriously, the only way to heaven.  On the other hand, adults who’ve always had their own way and have been shielded from the consequences of those choices by their parents are almost resistant to the good news of Jesus. They refuse to take responsibility for their actions and feel that they have nothing to repent of. The idea that Jesus asks them to repent of their sins and follow him is more than offensive to them. Let us remember that it is not merely our children’s future that’s at stake, it’s their eternal destiny.

5.   Our text from Isaiah 66:10 begins by saying, “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her.”  Although there has been good reason to mourn over Jerusalem in the past, since most of Israel had turned away from the Lord, Isaiah encourages the faithful to rejoice over the newly reborn Jerusalem. All the verses from Isaiah 66:10-14 are directly applicable to the Christian church of our day. Jerusalem was the chosen city of God. It was God’s chosen location for his temple and the dwelling place of his glory. “Jerusalem” became a synonym for God’s people (cf. Isa 40:1, 2). 

6.   After the coming of Jesus, God’s people, whom he gathered into the church, are described as “Jerusalem.” We are the sons and daughters of Zion by faith in Jesus. He’s brought us together to form his people, the new Jerusalem.  Jesus says in Matthew 18:20, “Where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

In our day “Jerusalem,” the Church, has gone through hard times. The holy Christian church has been struck from the outside and undermined from the inside. But “Jerusalem” won’t fail. Jesus pointed to Peter’s confession of faith and promised, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Mt 16:18).

7. Isaiah 66:11 says, “that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious abundance.”  Jerusalem here is described as our mother, and so the Christian church is properly called “Mother Church.” In a time when the church is belittled and criticized, it’s good for us to remember this tender picture of what the church does for us. As a new mother lovingly nurses her child, Mother Church gives nourishment to all the children of God.  This is the picture that the Apostle Peter uses in 1 Peter 2:2: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” To grow in our faith in Jesus we need spiritual milk, the basic food of life for our souls, which is the Word of God. The Lord has established his church to provide it. 

8. Unfortunately, some Christians conclude that they don’t really need milk from Mother Church anymore. They dismiss the milk of the Word by thinking, “I know all that stuff.” But, the Word of God is the basic nourishment that Jesus gives us for our spiritual lives. Like newborns, we need the basic sustenance of law and gospel every day. Through it the Holy Spirit keeps the miracle of faith healthy and growing in our hearts. 

9.   Isaiah 66:12-13 says, “12For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees.  13As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”  We see here that to answer any objections about Mother Church, the Lord emphasizes his continuing action: See, I am continuing to extend peace to her like a river. The Lord himself is the source of the church’s stream of peace. God’s peace is extended to her so that it might overflow to many others.  Some would like to see the church settle disputes between nations and become a peacemaker in the world, but this peace is peace with God, which only Jesus can provide.   Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (Jn 14:27). Instead of war between us and God, Jesus went to the cross and received all God’s wrath over our sin. Now we can rest at peace with God. When we have that peace, let the world around us rage and threaten—we have nothing to fear! The church provides us that peace through the means of grace.

10.                     Notice how verse 13 says, “13As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.” What the Lord says here in Isaiah 66 isn’t a reference to a small child at all, but it’s a full-grown man. Grown men continue to appreciate the love of their mothers. Think of what huge athletes always say to the TV cameras. Mothers also have a way of comforting grown sons in times of trouble. No matter what our ages, the Lord is there to give us the assurance and compassion we need. Think of another familiar metaphor from Isaiah: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” (49:15). It would be easier for a nursing mother to forget all about her little one than it is for God to forget about anyone in his family. 

11.                     Finally Isaiah 66:14 says, “14You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the LORD shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.”  When the Lord brings about all these things that Isaiah 66 says, it will bring us great joy, as well as growth for God’s family. Literally, it says, “Your bones will flourish like grass.” Sometimes we say the same thing about a teenager: “He’s growing like a weed!” When we receive God’s blessing through his church, we’ll grow as quickly as weeds and grass. That’s what regular nourishment and comfort from the Word will do!

12.                     The second half of this verse is fulfilled from the first coming of Jesus until he comes again. When God’s hand is “made known,” it means he acts in history for all to see. His greatest act in history, which changed the course of the world, was the sending of his Son. After Jesus rose from death and ascended, we see God’s hand in spreading the message of salvation throughout the world. With miracles and great power, he began the New Testament church in many nations. To this very day, the powerful gospel is being preached in every country of the world.

