The Word Lives

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descended from David, as preached in my gospel, the gospel for which I am suffering and wearing fetters like a criminal. But the word of God is not fettered. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus with its eternal glory. The saying is sure:

If we have died with him, we shall also live with him;

if we endure, we shall also reign with him;

if we deny him, he also will deny us;

if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:8–13 (RSV)

St. Paul is writing this last letter to Timothy to encourage him as he cared for the faithful. St. Paul has been in a Roman prison for over two years. He knows that the hour of his death is near.

St. Paul will endure whatever may come for the sake of Jesus. His life is near the end, but the word of God is not. The Good News concerning the risen Jesus has no end. It goes unfettered by any human attempts to silence it.

An outsider might look at St. Paul's circumstance and conclude that those who hold earthly power have come out on top. They have the power of life and death over St. Paul. He sits in their prison. He will soon be silenced by execution.

St. Paul understands what the world can never grasp. St. Paul can be killed. The powers of this age may silence his voice but will not silence the Gospel.

We, like Timothy, are encouraged to hold fast to the Gospel. Whatever may come to us, Jesus is Lord over all things. The world may appear to hold sway, but it cannot last. All those things who oppose the Lord will one day be gone, and Jesus will be all that remains.

Fasting

"Is not this the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the thongs of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him,

and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,

and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your righteousness shall go before you,

the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;

you shall cry, and he will say,

Here I am.

"If you take away from the midst of you the yoke,

the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

 if you pour yourself out for the hungry

and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

then shall your light rise in the darkness

and your gloom be as the noonday.

And the LORD will guide you continually,

and satisfy your desire with good things,

and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters fail not.

 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;

you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

you shall be called the repairer of the breach,

the restorer of streets to dwell in.

Isaiah 58:6–12 (RSV)

Ash Wednesday is soon upon us. The Sunday before us is Transfiguration Sunday, the hinge upon which the drama of our Lord's suffering begins to turn to Jerusalem.

We will wear a smear of ash on our foreheads, perhaps make a vow to forego some personal pleasure during the weeks of Lent, believing that is what the Lord desires. It is as close as most of us come to fasting.

We have failed to heed the Lord in our fasts. We let go of what we do not need, and no one is set free; no one is fed, sheltered, or clothed. The oppressed remain in their servitude. Have we lifted a finger to lift the injustice laid upon anyone?

Is it any wonder that we live in an age where selfishness is a virtue? Instead of shame over hatred of others, we revel in our imagined superiority. In a world that aches for the light of the Gospel, we guard it for ourselves.

All these things belong to a world that is dying yet thinks it is alive. It is a world that gives out crumbs to the hungry and believes we have hosted a great feast. We let go of some small thing, call it a great fast while our brothers and sisters groan under the burden of injustice.

Our fast is our neighbor's need. Our sacrifice is our sister fed and clothed. We love our Lord by dismantling anything that reduces our brother to nothing. St Paul taught that if we suffer the loss of all things but do not love as we have been loved, we have done nothing.

Our fast is our neighbor's need. Our fast is to love as our Lord has loved us. Our fast is to take on the love of Christ, that the wounded, hungry, homeless, naked, and cruelly wronged might be enveloped in the His love.

Running the Race

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.  In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons? —

"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor lose courage when you are punished by him.

For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves,

and chastises every son whom he receives." Hebrews 12:1–6 (RSV)

Randy Fardell could run. He ran long distances in track, consistently winning. In those days, the late 60's at South Hamilton, Randy was one of our best. On the other hand, look at me, do I look like I could run? I don't know if some of the records Randy set still stand at South Hamilton, but I guarantee you could search from now until the end of time and not find my name associated with any track and field record.

This is why it shocked me when the coach came to me and said, "Hatcher, I am putting you in the two-mile race with Fardell." I could not smell any alcohol on his breath, and it was a cloudy day, so he couldn't have been driven mad by heatstroke. My perplexity prompted this explanation, "Randy needs to run a good race, one of his best if we are going to win this meet. The other team has an excellent long-distance runner who could easily win the race. You are going to set as fast a pace as you can run for the first mile. Randy will hang back and coast, then when the rest are tired, he will kick into high gear."

The starter gun went off, I shot out to the lead, kept that pace for the four laps that made up the first mile. As we came around to start lap five of the eight, I ran off the track, sat down hard, gasping for breath. Randy did precisely as planned. He had plenty of strength left, passed all the others ahead of him, and coasted in for a win.

We were both cheered on by our teammates, Randy, because he would win the meet. I because I ran so he could win.

The writer of Hebrews teaches us that we are to run the race set before us. We may not be the best or the swiftest. We may be the one who runs hard at the start to prepare the way for the one who will accomplish the victory. Whatever God calls us to do, is ours to do. We may begin the contest, run our part as best we can, and rejoice with those who finish the race.

Your humble witness to Christ may not transform the world, but you may have been the one who prepares the way for the one who will. The Lord asks us to run the race. All the angels and saints surround us, cheering us on to accomplish what the Father has asked of us.

Bearing Another's Burden

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another.

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Look to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if any one thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each man will have to bear his own load.

Let him who is taught the word share all good things with him who teaches. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 5:24–6:10 (RSV)

Cancel culture, the present age phenomenon where people scour everything a person has ever said, done, even thought to destroy them in the public eye. It is done in a pitiless fashion, often with no regard for the truth or circumstance. The goal is to destroy, even if the person no longer holds the beliefs they once did.

No Christian should ever participate in such a thing. Our Lord has commanded us to pray for all, even our enemies. Anyone who intentionally seeks to harm another person in this way has turned their back on Christ.

St. Paul is clear about this as he teaches the Galatian Christians how to live in Christ. We begin by crucifying our sinful nature, so our passions and desires do not rule us. If a brother or sister in the faith sins, we seek to restore them to the Lord. We must not act as if we have never sinned or that their sin is somehow worse than anyone else's.

If you are tempted to delight in someone's falling into sin, look honestly at your heart, not in the self-excusing way we prefer, but as our Lord sees our heart. You will find sin that causes the other's sin to pale by comparison.

We have been redeemed so we may become the mercy and charity of Christ for all with whom we meet. Our new life is one led by the Holy Spirit in the daily dying and rising in Christ. If we turn to satisfy the temptations of sinful flesh, we mock God. The harvest that we will reap from that will be a bitter one.

Luther taught that we are to be a 'little Christ' to our neighbors. Our Lord calls us to take up our cross and follow Him. It is who we now are. The old ways of this world and our sinful flesh are behind us. We are to see Jesus in everyone we meet, showing the love we have for our Lord to all.

Jesus Only

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them, and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him." And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but Jesus only. Mark 9:2–8 (RSV)

"Jesus only." I will confess it now, the thoughts that follow are not original to me. Bishop Bo Giertz of Sweden used it as the heading of the second part of his book, "The Hammer of God." In this part of the novel, a young Lutheran pastor struggles with his confidence in infant baptism. His growing doubt is encouraged by a prayer group in which he participates. The leader of the group is a Baptist who has challenged his trust in the Sacrament.

This is nothing new in the Church. One of the by-products of the Reformation was the Anabaptist movement. These are Christians who have rejected infant baptism in favor of believer baptism. Their thinking goes thus, one must first receive the Holy Spirit and then make your choice for Jesus before one could be baptized. They could not see how an infant could seek this. Nor could they see how an infant could sin since they are not aware of such matters.

The wavering pastor was on the verge of rejecting infant baptism. That night he was to tell all in his prayer group his decision on baptism. Before Sunday worship, he is called to a parishioner's home, where death was near for one of the parish saints. The pastor arrives to find the man unconscious near the end. The pastor assures the man's family that the man has lived a Christian life, been a faithful servant of the Church, and will undoubtedly have a good death.

They all hear it. The old man swears as he must have done on the battlefields when he was a young man. He goes on to say terrible things about his neighbors, envious and judgmental. The old man falls silent, then breathes his last, and dies. His family distraught, their loved one sinned up to the moment of his death. How could he be saved?

The pastor is late for Sunday worship. He races to church, barely prepared to preach as he grabs a book of sermons, desperately looks up the sermon for that day, deciding to use this message since he had no time to prepare.

He has not read the sermon until he begins to preach. It is titled, 'Jesus Only'. It describes the sinner seeking Christ. They wish to be saved. They want to come to the Lord and be worthy of His grace. Thus the sinner begins to drive sin from their heart. The sinner discovers, to his horror, beneath the small surface sins lie more sins, more wretched than the first. The sinner prays night and day. He is like a farmer removing stones from a rocky field. Stone after stone is found, taken out only to reveal more, larger stones. He digs and digs until all the stones are gone, only to find solid rock, stretching in all directions. Like stones, his sins have no end. At the very core of his being is nothing but sin.