13.                     On the other hand, God’s fury will be shown to his enemies. This is fulfilled on judgment day, but not only so. The forces of evil have always tried to take the church down. Anti-Christian governments have tried to wipe out the church, but they can’t wipe out faith in people’s hearts. Those governments are always doomed to failure. They disappear, but not God’s church! Within the visible church, traitors claim to be Christians but preach an entirely different message. They too will have to answer to the Lord someday. They too are his enemies.

14.                     There are other serious flaws in “Jerusalem.” The whole church on earth is made up of sinners like us. We cause enough problems too! Because of sin, the church on earth could be called “Jerusalem the Tarnished.” We’ve done our part to tarnish it! But through Jesus and his righteousness, sin has been swept away. God’s church on earth is already “Jerusalem the Golden” in his eyes, not just in heaven. And he continues to guide and direct the church so that his faithful are nourished by the milk of His Word in spite of the sins of his people.  God still blesses, “Jerusalem,” his Church.  Amen.

“No Looking Back” Luke 9.51-62 Pentecost 6C, June ‘13

1.             Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our Gospel lesson for this Sunday from Luke 9:51-62 points to the fact that the life for us as followers of Jesus is a life of self-denial. Our service to the Lord must come first in our lives. Whatever earthly things stand in the way of such service must be put aside.  The message is entitled, “No Looking Back,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.             There’s a story told about one-time heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali. Ali was flying to one of his engagements and during the flight the aircraft ran into bad weather. Turbulence began to toss the plane about. Of course, all nervous fliers well know that when a pilot signals “moderate turbulence,” he’s saying, “If you have any religious beliefs, it’s time to start expressing them.” The passengers were instructed to fasten their seatbelts, and all complied but Ali. So the flight attendant approached him and requested that he observe the captain’s order, only to hear Ali respond, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.” But, the flight attendant didn’t miss a beat, she fired in reply, “Superman don’t need no airplane either!”

3.             This is a good story because I would like you to consider the larger context in which many of us find ourselves. I think that all of you would agree that we work diligently to position ourselves for success in a rapidly-changing world. And when we reach success a sense of invincibility can be felt.  But, we who are followers of Christ must remember that academic or material achievement doesn’t necessarily make a person wise. How foolish it would be for us to take what generations preceding us have valued in coping with life’s turbulence and cast it all aside because we are “modern.” G.K. Chesterton advised that before pulling any fences down, we should always pause long enough to find out why it was put there in the first place. In one of his proverbs, King Solomon writes: “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding, for they are more profitable than silver and yield better returns than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with it” (Proverbs 3:13-15). From this same king we are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In other words, reverence for God is where wisdom starts, recognition that there is a giver of knowledge and wisdom.

4.             Mohammed Ali’s comment that he was “superman” who didn’t need a seatbelt while the plane he was on was in dire distress makes me think of the current state of our culture today in America.  Many people today are living their lives as if God doesn’t care how they live, or like practical atheists, that God doesn’t really exist so why should it matter how I live.  But, this way of thinking that we are invincible and like superman is dangerous.  Remember the words of our Lord Jesus from Luke 9:62 for today, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  This past week I had another reminder that many people in our culture are looking back to unbelief, to godlessness, rather than toward the cross of Christ and the new way of life God has called us to live.  This past week the Supreme Court issued its ruling on same sex marriage.  It struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), allowing for federal benefits for legally married gay couples and potentially allowing for gay marriage in all of California with regard to Proposition 8. Though the ruling isn’t a surprise, we are saddened for our nation, even as we call all Christians to faithfulness and prayer.

5.             As Christians, we believe and confess that God Himself instituted marriage as the life-long union of one man and one woman.  Marriage wasn’t created by religion. Marriage wasn’t created by courts or countries. Marriage didn’t originate as man’s idea. Marriage originated with God. Jesus Himself spoke of this in Matt. 19:4-6, “And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (quoting Genesis 1:27 and 2:24) Same-sex unions are contrary to God’s will, and gay marriage is, in the eyes of God, no marriage at all. As Christians, we proclaim this truth, no matter what people say. We’re called not to popularity but truth. Marriage is a building block of society, binding parents to their offspring. Every child benefits from the nurture of a mother and the leadership of a father. While having one mother is a blessing, having two mothers or two fathers is confusing for the child and detrimental to her well-being. The divorce culture has done great harm to the institution of marriage as well.  Leaving many children without the presence of a mother or a father within the home hurts their development and their own understanding of what marriage is and how to build a family of their own when they grow up.