In hopelessness, the sinner dares to look to Jesus on the cross. There he sees all his sin laid on Jesus only. There he sees every sin that torments his soul forgiven by the dying and rising Jesus only. He sees the water and blood that flows from Jesus' wounded side. He sees that his baptism is not a matter of his choosing. It is a work of God accomplished in Jesus only.

We will always be sinners. We come to the Lord with nothing. We can ask for nothing, for we deserve nothing. He covers us with the waters of baptism, not just for the hour we are baptized, but for the whole of our lives. If in our last hour we, like a newborn, cannot think of Christ, He still looks on us as one for whom His death has drowned our sin. He sees the redeemed Child of God washed clean. It is Jesus only who saves and redeems.

The Hammer of God would be well worth your time to read.

The Suffering Servant

Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

 But he was wounded for our transgressions,

he was bruised for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that made us whole,

and with his stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:4–5 (RSV)

The Servant Song from Isaiah 53-53 is the Lord's witness of His willingness to win our salvation. These few words cited here is the truth we cannot ignore. Jesus has borne all our sorrows, our transgressions. The righteous judgment of God which should fall on us, Jesus will bear on the cross.

Repentance is our admission that our sins are laid on Jesus. Our confession is speaking the truth of rebellion against the Father. We acknowledge God would be justified to let His wrath and judgment fall on us.

The heart of the Father longs to redeem and save. He has no joy in the death of anyone. As a wayward child grieves a parent's heart, an unrepentant sinner is a great sorrow to the Father. He gives His only Son to take upon Himself the consequences of our sin, so not one of us would be lost to Him.

Here is where the sinner dies to themselves, the old self is left behind, and the new creation is born in Christ. The eternal purpose of the Father is fulfilled in the dying and rising of our Lord Jesus. It is in this redemption where you and I now live.

A Fire in My Bones

How beautiful upon the mountains

are the feet of him who brings good tidings,

who publishes peace,

who brings good tidings of good,

who publishes salvation,

who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."

Hark, your watchmen lift up their voice,

together they sing for joy;

for eye to eye they see

the return of the LORD to Zion.

Break forth together into singing,

you waste places of Jerusalem;

for the LORD has comforted his people,

he has redeemed Jerusalem.

The LORD has bared his holy arm

before the eyes of all the nations;

and all the ends of the earth shall see

the salvation of our God.

Isaiah 52:7–10 (RSV)

A blinking cursor on a word processor page has replaced the blank sheet of paper in a typewriter. It can be a window that one opens, allowing the flow of words to reach beyond itself to bless those who read or hear.

It can be a brick wall impervious to every effort to complete a sentence. It sits there blinking in silent mockery of the heart and soul, seeking to write what will be received as a mercy from God.

St. Paul wrote these words to the Corinthian Christians: 'For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!' 1 Corinthians 9:16 (RSV)

We who have been called to the ministry of Word and Sacrament have to preach the Gospel. Preaching is more than meeting the expectation of the congregation. Yes, a pastor is called to preach God's Word. It is much more than fulfilling a contractual obligation. We must preach! If our hearts beat in our chest and air fills our lungs, we must preach.

Jeremiah wrote that when he tried to refuse to proclaim God's Word, it was like a fire in his bones. He could not be silent:

If I say, "I will not mention him,

or speak any more in his name,"

there is in my heart as it were a burning fire

shut up in my bones,

and I am weary with holding it in,

and I cannot. Jeremiah 20:9 (RSV)

Last night I stared at the mocking cursor as the words I wanted to write were a faint echo of the beauty of Isaiah's words. It felt like adding notes to a Bach symphony or brush strokes to the Sistine Chapel ceiling. It would have only detracted from the glory already present.

And here I am, writing tonight because my heart is beating, and I am breathing. The Word of God must be proclaimed. I am reminded that I need not be an Isaiah or a St. Paul. I need not attempt to rival David's psalms for beauty. I must preach.

As I reminded my last intern, Heidi Happel, we pastors don't matter much compared to the Word. We preach the Gospel, and folk see Jesus through our words, then we have done what the Lord has asked of us.

The Holy Spirit will infuse our poor words with the mercy and grace of the Father. Longing hearts will hear of the salvation of God through Christ. It will have been enough that we did what we are called to do, to preach Jesus.

Jesus Sighed

Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they besought him to lay his hand upon him. And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And he charged them to tell no one; but the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak." Mark 7:31–37 (RSV)

Koine Greek is the language of the New Testament. Greek was the international language of the Roman world, much like English is today. Jesus may have known Greek, but His tongue was Aramaic, a dialect of Hebrew. Jesus' disciples most likely spoke Aramaic as well.