6.             Scripture calls homosexuality sinful in Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1:24–27, but the Bible also says plainly that those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” those who repent and show sorrow over their sin, are forgiven and loved by Christ.  And so as Christ’s Church, we forgive and love too, following His lead with compassion and humility. We forgive and love because we’re all sinners in need of His grace and mercy. Because no matter the sin, we’ve all rebelled against our Creator and fallen prey to unbelief.

7.             Remember Jesus’ words again from Luke 9:62, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  In Luke 9 we hear about people who wanted to follow Jesus, but they wanted to wait awhile.  They had important things to do first.  But, when people wanted to attend to other matters first, Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.”  This was the only way to do it.  Nothing else should come before the Kingdom of God, for Jesus and for us His followers, there’s no looking back.  We must not let the sway of the world, the devil, and our own sinful flesh lead us away from Christ. 

8.               Remember in the context of Luke 9 that for two years, Jesus has been teaching, healing, and ministering to those in His home of Galilee.  But now, He’s “set His face to go to Jerusalem” (vs. 51), the place of His Passion, His dying on the cross to take on the punishment for sin that we all deserve because of our own sinfulness.  Jesus won’t be stopped from His mission to go to the cross for you!  There’s no looking back for Him.

9.               Maybe we recall Jesus’ words about what was sown among the thistles from Matthew’s Gospel in the Parable of the Sower.  It isn’t only obvious sins that can keep a person away from God, but also honorable duties, daily obligations like work, things we think that can’t be neglected.  But, the question is this…  What comes first?  God created us to live with Him, through Him, for Him, and to Him.  We can’t do that without His Word.  It’s through His Word that God begins a relationship with us.  The Word needs time.  You can’t hear it, read it, or learn it without devoting a certain amount of time to it.  We have to take that time.  We shouldn’t let anything disturb us during that time.  There are a great many distractions that try to do that.  Jesus speaks about the concerns we have today that demand our attention and fill our day.  They’re already waiting for us at our bedside in the morning on our smartphones, tablet computers, on TV, and in the newspaper, as well as on our “to do” lists.  These things demand our interest and set the order of the day for us.  They make us wonder how we will find time for everything.  It’s tempting to shorten our morning prayer or forget it altogether.  It’s so easy for us to say:  I don’t have time today.  Now the thorns are beginning to grow over our heads.  They will keep growing until one day we may no longer see heaven.

10.   Three examples serve to illustrate Jesus’ resolve to go to the cross.  First, to one who says, “I will follow You wherever You go,” (vs. 57), Jesus responds, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (vs. 58).  The Greek word for “nests” can describe not only a bird’s nest but also a human dwelling place (ex, 2 Samuel 7:10 LXX).  So, as Jesus heads towards Jerusalem, there will be no temporary residence along the way.  He will find no rest for Himself.  He must make it to His destination.  There’s no looking back.  To another man who, before following Jesus, says, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father,” (vs. 59), Jesus replies, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead,” (vs. 60).  At first, Jesus’ response might sound harsh.  But this is hardly the case.  In the Ancient Near East, burials involved two stages:  the initial burial where the body was placed in a tomb and them, about a year later, the removal of the deceased’s bones to a permanent place of internment.  This man could have been requesting a year’s respite before following Jesus.  But, Jesus can’t dilly dally for a year, there’s no looking back, He’s going to the cross to die in order to give you the forgiveness of your sins.  Finally another man says to Jesus, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home,” (vs. 61).  This man’s “but” reveals his true allegiance—and it’s not to His Lord.  As Jesus says elsewhere, “Whoever loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matt. 10:37).  Family is important, but following Jesus is of first importance.

11.   Jesus has set His face for Jerusalem.  And He will not stop for any man. But even though He won’t stop for any man, He will die for every man.  He will die on the cross for you and me.  As Jesus says, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men” (Luke 9:44).  This is why Jesus won’t be sidetracked.  For Jesus is going to Jerusalem to be delivered and to die for you and me.  Praise be to God that Jesus made it to His destination.  That, He didn’t look back!  Amen.

Please pray with me:  Lord, tell me every day that I need to seek Your Kingdom first.  I need to hear it so much.  I know what is most important, and yet it is easy for me to let everything else get in the way.  I know that Your Word is the bread of life and I can’t live without it.  But, I still try to, time after time.  But, I don’t neglect my meals.  I very seldom let anything get in the way of them.  Lord, make me that concerned about my soul so that it receives the bread of life it needs so much.  Make it obvious to me that You come first and are more important than anything else in the world.  I can live without most of what I have in this world, but I can’t live without You.  Amen.