They knew enough that if they were going to get the Gospel to as many people as possible, Greek was the way to go. The very earliest manuscripts we have of the Gospel are written in Greek. Here is the first challenge to understanding Scripture with the goal of preaching. Lutheran pastors learn Greek to read the New Testament in the language in which it was written.

We translate Greek to English, aware that it was most likely translated from Aramaic to Greek at the Church's dawn. The translator has decisions to make as Greek words and phrases become English. What word in English best echoes the meaning in Greek? Some words easily go from Greek to English. Others are complex as you try to capture the nuance of the word.

The phrase,' and looking up to heaven, he sighed,' appears simple enough. The word for 'to sigh' in Greek also translates, 'to groan, sigh, or grumble.' Groaning and grumbling are harsher to our ears, causing us to wonder why Jesus would groan or grumble as He healed the man.

One of the dangers we fall victim to as we read Scripture is the notion that everything was easy for Jesus. He is the Son of God. He could command legions of angels to attend Him. We only focus on His divine nature. We forget that Jesus is also True Man. He is human. Humans grow weary. Who hasn't been overwhelmed by the challenges and demands of life?

Everywhere Jesus went, crowds gathered, pressing on Him crying out for healing, for bread, for a resurrection, for casting out a demon, and dozens of other demands. How many came because they believed Jesus is the Messiah we cannot say. We can say that many who came were there for what they could get from Jesus. Many of those who came to Jesus would also be among those screaming for His death.

Our redemption is costly. The suffering on the cross is horrific in itself. The struggle to breathe and the unrelenting pain is intended cruelty. Jesus cries out to the Father in desolation. The cross is but the beginning. Jesus carries with Him all the sin, the ugliness, the sickness, and brokenness of our human race.

He sighed, groaned at the demand of healing one man. Can you even begin to imagine what He endured on the cross? Jesus bears it all in His flesh and spirit. Jesus, True Man, takes on the death of all creation. The depths of His groans of agony is a horror no one would consent to face.

Jesus receives it all for us. His suffering is for the whole of humankind, for all creation, so when we groan under the weight of sin and death, we might know they have been defeated.

Going Home

These all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Hebrews 11:13–16 (RSV)

Life is the prelude to a magnificent symphony of praise. We know something wonderful is about to happen as we hear the opening notes. We anticipate the beauty to come, but it is not time. We must wait as the prelude anticipates.

Thirty-seven centuries have come and gone since God called Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldeans. Abraham and Sarah journeyed in trust that God's promises would be kept. They saw the beginning of those promises, a land, a child, and a blessing. Neither they nor their son, Isaac, would see the fulfillment of the promises.

They are not alone in waiting. Millions have looked toward the day when the Father will bring all things to completion. We count the years we have been given and wonder if now is the time. We wonder if this is the hour in which our heavenly country will be our reality.

The Father holds His peace. He sees the longing of our hearts, our desire to be home with Him finally. He waits for the appointed hour. We shall be with Him in that hour. In His mercy promises, it will come.

We continue our journey toward our heavenly country. Many have fallen asleep in the Lord along the way, but they are not lost. They will rise in the hour which the Father knows. Then we will all be home.

Putting On Christ

Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:23–29 (RSV)

We have put on Christ. No, we haven't voted Jesus to be our Savior or added Him to our wardrobe for special occasions. Before Christ, we were under the law because we could not be trusted to follow God on our own. St. Paul calls the law a 'custodian', who has authority over us. It is an authority we must acknowledge and to which we must yield.

If God did not provide the law, the world would be even more chaotic and violent. Left to our own devices, we would make creation a wasteland where no one would be safe. Jesus was not speaking metaphorically in the Sermon on the Mount when He warned us that our thoughts are equal to murder and sexual violence. Left to ourselves, we would not put on Christ. We would put on cruelty, selfishness, anger, and hatred of others.

The Galatians had been duped into thinking that Jesus was the beginning of salvation. They were to gain the superior knowledge of God to complete the work Jesus began. The special knowledge came from keeping the law as Jew, finishing what Jesus had left undone.

We cannot make ourselves children of God. We cannot outdo Jesus in faithfulness to the Father. The law is not our ticket to heaven. The law is our custodian, our guardian, who keeps us from straying farther from God than we already have strayed.

We are baptized into Christ. God clothes us with Jesus' death and resurrection so our old self might be put to death, and we are raised a new creation. We are the Father's children through Christ and Him alone. There is no more excellent sign of this than when we baptized an infant.

What can a newborn bring to the font? Can they answer for themselves when comes the call to reject satan and all his lies? Can they confess the Apostle's Creed as a statement of faith into which we are baptized? No, they can do none of these. In truth, nor can we, apart from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is poured out on us in Holy Baptism, and He alone grants us saving faith.

As it has been from the beginning of the Church, Christ saves and redeems sinners. The law restrains us until we have been baptized into Christ. We are joined to all who have believed throughout the ages. Our mutual faith is rooted in Our Lord and no one else.

O most loving God, who by your mercy has joined all to salvation through our baptism into Jesus' death and resurrection. Do not let us deceive ourselves that we earn your grace. Fix our gaze upon Jesus and Him alone, for there is salvation in no other.

On Faith

And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw him, and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." And he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Mark 6:47–52 (RSV)

If anyone should say to you that they understand the Lord perfectly and completely, smile at them pleasantly and find an excuse to get away. The chances are that they want to sell you their latest book, "How To Know Everything About Jesus", or are looking to add you to their cult.

The Lord has revealed Himself to us, as much as you or I could understand. We have learned much over the ages, but everything, no that lies beyond us. St. Mark's Gospel shows the disciples as always a step or two behind understanding Jesus and His purpose.

An honest Christian agrees to this. We have no idea how the Lord walked on water or fed five thousand with a few loaves and fish. We grasp that the wind and waves obey Him, for He is their Creator Lord. Our hearts may be confused, even hardened, when it comes to explaining why Jesus did one thing and not another.

Faith is not, nor has it been, about the depth of our knowledge of Jesus. Salvation is not found in how much we know, or think we know, about Jesus. Saving faith is located in the Lord who says to us, 'Take heart, it is I; have no fear.'

It is Jesus who comes to us in the middle of our trials and confusion. We soon discover that Jesus is not a guru who will give us the secret wisdom of life. He would not give us such a useless thing. Jesus gives us Himself, for He is life. His presence is the center of our lives, of our faith, and our salvation.

The Mountains Sing

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;

break forth, O mountains, into singing!

For the LORD has comforted his people,

and will have compassion on his afflicted.

But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me,

my Lord has forgotten me."

 "Can a woman forget her sucking child,

that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?

Even these may forget,

yet I will not forget you.

Isaiah 49:13–15 (RSV)

I wonder what the songs of the mountains will be. Unredeemed ears could not hear the melodies of heaven and the exaltation of the earth. They will sing the mercy of God upon all His people. They must sing, for no mere words alone could begin to describe so great a love.

God does not forget those for whom His Son bore the cross, lay in the cold of death, and burst forth in the risen glory. God does not forget. We may forget His compassion as our ears fail to hear the praises of earth, sky, and crags. He does not.

In a pandemic and unrest time, our hearts may fail us as we forget we are beloved of God. The lovelessness of the world may overwhelm us, and hope fails within us. The little love once in our hearts flees as remembrance fades.

Still, the universe is singing, rejoicing, and offering praise to He who remembers. We are never forgotten. His love will not let us go. He remembers, so we may not forget His love. He remembers so that we may hear the mountains' song with the New Day dawns.

Purpose

We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we ourselves were found to be sinners, is Christ then an agent of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again those things which I tore down, then I prove myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose. Galatians 2:15–21 (RSV)

One of the gifts of being seventy is the ability to look back to see all the times God was active in your life. Many of those moments happened when I was unaware, not only of God but of His grace and love.

Years before, I was invited to go to church with my friend, Jim, another friend had preached the Law to me. I doubt he knew he was preaching the Law as we were about ten. He had been to Sunday School, and in response to my inquiry about what that was about, he said, 'It's where you learn how to get to heaven.'

Wanting to know more about this, I asked how does that happen. 'Well, there are these rules God made that you have to keep.' He went on to explain about the Ten Commandments. It sounded like a pretty high bar to clear if heaven was your goal. I nervously asked, 'What if you don't keep these rules?' His reply was not at all comforting, 'You go to hell.'

Worried, I looked up the Ten Commandments in the encyclopedia at school. I was horrified. How would I ever keep all these? I lay awake for several nights, wishing I had never asked about getting to heaven and the God who makes such impossible rules.

'For if justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose.' This is what we do when we try to save ourselves by keeping the Law of God. We make a mockery of Jesus' suffering and death. If we could do this, even in part, on our own, then why did Jesus suffer and die?

All those years ago, the Law did its job in my heart. It showed me the impossibility of saving myself. I had never heard of Martin Luther at that time, but when I read of his struggles to find a gracious God, it resonated with my soul.

When the Holy Spirit was pleased to teach my heart that salvation is through Jesus and Him alone, as Luther said, it was like the gates of heaven were opened to me. Jesus' death and resurrection is the way to heaven. Grace alone through faith alone, the cross ever before me and the Risen Christ my Savior and Lord.

O Lord, let me ever cling to Thy cross and trust only in You.

Hearing the Word

He (Jesus) went away from there and came to his own country; and his disciples followed him. And on the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. Mark 6:1–6 (RSV)

I still have the first sermon I preached in my home congregation, Bethesda Lutheran in Jewell, IA. Pr. Jolivette was gone on vacation, and the Board of Deacons asked if I could fill in. I was glad to, both because they were paying my tuition at Luther Seminary, and I had received so much support from them in my journey of faith.

I worked long and hard on the sermon. I fretted and stewed over it as well. I wanted to do well, to show the good folk that they didn't waste their money. Jackie suggested that I do a practice run before I gave it on Sunday. I preached, she listened and timed the message. When the 'amen' came at the end, she was quiet, then said, 'It's only seven minutes long.'

I had visions of the Board of Trustees holding a special meeting after worship to vote to end my tuition. I could see my Sunday School teachers shaking their heads at the wasted effort they put in on me. The Gem Cafe would be buzzing after worship, 'I knew that Hatcher kid wouldn't make it as a preacher!' I wanted to throw up.

I don't begin to think my first sermon is on the same level as Jesus teaching at His synagogue in Nazareth. It is the same in that people often don't see beyond the one teaching or preaching and fail to hear the Word. The folk at Nazareth couldn't get beyond who they thought Jesus is. They had seen Him grow up. Everyone knew his family. It didn't seem likely that this hometown boy should be teaching them.

What they thought they knew wouldn't let them hear the Word Jesus was teaching. It did not stop Jesus teaching, preaching, healing, and calling people into discipleship. The Word was all that mattered. It is an essential lesson for a preacher to learn. It is not about what folk think of you that matters. It is the Word that matters.

If we preach and teach the Word faithfully, the Holy Spirit will accomplish His work. As long as the Gospel is proclaimed, the preacher has done what the Lord asks. What then does it matter if the sermon is seven minutes or seven hours long? If the Word of God captures hearts, the preacher is a small matter.

The Gospel

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel— not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.

Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:6–10 (RSV)

'Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ.' St. Paul hits the nail on the head. The Gospel is Jesus crucified and risen from the dead. If anyone preaches anything other than this, they are accursed.

Sound harsh? When we consider what is at stake, it is what needs to be said. The Galatian churches had received the Gospel during one of St. Paul's missionary journeys. St. Paul proclaimed what had been revealed to him by the Lord. After he established the churches, St. Paul continued his missionary work.

The Gospel salvation is the free gift of God given through Christ to be received by faith. C.S. Lewis wrote that one of the greatest dangers to the Christian faith is the false gospel of 'Jesus and.....'. Any teaching that implies that Jesus' death and resurrection weren't quite enough, that we need to pitch in and do our part, is a false gospel.

It is akin to the devil's temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. The evil one comes, saying, 'If you are the Son of God....'. Do something to prove that you are who you say you are. Don't rely solely on the Word of God; find a way to prove it to be so.

Others had come to Galatia after St. Paul teaching and preaching that it was necessary to keep the Old Testament law and believe in Jesus in order to be saved. Jesus didn't die enough. His resurrection wasn't all that was needed. You need to show God how serious you are by doing just a bit extra to make salvation complete.

It is tempting to think that I could do something to as my part in salvation. We have a hard time letting go of our longing to be God on some level. We have never gotten past the temptation of the serpent. We want to be like God, even if it is only a tiny fragment.

We cannot add anything to what Jesus has already done. Should we insist that we somehow participate in our salvation, we are saying that Jesus' death and resurrection weren't enough. We are saying we need to add our part to make it real.

This is a false gospel. It leads to death, for salvation is in Christ alone. St. Paul wrote plainly of this in Romans:

While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation.

Romans 5:6–11 (RSV)

The Gospel is this and this alone.

Beggars

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when he had come out of the boat, there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,  who lived among the tombs; and no one could bind him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been bound with fetters and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out, and bruising himself with stones.  And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped him; and crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." For he had said to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion; for we are many." And he begged him eagerly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him, "Send us to the swine, let us enter them." So he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.

The herdsmen fled, and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus, and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their neighborhood. And as he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. But he refused, and said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and all men marveled.

Mark 5:1–20 (RSV)

The demons always know. Hardly any human comes close to grasping who Jesus is. The demons always know. Perhaps since they had once been in the presence of God, the clarity and perfection of His glory could never be erased from them.

All humans could see was how Jesus' actions affected them. Certainly, the possessed man was grateful for his healing. The swineherds are upset about their loss. Who wouldn't be? The townsfolk were upset because they couldn't understand how or why Jesus intervened in their lives. Yes, it was nice that the possessed man was no longer a threat to them. Still, it was a change from the normal.

Then the begging, the demons beg Jesus to allow them to go into the pigs. I don't recall anywhere in the New Testament where Jesus destroyed the demons. He cast them out, but He allowed them to continue to exist. Jesus never destroyed anyone, though He could have annihilated the demons. Perhaps they, like we, are worth redeeming.

The townsfolk begged Jesus to leave because they were afraid. They were fearful because Jesus healed the man. They were afraid because the swine were lost. They were worried that they would have to look at their world with new eyes. They wanted Jesus gone. Who could tell what He might do or ask of them?

The man begged Jesus to go with Him. He had a new life and wanted to be with the One who had given it to Him. Jesus said, 'No' to his request. Jesus' purpose for the man was to go and tell everyone, starting with his friends, what God had done for Him. The man did just that. He told everyone in the area how God had changed his life.

Luther once wrote that we are all beggars. We come to Jesus with our demons, our sin, and our broken lives, and He heals us. We have nothing to offer, nor could we offer anything. We come fearful, angry, confused, and uncertain we deserve anything at all from God.

Jesus does not destroy anyone of us. His heart longs to heal each of us, even the most wretched. He has done it for others. He will do it for us as well.

Jesus Is With You

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care if we perish?" And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?" And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?"

Mark 4:35–41 (RSV)

I don't think it was intentional. I was at the pool in Jewell, IA, on a typical July afternoon. It was hot, humid and in the late '60's it was the best way to spend the day. I had dove into the deep end, planning to come up by the diving boards.

I am not sure how it happened, but another swimmer was getting out right above me as I was coming up. He may have thought he was bracing himself on something solid as he pushed to get out. The something solid was me. The more he tried to get out, the harder he pushed me down.

I started to drown. I had run out of air, and panic set in. I wasn't thinking about Jesus. Fighting to breathe in water didn't care a fig if I had been baptized. All that occupied my mind was breaking free.

The disciples came to the sleeping Jesus and shouted their panic over the howling of the wind, 'Teacher, don't you care if we perish?' The fishermen among them knew how bad things were. If they were panicking, then something must have been wrong.

Real people in real situations confronted by terror can't always think of Jesus. The panic and fear are overwhelming, so if they think of God, it is to cry out. 'Do you not care if we perish?' Even those whose faith is a blessing to behold can fail when the waters are mountains and drive the air from your lungs.

Jesus does not abandon, even when the terror is all we can feel. When we can no longer think of Jesus out of fear, He does not forget us. When all earthly securities fail, Jesus does not.

No Other God

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God;

I gird you, though you do not know me,

 that men may know, from the rising of the sun

and from the west, that there is none besides me;

I am the LORD, and there is no other.

I form light and create darkness,

I make weal and create woe,

I am the LORD, who do all these things.

 "Shower, O heavens, from above,

and let the skies rain down righteousness;

let the earth open, that salvation may sprout forth,

and let it cause righteousness to spring up also;

I, the LORD, have created it.

Isaiah 45:5–8 (RSV)

'There is no other God;" is a statement that many in our world would challenge. We know there are other religions. These religions all have some concept of the divine. In our nation, we have freedom of religion. Thus anyone can worship in any way they choose. They are free not to worship or believe as well.

This is as it should be. If the government coerces anyone to worship and believe in a certain way, we are all in danger. The Church has faced this throughout the ages. Christians from the very beginning to today have the power of government arrayed against them.

Sadly, where Christians dominate the culture, they have forced others to enter the Church, even if they did not believe. Conversion by the power of the sword is a sin as it does not bring from the love of God. It is the evil desire to dominate others under the guise of faith.

Christians have always lived in a world where other gods and religions were a part of the culture. I suspect it will always be so until our Lord returns.

Still, our witness is and has always been, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. There is no God other than God. This is our confession and witness. We should not be ashamed of this proclamation. We preach Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead for the salvation of the world.

It is not arrogant to preach the truth. We worship the one true God who has redeemed all things through His Son, Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit is saving faith given. We are commanded to do this. We can and will preach Christ in all humility and truth. We will share the Good News with whoever will listen. We will receive all who come to Him as our brothers and sisters in Christ.

"I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God;"

God Chooses

Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus,

whose right hand I have grasped,

to subdue nations before him

and ungird the loins of kings,

to open doors before him

that gates may not be closed:

"I will go before you

and level the mountains,

I will break in pieces the doors of bronze

and cut asunder the bars of iron,

I will give you the treasures of darkness

and the hoards in secret places,

that you may know that it is I, the LORD,

the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

For the sake of my servant Jacob,

and Israel my chosen,

I call you by your name,

I surname you, though you do not know me.

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God;

I gird you, though you do not know me,

that men may know, from the rising of the sun

and from the west, that there is none besides me;

I am the LORD, and there is no other.

I form light and create darkness,

I make weal and create woe,

I am the LORD, who do all these things.

Isaiah 45:1–7 (RSV)

We inaugurate a president today. It has been a bit tumultuous this time around. I don't know what to make of all the events that have brought us to this day. Even if I disagreed with the person taking the Office, I have always been proud of how we demonstrate to the world how we can transfer power.

I can't say that I am this year. I am bewildered by recent events. I struggle to keep up with the fluidity of the language used to describe events. The 'mostly peaceful protests' of the summer are now 'insurrection'. Honestly, I cannot tell the difference. All were destructive, took lives, terrorized innocent folk, and were a blight on our nation.

I am thankful for the Scripture today from Isaiah: 'Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus,'. It can also be translated,' thus says the LORD to his messiah, to Cyrus,'. God has chosen Cyrus, the Persian emperor, to be the deliverer of the Children of Israel who has been in bondage in Babylon.

God made use of Cyrus even though Cyrus had no clue that the LORD was using him. Cyrus' conquest of Babylon allows the exiles of Israel to return home to Jerusalem. God acts in history to bring about His purpose. He will call a pagan emperor His Messiah who knows nothing of God, for a time Cyrus serves the purpose of God.

I will pray for the incoming president as I have for the outgoing president. I will pray that he governs wisely. I will pray that he will use his office for the good of the nation. As God is using him to accomplish God's will, I will pray that our president will honor God.

God's will and purpose are at the heart of who we are. We pray 'Thy will be done, we don't pray that the president's be done. We are citizens of a Kingdom who happen to live in the United States. Yes, the orderly transfer of power is essential. It has long been a badge of honor for our nation. Still, Jesus is our only Lord. He is Lord of all things, even presidents.

Unforgiven?

"Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"—for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit." Mark 3:28–30 (RSV)

'Never has forgiveness,' is a very unsettling word from the lips of Jesus. People approach it in one of two ways. It is ignored as if the words were not there or we lay awake nights. We lay awake nights because we aren't sure if we have sinned this sin.

This is where it is critical to remember that a Scripture segment should not be read out of context. Just before this passage, the Pharisees had confronted Jesus for casting out demons. People were beginning to ask if Jesus could be the Messiah. The Pharisees could not abide that thought. They believed that they had it worked out, which was not part of their plan for the Messiah's arrival. They declared the following about Jesus:

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons." Mark 3:22 (RSV)

The Pharisees could not allow themselves to believe that the wonders Jesus was doing were from God. If they acknowledged that, they would have to allow at least that Jesus could be the Messiah. They chose to call what the Father was doing through Jesus, a work of the devil. They called good, evil and evil, good.

If they, or anyone, would call Jesus a servant of the devil and persistently deny that Jesus is doing the Father's will, then they have refused the mercy of God through the Holy Spirit. They condemn themselves, denying the very power that would forgive them.

C.S. Lewis, in his book The Screwtape Letters, notes that those who are in hell are there because they have chosen to be there. They willingly chose eternity separated from the love and mercy of God so they could maintain they were right and God wrong. They cling desperately to this sin, for they cannot bear the thought that they might be the wrong one.

The best advice I have received about sinning against the Holy Spirit is simply this: If you are worried that you have sinned against the Holy Spirit, don't worry. The fact that your soul is troubled is a blessing of the Holy Spirit who has opened your eyes to see your sin. Ask the Father for His mercy and be confident that He will not go back on His promise to forgive.